Residential sales throughout the Okanagan Shuswap are up year to date over 2011 and we are right on track for a slow and steady recovery throughout 2012. Favorable interest rates, a strong Canadian dollar, and a strong Alberta economy all contribute...but the main driver behind our recovering real estate market is consumer confidence. Real Estate consumers have different levels of risk tolerance and investors are at the top of the risk scale when it comes to jumping into the marketplace. They know that the market goes through cycles and that those who get in early, profit from doing so. Investors were active in 2001 and 2002, which was the start of our area's last upswing and investors are … [Read more...]
Good News About Okanagan-Shuswap Real Estate
March 29, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The prediction in December of 2011 was that the positive momentum of the last half of 2011 would continue into 2012. That is exactly what is happening in the Okanagan, Shuswap Real Estate market. Year to date "residential" sales are up 10.76 % over the numbers of sales for the same period last year. This is better than we anticipated. We will not see any change in prices for a while but if our predictions follow suit the median price will rise approximately 3% in 2012. There is still negativity in the media that Toronto and Vancouver's bubbles may burst. However, from a Realtor's standpoint this has been predicted for a long while and although there may be a softening, there are no signs … [Read more...]
Real Estate Back In The Positive Again
March 4, 2012 By Leave a Comment
It seems that a negative has turned into a positive. Most people, when asked about the state of the country's economy, talk about the world economy. They assume that if some countries in the world are in a downward slide then all countries must be affected negatively. Fortunately, what's going on in the rest of the world seems to be affecting Canada in a positive way. The Canadian Real Estate Magazine observes that, investors are not only pulling money out of a volatile and unreliable stock market and putting it into Real estate but also international investors are pulling their money from other countries and putting it into Canada because of the stability of our dollar and our banking … [Read more...]
News Flash – HST transition measures support new home buyers & builders
February 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Here's a release from the BC ministry of finance in regards to the HST transition back to GST. They've greatly enhanced the maximum rebate from $26,250 to $42,500 which should have a positive impact on new home sales... SEE BELOW... VICTORIA – New housing transition measures give certainty to an important economic sector and help to keep taxes equitable throughout the transition as the province returns to the PST, Finance Minister Kevin Falcon announced today. B.C. will return to the PST on April 1, 2013, meeting the Province’s commitment to return to the PST as quickly and responsibly as possible, while ensuring businesses can plan their training and systems switch‐over … [Read more...]
A Year In Review
January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment
Average Residential Sales North Okanagan Central Okanagan Shuswap 2006 1142 2484 511 2007 1146 2745 594 2008 693 1757 423 2009 825 1910 362 2010 650 1639 299 2011 598 1646 288 Average Year To Date Sales North Okanagan Central … [Read more...]
Cash Flow Investing (Free Spreadsheet Download)
January 14, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A “must have” in your real estate portfolio is cash flow property. Cash flow investing is recession resistant investing. The most secure form of investing is having the income make your payments and pay down the principle. Sophisticated investors love cash flow. Speculators roll the dice and pray the market goes up. Today’s market has produced remarkable opportunity. If you’re a cash flow investor you know how difficult it was to find positive cash flow properties near the peak of the market. The contraction of the economy and the record low interest rates has made positive cash flow investments easier to find. I want to give you a spreadsheet that we use to analyze … [Read more...]
Gaining Momentum
January 3, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The Real Estate Market is all about momentum. The trick is to figure out which way the momentum is going and how long it will go that way. The graphs of 2010 and 2011 show that in the Okanagan - Shuswap area, there was a second dip of the recession in the last two quarters of 2010. This was undoubtedly caused by the combined pressures of the change in the lending constraints by the federal finance minister in April of 2010 and the institution of the HST in July of 2010. That dip lasted right through to the second quarter of 2011. In the third and fourth quarters of 2011 the recovery began to show in the stats. Sales in the last half of 2011 passed the sales of the last half of … [Read more...]
Is the Market Poised to go UP or DOWN?
December 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
When we examine the stats for October, 2011 the only significant thing about the Real Estate market in the Okanagan /Shuswap, is that there is nothing significant about it. Sales are constant. Prices are fairly constant. Absorption is fairly constant. Interest rates are fairly constant. From my perspective the reason is obvious...there is no one force that changes the market. There are multiple forces pulling in all different directions which all add up to create one final force. Right now there are very positive forces in Canada that are pushing our market in an upward direction; low interest rates, strong dollar, strong banking systems, the recovery of oil prices, etc. However, there … [Read more...]
Stats show it’s time to buy
November 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
"I would have never dreamed my house would be worth this much. The prices cannot keep going up. " This quote was taken from the Vancouver Province in 1954 when a North Vancouver resident sold his house for $13,600. Today, the median price for a Vancouver home is $627,994. Makes you think a bit doesn't it? Over the long term, will housing prices just keep going up forever? They certainly didn't in the United States. However, the United States created their own reality by the way they handled their lending and credit. When we look at the major real estate markets across Canada, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, they are all showing signs of recovery from the recession. … [Read more...]
Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement
October 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment
BCREA ECONOMICS NOW As was universally anticipated, the Bank of Canada opted to hold its target overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning. Ongoing uncertainty in the Euro-zone continues to weigh heavily on the Bank's outlook. In its statement accompanying the interest rate decision, it was noted that the bank is now projecting a contained Euro-crisis, but also a brief recession in the Euro-area due to ongoing deleveraging and fiscal austerity. The Bank also expects continued weakness, but no recession, in the United States through the first half of 2012 before a resumption of stronger growth. Given various challenges in the global economy, the Bank of Canada trimmed its outlook for … [Read more...]
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