South Okanagan housing market prices up down or sideways

[royalmike]

So I have been looking to purchase a house in the Summerland / Penticton area, what has amazed me is the amount of court foreclosed sales around and lots of properties on and off the market for four years or more.
Maybe now I will wait to see what direction the market is going but the next problem is the lack of reasonably priced rentals.
What’s your opinion on house prices up down or sideways?

[ToddT]

I find the pricing has come down a bit, but quite a few of the older homes are still heavily over priced. I've been looking for about 3 years on and off and I think some of the prices being asked in multi family are ridiculous, but you can find a great home in the $300,000 - $450,000 range depending on your tastes/skills.
Anything under $300,00 will require some work.

[Nooby]

I have a related question, if anyone can offer insight. We are looking at a potential move to Penticton (job opportunity, will know soon) and are considering renting (we have a home to sell in our current location). I'm wondering what the possibilities are of finding a full house with fenced yard and garage. We're a mature couple (trust me, no partying going on with us ) but the kicker is we have 3 small dogs - all older, well trained - but having had to find a rental years ago that accepted dogs was difficult.

I'm sure we'll figure something out, but I'm just looking for some insight in advance so we know what to expect. Thanks.

[Glacier]

You should be able to find a place to rent, and I recommend renting over buying at this time. The housing market is on the way down. That's my view, but predicting the future is never an exact science.

[dreamon]

Prices are down roughly 25% from their 2007 peak, they seem to have flatlined. By prices I am referring strictly to actual sale prices as opposed to asking prices, many of which are out of touch with reality.

It is buyers market for a buyer who educates themself to the market, can sort the wheat from the chaff.
As hoot mentioned interest rates are very low and prices are down lots.

The number of foreclosures has waned in the past 12 months, however we may see an upswing again as more people who can no longer refinance their debt end up in foreclosure.

So to answer the OP's question, I feel it is a great time to buy if you can find the right house in the right location at the right price. Find a good Realtor, yes Penticton has lots, and start looking.

And no I am not a Realtor, just someone who is interested in and educates themself as to what is going on with the market.

[Sn0man]

I have family in the real estate business, prices aren't finished going down yet. They aren't expected to turn back around until 2014. Renting is a good option right now, but choose carefully - some landlords are still trying to charge 2008 rates (makes me wonder how long their places sit empty), while others have gotten a clue and are offering reasonable rents.

[Nooby]

Thanks all. We've been homeowners for over 25 years, would prefer not to rent but thought it might be a viable short term option if timing for selling our current home, job start date and such doesn't quite work out as we'd like. It's just that when we did need to rent short term quite a few years ago as we were waiting for a house to be built, we had 2 small dogs and it was really hard to find a rental because of that - everyone was OK with one, but not two (we eventually did get lucky and find a fellow dog lover who was OK with it). And now we have 3, so that could be a challenge (even though they're all perfect little angels )
We pretty much need a house - a townhouse or duplex isn't really an option.

Thanks for the input!

[fall]

prices are more stable due to not as much inventory as say westbank and kelowna, westbank tons of new subdivisions and new houses and kelowna an over surplus of condos makes more to compete with and lowers prices and bargaining when buying, not to mention foreclosures are on the rise! penticton is way more stable, have a property there and west kelowna! also the room to expand just isnt there in penticton with the rez taking half of one side of the town, maybe they will do lease land subdivisions one day, osoyoos and westbank bands are very business savy you would think pen would want a piece of the pie they sure have the land to do it! there is that new area going in up carmi but space is still quite limited!

[Static]

90% of the first ten years of mortgage payments is interest (based on 10% down). Interest is just as big of a waste as renting. The only thing is that based on cash flow and expenses, it is far cheaper to rent today. Interest rates dictate the direction of home values. As they fall, the sheeple are able to borrow more, pushing up prices in the process. However, when rates rise, banks lend less resulting in lower prices. Interest rates are at a historical low. If your intenetion is to profit from real-estate, now is not the time to purchase. Prices in the Okanagan still have a far way to go before hitting bottom.

[livewire]

Congrats on the job Nooby. If you must rent, as a previous landlord I can tell you the I would take a mature couple with dogs over most of the people that applied to rent that didn't have dogs. And in this town, research who your landlord is.....

[cutypi]

Hoot is one of the resident know-it-all bullies who seems to think that only his witty opinion matters and that anyone with a differing perspective is just here so he can flame them.

Right on bipdl... Best post of the day !!!!

[Nooby]

Thanks for the congrats from those who offered - we are really looking forward to this and hopefully Penticton will be our final home . We've been thinking we wanted to return to Calgary (our original home) but I think we've made the right decision. Now - anyone looking for a fine piece of real estate in Salmon Arm? - let me know