The City of Kelowna Council heard Staff recommendations yesterday for moving forward with new Short Term Rental By-Laws, as the number of Short Term rentals in the City has been rising.

The new regulations are aimed at balancing the demand for short-term rentals as tourists visit the City, with the need to protect for long-term rentals and limit impacts on neighbouring properties.

The goal is to provide clarity on how short-term rentals can operate.

Short-term rental accommodation will be defined as a new use, with more specific regulations associated with it, and introduce it as a principal or secondary use in the appropriate zones. The amendments also remove the ‘apartment hotels’ use from the Zoning Bylaw.

Here is a snapshot of some of the proposals-:

The Public Hearing is set for 6 p.m. March 12th, 2019, and is expected to come into force later in the Spring.

If you do currently undertake Short Term Rentals, you will need to have a Licence, and there...

Why Read this Article?

Are you an Investor looking to purchase a Condo near UBCO or a Parent who has a Student about to attend UBCO Kelowna in the next year?

This article is designed to give you all the information and thought processes you will need to complete a successful purchase.

What do I need to do first?

As soon as you decide this is something you 'might' want to do, familiarise yourself with the UBCO Real Estate Market.

Give me a call, or send me an email, to set you up on an email search. You can then see what is available in the current listing and recent selling prices.

Which areas should I look at in Kelowna?

In the past, areas which are within walking distance of UBCO or on a good transit service have been the most popular with students to buy or rent.

There are 4 main areas that are in this category -:

U-District (Academy Way) & Quail Ridge - both within walking distance of the University.

On good Transit routes - North Glenmore & Rutland.

U District...

I decided to look at a snapshot of current building underway, what type of housing is being built and how it is being absorbed to check whether there are any signs of sectors becoming over-built in the Kelowna Real Estate Market as we saw in the past.

Seasonally Adjusted Housing Starts December 2018

After a rapid rise in housing starts appear to be easing off for now.

More Townhomes appear to be being built compared to last year.

As you can see there are a significant number of Condos being built, as there is much building work in Water Street, Ellis, Bernard, and St Paul area, for example.

This downtown area will be one to watch. Potentially, if demand doesn't increase over the next 12 months, we may well see some evidence of over-supply later in the year.

Kelowna Rental Market

As you can see, Vacancy Rates are still quite low.

I was interested to see the Average Rents that CMHC are quoting.

In speaking to many Clients, who are Landlords, the rents...

For those of you who have not read one of my Quail Ridge / University Real Estate Blogs before, my name is Trish Cenci, and I am a Real Estate Agent in Kelowna, who specializes in buying and selling Real Estate in the Quail Ridge and University District of Kelowna.

This post is my annual report on what has happened in this area of the Market during the last year and some of my predictions for 2019.

Total Quail Ridge / University District Real Estate Sales for 2018

After 2 'banner' years of Real Estate Sales in the Kelowna area, there was a 36% fall in Quail Ridge / University MLS® Residential Real Estate sales in 2018.

Interestingly, sales of Single-Family Homes increased, but Condo sales fell 29% and Townhomes a whopping 93%!

Single Family Homes

Of the 24 sales in the Quail Ridge / University area, 17 were under $800,000, which represented great value, compared to some other areas of the City and contributed to the areas increase in sales numbers.

We continued to see a shift...

What's happening in the Kelowna Real Estate Market seems to be high on the 'Dinner Table' conversation list again!

The Market was definitely slower during June and the number of sales certainly reflects that, but when you look at average sale prices, prices are still rising.

Only this last week I found myself in 2 multiple offer situations in the 'more affordable' condo market, so my Buyer didn't think things were slowing down!!

Kelowna Real Estate Sales June 2018

Kelowna Real Estate sales numbers were both down on last month and well down on this time last year.

Totals sales are down 22.3%. Single Family Homes sales are down 15.3%, Strata Sales 22.6%, Manufactured Homes 12.9% and Lots down 62.7%.

Total inventory is also rising. It currently stands at 3245 units up 21.58% from...