This blog is about me, Paige Guernsey, and the things that happen around my job as a Kelowna Real Estate agent with Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty. I talk about listings, sales activity, market conditions, market trends, promotions, green real estate, and sometimes funny things that happen to me during the course of my day. There's links and videos to great information as well as access to my 2 websites, kelownahome.com and greenkelownarealestate.com
I had an appointment to show some real estate at Big White yesterday.
There have been 74 sales so far this this season compared to 32 last. The real estate market took quite a hit there, with some saying they lost up to 25% of the value it was prior to this latest recession. Having said that, the buyers are out there taking advantage of the fall in prices. I spoke with a number of realtors who work predominantly at Big White and am told that most buyers are local.
After working, I was lucky enough to be able to meet some friends for skiing in the. Sunshine, warm temperatures, and snow that was soft! We do live in an amazing place.
We’ve all heard that kitchen and bath reno’s add the most to a home’s value, but what about other items’s that your real estate requires. There are a few good rules of thumb to follow when doing a renovation or addition with an eye to re-sale:
Your goal should ALWAYS be low cost with high impact. Sometimes a quick paint job, de-cluttering and re-arranging furniture can be just as good as a $30,000 kitchen makeover.
Never spend more than 5% of the homes original value. For instance if you’re purchasing a $500,000 home, keep the budget at $25,000 for those reno’s if you’re planning on selling within a year or two.
Consult a realtor to find out the latest buyer trends. Are people wanting more rooms, smaller yards or vice versa?
Remember the market goes up and down regardless of your renovation so you want to keep to a solid time-line for the re-sale target.
Check out my website for the great link to a guide on how much various additions and/or alterations will run you.
A Vancouver based company sold luxury townhomes to 2010 Olympic visitors for a total of over $31 million.
While I was in Vancouver to catch some of the buzz, I met 6 new people one day on the streets and 3 of them were planning on a visit to Kelowna during their Olympic stay! Upon further inquiry, these people, from different parts of the world were impressed that you could buy a nice 2 bed, 2 bath condo for around $300,000… less than where they were from!
Kelowna and our real estate are becoming international players. Check out my website for more great information about Kelowna, BC !
