The Central Okanagan foreclosure inventory levels continue to show steady increases from month to month as 2011 comes to a close.  Buyers ask me all the time if I foresee a huge influx of court ordered sales to the Kelowna real estate market? In my opinion, having watched how the local banks and lenders handle the foreclosure process the answer would have to be...no I don't. Reason being is banks and lenders reluctantly foreclose on homes until it is absolutely necessary (almost as if they hate to lose money or something). The process is very time consuming and very involved so it truly is a last resort for them to exercise! 

It is worth noting that offering on a court ordered sale property is not always going to work out for a buyer. I like to remind my buyers that "there really is no guaranteed strategy to pick up foreclosure homes at greatly reduced prices."  I would suggest having a budget and sticking to it when it comes to placing an offer on a foreclosure home in order to avoid the idea of outbidding other interested parties just to be able to say that "you won"!  I call this the "Ebay" mentalitily wanting to beat out all other competing offers and then coming to the realization that you spent way more on the home than you really intended to.

Foreclosure homes now in the $400,000 or less category are the most sought after and competed for homes in the courts right now. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of understanding the foreclosure process and how the BC Court System works prior to placing an offer on one of these types of properties.

There are currently 145 active foreclosures (as of November 28,2011) amongst the entire listing inventory (4,226 properties) for the Central Okanagan. There has been a significant rise in stratified foreclosure listings since August of this year, jumping from 52 to 73 properties currently.  Inventory levels of single family homes have also increased from 50 to 64 listings for the same time period.

There are currently 88 active foreclosures (as of November 28,2011) amongst the entire listing inventory (2,065 properties) for the North Okanagan.

Active Central Okanagan Foreclosure Inventory Breakdown:

• 4 Lots and Acreages (Ranging in value from $95,000 to $977,000)
• 4 Manufactured Home (Ranging in value from $42,000 & $158,900)
• 73 Strata Properties (Ranging in value from $99,900 to $2.050 Million)
• 64 Single Family Residential (Ranging in value from $155,000 to $2.795 Million)

Sold Foreclosure Properties for October/November 2011 to date:

• A total of 2 building lot sales both at $200,000 with days on market of 148 and 160 respectively in West Kelowna.
• A total of 10 stratified sales of condos and townhomes ranging in value from $127,800 to $360,000 with a total days on market ranging from 22 to 216 days.
• A total of 9 residential home sales ranging in value from $180,000 to $1.060M with a total days on market ranging from 29 to 312 days.

If you would like more information on the how Court Ordered Sales and the foreclosure process works in Kelowna, West Kelowna and the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan please call or text me at (250) 808-7700 or email:jason.neumann@century21.ca

Sincerely,

Jason Neumann