Property Type:

23.8% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers
21.8% buying Revenue/Investment Property
19.8% by First Time Buyers
8.9% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit
7.9% Recreation Property Buyers
5.0% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home 
3.0% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community

Moving From: 

68.9% from Within OMREB Board Area
12.6% from Alberta
8.6% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island
2.9% from Other Areas in BC
2.9% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba
2.9% from Outside Canada
1.0% from NWT/Yukon (third month reported)
0% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes

For more information on Kelowna Real Estate, call the Dion-Ivans Group today. Your best source for Kelowna Real Estate Listings!

TORONTO, January, 2012 –The Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast released today showed the average price of a home in Canada increased between 3.6 and 6.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to the previous year. Royal LePage expects average price growth to continue through 2012 and predicts national average prices to increase by 2.8 per cent by the end of the year.

Despite calls in some quarters for Canadian house prices to soften in 2011, the market proved resilient as demand created by low interest rates and a relatively stable national economy created upward pricing pressure for all housing types surveyed. Further, recent high profile reports forecasting significant house price declines in 2012 are not supportable.  Nationally, consumer confidence in the housing market was high in the fourth quarter as real estate brokers witnessed an unusually high quantity of multiple offer situations, including over the holiday season, compared to same period in previous years.

In the fourth quarter, standard two-storey homes rose 4.2 per cent year-over-year to $375,427, while detached bungalows increased 6.1 per cent to $344,392. Average prices for standard condominiums increased 3.6 per cent to $234,680.

“In the recovery period following the 2008-2009 recession, I found myself repeatedly speaking of ‘irrational exuberance’ in the Canadian housing market,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services. “Expectations were too high and the pace of expansion unsupportable. With this report, I find myself in exactly the opposite position. Widespread calls for a major real estate correction in 2012 simply can’t be justified. The industry has significant momentum entering the year, and buoyed by the stimulative effect of very low interest rates, we expect the market to continue to expand – albeit at a slower pace.”

While 2011 was a very strong year for price growth, over the past five years, including the recessionary period, Canada’s average home prices have grown by only 3.5 per cent compounded annually, well below the long term average rate of appreciation. Canada’s GDP has also grown modestly over the same period and the economy is expected to expand by approximately two per cent in 2012. While unemployment remains stubbornly higher then pre-recession levels, sustained employment at today’s levels in a low interest rate environment can be expected to support continued average house price appreciation across the country.

Canadians remain confident in their real estate investments. Throughout 2011, buyers took advantage of low rates to enter the housing market or move-up to homes that better suited their family’s needs or wants. All regions included in the Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast anticipate positive average price growth in 2012. This includes the relatively expensive Toronto and Vancouver regions, where rising home prices have consistently out-paced the other urban centres.

”We believe calls for falling prices and more affordable housing in 2012 are unlikely to materialize,” said Soper. “While this will comfort the seventy per cent of Canadians who are homeowners, there is cause for concern when house price growth outpaces increases in wages and salaries for an extended period of time. Coupled with more restrictive mortgage regulations that have made it more difficult to obtain financing, those who aspire to own a home may find it increasingly difficult to enter the housing market and, in some regions, it may leave people out entirely.”

Regionally, Royal LePage expects to see cities with commodity-based economies, such as Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg, outperform larger urban centres such as Toronto and Vancouver. Royal LePage has forecast Calgary’s average house prices to climb 3.6 per cent in 2012. In 2011, the largest average price increase was seen in Regina, where average prices for standard two-storey homes rose 19.5 per cent year-over-year.

For more information visit www.royallepage.ca 

Shopping for a home doesn’t have to be a stressful experience. In fact, with a little planning, you can make the entire process fun for everyone – even if there are kids involved.

Here are some tip's for doing just that:

• Get the whole family involved in deciding what kind of home you should consider. The more everyone, especially kids, feel a part of the process, the more likely they are to adjust well to the idea of moving.
• Bring healthy, light snacks and drinks with you when viewing more than a couple of homes in a row. It’s difficult to have fun when your energy level is low.
• Easy does it. Don’t see too many properties at one time.
• Feeling burnt out after viewing the tenth home on a Saturday afternoon will impact your judgement. Your fatigue might cause you to pass on a property that is actually a good fit.
• Kids often enjoy the first viewing of a new home, but are generally less interested in the second and third visits. So when you’re going back to take a closer look at a property before you submit an offer, consider leaving your children with a babysitter.
• Look for a good fit, not for perfection. You probably have an idea in your head of your perfect home. There’s nothing wrong with that! Just keep an open mind when you look at what’s available on the market.
• Work with a REALTOR® who can make the entire process of searching for and buying a home go smoothly for you.  

Do you have a question about how to find your next dream home in today’s market? Call the Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today!

Below are the monthly survey results showing what people are buying and where they are moving from:

Property Type:
22.1% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers
22.1% by First Time Buyers
13.2% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit
6.6% buying Revenue/Investment Property
5.1% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home 
3.7% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community
3.7% Recreation Property Buyers

Moving From: 
58.7% from Within OMREB Board Area
4.3% from Other Areas in BC
14.5% from Alberta
12.3% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island
4.3% from Other Areas in BC
3.6% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba
3.6% from Outside Canada
2.2% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes
0.7% from NWT/Yukon (second month reported)

Source: www.omreb.com 

Kelowna, BC – The Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) reported October 2011 sales activity of all MLS® property types remained similar to this time last year and were down slightly from the previous month (September 2011) as the housing market continues to stabilize.

“Overall, the Okanagan-Shuswap market has experienced steady sales activity during the past six months of 2011. Most segments in our Board area have remained remarkably stable and continue to hold their own, despite comments on the state of the economy.  However, recreation and investment sectors remain sluggish as moderate economic recovery and modest job growth in BC, Alberta and across the country have impacted disposable income for potential buyers who are now looking south of the border for bargain properties,” says Rob Shaw, OMREB Vice President and REALTOR® in the North Zone. 

“The dramatic divide between the Lower Mainland and Interior markets has narrowed considerably as lagging consumer confidence and apprehension about making big purchases has cooled the overall demand in most BC markets,” he adds.  “Concerns about employment, personal debt load and net worth continue to be fuelled by economic uncertainty, equity market volatility and global instability.”

Central Zone (Peachland to Lake Country): Overall unit sales and sales volumes in the Central Zone dipped by 1.07% to 277 units ($106.4 million) compared to 280 ($135.5 million) last October, and were down 6.41% compared to the 296 units sold in September. Total residential sales last month slipped by 0.78% to 253 units compared to 255 last year, and were down 8.99% from 278 in September. Single family home sales of 125 units showed a 10.17% drop compared to 139 last year, and were down 13.79% from the 145 homes sold this September. October’s inventory of 4,761 units was up 3.37% compared to 4,606 in 2010, and the 834 new listings for the month rose 10.17% over 757 last year.

“With low interest rates continuing to positively impact purchasing power and the home you can afford, now is a good time to buy.  New listings are trending downward and inventory is staying in check, but there is still an ample supply and good selection of homes available in our market,” Shaw notes.

“Serious buyers are motivated by well-priced properties and room to negotiate, so sellers can benefit from working with a professional REALTOR® to price strategically at current values.  In this highly competitive market, homes with good curb appeal and listed by sellers with the sharpest pencils are being sold quickly.”

The results of OMREB’s Board-wide monthly Buyers Survey profiling who the buyers are, what they are buying and where they are from shows that the majority of buyers are from within the Board area.  Move-up buyers and first-time buyers are driving factors, and stimulate the chain of ownership.

Information provided by www.omreb.com. To find out about the advantages of using a REALTOR®, check out  www.howrealtorshelp.ca.