Friday, June 4, 2010 May market offers buyers greater selectionCategories:Buyers,Buyers. Sellers,General,Market Stats,Market Update,News,Vancouver,Vancouver Real Estate May Statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver...
The number of properties listed for sale in Greater Vancouver continued to rise in May, while the number of sales showed a year-over-year decrease.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,156 in May 2010, a decline of 10.4 per cent compared to the 3,524 sales in May 2009; 5.1 per cent more than the 3,002 sales in May 2008; and 27.1 per cent less than the 4,331 sales in May 2007. May 2010 sales also represent a 10.1 per cent decline compared to last month’s sales. In terms of number of property listings, last month marked the third consecutive month during which more than 7,000 homes were listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 7,014 in May 2010, a 48.2 per cent increase compared to May 2009 when 4,733 new units were listed, and an 8.3 per cent decline compared to April 2010 when 7,648 properties were added to the MLS®.
At 17,492, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 10 per cent in May compared to last month, and is up 28.2 per cent compared to this time last year.
"Prospective home buyers in today’s market have a broad selection to choose from in every property type. REALTORS® are telling us they’re working with buyers who are not feeling as rushed to make a decision as they did late last year and earlier in the year," Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.
Over the last 12 months, the overall MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 16.7 per cent to $590,662 from $506,201 in May 2009.
"It’s important for those looking to buy or sell a home to remember that real estate is local and wise real estate decisions are made by those who understand current market conditions at the neighbourhood level," Moldowan said.
Sales of detached properties in May 2010 reached 1,256, a decrease of 10.4 per cent from the 1,402 detached sales recorded in May 2009 and a 4.4 per cent increase from the 1,203 units sold in May 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 19.1 per cent from May 2009 to $810,175.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,354 in May 2010, a decline of 7.1 per cent compared to the 1,458 sales in May 2009 and an increase of 8.8 per cent compared to the 1,244 sales in May 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 13.9 per cent from May 2009 to $398,783.
Attached property sales in May 2010 totalled 546, a decline of 17.8 per cent compared to the 664 sales in May 2009 and a 1.6 per cent decline from the 555 attached properties sold in May 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 14.8 per cent between May 2009 and 2010 to $500,339. Monday, May 17, 2010 B.C. real estate shows signs of stability in AprilCategories:Market Update,Vancouver Real Estate Interesting article fromm the Vancouver Sun by Derrick Penner...
VANCOUVER — Expect British Columbia's property prices to remain flat for the balance of the year, which will be good news for buyers again being squeezed by the province's sky-high values, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association.
Cameron Muir, the association's chief economist, said sales have stabilized while inventories of unsold homes have risen, which is keeping pressure off prices.
Provincially, realtors processed some 8,385 units through the Multiple Listing Service in April, 21 per cent higher than the same month a year ago, but when figures are adjusted to account for seasonality, April sales were four per cent below March, according to Muir.
At the same time, provincial inventories hit 54,029 in April, some nine per cent more than in April of 2009.
"Overall there is more balance in the Lower Mainland and Victoria markets going forward and much less upward pressure on prices," Muir said in an interview.
"I anticipate prices will remain fairly flat for the rest of the year as a result of the countervailing forces of improving economy and job growth [offset] by affordability."
And as it had become before the recession and downturn, Muir said buyers' constricted ability to pay for real estate will be "the single biggest constraint in the market over the next few years."
Muir expects banks' prime lending rate, currently resting at 2.25 per cent, to rise to the range of 4.5 per cent to five per cent by this time next year, if the economy keeps improving.
Carol Frketich, regional economist for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said economic fundamentals, such as the addition in April of 13,000 new jobs to the economy, and an unemployment rate of 7.3 per cent versus 7.5 per cent in Alberta, look good for the real estate market.
"B.C.'s unemployment rate is now below Alberta's, so that bodes well for migration," Frketich said. "Employment opportunities are supportive of housing demand."
Frketich noted that property prices have rebounded more strongly in the Lower Mainland and Victoria than they have in interior markets. The provincial average home price in April hit $514,820, which was almost 15 per cent higher than the same month a year ago, but that average was driven in part by steep price increases in Metro Vancouver, which accounted for more than 40 per cent of provincial sales.
In Metro Vancouver, average prices have reached new highs with the overall average home price up some 19 per cent to $673,561 in April.
By contrast, the Kamloops region has seen year-over-year price growth of 6.3 per cent to hit an average of $316,520 in April. Okanagan Mainline, which includes Kelowna, saw price growth of almost 10 per cent to an average of $394,516.
Paul Fabri, a CMHC market analyst in the Okanagan, said the region's markets have been hampered by a decline in the recreational real-estate market during the recession, when "Alberta [buyers] stayed home."
"We did see some price recovery in the latter half of 2009, but certainly not to the extent that was seen in the Lower Mainland," Fabri said.
For the year to date, residential sales totalled 26,669 units at the end of April, up 47 per cent from the same point a year ago, and the total value of properties sold came to $13.5 billion, some 73 per cent higher than for the same months of 2009. Tuesday, April 20, 2010 Vancouver slashes Olympic Village social housingArticle from CBC News about the Olympic Social Housing ...
The City of Vancouver is slashing the number of social housing units in the Olympic Village in order to raise more cash from the troubled project, Mayor Gregor Robertson is expected announce Tuesday afternoon.
The $1 billion dollar luxury condominium complex on the south shore of False Creek was supposed to include 252 social housing units.
But a city staff report has recommended that the number be cut in half because of the huge cost overruns for the social housing component of the development, CBC News has learned. The original budget for the social housing units was $64 million dollars, but the construction ended up costing $110 million.
A staff reports says selling the units doesn't make sense, because the city would have to spend millions to upgrade them to market standards, and the development already contains hundreds of units that are being sold to the public.
So instead of selling them off, the other 126 units will be rented out at market rates, with preference being given to essential service workers, such as police and fire crews who work in the city, and want to continue living close to downtown.
The city took over the entire project after its New York-based financiers pulled out during the financial crisis of 2008.
City staff are cautiously optimistic they will break even on the complete project once the units are sold and rented, and taxpayers won't be on the hook for any losses. Thursday, April 1, 2010 H.S.T. on Realtor CommissionsInteresting thoughts on HST from Mark Fidgett...
GENERAL DISCUSSION
H.S.T. will apply to realtors’ services for work done after July 1, 2010. The full 12% H.S.T. will apply on listings that start after July 1, 2010. The confusing part arises when work is done on listings that commence prior to July 1, 2010, and the house sells after July 1, 2010.
For situations like this, the realtor must determine what percentage of the work was performed prior to July 1, 2010 and what percentage is performed after. Generally there are two ways to measure the work that was performed. A realtor can use the number of days after July 1 as compared to the number of days prior to July 1. Alternatively, the realtor could use the actual work performed. There is nothing expressly in the transitional rules on this but we have checked with Revenue Canada on their helpline on H.S.T. (1 800 959 8287). It was confirmed to one of my lawyers that the realtor, in calculating the percentages, would have the discretion to choose either the number of days listed or actual amount of work done, as long as it was a reasonable determination.
If the realtor determines that 90% or more of the services are performed before July 1, 2010, the H.S.T. will not apply. G.S.T. will continue to be charged at 5%.
For example, a listing commences June 1, 2010 and the realtor performs the initial work in taking the listing, placing it on MLS and all of the other functions. A Contract of Purchase and Sale is negotiated and subjects are removed prior to July 1, 2010. The Completion Date is July 2, 2010 at which point the commission becomes due and payable. Using either method of calculation more than 90% of the realtor’s services were performed prior to July 1, 2010. Thus only the 5% GST would apply on the commission.
If the realtor determines that less than 90% of the services were performed prior to July 1, 2010, the services and the resultant tax on the commission will have to be prorated as per the work that was performed. Let’s use two examples.
There are two different listings with the same realtor. The vendors are different but both are listed June 1, 2010 on MLS.
On the first listing, an offer comes in quickly and there is an accepted offer by approximately June 10. The Vendor is unable to vacate for a considerable period of time and therefore the Completion Date is September 1, 2010. In this example, the realtor would choose the actual amount of work done option which would be reasonable as most of the work would have been done in June prior to July 1, 2010. Therefore most of the commission would be subject to GST only.
For the second listing, a Contract of Purchase and Sale has its subjects removed on July 2, 2010 but the Completion Date is July 10, 2010. In this example, the realtor would in all likelihood choose the actual number of days listed option so that only about 25% of the commission would be subject to H.S.T.
Note that in any issue with taxes Revenue Canada may argue that more taxes ought to have been charged. Realtors should ensure proper notes and documentation is kept so that they can support their position of the percentage that was charged.
written by: Mark Fidgett An independent Mortgage Specialist associated with the Verico Mortgage Network notapennydown.com Thursday, March 25, 2010 Real-estate markets should become ‘more subdued’ after hot springCategories:Buyers,Market Statistics,Market Stats,Market Update,Mortgage,Mortgages,Vancouver Real Estate VANCOUVER — Canada’s real estate markets should remain heated through the spring, fuelled by generationally low mortgage rates, before settling into “more subdued” conditions as those rates rise, says the latest forecast from Scotia Economics.
Scotia Economics senior economist Adrienne Warren said the last decade saw “the strongest decade of real price appreciation in at least 50 years,” which will require an extended period for the economy to catch up with job creation and wage increases.
“If people were looking back at the last decade thinking that was normal, well it wasn’t normal, it was an exceptional decade,” Warren said in an interview.
Right now, she said, buyers are “bombarded by news headlines saying, and I think they’re correct,” that rates have hit bottom and will go higher, which is “adding a sense of urgency” to the market.
Listings of new properties, however, have not kept pace with this surge in buying, Warren said, and the result is bidding wars for properties that have pushed average prices to test “new highs, both for new and resale homes.”
Warren estimates that nationally, average prices are about 10 to 15 per cent above their underlying “fair value,” with some western markets likely more out of line.
“We haven’t broken it down for specific markets, but I would say there’s probably a little bit of a larger overvaluation in some western markets that had bigger run-ups [in prices],” Warren said, “so that would probably apply to Vancouver.”
After a sharp fall-off in sales and prices during the recession, Warren said Metro Vancouver saw an equally sharp bounce back.
The dip in prices for Vancouver barely shows up in the annualized pricing data Warren cites in her global real estate trends report.
Metro Vancouver showed an average home price of $592,441 in 2009 following the downturn, which was negligibly lower than the $593,767 average price of 2008. Already in the opening months of 2010, Vancouver’s average price has hit $630,028.
The Metro Vancouver market, Warren said, does tend to retain high prices because of its unique geographic constraints, which makes the region “the least affordable market [in Canada] as well.”
Warren said she expects mortgage rates to remain relatively low and that, so long as the economic recovery continues, Canada will not experience the conditions that would spark a correction of real estate prices.
She forecasts Canada will see a “normal adjustment period,” in which property prices remain relatively flat for a significant period while other aspects of the economy improve.
Warren’s forecast anticipates that Canadians will focus more on paying down debt in the coming years, a period during which a strong Canadian dollar will also restrain the economy.
She also expects the growth in new households to be slower through the coming decade than it was during the previous decade.
Article by Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun Thursday, March 18, 2010 Home Resales Down But Prices Keep on ClimbingHome resales in Canada fell in February for a second straight month, with the biggest drop recorded in Vancouver, although purchasers were still higher on the year, the Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday.
The February decline in Vancouver and other parts on British Columbia was offset by "an equally large gain" in Toronto, CREA said.
The industry group said 42,799 units sold on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, down 1.5 per cent from the previous month, reflecting how "national sales activity has slowed while new listings continue to rise, resulting in a more balanced national resale housing market."
Sales in British Columbia were down 13.3 per cent in February from a month earlier, while Ontario posted a 3.3 per cent gain. There were 600 fewer houses sold in Vancouver in February than in January, and sales in Toronto rose by 648 units.
Year-over-year, residential sales were up 44 per cent from 2009, with Ontario and Quebec setting records, but national gains in sales activity were smaller than in the previous three months.
"Since a year will soon have elapsed following the recessionary decline and subsequent rebound for the Canadian resale market, year-over-year comparisons are expected to continue shrinking," the report said.
Meanwhile, the average resale price of homes rose 18.2 per cent in February from a year earlier to $335,655, it said.
"The Olympic Winter Games may have impacted February sales activity in British Columbia, so activity for the province in March will be closely watched," said CREA president Dale Ripplinger. "Activity is expected to remain elevated in Ontario and British Columbia over the first half of the year, with buyers looking to beat the introduction of the HST (harmonized sales tax, in July) and expected interest rate hikes."
Millan Mulraine, economics strategist at TD Securities, said the moderating trend seen in the first two months of 2010 will be "briefly reversed over the next two months as homebuyers affected by the recent changes in Canadian mortgage rules attempt to get ahead of the April deadline."
"After this, we should see the Canadian housing market move slowly back into a balanced-market position as higher mortgage rates and prices begin to temper demand."
In a separate report Monday, Ipsos Reid said a poll showed the number of first-time buyers in British Columbia is starting to decline as housing prices rise.
The poll found that 29 per cent of home purchasers during the first quarter of this year were first-time buyers, gradually trending down from 38 per cent at the same time in 2009, but still higher than in late 2008, when only 17 per cent were first-time buyers.
"Greater Vancouver, in particular, has seen a very rapid recovery in prices since the bottom of the market in the first quarter of 2009," said Hanson Lok, senior research manager for Ipsos Reid in Vancouver. "While low mortgage rates have kept monthly payments within reach for first-time buyers, escalating prices will push many potential first-time buyers back out."
The poll suggests 53 per cent of British Columbians feel it's a seller's market, up from 14 per cent a year ago, while 68 per cent say it's a good time to buy, a number that has fallen from a high of 76 per cent in September 2009.
Article from the Province March 2010 Categories: | Buyers | Buyers. Sellers | General | Housing | Market Statistics | Market Stats | Market Update | Mortgage | Mortgages | News | Olympics | Sellers | Vancouver | Vancouver East Real Estate | Vancouver Real Estate | Video
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