April 2014: Kelowna Real Estate Update – Colin Krieg Kelowna Real Estate

April Real Estate Update

Kelowna And Area Single Family Dwellings (SFD) Activity

March 2014 was a record month for number of sales since 2008, but it failed to make it over the 23 year average like we saw in May through December last year. Our inventory is lower and our sales are up which brings us back to a balanced market for single family dwellings with 15.7% of the inventory selling.

Colin participated in his first Ski2Sea race this year. Even with a broken bike chain and missing team members, they had a ton of fun and still pulled it off! Way to go team!

Apartments saw 10% of the listings selling and townhomes came in at 13%. Lots are still low at only 4.5%, which was 24 out of 529 that sold.
Since we know that 25% of our transactions come from Alberta and we also know that Alberta is in a sellers market selling up to 50% of their inventory in a month. We can expect when winter ends in Alberta some people will look at BC for a better lifestyle.

Sales
Sales of Single Family Dwellings (SFD) reached 194 this March which is 26% higher than 154 sales in March 2013 and also the highest March since 2008.

Listings
There are currently 1,233 active listings, which is 17.2% lower than March 2013. This is the lowest inventory in March since 2008 and is reflected in the Percentage of Listings vs. Sales.

Percentage of Listings vs. Sales
15.7% of the listing inventory sold in March, which brings us back into a balanced market. When we look back in history, this was the strongest March since 2008 because the inventory is so much lower now.

Average Price
As expected, the SFD Single Family Dwellings average price for Kelowna corrected itself from the high of $554,729 last month down to the more normal price of $468,514.

Million $ Plus
The MLS system shows that a total of 12 residential sales sold in March over $1 Million (one of which was over $3 Million!). These were: 5 lakefront homes, 2 single family dwellings, 3 acreages and 2 farms.

The greatest compliment we can receive are the referrals from our clients, friends and acquaintances.

Active Listings: Single Family, Apartments, Townhomes

Percentage of Sales to Listing Ratio 2010 – 2014 Single Family
(Percentage of How Many Listings Sell in a Month)

Single Family Percentage of Sales to Listing Ratio

Sold Listings 2011 – 2014 Single Family Dwelling

ber of Sold Single Family Dwellings Graph 2005 - 2008

Listing Inventory 2011 – 2014 Single Family Dwelling

Single Family Listing Inventory Graph 2005 - 2008

Average Price 2011 – 2014 Single Family Dwelling

Single Family Home Average Price Graph 2000 - 2008

Major Cities Report
Victoria:	An Increase of Nearly 20% Year Over Year 575 properties sold in the month of March 2014, compared to 483 in March 2013 – an increase of nearly 20% year over year. However, the average sales for the month of March over the past five years is 607 properties per month, so allhough 2014 is stronger than the year previous, sales have not yet returned to the longer term average. Sales to Active Listings Ratio is at 18%

Vancouver:	Home Sale and Listing Activity Continue to Chart Steady Path for Region’s Housing Market March home sales in Greater Vancouver outpaced last year’s total yet lagged the region’s historical average for the month. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,641 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March 2014. This represents a 12.5% increase compared to the 2,347 sales recorded in March 2013, and a 4.4% increase compared to the 2,530 sales in February 2014. Last month’s sales were 17.2% below the 10-year sales average for March of 3,190. The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 18.2 % in Greater Vancouver, which is unchanged from last month. The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $615,200. This represents a 3.7% increase compared to March 2013

Calgary:	Conditions Continue To Favour the Seller New listings remain below expectations in the single family sector. Single family sales at the end of the first quarter totalled 3,901 units, a 9.5% increase over the same period last year. Meanwhile, the amount of new listings declined by nearly 5%. Persistently tight market conditions prevented any relief in terms of price gains. The unadjusted single family benchmark price totalled $490,600 in March, a 9.9% increase over the previous year and monthly increase of 1.6%.

Edmonton:	Housing Prices in First Quarter Rise in Active Local Market Sales of all types of residential properties in the first quarter in the Edmonton CMA were up 5.8% as compared to the same period in 2013. Single family detached (SFD) sales were up 5.1% while condo sales rose a staggering 11.0% in the first quarter. Overall, month-over-month average sale prices were stable. The all-residential price moved down less than half of 1% from $363,281 to $361,870. SFD average prices were also down fractionally from $433,205 to $432,458 and condos saw price increases of 3.6% from $238,376 to $247,005 on average. Duplex/row house prices were down from $338,024 in February to $331,038 in March.

Toronto:	Sales and Average Price Up in March Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported strong year-over-year increases in TorontoMLS home sales and the average selling price in March 2014. Home ownership affordability, backstopped by low borrowing costs, continued to be a key factor underlying this growth. A total of 8,081 sales were reported in March 2014 – up by 7.2% in comparison to March 2013. Sales growth was much stronger in March compared to the first two months of the first quarter. Sales for Q1 as a whole were up by3% compared to the first three months of 2013.

Featured Property

Walking Distance to Shopping, Parks & Trails
4 Bedrooms | 3 Baths | 2,142 sqft | Built 1992 116-1855 Leckie Rd
Across from Mission Creek Park
$279,800

Incomparable end unit on quiet side of welcoming family complex developed on 3 levels. Boasts new kitchen counter-tops, upgraded cabinetry, new faux wood blinds, new hot water tank & newer carpets. 4th bedrm up has own balcony-no closet. Massive livingrm with vault ceilings & sliding glass door. Master bedrm & lower level bedrm have walk-in closets. Patio & private part fenced yard with garden add to the uniqueness of this home. Small pets OK. Across from Mission Creek Greenway and short walk to Mall.
More pictures and information here.

250-868-8000 info@wolfhomes.com RE/MAX Kelowna #100 – 1553 Harvey Av. Kelowna, BC, V1Y 6G1
Each Office Independently Owned and Operated.