Kelowna Market Update



Incredible change in the million dollar and over sales.

18 properties sold in July 2011 for over $1 Million dollars. That is 5.2% of all sales that month and July is historically a slower month of the year. Here is how it compares to the rest of the years:

36 properties over $1 Million sold in the first half of 2011 which is 1.9% of the total sales. The most sales ever in one year was in 2007 with 170 properties changing hands over $1 Mill which was 2.7% of total sales. In year 2000 only 9 properties were sold over $1 Mill all year.

Click here to see an illustrated graph.

The activity in the million dollars plus market pushed our average price up to $490,364 which is still 3.85% under last year’s July. Now, if we look at the median we can see that prices did not rise yet; 2011: $434,000 compared to last year at $452,000 or 4% under.

70% of all the deals are under $500,000. The total sales activity did not do very well. Only 136 SFD (Single Family Dwellings) sold in July. In the last 20 years, July has had an average of 200 sales per month. That makes July 2011 the second slowest month after July 2010. Only 7.8% of the 1,742 homes available sold. Townhomes came in best at 9.7% of the inventory selling, Apartments at 7.6% and the lowest is still Lots at only 4% of the inventory selling in July.

We were involved in double offers again last month, which shows us the buyers are out there and right priced properties are getting the action.

This is a great time to buy real estate!

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

Major Cities Report


Victoria: Real estate sales and prices soften in July

A total of 523 homes and other properties sold in July through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), down from 618 sales in June but very close to the 527 sales in July of last year. Overall prices, meantime, declined somewhat across all major property types. The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $581,117, down from $629,292 in June. There were 13 single family home sales of over $1 million in July including two on the Gulf Islands.

Vancouver: Active home sellers bring greater selection to the Greater Vancouver housing market

While the balance between home buyer and seller activity remains in an equilibrium range in the Greater Vancouver housing market, last month’s home sales total was below the 10-year average for July. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,097 in July. This represents a 23.2 % increase compared to July 2010. Last month’s new listing total was 8.6 % higher than the 10-year average for July, while residential sales were 17.3 % below the ten-year average for sales in July. The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 9.2% to $630,251 in July 2011 from $577,074 in July 2010. Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in July 2011 reached 1,099, an increase of 21% from the 908 detached sales recorded in July 2010, and a 31.9 % decrease from the 1,614 units sold in July 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 13.3 % from July 2010 to $898,886.

Calgary: Market improvements driven by clients looking for value

Residential sales continue to trend towards recovery. After the first seven months of the year, single family and condominium sales totaled 11,798, a 5% increase over the previous year. While the improvements signal market recovery, overall sales levels remain 17% below the 10-year average for this period. The average price of single family homes in July 2011 was $455,849.

Edmonton: Local housing market continues upward trend

Residential sales in July were 1,441 up 3.6% compared to the same time last year. Single family home prices increased 1.3% while condo prices rose 4.3% during the month. The average price of a single family detached home in July was $384,656 with a median price of $360,000.

Toronto:July sales and average price up compared to 2010

Greater Toronto REALTORS reported 7,922 transactions through the Toronto MLS® system in July 2011, representing a 23 % increase over July 2010. The average selling price in July was $459,122 – up by almost 10% compared to the July 2010 average of $418,675.