I am not sure if it is gravity or genetics.

 

We are blessed with a wonderful climate locally, providing us with a lot of fresh fruit in the Okanagan. Many different varieties and colours. But what makes us refer to awkward situations as “pear shaped”?

 

The pear stays on the tree as long as other fruits, yet gravity seems to play a role in the weight of the pear gathering in its lower proportions, much like us as we age.

 

In actual fact, the pear tastes as sweet as the apple, its cousin, and I have seen some pretty weird shaped apples in my time, but why do we have the curious relationship between things not working terribly well and a pear?

 

I am excited because my real estate business has been rather un-pear shaped in the last few months and indeed if I look at the Board Statistics we are trending higher in terms of activity than we have for quite a few years now.

 

The most recent Buyers survey conducted by the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board shows that predominantly, the local “move-up” market for families is the most active market. Recently released statistics show the Kelowna population as actually getting a little younger - good news indeed as we wonder who is going to be looking after people like me as we get a little more “pear shaped”.

 

The largest majority of Buyers are using a conventional mortgage to purchase their home with almost a quarter of people surveyed indicating they were paying cash for their property. Again, very good news in this unstable economic climate.

 

A steady stream of Albertan retirees continues to underpin our real estate economy but many of the typical “investors” are not back at the table yet.

 

Is our market “pear shaped”? I don’t think so. But I do think we are living in a new reality, one that is driven by mass media communications of a “pear shaped” global economy. Just as we are feeling a little better about ourselves, a Spanish bank indicates it made a $2.4 Billion accounting error and requires a $30 billion bail out, a New York finance company is reported to have lost close to $4 Billion in bad decision making with its client's funds! I could apply the term pear shaped to these instances and get an understanding of the reason consumer confidence is going to be slow to rebound.

 

In the Okanagan, the real estate market is as sweet as it has ever been. We have had some rain, sure, but pears need water to grow. We may need a little more fertilizer, but the lifestyle and rewards here still make the Okanagan a wonderful investment. I would expect a healthy harvest this year and more confidence at the end of the year. If you don’t believe me, book a vacation and check out the area, I think you will end up agreeing that there is no better place to live when the world is a little “pear shaped”.