Friday, July 17, 2009

What about the neighborhood?

There is a neighborhood in Kelowna called Wilden in North Glenmore. The main idea is to integrate beautiful housing into nature with as small a footprint as possible. Great in theory but what about reality?
I live in Wilden and love the trails, natural ponds and untouched wilderness behind my house. As someone very interested in being good to the environment I appreciate that the roads are very narrow, thereby reducing the amount of clearing required, concrete and blacktop used, etc. As we've lived here, this has however proven problematic.
Today is Friday, and in a few more hours my road will be almost impassable as everyone loads up their boats, trailers, and campers that will be parked on the road. We recently had a large flood in our house and the restoration company needs to get a container to move out all our stuff for the repair. It was funny watching the guy delivering the container try to negotiate the narrow road and short driveways in his attempt to get the job done. It didn't happen! All the boxes will have to be hoofed down the road into the container.
Is it possible to get used to things like this or are we too spoiled to be inconvenienced by some things that are good for the planet? I'm going to try harder to get used to it!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Real estate and family life

So I've broken the rule of blogging... keep it up and keep it current! The summer heat and calls of "lets go the beach" have taken over at my house. Trying to fit work and play in can be tough when you've got a family.
My family has always been great shuffling their lives around my real estate career. Everyone understands that it's not the typical 9-5 gig and sometimes I have to go to work when I least expect it. I love my job and my family keeps me in check by setting goals. Each time I sell a house "points" are accumulated towards something fun for us all. This summer we're going white water rafting in Lytton! This system keeps us all focused on the good part of my job and not "how come Mom isn't around?"
On a real estate note, the market appears to be very balanced now with inventory being well picked over and prices stabilizing. I've been involved in some multiple offer situations and some sales over list price! Lot's of first time buyers out there still which is so great... buying your first house is an amazing experience. First time buyers kit There are also a growing number of "move up" buyers now as the first timers buy the "move up" buyers homes. Sales at the higher end, over $600K, are still sluggish and it may take some more time before we see more activity there. I've also been aware of the amount of Albertans cruising Kelowna again. A portion of that market has returned to buying in Kelowna as well as a growing number of investors! All great news for our local market.
Also a follow up to my last post. The buyers and sellers involved in that offer eventually dribbled away from each other. The buyer produced no excitement and drained the seller of enthusiasm over their long period of negotiating. The seller didn't feel the buyer was serious. Psychology 101 !!
Have a great day and talk to you soon.
Paige