Vancouver Real Estate Remains a Buyer’s Market in August
September 2nd, 2010 Categories: Market Data, Real Estate, Vancouver
From REBGV
Conditions in the Greater Vancouver housing market continued to favour buyers in August. Since April, prices have edged down slightly as the number of sales and the number of properties coming on to the market have been declining.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,202 in August 2010. This represents a 36 per cent decline from the 3,441 sales in August 2009, the second highest selling August ever recorded, and a 2.4 per cent decline compared to July 2010.
From a wider perspective, last month’s residential sales represent a 40.4 per cent increase over the 1,568 residential sales in August 2008, a 34.9 per cent decline compared to August 2007’s 3,384 sales, and a 26.6 per cent decline compared to August 2006’s 2,998 sales. Read the rest of this entry »
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What You Should Know About the Rental Disclosure Statements
September 2nd, 2010 Categories: Definitions, Real Estate, Vancouver
The Real Estate Council of British Columbia points out that there have been recent changes to the Rental Disclosure Statement, as of June 2010, which is part of the Form B that is provided to Vancouver Condo Buyers , from the strata building’s property manager, and is incorporated into the strata docs.
The exemption from a rental bylaw that occurs for all strata lots identified on a RDS has been significantly extended for those developments where the RDS is filed after December 31, 2009. The RDS will apply to exempt all strata lots named in the RDS from the application of a rental bylaw until the RDS expires. In other words, during the period the RDS is valid, a Strata Corporation will be unable to enforece a rental restriction. Read the rest of this entry »
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Wordless Wednesdays
September 1st, 2010 Categories: Real Estate, Vancouver, Wordless Wednesdays
Gibsons on Vancouver’s sunshine coast
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What will Vancouver Real Estate do next?
August 31st, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
As usual, everyone has an opinion about the future of Vancouver’s real estate market! That includes the home buyers and home sellers, the economists, the banks, the news media and of course most Realtors. But it’s all a guess, no-one can foretell the future, but here is the current buzz on Vancouver’s real estate market
Globe and Mail just published an article saying the future is far from clear because house prices are still higher than they were a year ago. On the other hand, month over month sales have been on the downturn since June. Some forecasters predict prices to drop over the next two years , followed by years of stagnation. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives describes housing bubbles as being rare in Canada but sees a possibility that the big six Canadian cities , including Vancouver, follow the sharp downturn Vancouver had in 1994. Historically Canadian house prices have stayed in a narrow range of 150,000 to 220,000 inflation adjusted dollars, once outside of that range they are more susceptible to rising interest rates. They point out that a US style house correction is the most extreme scenario. Secondly, when the US economy recovers, this will benefit Canada and interest rates will then rise. That likely means today’s prices won’t be sustainable once interest rates begin to climb quickly. In conclusion they feel a correction of 9-21% may be in order. Read the rest of this entry »
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Looking for a Vancouver Personal Trainer?
August 30th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
I was recently contacted by Steve Colbert, a personal trainer, who asked me to publish a short post on his services, as he caters to the Vancouver Downtown market, as do I. So here it is.
I’m S. Geronimo Colbert, an elite downtown fitness professional, and with thanks to Maggie Chandler I’d like to introduce myself to those of you interested in quality personal training. Most successful people have organized networks of real estate agents, lawyers, therapists, doctors, mechanics, accountants and consultants to support our various needs. The same could be said of our network of friends. Yet many of us fail to do the same to protect our most valuable asset: our health and fitness. If you are interested in protecting and improving yours, there is simply no more efficient way to accomplish this than working with an elite trainer. Let Body by Geronimo be your solution. Visit my website or call me directly at 778 288 6516 to book your FREE consultation
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Bayshore Drive Condos in Vancouver’s Coal Harbour Well Supplied
August 28th, 2010 Categories: Coal Harbour, Luxury Condos, Neighbourhoods, Real Estate
Vancouver’s Coal Harbour boasts a small, luxury neighbourhood on the waterfront. Bayshore Drive consists of seven condo buildings, of which two are on the waterfront and they are all surrounded by beautiful gardens and contain suites primarily over 1000sf.
Currently there are 35 condos listed for sale, ranging in price from $916,000 for 1481sf with no view, on the second floor, to a Penthouse listed at $4.4M, which is one of four condos listed over $4M. There are only 4 listings under $1M, 22 listed between $1M and $2M, 4 between $2M and $4M. The average $psf is 1,042.
July saw 5 sales from $1,090,000 to $1,630,000 and August had 3 sales, from $560,000 for 877sf to $1M for 1185sf. Average days on market for the 8 solds were 85 and 861 was the average $psf. Sale price to list price ratio was 96%. Approx nine months of inventory, which has increased by one month since May. Read the rest of this entry »
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3 Year Fixed Rate or 3 Year ARM?
August 27th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
Many buyers of Vancouver real estate ask this question and it is not an easy one to answer because no-one can predict interest rates.
The average prime rate from Jan 1, 2000 to Dec/09 was 4.94%, with a high of 7.50% and a low of 2.25%. Generally speaking strong economies and high interest rates are tied. Today we are in a weak global economy so we are experiencing low interest rates. The question remains when will interest rates rise and how quickly?
If you assume Prime will increase by .25% every 4 months, beginning in Jan’11 and given that the 3 year ARM is tied to Prime, then a 3 year fixed rate would be cheaper for the consumer. You can now get a 3 year fixed rate at 2.9% and a 3 year ARM at 2%. But at the end of 3 years the ARM rate would be 4%, given the .25% rise every 4 months and prime would be 5%, which is its 10 year average. Read the rest of this entry »
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Canada Home Sales Moving back to Historical Markers
August 26th, 2010 Categories: Market Data, Real Estate
Canada existing home sales activity totaled 33,959 units in June, down 8.2% from the previous month as sales trend back toward the 20 year average. This departure from the seasonal norm is considered by some to be the effects of changes to mortgage regulations and rising interest rates that caused buyers to act in April that would have otherwise done so at a later date.
The national average home price slid a slight 1.2% to $342,661 in June from a month ago, but remains 4.9% above year-ago levels. Now that home prices have fallen back in line with the 30-year historic appreciation rate of 5.5%, economists and industry experts expect prices to increase at a slower rate as the market balances.
The number of months of inventory measures the amount of time it would take to sell all the homes on the market at the current pace of sales if no new homes become available. There were 6.9 months of inventory in June, which is close to the level seen in March of 2009. Fewer new listings are expected to enter the market over the coming months, which should continue to stabilize the balance between supply and demand.
source: CREA, CMHC
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Do Older Vancouver Condo Buildings Appreciate Well?
August 25th, 2010 Categories: Kitsilano, Market Data, Real Estate
I often get this question from Vancouver condo buyers. They are concerned about the possible special assessments and building repairs that are required for older buildings. Some buyers will select newer buildings and settle for less space, so as to have the 2/5/10 year BC Home Warranty.
I just did an analysis of Kits condo buildings for a current buyer client and compared the sales of condos between $300,000 and $400,000 from January to July 2009 and the same for 2010. Here’s what I found.
In 2009 sales in buildings from 0-5 years old averaged $551 psf. Buildings from 5-10 years old averaged $537psf and buildings over 10 years averaged $520psf.
In 2010 sales in buildings from 0-5 years old averaged $683psf. Buildings from 5-10 years old averaged $602psf and buildings over 10 years averaged $563psf.
Condo buildings under 5 years appreciated $132psf in that time period, whilst buildings 5-10 years old appreciated $65psf and the buildings over 10 years appreciated $43psf. These figures are an average and don’t take into consideration any specifices , such as location, amenities, etc.
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What Vancouver Real Estate Is Selling the Best?
August 24th, 2010 Categories: Real Estate
So what is selling in the current Vancouver real estate market and what price range sells the best?
Taking a look at July’s sales we see a total of 354 Vancouver west side transactions in condos and 60% of those were under $500,000 and 10% were over $1M. The one and two bedroom suites were selling about the same, with 167 one bedrooms and 158 two bedrooms, 14 three bedrooms and 15 studios. Average days on market was 50 and list price to sale price ratio was 97%. Average sale price $555,774 and average $psf was 627. Read the rest of this entry »
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