Seasonal Dip…
As expected, sales dropped off in August to almost half of the July buying spree. Total listings remained strong, so by one month’s results, buyers are back in the driver’s seat. It won’t be a big surprise to see sales increase again for the next couple of months. The Fall market is generally strong. The graph of Average Prices gives a general indication of our prices in Powell River. As I’ve said before the “lie detector” look of the graph makes it difficult to try to get an idea of whether prices are rising or falling.
What They’re Buying…
During this busy summer what have people been buying? Of the 114 sales since June 1, 93 were single family homes – no surprise there, but a distant second were mobiles and manufactured homes at 10. Ranchers are very popular with 19 edging out other styles of homes. With our aging demographic, it’s not unexpected that people are downsizing to one-floor living while still keeping a yard and freehold status. Also popular are detached shops: 31 of the homes sold with a detached shop. A further 12 had in-home shops. If you’re thinking of selling, let me help you factor all these things into the price of your home! Call me at 604 223-0811.
Thinking of Buying or Selling a Mobile Home?
Most mobile or manufactured homes sit on pads owned by the park owner, so when the home is purchased, land is not transferred. Instead of having title for ownership of the land, mobile homes are registered through a central registry as a way of proving ownership and helping buyers to be sure that ownership really transfers when they make payment. The system is not as solid as our Land Title system, but registration goes a long way toward ensuring an effective transfer of ownership. A Manufactured Home Registry decal with the registration number must be affixed to specified places on the home.
A second decal from Canadian Standards Association must be present in order to sell a mobile home. This decal represents approval of the electrical wiring when the home was manufactured. If any wiring has been changed in the home, it must have been done under permit or have the entire system re-approved by an accredited inspection body. Without original or updated approval, the home cannot be sold.
As the evenings grow cooler and a “sun room” area of my house heats up extensively during the day, I did some research on passive solar heating to see if I could make better use of that heat. As you can imagine, the solutions usually lie in the overall house design which is much too costly to consider. A couple of ideas did jump up though.
Saving Summer Heat…
To beat the summer heat, the sun’s rays must be stopped before they enter the building. Inside blinds or curtains are only a partial solution. A well-placed tree, exterior louvres or an overhang work much better for reducing summer heat. Paint can reduce lighting costs slightly by applying light colours in darker areas including white around the windows. (I know, that’s not rocket science!) What I have seen more of are “solar tubes” (The first time I saw one, I spent several minutes looking for the switch to turn its off!) Insulated and lined with reflective material, they bring in a lot of light with minimal heat loss or gain. Not too expensive to install, I hear. My solution with the sun room will be to find inexpensive ways to move that trapped heat into other areas of the house during the winter.
Affordable Mobile; Nice Park!
- 3 bedroom/2 baths; 1404 sq ft
- Large deck; close to golf!
- Ensuite with soaker tub
#18-8442 Springbrook Rd.
$104,900
Call me for a showing!
Powell River Real Estate Tid-bits 