Friday, April 10, 2015

What Features Are Driving The Kelowna Real Estate Boom

By M Walker


The Canadian province of British Columbia is a place of extreme beauty. Kelowna real estate is crying out for new listings. This is a good time to put a property up for sale.

What is driving the explosive demand for homes in Kelowna? It doesn't hurt that the town has a lake, Okanagan, running through it. Orchard City, or K-town, is on the same line of latitude as Vancouver Island on the pacific coast. Kelowna is right in the middle of the province.

The first settlers in the town arrived from France in 1859. The city was incorporated in 1905. The climate of the area is described as humid continental. This means it experiences sunny, dry summers; cloudy, cold winters and four distinct seasons. It has an elevation of only 344 metres. Notable people from Kelowna include WAC Bennett, the late Premier of British Columbia, sports figures including Jason and Mike Crumb, Byron Dafoe and Tyler Shelast.

The tourism industry provides most of the jobs here. Visitors flock here for biking, golf, hiking and boating in the summer time. Popular winter sports include Nordic and Alpine skiing at nearby Silver Star and Big White resorts. There is loads to see and do here and no shortage of nice places to stay. Among the attractions are historic sites such as Father Pandosy Mission, Guisachan Heritage Park and Myra Canyon Trestles. Various festivals are held throughout the year, including Parks Alive!, Arts Alive! and Celebrate Canada Day. There are also a number of major social gatherings geared around the town's successful wine industry.

The town is completely surrounded by huge nature reserves, placing it at the center of a huge oxygen factory. Greystone and Trepanier protected areas form the east-west axis of tranquility, while Fintry and Myra-Bellevue provincial parks form the south-north.

The southern climate is ideal for growing grapes, hence a lucrative wine industry has grown here. In fact, local wines have been noticed at the international level. The Okanagan Mountain Park fire destroyed a couple of these vineyards in 2003, but they were eventually restored. In 2014, the region was recognized by USA Today as one of the best wine regions for visitors.

A major manufacturer of a popular range of fruit juices is also located here. This is handy to the 13,000 students of higher education who are based here between the University of British Columbia (8,000) and Okanagan College (5,000). The Okanagan campus of UBC offers degrees in Management, Medicine, Health and Social Development, Applied Science, Education, as well as Creative and Critical Studies.

The quality of life in Kelowna has been quantified by statistical organizations, who rate it very high. The positive QOL indicators, in which the town is rated either moderate or high, include safety, health care and purchasing power. The negative indicators, in which the town is rated low, are pollution, traffic, consumer price index and the ratio of property prices to income. A low property price to income ratio means that rents or mortgage payments occupy a smaller proportion of household income than areas with a high ratio.

Kelowna has appeared in various films. In 2006, it was featured in a movie called, "Fido, " a comedy/thriller/horror zombie flick that debuted at the Toronto Film Festival. The setting was an alternate universe in the 1950s where cosmic radiation turned the dead into zombies. Parts of the films, Shed and Shed 2 were filmed at the nearby ski resort, Big White. Both films featured snowboarding.

Public bus transportation is provided by the Kelowna Regional Transit System. Despite this, the town is one of the most automobile-dependent areas of Canada. More than 65 percent of the total greenhouse emissions in this city are attributed to its love affair with the car.

It is easy to see why property here is so much in demand. It is a delightful place to live. Even crime seems limited to events where liquor is available. It is a haven for nature-lovers and has a very high quality of life overall. It is a peaceful community. Because of the massive demand for housing, it is a good time to sell. On the other hand, as the area's popularity continues to grow, this is also a good time to invest in Kelowna property.




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