Canada: Wow... We Canadians know how to play hockey, party and put up a show all at the same time being polite and humble. We are very proud of the clean look, smiles and great attitudes of the athletes which are setting unbelievable examples for generations to come. Well done Canada!

Kelowna: Affordability continues to drive the market here in Kelowna. Many first time home buyers are seeing this as the time to take advantage of record low interest rates. But, speak with any number of real estate experts and you will certainly get entirely different assessments on the state of the market. Nothing is clear-cut or set in stone. After all, supply and demand still regulates the price.

The spring market should continue to see strong demand for affordable single family homes by first time home buyers and young families looking to move up. This will help to get some activity into the upper priced homes below $1 Million. The new home market supply has been picked over many times and it is hard to find good lots under $200,000 now. We will see a rise in both our inventory (which has already happened) and demand this spring, as we expect both to stay in a healthy balance. Prices will edge up as the year progresses.

Have a look at our graphs and you will notice that the listings are up in February and the sales are similar as January which pushed the percentage of sold homes down. We think the slow down had to do with the people thinking more about the Olympics than real estate. We feel we will catch up right after the spring break.
 

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics

a picture Colin took of the Cauldron

Major Cities Report
Victoria: Real estate sales surge in February - Prices remain mixed. A total of 621 homes and other properties sold in February through the Victoria Real Estate Board, up from the 418 sales in January and 403 sales in February of last year. As of the end of February, there were 3,280 properties available for sale - up from 2,793 at the end of January but still down slightly from 3,844 properties for sale at the end of February a year ago. The activity is particularly strong in the mid-price range with nearly 50 per cent of single-family homes last month selling for under $550,000.

Vancouver: The Greater Vancouver housing market continued to experience strong demand from homebuyers and an increase in total property listings in a month where the eyes of the world were focused on the region. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totaled 2,473 in February 2010, an increase of 67.1% compared to February 2009. More broadly, last month’s sales totals marked a 7.6% decline compared to the 2,676 sales recorded in February 2008 and were 13.5% behind February 2007 when 2,859 residential sales were recorded on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver. Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 19.7% to $581,911 from $486,054 in February 2009. This price is 2.4% above the previous high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.

Calgary: Calgary’s housing market continues to build stability and momentum in the second month of the year, the Calgary housing market has shifted from fragile to fervent in just over 12 months. The average price of a single family home in the city of Calgary in February 2010 was $458,254 showing an increase of 4% from January 2010, when the average price was $441,217, and showing an increase of 10% from February 2009, when the average price was $415,568.

Edmonton: Stability in Edmonton Housing Market continues through February. Prices for residential property sold through the Edmonton MLS® changed marginally through February. Sales activity, however, was up dramatically when compared to last month or the same month last year. The average single family dwelling price was $369,573 for February up just 1.4% from January, or 5.6% from a year ago.  Condominium prices dipped 3.8% in the month from $240,686 to $231,530. Duplex and rowhouse prices were up 3.3% to $315,390.

Toronto: Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,291 sales through the MLS® in February, representing a 77% increase over February 2009. The average price for these transactions was up 19% year-over-year to $431,509. Sales and average price increases represent both increased demand for ownership housing and the base year effect, which involves a comparison of economic recovery this year to a period of economic decline last year.