January 2009 - Kelowna Market Update for all Buyers, Sellers and Investors of Real Estate
January 2009 - Kelowna Market Update for all Buyers, Sellers and Investors of Real Estate
By Jaime Briggs, REALTOR®
www.BriggsOnHomes.com
What Doom & Gloom? … The Kelowna Real Estate market continues to be a strong and stable investment. Sure, sales have dropped, but that’s only expected when our supply continues to greatly outweigh our demand. Overall our residential prices for SFD are UP +6.06% YTD! Condo’s are up +6.76% and Townhouses up +10.07%.
It definitely is a Buyer’s Market out there right now. I have never before seen such great buys on the market. Many new home builders are willing to negotiate (they haven’t done this in the past), many Sellers are willing to consider low offers and mortgage rate continue to be low! Also, TRADES are becoming more common. (I am working on a few myself as we speak). Currently there are only 14 Foreclosures on the market, which hasn’t changed much from about 6 months ago. We don’t see the same effects that the US markets have had, here in Canada.
Yes, it’s a great time to get into the Kelowna Real Estate Market and I am very positive about what 2009 will bring!
The December ’08 Stats for the Central Okanagan have just been released from the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB).
Here’s what they show (December ’08)…………..
LISTINGS – We currently have 4,740 active listings in the Central Okanagan, Which means we are only +60% up over December ’07. (Listing inventory is continuing slowly decline….which is positive since our supply was over exceeding demand for many months now causing sales and prices to drop respectively).
SALES – Sales are again down by -56% for the month of Dec. ’08 vs. Dec. ’07, and are down -36% year to date (YTD). These stats are not quite as bad as last month ~ November ’08. December ’08 only saw 120 sales during the month, vs. 281 sales same month last year (-57.30%). Of the 120 sales only 66 were for single family residential homes. Again, the high inventory and lack of consumer confidence in the market played a major role in decreased sales.
AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES – Kelowna Residential (single family home) prices overall still remain quite strong. Year to Date prices for Kelowna single family residential homes have still continued to increase vs. last YTD. They have gone up +6.06% from $476,467 last YTD to $505,320 average price YTD. For December ’08 the average price of a SF house compared to Dec. ’07, has dropped -2.09% to $486,910 MTD vs. $497,321 MTD last year. Overall investment in the residential single family or condo/townhouse market is positive. Prices in these markets remain strong and stable. The YTD averages however in Timeshare, Recreational, and Investment properties (business, commercial & multi-family) seem to have taken a beating over last years prices. Some of these categories have experienced drops of up to -69.88% over last YTD.
THE MARKETS FROM THE WHOLE OF BC, ARE NOT SO POSITIVE THOUGH…..HERE’S THE STATS FROM THE BCREA.
BC Home Sales Decline by One-Third in 2008
Vancouver, BC – January 12, 2009. British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 31 per cent to $31.3 billion in 2008, compared to 2007. Residential unit sales declined 33 per cent to 68,923 units last year, the lowest level since 2000, when 54,179 transactions were recorded. The average MLS® residential price in 2008 was $454,599, up 3.5 per cent from 2007.
“The housing market came in like a lion and went out like a lamb in 2008,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Home prices reached a record high in March, but edged lower during the balance of the year.” The average residential sales price hit $483,291 in March and ended the year at $429,210, an 11 per cent decline in nine months.
“The global financial crisis, a sharp correction in the equity markets and a recessionary environment in Canada has wreaked havoc on consumer confidence,” added Muir. “While it’s difficult to predict when consumer confidence will strengthen, home affordability is quietly improving as lower prices and mortgage interest rates increase the buying power of BC households."
December MLS® residential sales dollar volume in the province declined 52 per cent to $1.05 billion, compared to December 2007. Provincial MLS® sales were down 49 per cent to 2,456 units, while the average residential price declined 6 per cent to $429,210 over the same period.
Overall, Kelowna remains a strong real estate market. We experienced a boom over the last few years and 2008 still started out strong. The last 6 months of 2008 were difficult as our market shifted from a Seller’s market to a Buyer’s market. Kelowna remains unique from the rest of BC. We have the benefit of being a 4-season destination and a tourism Mecca for the region. Real Estate prices have decreased slightly MTD (-2.09% for single family), but overall the YTD figures remain strong +4.23% (all properties) or +6.06% (SFD only) YTD’08 vs. ’07.
Lakefront residential properties continue to be highly saleable here and still seek high returns at +20% average price increase ($2.32 million average price YTD vs. $1.93 million last YTD).
Over the next few months I feel that we will continue to see a strong Buyer’s market, listings will decline slightly and many Buyer’s will take advantage of the low mortgage rates and great prices on homes!
For more market statistics and graphs go to www.OMREB.com or go to www.BriggsOnHomes.com