Gallagher's Canyon February Real Estate News

Issue #3

12/2011

February Greetings From the Bo Knows Homes Gallagher's Canyon Sales Team

Greetings!

Winter was late coming this year, and it looked like we were pretty much done with it a week ago. Since then we have had four snowfalls and over a foot of snow in total. It was raining yesterday and a beautiful day today with warm temperatures. The forecast is for snow levels to rise so, hopefully, in a couple of weeks this will all be a distant memory and we will be looking forward to the golf season.

We have seen a big increase in visitors to the Sales Centre in the past couple of weeks and we are looking forward to the spring selling season. If you are thinking of putting your Gallagher's home on the market, this is a good time to be doing so.

Interesting Winter Visitor Seen Frequently at Gallagher's!

Many of Gallagher's residents have seen this winter's regular visitor, Bob (or Bobbie) Katt. This picture is courtesy of Gail Roche and was taken in the back yard of one of the homes on Pinnacle Ridge.

He (she) has been roaming several back yards and, as you see, successfully catching a few small rodents, making sure we don't have any issues with unwanted little furry critters this summer.

SELLING YOUR HOME? HERE'S A COMPETITIVE EDGE FOR YOU!

Certified Pre-Owned Homes

Announcing a New Way to Sell Your Pre-Owned Home!

*The Certified Pre-Owned Homes™ program is exclusive to Century 21 Assurance Realty Ltd. for the Central Okanagan

What is a Certified Pre-Owned™ Home?

Inspected: A Certified Pre-Owned Home™ is inspected by a Home Inspection Company approved by the program

Corrected: The inspection may determine some deficiencies which need to be corrected so the home can be warranted

Re-Inspected: The Inspector returns to ensure the corrections have been made.

Warranted: The Seller is then able to offer a one-year warranty to the buyer of the home for major items, such as HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Roof, Structural, Major Appliances

Why is a Certified Pre-Owned™ Home Important to You?

Buyers and Sellers Both Will Benefit

Benefits to the Seller

Peace of Mind: You know that the house and its systems have been inspected and you can sell it without any issues

Differentiate Your Home in the Market: There will be competing Pre-Owned homes on the market. You can offer Buyers something none of your competitors can. It's a great advantage!

Easier to Sell: When your home stands out in the crowd it will be easier to sell in a shorter time and will eliminate pricing arguments.

Benefits to the Buyer

One-Year Home Warranty: This means worry-free ownership of your new home. You are protected against unexpected expenses.

Confidence in the Quality of Your New Home: It has passed the tests. Not all resale homes qualify for Certified Pre-Owned Homes™ status. You can rest easier that you have made the right choice.

What Does the Warranty Cover?

Home Systems:

Central Heating & Air Conditioning Systems, Ductwork, Interior Plumbing System, Hot Water Heater

Structural Coverage:

Roof, Foundation, Siding

Home Appliances:

Refrigerator, Range/Oven/Hood, Built-in Microwave Oven, Dishwasher, Central Vacuum, Garbage Disposal, Ceiling Fans, Garage Door Opener & Door Bells, Interior Whirlpool Tubs

A Certified Pre-Owned Homes™ Warranty, administered by UNIRISC Home Warranty, assists its clients by arranging for a qualified service company to repair the appliance or system and in most cases will pay the service company directly, less a $50.00 deductible.

Please call the Bo Knows Homes Real Estate Team for Details:

Telephone: 250-808-5508

Email: Click here to email the Team

TAKE A TRIP ON US! We're handsomely rewarding you for your referrals!

Get a great Referral Reward Gift from us!

*2000 Air Miles Reward Miles

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***Apple iPad2 or Samsung Galaxy Tab Computer

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Your Choice...whenever you refer a New Client to us, which results in our sale or purchase of a property with them...anywhere in the Central Okanagan

*Reward given upon the completion of the transaction

**Air Miles flight rewards subject to availablity & season

***Apple iPad2 16GB WiFi or Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 16GB WiFi

****Wine Value approx. $500, red, white or mixed (your choice)

Recent Sales at Gallagher's Canyon Continue to be Strong!

To date this year, there have been five home sales at Gallagher's Canyon. This is one more than for the same period last year and, considering some of the weather we have experienced, this is a good sign.

Three of these homes are single family homes and two are townhouses.

Over the past one year period, from Febrary 1, 2011 to January 31 2012, there were a total of 37 properties sold at Gallagher's Canyon. The Gallagher's Canyon Sales Office (Ken Murray and the Bo Knows Homes Team) accounted for 15 of the listings sold and 15 of the buyers). By contrast, the next most successful real estate team accounted for 12 of the listings sold and 7 of the buyers.

Another intersting ratio is the nuumber of home sales, versus listings taken in the same period. The Sales Office had a ratio of 55% for listing sales versus listings taken and 60% buyers versus listings taken. The next most successful real estate team had a ratio of 36.4% of listing sales versus listings taken and 21.2% of buyers versus listings taken. When you are considering selling your home or finding a Realtor to represent you for a buying transaction, please keep these numbers in mind.

Gallagher's hit a new milestone in late February. For the first time, a home was listed for sale priced over $2 million ($2,195,000). For more details on this exquisite house and all other proerties for sale at Gallagher's, pease click on the links below.

To view all current property listings in Gallagher's, please click on the following links:

Single Family Homes; Townhouses; Lots.

New HST Transition Rules Should Be Positive for Housing Sales

HST Transition Rules for Housing

The Province announced the HST Transition rules on February 17, 2012 as the Province transitions back to the PST/ GST system on April 1, 2013.

Used Residential Homes (most resales) are, and remain, exempt from HST.

1. Under the current system, there is no additional rebate for new homes greater than $525,000 - Effective April 1, 2012, for homes completing prior to April 1, 2013, this rebate threshold has been increased to $850,000, meaning that the maximum rebate available (for homes worth 850k) is $42,500. This provincial portion HST rebate will also be available to secondary or vacation residences located outside the lower mainland.

This last change is especially positive for Okanagan Real Estate in general and Gallagher's Canyon lot sales in particular. Up until now, there has been no rebate for second home or vacation residences. Now the 5% rebate will apply to all homes purchased up to $850,000 and the maximum $42,500 rebate will still apply to homes over that threshold. This means that purchasers of a new home with an $850,000 pricee will save $42,500 and puchases of any home under this threshold will save 5% on their purchase price.

Although HST has never applied to resale homes, I beilieve the Transition Rules iwll also help sales of pre-owned homes as the general public has really never understood how the HST affected them on home purchases.

Our Gallagher's Canyon Page in Homes and Land Magazine Featuring Your Property

In order to better showcase our Gallagher's Canyon property listings we have created a new Gallagher's Canyon Listings page in Homes and Land Magazine.

In addition to the many websites we have showcasing Gallagher's Canyon properties, our Gallagher's Canyon Homes and Land page further enhances your property when you choose the Bo Knows Homes Team to market and sell your home or lot.

Some of the other places your property gets exposure include your individual website and URL, a QR code directed to your property, a YouTube video, two Facebook listings, Twitter, Craigslist, Kijiji, Castanet and more.

You are also linked to approximately 8,000 Century 21 websites. We have a professional photographer on staff who will take at least 21 professional pictures of your home and provide an professional four page brochure. Your listing will also be automatically optimized for smartphone users.

No one in the industry is further ahead in leading edge technology or provides more marketing exposure than we do. If you're thinking of selling, give us a call and let us show what we will do to help sell your property quicky and for the best price.

Nature's Artwork. A Few Foggy Days in February Gave Us Some Wonderful Scenes!

In early February, we had several cool nights, combined with fog. Nature put on a lovely show for us, coating the trees with frost. Below are a couple of pictures of the scenes from that week.