The Oswells

Things are changing.  We seem to be having a market correction.  For the last couple of weeks listings are outnumbering sales by 3 - 1,  The inventory of homes in Kamloops is growing.  Buyers have more choice.  They don't need to pounce on the first thing that they think they might like.  Prices are coming down a bit as sellers try to attract these buyers. Who knows how long this will last.  A couple weeks is my bet.  It has already been going on for the last two weeks.  Soon spring will come (it is being recalcitrant this year) and off we will go again.

“I don’t have a problem with credit,”a potential new home buyersays.“I pay my bills on time. I never have trouble getting a loan.”That may be true.However, according to several surveys,mostpeople are surprised by at least one piece of information intheir credit report. And it only takes one derogatory item tocreate an obstacle to getting the lowest mortgage ratepossible, or even getting a mortgage at all.That’s why it’s important to check your credit report beforeyou shop for a new home. You will then have the opportunityto deal with any unexpected issues.For example, you may discover an error. (This isn’t unusual) Ifyou do find there is a mistake in your credit report, inform thecredit bureau immediately.They are required, by law, topromptly make a correction.If there are late payments noted on your credit report, you canwrite a letter of explanation to the credit bureau telling yourside of the story.This will accompany the credit informationthat goes to your lender. Assuming everything else in yourcredit report is fairly good,most lenders will accept areasonable explanation for late payments, such as being laidoff from a job, an extended illness in the family, or militaryservice overseas.How do you get your credit report?There are three major credit bureaus in North America:• Equifax (www.equifax.com)• Trans Union (www.transunion.com)• Experian (www.experian.com)All have websites that allow you to order your credit report fora reasonable fee. It’s a good idea to order all three creditreports as not all companies report credit information to allthree bureaus.Getting your credit report, and checking that it’s accurate,willmake the home buying process go a lot more smoothly.

The kamloops Real Estate market has heated up considerably this week. We have buyers going in every direction. Properties are selling fast - too fast for the buyers-who need a moment to think. We had buyers drive up to Kamloops from the lower mainland this week only to discover that all that they wanted to look at had sold between the time they decided to come and the next day when they got here. I think what has happened is that the buyers, confident that prices are going up again this year, want to buy now, before they go up. Sellers however, also confident that prices are going up this year, want to hold off for a while so they can make more money. The result is a very tight market.

The busy real estate market in Kamloops is taking off where it left off last fall. We had a slowdown in December - we always do. January however is getting very busy again. Buyers are all over the place. Our main problem at the moment is that sellers think their property is worth more than the buyers think it is worth. I imagine this will iron itself out over the next couple of weeks. Almost every home we looked at on tour this morning was priced over what it will probably sell for. Prices will go up again this year, but it won't happen all at once, and certainly not in January.

$3.9M will buy costliest house

by Michele Young

The most expensive house for sale in Kamloops right now is a Juniper Ridge home priced at $3.9 million.

It’s one of 18 houses on the market valued at more than $1 million, said Kamloops and District Real Estate Association president Tracy Moffatt.

That’s how hot the real estate market still is, she said Monday.

On the other end, the cheapest home up for sale will cost you $215,000 and give you a Parkcrest Avenue address.

“Median house price in November was $339,900,” she said. November’s house sales were up two per cent last month from the same time period the year before, indicating the upward trend is still holding, but not as steep as it has been.

City development and engineering services director David Trawin said on the construction side, the November numbers were down slightly this year from last because the cold weather set in sooner.

Builders are also slowing down their activity some, to finish up past projects or because they can’t find many available lots.

Still, as soon as lots or homes are available, they’re snatched up, Trawin said.

“As soon as we get a subdivision out there, the houses are being sucked up,” he said.

“We talked to our major developers and they want lots to get going.”

The City’s November building statistics show 17 single-family home permits were issued this year, compared with 32 in 2006. The year-to-date stats show 341 homes built thus far in 2007, while 413 went up in 2006.

Multi-family numbers fell to five last November from 27 the previous year. But the year-to-date numbers show 246 multi-family units built in 11 months of this year compared with 205 a year ago.

Trawin said there’s a lot of demand for multi-family housing, in part because it’s more affordable. But the demand for all types of homes hasn’t really eased up.

“Is the boom over? I would say no,” he said.

“We don’t have as much institutional stuff this year. The numbers might be a little off, but still above the 10-year average.”

Moffatt said the lack of lots would be the only real factor in the statistical slow down.

“Builders in town are scrambling for lots to build on,” she said. “Typically, this time of year, building starts do tend to slow down a bit.”

While Kamloops residents have seen house prices jump by leaps and bounds in the past decade, those coming from Alberta and Vancouver — where many are coming from these days — are thrilled to see the cost of houses here.

“The biggest shift I’ve seen in the past couple of years is there are a lot of people coming in from out of town,” Moffatt said.

“It’s the local people who have a difficult time with the house prices here.”

She has seen first-time home buyers opting for 40-year mortgages in order to get in on a single-family house instead of a townhouse or condo.

Regardless of what buyers are looking for, demand remains steady, Moffatt said.

“I don’t think it’s going to slow down for us any time soon. I think it will stabilize a little. Every month I’ve done the stats, we’re up.”

With more multi-family projects on the horizon and mortgage rates predicted to stay low, she expected the market will continue to rise, albeit at a slower rate than in the past couple of years.

http://www.visualtour.com/shownp.asp?T=1303054

This is Brian's house. We bought this program at the show in Vegas. It is suppose to be easy to use, but my photography is not very good. Tomorrow I need to go out and buy a tripod. Hopefully the camera will affix to a tripod, if not I may have to buy a camera too.

Other than that we had an interesting time. I enjoyed it but wouldn't go again. 37,000 Realtors in one place is too many. Seems all I did was walk. Three miles between everywhere you needed to go.

I did learn that the american real estate industry is indeed in crisis. Reposessions all over the place. Thank heavens we won't face that for a few years yet. We are expected to go strong through next year.

I am starting to get excited now about going to Las Vegas.  The place has palled in the last couple of years - it just isn't what it used to be.  This year will be different though.  We are going to the big National Association of Realtors convention in Vegas next week.  It will be an opportunity to get new cutting edge ideas (I hope).  I will let you know what I see when I get back.

Even though no one is saying it out loud, the market is just not what it was. Winter is closing in fast and the buyers seem to be staying inside by the fire. Listings are not being shown as often as they were a couple week ago. Houses are mostly selling for under the list price. In the last week there have been 20 more listings than sales recorded. So far we have avoided the slump that has hit other areas of B.C. so hopefully this is just a small seasonal slump and in a couple weeks we will be steaming along again. We are doing an open house this weekend - it will be interesting to see if many people come out. I hope it quits raining by then. It has been steadily drizzling for the last 24 hrs. It looks like Vancouver out there.

The 'post a comment' feature has been added to the site.  At the bottom of the page in small red print it says 'post a comment'  If you click on it you can post a comment to the blog. I hope to hear from you.

BC Home Sales to Surpass 100,000

BCREA Fall Housing Forecast

Vancouver, BC – September 27, 2007. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its fall 2007 Housing Forecast today.

BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) home sales are forecast to break the 100,000 unit mark for only the second time in history. BCREA forecasts that BC MLS® residential sales will hit 101,000 units this year, up 4 per cent from 2006. The highest number of MLS® sales in the province was recorded in 2005, when a total of 106,310 homes were sold. The ten-year average is just under 78,000 units.

“Exceptionally strong consumer demand over the summer months has changed the outlook for this year from declining home sales to the second highest on record,” said Cameron Muir, Chief Economist. “While eroding affordability is squeezing some potential buyers out of the market, the housing stock is increasingly diverse, providing a mix of home types that appeal to a wide consumer market.”

BC home prices are also on the rise. The average MLS® residential price is forecast to climb 12 per cent to $437,000 this year. “While home prices continue to face upward pressure, the rate of growth is expected to moderate,” added Muir. The BC average MLS® price increased 18 per cent last year, and is forecast to rise at a more modest 8 per cent in 2008.

BC housing starts are forecast to decline 7 per cent to 33,900 units in this year and a further 4 per cent to 33,000 units in 2008. While single detached housing starts are trending down, multiple housing starts are holding firm at 21,000 units this year. Multiple housing starts now comprise 62 per cent of all new residential construction activity in the province.

The BCREA Housing Forecast is a semi-annual publication produced in the spring and fall of each year. The report contains forecasts and analysis of the BC economy and housing markets, including detailed forecasts by home type of the province’s 12 real estate board areas.