A day in the life of a Kelowna Real Estate Agent

Moved to KelownaHome.com

2010-03-17T15:42:00.000-07:00

I've recently updated my web page and have incorporated my blog into it. Please check it out at www.kelownahome.com
"A day in the life of a Kelowna REALTOR" blog button can be found there!
Thanks so much for visiting here and don't forget to check up on me from time to time... and of course for everything to do with Kelowna real estate!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Big White real estate

2010-03-05T16:39:00.000-08:00

I had an appointment to show some real estate at Big White yesterday. There have been 74 sales so far this this season compared to 32 last. The real estate market took quite a hit there, with some saying they lost up to 25% of the value it was prior to this latest recession. Having said that, the buyers are out there taking advantage of the fall in prices. I spoke with a number of realtors who work predominantly at Big White and am told that most buyers are local.
After working, I was lucky enough to be able to meet some friends for skiing in the. Sunshine, warm temperatures, and snow that was soft! We do live in an amazing place.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Kelowna real estate... the best place to invest

2010-03-03T08:14:00.000-08:00

A Vancouver based company sold luxury townhomes to 2010 Olympic visitors for a total of over $31 million. While I was in Vancouver to catch some of the buzz, I met 6 new people one day on the streets and 3 of them were planning on a visit to Kelowna during their Olympic stay! Upon further inquiry, these people, from different parts of the world were impressed that you could buy a nice 2 bed, 2 bath condo for around $300,000... less than where they were from!
Kelowna and our real estate are becoming international players. Check out my website for more great information about Kelowna, BC !

Talk to you soon...
Paige

Adding value to Kelowna real estate

2010-02-24T19:57:00.000-08:00

We've all heard that kitchen and bath reno's add the most to a home's value, but what about other items's that your real estate requires. There are a few good rules of thumb to follow when doing a renovation or addition with an eye to re-sale:
1) Your goal should ALWAYS be low cost with high impact. Sometimes a quick paint job, de-cluttering and re-arranging furniture can be just as good as a $30,000 kitchen makeover.
2) Never spend more than 5% of the homes original value. For instance if you're purchasing a $500,000 home, keep the budget at $25,000 for those reno's if you're planning on selling within a year or two.
3) Consult a realtor to find out the latest buyer trends. Are people wanting more rooms, smaller yards or vice versa?
4) Remember the market goes up and down regardless of your renovation so you want to keep to a solid time-line for the re-sale target.
Check out my website for the great link to a guide on how much various additions and/or alterations will run you.

Are you thinking of buying rental real estate?

2010-02-17T12:48:00.000-08:00

Some changes surrounding mortgaging property are coming April 19, 2010.
Usually when someone is looking to purchase another piece of real estate, be it a rental, investment, or recreational property, lenders will have different requirements than if your buying your principal residence.
Currently, some buyers would qualify for a 5% down payment on a rental property purchase that would have to be insured by CMHC. The government is mandating a change upwards on that down payment will have to be 20% effective April 19th.
Also rules around re-financing your property will come into effect on the same date. Instead of being able to borrow up to 95% of your equity, that will be bumped down to 90%.
Although these changes are good and designed to assist Canadians to be able to manage their debt load when interest rates go up, it may be an excellent time to really get busy if you're thinking of " buying some more Kelowna real estate!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Whose watching who in Kelowna?

2010-02-11T14:07:00.000-08:00

Google street view has arrived in Kelowna! Will it be a boon for Kelowna real estate or will people feel their privacy has been invaded?
Using your mouse you can cruise down most of Kelowna's streets. Check out this sample video and go for a walk through Whistler, site of the 2010 Olympic games! It's incredible how technology has advanced.
For buyers unfamiliar or brand new to Kelowna, this can be an amazing tool. Check out neighborhoods, schools, shopping areas and more! This can also be a benefit for sellers now that buyers can remotely check out the surrounding area of their home that's for sale.
I had an interesting chat with Don Plant from The Kelowna Daily Courier yesterday and he published an article with a few peoples point of view (including mine!) on this new technology from google.
All in all, I believe these tools, for good or for bad, are here to stay. I'll also say that I'm a teeny bit glad that my neighborhood is not yet on this system! Wait, is that my car being towed?
Talk to you soon...
Paige

View Larger Map

The TOP 10 list for Kelowna real estate

2010-02-02T20:03:00.000-08:00

And now for something completely different... Here`s the top 10 craziest things that have happened to me over the last 24 years of being a real estate agent in Kelowna.

10. My brand new car phone getting zapped by lightening on the 2nd day I owned it.
9. Having my cell phone, stored between my car seats, accidentally dial up a seller who could hear us talking about their house... that we`d just been through.
8. Having to ask a busker to loan me a dime to make a call (before cell phones!). He did, and I paid him back later.
7. Having someone try quite persistently to kiss me during a listing presentation.
6. Sending a text full of love, hugs and kisses to a new client instead of my daughter. Very embarassing mistake.
5. Locking my lock box key INSIDE a house after I had locked it up.
4. Having my slip fall off during a tour of someone`s house.
3. Showing a house to a client who happened to be a police officer, right after the seller had smoked pot.
2. Calling a buyer with a counter-offer, explaining the whole thing, only to be told I had the wrong number.
1. Showing a home at a pre-arranged time, only to get to the master bedroom and realize the sellers forgot about that pre-arranged time, and had come home for a nooner! YIKES.

Talk to you soon...
Paige

The benefits of 2010 Olympics in Kelowna

2010-01-31T18:17:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that the 2010 Winter Olympics start in just 12 days. How do you think Kelowna will fare when it's all over? Increased tourism? More business opportunities? Higher real estate prices?
It seems that everyone has an opinion and those opinions vary widely.
Approximately 5,500 people from over 80 countries will take place in 86 events for which there is an estimated global audience of THREE BILLION people! Thanks to the efforts of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce and the Economic Development Commission our city is prepared to meet and greet whatever comes our way.
I believe that our economy will continue to flourish and grow and that the 2010 Olympics will have an effect on Kelowna and the Okanagan Valley. Only time will tell to what extent.
GO CANADA!!
Talk to you soon...
Paige
PS I saw this very cool video of Vancouver and wanted to share it with you.

Million dollar real estate in Kelowna

2010-01-28T09:04:00.000-08:00

With all the talk about recovery in Kelowna's real estate market its interesting to see that the trickle up effect (see October 15th blog entry) has taken hold over the $1,000,000 mark. For the year between June 08 and June 09 there were a total of 38 sales. Between July 09 and today there have been already 56 sales. I'll be commenting on this trend again as it changes.
On a side note, 2010 is bringing a lot of changes to my career. After a long and successful business partnership, I've decided to grow my business in another direction on my own... and with assistant extraordinaire, Kimberly! I wish Al Boyle success as he winds things down and hope he reaches all his goals in 2010!
I'll keep you posted of changes coming in all my on-line marketing and websites.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Does your real estate reno qualify for the tax credit?

2010-01-24T11:07:00.000-08:00

The Home Renovation Tax Credit, a hugely popular incentive for homeowners to renovate or improve their homes, is set to expire January 31st. More than 4 million Canadians have inquired about this program and time is running out to benefit. On the table is a 15% income tax credit for eligible renovation expense between $1,000 and maxing out at $10,000. In other words each family is able to get a $1,350 reduction in their income tax payable for 2010! These reno’s must have occurred between January 27, 2009 and February 1, 2010. Any supplies/materials must have been purchased and in your possession, and work must be completed by Feb 1st to qualify.
There have been A LOT of people in Kelowna that have taken advantage of this temporary measure to renovate their real estate. It'll be interesting to see the actual numbers.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Real estate and interest rates

2010-01-21T09:18:00.000-08:00

Well the Bank of Canada meeting day came and went with a large sign of relief for most bank rate watchers.
The B of C indicated that they are in no hurry to begin raising it's benchmark rate, at .25%, until later this year, as was originally stated. This means the prime is unchanged and that mortgage lending rates will remain low as they gurgle around, up and down. While predictions for growth are more optimistic than originally stated for 2010 and 2011,the BOC still maintains that economic recovery continues to depend on exceptional fiscal and monetary stimulus. This also translates to the housing market.
The general feeling for Kelowna real estate buyers and sellers is that times are still very good but the end of these historically low rates coupled with low down payments and longer than normal amortization periods may be on the horizon. With this in mind a growing number of people are thinking about getting their homes on the market sooner as opposed to later to capitalize on this mini flurry of activity.
As a side note, to those wondering about how our countries borrowers of mortgage money fare out to our US counterparts... it's interesting to see that over 86% of 40,000 new Canadian mortgage holders in 2009 are in fixed terms and of those 70% are in terms of 5 years or more. Very responsible Canadians!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

New Disclosure Statements for Kelowna real estate

2010-01-18T11:26:00.000-08:00

Each year our forms for buying and selling Kelowna real estate are updated and I see this year there is a new question on the Property Disclosure Statement that sellers would fill out when putting their home up for sale. The question asks if the home has a current "EnerGuide" rating. That's great to see that line of thinking.
People are becoming more and more green in their homes and I think a lot of people don't realize there are substantial rebates and grants available when looking to build and/or upgrade your home. Check out this link for information on how you can get your home rated and apply for some of these grants and rebates.

http://bit.ly/3ttR8a

There is also some other informative links at my Green Kelowna Real Estate Site.

http://www.greenkelownarealestate.com/

We installed geothermal heating when we built and received a rebate of almost $2,000 as well as a rebate close to $1,000 for our "EnerGuide" windows. There really are some great incentives to put green in our real estate! Are you considering going green as an option?
Talk to you soon....
Paige

A change for variable rates for Kelownareal estate?

2010-01-10T14:44:00.000-08:00

My last blog dealt with Finance Minister Jim Flaherty speculating what the federal government might do if real estate prices rise too high and too quickly. This week Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada, is trying to avoid raising bank rates before his U.S. counterpart for fear of further appreciation in the Canadian dollar. For those of us who have variable rate mortgages on our real estate now might be the time to start watching what's going on with interest rates. We all know that we can expect interest rates to rise from their historically low points... the trick is to know exactly when!
A variable rate mortgage or a floating rate mortgage is a loan where the interest rate varies to reflect the base rate of the central bank. The lender must hedge against potential interest rate changes; the borrower benefits if the interest rate falls and loses out if interest rates rise.
Many people, not only in Kelowna, but across the country have benefited for years by having a variable rate and some have opted for the more traditional closed mortgages.
I have a variable rate mortgage and will be watching to see when I think the best time to "lock in" will be. I'll keep you posted. Here's a link to my web page with the full article from the Financial Post on Friday Jan 8, 2010, called " The End of Free Money?"
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Keeping the lid on a Kelowna real estate bubble

2010-01-06T19:48:00.000-08:00

As we've seen for the last several months, Kelowna real estate sales volume and sale prices have recovered in a healthy fashion. This has happened not only in Kelowna but other parts of the country as well.
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty has recently gone on record saying that if prices start to climb too high and too fast, the federal government will put a damper on by increasing minimum down payments and decreasing amortization periods. Right now the minimum down payment for insurable mortgages is 5% and the maximum amortization is 35 years. The Bank of Canada has vowed they will keep lending rates low until at least the middle of this year.
Some will say this is a bad thing. However, if you look at these possible changes and all the ramifications (the biggest being that some people won't get into the real estate market and be over their heads when rates go up, as we know they will) it will actually help contribute to a steady, stable, real estate market for everyone!
Full article: Cure for housing market carries risk

Talk to you soon...
Paige

A fresh start for Kelowna real estate

2010-01-03T11:37:00.000-08:00

Here we are at the beginning of 2010. What will kelowna real estate look like this year? Continued low interest rates, sale prices up, and inventory at a sustainable level could spell a very healthy and balanced real estate market.
I'm hearing from my fellow realtors that there are more and more buyers coming in again from other areas... particularly the lower mainland and Alberta. Also, the number of investors has remained steady, encouraged by low vacancy rates and better prices. First time buyers, who came back to the table in 2009, will continue to enter the market with the possibility of interest rates going up this year. Move up buyers are also busy upgrading their homes. The Olympics will shine a spotlight on our region as well. All in all... Kelowna is an amazing place to live and it's real estate should continue to thrive and prosper in the coming months.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Kelowna lakeshore real estate sales

2009-12-17T20:10:00.000-08:00

So as we wind down 2009... the real estate market in Kelowna has settled down for what we hope to be a healthy balanced market with some slight increases in price for 2010. I had mentioned in a previous entry that I had experienced a flurry of interest from people interested in lakeshore property.
Real estate on any lake is a dream for a lot of people. This year the least expensive lakeshore property sold was a 3500 square foot, gradelevel home that was built in 1987 and needed complete updating. Located on Green Bay Road in the West Kelowna neighborhood of Lakeview Heights, it sold in June for $815,000. At the other end of the spectrum, the most expensive lakeshore property sold in 2009 was a newer 7200 square foot custom built 2 story home with an in-ground pool, deep water moorage, and an oversized boat lift. This sold in July for $4,810,000.
I'm dreaming of winning the lottery tonight!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Growth Predictions in Kelowna for 2010

2009-12-15T08:45:00.000-08:00

Recently Robert Fine, Manager of Economic Development for the Central Okanagan spoke at our Real Estate Board's AGM. Always positive, Robert spoke of BC leading our country in economic growth in 2010 at a predicted rate of 4.3%. Already, employment growth is back to 2007 levels and manufacturing sales to the end of the 3rd quarter this year are up 2.1% over last year.
In the Central Okanagan our unemployment rates have dropped for the last 6 months... being cut in half from 12.3% to 5.6%, well below the 10 year average of 8.5%. There are 17 major projects to the 2nd quarter of 2009 with 89 currently underway for a total of $30 billion dollars being spent in our region! Examples are Kelowna General Hospital Expansion ($433 million), Big White Ski Resort Development ($250 million), University of BC Okanagan additions ($150 million), and Kelowna International Airport expansion ($36 million).
Kelowna and the Central Okanagan are still very attractive on the world stage and with BC leading the growth in Canada, the Olympics are expected to add 1% GDP in the 1st quarter of 2010.
Kelowna real estate is still a "buyers bargain" relative to the UK/European markets and we will continue to see immigration playing a major role in investment here. MLS home sales are increasing in Kelowna and have been for several months while inventory has levelled off creating a stable, balanced real estate market.
Let's look forward to a prosperous 2010!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

A huge thank you to Susan Tough

2009-11-25T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have the greatest job in the world and am so lucky to have GREAT people to work with. The managing broker for Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty, Susan Tough , went above and beyond the call of duty today. I've been dealing with a very finicky purchase... and the problems were multiplying fast and furious. At this very delicate time, I'm getting on a plane and feeling sick about not being able to finish this situation. My clients trust me and were very gracious about me leaving, but I know it must have added to their level of stress. Susan stepped in and on top of a huge job load of her own, grabbed the reins and made everyone including me, very comfortable that she would be able to get the job done. Thank you so much Susan... you can't imagine how much you are appreciated.
Talk to you soon....
Paige

Social Media and Kelowna Real Estate

2009-11-24T08:30:00.000-08:00

One of my 2009 goals was to decide which on-line media I was going to use and to get "plugged in" to it. The learning curve has been daunting, but we pulled off some pretty great stuff thanks again to my "Assistant Extraordinaire", Kimberly. We started with running listing ads on dozens of different sites (i.e. castanet, craigs list, etc.) which grew to many many more. This itself was fascinating. Our ads on castanet got more travel than mls.ca!! From there we tackled Facebook, Twitter, my Blog, and LinkedIn. On these sites we've got groups and different usernames attached. Again, the results were staggering. The traffic flowing through these avenues grew exponentially. I asked Kim one day recently what the current numbers were for the blog. We did a google analytics and it showed that over 100 people had read the blog in the last 10 days and the average stayed to read for approximately 6 minutes. This type of traffic has increased visits to the kelownahome.com web pages where we've noticed that people are reading some of the hundreds of articles about real estate that we've posted there.
When I ask people where they get their real estate information, they all say "on-line". These people I've asked have ranged in age from 20 to 70! These same people tell me that when they do read the paper it's more for entertainment. Interesting...
In theory the on-line advertising is free, but it takes a lot of time and effort. Is it worth it? I say definately!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

How much tax is too much for Kelowna real estate?

2009-11-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

How will the HST affect Kelowna real estate? Information has been trickling in slowly but surely. I think everyone was pretty sure that new housing would not be taxed at 12%... but how much then, and what are the rules and rebates.
When considering real estate and housing, the government must realize that it’s very important to everyone that affordable housing is attainable. HST will be paid out when purchasing a NEW home after July 1, 2010. With the new threshold of $525,000 it would appear that there will be no new additional tax (5% GST will still apply) and that homes over $525,000 will, after rebates, be charged an additional 2%. This move will add even more tax on the heavily taxed process of buying a home.
Consider the example of purchasing a new home for $525,000. There is the property transfer tax currently being paid on every real estate transaction in BC whether the home is new or not. This amounts to 1% up to $200,000 of purchase price and 2% on the balance, or $8,500 for our example home. GST at 5% if the home is new. There’s another $26,250. Currently we pay 5% GST on services like lawyers and real estate agent's. Another $534 for the taxman. Then of course, there’s annual property tax where on the $525,000 home you’d be paying around $2,800. Let’s assume you’re living here and qualify for the homeowners grant of $570 which then makes your annual tax $2,230.
Real estate in Kelowna is a valuable commodity and people realize that. We’ve been lucky to have weathered this last downturn fairly well with moderate price adjustments that have re-ignited people’s ambition of owning property here. However, how much more of a tax burden can we take when you consider that our example of buying “modest and average” home in Kelowna is going to cost an additional $37,514.00!
Do you think we pay too much tax on our housing?

Talk to you soon...
Paige

Hugs and kisses for Kelowna real estate

2009-11-14T14:26:00.000-08:00

Sometimes when something crazy happens you just have to laugh!
I had a referral from a client recently... and when he called me I pulled over to give him my undivided attention. Our call lasted for about 10 minutes during which I received a text saying that my daughter's bus was late and could I pick her up. As soon as I hung up I texted an affectionate note back to my daughter filled with "i love you" and hugs and kisses. You can probably see where this is going...
As soon as I hit "send" I realized I had sent the message to my new client. How completely embarassing!
Onto some real estate... Today I got a GREAT deal for a client. We removed subjects on a condo where I negotiated a price that was $19,000 less than the same unit sold for 3 days earlier. What a feeling!
Hope you're enjoying this fabulous sunshine.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

A day off

2009-11-13T10:59:00.000-08:00

I just came back from a long snowy hike behind my house and ended up on some trails I'd not been on before. From a vantage point up high I could see all of the Glenmore Valley and I was reminded that we are so very lucky to live in such a beautiful city like Kelowna. I kept going and started across an open field where movement caught my eye and a deer jumped out of the grass. I stopped to look and there were 3 more within 5 feet of me. After we all stared at each other for a few moments... I kept going and climbed up another hill that peaked on a ridge overlooking Okanagan Lake.

All of these incredible sites were within about an hour of one another!
I think Kelowna, it's ammenities, it's real estate, and it's population will continue to grow, prosper, and just get better and better!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

The Doughnut Effect in Kelowna Real Estate

2009-11-10T05:42:00.001-08:00

I was at a function called Green Drinks at Doc Willoughby's Thursday and met Dion. We got chatting about being environmentally friendly and eventually ended up on the topic of real estate. He came up with the perfect name for what we experience in Kelowna from time to time with real estate prices and number of sales. The Doughnut Effect! It perfectly describes how as you go farther out from the center of Kelowna (the doughnut hole) the number of sales are fewer and prices are slower to respond to a upward swing. Those hubs, made up of the actual doughnut, tend also to be the first to suffer the effects of downward price movement as we recently experienced. Areas like Lake Country and Glenrosa would be good examples of this. We've got a lack of inventory in the $300-$400,000 range so prices in that range are being squeezed up. Glenrosa and Lake Country are still seeing stagnant sales for the most part. There's some great value out there in those doughnuts!
Talk to you soon...
Paige

October Stats for Kelowna Real Estate are In

2009-11-04T19:34:00.000-08:00

October stats are out and they paint a very good picture for the future of real estate in Kelowna. The market adjustment was minor compared to other parts of the country. Prices are down about 10-15% across the board, interest rates are still historically low, and continued world-wide attention has propped up housing values in Kelowna. After seeing sales drop off considerably they've been steadily marching back with monthly gains in sales and dollar volume.
In October there were 215 residential sales, up from 210 sales last month. Certainly a healthy number compared to the 91 residential sales in October 2008! It's interesting to see that sales for condos and townhouses are up too as the current inventory is absorbed. Apartment sales for October 09 were 73 over last years 34 and townhomes showed 56 sales this October versus a paltry 18 last year at the same time. I talked about increased lakefront real estate activity in early October and it's up an incredible 400% over last year!! OK, seriously, there were 4 sales in October and none last year!
Listing inventory is starting to drop off as it tends to do this time of year. With serious buyers still out there and fewer homes to choose from, this can be a very good time of year to sell! Give me a call at 250-862-6464 if you're thinking about it.
Talk to you soon...
Paige

Dressed up as a Kelowna Real Estate Agent

2009-11-02T18:37:00.000-08:00

Hope everyone had a GREAT Halloween!
A funny thing happened to me on Saturday night. I worked until about 7 o'clock and when I came home the ghosts and goblins were slowly making the long hike up to my front door... but wait, that's another story!
I was still dressed for work and had some flashy jewelry on. I opened the door to this cute little pink fairy who took one look at my jewels and asked me "What are you dressed up as?" I said "a realtor". She looked so adorable as the look on her face went from confusion, to understanding and then a big smile lit up her face and she said "I want to be a realtrice when I grow up too!" You go girl!
Talk to you soon...
Paige