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!
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.
Buyer demand remains strong while home listings increase
Greater Vancouver home sales remained strong last month, with the second highest number of residential sales ever recorded for the month of September.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,559 in September 2009, an increase of 3.4 per cent from the 3,441 sales recorded in August 2009, and an increase of 124.5 per cent compared to September 2008 when 1,585 sales were recorded.
“As homes sales in Greater Vancouver continued at an elevated pace in September it’s encouraging to see that more homes were listed on the MLS® in the month than any other so far this year,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,764 in September 2009. This represents a 6.2 per cent decline compared to September 2008 when 6,142 new units were listed, but a 26.8 per cent increase compared to August 2009 when 4,544 properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
At 12,596, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 5.5 per cent in September compared to last month and declined 36 per cent from the 19,852 homes listed for sale during the buyer’s market that was experienced at this time last year.
“During this period of renewed demand in our marketplace, home values have gradually recovered from the declines that occurred in 2008,” said Russell.
Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 13 per cent to $547,092 from $484,211, while home prices compared to Septembers 2008 levels are up 1.6 per cent.
Sales of detached properties increased 160.6 per cent to 1,423 from the 546 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties increased 2.1 per cent from September 2008 to $741,632.
Sales of apartment properties in September 2009 increased 94.9 per cent to 1,489, compared to 764 sales in September 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 1.5 per cent from September 2008 to $374,686.
Attached property sales in September 2009 are up 135.3 per cent to 647, compared with the 275 sales in September 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 0.4 per cent between Septembers 2008 and 2009 to $466,276.
Voted #1 Realtors in Vancouver by the Georgia Straight for 2009
First off, we would like to thank all our friends and clients that voted for us in the 2009 Best of Vancouver in the Georgia Straight. Last year we were excited to be voted the runner up but this year we must have done something right- we were voted the Best Realtors in Vancouver. Click here to read the article detailing all of the winners.
I got a phone call from the editor at The Straight and he told me I had won the Best Realtor award in the BOV 2009. I was very surprised and again we say thank you to everyone that voted for us. Jacob and I are dedicated to top-level service to all of our clients buying and selling real estate in Vancouver. The majority of our business comes from referrals, this is a great testament to our commitment to our clients and our great work ethic to ensure all our clients are being treated like the VIP clients they are.
We were invited to City Hall this morning to take some pictures and a breakfast for all the winners. I have attached a few pictures- Jacob and I are in the middle row on the left hand side of the picture. We were also blessed with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson- (middle of the crowd). I had a good chat with Mayor Robertson; we are both very excited for the Olympics and what the major event will do for our amazing city.
Multiple offers are back – are they going to stay?
Are you a buyer looking for a 1-bedroom apartment under $400,000 in Vancouver? Have you noticed every time you submit an offer you are accompanied with at least one other buyer. Multiple offers are back, when are they going to stop? The Real Estate Market in Vancouver has had it’s ups and downs- where are we now?
I would like to evaluate the Real Estate market in Vancouver West NOT the GVRD- If you look at some of the numbers you will see the peak of the market was around May 2008. Since then the market slowed down drastically, with lower amounts of buyers looking for a new home or investment property. The number of sellers increased dramatically due to noticing external factors predicting a turn in the market so numerous homeowners and investors tried to offer their property at an overly optimistic price trying to maximize their returns. The banks also started decreasing the amount of money being leant out- also halting the buyers being able to spend/borrow any money.
As we approached the end of 2008 the Bank of Canada reduced the prime rate resulting in “cheaper” money. Couple this with lowering prices of real estate on the West Side and your dream home is now closer to becoming a reality. This was greatly appreciated by the first time homebuyers who missed the opportunity to purchase their first home the last time the market was at a low.
Since the number of buyers increased- with basic supply and demand- the price of real estate needed to increase, and it did. With a huge amount of buyers looking for a similar product, multiple offers was a common word coming out of the selling realtor’s mouth. Now, once again our buyers are going through the stressful process of doing everything they can to purchase their dream home above asking price in a timely manor. I predict this “crazy” market will continue till the middle of July and then it should slow down till September.
Jacob Krause and I have been involved in hundreds of multiple offers over the last 5 years- if you are considering purchasing your first home in Vancouver- please feel free to email or contact us directly and we can take you through the process of purchasing in a multiple offer while keeping the stress to a minimum.
Saying all of that- when is a good time to buy? The Real Estate market is very cyclical through out each year. The spring and fall months are generally a lot busier than other times in the year. The summer is when most families are out of town, enjoying the few sunny days and looking after the kids when they are not at school. A great time to buy is in the summer months- there is less competition when purchasing in these times of the year but also less inventory because most sellers will be waiting for the busier buying times. The fall months in 2009 will be a very interesting time to buy; depending on the interest rates will also influence the amount of buyers you will be competing with.
Housing market stats in August continue to show momentum
The number of home sales in Greater Vancouver increased significantly last month compared to August 2008 and moved closer in line with the active summer months experienced between 2003 and 2007.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver increased 119.5 per cent in August 2009 to 3,441 from the 1,568 sales recorded in August 2008 and increased 1.7 per cent compared to August 2007.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased 4.9 per cent to 4,544 in August 2009 compared to August 2008 when 4,331 new units were listed. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 11,937, down 33 per cent from August 2008.
“The return of confidence to our market has brought a high volume of home sales over the last few months and has also made determining home prices a little more challenging,” said Scott Russell, REBGV president. “The number of residential home sales this summer has been comparable to activity seen in the five years preceding 2008. While that’s great news, from the variations in activity we’re seeing across areas I’d say the market is still trying to find its own balance.”
Since the beginning of the year, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased 11.4 per cent to $539,600 from $484,211. However, home prices compared to August 2008 levels are down 1.1 per cent.
Sales of detached properties in August 2009 increased 155.5 per cent to 1,367 from the 535 units sold during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 0.7 per cent from August 2008 to $732,656.
Sales of apartment properties increased 97.8 per cent last month to 1,464, compared to the 740 sales in August 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 1.4 per cent from August 2008 to $369,263.
Attached property sales in August 2009 increased 108.2 per cent to 610, compared with the 293 sales during the same month in 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 0.9 per cent between August 2008 and 2009 to $459,159.
Real Estate Board monlthy update for June
Market conditions drive strong June housing sales
VANCOUVER, B.C. – July 3, 2009 – The combination of low interest rates and more affordable pricing helped propel Greater Vancouver home sale numbers to the second all-time highest total for the month of June.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties increased 75.6 per cent in June 2009 to 4,259, from the 2,425 sales recorded in June 2008. The figure is just short of the record-breaking 4,333 sales which occurred in June 2005.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 17.9 per cent to 5,372 in June 2009 compared to June 2008, when 6,546 new units were listed. However, new listings increased 13.5 per cent from May to June of this year. Total active listings in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 13,252, down 27 per cent from June 2008 and 2.9 per cent below the active listings count at the end of May 2009.
“Price reductions and low interest rates have created an improvement in affordability, which is causing the number of sales to rise to levels comparable to 2003 to 2007,” Scott Russell, REBGV president said.
“Many people who were reluctant to purchase a home last fall and earlier this year are returning to the market because they see conditions that appeal to their personal and financial needs,” Russell said. “However, the current marketplace is such that buyers are more inclined to walk if they don’t like the terms of an offer.”
Residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, declined 8.2 per cent to $518,855 in June 2009 compared to June 2008.
The number of sales of detached properties increased 81.6 per cent to 1,667 from the 918 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 8.4 per cent to $701,384 in June 2009 compared to June 2008.
The number of sales of apartment properties in June 2009 increased 69.3 per cent to 1,790, compared to 1,057 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 8.2 per cent from June 2008 to $356,880.
The number of attached property sales in June 2009 increased 78.2 per cent to 802, compared with the 450 sales in June 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 7.3 per cent between June 2009 and 2008 to $441,620.
Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in June 2009 compared to June 2008:
Detached:
Burnaby up 109.7 per cent (151 units sold from 72)
Coquitlam up 122.2 per cent (160 units sold from 72)
Delta – South up 107.7 per cent (56 units sold from 27)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 54.3 per cent (162 units sold from 105)
New Westminster up 104.8 per cent (43 units sold from 21)
North Vancouver up 96.2 per cent (153 units sold from 78)
Port Moody/ Belcarra up 120 per cent (33 units sold from 15)
Richmond up 77.4 per cent (204 units sold from 115)
Squamish up 107.7 per cent (27 units sold from 13)
Sunshine Coast up 33.9 per cent (75 units sold from 56)
Vancouver East up 71.2 per cent (238 units sold from 139)
Vancouver West up 85.2 per cent (200 units sold from 108)
West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 117.8 per cent (98 units sold from 45)
Attached:
Burnaby up 81.8 per cent (140 units sold from 77)
Coquitlam up 80 per cent (54 units sold from 30)
Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows up 48.6 per cent (55 units sold from 37)
North Vancouver up 121.2 per cent (73 units sold from 33)
Port Coquitlam up 82.6 per cent (42 units sold from 23)
Port Moody/ Belcarra up 77.3 per cent (39 units sold from 22)
Richmond up 84.5 per cent (155 units sold from 84)
Vancouver East up 118.5 per cent (59 units sold from 27)
Vancouver West up 121.8 per cent (122 units sold from 55)
Apartments:
Burnaby up 60.4 per cent (239 units sold from 149)
Coquitlam up 93.9 per cent (95 units sold from 49)
New Westminster up 57.1 per cent (121 units sold from 77)
North Vancouver up 71.4 per cent (120 units sold from 70)
Port Coquitlam up 58.1 per cent (49 units sold from 31)
Port Moody/Belcarra up 128.6 per cent (48 units sold from 21)
Richmond up 54.1 per cent (225 units sold from 146)
Vancouver East up 58.7 per cent (165 units sold from 104)
Vancouver West up 87.2 per cent (627 units sold from 335)
West Vancouver/Howe Sound up 155.6 per cent (23 units sold from 9)
