October Stats for Kelowna Real Estate are In

October stats are out and they paint a very good picture for the future of real estate in Kelowna. The market adjustment was minor compared to other parts of the country. Prices are down about 10-15% across the board, interest rates are still historically low, and continued world-wide attention has propped up housing values in Kelowna. After seeing sales drop off considerably they've been steadily marching back with monthly gains in sales and dollar volume.
In October there were 215 residential sales, up from 210 sales last month. Certainly a healthy number compared to the 91 residential sales in October 2008! It's interesting to see that sales for condos and townhouses are up too as the current inventory is absorbed. Apartment sales for October 09 were 73 over last years 34 and townhomes showed 56 sales this October versus a paltry 18 last year at the same time. I talked about increased lakefront real estate activity in early October and it's up an incredible 400% over last year!! OK, seriously, there were 4 sales in October and none last year!
Listing inventory is starting to drop off as it tends to do this time of year. With serious buyers still out there and fewer homes to choose from, this can be a very good time of year to sell! Give me a call at 250-862-6464 if you're thinking about it.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Saved by my fellow REALTOR®

Today I was on MLS® tour with my fellow REALTOR® Grant Wiebe. (Tour is where the realtors get a chance to view new product on the market). Grant is a great guy and very creative in his marketing. I was asking him about his Youtube videos where he speaks about real estate using a webcam located in his vehicle. I was wondering if it distracts him while driving. At that VERY moment a lady pulled into traffic at ramming speed. Grant pulled off a spectacular maneuver... swerving out of her path (by the way, we were also at ramming speed!), narrowly but safely missing a light pole, and all the while speaking very calmly about the question I had asked him.
Way to go Grant... you're the BEST!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Way to go Kelowna!

The GREEN HOUSING SYMPOSIUM I held this past Sunday was a huge success! Over 200 people came and saw a beautiful BuiltGreen® home and had an opportunity to speak to a number of experts on how to build or green up their existing home. Please check back to my green website at www.greenkelownarealestate.com for your GREEN HOUSING needs.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

When buying real estate, it's usually women who make the final decision

It's been a crazy busy summer... work, company and then our house flooded... wow a lot of "non-fun" with that!
Working with buyers lately has been really fun. The biggest challenge is to come up with Plan A & B for purchasing that will ensure the buyer gets the lowest possible purchase price for the property they love.
One of my favorite clients recently decided to downsize. We sold their townhouse and started looking! Plan A was to find a couple properties that they loved and then, starting with the #1 choice, make an offer with the idea that if the seller didn't take it, we'd move to choice #2. We found 2 properties that would fit this plan. The were almost identical in price, amenities, condition, and location. One seller was very motivated and one was not motivated at all.
We sat and discussed the pros and cons. The husband had his heart set on one (super motivated seller), the wife another (not so motivated seller). We went back and forth with no decision on which to offer on. The husband's first choice was logistically the better one for them... had a family room for grandchildren, enough parking for 2 vehicles and, 2 bathrooms. They decided to sleep on it. The next morning I got the call... the wife won out the decision on which to make an offer on first... the not so motivated seller!
The next step was to carefully plan our strategy and offer just enough to entice the sellers but low enough to be a good deal. Everyone committed to walking away to choice #2 if the seller didn't bite. And away we went with our offer...
Tick tock tick tock tick tock
The seller doesn't bite. Back I got to the buyers to proceed with offering on choice #2. The wife however, has a different plan. She must have house #1.
In the end, they ended up paying more than they would have for the other very comparable unit... but they have the house they love.
Sometimes it's good to remember that it's not all about the best deal. If you really love something, it's not necessarily best to settle. The roof over your head is a home... the buyers are very happy! :)