Kelowna condos: Is it time?

Let’s take a quick look at Kelowna’s condominium apartment market and see how things are going.  In a nutshell things are okay.  It’s not 2007 but it’s not 2013 either.  Beginning with the overall picture there are 476 apartments for sale today in Kelowna not including the ski hill.  Only 10 of these units are in foreclosure (less than 2%....meh!) , 136 are currently vacant and 121 of them are currently rented with tenants.  I realize it’s November and the last thing most people want to think about is selling  but it’s a pretty good time to consider putting a condo on the market if you’re already thinking of selling in the Spring.  The fundamental law of supply and demand is working in your favor with limited competition.  Everyone waits until Spring because, well…..that’s just what everyone does.  Why not be a step ahead of your neighbor?

A few examples:

• Only 5 units for sale in Discovery Bay at 1088 Sunset.   23 sales recorded this year compared to 15 all of last year.
• Playa del Sol on Cook has 21 solds this year so far compared to only 12 last year.  Just 7 units currently for sale.
• The Dolphins had 1 sale at this point last year and there have been 7 this year.  Only 2 units for sale. 
• The Wedgewood on Sutherland across from the Capri Mall has had 13 sales so far this year compared to only 6 last year. 

Putting a condo on the market during the Winter and Fall avoids the uncertainty of whatever awaits all of us in 2015.  Will prices rise next year? Will interest rates increase? Will tougher CMHC lending guidelines make selling tougher? Will new condo construction make re-sale condos tougher to sell?  Answers are maybe, probably, yes and yes.    My advice to people thinking of selling in the Spring is to at least consider getting ahead of the game a little bit.

What about prices?  Overall there have been 851 apartment sales this year at an average sale price of $249,000.  Prices have jumped 3.75% from last year’s $240,000 average which is considerably better than what I thought it would be.  Overall unit sales are up over 30% this year compared to the 621 that sold up to this point last year. 

For a FREE List of All Condos click here make clickable link (http://www.okanaganbc.com/listings-search/) or call Andrew Smith directly at 250-979-8066.

 

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This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.