April 2017

Here in the heart of the Okanagan, bike riding is more than a pleasurable past time – it’s a way of life.  To encourage everyone to hop on two-wheeled transport, the Central Okanagan will again host Bike to Work and School week from May 29 to June 4 in conjunction with the smartTRIPS program.  This is a collaborative program with the City of Kelowna, West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation along with the surrounding municipalities of Districts of Peachland and Lake County and Regional District of Central Okanagan.

In order to measure the success of the program, all participants are encouraged to register on the Bike to Work BC website.  You can register as an individual or a team on the website under the Kelowna and Central Okanagan tab on the

It might be the calm before the storm.

Last month in Kelowna and the Okanagan Region there were 824 residential real estate transactions which is on par with figures from March 2016.  In the Central Region specifically, which includes Kelowna, there was a drop in sales over last year, from 589 transactions March 2016 to 566 sales last month with a year-to-date decrease of nearly 3.5%.

In the Okanagan as a whole, this is an increase of 58% over February but spring is historically busier in every area of the country.

The average price across all homes types was $475,172.74 in March, virtually unchanged over February and 10% higher than March 2017.

Homes sold more quickly last month than they did in February, at 79 days in the entire

In a market such as Kelowna – short on inventory, high on prices – there are often opportunities to get into a starter home by purchasing a manufactured home.

Some will gasp at the thought of buying a manufactured home, because they’re also known by a variety of other names.  Modular homes, RTM (Ready-to-Move) Homes and Mobile Homes.  Often, lack of knowledge and preconceived notions of what these types of homes are can prevent a first-time buyer from taking that first step.

What are the Differences Between These Types

A Modular Home:  These types of structures are built in sections indoors, in a building centre or factory.  The sections are then transported to the building site and put together on a permanent foundation.  Once permanently