Real Estate Staging – Home and condo staging for sale
Over time we’ve been extremely successful selling real estate in Vancouver. Often we have other realtors ask us how we do it. I always say it’s being extremely organized, long hours, good marketing and presenting our properties properly. I have to say, one of the most important elements when selling houses and condos is to work with the owners to present their home in the best light possible. This includes repairing any damage, cleaning, landscaping and working with a professional home stager.
Using a real estate staging company makes our homes for sale look good in pictures and video. When buyers enter the home during a showing, right away they feel comfortable and picture themselves living there. A staging company will help plan the furniture in a room, art on the walls and match the colors. Often they can work with some of the existing furniture and add pieces from their inventory to improve the look of the space. Basically, a home stager will make a home stand out from the rest to get a home sold while maximizing the selling price.
For sellers who are deciding to stage or not to stage, just do it. As Vancouver Realtors we have an opportunity to market many homes, some prepared and some not. Properties that have been de-cluttered, cleaned and staged sell much faster and for more money. I’m talking about apartments and homes where there are no other negative determining factors. If you have an overpriced dilapidated house or a leaky condo, staging isn’t going to make miracles happen. If you have a nice home your selling and want buyers to add it to their shortlist – I couldn’t stress how important staging your home is before placing it on the market.
If you have questions about staging and interior decorating, feel free to contact us. We’re always happy to speak with clients about preparing their home for sale and introduce them to the staging companies we use on a regular basis. Most companies offer free consultations at your home.
Bank of Canada raise the interest rates
After more than a year at a record low level, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney raised the benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2007 by one-quarter percentage point to 0.5% this morning. Bank of Canada is the first in the Group of Seven to do so since the financial crisis and recession began in 2008.
In a statement Carney emphasized that the increase should not be interpreted as just the first of more to come.
“This decision still leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target in light of the significant excess supply in Canada, the strength of domestic spending and the uneven global recovery,” the central bank said. “Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments.”
How will this affect the housing market and home sales? Well, this does mean the variable rate will increase slightly. Especially for investment properties, it’s often difficult to make the numbers work based on rent received and cost of purchasing. In most cases property investors want the rent to cover the mortgage payments, property tax and strata fees. Higher interest rates will increase the costs for investors and this will put downward pressure on prices or upward pressure on tenant tent.
For home buyers planning to purchase as their primary residence it’s the same story, increased costs of home ownership when borrowing money. If someone is already have a hard time affording to their monthly payments this will slightly increase their costs.
Stepping back and taking a hard look at the situation, we’ve been spoiled with record low interest rates. Over the last number of years and especially in the last year and a half. I think we shouldn’t be too surprised seeing the rates going up slightly.
Although the lenders have not announced it yet, they in all likelihood will soon be following suit in the coming days by increasing their Prime lending rate also by .25% to 2.5%. For those of you on a variable rate please be advised that this means that your interest rate will be increasing in the near future.
As residential Realtors, Jacob and Jacky are always there to answer your questions about the Vancouver housing market. Contact their team if you’re planning on buying or selling your home!
Interview with real estate lawyer | Vancouver BC
Jacob and Jacky interview Mark Braeder to learn more about the services he provides clients buying and selling real estate.
Mark talks about the process of transferring ownership of a property during a sale. He highlights some of the differences between a Notary Public and his real estate lawyer services. One of the important differences is a lawyer is able to help with any legal issues that may arise during a purchase or sale.
Jacob and Jacky have been working with Mark for a number of years and recommend him to their clients. Mark is friendly, knowledgeable and always makes time to talk with his clients. Mark also has very fair fees for transferring a property and is located in a convenient location in Fairview Slopes.
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!
Client Testimonials – Your experience working with Realtors Jacob & Jacky?
Clients who have bought or sold properties with Realtors Jacob & Jacky talk about their experience dealing with VancouverSpaces. – Video with client testimonials.
When buying or selling real estate you want to work with Realtors who not only know the product their selling but offer great service. Clients in this video talk about their experience dealing with VancouverSpaces.com.
Some of the comments throughout the video are Jacob and Jacky’s attention to detail, communication throughout the transaction, negotiation skills and competence. Whether you’re selling a multi-million dollar house, apartment or townhome, Jacob and Jacky provide clients with a customized marketing plan to highlight the best features of your home. Your property is showcased to thousands of buyers online through their strong internet presence.
When helping clients buy real estate Jacob and Jacky feel it’s important to understand what key features are important to their clients. This is achieved by getting to know their clients and what’s going to fit their lifestyle. Having a deep understanding of the product on the market allows Jacob and Jacky to provide valuable information about neighborhoods, schools, types of contraction and pricing. When it comes to placing an offer on a home you can feel comfortable you’re working with top Realtors who will negotiate the best terms and price for your house.
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!
Vancouver Home Staging – Preparing Your Home for Sale
Urban Presentations is a staging company working with Realtors to prepare client homes for sale. Jacky and Jacob talk with owner Jennifer Berkley about the benefits of interior decorating/staging when selling your house or condo.
Jennifer has been staging properties for over 5 years in the Vancouver housing market. She works with Realtors and offers services of providing furniture and accessories to make a home more appealing to potential buyers. Jennifer talks about working closely with condo owners to create a package that will work with their budget. For homes over 2000 sqr/ft, 3 bedooms, staging starts at around $3,500. When working with larger homes she sometimes suggests only staging the impact rooms, most important areas such as the living room, dining area and master bedroom.
During the discussion the analogy is presented, if you’re selling your car you’d likely have it detailed. It’s the same thing with a house or condo, you’ll end up receiving more money for a dressed-up home. When a house is staged, brilliant looking photos and video is easily achieved for MLS listings and all the real estate websites where your home will appear. Presenting your home properly will attract more home buyers to view your property and hopefully place an offer.
As Vancouver Realtors Jacob and Jacky have seen the results from staging your home and believe it’s worth investing in. It helps the Realtors as they receive more calls, showings and offers on a house that has been properly cleaned/staged. The seller in turn sells their residence faster, for more money and usually with better terms of contract. As Jacob explains, “it’s a win-win situation for sellers and the Realtors marketing the house, townhouse or condo. We believe in it so much that we’re willing to put some of our commissions towards staging when a client has a vacant property. If it’s a house we’ll contribute $2000 and if it’s a condo we’ll give back $1,500.”
Interior decorating/staging will make a house feel warm and will allow buyers to picture themselves living there. At times there are many similar apartments and townhouses for sale. Setting up your suite with the right decor will differentiate your living space from others on the market. Often a buyer will narrow their choices down to a couple properties. When your home is staged it could make the difference of making the final cut or not!
If you’re interested in selling your home and would like advice about staging your property feel free to contact Jacob or Jacky to talk about what’s currently available within the building for sale.
Address: 510-909 Mainland St – Video Listings
$367,900 – SOLD
1 Beds / 1 Baths / 625 sq.ft / Condo
[MLS®#: V828608] Yaletown Park 2 functional large 1 bdrm w/den & enclosed balcony great for office/flex. Great location in heart of Yaletown, walking distance to Robson, GM Place, library, Urban Fare, seawall, funky restaurants, shopping, transit & more.
Upscale kitchen w/granite countertop, high end appliances & insuite laundry. Amenities include guest suite, gym, media room, concierge. 1 parking & extra storage included w/balance of 2-5-10 new home warranty.
Please visit our properties for sale page to view photos of all rooms. If you would like to purchase or sell real estate on Vancouver’s Westside feel free to contact Jacob Krause or Jacky Levi, your Vancouver Real Estate Experts.
Realtors talk with Mortgage Broker Gary Bains
Recently there have been a few changes to the mortgage and lending rules in Canada. How will this affect the Vancouver Real Estate Market?
Jacob and Jacky, Realtors with TRG, talk with Gary Bains, owner of Ronin Mortgage. He outlines a few changes to the lending industry and talks about how these changes may affect people buying and selling real estate. Firstly, when buying a rental property there will be a minimum down-payment of 20%, up from as low as 5% in previous years. This will likely affect buyers purchasing a second property as an investment. Investors will now have to save more funds before purchasing more real estate.
Secondly, often people borrow funds against their home by pulling equity from the value of their condo or house. In the past it was possible to withdraw up to 95% value of your home. Under the new regulations the maximum an individual with be allowed to withdraw when refinancing is 90%.
Lastly, when applying for a new mortgage, buyers must qualify for the posted fixed rate, even if they wish to take a variable mortgage rate. This will likely make it more difficult for buyers to qualify for they mortgage they want or need.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling real estate in Vancouver feel free to contact Jacob or Jacky to talk about what’s currently available within the building for sale.
Will the New Mortgage Rules Change our Real Estate Market?
As of this month there will be some important changes to the lending rules in Canada. It’s been all over the news and most people who are in the market are surely aware of these changes to the mortgage rules. The question is if these new lending rules will affect our local Real Estate market? First, I’ll detail some of the changes to our current mortgage lending system.
1) Even if a buyer chooses to have a lower variable rate when buying a home, they’ll now be required to qualify for the higher fixed five year posted rate.
2) If refinancing and withdrawing funds from your home – the maximum withdrawal will be 90% of the value of or home, down from 95% previously.
3) Now when buying an investment property, a 20% down-payment is required. Under the previous rules, buyers were able to purchase investment homes with as little as 5% down-payment.
These might seem like small, insignificant changes to the rules but that might not be the case. As a Vancouver Realtor I do see how many people are maxing out their mortgages when purchasing a new home. Let’s face it, Vancouver is an expensive city and based on the income of most people they can barely afford something far less than their dream home.
These new mortgage rules will greatly reduce the size of the mortgage a lot of people can afford or make it more difficult to purchase a second home for investment. Under these new rules we will likely see a lot of buyers decide not to invest in Real Estate if they’re unable to afford a home with the features they need. After taking a good look at the new rules coming into play I feel there will be a slow-down in the Vancouver housing market.
There are a number of factors why I feel these changes will have a major affect on our home sales. With a slow-down in new construction post Olympics and less developers building new high-rise towers, trades people, product suppliers and all the spin-off business will be lost. A lot of jobs will be lost and related industry will slowdown. In a many ways this flow of funds finds it’s way back into the real estate industry. Secondly, we’re seeing interest rates slowly creep up which will lower the affordability when buying. We’ve had extremely low interest rates in the last number of years and now they’re going up. Lastly, we have the new mortgage rules taking affect.
This year has started off extremely busy but I believe we’re going to see a sluggish second-half of the year. There will be a large number of properties for sale and that will have some downward pressure on prices. Is all this such a bad thing? I don’t really think so, less people will be maxed out and extended beyond there means. Our real estate market has been so hot prices haven’t stopped going up (besides the short-lived drop in 2008). Maybe this is what our housing market needs to continue to be healthy, time to cool off.
Now is going to be a good time for sellers to move their properties and once the market is flooded with listings prices will drop slightly. With slightly lower prices and an abundance of properties to choose from we’ll see a new wave of buyers jumping into the market.
Canada (ADS) Status and Vancouver Real Estate
We’re starting off 2010 in the right direction with the new travel opportunities for Hong Kong and Mainland Chinese visiting Canada.
Canada has recently been awarded approved destination status (ADS), after the Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, traveled to China at the end of 2009. This allows Chinese to visit Canada using tourist visas. This marks history for Canadian – China relations as thousands more Chinese will have an opportunity to travel to our country.
Currently Vancouver has a huge Asian community due to its most desirable standard of living, weather, education system and beauty. Many Chinese have immigrated and relocated to Vancouver after having the opportunity to visit and experience our beautiful city. The new destination status (ADS) will change the access to Canada for Cantonese & Mandarin speaking Asians.
The new (ADS) destination status we will see an increase in the number of Asian tourists traveling to Vancouver. This will increase business for our tourist related industries such as restaurants, hotels, airlines etc. As a Vancouver Realtor I’ve seen major increases in sales of over the years of Westside houses being purchased by Mainland & Hong Kong Chinese. I believe when more Chinese have the ability to travel to our city we’ll see more Chinese choosing to live in our multi-cultural city.
I look forward to what this New Year brings Vancouver as our status on the world stage has been increased with Canada’s (ADS) designation. This change in Canada policy issues a ‘New Era’ in Chinese – Canada relations.
Mortgage Rules Change & Buying Frenzy in 2010
During the fall of 2008, the Canadian Government announced the elimination of the 0% down payment and 40 year amortization programs. Fortunately, the low mortgage rates provided some relief from high payments and affordability last year, 2009. Who would have known house sales would have been so active in Vancouver BC this past year? The market has been so hot the government has been investigating controlling the activity through changes to mortgages and lending practices.
Just recently the Canadian Government commented on the mortgage and real estate industry and provided new lending rules to take affect in the coming days. All buyers will be required to qualify for the posted 5-year rate, even if they wish to take the lower variable rate. This is to ensure buyers will be capable of handling a higher mortgage rate when opting for lower rates in the short-term. A second change is all investment properties will require a 20% or more down payment.
As a Vancouver Realtor helping clients buy and sell homes I can say we’re off to a great start in 2010. There has also been plenty of positive news making headlines in terms of economic and employment growth for Canadians. As there has been an announcement by the government to make changes to our mortgage lending system we’re see a buying frenzy before the new rules take affect. For a lot of buyers this is the time to purchase as they will no longer be able to qualify for the mortgage they feel they need.
In my opinion these new proposed lending rules wouldn’t affect all buyers. It may in fact affect first-time homebuyers the most. Working as a Realtor on the Westside I’ve seen a lot of foreign investment in the house market, primarily from Hong Kong and Mainland China. I’ve noticed a lot of these types of transactions are completed as mostly cash transactions.
It will be interesting to see how these changes to the mortgage lending practices for 2010 will affect our real estate market in Vancouver. I plan to keep the public and my clients up-to-date on any changes. I’m also open to answering questions people may have about investing in our house and apartment market.
