Are you a stylish 55+ and  looking for a great totally up to date condo?  Well, now you’ve found it — best location in Kelowna – close to major shopping, professional services, restaurants, walking trails, theatres and more!!  Panoramic north facing mountain views! 

It’s the perfect layout and size for a single or a couple and is TOTALLY RENOVATED FROM TOP TO BOTTOM!

LISTED AT $222,200 !!   Call me TODAY for a private show — (250) 878-8554.

Retirement made easy!!  This no-step rancher in desirable North Glenmore features 3 bedrooms and 2 baths — lots of room for grandkids here!  With lots of room to play outside too on a quarter acre lot.  This home is close to all amenities — grocery store, professional offices, liquor store & pub and parks/schools and trails. 

NEW PRICE – $498,700!  Don’t wait — it might be too late!

Call me today to view – 250/878-8554.

PRICE REDUCED TO $434,000.

This luxury end unit townhome is a former showhome and thinks it still is!!  It is immaculate, welcoming, has designer decor and upgrades and is a great entertaining space for your colleagues or just the kids in the neighbourhood!  Loads of room for a family to be together or private!  Because you and your busy kids will not have to mow the lawn — you’ll have more time to enjoy spending time with each other! The lower level is just waiting to be a home theatre or maybe your teen has other ideas!  This is a rare offering – don’t miss it!  Call me TODAY to view – 250/878-8554.

SORRY – THIS ONE SOLD IN 23 DAYS!!

This condo is perfection!  Perfect location – close to shopping, parks, university and perfect layout – 2 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 balconies, 2 great views!

It has designer touches and high end upgrades including: hardwood, ceramic tile, maple cabinets, remote controlled ceiling fans, fresh paint and MORE!

This corner suite is flooded with light and offers delightful countryside views from the kitchen and mountain views from the rest!  Located in a quiet area – close to shopping, professional services and a neighbourhood pub! 

Close to UBC-O, this building is 19+ age restricted.  BBQ allowed and the gas line is already installed here!

Don’t wait too long!  For a private showing call Jann Harrison at 250.878-8554.  Get moved in soon to enjoy the long hot Okanagan summer!

ANOTHER GREAT PROPERTY SOLD – ABOVE ASKING PRICE!!

Don’t wait on this one – it won’t last! 

This 2 bed/2 bath condo is located in a 19+ owner-occupied building (no rentals allowed) in Downtown Kelowna.  No car required — you can walk to shopping, nightclubs,  and the beach!!

It’s big, bright, has secure gated parking and a private 200+ square foot patio!  All appliances are included and it is super clean too.

Offered at $193,900 — call me today for a private showing (250) 878-8554.  You will not be disappointed!

(April 18, 2009 CBS Evening News) Two more U.S. banks were taken over by the government overnight. And while a number of this country’s biggest banks reported improving conditions this week, some of their accounting methods have been questioned.One place where none of this banking drama is taking place is Canada, as CBS Evening News weekend anchor Jeff Glor reports.

Ed Clark is a plainspoken, polite and prudent Canadian bank CEO with a few simple rules: “We should never do things for our customers and clients that we don’t actually understand. If you wouldn’t put your mother-in-law in this, don’t put our clients in it.”

You may never have heard of Clark or Toronto Dominion bank (aka TD Bank), but it’s the sixth-largest bank in North America – and, in the middle of a global banking crisis, a profitable one at that.

“We will make more money in this quarter than any bank in North America,” Clark said. “So for a little Canadian bank sitting up here, yeah that feels pretty good.”

How did that come to pass?

“Basically, because we didn’t do the things that blew other banks up,” Clark said.

And neither did TD Banks’s Canadian brethren. In the last quarter of 2008, all of Canada’s major banks were profitable, collectively making $2.5 billion during a period when U.S. banks lost more than $26 billion.

In fact, since the financial crisis began, American taxpayers have provided more than $300 billion dollars to more than 450 companies. During that same period, from their government, Canadian banks have not received one penny.

One reason: Take those infamous subprime mortgages given to risky homebuyers. They crippled banks in the U.S., where at peak, 25 percent of loans were subprime. In Canada? Three percent.

“Our U.S. subsidiaries did not do any subprime lending. Nothing. Zero,” Clark said. “We just said, ‘Stay away from this stuff. We know where this is going.’”

Another villain in the financial crisis were toxic mortgage-backed securities – risky loans that were chopped up and resold in countless different ways. Many banks gobbled up the now virtually worthless investments. Ed Clark got out 4 years ago saying they were just too complex.

Clark: “As soon as you see that complexity, you say, ‘How can I possibly think I actually can guess whether this will work or not?’ And as soon as I hear that, I say, ‘Get out of it.’”

Sherry Cooper spent years at the Fed overseeing Wall Street, before moving to Bay Street, the Canadian equivalent.

“It didn’t take long for me to discover that this is an entirely different culture,” said Cooper, chief economist at the Bank of Montreal. “Canadian banks were up to their ankles in the toxic muck whereas American banks were over there heads.”

“A lot of this is about saying, ‘Here are old banking rules, and we’re prepared to give up short term profit in order to make sure we have a balance sheet that doesn’t blow up on us,’” Clark said.

One reason why Canada is the only industrialized nation in the world without a single bank failure in the current economic downturn.

SORRY, YOU’RE TOO LATE — THIS GREAT FAMILY HOME IS SOLD!!

Here’s the perfect family home waiting for a young family!  Just steps to the best elementary school in West Kelowna!  This home has 3 bedrooms and family room on main, 3 full baths, new custom designed kitchen, fresh paint and flooring, central air, underground sprinkler system and a brand new roof!  Plus, there’s enough extra space on the lower level for a nanny or granny suite! 

Oh, and don’t miss the GORGEOUS lake, city and mountain views! 

Just listed at $469,000 – DON’T MISS THIS ONE, IT WON’T LAST LONG!

Call Jann Harrison TODAY for a private showing — 250.878-8554.

The number one question asked by potential buyers is: when will we reach the bottom of the market?   The answer is always the same: no one knows when the bottom of the market is reached until about four months after the fact, when sales and prices are already rising – and then it is too late.

You will recall that last year it was reported the peak of the house market was at the end of January but that was not actually identified until May. The condo market peaked in July and that was discovered in October. While sales as reported are still down for February, there are some positive signs emerging.

In 2009, sales increased from January to February by 54% in the greater Toronto area. In 2008, the month over month increase was just 18%. While active listings at the end of February are 19% higher than a year ago, new listings for the month were 3% lower than new listings for February in 2008.

Does this mean the market is at the bottom? No, but we are closer than most people believe. With lower prices and record low mortgage rates, there has never been a better time to buy in the last ten years. And I can guarantee that many people will leave it too late and will jump into the market as prices are rising, mortgage rates are rising, and the listing inventory is decreasing!

WHAT TO DO IN 2009?  

However, the general consensus by industry experts is that it will be heading back up by summer. For buyers, having the luxury to choose and negotiate over the right property is more important than bidding on a property in a hot market.

The first quarter of the year will represent the best buying opportunities. Sellers need to be educated to aggressively price ‘at market’ from the first day of the listing. Otherwise they will be following this market down with list price reductions that will net them less in the end.

This is probably the best market in a decade for people who want to ‘buy up’. Prices at the lower end have held their value.

Provided by Karen Shale, Mortgage Broker

Only modest house price declines despite predictions of double digit depreciation

TORONTO, April 8, 2009 – Consistent with current economic trends, Canadian residential real estate prices declined during the first quarter, according to a quarterly House Price Survey released today by Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.  As the market correction unfolds, year-over-year home prices were lower, as was expected. Increased buyer activity at the end of March suggests that spring will bring its typical increase in unit sales activity as buyers target summer moves.

Regional disparities in quarterly housing prices showed markets in Atlantic Canada outperforming other areas of the country as hardy local economies spurred house price growth across the three housing types surveyed.  Markets in central Quebec and eastern Ontario held steady with areas of modest growth and limited declines. In the balance of Ontario, and in particular the Greater Toronto Area, prices retreated from the record levels set in the first quarter of 2008, with most trading areas showing mid to low single digit declines.  With the exception of Manitoba, western provinces saw significant changes as the rapid run-up in prices experienced earlier in the decade gave way to double-digit declines in most regions.  As market corrections in B.C. and Alberta were underway well ahead of the full impact of the current economic crisis, it is suggested that these areas may be first in Canada to stabilize.

 “We expected a sharper decline in house prices across Canadian markets during the first quarter,” said Phil Soper, president and chief executive officer, Royal LePage Real Estate Services Ltd.  With economic hardship dominating our global consciousness, it was predictable that dwindling consumer confidence would continue to drive prices lower.  But markets were relatively resilient during the period. Soper continued, “Canadians in most regions should not expect the prices of their homes to begin appreciating again until the overall economy begins to stabilize, likely in the first half of 2010.” 

The report shows that the average price of a two storey home in Canada declined 6.5 per cent to $379,636 compared to the same quarter last year.  In Vancouver, the average price declined 12.6 per cent year-over-year to $828,750 while in St. John’s prices climbed 15.6 per cent to $265,000.  With consumer confidence bolstered following investments by Vale Inco NL and Hebron, Soper commented: “Using house price change as a gauge, Newfoundland is Canada’s sole remaining seller’s market.”

Moderate growth occurred for detached bungalows in Montreal (up 2 per cent) and Ottawa (up 1.9 per cent), while Toronto saw a decline of 6.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2008.  Prices in the prairies and in western cities declined with the average price for a detached bungalow down 8.1 per cent in Saskatoon and 11.2 per cent in Edmonton.

The nation’s condominium market waned with the average price of a standard unit dropping 3.4 per cent to $232,877 compared to $241,152 in the first quarter of 2008.  Calgary saw a 12.8 per cent drop in average price of condominiums, but declines were less severe in Vancouver (down 5.3 per cent) and in Toronto (down 3.1 per cent).  “Condominiums are generally the most affordable housing option, especially in urban centres,” Soper said.  “With record low lending rates and new government initiatives aimed at encouraging first-time buyers to enter the market, ownership at the entry level is becoming increasingly accessible.”

Noting recent global efforts to address the economic crisis, including the coordinated response from the world’s leading economies coming out of the G20 meeting and stimulus package announcements at home and in the United States, as well as what appears to be the beginning of equity market recovery, Soper commented, “These glimmers of economic hope are coinciding with a time of year that typically brings renewed interest in the housing market.  Traditional spring trends – increases in open house attendance, calls to brokers and viewing appointments – tell us that potential buyers are stepping off the sidelines and an increase in purchase activity is likely to follow.” 

Royal LePage’s quarterly House Price Survey shows the following annual change of prices for key housing segments in select national markets:

About The House Price Survey
The Royal LePage Survey of Canadian House Prices is the largest, most comprehensive study of its kind in Canada, with information on seven types of housing in over 250 neighbourhoods from coast to coast.  This release references an abbreviated version of the survey, which highlights house price trends for the three most common types of housing in Canada in 80 communities across the country. A complete database of past and present surveys is available on the Royal LePage Web site at www.royallepage.ca, and current figures will be updated following the end of the first quarter.  A printable version of the first quarter 2009 survey will be available online on May 16, 2009.
  
Housing values in the Royal LePage Survey are Royal LePage opinions on fair market value in each location, based on local data and market knowledge provided by Royal LePage residential real estate experts.  Historical data is available for some areas back to the early 1970s.

About Royal LePage
Royal LePage is Canada’s leading provider of franchise services to residential real estate brokerages, with a network of over 14,000 agents and sales representatives in 600 locations across Canada.  Royal LePage is managed by Brookfield Real Estate Services, and is part of a brand family that includes Royal LePage, Johnston and Daniel, Realty World and La Capitale.  An affiliated company, Brookfield Real Estate Services Fund, is a TSX listed income trust, trading under the symbol “BRE.UN.”

For more information visit www.royallepage.ca or www.brookfieldres.com.