Kelowna Market Update


Great news! We are happy to report that what looked like the slowest year in the 20 year history for Kelowna, sales for single family dwellings started to turn around slowly in the summer and did gain more speed in September and November. Year to date sales are now on par with 2010. We hope these improvements will continue and are looking forward to a strong spring.

Only 4 homes sold over $1 Million in November but in total we noticed good activity this year in the over Million Dollar market.

Our average price for the year will come in in the mid $400,000 range which will be similar to 2009 but below 2010, 2008 and 2007. Looking forward, we anticipate continued stability as we move into 2012. It’s important to look at price changes over several months and years to determine what trends are developing as there will always be month-to-month fluctuations in prices depending on what properties sell in a given month.

Listing inventory is low which helps to bring the sale–to–listing ratio up. However, the sale-to-listing ratio it is still low, at just under 10% compared to a balanced market at 15 to 20%.

Overall unit sales and sales volumes in the Central Okanagan jumped by 16.7% to 258 units ($98.1 million) compared to 221 ($76.9 million) November 2010, and were down 6.6% compared to the 277 units sold in October. Total residential sales improved by 19.9% to 236 units compared to 197 sold last November, and were down 6.7% from 253 in October. Single family home sales of 124 units rose 12.7% compared to 110 last year, but remained the same as this October (125). November’s inventory of 4,475 units was up 3.1% compared to 4,339 in 2010, and single family homes are up 1% from last November.

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RE/MAX Market Report
Balanced conditions set to return to most Canadian housing markets in 2012, while residential values expected to set new records. Full report here.

This is still a great time to buy real estate!

Remember, Good Deals Are Not Found, They Are Made.

Major Cities Report

Victoria: Real Estate Activity Stable In November
482 homes and other properties sold last month which was higher than in November of last year and showed little change from October. The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $592,034. 11 single family homes sold over $1 million in November including one for over $6 million in Oak Bay.

Vancouver: Historically Normal Activity Keeps The Greater Vancouver Housing Market in a Balanced State
Residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 2,360 in November. This represents a 5.9% decline compared to the 2,509 sales in November 2010 and a 1.9% increase compared to the 2,317 sales recorded in October 2011. The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 7.2% to $622,087 in November 2011 from $580,080 in November 2010. Since reaching a peak in June of $630,921, the benchmark price for all residential properties in the region has declined 1.4%. Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in November 2011 reached 916, a decrease of 12.8% from the 1,050 detached sales recorded in November 2010, and a 21.3% decrease from the 1,164 units sold in November 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.4% from November 2010 to $890,204.

Calgary: Housing Sales Trending Up
Stable Pricing Is Providing Opportunity For Buyers. Calgary residential sales in November increased 8% over last year. The year to-date sales totaled 12,464, this signifies a 10% increase over last year. The year-to-date average price of single family homes were a respective $467,140. Overall, prices remain relatively flat compared to last year.

Edmonton: Stable Market With Few Surprises
There were no surprises in the month-end Multiple Listing Service® sales figures for the month of November released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton today. The all-residential average* sales price of $321,135 was up less than 1% from last month and last November. Single family detached homes sold on average for $365,734 which is marginally higher than last November and last month.

Toronto: Healthy Fall Market Continues In November
Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,092 residential transactions through the TorontoMLS® system in November – up 11% in comparison to November 2010. At the same time, the number of new listings was up by 14% in comparison to last year. The average price for November transactions was $480,421, representing an increase of almost 10% in comparison to $437,494 in November 2010.