The latest Buyers Survey Results have now been published for the Kelowna Real Estate Market and Central Okanagan Area for April 2019.

Points of interest this month -:

- 61.37% of Buyers were local compared to 56.2% in April 2018.

- 15.07% of Buyers came from the Lower Mainland compared to 20.2% April 2018 - highlighting the effects of the dip in their Real Estate Markets.

- 9.59% of Buyers came from Alberta, which was up from 9.1% last year.

Here is the full summary below.

Overview Property Type:

23.48% First Time Purchase (down from 24.00% in March)

19.61% Move Up Purchase (up from 19.11%)

16.85% Relocating to Similar Property Type (up from 15.56%)

8.29% Revenue/Investment (up from 8.00%)

15.75% Downsizing (up from 14.67%)

5.52% Moving from Single-family Home to Strata Unit (up from 4.89%)

2.76% Moving from Strata Property to Single Family Home (up from 2.67%)

5.25% Recreational Property (up from 4.89%)

2.49% Retirement Home/Seniors Community (up from 0.89%)

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 6,652 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April, a decline of 18.9 per cent from the same month last year.

The average MLS® residential price in the province was $685,304, a decline of 6.2 per cent from April 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $4.6 billion, a 23.9 per cent decline from the same month last year.

“BC home sales were essentially unchanged from March on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said BCREA Chief Economist Cameron Muir. “Prospective home buyers continue to grapple with the decline in their purchasing power caused by federal government changes to mortgage policy.” Total MLS® residential active listings increased 33.6 per cent to 38,672 units compared to the same month last year. The ratio of sales to active residential listings declined from 28.4 per cent to 17.2 per cent over the same period.

Year-to-date, BC residential...

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...