What You Don't Know About Kelowna Real Estate

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Welcome to our final video blog of 2014! It's been a fantastic year for real estate in Kelowna and we're looking forward to yet another great year in 2015! Today, we continue to answer the questions many of you have sent us recently.

What are some of the up-and-coming Kelowna neighborhoods in 2015?

The answer to this question comes from a magazine I subscribe to called Canadian Real Estate Wealth. According to them, Downtown Westbank is poised to be the best area to invest in come 2015. The reason for this is the revitalization of downtown, which is going to completely change how that area is perceived and, of course, the value of those properties. Whether it takes a year or five years for the revitalization plan to be executed, anything in or around that area represents great value.

Why don't more clients take advantage of the home renovation plan?

This is a really great question because I think this plan could help a lot of people. If you have 10% to put down on a home you're moving into, you can apply to have the bank put down an additional 10% for uses such as new kitchens, bathrooms, finishing a basement - anything that adds value. All you need is 10% of the property's value when you buy and the bank will finance renovations that will ultimately add tons of value to your property. If you can scrape together enough money for that down payment and still want to renovate, this is a fantastic option.

When doing a property flip, do you hire out the renovations or do them yourself?

This might be because I'm completely useless with a hammer, but I always believe you should hire professionals to do your home renovations. For one, you don't really end up saving a lot of money because if the job is not a 10 out of 10, it's going to cost more money in the long run once you go to sell it. Additionally, doing it yourself can take three or four months, whereas a professional contractor could probably get the same job done in two or three weeks! Lastly, while working on home renovations yourself, you're costing yourself money by taking time away from work!

We want to thank Leigh, Mike Huber, and Andrew for the fantastic questions! If you would like to discuss these topics in more detail, or have questions of your own, don't hesitate to reach out. I would love to hear from you and make sure all of your questions are answered! 

Are You REALLY Ready to Buy?

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

At Vantage West, we take your questions and concerns very seriously. Today, we're going to continue answering some of the questions you have sent in:

Rob asks: Where are the buyers coming from right now?

Right now, 50% of all the transactions that take place are happening from people inside of our borders, locals moving from one property to another. The next big chunk of the market is Albertans, who represent about 25% of the sales. The next big chunk is the Northern British Columbia component - these are our resource workers who can live anywhere, but choose to live here because of the direct flights up to Fort McMurry. The other 10% to 15% of buyers are spread out between people from all over Canada, as well as international movers.

Randy asks: How can I increase my chances of getting multiple offers when selling my home? If I'm successful, how can I give myself enough time to review all the offers?
It's very common to see multiple offer situations in our current market. What we're doing to give that a higher chance of happening is setting a perfect price from the start. Then, we wait about a week before hitting the MLS to get pent-up demand for the property. We get really good pictures and staging before waiting to show it. Once the weekend hits, we use it as the first opportunity to show the home. Once we have that pent-up demand and people are starting to talk about making an offer, we let everyone know that we're not accepting offers until Monday night. This strategy creates an auction effect, making sure everyone has a chance to get an offer in and, usually, pushing the sales price above the original asking price.

Dan asks: Where do I find a complete list of distressed properties?

Going back to 2009 through 2011, there was a huge list of distressed properties, often with 150 or more homes for sale. That list has shrunk to about a third of that size, but we still have a great list of foreclosures, distressed sales, estate sales, and other great deals. If you would like a copy of that list, we could set you up to get automatically notified each time a new distressed property hits the market. If that's something you're interested in, just drop us a line - we would be happy to set you up on that.

If you need anything or have any other questions, keep them coming. I'm going to keep answering them here on our video blog, so you can make informed decisions in our marketplace. Thanks for the great questions, and let us know what we can do to help you maximize your real estate experience!

What Are the Most Pressing Questions in Real Estate?

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Recently, we sent out an email requesting you to send us a real estate question you've had on your mind. The response was fantastic, so today we'll answer some of the more pressing ones.

You offered to buy my house if it doesn't sell in 29 days - how do you set the price? Am I going to lose money?
This is a great question. Our 29-day sale guarantee starts with an appraisal and we set the price at the market value the appraiser gives us. We are confident that the combination of the right price and our state-of-the-art marketing will get your home sold. If it doesn't, we'll buy it at its appraised value.

What is the state of the market?
We get this question more than any other, and the answer changes along with the market. We're six years from the 2008 market crash and yet prices have not returned to 2007 levels. It helps to think about market cycles: from 2008 to 2012 we were in a recession, or a slump. From the end of 2012 until now, we've been in recovery mode. After this phase there will be a boom. What we're starting to see is an incremental price increase - in the last year, we've seen an appreciation rate of about 5%-6% and we expect to see an appreciation rate of about 6%-7% next year. When looking at the market from this vantage point, you can expect a booming market by the end of next year or the beginning of 2016. That's when we'll see 2007 prices again!

Is there an industry-wide consensus on how much longer rates will remain this low?
As I'm sure you're aware, interest rates have been at all-time lows for the last couple of years. The Bank of Canada meets about eight times a year to discuss many things, interest rates among them, and their next meeting is December 3. It's within the realm of possibility that interest rates will go up after the next meeting. Typically, they look at economic indicators to see whether it's safe to raise rates, and our market seems to be doing quite well right now. If rates rise even a quarter of a point, it could cost you. If you have a $400,000 home with an 80% mortgage, going from 3% to 3.25% would change your payment by roughly $40. That wouldn't much affect you if you have a fixed rate, but it will greatly affect those looking to purchase a home. That quarter of a point rise will cost the buyer as much $10,000 in spending power!


We're here to keep you in the loop, so you can make smart real estate moves when the time comes. If you would like more information on the topics covered today, or have another question you would like us to answer, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us an email. We would be pleased to assist you!

How we helped Andre with his real estate needs with our great follow up

"We were working with Jeff from Vantage West Realty and I thought that the whole experience was very good. We had heard about him because he sold a house to my son and then he came to us with a deal. We decided to go for it and ended up taking the bid out of 7 so we got great results. He represented us through the situation and he really followed up with things that I needed to know about the purchase. Even after the deal, we’re going to grab lunch next week which I think is pretty cool!"

-Andre DeZwaan, Home Buyer

How we helped Andrew with his real estate needs by going above and beyond

"Everything was so fantastic! They really bent over backwards to provide for me and I couldn’t have asked for a better Realtor! He would come and pick me up and take me to whatever property I was interested in, if it wasn’t what I thought we would go around the surrounding areas and totally exhaust it before we gave up. He really just went above and beyond!"

-Andrew Buchanan, Home Buyer

How we helped Dawson with his real estate transaction by keeping him up to date

"We had a good experience. My house was sold quickly so I was pretty happy about it. They let me know every time there was a showing and it was all really good!"

-Dawson Carlson, Home Seller

How we helped Cody with his real estate needs by being helpful throughout the entire process

"When we walked in we expected to go in and try to do a rent-to-own program but they were able to find us a mortgage broker that was able to help us get a mortgage. They look at our numbers and talked with us about our options and they were just helpful from step 1. I was in Mexico the final week before closing and he really made sure that I had everything done before I left and organized all my paperwork for me while I was out of county. He was always there for us!"

-Cody Lanoue, Home Buyer

When Is the Best Time to Sell Your Home

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Most people associate the great weather, chirping birds, and shining sun of spring with a successful home sale. While it's true your home often looks fantastic during the spring season, it's not necessarily the best time to sell.

The problem with the spring selling season is everyone is putting their homes on the market at that time. This means you're competing with up to five other homeowners at a time, which could force you to price your home tens of thousands of dollars less than you would have otherwise.

In the fall and winter you certainly won't get as many showings, but the showings you do get will be from highly qualified buyers. These buyers are also serious about getting into a home because many of them are trying to get moved and settled before Christmas. Since there are qualified and serious buyers on the market and little competition among sellers, the fall is an ideal time to try to get top dollar for your home.

It's a simple supply and demand type situation. With fewer sellers and a pool of quality buyers, there is higher demand for your home, and that demand will ultimately help you get a higher price for your home. With the market still going strong here in Kelowna, there is no better time to put your home on the market.
If you want to take advantage of these great conditions, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to make your real estate experience a successful one!

How we helped Alan with his real estate needs by being organized and methodical

"Jeff Anderson was my sales representative and he was incredibly organized and methodical in the way he approached the deal. He got his paperwork in on time, as he suggested, and everything went very smoothly!"

-Alan Brown, Home Seller

How we helped Greg sell his home in 2 days by helping them get their home market ready

"Our home sold in 2 days and never even made it to the listings. Vantage West Realty typically has a good pool of clients that are looking for houses and he had 2 clients walk through and the second ended up buying it. It was so quick! They had a stager come through and give me tips to get it showable and market ready so I was very happy about that!"

-Greg Horill, Home Seller

How we helped Kim sell her home in 4 days with our market analysis and pricing

"Our home sold within 4 days of it being formally listed and we had a backup offer 2 days afterwards. They really know what they’re talking about and did a wonderful market analysis. The pricing on the property was great and everything was just a piece of cake! We’ll be using him again next year to sell another property we have!"

-Kim East, Home Seller

How we helped Scott with his real estate needs by always being upfront and truthful

"What I liked about working with Vantage West Realty is that they’re always upfront, truthful, and Aj, our agent, would always tell us if he thought it was a good deal or not. It was always consistent and you always know what you’re going to get. Aj communicated well and got back to us in a timely manner."

-Scott Ross, Home Buyer

The Benefits of Rent-to-Own Property

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today, we're at our brand new location with some big news: our old location on Ellis Street will now serve as the storefront of our new rent-to-own division. Many people have asked us, "What is rent-to-own all about?" Today, we answer the question. 

Rent-to-own, when done right, benefits both the buyer and seller. We are the only licensed brokerage that has entered this area of the market.  

It works for people who are thinking about making a move, but bought their home at peak price and don't want to sell it for less than they bought it for. It allows them to price the home into the future, for market appreciation to take the value up to where they need it to be in order to sell it. Rent-to-own is also great if you're looking to rent your home, but are apprehensive about what could happen to your property - vacancies, small deposits in case of damage, bad tenants, etc. In this situation, you're renting to people who will take care of your home like it's their own because eventually it will be. From a selling standpoint, it makes sense - you generate cash flow with your home, you don't have to deal with the hassle of maintenance and management, and you have a solid deposit in your hand.

For buyers, rent-to-own is a great option if you can't afford to buy today because you can address whatever credit problems you might have and still have a place to live. It gives you time to get your credit in good shape and figure out your financial picture so you can buy down the road. It's a great opportunity to crystallize a future home price and get ahead of an inclining market, build equity, and get the feeling and experience of home ownership from the day you move in.

Rent-to-own combines quality buyers who for one reason or another aren't quite ready to make a purchase outright, and sellers who have an economic incentive to rent their home. The horror stories about these kind of properties are typically from situations where unlicensed people are entering into rent-to-own agreements - that's when things tend to go wrong. We pride ourselves on having an airtight, foolproof system to ensure these deals close and everything goes well for both the buyer and the seller.  

Does rent-to-own sound right for you? We'd love to sit down with you and help you decide. In a short consultation, we'll hash out the pros and cons of your specific situation and determine what's right for you. If you have any questions you would like to ask before meeting with us or would simply like some advice on Kelowna real estate, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We're here to make your life a whole lot easier!

Kelowna Real Estate Market Update for Summer 2014

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

It may be hard to believe, but the year is already halfway over. Since we are at the midpoint of 2014, we thought now would be a great time to give you a little market update on what's going on with real estate in Kelowna. We will share a few statistics with you as well as give you some real in-the-trenches information as to where we are today.

• Sales numbers are up. We've had 2,500 sales so far this year. At this point last year, that number was just over 2,000. An increase of 22% in sales over 1 year is a very strong number.

• The amount of listings that have come on the market this year have been lower. The 2,850 homes that have come on the market so far this year are much lower than the over 5,000 listings we saw come on the market at this point in 2013.

• A major indicator of market health is the amount of failed listings, or listings that expire or are withdrawn. Last year we had over 2,000 failed listings in the first 6 months, but this year that number has dwindled to just over 600. That is almost a third of what it was last year.

• For 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom homes in central Kelowna, the average worth last year was $450,000, but this year those homes are worth around $490,000.

• As for 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom homes in west central Kelowna, their average worth last year of $460,000 has jumped up to the high $480,000's.

• This is the peak selling season for the market and we should expect to see prices normalize for the next little while.

If you have been waiting for that little bump in price to sell your home and move up, now is a great time to be a move up buyer. You can take advantage of low interest rates and some of the higher priced homes are priced considerably lower than their peak price in 2008. Feel free to reach us at any time if you have any questions at all about buying or selling a home in Kelowna. We would love to help you out.

Kelowna Real Estate Market Update

There are many great Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at 250-717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Kelowna Real Estate Market Update

As we cruise through the month of May, I wanted to stop by and give you a real estate market update. Here is an “in the trenches” look at what is happening in our market:

• Inventory is very low. We have found that there is only about four months of inventory – if we had six months’ worth of inventory, the market would be considered “balanced.” The market is definitely favoring sellers. As a consequence, we are having trouble setting up showings for buyers – it seems that if we set up 4-5 showings, 3-4 homes have already been sold!


• The Days on Market (DOM) has drastically decreased. Due to low housing inventory, the DOM has dropped from well over 100 days, to less than 60 days. Our office’s DOM is sitting at 27 days!


• Multiple-offer situations. This week alone, we had five multiple-offer situations where homes were selling at or above list price. Although there haven’t been any statistics to show that prices have risen, sellers are still able to obtain a price that they couldn't have gotten a few months back.


• Sustainable growth period. The market may not see numbers from the likes of 2005-07 where we saw 10-20% increases, but the market is finally moving away from the flat prices that it has experienced for the past five years.

If you are thinking about putting your home on the market, please have us out to your property in advance. We can advise you on the little touches, secrets and tips that will maximize the value of your home. 

I am pleasantly surprised by the speed of the market and I know other Realtors in the area are as well! You can expect the strong spring market to keep going!

Thanks and have a great day!

How we help Ron flip houses by providing him with good suggestions

"The Vantage West Realty Group really knows what they’re talking about. They’re sharp, on top of their game, and give good suggestions. You can benefit from my great experience and work with them!"

-Ron Wilde, Home Seller and Buyer

How we helped Mike buy a home that met his criteria with our knowledge of the market

"Nick from Vantage West Realty Group fit the bill perfectly for what I was looking for in a Realtor. He was aggressive and always good for his word. He really knows the real estate industry and can spot a good deal. I would recommend him strongly."

-Mike Bourgeois, Home Buyer

How we helped Mark get a better deal with our Team Approach

"The Vantage West Realty Group’s team effort definitely stood out to me. There were different people carrying out different tasks and it made the whole process very efficient. Work with them and get ready for a positive experience."

-Mark McCullough, Home Buyer

My Team Can Stage Your Home for Maximum ROI in a Sale

There are many Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Payment Calculator so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (250) 717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

How to Maximize the ROI on Your Home

Today I am going to be talking about your return on investment and what that will mean for you. You might have heard me talking about holding a property for extra cash flow, but what I will be focusing on is how you can get the largest return on your biggest investment, which is your primary residence. So, if you're thinking about selling, you owe it to yourself to have us over to your home well in advance of your sale to talk about how we can prepare your property in order to get the highest possible sale price.

We will go through your property room-by-room and give you tips on how to stage each and every room. If you spend $5,000 in the right places, you can get an extra $15,000 dollars on the sale of your property - that's the type of ROI you're going to want to see! So before you pick up a paint brush or call a contractor, have us over so you don't spend any unnecessary time or money.

Buyer trends are always changing, so you should always ask us what would appeal to the most buyers and what would also give you the biggest return for your money. We can help you pick out the right paint color, good tiling, and attractive flooring for your home.

We have a stager that will come to your home and give you a list of things to do to market your home better. For things that are out of your DIY range, we have a great contractor to refer to you for quality repairs at a good price.

So, if you want to put your home on the market here in Kelowna, be sure to give me a call because I can form a strategy that will allow your home to look great and also get you top dollar on your property.

Please consider sitting down with us and discussing how we can make this happen. Also, if you are looking to buy or sell in Kelowna, give us a call because we are more than willing to help you out.

How to Price Your Home to Get Top Dollar

There are many Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Payment Calculator so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (250) 717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Pricing Correctly Counts...

If you've ever been a client of mine, you know how absolutely important I think it is to price your home correctly right out of the gate. I'm going to go over a few different reasons why I think this is absolutely critical for getting a high sale price on your home.

1. The Quicker You Sell, the More $$$ You Get: The first two weeks that your home is on the market are by far the most critical period for getting top dollar. Some realtors will tell you that for every day your property is on the market after these two weeks, you could be losing money on your home every day. Buyers will see that your home has not sold, and begin to wonder why. This will cause them to question the value of your home. 
2. Buyers Shop for Best Value: Buyers will shop around to find the best value for a home, just like they will for any other commodity. If you price your home too high, then you will be aiding the other more attractively priced homes to sell. Don't sell other peoples' homes!
3. Appraisals Can Hurt You: If a buyer likes your home and then has a bank do an appraisal and the appraiser finds your home's value lower than what you're selling it for, then that can be a major problem. What I recommend you to do is to have an appraisal done prior to listing your home. There are three reasons why you should do this:
• It's a Marketing Tool: If you list your home lower than what the appraisal value is, then buyers will know they are getting a great deal and they will swarm to your property.
• It's a Negotiating Tool: Having an appraisal to refer to during the closing period will help to protect your equity.
• An Insurance Policy: Getting your own appraisal done will ensure that your home does not run into any problems when a buyer has a bank do an appraisal on the property. You can reference your own appraisal and defend your asking price without question.

Ultimately the decision of where to price your home is up to you. My job as a realtor is to facilitate the market. Thanks to technology, I can do it better than ever before. I can track the market's response to your listed property in real-time, and this allows me to see how many realtors sent the listing to clients, and how many of those clients responded positively to the listing. This allows me to stay way ahead of the ballgame and I can make any adjustments necessary to prevent your listing from going stale.

I just want everyone to know that they should not be adopting the old school method of asking a high price and then going lower until offers are made. As we know, the longer you are on the market, the weaker your negotiating position is.

Hopefully this information has been helpful to you. As always, if you need any assistance with buying or selling real estate in Kelowna, feel free to contact me at (250) 717-3133 or email me at info@vantagewestrealty.com

Inaugural Blog / Market Update for Kelowna Real Estate in 2014

There are many Kelowna area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Payment Calculator so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (250) 717-3133 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Inaugural Blog / Market Update for Kelowna Real Estate in 2014

Hello everyone and welcome to my first video blog. I'll be updating you every two weeks to present pertinent information about the real estate market in order for you to make more educated choices about buying, selling, or investing. I'm here to help you, and I appreciate you watching.

What to Expect in the Kelowna Real Estate Market for 2014....

• 2013 proved to be a year of recovery for our market, but it was part of a larger cycle of real estate.

• boom time (which occurred from 2004-2008), slump (what we just experienced in 2008-2012), and then recovery, which began right around the fall of 2012. Each of these cycles take about 4 years.

• What does our current recovery look like? To start, sales have increased 15% since last year, and sales were up 45% this December compared to last December.

• Inventory has shrunk by about 15%. This combination of high demand and low(er) supply will start to make home prices rise, but not like anything that we saw in 2007.

• Interest Rates: Surprisingly, interest rates have dropped from 3.59% to 3.09%. This will contribute to the buying temperature and also to a more stable, balanced market.

• Inventory is at healthy 5 month supply, but don't expect multiple offers or high prices right now.

My Predictions for 2014: The Same as 2013, but More Pronounced

• Inventory will continue to shrink.

• Sales will keep going up.

• Properties will appreciate anywhere from 2-5%, which would be the first time in 5 years that that has happened.

Overall I'm really confident about 2014. I think this will be a good year to own and invest in Kelowna real estate. Thanks again for watching my first video blog, but stay tuned because there will be much more to come!

Feel free to contact me with any questions at (250) 717-3133 or email me at info@vantagewestrealty.com