The housing issue is one of the latest controversies. There has been much talk recently about the potential for a housing bubble in Canada, but the economic fundamentals at play make this scenario unlikely for Kelowna. Everybody has an opinion and everybody means well, but not everyone can, and will be correct. So what does this mean to us here in Kelowna? The news we hear and read is mostly blanked news for the whole country, especially the most populated areas like Ontario and the big cities. The fact is, we do well in Canada and very well compared to the rest of the world including the USA. We did not have a “Zero down payment, interest only, anybody qualifies” mortgage policy. Everyone had to qualify for a mortgage, and we further tightened standards this year; insisting buyers qualify for mortgages at the five-year rate instead of a lower variable rate, and insisting on higher down payments for investment properties. Of course we are not isolated here in the beautiful Okanagan Valley and we have some foreclosures, but we have nothing even close to the US. We basically shifted from a total sellers market to a total buyers market, for now.

KELOWNA
Kelowna remains an attractive destination for buyers, a fact that continues to affect activity in the Kelowna and area housing market. What we are seeing is an adjustment to higher levels of inventory and a shift to a buyer’s market. Homes are moving but sellers have to be very competitive. Our average price for single family dwellings is slightly down at $496,077, from last month which was the highest July ever. Our number of sales are down at only 126 sales compared to 176 in August 09, this represents a 28% decline. We are very happy to report our sell-to-listing ratio improved for all units this month over July 2010 and came in at 7.23% on Single Family Dwellings, 6.9% on Townhomes, 7.0% on Apartments and 2.3% on Lots. Buyers never had it so good. Choices are plentiful. Good deals can be made. Interest rates are low. This is a fantastic time to buy.
 

The greatest compliment we can receive are the referrals from our clients, friends and acquaintances.

 

Major Cities Report
Victoria: The property market throughout Greater Victoria softened in August with fewer sales and a decline in overall prices for single family homes and condominiums; overall prices for townhomes, however, rose in August. The number of properties available for sale at the end of last month declined to 4,356. The 6 month average price declined slightly to $629,272.

Vancouver: Conditions in the Greater Vancouver housing market continued to favour buyers in August. Since April, prices have edged down slightly as the number of sales and the number of properties coming on to the market have been declining. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totaled 2,202 in August 2010. This represents a 36% decline from the 3,441 sales in August 2009, the second highest selling August ever recorded, and a 2.4% decline compared to July 2010. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.5% to 3,750 in August 2010 compared to August 2009 when 4,544 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,421, a 6.1% decline from last month and a 29% increase from August 2009.

Calgary: Home sales in the city of Calgary continued to trend lower in the month of August. August 2010 saw 867 single family homes sold in the city of Calgary. This is a decrease of 5% from 915 sales in July 2010. The average price of a single family home in the city of Calgary in August 2010 was $445,617, showing a 4% decrease from July 2010, when the average price was $464,655, and a decrease of 2% from August 2009, when the average price was $454,130.

Edmonton: August housing market quiets down. Edmonton reports that the average price of single family property in the Edmonton area has softened with a small drop for the second consecutive month. Prices were plateaued at just over $388,000 from March to June. Residential sales in August were down from the previous month at 1,195 as were listings.

Toronto: August sales and new listings down, Prices up. Greater Toronto reported 6,232 sales through the MLS® in August 2010. This represented a 22% decrease compared to the 8,035 sales recorded during the same period in 2009. New listings decreased by one percent year-over-year to 10,488. The average price for August transactions was $411,012 – up six% compared to the average of $387,921 reported in August 2009.