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

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!

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

How long does it take to buy a house?

I'm working with some sellers right now who have been great! They keep their house spotless, try their best to accomodate all showings and to top it off, are listed at a great price.
Recently a buyer looked at this house one day, wrote an offer the second, countered on the third, countered on the fourth, and are still thinking about it on the fifth!
It's so interesting to see different negotiating tactics in the world of real estate. Some people are stoically firm, sweet and accommodating, indifferent, and sometimes even panicked. In my experience, the folks that take days to come to decisions, are the least successful and the reasons involve pure psychology.
Excitement level diminishes considerably which opens the door for indifference, stress, and sometimes even hostility between buyer and seller. Sellers want to feel good about someone moving into "their house" and creating good memories. Buyers of course, want to feel like they're getting the best price possible.
How do you think you'd act in the sellers or buyers shoes?
I'll keep you posted to how this negotiation goes.
Talk to you soon.
Paige

Some interesting tid-bits

I wrote an offer recently for a house in Shannon Lake, West Kelowna. This house backed the landfill which was fine with the buyer because he thought the landfill was closing soon... as did I. Off we went to do our homework...
We were shocked to find out the details. The landfill isn't in fact closing anytime soon. According to the RDCO documents on-line it may not close until 2013, but probably 2010. Also, once the garbage part of it closes, it will become a transfer station (where areas like Peachland bring their garbage to load into bins that will be transferred elsewhere) as well as a re-cycling depot! Needless to say, we collapsed the offer.
Some people think I'm too picky about my information gathering... this is a perfect example of why it's so important to dig deep (no pun intended!)
This same buyer got involved in a dual offer situation last night for one of the coolest houses I've seen in a long time! We came up with a strong strategy, pulled out all the stops, and WON out over the other buyer! Off we go to do our homework...
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

The Virgin Tours

Administrator Extraordinaire... Kimberly... has successfully put the finishing touches on the video experience that we're about to go live with. It's a completely serious way of checking out new kelowna real estate, but with a little "tongue in cheek" component to it at the same time. There will be a direct link from our website at www.kelownahome.com as well as being on YouTube. And of course, you'll find it right here!
We're calling it The Virgin Tours... you're first time through a house with me! During the time we've spent creating this, it's been amazing to discover different things on-line. One internet nugget for me, was YouTube.
I've been googling information for a good 5-6 years now (bye bye to 52 encyclopedias!) and always look for the written word. Just recently I've started to search YouTube for instructions or info that I can SEE. It's very easy and easy to retain more of the information.
Wow... it makes me shake my head in wonder to remember that when I started in Real Estate 23 years ago (I was 15), I drove around with a roll of quarters (dimes would really date me) for the pay phone while I was working.
How do you use the internet? Are you a YouTuber, Facebooker, or is Twitter your social media of choice?
Talk to you soon...
Paige
PS I'll keep you posted to when we go LIVE!