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! 

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!

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.