Who is buying homes in Okanagan - Shuswap?

Ever wonder where home buyers come from?  Since September 2010, the Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board (OMREB) has been collecting information from members with regards to where buyers are coming from - both geographically and demographically.

Result s of OMREB's new Board-wide monthly Buyer Survey indicate that serious buyers are taking advantage of the current market and leveraging their postive purchasing power while it lasts.  Buyer profiles gathered through each monthly survey include property type, family dynamic, financing, and areas moving from and to.

2011 AVERAGE - January through May: On average during the first 5 months of 2011, home buyer have been coming from:

• within the OMREB Board area (60.3%)
• Alberta (13.84%)
• other areas of BC (8.10%)
• Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island (8.08%
• Eastern Canada/Maritimes (3.86%)
• Saskatchewan/Manitoba (2.94%)
• and outside Canada (1.88%)

So far this this year, on average move-up buyers accounted for 28.86% of the purchasers while first-time buyers comprised 19.8%.

9-MONTH AVERAGE - September 2010 through May 2011: On averager, over the last quarter of 2010 and first quarter of 2011, home buyers have been coming from:

• within the OMREB Board area (59.09%)
• Alberta (14.42%)
• Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island (10.56%
• other areas of BC (7.97%)
• Eastern Canada/Maritimes (2.98%)
• Saskatchewan/Manitoba (2.67%)
• and outside of Canada (1.88%)

On average move-up buyers during the 9 months accounted for 25.97% of the purchasers while first-time buyers comprised 11.12% during the 9 months OMREB's Buyers Survey has been conducted.

Real estate markets can be driven by local demand stemmig from outside the region or province, by international sources or by a combination of all three.  Knowing how many homes are sold  and at what price is important part of the picture.  However, understanding who your buyers are and where they come from can reveal not only market dynamics but also identify which factors actually drive local demand.  For example, a change in entry level buyer activity can have a ripple effect throughout the entire market as many move-up buyers rely on first-time buyers to purchase their existing homes. First-time buyers are a driving factor and they stimulate the chain of owership.

Low interest rates and attractive pricing alone don't necessarily mean increased sales activity.  Many additional factors affect consumer confidence, including local employment opportunities and the overall economic environment.  Real estate markets can also react differently depending on the influence of various buyer segments.

Housing markets in Vancouver, for example, are being bolstered by off-shore buyers while the Alberta market is closely linked to natural resource prices and their job market.  Since a sizeable proportion of local sales come from buyers that orginate outside our region, 40% being non-local, we need to keep on eye on Alberta and the Lower Mainland.  The monthly Buyers Survey helps to do just that!

So if you are curious as to what is moving our local real estate market, this is a bit of an insight.

Okanagan Mainline Real Estate Board covers the Central Okanagan, North Okanagan and Shuswap ~ from Peachland to Revelstoke.

(Source: OMREB)