The Bank of Canada announced this morning that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. In its accompanying statement, the Bank noted that the economy is preceding largely on the path the Bank projected in its January Monetary Policy Report. While inflation and growth were slightly higher than expected in the fourth quarter of 2013, the Bank expects slack in the economy to keep inflation below the Bank's 2 per cent target this year. The Bank does not view the risks associated with elevated household imbalances as materially changed and judges the current stance of monetary policy, with the overnight rate at 1 per cent, as appropriate.

Speculation of an impending rate cut by the Bank of Canada has receded in recent weeks following a modest acceleration of inflation and stronger than expected economic growth. The uptick in inflation and growth is in part due to a sharply lower Canadian dollar and, while not explicitly targeting a lower value of the loonie, policymakers at the Bank have welcomed the decline in the dollar. A depreciation in the currency tends to be inflationary and impacts consumer prices in fairly short order while traditional monetary policy, through adjusting the overnight interest rate, impacts inflation only with a significant lag of 12 to 18 months.  With the lower loonie helping to pull inflation higher, we expect the Bank will likely maintain its target rate at 1 per cent until 2015 when economic conditions may require a gradual increase in the overnight rate. 

Information provided by BCREA. 

Electricity in the home is so commonplace that it's easy to forget how dangerous it can be. According to the American Institute for Preventive Medicine, an electrical shock can knock you unconscious, cause a serious burn, or even stop your heartbeat.

Fortunately, there are some simple things you can do to reduce the risk. 

• Install safety plugs in outlets that young children can reach.

• Never plug in anything with a frayed or otherwise damaged power cord.

• Never use a plugged-in computer, hair dryer, or other electrically-powered item near a filled sink or bathtub. This includes phones with power cords.

• Never touch anything electrical with wet hands or while standing in water. (Water is a remarkably efficient conductor of electricity.)

• Always turn off the appropriate breaker before doing any electrical work, such as installing a new light fixture.

• When replacing a broken light bulb, turn off the breaker first. Although the glass is broken, the filament may still be conducting electricity.

Finally, unless you're an expert or an electrician, never do any major electrical work on your own. Hire a professional.

Unless you're a real estate expert, you probably look at the market and think things are pretty confusing. Even a bit crazy! You hear news about “bubbles bursting”, “higher or lower home sales in a particular month”, “new home starts” that are up or down, and on and on it goes.

It’s a lot of news and a lot of jargon.

If you're thinking of selling your home within the next year or two, you will want to understand what's happening in the market so you can make the right decisions and get a clear sense of what to expect. So, how do you make sense of it all?

That's where a good REALTOR® can help.

Even if you don't have any definite plans to move in the near future, a REALTOR® who is an expert in the local marketplace can help you understand what homes in a particular neighbourhood are selling for, and what you can expect to get should you decide to list your property.

Getting to know a REALTOR® also means you’ll have a trusted expert to talk to from time to time, when you have real estate-related questions.

You’ll have someone you can think of as "Your REALTOR®".

Plus, when the time comes to sell your property, you won't have to deal with a stranger. Instead, you'll be able to work with a REALTOR® that you know well -- and who knows YOU. Overall, that will make the buying and selling process go more smoothly and more successfully.

Looking for a good REALTOR® who wants to get to know you? Call The Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today!

Great news for first time home buyers!

Effective February 19, 2014, the Property Transfer Tax exemption threshold under the First Time Home Buyers’ Program is increased to $475,000 from $425,000, with the partial exemption/phase out applying between $475,000 and $500,000. Call more information The Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today!!

Every month the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) does a survey to get a better understanding of buyers. Below is a summary of the survey that shows what types of properties are being bought, the family dynamic of buyers and where the buyers are coming from. If you have any questions about this survey or any other Kelowna real estate stats, call The Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group!

Property Type:

26.4% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers  (up from 25.4% in December) *
20.8% by First Time Buyers  (up from 20.1%) *
14.4% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit  (up from 11.9%) *
8.0% buying Recreation Property  (up from 7.5%)
6.4% buying Revenue/Investment Property  (down from 8.2%) 
6.4% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home  (up from 5.2%) *
4.0% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community  (down from 4.5%)

* During the month of January, there was an increase in purchases by Move-up and First-time buyers, and those moving to single family homes from strata, and from single family to retirement communities.  

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):

23.7% Empty Nester/Retired (up from 16.4% in December) ** 
20.7% Two Parent Family/Children (down from 31.3%) 
19.3% Couple without Children (down from 28.4%)
17.0% Single Female (up from 11.9%) **
14.1% Single Male (up from 9.7%) **
6.7% Single Parent with Children (up from 3.0%) **

** There were more purchases by empty nesters/retirees, singles, and single parents with children in January compared to the previous month.

Moving From: 

60.3% from Within OMREB Board Area  (down from 66.2% in December) 
13.2% from Alberta (down from 14.0%)
11.0% from Other Areas in BC  (up from 5.1%) ***
6.8% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island  (up from 6.6%) ***
4.4% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba (up from 2.2%) ***
2.2% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes (down from 2.9%)
1.5% from Outside Canada  (down from 2.9%)
0.7% from NWT/Yukon (up from 0%) ***

*** Compared to December, fewer buyers moved from within the Board area, Alberta, Eastern Canada and overseas last month, while purchasers from other areas increased.