I was intrigued to see what type of role Albertan Buyers would have on the Kelowna Real Estate Market last month. Last February, we saw our first significant reduction in Sales by Albertans since Oil Prices declined at the back end of 2014. Now it is safe to say things have returned to normal and March saw 17.2% of buyers coming from Alberta.

The past 6 Months are as follows:

% of buyers from Alberta:

March 2015: 17.2%
February 2015: 11.8%
January 2015: 17.4%
December 2015: 15.7%
November 2015: 15.1%
October 2015: 18.5%

However, Kelowna is much more diverse than some people think. We have buyers coming from all areas of Canada and from all walks of life. You can see below who is buying and from where they are buying:

MARCH SURVEY SUMMARY

Property Type:

23.0% by First Time Buyers (down from 25.4% in February)
19.7% by Buyers Downsizing (up from 17.4%) *
17.7% by Move-Up Buyers (up from 16.7%) *
8.0% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit (down from 13.0%)
7.5% buying Revenue/Investment Property (down from 13.0%) *
6.6% moving from Strata Property to Single Family Home (up from 0.7%) *
6.1% buying Recreation Property (up from 3.6%) *
1.4% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community (up from 0%) *

* During March, there were increases in purchases by buyers who were downsizing and moving up, revenue and recreation property buyers, and people moving from stratas to single family homes - compared to the previous month.

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):

26.7% Two Parent Family/Children (up from 19.4% in February) **
24.9% Couple without Children (up from 21.5) **
20.2% Empty Nester/Retired (down from 22.2%)
12.7% Single Female (down from 15.3%)
9.8% Single Male (down from 16.0%)
5.6% Single Parent with Children (up from 4.2%) **

** There were more purchases by two-parent families, couples without children and single parents during March, while other buyer categories were down compared to February

Moving From:

60.2% from Within OMREB Board Area  (down from 66.7% in February)
17.2% from Alberta (up from 11.8%) ***
9.2% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island  (up from 6.9%) ***
5.5% from Other Areas in BC (down from 6.2%)
2.7% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba (down from 4.2%)
2.7% from Outside Canada  (up from 1.4%) ***
2.3% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes (down from 3.5%)
0% from NWT/Yukon (same as February)

*** More buyers moved from within the Board area, Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island, and from overseas during March, while migration from other areas declined compared to February.

These stats are important when developing a Marketing Strategy for Selling your home. If we know what types of people are buying we can focus on marketing to certain areas, or showing your home in a particular way that will appeal to specific Buyers. Contact David Delorme to discuss how we can help you market your home most effectively.

*this is an interpretation of market statistics and an opinion only. Information should not be used as a way to predict future market trends.

The January 2015 stats are in and I thought I should emphasis that while the media is putting everyone into a scare, perhaps we aren't expecting an economic meltdown due to low oil prices.

Kelowna is more diverse than people think. While we used to be known as a retirement area we have seen things change over the past few years. While having a large amount of money invested into Kelowna associated with oil and gas, it is just a small piece of what drives this healthy economy.

Dont Forget:

We have a young tech entrepreneur community growing in Kelowna.

We have a huge health sector bringing a young demographic to care for our retirement base.

We have a vacation sector where people have bought strictly for vacation rentals or personal vacation use.

We have our Oil and Gas workers that choose to drive or fly out of Kelowna instead of the cold alternative of living elsewhere.

We have the rest of us, tradesmen, teachers, city workers, service workers, salesmen etc. that make up a vast majority of the 179,000+ growing population in the Kelowna Metropolitan Area.

Here are the January Sales stats for the Okanagan Mainland Real Estate Board showing that at least for January we have nothing to worry about.

Moving From:
55.1% from Within OMREB Board Area  (down from 59.5% in December)
17.4% from Alberta (up from 15.7%) ***
11.2% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island  (up from 9.4%) ***
8.2% from Other Areas in BC (same as December)
4.1% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes (up from 3.5%) ***
2.0% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba (same as December)
2.0% from Outside Canada  (up from 1.3%) ***
0% from NWT/Yukon (same as December)
 
*** Compared to December, more buyers moved from the Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island, Alberta, Eastern Canada/Maritimes, and from
outside Canada during January.

Property Type:
28.0% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers (up from 20.0% in December) *
14.0% by First Time Buyers (down from 18.6%)
11.8% by Buyers Downsizing (down from 17.9%)
9.7% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit (down from 11.7%)
9.7% buying Recreation Property (up from 9.2%) *
7.5% buying Revenue/Investment Property (down from 11.0%)
7.5% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home (up from 2.1%) *
2.2% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community (up from 1.4%) *
 
* During January, there were increases in purchases by move-up buyers, recreation property buyers, and people moving from stratas
to single family homes compared to the previous month.
 
Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):
24.7% Two Parent Family/Children (down from 25.2% in December)
23.1% Couple without Children (down from 24.5%)
19.6% Empty Nester/Retired (down from 24.5%)
16.5% Single Female (up from 12.2%) **
11.3% Single Male (up from 10.2%) **
4.1% Single Parent with Children (down from 6.1%)
 
** There were more purchases by single females and single males during December, while other buyer categories were down.
 

With record low interest rates and low housing inventory, now is a better time than ever to buy and sell Real Estate. Give me a call today to discuss in more detail - David Delorme Coldwell Banker Horizon Realty - 778-821-3885