This market will change
Toronto is on track for it's second best year ever! As you can see, not everyone is experiencing the same market as Kelowna. Guaranteed, this market will change and the buyers will say again, "I wish I would have bought a property when the market was low."

Kelowna Market Update
This market will change.

Summer is almost over and Kelowna is still selling just under 8% of the available inventory in a month (as per graph below). This is clearly a buyers' market, as 15% to 20% of the listings selling is considered a balanced market. Our prices are holding well, but this is a great time to negotiate fantastic deals for the buyers. In August, 8 properties sold over $1 Million in Kelowna and area. The action is around $400,000 to $500,000. Only 10% of single family dwellings are selling under $300,000 and only 20% are selling over $600,000.

As expected, the Bank of Canada kept its key lending rate unchanged at 1.0%. The need to raise interest rates has "diminished" and we can count on low interest rates to stay.

Compared to gold, real estate is low. Traditionally, it takes about 400 ounces of gold to buy the average home in Canada. Today here in Kelowna it would only take 250 ounces to buy an average priced home. On top of that, a person can also finance the home, plus receive revenue (if rented) to pay off the mortgage faster. So what is the better investment? Major question: Is gold high or real estate low…. you decide.

August 2011 sales activity of all MLS® property types slower than this time last year and down marginally compared to July as a buyers' market continues into the fall. During August, overall sales dipped 2.05% over last year (to 286 units from 292) and were down 16.12% over July (from 341), with sales volumes of $113.3 million compared to $155.7 million in 2010. Total residential sales last month were down 3.72% compared to August 2010 (to 259 units from 269). Single family home sales rose 1.54% over last year (to 132 compared to 130) – a 2.94% drop from the 136 homes sold in July. While inventory continues to decline over last year (down 1.23% to 5,230 units from 5,295), new listings for the month rose over last August (up 0.97% to 832 from 824) but declined 13.6% compared to listings taken in July (from 963)

This is still a great time to buy real estate!

Remember, Good Deals Are Not Found, They Are Made.

Major Cities Report
Victoria: Real Estate Sales Strengthen In August Enhancing Market Stability
The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $652,841, up from $581,117 in July. MLS® sales last month included 307 single family homes, 128 condominiums, 68 townhomes and 15 manufactured homes.
There were 25 single family home sales of over $1 million in August

Vancouver: Greater Vancouver Home Sales Trend Toward Buyers' Market Over Summer
The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 8.5% to $625,578 in August 2011 from $576,597 in August 2010. "MLS® statistics continue to indicate that we're in a balanced market," Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. "However, with a sales-to-actives listings ratio of 15%, Greater Vancouver is in the lower end of a balanced market and has been trending toward a buyers' market over the past three months."

Calgary: Calgary Homebuyers Take Advantage Of Affordability And Choice
The single family market recorded 1,106 sales in the month of August 2011. This is an increase of 28% when compared to August 2010 sales, which were the lowest levels of August sales since 1994. Year to date sales of 9,485 are 10% higher than last year's figures. According to figures released by CREB® (Calgary Real Estate Board),. The year to date average price for single family resale homes reached $468,051, a1% rise over last year.

Edmonton: Local Real Estate Prices Remain Stable
August figures show that local real estate prices remain stable over the years. The average selling price in August has varied from a high of $372,000 in 2008 to the low of $367,700 in 2009. Last month SFDs sold on average for $370,438. In August 2011, there were 969 single family homes reported sold

Toronto: On Pace For The Second Best Year On Record For Sales.
Strong August Home Sales as the Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,542 sales through the Toronto MLS® system in August - a 24% increase over 6,083 sales in August 2010. With market conditions remaining tight in the GTA, the average selling price continued to grow strongly in August, up by more than 10% year-over-year to $451,663.