When you look back at the last 10 years of home sales in Vancouver, the start of 2012 has been slower than most of the previous years. The good news is, over the last few months the real estate market has been stable and sales have been holding strong.

In the month of April there were close to 2,800 MLS homes sales in Greater Vancouver, that’s all sales of detached houses, townhomes, duplxes and condos. It’s about a 13% decline over the same period last year and the lowest sales month since 2001. It sounds drastic to have last month as the lowest sales month since 2001 but let’s take another look at this data. The last 10 years have been extremely active and consistent in terms of sales. So when we have a slight slowdown, there’s a noticeable contrast to the home sales from the recent past.

We’re currently moving towards a balanced real estate market. The housing market does not favor the buyer or seller in our current market. There were a little over 6,000 homes listed for sale in the month of April and this is about 6.7% over the 10 year average. There’s currently about 16,600 MLS listings for sale, up 16% from April last year. What does this all mean? We’re seeing more homes for sale. The sales are consistent and so is the flow of new listings for sale.

In previous years there were too many sales for the number of homes being introduced to the market. This creates a sellers market where buyers are fighting over the few homes available to purchase. As we stand in April 2012, the market is balanced. As Vancouver Realtors selling homes in the market of Vancouver Westside and East Vancouver, we welcome a more balanced housing market. Buyers have more choice, giving them an opportunity to take their time searching and hopefully find their ideal home. Sellers have a bit more competition and no longer hold all the cards. Sellers can expect to sell at market value, in a reasonable period of time on the market.

As of April this year home prices are up 3.7% since last year. You may ask how this is possible when we’re moving into a balanced market and more homes are available. Based on supply and demand, the more availably of a resource causes prices to drop. The average home prices include sales of condos, duplexes, townhomes and detached houses. If we were to segment the data into two categories, houses and condos, it’s much easier to understand what’s happening with prices. House prices have increased while condos prices have been dropping. As detached houses are more expensive on average, the current median prices has risen.

As Vancouver realtors we can comment on what we’re experiencing in the real estate market. The condo market has been lagging and much slower than previous years. This means it’s much more difficult to sell a condo and buyers are determined to negotiate hard when purchasing. The opposite is happening in the detached housing market, we’re seeing multiple bids on houses and there’s a high demand. Houses sell fast if they’re priced appropriately.

If you have questions about the Vancouver real estate market or plan on selling your property, don’t hesitate to email or call us for advice.

Out With The HST, In With The New Housing Rebate

The brief life of the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is coming to an end. The housing market has seen some ups and downs over the past few years, so you might be wondering what the repeal of the HST means to the average home buyer.

The BC government announced a set of measures it will be introducing to see us through the transition.  Whether you’re buying, or selling, or just fantasizing about your dream house, you should make yourself aware of the new measures.

According to Finance Minister Kevin Falcon, the new measures are meant to be a “boost to home buyers…. At the same time, they help an important job-creator in all parts of the province.”

HST: Fatally Wounded, But Still Kicking

HST won’t be phased out until April 1, 2013, but the big news is the change to the New Housing Rebate.  The maximum rebate will increase to $42,500 (up from $26,250), to a maximum selling price of $850,000 (up from $525,000).  The take away from the announcement, it’s that more buyers will qualify.

How much tax you pay, and how much of a rebate you get, depends on when you sign and when you take possession.  The ins and outs get a little tricky, so here’s a brief overview:

The New Housing Rebate

The enhanced New Housing Rebate applies in a few other circumstances, beyond new purchases.  Specifically:

• Purchase of secondary or vacation homes outside the outside Greater Vancouver and Capitol regional districts.
• Owner-built homes, if HST was paid on the land.
• Upgrades on rental properties

Beyond the enhanced New Housing Rebate, if you built your own house but DIDN’T pay HST on the land, you’re still eligible for the New Housing Rebate, but at the lesser maximum of $28,475.

Some of the new measures are more sizable than others, but all together it is expected that it they will ease the tax burden on the B.C. home buyer, and keep the market moving. As Realtors selling homes in Vancouver, we welcome questions you may have about purchasing real estate & how HST affects you.

The month of January had an increased number of homes listed for sale on the MLS system. Our market is moving more into a balanced real estate market.

5,756 homes added to the MLS system in January, a 20% increase from January 2011. Of coarse there were other listings previously on the system, pushing the highest number of properties for sale to 12,544 listings, about a 12% increase over last years numbers.

Buyers are favored in this kind of market as there’s increased selection and more stability in pricing, i.e. less multiple offers. As Realtors we have been seeing a serge in the market. As i’m adding this update it’s the second week in February and these statistics are from January. In the last couple weeks we’ve seen the market really heated up and there’s now more multiple offers happening.

What’s new this past month is the launch of the MLSLink HPI (can be found at www.rebgv.org), made up of statistics from the five largest real estate boards, including Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto. This stats tool can be used to track and forecast trends in the housing market. Based on the new system the benchmark price of a house is $660,000 in Greater Vancouver. This price index is up 5.7% over last year prices, in the month of January.

If you have questions about the real estate market in Vancouver or have comments you’d like up to post, don’t hesitate to send us a message.

Today TD Bank announced they’re making changes to mortgages for people who fall within the self-employed category. CIBC Bank had already made this change last week and it’s likely other banks will follow this trend. The government is looking to protect home owners and the economy from problems similar to what happened in the US. It seems the government is looking to cool the real estate market by making it harder for some people to receive approvals for mortgages.

Before these changes, bankers or mortgage brokers were able to qualify home buyers by increasing there down-payment to 35%, even if they worked on a contract basis or relied on commissions. Self-employed individuals can be car salesmen, insurance brokers, contract workers or small business owners. Often business owners in Vancouver have their company listed as a corporation, paying themselves a small salary. Often these people are qualified to purchase a home under the self-employed category.

Consider this, about 1 in 6 workers are self employed and i’d bet it’s probably slightly higher for Vancouver. There has been a 12% increase within the last decade of people who are considered self-employed. Just last year (2011), there was an increase of 2%. This is about double the growth of typical employment, clearly a growing sector. These are the people who are agile, business starters, entrepreneurs and job creators. These are the people who are keeping the economy rolling. They already have their challenges by working with no safety nets and pension plans. They work longer hours and don’t always know what their salary will be from month to month. Business owners face many challenges, it’s unfortunate the government is penalizing an important sector by making it harder for them to qualify for mortgages.

How might this affect the real estate market? As Vancouver Realtors, we see tightening of mortgage rules as a way to cool the housing market. Is this a bad thing? Not really as we don’t want to see our housing market increase out of control and turn into a bubble. I personally feel there could be more creative ways to control our market and not hurt the local business owners who are so vital to our city.

If you have any comments or ideas you’d like me to post, please send us and email.

Just the other day I read and posted the latest real estate board market statistics for Vancouver. Take away all the numbers and percentages, what’s the report saying? The housing market has settled a little bit over last month but it’s still crazy out there. Why is this? Well, in my opinion there are a number of factors that play into this active home market and i’ll try to point out a few.

First, we’re seeing more sales of condos and homes because our housing market is more balanced. Let me explain. Besides a few months in 2008 when the world was coming to an end, it’s been a sellers market. Not enough supply of houses and buyers fighting for scraps. Now there’s more supply of residential detached homes and apartments for sale. Buyers have more choice, more to buy. All the construction over the years is finally catching up and filling the gap. Prices of detached houses have increased and more sellers are feeling comfortable putting there Westside and Eastside homes up for sale. People are feeling it’s a good time to sell if they must.

Lots of foreign buyers and investors looking to purchase homes in Canada. As Realtors selling in Vancouver we notice a surge of over-seas investors, especially from China. There’s very little government policy to deter foreign investment in our real estate market. I don’t believe i need to go into detail why investors are interested in our country. Fresh air, clean, safe, stable, good schools, beautiful….. Also, China has recently introduced more policies to cool their busy real estate market. It’s now more difficult for their citizens to buy multiple properties. So, if you can’t buy at home, buy in Vancouver.

Thirdly, the general public still feels there’s good value in buying real estate. Where else are you going to invest your money. I think most people have lost confidence in stocks and feel the need to diversify. Having a tangible, usable investment just makes sense. Over the last decade buying real estate has produced results, simple as that. Money is still cheap and accessible. While people continue to favor real estate as an investment and have the ability to buy, they will.

To read the latest real estate board housing statistics for June please click here.

About five years ago the condo market seemed unstoppable in Vancouver. With all the construction and new buildings, the city is now reaching a point of saturation. There are so many apartments hitting the market every year. Now it seems there are too many for the volume of buyers out there. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, for so many years we had a shortage and prices were going through the roof. Now it’s more balanced. Investors recognize there’s going to be slow growth in condo market in the coming years. Owning a house with land is another story.

Vancouver is a market fueled by foreign investment, mostly from Asia/China. From our experience as Vancouver Realtors, buyers from China are looking for real estate with land, mostly on the Westside. Our market is attractive as Canada and Vancouver have a lot to offer. A stable country, beautiful city, clean air, great schools, moderate climate, good food, easy travel access, safe neighborhoods and the list goes on.

The short story is, everyone wants to buy a house. Most homes placed on the market right now are snapped up quickly, sometimes in multiple offers over listing price. This in return is motivating other owners to sell when they see their neighbors cash out at attractive prices. Investors recognize the value of our Vancouver housing market. There’s no shortage of buyers in the house market.

If you’re searching for a house to buy on the Westside, try searching through our site. We provide the most complete list of houses for sale. As Vancouver’s top Realtors we’ve also been selling a lot of homes on the Eastside of Vancouver (Please visit www.EastVanHouses.com for East Vancouver Houses For Sale). Our resources for the neighborhoods East of Main St have recently been revamped to include an interactive map featuring predefined searches of homes in all East Vancouver communities.

First, the government will reduce the maximum mortgage amortization period from 35 to 30 years. Second, the maximum amount of the value of a home that can be re-financed will drop from 90 per cent to 85 per cent. And finally, government insurance will no longer be available to financial institutions wishing to insure home equity lines of credit.

“These are prudent measures that promote responsible lending practices and further strengthen our internationally recognized mortgage finance system,” Jake Moldowan, Board president said.

The adjustments to the mortgage insurance guarantee framework will come into force on March 18, 2011. The withdrawal of government insurance backing on lines of credit secured by homes will come into force on April 18, 2011.

Need help from a professional when moving? This girl takes her moving seriously, In The Box moving!

‘In The Box’ is a moving company who will help you organize and pack all your items before a move. They show up with all the supplies including boxes, bubble wrap, tape, labels and everything else. You become the contractor telling them what to pack and where it’s going to go in your new home. They will label everything making it easier on the other end unpacking.

Pricing, they charge per hour so it really depends on how large your home is and how much stuff you have. It usually costs about $600 to do a larger 2 bedroom condo or townhouse. If you want to have them pack and unpack it’s going to be closer to $1000. That includes all of the supplies and boxes. One of the convenient things is they provide re-usable plastic boxes so you’re not left with packaging at the end of the move. Plus, using the plastic ‘Frog boxes’, your items are protected and less garbage is going into the dumpster at the end of the move.

Their service area includes all of Greater Vancouver. We’re had a number of clients use their services and everyone has been extremely happy.

If you’re interested in selling or buying real estate in Vancouver, feel free to contact Jacob or Jacky to learn how they can help you with your next transaction!

Real estate marketing is always changing and Jacob and Jacky are constantly coming up with innovative ways to market homes. Through their strong internet presence Jacob and Jacky have been successful matching local and international buyers with homes in Vancouver. They’re also leaders in more conventional real estate marketing but wanted to do something different this summer.

Jacob and Jacky decided on a few marketing ideas and one of them is a balloon campaign. They wanted to do something fun and interesting, something the family could all enjoy. Jacky is a father himself and has always noticed how son enjoys helium balloons. This summer you’ll find them at a lot of events giving away free balloons. The two Realtors explain, “it’s something parents and kids appreciate. It’s a bit different from the regular real estate marketing most people are sick of receiving. Hopefully this gets noticed and gets the word out about our website (VancouverSpaces.com).”

Over the past number of weeks Jacob and Jacky have setup at Granville Island and the Celebration of Lights, working hard giving away balloons. If you haven’t already seen them this summer you’ll likely see them out so0n. Jacob and Jacky always welcome your thoughts or ideas on the their marketing so feel free to leave a comment.

This townhouse was updated in about one week in preparation to be listed for sale. Jacob and Jacky managed the whole project and helped their clients with renovations and home staging.

As Vancouver Realtors Jacob and Jacky often assist home sellers prepare their home before putting it on the market. This latest project needed a lot of renovations. The baseboards and sections of the hardwood flooring was missing, walls needed painting, electrical work was needed and doors had to be replacing.

As full service Realtors Jacob and Jacky were able to manage the whole project from start to finish. They coordinated the handy-men, cleaning and staging company. When they were finished preparing the home it looking like a showroom suite….ok, maybe not quite but  close to it! This was all done on a client budget of less than $2000.

Going through the process of repairs, de-cluttering, cleaning and staging will make your home more attractive to potential home buyers. Your home will look better in real estate videos and photos, increasing showings and traffic during open houses. Jacob and Jacky feel staged homes do sell faster and usually for a higher price.

Jacob explains, “this was definitely a success story as this particular townhouse sold quickly and close to what the owners were asking. We work with a lot of non-resident sellers who appreciate working with Realtors who are willing to manage a project in their absence.

If you’re interested in selling or buying real estate in Vancouver, feel free to contact Jacob or Jacky to learn how they can help you with your next transaction!