Real Estate Recap

At this time the Kelowna orchards are blanketed with taraxacum seedheads and it's.....Victoria Day weekend!  A public holiday across Canada celebrating Queen Victoria's birthday on Monday, May 23rd as we are a member of the Commonwealth of Nations of which the Queen is head.

For Kelowna-ites and regular visitors, this long weekend marks the onset of summer activities such as opening up second get-a-ways,  putting boats in lake waters, prepping bikes for rides, heading out on the hiking trails, pulling out from storage deck and patio furniture, scheduling a bbq with family and friends, finalizing garden plantings and more.

Over the next three days I will be multi-tasking with work and play.  The play aspect offers a lot of great choices this weekend so I will be buzzing around to catch as much as I can of the Falkland Rodeo, Kelowna's Knox Mountian Hill Climb, Rutland May Day festivities, Okanagan Meadowlark Festival, and Pentiction, Peachland, Armstrong or Kelowna's Farmers Market!

Have a safe weekend and when you are chilling out with a cup of coffee, tea, bottle of beer or glass of wine in hand enjoy the Real Estate Recap format provided below of my past week news tweets:

KELOWNA AREA REAL ESTATE NEWS

• Pricey house demand - June Conway
• What do the numbers say? - June Conway
• Real Estate Recap May 14th, 2011 - June Conway

OKANAGAN NEWS

• Osoyoos Celebrity Wine Festival - OCWF
• Kelowna homeowners: Property tax deadline coming up July 5th.  Make sure to read up on the HomeOwner Grant Program - City of Kelowna
• Update on the border and wine scenerio - the Province

CANADA REAL ESTATE NEWS

• Discovering the hot Hamilton market - Open File
• Canadians biggest foreign buyers of U.S. real estate - CTV News
• Tougher to own a home - The Province
• Housing in B.C the least affordable in Canada, RBC. - Canadian Business
• Calgary & Edmonton have the most attractive housing affordability in Canada - Calgary Herald
• Canadians confident in the investment potential of recreational properties, survey - Canadian Business
• Canadians putting more cash towards homes - Globe and Mail
• RCB Housing Trends and Affordability Report - RBC Economics
• Market softening nationally, CREA - PropertyWire
• Rising weath drives improved demand for luxury homes across Canada, RE/MAX - Vancouver Sun
• Property market and  mortgage chages affect Canadian real estate figures - PropertyWire
• Home equity considered forced savings for young people - National Post
• Vancouver's Olympic Village sales exceed target, report - Vancouver Sun
• Mortgage news push home sales down 14% - CBCnews
• Vancouver real estate skews national home price upward - CTVnews
• Canadian house prices continue to rise although... - Montreal Gazette
• Calgary MLS sales, prices up in April - Calgary Herald
• Vancouver housing prices pass New York and London as "Chinese move-in" - ForexHound
• "Linchpin" Buyers won't remain on the sidelines much longer... - Winnipeg Free Press
• Mortgage rules take the wind out of house sales - Globe and Mail
• Home prices continue to climb - Financial Post
• Chinese buyers make Vancouver homes expensive - PropertyMagazine
• Chinese spreading wealth make Vancouver home pricier than NYC - BloomsbergBusinessWeek
• Canadian home sales edge down in April - CREA
• Canada to become worlds 5th largest construction market - Journel of Commerce
• Vancouver homes more expensive than NY or London - Vancouver Sun
• Home sales soften in April - Vancouver Sun
• Time for U.S. to deal with debt problem; spillover could hurt Canada: Carney - Canadian Press
• Home sales plunge as mortgage rules bite - Financial Post
• Vancouver market surges  thanks to Chinese buyers - National Post
• B.C. homes prices up, sales down 16.43% April 2011.- BuyRic
• Multi-generation housing, analyst predicts - the Province
• Plenty of choice for Island buyers - Vancouver Sun
• The in's and out's of buying U.S. real estate - Globe and Mail
• First-timers tally 50% of house sales - Winnipeg Free Press

U.S. REAL ESTATE NEWS

• U.S. still top spot for foreign property buyers - Realty & Investments
• U.S. home sales down 12.9% from April 2010, one in three homes sold were distressed - AGBeat
• U.S. Home sales dip shows slow housing recover - MSN
• Americans still feel believe homes are a better investment than stocks; survey - CBS MoneyWatch

MORTGAGE NEWS

• Reasons to save for a big mortgage payment - Globe and Mail
• Why interest rates may rise slowly: Tal - CanadaMortgageTrends
• 5 yr rates fall but not much - CanadaMortgageTrends
• Fixed rate has started moving down - Canadian Mortgage Adviser
• Should you pay off your debts before applying for a mortgage? - BuyRic
• Buying your home - what can you afford? - Globe and Mail
• Understanding your credit rating and credit score in Canada - BuyRic
• Carney's views sure to offer views of the road ahead - Globe and Mail

HOUSE SELLING or BUYING TIPS

• Do I really need an inspector? - ActiveRain
• How to fold a towel  video - Style at Home
• Why I wouldn't sell my house myself? - MoneyVille
• Take a look at the dramatic transformation ~ staging helps. - ActiveRain
• A lowdown on living in the sky - Globe and Mail
• How to make a move without breaking the bank - MoneyVille

HOME DECOR & MAINTENANCE TIPS & IDEAS

• Solar lighting for the garden comes in many new styles - Washington Post
• Inspiring backyards - HouseAndHome
• Ideas to create an idyllic outdoor patio setting - HouseAndHome
• DIY painting tips for a more professional finish - HandyManMatters
• Wall paper your walls to high style - theRedPin
• Kitchen Trend Watch: Industrial Modern - ApartmentTherapy

WEIRD, MISC NEWS

• Princess Beatrices's wedding hat reaches $30,000 on EBay website - Washington Post
• Meet some bacteria...in your body - Telegraph
• Senior Moments - YouTube
• B.C. angler? A must-have IPhone app - iFish BC
• Want to be an instant wine and food expert? Download this barcode scanning wine app - NatDecants
• 14 who-knew? Uses for your microwave - RealSimple
• Surprising uses for your dishwasher - RealSimple
• McDonalds to offer free wi-fi across Canada - TechVibes
• List: Canada's most destructive wild fires - CTVnews
• Gaga out-twitters Obama! - National Post
• Buying booze on the web - National Post

Always on ~ welcome your real estate enquiries!