Residential sales throughout the Okanagan Shuswap are up year to date over 2011 and we are right on track for a slow and steady recovery throughout 2012. Favorable interest rates, a strong Canadian dollar, and a strong Alberta economy all contribute…but the main driver behind our recovering real estate market is consumer confidence. Real Estate consumers have different levels of risk tolerance ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on April 23, 2012
The prediction in December of 2011 was that the positive momentum of the last half of 2011 would continue into 2012. That is exactly what is happening in the Okanagan, Shuswap Real Estate market. Year to date “residential” sales are up 10.76 % over the numbers of sales for the same period last year. This is better than we anticipated. We will not see any change in prices for a while but ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on March 29, 2012
It seems that a negative has turned into a positive. Most people, when asked about the state of the country's economy, talk about the world economy. They assume that if some countries in the world are in a downward slide then all countries must be affected negatively.
Fortunately, what's going on in the rest of the world seems to be affecting Canada in a positive way. The Canadian Real Estate Magazine observes ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on March 4, 2012
Here's a release from the BC ministry of finance in regards to the HST transition back to GST. They've greatly enhanced the maximum rebate from $26,250 to $42,500 which should have a positive impact on new home sales... SEE BELOW...
VICTORIA – New housing transition measures give certainty to an important economic sector and help to keep taxes equitable throughout the transition as ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on February 17, 2012
Average Residential Sales
North Okanagan
Central Okanagan
Shuswap
2006
1142
2484
511
2007
1146
2745
594
2008
693
1757
423
2009
825
1910
362
2010
650
1639
299
2011
598 ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on January 27, 2012
A “must have” in your real estate portfolio is cash flow property. Cash flow investing is recession resistant investing. The most secure form of investing is having the income make your payments and pay down the principle. Sophisticated investors love cash flow. Speculators roll the dice and pray the market goes up. Today’s market has produced remarkable ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on January 14, 2012
The Real Estate Market is all about momentum. The trick is to figure out which way the momentum is going and how long it will go that way. The graphs of 2010 and 2011 show that in the Okanagan - Shuswap area, there was a second dip of the recession in the last two quarters of 2010. This was undoubtedly caused by the combined pressures of the change in the lending constraints by the federal finance ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on January 3, 2012
When we examine the stats for October, 2011 the only significant thing about the Real Estate market in the Okanagan /Shuswap, is that there is nothing significant about it. Sales are constant. Prices are fairly constant. Absorption is fairly constant. Interest rates are fairly constant. From my perspective the reason is obvious...there is no one force that changes the market. There are multiple forces ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on December 2, 2011
“I would have never dreamed my house would be worth this much. The prices cannot keep going up. ” This quote was taken from the Vancouver Province in 1954 when a North Vancouver resident sold his house for $13,600. Today, the median price for a Vancouver home is $627,994. Makes you think a bit doesn’t it? Over the long term, will housing prices just keep going up forever? They certainly ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on November 1, 2011
BCREA ECONOMICS NOW
As was universally anticipated, the Bank of Canada opted to hold its target overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning. Ongoing uncertainty in the Euro-zone continues to weigh heavily on the Bank’s outlook. In its statement accompanying the interest rate decision, it was noted that the bank is now projecting a contained Euro-crisis, but also a brief recession in the Euro-area ...
Posted by Joel Ellams
on October 25, 2011