Big White real estate

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.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

The benefits of 2010 Olympics in Kelowna

It's hard to believe that the 2010 Winter Olympics start in just 12 days. How do you think Kelowna will fare when it's all over? Increased tourism? More business opportunities? Higher real estate prices?
It seems that everyone has an opinion and those opinions vary widely.
Approximately 5,500 people from over 80 countries will take place in 86 events for which there is an estimated global audience of THREE BILLION people! Thanks to the efforts of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Commission our city is prepared to meet and greet whatever comes our way.
I believe that our economy will continue to flourish and grow and that the 2010 Olympics will have an effect on Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley. Only time will tell to what extent.
GO CANADA!!
Talk to you soon...
Paige
PS I saw this very cool video of Vancouver and wanted to share it with you.

Million dollar real estate in Kelowna

With all the talk about recovery in Kelowna's real estate market its interesting to see that the trickle up effect (see October 15th blog entry) has taken hold over the $1,000,000 mark. For the year between June 08 and June 09 there were a total of 38 sales. Between July 09 and today there have been already 56 sales. I'll be commenting on this trend again as it changes.
On a side note, 2010 is bringing a lot of changes to my career. After a long and successful business partnership, I've decided to grow my business in another direction on my own... and with assistant extraordinaire, Kimberly! I wish Al Boyle success as he winds things down and hope he reaches all his goals in 2010!
I'll keep you posted of changes coming in all my on-line marketing and websites.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

The Doughnut Effect in Kelowna Real Estate

I was at a function called Green Drinks at Doc Willoughby's Thursday and met Dion. We got chatting about being environmentally friendly and eventually ended up on the topic of real estate. He came up with the perfect name for what we experience in Kelowna from time to time with real estate prices and number of sales. The Doughnut Effect! It perfectly describes how as you go farther out from the center of Kelowna (the doughnut hole) the number of sales are fewer and prices are slower to respond to a upward swing. Those hubs, made up of the actual doughnut, tend also to be the first to suffer the effects of downward price movement as we recently experienced. Areas like Lake Country and Glenrosa would be good examples of this. We've got a lack of inventory in the $300-$400,000 range so prices in that range are being squeezed up. Glenrosa and Lake Country are still seeing stagnant sales for the most part. There's some great value out there in those doughnuts!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

The trickle up effect

We've all heard of a "trickle down effect", but what about the trickle up?
The kelowna real estate market has experienced a major shift in the last 12 - 18 months. From an extreme sellers market, things quickly turned around to become a buyers market. The laws of supply and demand then took effect to create a strong balanced market that we're in right now. The problem for some sellers however, is that they're priced in a range that's not getting much action. This is where we're now seeing the "trickle up" effect happening.
Back when the prices first tumbled we saw a huge number of investors and first time buyers snapping everything up in the $300-$400K range. The homes that those people bought created a new group of sellers moving up to the $400-$500K range. When those sellers sold to those buyers, it created a new group of buyers looking in the $500-$600K range... and so on.
At long last, this "trickle up" effect seems to be taking hold. When you look at the number of sales over the last few months between $600K and $1 million the numbers are growing... 16, 20, 23, 27, 33.
Confidence is gaining momentum and people that have been taking "wait and see" approach are gradually coming down off the fence. I believe we can expect to see the real estate market remain strong!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Is lakeshore real estate on an upward trend?

In the last 3 weeks I've had 5 calls from clients inquiring about purchasing lakeshore property. For the most part they're feeling that waterfront is a limited commodity (agreed) and that prices will come back and start rising (agreed) and that Kelowna has only just begun to see it's international reputation grow (agreed again)! While not disputing that real estate in Kelowna is expensive, when you compare waterfront prices to other parts of the world it makes it seem downright affordable! If you take a $4 million dollar lakefront home in Kelowna and move it to Vancouver, you'd pay over $14 million and in Victoria the same home would fetch almosts $7.5 million. Coldwell Banker article about Canadian affordability
Now that's not to say that all lakefront property in Kelowna is that expensive. For just over $1.1 million you can own waterfront on Okanagan Lake... the house is a "fixer upper". Prices wander up from there to a staggering $10,000,000 for home and waterfront lot.
Consider this as well... in 2006 there were 90 lakefront sales, 2007 saw 112. In 2008 we saw sales dip to 58 and 2009 YTD we're at 54. Food for thought?
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Didn't I say so?

So it would seem that my prediction that the real estate "freeze frame" that we've just experienced would turn out to be a positive thing. Not to be one to blow my own horn, but I've certainly had a number of people saying to me "I wish I had listened to you sooner!"
Prices are down for sure and will probably be there for a while. The gush of inventory we had been expecting in the spring didn't happen and as those first buyers started to emerge, they were the lucky ones with the pick of the crop. A few more listings came on-stream but inventory was being well picked over. In fact some sellers that were not getting any action started to see their overpriced homes get shown. Sometimes the buyers braved an overpriced home and a reasonable offer was made and for the most part accepted.
In January we were up 62% in inventory.... very much a buyers market. That gradually turned around over the next month or two and now total listings now sits at a healthy 1650+ where last year in July we had 2000 active listings! (This by the way includes all listings, not just residential)This has created a very healthy stable and balanced market. Buyers can still get a good deal but not like they could a few months back and sellers are seeing reasonable prices for their homes now. Home sales in Kelowna for July were up a WHOPPING 59% over July of 2008 and Vancouver's sales in July were the highest in history! Yayyyy!
I keep reminding myself that Kelowna is the most beautiful part of the world and that everyone wants to live and/or play here. More and more people have been arriving this summer from areas close by (Vancouver, Alberta, etc.) with their vacation dollar being pinched and I've found the people that I've talked to are WOWED with Kelowna and will be coming back again soon! Who wouldn't....
Long Live Kelowna Real Estate!!!
Talk to you soon.
Paige

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

Kelowna Real Estate is BUSY

OK... I didn't drop off the face of the earth, it's just that people are coming around and the real estate market is hopping!
Prices really seem to have levelled out in Kelowna and in fact I believe we're now in a balanced market vs. a buyers or sellers market. Not as much inventory has come on this spring as it usually does so those buyers have only so many homes to choose from. With this in mind, offers on homes priced correctly are closer to list price than they have been lately. The sellers who were slow to respond to the market change are scrambling now to get back in the game with some big price reductions bringing their property into the competitive arena. Banks are bouncing around with their interest rates... some even inching them up!
Anyone out there thinking the market is going to come down should think again and get busy with whatever their plans are. We live in the most beautiful part of the world and it's only a matter of time before our real estate prices are on the rise again... my humble opinion anyways!
Talk to you soon.
Paige