After posting the newly updated B.C. waterfront and prime view sales stats from MyLandcor in the members area of Waterfront West, I thought I would take a quick look at the areas with the highest number of waterfront sales (so far) for 2007. So without further ado, here are the results (single family sales only):

1. Williams Lake (Rural)

2. Gulf Islands (Rural)

3. (Port) Alberni Rural

4. Sechelt (Rural)

5. Duncan (Rural)

Although these stats don't tell the whole story (some areas have more waterfront than others so they are bound to be higher on the list), they give a good idea of the current action in the market. Other notable single family areas include Salmon Arm (Rural), the Central Okanagan (Rural), Powell River (Rural), North Saanich (District), Courtenay (Rural), Nanaimo (Rural), Kamloops (City), Chilliwack (District) and finally West Vancouver, where the average SF sale price was an astounding $5, 601, 800!

I decided to take a look back at last year's stats for these regions and compare. Although the current stats for 2007 do not include October-December, it looks like sales may be down slightly year over year; however, waterfront single family prices are up a staggering 10-30% in the above 5 regions. The biggest increase of the 5 areas was in Sechelt, where the average sale price went up by over $300, 000 year over year (and number of sales increased to boot)!

We will post more market details in January when the stats for 2007 are complete. If you would like to view the current stats, just register for our complimentary Buyer's Club by clicking the VISA symbol at the bottom left hand side of the site.

Finally, as promised, here is the first recently reduced property you may want to browse. The owner (private sale) of this beautiful riverfront property has just dropped the price of Option B (113 acres with 3 homes, 2 barns, workshop, greenhouse, infrastructure - one mile river frontage) from $850, 000 to $775,000 for a quick sale. The land is in the wide part of the valley with lots of sun and removed from the road by a 100 yard strip of forested land and a 200 foot river (bridge). The property would be perfect for organic farming.

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As the summer fades into the dreary days of autumn and our thoughts turn to work, school and winter festivities, now could be the best time to look back at those waterfront properties you had your eye on over the summer.

If you want to get a jump on other buyersand have your property ready to go for next summer, the time to start shopping is now. At Waterfront West , we had predicted an upswing in site visitors in early Spring last year; however, we were suprised that the jump in visitors to our site began on as early as December 29th . From December to January, our unique daily visitors almost doubled, with no additional advertising on our part. Many recreational buyers want to have their property purchased and useable for the summer season so they start shopping early, very early.

From our experience and talk with industry insiders, the "slow season" (if there is one!) in the B.C. recreational real estate market is October-December. Last year, we noticed a number of price reductions on properties that had been on the market during the high season and not sold. This year, although to a lesser extent, we have noticed the same trend. As many real estate investers know, the best time to buy is when the pressure is off the market so the next couple of months may present some good buying opportunities!

In the coming weeks, we will be featuring some properties on this blog that have been reduced in price and that our subscribing real estate agents believe represent exceptional value in the waterfront market, so please stay tuned!

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Last weekend Waterfront West staff attended the B.C. real estate guru Ozzie Jurock's 2008 Real Estate Outlook to find out what he predicts for B.C. marketsfor the coming year.

For all of the recreational real estate fans out there, Ozzie advised to "go where the boomers go" and B.C. areas he alluded to for future growth in this sector included much of Vancouver Island, as well as some smaller towns in the Okanagan and Shuswap areas.

A recent survey by Angus Reid Strategies showed that one of every four Canadian adults would like to buy a vacation property. Forty-one percent of these buyers were over 55 years old and eighty-three percent of them wish to pay off their mortagages on these properties or have clear title within 15 years of purchase. Furthermore, waterfront properties are most popular with B.C. buyers (39%).

Based on these survey results, the high demand for rec. property, coupled with the availability of extra cash and cheap mortgages is keeping the market brisk for B.C. recreational property. Many of our subscribing real estate agents have reported a surge in activity in the last few weeks of August and beginning of September, and our site stats have shown an increase of anywhere from 500-2500 more unique visitors month over month since January so the demand is definitely out there! Stay tuned to this blog to find out the top 10 recreational areas in B.C. as determined by our site statistics (to be released next spring).

For real estate investors or speculators, the general advice of the day was to make sure you want what you buy. Despite some US markets preforming well (Seattle gained 12% in price this year according to NAR), US headlines are grim in light of the recent sub-prime mortgage debacle. Investors must be aware of the psychological impact of the media on the market. Although B.C.'s economy remains strong, as does Alberta's, Ozzie pointed to the high listing to sales ratio in Edmonton (which he belives is unwarranted) as a possible indicator of the psycholoigcal effect the negative media has created.

The other "fly in the ointment" could be a possible debasement of currency and all implications that would have (ie. raised interest rates). Although he believes this is unlikely, he advised real estate investors to excercise caution and make sure to do their due diligence to make sure properties cash flow and/or make sense from an investment perspective. He advised that if you are planning to buy or need any type of loan to get it in writing now as he believes banks will tighten up on lending to avoid loan defaults.

On the upside, for those of us who think against the grain, a little more bad news may cause US markets in select areas to slip further and create some good buying opportunities.

Finally, he says if you are buying for yourself, buy the best you can afford and enjoy it to the fullest!

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