What is the Kelowna Real Estate Market Like in the Summer?

What is the market like in Kelowna is something I've been asked a lot these last few weeks especially by agents and buyers out of Alberta and Ontario.

The first part of my answer is, "Not anything like it was in 2021!"

I think you could look at any market in the entire country and have the same response as 2021 will go down as a record year for most market across Canada.

As an example, the board that I am a part of here in the Central Okanagan is called the AIR or Association of Interior Realtors. It covers Revelstoke, Kamloops, Kootenay's, South Peace, North & South Okanagan and of course the Central Okanagan.

Sales were down across all of those districts so far this year by 25%, while inventory is up in the Central Okanagan by 72% when looking at May statistics.

Ok, so Sales Down, Inventory Up...What Does it Mean?

Usually in a larger market like Calgary (where we also sell homes), I would say that spells disaster for what's to come as typically builders were building to try and keep up to demand.

When demand starts to wane and you have a lot more invetory to move, prices are going to slip.

Right now in the Central Okanagan, this doesn't seem to be the case as prices are up on single family homes by 8.2% this year. Condos and townhomes are up 26% and 20% respectively, with the condo market leading the way in terms of price growth but also inventory levels dropping by 10% comparative to last year.

A big part of the reason there is a bit of a run on condos this year is because single family affordability is out of reach for some, especially with an increase in interes rates looking to slow inflation down it will have a similar impact on the housing market.

So, is the Okanagan market about to crash? Are we on the precipice of disaster? Do we believe everything that the media is saying or the naysayers like Garth Turner who has been calling for a market crash for the last 25 years?

I'll answer those questions like this, so long as demand remains strong for the Okanagan and the ability to build new construction (except for condos) is low, prices will likely remain where they are.

The single family market is going to see a slight correction, the caveat to that is this, oil is going to $180 per barrel.

That will be a fact of life in 2023. Why? Because 'they' are calling for a massive shortage in oil supplies by next year.

There WILL be a need for Alberta oil in Canada and across the globe. There WILL be more Alberta money flowing through to the Okanagan in the coming years, like there was pre pandemic. 

So long as there is demand and a shortage of supply, prices will likely remain stable.

If you are thinking about making a move to Kelowna, you should check out these other blog posts right here first:

1. How Much Are Housing Costs in Kelowna?
2. What can $500,000 Buy in Kelowna?
3. What is Health Care like in Kelowna?

If you want to chat more about the Kelowna Real Estate Market then feel free to email me kelley@kelleyskar.com or text 403-827-7527

Can I Find a Doctor in Kelowna?

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts, I grew up in BC, Prince George actually.

I left the province when I was 23 and moved to Alberta in 1998, really the only health care system I have known in my adult life was based in Alberta.

So when we moved our family to Kelowna in 2021, I really had not frame of reference to go off of. It was like I was a brand new resident in the province I spent 1/2 my life in.

We had to secure health care, a new dentist, an orthodontist for our kids, a new doctor for the famiy and we had to look at insurance options as well as both of us are self employed.

It was a lot of work and took a lot of organizing, so with all of these blog posts, I am going to take you through our experiences in the hopes that it helps you during your transiton to Kelowna.

What is Insurance Like in BC?

Coming from Alberta there was really only one insurance provider that we knew about in Blue Cross.

When we got here, we looked online for a Blue Cross equivalent and found one...litlte did we know that it wasn't the ONLY insurance provider.

There are multiple Blue Cross companies in BC all providing varying levels of insurance and customer service.

If you're an entrepreneur and require additional insurance when coming to BC, just do a quick google search for Health Care Insurance Providers in BC and you'll get a variety of options.

The MSP or Medical Services Plan in BC

Just like all other provinces in Canada, BC has a medical services plan and covers off some basic health care providers, in fact this is right from the government website:

"These include medically necessary services provided by physicians and midwives, dental and oral surgery performed in a hospital, eye examinations if medically required and some orthodontic services."

The MSP does not require premiums, they were done away with back on January 1st of 2020. Just keep in mind that if you want dental coverage among other things, you will need additional insurance.

How to Find Doctors and Dentists in Kelowna

This was tough for us, anyone you talk to here in Kelowna will tell you that every doctor has a wait list and it could take up to 2 years for you to be accepted as a patient.

This was hard for us to accept considering we had the same family doctor for close to 2 decades in Alberta.

We were directed towards the DivisionsBC website to help find a doctor but that's where we found a lot of frustration. Once you get on a list, you are on the list and you have to formally request to be removed if you wind up finding your own doctor.

We did a google search (again) and wound up finding a practice that was accepting new clients. Finding a dentist was far easier to do, we looked for recommendations through our neighbourhood Facebook group and had a couple of conversations with the providers.

We selected one that was close to our home and one that we had the best rapport with. 

Making a move across provinces seems like an easy thing to do from the outside looking in, and certainly if you are single or you are in a realtionship with no kids, it is going to be a little easier.

If I can help to make your transition to Kelowna a little more smooth, feel free to reach out to me with any questions that you may have by clicking this contact me link. I will get back to you right away with whatever answers I have!

What Does it Cost to Operate a Home in Kelowna?

This was something that my wife and I had to look at very carefully before making a move here to Kelowna.

I did as much research on the topic as I possibly could, I found the investkelowna.com website to be very helpful when it came to the economics of the region.

However, I was never really able to find the kind of information that I was seeking out. Things like how much are property taxes? How much do utilities cost? Who are the utility providers? How much do groceries cost? How much are gas prices?

You know, the usual things, the costs associated with running and operating a house but also your every day costs.

So my intent with this post is to try and provide you with everything that I was looking for prior to us making the move to Kelowna in June of 2021.

How Much do Utilities Cost in Kelowna?

Utility providers here for your gas and electric are through FortisBC and they come on separate bills.

In Calgary we could get our services through a couple of different providers if we chose to, if we chose to go with Enmax we could have our gas, water and electric all on the same bill. It was very handy.

Now here in Kelowna I have an online account for FortisBC Electric and one for Gas, it's a bit of a pain to be honest.

Something else that is interesting to note, our electric bill is sent out every two months, not monthly like it was back in Alberta. The gas bill though is a monthly and so is our water bill, which is not through either of those providers, we are actually billed for water by the City of Kelowna.

On average over the last year this is how our utilities have shaken out on a fully developed 2700sqft bungalow:

• Average Gas Bill: $84
• Average Monthly Electric Bill: $132
• Average Water Bill: $80

Now, can you expect the same? Of course not but at least you have a baseline to go off of. If you're buying a strata/condo there's a good chance your water and gas (heat) will be included in your fees and if you're buying a larger home of course your cost's are going to increase.

How Much are Property Taxes?

Property taxes in Kelowna are less than what we were paying in Calgary, by a country mile.

Now, that may not be the same for everyone as different parts of that city and different parts of the country are subject to different tax roll rates.

So I'm not going to blow smoke here and say you're going to save a bunch of money on taxes. If you're coming from Winnipeg though you probably will!

There is something called the Home Owner Grant and it has to be applied for in May of your current tax year. Once applied it actually reduces the amount of property tax that you owe.

I won't get into how much our taxes are on an annual basis but I will tell you that our grant was $770 this year. If you want to read up on the grant you can do that right here: BC Home Owner Grant Information

How Much are Gas Prices and Food Prices in Kelowna?

As of this writing you can expect to fill up here in Kelowna for around $2.20/litre, or if you go to Costco you can usually save as much as about .20/litre on average.

It.Is.Pricey!

It does get a little cheaper if you head north of the city up towards Vernon but likely not enough to justify the time it would take to head up there.

Food prices have skyrocketed everywhere in 2022, I can say that $100 doesn't get you very far anymore. That said, use some of the big box stores like Superstore, Freshco and Walmart to cut down on some of the expense. 

Get yourself a Costco membership as the items you get there are in bulk and you can typically save by buying a little more than you sometimes think you need.

Summer time is awesome because of all the fruit and vegetable stands in Kelowna so try and take advantage of those spots, you will save a little bit and of course you'll be supporting local.

Would I Make the Move Again?

Absolutely.

There are things here in the Okanagan that are in your face, way more expensive than where we came from like gas and groceries.

Here's what I can tell you...my property taxes have dropped by 25% and my utility bills have dropped on average of about $60-$70 per month.

Again, it's not in your face, but there are some savings here.

Of course there is the provincial sales tax, if you're moving here from any province that already has a PST then no problem, you're used to it.

If you're coming from Alberta, you're going to NEED to get used to it!

The locals call the expense here a 'Sunshine Tax', to live here it's expensive, they say, but you get to live here.

If you're interested in more information about the Okanagan and are considering a move here, give me a call at 403-827-7527 or you can click the contact form to submit a request to book an appointment.

Wondering How Much $500,000 Can Buy You in Kelowna?

Welcome back to the Kelowna Real Estate Blog!

Here we are in June of 2022 and the weather is finally starting to turn for the better. We saw a very wet May this year, but noone is really comlaining, hopefully all this water will help keep the forest fires at bay this summer.

This isn't an Oakanagn Weather Blog, you are here because you want to know what five hundred grand will buy you in Kelowna.

If you are looking at spending $500,000 in Kelowna on the nose, you are out of luck.

That said, I put in a search for a range from $500,000 to $550,000 and only included Kelowna proper (not West Kelowna, Fintry, Ellison or Big White) and we came up with 38 options.

Can I Buy a Single Family Home for $500,000 in Kelowna?

The answer right now is not really.

What I mean by that is, out of the 38 properties that came up on my search there was one half duplex in Rutland and a Cottage out in Beaverdell.

The rest of the homes listed between $500-$550k were condos.

Now condo could mean a couple of different things, it could be a bareland condo or a townhouse style condo or an apartment style condo.

All a condo, or strata as it's commonly referred to here in BC, refers to is the type of property. By buying into a strata you are buying into a corporation that owns the land and the buildings that the apartment or townhouse is sitting on.

A strata can act as an excellent entry point into the market if you are a first time buyer or an active investor. If you are looking to invest in the Okanagan there is a lot to learn and this will be a topic of my next real estate blog.

What Kelowna Neighbourhoods Have Homes for Sale at $500,000?

That's a great question.

Out of the properties that I searched today you would be looking in the following areas:

• Lower Mission
• Rutland
• Kelowna South
• University District
• Kelowna North
• Glenmore
• Springfield

To name but a few.

If you want unfettered access to view some of these listings you can click here to see a pre-defined search of homes in Kelowna between $480,000 and $550,000

If you've never purchased a home in Kelowna and are unsure of the area and what the process looks like you can check out some previous blog posts here:

• How to Move to Kelowna BC
• What is the Real Estate Market Like in Kelowna BC

If you'd like to jump on a discovery call you can book in with me on my calendar right here or you can email me kelley@kelleyskar.com