Apartment Sales on the Rise
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Kelowna Market Update

Good news for Kelowna and area. April was a strong month for apartment style unit sales which were up 23.53% last month over previous year with 63 sales reported in 2012 vs 51 last year. Year-To-Date apartment sales are up 18.09% with 235 units sold this year in comparison to the 199 sold last year. This is great news for our strata/condominium market as we currently have 899 apartment units on the market representing 15.5 months of inventory based on 2012 monthly YTD unit sales levels.

We have more activity in all price ranges. People feel more optimistic, are ready to go forward and move into more suitable accommodation. Many times it is about the family, children and grandchildren as well as job situations. In the March buyer’s survey from our local real estate board, we see it very clear. Last month 63% moved within the area, 13% came from Alberta and 20% came from the lower mainland and the rest of BC.

MARCH SURVEY SUMMARY
Property Type:
28.7% Of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers
21.3% By First Time Buyers
12.4% Buying Revenue/Investment Property
9.6% Moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit
5.6% Recreation Property Buyers
3.9% Moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community
3.4% Moving from Strata property to Single Family Home

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):
30.9% Couple without children
18.2% Two parent family/children
17.1% Empty Nesters/Retired
14.9% Single Male
13.8% Single Female
6.1% Single Parent with Children

Moving From:
63.0% from Within OMREB Board Area
12.7% from Alberta
10.5% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island
9.4% from Other Areas in BC
2.2% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba
1.7% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes
0.6% from NWT/Yukon (seventh month reported)
0% from Outside Canada

Kelowna And Area Single Family Dwellings (SFD) Activity
Sales in the Single Family Dwellings (SFD) improved and reached 179 in April which is 12% above 2011, but is 19% below our 20 year average which is 220 sales.
Listings show a slight decrease to a total of 1,579 which is 3% lower than last year’s April and 8% below 2009 but way above the middle 2000s which were around the 700 mark.
Percentage of Listings vs Sales. We are showing some improvement, but we are still clearly in a buyer’s market at 11.3% of the listing inventory selling, or 9 months of inventory, but above last year of only 9.2% selling. The number of months of inventory stood at 5.7 at the end of March on a national basis or about 20%, compared to Calgary where 35% is selling in a month meaning supply is under 3 months.
Average Price Holding Steady. The average price here in Kelowna was $482,093 last month which is very similar to last year April. The national average home price was down in March from where it stood last year. But home prices are not declining. Confused?
Average prices are affected by changes in the mix of sales, so year-over-year price comparisons can be like looking in a funhouse mirror: distorted.
To illustrate: line up a children’s class by height, calculate the average. Now excuse the ten tallest children and recalculate the average. The average height has declined, but the children did not get shorter.
A year ago, the national average price was pitched up by surging sales activity in some of Vancouver’s priciest neighbourhoods. With activity there having subsequently returned to earth, the average has declined.

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Active Listings: Single Family, Apartments, Townhomes
Number of Sales: Single Family, Apartments, Townhomes
Average Price: Single Family, Apartments, Townhomes

Major Cities Report
Victoria:

Flat Market In April 2012 Maintains Balanced Real Estate In Greater Victoria
Pricing and sales numbers for most categories are essentially the same as in March 2012. The average price for single family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $609,376, down from $640,553 in March which was slightly elevated by two sales over $4 million. The median price, however, rose to $560,000.

   
Vancouver:

Greater Vancouver Housing Market Maintains A Steady Spring Pace
Home sales and listing activity has maintained a consistent pace on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver in recent months, which has helped create balanced conditions for the region’s housing market. April sales were below what is typical for the month, we continue to see, with a sales-to-active listing ratio of nearly 17%, a balanced relationship between buyer demand and seller supply. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,799 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April 2012. This represents a 13.2% decline compared to April 2011 and a decline of 2.6% compared to March 2012. The MLS® HPI benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver currently sits at $683,800, up 3.7% compared to April 2011 and an increase of 2.8% over the last three months. The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower Mainland is $612,000, which is a 3.4% increase compared to April 2011 and a 2.6% increase compared to three months ago.

   
Calgary: A Return To Typical Sales Activity In The Calgary Region
The balance between supply and demand in the single family market has shifted towards sellers territory.The single-family market continues to tighten, with months of supply dropping below three months. Sales growth continues to outpace new-listings activity, placing downward pressure on inventories. As the market tightens, single-family homes are selling quicker, and there has been some upward pressure on pricing. The MLS® Home Price Index for the month of April recorded a year-over-year price increase of 5.5% for a total benchmark price of $449,500. Calgary residential sales total 2,200 for the month, a 26% increase over levels recorded last year.
   
Edmonton: Edmonton Residential Housing Market Sailing On Calm Seas
Residential sales through the Multiple Listing Service® System in April were up 5.3% from the same month last year but below average for April. There were 1,713 residential sales in April as compared to the 5-year average of 1,940 sales. There were 7,334 residential properties available at the end of April which is up 7% from last month. The average price of a single family detached home was $382,384, up 0.9% from the previous month.
   
Toronto:

Market Remains Tight With Sales Up In April
Toronto reported 10,350 transactions through the TorontoMLS system in April 2012. This level of sales was 18% higher than the 8,778 firm deals reported in April 2011. The strongest sales growth was reported in the single-detached market segment, with transactions of this home type up by 22% compared to a year ago. The average price for April 2012 transactions was $517,556 – up 8.5% compared to April 2011. 1,300 homes sold between 1-2Million Dollars year to date and 250 sold over 2 Million so far this year in Toronto and area.

   
Single Family Home Average Price 2009 – 2012

Single Family Home Average Price Graph 2000 - 2008

 

Number of Sold Single Family Dwellings 2009 – 2012

ber of Sold Single Family Dwellings Graph 2005 - 2008

 

Single Family Listing Inventory 2009 – 2012

Single Family Listing Inventory Graph 2005 - 2008

 

Single Family Percentage of Sales to Listing Ratio 2006 – 2012
(Percentage of How Many Listings Sell in a Month)

Single Family Percentage of Sales to Listing Ratio

 
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