Central Okanagan RE board report

Here are the first few paragraphs - my comments in italics

Kelowna, BC – The Central Zone of the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) reported May 2011 sales activity of all MLS® property types were down compared to sales reported at this time last year but were up from April as serious sellers begin to compete for home buyers moving into Spring.

sellers COMPETING for buyers who would have thunk it! In fact the title of all three reports is 'Serious Sellers Compete for Spring Home Buyers'

Overall unit sales during May dipped 17.6% compared to 2010 (to 337 from 409) but rose 13.87% over the previous month (297 in April 2011). Sales volumes totaled $133.4 million compared to $168.1 million in May 2010. Total residential units sold last month were down 16.93% compared to 2010 (to 314 from 378) but rose 5.72% from April (272). Inventory continues to decline over last year at this time – down by 5.92% to 5,217 units compared to 5,545 in May 2010 – with new listings falling by 7.97% over last year (to 1,212 from 1,317), and down 8.1% from last month (1,031 in April).

5217/337 = 15.4 MOI

“Hopefully, the gradual improvement in sales will continue as we move into the summer months and more out of town buyers visit our area. It is too early to see any consistent trends in the Spring market as many factors have affected consumer confidence and created buyer hesitation to date – from the tightening of mortgage qualifying rules, to HST concerns and referendum uncertainty. As well, distressed prices in the States have added competition for potential recreation, investment and retirement property buyers,” says Kent Jorgenson, OMREB Director and REALTOR® in the Central Zone.

More out of town buyers..sounds like they are almost begging for HAM!

North Okanagan Report

2627/123 = 21.3 MOI

Quote:

“Buyers still enjoy an excellent selection in the North Okanagan. We are noticing that houses coming onto the market that are priced to reflect today’s values are selling relatively quickly.

Shuswap/Revelstoke Report

1689/68 = 24.83 MOI quote:

“The gradual improvement in sales activity is expected to continue and will pick up further as the weather continues to warm up, bringing more buyers out looking at houses. It is too early to see any consistent trends in the Spring market as many factors have affected consumer confidence and created buyer hesitation to date – from the tightening of mortgage qualifying rules, to HST concerns and referendum uncertainty. As well, distressed prices in the States have added competition for potential recreation, investment and retirement property buyers,” says Karen Singbeil, OMREB Director and REALTOR® in the Shuswap Zone.