Housing sales may be down in our region, but not prices
Despite a slowdown in sales activity, tough new mortgage rules, rising interest rates and the potential of a speculation tax, house prices in Kelowna are forecast to keep climbing.
The just-released Royal LePage House Price Survey pegged the average selling price of a two-storey, single-family home in Kelowna at $701,576 in the second quarter of this year.
That’s up four per cent from the average $675,476 at the same time last year.
“Fundamentals remain strong in Kelowna’s real estate market,” said Royal LePage Kelowna managing broker Francis Braam.
“Though it is true sales in the region are down by almost 20 per cent on an annual basis, they are based on record years. The market continues to thrive, attracing many prospective homeowners into the region with the promise of significant value.”
What he’s talking about is Vancouver homeowners selling for $1.5 million and coming to Kelowna to buy a $700,000 or $800,0000 bargain.
The survey put the average selling price of a bungalow in Kelowna at $641,886 in the second quarter, up 8.3 per cent. The average selling price of a condominium was $386,927 up 3.7 per cent.
The most expensive housing in the country is Vancouver.
The cheapest can be found in New Brunswick, where a two-storey in Saint John is $225,365 and a Moncton bungalow is $180,423.
Free Slurpee
Playing off the 7-11 numerical significance of its July 11 birthday, convenience store chain 7-Eleven is celebrating today by giving away 900,000 Slurpees across the country.
Granted, it’s a small version of the slushed ice drink, but it’s free.
And, it gives you the opportunity to try new summer flavours such as Sour Patch Kids Watermelon, Dole Raspberry Lemon and Crush Gummie Bear.
7-Eleven may be Dallas-based and have 66,000 stores around the world, but it has strong ties to Canada.
The first Slurpee was served up at a store in Calgary in 1969.
Manitoba is considered the Slurpee capital of the world and Winnipeg is naming one of its city streets Slurpee Way today.
Fipke distinction
He graduated from UBC Vancouver in 1973 with a geology degree.
He discovered the diamonds in the Northwest Territories in 1991 that led to the multi-billion-dollar Ekati Mine.
And he’s continued his exploration and donations to UBC Okanagan for the Charles Fipke Centre for Innovative Research, Fipke Laboratory for Trace Element Research and Alzheimer’s research ever since.
For such a body of work and philanthropy, Kelowna-based Charles Fipke will be honoured with the Alumni Award of Distinction at the UBC Achievement Awards in Vancouver in November.
While the awards won’t be handed out for another four months, the winners in eight categories were announced this week.