Quail Ridge Golf Course Kelowna - Hot Air Balloon Lands on 17th Fairway!

Trish Cenci
Tel 250 864 1707
Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty

Kelowna Real Estate - OMREB September 2011 Buyers Survey Results

Hi Everyone,

The results of OMREB's September 2011 Buyers Survey are in!

It is interesting to see that 'move up' Buyers arerepresenting the largest part of the market at the present time, followed by 'first time' buyers. This indicates that they are continuing to take advantage of the lower prices we are seeing in the Kelowna area and lower interest rates.

A total of 187 respondents participated in this survey – representing 52% of the 362 OMREB sales representatives who acted as Buyers Agents and 39% of the 483 deals closed on behalf of Buyers in August.
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SEPTEMBER SURVEY SUMMARY
Property Type:
21.3% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers
18.6% by First Time Buyers
13.1% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit
11.5% buying Revenue/Investment Property
10.5% Recreation Property Buyers
4.9% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community
3.8% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home

Moving From:
50.3% from Within OMREB Board Area
18.9% from Alberta
13.0% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island
8.1% from Other Areas in BC
4.3% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes
2.7% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba
2.2% from Outside Canada
0.5% from NWT/Yukon (first month reported)

Kind Regards

Trish Cenci

Cell 250 864 1707

Interesting advice for home-owning baby boomers should they consider selling?

Hi All,

I read this interesting article today about whether the current baby - boomers should consider selling their homes and downsize now or later.

Kind Regards

Trish Cenci

Tel 250 864 1707

See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1f285

Kelowna Real Estate Update October 2011

Dear All,

As well as some gorgeoussunny days, where the temperature reached 30 degrees again last month, thisSeptember has been one of the busiest I have had working with Buyers for sometime.

The surprising thing I have found in viewing so many properties is thenumber that are not ‘prepared’ for showing or the number which were difficultto show.

Having chosen a home to make an offer on we have found a variety of complications with such HST, Clearing Title  and agreeing current market value.

In this market, it is so important that Sellers have their homes in the best shape possible ready for showings, and that homework has been done in advance to make sure the sale can progress smoothly, as there is too much inventory for Buyers to choose from, it remains a Buyers market.

CentralOkanagan Real Estate Sales for September 2011

Date	Total	S/F	Strata	Lot	Manuf
Sept-11	289	158	105	11	15
Aug -11	276	145	103	17	11
Jul -11	329	149	130	27	23
Jun -11	331	200	90	20	21
Sept 10	219	132	72	5	10

 *Figures are as at close of business 30^thSeptember 2011, and may be subject to slight change.

As you can see, the totalnumber of sales are very similar to last month, and well up on last year. Withthe general activity we have seen during the last month, I think we should seesales numbers holding again next month.

Summary

I still believe local buyers remain the driving force in the market, and particularly first time buyers. 84% of sales this month were under $550,000, but interestingly 11 sales were over $1 Million.

We are definitely seeing evidence of Vancouver Buyers 'cashing in' on the values of their homes and moving to the Okanagan, as it offers such great value.

With the latest Economic Data on the Canadian Economy this week, it does not look like interest rates will be not be rising in the near future, so I am not seeing a threat to the market there. Consumer confidence is, however, fragile as everyone waits to see how the US and Europe deal with their current economic crisis, and what the 'knock on' effect will be in Canada.

It remains a Buyers Market, here in the Central Okanagan, however I do not see any 'bubble' ready to burst here.

Kind Regards

Trish Cenci

Tel 250 864 1707