According to the British Columbia Real Estate Association housing sales have declined, and there is a large inventory of available listings.

This means that home buyers are in the driver’s seat.  This would be a good time to consider purchasing your first home, or a vacation property. You’ll have time to look around and likely won’t get involved in any bidding wars.

Give us a call and we’ll make sure you are pre-approved for a mortgage so that you’ll know exactly what price range you can purchase within.  Pre-approval has the added advantage of letting sellers know you are a serious shopper!

Click here for BCREA’s Full Report (PDF will launch in new window).

Here’s a market update from our friends at Macdonald Realty; Simon Clayton, Kristie Marsden, Jason Low, Sandra Ens, and Jenny Stephanson.

August  2010 Market Update

For those of you thinking about selling, it is important to realize how vital the Art of Pricing is to the sale of your home.

Top Reasons for NOT Pricing High:

In a falling market, the optimal pricing strategy is actually to price slightly BELOW market value. A simple exercise that pricing experts like to use in this situation is to visualize catching a fly ball. The ball represents the market and your glove represents your pricing strategy. If you price too high, the glove will simply swing across where the ball was. If you price at market, there’s a good chance you will miss it. But if you price just below market value, there’s a greater likelihood of catching the ball. After all, it’s better to take a little bit less than to risk having the ball drop in for a double.

August 2010 Market Update

If you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us by phone or by clicking on one of the links below:

Simon Clayton 604-764-0711

Kristie Marsden 778-836-4389

Jason Low 604-790-5276

Sandra Ens 604-263-1911

Jenny Stephanson 604-675-6214

Jason Feinstadt 604-263-1911

MacDonald Realty 604-263-1911

Here’s a market update from our friends at Macdonald Realty; Simon Clayton, Kristie Marsden, Jason Low, Sandra Ens, and Jenny Stephanson.

July 2010 Market Update

Welcome to the 2nd Half of the Year!

On July 1st, the HST came into effect.

We discussed this last month, so there’s no need to rehash the topic, but just a reminder that to calculate how the HST will affect a typical new house price, please visit www.macrealty.com to use the HST calculator. Remember though, there are many subtleties to the HST laws and its associated transition rules. An accountant will likely be needed to answer these more detailed questions.

On to a more interesting topic: Luxury homes

Midway through 2010, Vancouver’s luxury housing market is set to break all records. According to MLS stats, 169 homes sold for over $3 million through the first 6 months of 2010. The projected 338 sales for this year beats the record set last year of 2009, and doubles the number achieved in 2008 (167 sales), when the financial crisis led to a downturn in housing sales throughout the country.

This market is being fuelled by international buyers, who are comparing Vancouver prices to those seen in Hong Kong, London, New York, and other world-class destinations. By comparison, Vancouver’s luxury prices still seem relatively cheap. For instance, Vancouver’s most expensive neighbourhood, waterfront Coal Harbour, fetches prices close to $2,000 per square foot. By comparison, properties in Knightsbridge in London have seen prices in excess of CDN$8,000 per square foot!

However, despite the resurgence in luxury properties in Metro Vancouver in the past year, the same cannot be said for the rest of the province. In both the Interior and on the Island, foreign buyers generally aren’t from other countries, but rather from the Lower Mainland and Alberta. The interior and Gulf Islands have seen a strong price stabilization since the financial crisis nearly 2 years ago, but nowhere near the price inflation seen in Vancouver.
If you want more information on Macdonald Realty’s luxury program or have any other questions regarding real estate, please do not hesitate to contact me.



July 2010 Market Update

If you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us by phone or by clicking on one of the links below:

Simon Clayton 604-764-0711

Kristie Marsden 778-836-4389

Jason Low 604-790-5276

Sandra Ens 604-263-1911

Jenny Stephanson 604-675-6214

Jason Feinstadt 604-263-1911

MacDonald Realty 604-263-1911

While the new HST may not be applied to monthly condo fees, it is almost a given that condo owners will see an increase in their fees within the next year.

Why?

Condo Associations will definitely see an increase in the services they pay for. Services such as landscaping, boiler, heating and plumbing services, elevator maintenance, janitorial fees, as well as building maintenance and repair services will all increase due to the HST. Who’s going to pay?

The money has to come from somewhere … and that will be through an increase in condo fees.

According to a CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) “home sales activity and new listings in Canada declined in May.

Seasonally adjusted home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards declined nationally by 9.5 per cent in May from near-record level activity the previous month. While activity declined in more than 70 per cent of local markets, the lower national figure resulted largely from fewer sales in Toronto, Vancouver and Ottawa.”

For more information check out the CREA News Release

Here’s a market update from our friends at Macdonald Realty; Simon Clayton, Kristie Marsden, Jason Low, Sandra Ens, Jason Feinstadt and Jenny Stephanson.

May 2010 Market Update

Last week, the Royal Bank boosted its mortgage rates for the third time in a month. The move increased RBC’s posted 5-year closed rate to 6.25% (Note: the posted rate is rarely paid. A good mortgage broker or even your own negotiating skills will often result in a lower rate being offered by a bank) and this has come amid overtures that the Bank of Canada will be looking to raise its overnight rate starting June 1st. That said, as of this writing, there are still some very competitive rates out there.
Fixed vs. Variable

The reason that fixed-rate mortgages have moved up even though the Bank of Canada (BoC) has yet to increase their overnight rate is a function of how the Big Banks fund their mortgage products.

Fixed-rate mortgages are usually funded via the bond market, which fluctuates and is forward-looking, like most markets. Therefore, as prices for bonds increase in anticipation of the BoC’s expected rate increases in the summer, fixed-rate mortgages that rely on their funding via these instruments must also increase.

Variable rates, on the other hand, are funded via the BoC’s overnight rate and therefore follow its fluctuations. That’s why today’s variable rate has remained unchanged despite three hikes in its fixed-rate brethren.

So which instrument should you use?

This question effectively boils down to risk-aversion. Historically, since 1975, variable rate mortgages have proven to be more financially beneficial 82% of the time. Risk and reward go hand in hand, so if you are willing to take on additional risk and have the financial wherewithal to weather potentially higher interest rates, a variable mortgage may be for you.

If, however, you want cost-certainty in your life and have lower financial flexibility, it may be worthwhile to pay more in return for a full night’s sleep.

May 2010 Market Update

If you would like to learn more, please feel free to contact us by phone or by clicking on one of the links below:

Simon Clayton 604-764-0711

Kristie Marsden 778-836-4389

Jason Low 604-790-5276

Sandra Ens 604-263-1911

Jenny Stephanson 604-675-6214

Jason Feinstadt 604-263-1911

MacDonald Realty 604-263-1911