John Thomson's I Didn't Know That!

Eleven years ago I did an interview with A.J. Hazzi, the founder of Vantage West Realty.  In those days there was an MLS book that realtors worked from and there were not a lot of cell phones in use at the time. It was a business as it is today, with customer service being first and foremost but really, it was different, it was more personal. There were no machines between sales reps except for the old telephone (remember those?).  A.J. wanted to try an experiment. The month of June is always a big month in real estate in this valley and so he asked his staff of ten if it would be possible to change things for one month. These are young and aggressive people who know everything in the electronic world. They also had committed themselves to covering the cost of a new roof for the Gospel Mission that month.

The founder was betting that personal customer service was the key and no cell phones still makes sense. They sold enough houses in the month to meet their quota. It worked very well and although it takes time to break the mold it is more personal.

I liked the idea right away and AJ said it was a valuable lesson - always talking to the customer face to face.

The Kelowna Mission also got their new roof.

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The PGA championship with most of the best golfers in the world were lined up to make a buck and win a large golfing honour. Then it got down to the 15th hole and two golfers were battling back and forth. Jim Furyk had the lead Friday through to the 15th, but on Sunday there was Jason Duffrner, the golfer who never has a smile while he is on the course and the funniest hair. It was good to watch.

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Last week the world celebrated 25 years of Wayne Gretzky’s hockey life and in everything I read and heard they never mentioned the fact that Wayne came into the professional world of hockey playing for Nelson Skalbainia’s Indianapolis Racers in 1978. He briefly played there before being sold to the Edmonton Oilers. The Racers were in the World Hockey Association. Gretzky was 17 years old.

Note:  Skalbania purchased the Edmonton Oilers from a fellow businessman Charles Allard of Edmonton TV fame in 1975 and the next year with debts mounting he took on a partner, Peter Pocklington.  When the NHL said there would be no merger of the leagues Skalbania decide to sell the team to Pocklington. The sale involved a very expensive piece of of art call the “The Tatler” and a vintage Rolls Royce from the Pocklington collection.

He still had a personal contract with Wayne Gretzky after he signed him when he was playing for the Sault St. Marie Greyhounds in the OHA junior league. He then sold him to Pocklington for the Edmonton franchise in the NHL and the legend began.

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I have been writing this column for 25 years and I know every month I am going to get an email or two asking me when we are going to get an IKEA and a Old Navy store in this valley.

Old Navy have had at least three locations in the planning stages for this area over the year and none of the deals ever made it to paper. I spoke to one of the developers involved in a Kelowna store and he simply said they don’t want to pay rent. By that he meant that the chain are famous for their low deals when it comes to paying low rent. It is that simple. Years ago when the developers were building Central Park they were very close to making Old Navy a tenant and they had no space left and the deal was not strong.

IKEA, the Swedish furniture maker and world’s largest meat ball producer, is not going to change in the near future. Their last Canadian opening in B.C. in Richmond is 350,000 square feet with a need for parking for about 1400 cars, a bike lot and a big turn-around for visiting buses.

We simply don’t have enough traffic for IKEA to operate they do.

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Every month the Krieg Family from ReMax Kelowna put the numbers together for me on the real estate market for Kelowna. Wolf, Julie and Colin are on top of the market.

 

Sales in the Single Family Dwellings (SFD) reached 221 in July which is 6% above July 2012 and was again like the last two months over our 22-year average of 201 sales. Imagine the highest July ever since 1990 was in 1991 with 277 sales. Listings:  The number of active listings is 1,537 which is 9% lower than last year's July. YTD the total listings taken is 6% lower than the same period last year. Photo: Contributed Percentage of Listings vs. Sales:  14.4% of the listing inventory sold in July, which is lower than last month. As you can see in the graph below we are just under a balanced market; which is defined as between 15% and 25% of the listings selling. Average Price is back up:  The average price here in Kelowna was $479,258 in July which is similar to June and last year's July. Year to Date, we are at $456,900, slightly lower by 1.6% than 2012. Million $ Plus:  The MLS system shows that a total of 13 properties sold in July over $1 Million (2 reached over 2Mill). These were: 1 Acreage, 5 Lakefront homes, 6 Single Family Dwellings and 1 Commercial property. Conclusion:  Following a slow start for the first quarter, the last 4 months have all been above average. The red on white license plates are back. We are receiving many calls from Alberta, "and what is there not to like, when you live here in Kelowna". The market below $800K is strong and we experienced double offers last month. Properly marketed and well priced homes are selling. Photo: Contributed   Major Cities Report Victoria: Strong Sales Activity Continues With 583 sales in July and 4,772 active listings on the MLS® System at month end, the sales-to-active-listings ratio is 15%. There were 345 single family homes sold in July, an increase of 17.7% over July 2012, while the median price of $521,000 is down...read more Vancouver: Sunny Weather Did Not Slow The Pace of Home Sales Activity in July The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,946 on the MLS® in July 2013. This represents a 40.4% increase compared to the 2,098 sales recorded in July 2012, and an 11.5% increase compared to the 2,642 sales in June 2013...read more Calgary: Strong Sales Gowth in July Residential sales totaled 2,268 units in July, a 17% increase over the previous year and up more than 6% so far this year. The flood that devastated the Calgary area on June 20 likely contributed...read more Edmonton: Edmonton Experiencing Robust Housing Market Sales of residential properties are up in double digit increments in all categories when compared to last year, according to the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton...read more Toronto: Strong Sales and Price Growth in July Total sales were up by 16% compared to July 2012. Last month's sales represented the best July since 2009 and was the third best July result on record. Reflecting tighter market conditions, the average selling price for July sales was...read more

Number of Sold Single Family Dwellings 2010 - 2013

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Another email.

Hello I just wanted to say that I love reading your articles. I am so interested in the growing expansion of our city and country.  I do have a few questions for you.  What ever happened with the new farmers' market that was going to go in across from the current one and will we ever get an Old Navy?  I write Old Navy requesting a store here regularly. 

Although things are getting better in Kelowna, I have always felt that if you weren't into wine tours or laying on the beach...what was there to do here?  I'm excited about what's happening up at Kelowna Mountain.  What a stunning place to visit.  Do you know if they ever got their approvals to move ahead with hotels and such?

Do you know about the polo matches that are played regularly on a large field by the airport?  Do you know if this is something people could actually go and watch or if it's a private deal (Bullman Road and Old Vernon Road)?

One more thought - have you ever been at Orchard Park Mall on a Saturday at 6 PM when the mall closes?  It is the most absurd thing I have ever seen as scores of people are shooed out of the mall due to closing time.  The mall is packed, especially in the summer months with tourist season in full swing.  I think our Canadian malls can take a little lesson from our American friends where the malls are open until 10 PM in most places.  I did email the mall people about a year ago and they said they were looking into it, but nothing seems to have come of it.  Just a thought.

Once again, thanks for all the research you do, I look forward to your articles.