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July 2008

Summer is in full swing in the Okanagan;the weather is hot- and the real estate deals are hotter! Its hard to appreciate if you are new to ourmarketplace, but those of us who spend our time watching the inventory levels can’t help but be excited about the values available. My favourite neighbourhood to watch right now is Peachland-with this lakeside community pouring some serious money into the redevelopment of its unsurpassed stretch of public waterfront it is easy to imagine it becoming the vacation hot spot of choice once tourists get fed up with the big city vibe of Kelowna. While my heart’s in the community of Westbank/Westside ( whatever our new name will become!), it is years away from developing this type of long term vision for a sustainable and welcoming setting. The prices in Peachland are still about 10% -15% lower than comparable properties in Kelowna, and the selection of product is well supplied. Top MLS picks for this month are as follows:

Fixer uppers -9196536 $365,000 for 1200 sqft rancher on a .36 acre lot. Ravine side setting.

9193891 $399,900 for a 3 bdrm lakeview, huge lot, steps to beach

Ru6 DVLP potential - 9194406 Hosp area, huge side yard for carriage home

Condos

9195046 2 bdrm for 239,000. U/G parking, central location and pool in complex.

9185658 Huge 3 lvl townhome for 349,900

For more information on these listings, or any other product in the Central Okanagan, call me anytime,

Happy SUMMER!

The long anticipated condo crunch is in full swing, with reductions across the board in every segment.  The months of April and May were especially bleak, with late June starting to see a trickle of summer interest from out- -of towners! I’ve been especially busy myself with a couple of out of hopeful new locals this week and have spoken with many more - it seems as though interest in Okanagan Real Estate hasn’t disappeared, but is simply overwhelmed with the HUGE supply! I’m out with my new friend Sharon from Alberta tomorrow ( local Realtors still love Alberta! ) and we are both feeling like we are drowning in options and choice. Thank goodness its great fun to wade through all the product with an enjoyable companion, nothing like dozens of units to brush up on your product knowledge! Thanks to enslaught of new buildings in the last few years, Im even getting into some of them for the first time.  1994-96 is all coming back to me now- in the condo segment, at least, its a buyers market!  Single family has recently picked up, and we are comfortably settling into level market, one in which sellers actually have to compete a little to entice a good offer.  Presentation and pricing is paramount, but pricing seems to have maintained the same level as Fall 2007, slipping slightly from early spring highs.  Hope you are enjoying your summer and after months of unpredictable weather -finally remembering why the Okanagan is such a great place to live!