Kelowna activities & Real Estate Recap

Summer officially kicked in June 21st and Kelowna continues to have 'iky' weather~unusual to say the least but appears not unlike abnormal weather trends other B.C. communites have been experiencing.  Of course, no matter what the weather is like, it's not keeping us from participating in all the great things the Kelowna area offers:

• Golf
• Wineries
• Kelowna City Parks
• Kelowna Regional District Parks
• Provincial Parks in the Kelowna area
• Dog Parks
• Bird watching
• Hiking
• Farmers Markets
• Tourism Kelowna's site lists many more activities

I'll be at Penticton's annual Elvis Festival this weekend.  If you see me "shaking, rattling and rolling" stop and say HI!

Whatever you're up to this weekend  have fun, be safe and if you'd like to catch up on real estate news check out Real Estate Recap, my past week of tweets:

KELOWNA REAL ESTATE NEWS

• What's up with luxury home sales? - June Conway
• What is the difference between a Buyer's and a Seller's market - June Conway
• What price range is most attractive to Buyers today? - June Conway

OKANAGAN NEWS

• Why do single-vineyard wines taste better? - Globe and Mail
• Heads up Kelowna property owners>>Property taxes due on or before first working day after July  1, 2011 - City of Kelowna

CANADIAN REAL ESTATE NEWS

• Dominance of 'Middle Kingdon' buyers in Vancouver's market - Financial Post
• Vancouver pizza boy: Sell you house now! - Globe and Mail
• Housing's little joke - HoweStreet.com
• Foreign buyers a tiny fraction of Lower Mainland housing market - NorthShoreOutlook
• China not driving Vancouver house prices - Globe and Mail
• Calgary house prices set to grow year-over-year - Calgary Herald
• Windsor house prices up 7% over year - Windsor Star
• Should you buy a house before it's too late? - Financial Post
• Economic miracle? >> Uh-oh Canada - Financial Post
• Big cities attracting poverty, Statscan data show - Globe and Mail
• Meto Vancouver luxury home makret set to climb to new heights - Vancouver Sun
• Check out a photo gallery of 25 classiest cottages across Canada - CTVNews
• EU debt crisis a threat to Canadian economy: Flaherty - Globe and Mail
• Home sales down,, tourism edges higher - Vancouver Sun

U.S. REAL ESTATE NEWS

• 10 Most searched homes near median U.S. list price -  Inman
• U.S. new-home sales fall for first time in  months - MSNBC
• Check out this video ~ Ellen found the funniest real estate listings - YouTube

INTERNATIONAL REAL ESTATE NEWS

• Where do the world's millionaires call home? Infograph - Globe and Mail
• Asia's millionaire population outpaced Europe and reaching North America - Globe and Mail
• Euro ripple effect on banks (infograph) - Globe and Mail
• Properties with staying power - Telegraph
• Where rich Chinese are buying real estate - Forbes
• Europe's financial contagion (infograph) - the Washington Post

MORTGAGE NEWS

• Canadian home-buyers are taking steps carefuly or simply doubtful - Canadian Mortgage Advisor
• Beware the distortions of too-low interest rates - Globe and Mail
• Rising risks, Bank of Canada warns - Globe and Mail
• Canadian banks' great run may be nearing end of road - Globe and Mail
• Carney's tales of woe - Vancouver Sun
• How to wind back CMHC's dominance - National Post
• Ottawa OK on lending limits - Financial Post
• Low rates help to push households further into debt - Globe and Mail
• Flaherty says no new mortgage rules despite record-high household debt - Vancouver Sun
• Understanding and protecting your credit - theRedPin
• Canadian mortgage forecast - CanadianMortgageTrends.com
• Fewer first-time buyers get pre-approved - CanadaMortgageTrends.com
• Mortgage rates may go down - BCREA
• BOC's Carney warns of runaway housing makret - CanadaMortgageTrends..com

HOUSE SELLING or BUYING TIPS

• Don't underestimate the importance of title insurance - theBiggerPocketsbBlog
• Monthly home ownership costs highter than renting - Globe and Mail
• Why good manners matter >>> House buying etiquette - Bo Kauffmann
• 9 items homebuyers desire - BankRate.com
• Want a job? Become a landlord - Wall Street Journal
• Video of Kitchen trends and nifty finds - H&H
• Ideas for dining room decor: photo gallery - House&Home

HOME DECOR & MAINTENANCE TIPS

• Geared-up garages - Vancouver Sun
• How to cool you space this summer - YourHome.ca
• 20 basic tools every homeowner needs - Inman
• Ideas for stripe decor - House&Home
• Fungus growing 'in most diswashers' : survey - Vancouver Sun
• 5 simple ways to create a DIY living wall - TreeHugger
• How to protect and maintain your beautiful hardwood flooring - Freshome

WEIRD, MISC NEWS

• Hare issues? - Telegraph
• The 10 most colorful towns on earth - Environmental Grafitti
• When (and how often) should you tweet? Infographic - All Twitter
• European festival itinerary >> 1 month, 2 wheels, 26 festivals - Telegraph
• Check out the 'pedestrian' price for a Ferrari Opus coffee book - New York Times
• Here's a mobile wine rack for cycling oenophiles - Globe and Mail
• How the World uses social networks (infograph) - Mashable
• 42 Fresh facts about twitter and facebook - BiteRebels
• Unique eye attention - More of Mama's Madness
• Bank of Canada unveils new plastic bank notes - BankNerd.ca
• Woman are taking over the social web - SMedio
• How can time whims reveal your inner self? (infograph) - FastcoDesign.com
• How do you navigate the gift card jungle? - Ron Schenone
• B.C. residents healthiest in Canada - Vancouver Sun
• Esperanza Spalding: A whole new fever ..video - YouTube
• Who would know! THAT dress fetches $4.6 million - Portland Press Herald
• 7 life lessons from the very weathly - the Washington Post
• Club Penguin goes down after Disney fails to renew domain name - Mashable
• Pet pied-a-terre's - HomeStars
• Top 10 Canadian credit card myths answered (infograph) - BankNerd.ca
• 10 ways to woo your customers - Globe and Mail
• Your duvet cover shall never wrinkle again, thanks to Trump houskeeping's nifty trick - HotelChatter
• Decide.com: For gadget buyers, timing is everything - CNET
• 40 yrs ~ History of email (infograph) - Mashable

REAL ESTATE RECAP

• June 18
• June 12
• June 3
• May 28
• May 21
• May 14