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:
25.4% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers  (up from 24.2% in November) *
20.1% by First Time Buyers  (up from 18.2%) *
11.9% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit  (down from 12.6%)
8.2% buying Revenue/Investment Property  (up from 7.6%) *
7.5% buying Recreation Property  (down from 8.1%)
5.2% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home  (up from 3.5%) *
4.5% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community  (down from 6.1%)

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

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):
31.3% Two Parent Family/Children (up from 22.3%) **
28.4% Couple without Children (up from 26.7% in November)**
16.4% Empty Nester/Retired (down from 21.8%) 
11.9% Single Female (down from 12.1%)
9.7% Single Male (down from 13.6%)
3.0% Single Parent with Children (up from 1.5%) **

** There were more purchases by couples without children, two parent families and single parents with children in December compared to the previous month.

Moving From: 
66.2% from Within OMREB Board Area  (up from 55.6% in November) ***
14.0% from Alberta (down from 16.9%)
6.6% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island  (down from 9.2%)
5.1% from Other Areas in BC  (down from 7.7%)
2.9% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes (down from 3.9%)
2.9% from Outside Canada  (same as November)
2.2% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba (down from 3.9%)
0% from NWT/Yukon (same as November)

*** Compared to November, more buyers moved from within the Board area, and purchasers from other areas declined in December.

This information was provided by OMREB. Contact The Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today for more information. 

The Bank of Canada once again opted to maintain its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. In its accompanying statement, the Bank highlighted that inflation continues to move below the Bank's 2 per cent target due to significant excess supply in the Canadian economy. It also noted that the risks to inflation appear to be to the downside, meaning it sees the risk of continued below target inflation as a more likely outcome than a rise in inflation. This, along with the Bank's expectation of a "soft landing" in the Canadian housing market, suggest that monetary policy will remain highly accommodative.

The Bank of Canada is currently projecting that excess supply in the Canadian economy will be eliminated sometime in mid-2015. Keeping in mind that the Bank has spent the past several years pushing that date back, if the Canadian economy does accelerate as most expect in 2014, a gradual rise in short-term interest rates will follow. Importantly, an uptick in Canadian economic growth next year will most likely be the result of stronger external demand, particularly from a resurgent United States.  However, stronger growth in the US economy will also put upward pressure on long-term yields, lessening some of the urgency for monetary tightening. For that reason, we expect that eventual Bank of Canada tightening will occur very slowly, beginning with a 25 to 50 basis point increase in the overnight rate in 2015.

Information provided by www.bcrea.bc.ca