The Central Okanagan foreclosure inventory levels continue to show signs of steady increases from month to month in 2011. Buyers ask me all the time if I foresee a huge influx of court ordered sales to the Kelowna real estate market? In my opinion, having watched how the local banks and lenders handle the foreclosure process the answer would have to be...no I don't. Reason being is banks and lenders reluctantly foreclose on homes until it is absolutely necessary (almost as if they hate to lose money or something). The process is very time consuming and very involved so it truly is a last resort for them to exercise!
It is worth noting that offering on a court ordered sale property is not always going to work out for a buyer. I like to remind my buyers that "there really is no guaranteed strategy to pick up foreclosure homes at greatly reduced prices." I would suggest having a budget and sticking to it when it comes to placing an offer on a foreclosure home in order to avoid the idea of outbidding other interested parties just to be able to say that "you won"! I call this the Ebay mentalitily wanting to beat out all other competing offers and then coming to the realization that you spent way more on the home than you really wanted to.
Foreclosure homes now in the $500,000 or less range are the most sought after and competed for homes in the courts. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of understanding the foreclosure process and how the BC Court System works prior to placing an offer on one of these types of properties.
There are currently 112 active foreclosures (as of August 27,2011) amongst the entire listing inventory (4,926 properties) for the Central Okanagan. There are currently 66 active foreclosures (as of August 27,2011) amongst the entire listing inventory (2,513 properties) for the North Okanagan.
Active Central Okanagan Foreclosure Inventory Breakdown:
- 8 Lots and Acreages (Ranging in value from $60,000 to $1.595 Million)
- 2 Manufactured Home (Ranging in value from $42,000 & $90,000)
- 52 Strata Properties (Ranging in value from $109,900 to $2.050 Million)
- 50 Single Family Residential (Ranging in value from $155,000 to $2.999 Million)
Sold Foreclosure Properties for August 2011 to date:
- A total of 11 stratified condo sales ranging in value from $141,000 to $385,000 with total days on market ranging from 1 day to 272 days.
- A total of 5 residential home sales ranging in value from $320,100 to $461,550 with total days on market ranging from 67 to 206 days.
If you would like more information on the how Court Ordered Sales and the foreclosure process works in Kelowna, West Kelowna and the Central/North Okanagan please call or text me at (250) 808-7700 or email:jason.neumann@century21.ca
Sincerely,
Jason Neumann