Thursday 31 December 2015

MORTGAGE STRUCTURE UPDATE

Mortgage structure update!


1. Homebuyers will have to put 10% down on the portion of the price over $500,000

*If client purchases a home for $750,000, they would have to put down 5% on $500,000 ($25,000) and 10% on the additional $250,000 ($25,000) for a total down payment of $50,000. This would be 6.66% of the purchase price.

2. Goes into effect: February 15, 2016

** If your clients' mortgage approval is before February 15, 2016, they will be allowed to purchase with 5% down up to $1M; This is if the purchase date is after February 15, 2016. This also works for long-term rate holds for builder/developer files.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions and I can refer you to a great mortgage specialist to answer other questions you may have. 





Yours,

Carmen Leal
Macdonald Realty Ltd
604-218-4846


New residential community approved for old 14-acre Vancouver Transit Centre



An unused TransLink bus depot at the intersection of West 41st Avenue and Oak Street in Vancouver is being primed for a major residential development project.
The site is framed by West 41st Avenue to the south, the lane behind Oak Street to the west, West 38th Avenue to the north, and the lane behind Willow Street to the east. It was the city’s main bus depot until 2006 when TransLink relocated its maintenance facilities, 1,200 staff, and hundreds of electric trolleys and diesel buses to a new depot located just west of the Arthur Liang Bridge on the north shore of the Fraser River.
The site is still used by TransLink, but in a limited capacity for vehicle commissioning and decommissioning, maintenance, and storage for retired buses.
Under the policy statement, between 1,000 to 1,200 residential units will be built on the property, and there is a requirement that 20 per cent of the units be allocated for affordable housing. At least 35 per cent of the total number of market residential units must have two or three bedrooms while a higher standard of 50 per cent is required for the affordable units
Building heights will range between three to 15 storeys, with the tallest buildings located within the centre of the site and along West 41st Avenue. Shorter buildings will be located along the north and east perimeters to provide a transition to the existing low-density neighbourhoods.
Local retail and services, such as a small grocery store, cafe, and medical offices, will line the new development’s street front. There will also be a 2.3-acre park in the middle of the site as well as a childcare facility.
Approximately 0.75 kilometres of streets and lanes will be built, and pedestrians and bicycle facilities will be a major focus; A network of streets, mews, pathways, open and public spaces will be created within the site.
Excluding the park space, the development will have a floor square ratio density of 2.5 FSR by the time it is fully complete.
Proposed layout of the Oakridge Transit Centre


Three adjacent sites were also considered in the policy statement: a six-storey building is slated for the Oakmont Medical Centre property; an eight-storey building at the Petro-Canada gas station at the northeast corner of the intersection of Oak Street and West 41st Avenue; and usage and density rezoning considerations for the 3.3-acre Jewish Community Centre across the street.
Spurred by the construction and success of the SkyTrain Canada Line, this will be the Cambie Corridor’s third neighbourhood-sized redevelopment project.
Over the next eight years, the 28-acre Oakridge Centre site will be redeveloped into an expanded indoor and outdoor shopping centre with 14 towers ranging between nine to 44 storeys. Over 3,000 units of housing will be built, along with office space and a large nine-acre public park on the mall’s existing rooftop.
And at Vancouver Coastal Health’s 25.4-acre Pearson Dogwood Site at 57th Avenue and Cambie Street, another 3,000 units of housing could be built including 623 units for long-term care, supportive housing, non-market housing, seniors non-market housing, and market rental housing. The development will take the form of buildings between three to 28 storeys tall. The health agency has also committed to help fund the construction of an additional Canada Line station at 57th Avenue to serve the transportation needs of the new development’s residents.
A fourth major development site along the Cambie Corridor is likely to be considered in the near future. Last year, Canada Lands Company and First Nations groups purchased the B.C. RCMP’s former 21-acre headquarter near Cambie Street and West 33rd Avenue. The redevelopment of the property into another dense residential neighbourhood is likely.

Carmen Leal Real Estate 604-218-4846 www.carmenleal.ca Macdonald Realty Ltd.

Sunday 27 December 2015

Thank you for a wonderful testimonial :)

“We are grateful to have met Carmen and there was a comfort zone to her personality, and how she presented herself in a professional manner. Having engaged her as our agent there was no regrets. We are pleased with the time that my wife and I spent with Carmen on searching for a new home, without her this wouldn’t have been possible. I would highly recommend her. Thank you again, Carmen, and if there is any need in the future, we will be calling on you.”

D&L Yao


Monday 2 November 2015

Bringing their dreams to life: The designers of The Jervis

Great New Development in the West End THE JERVIS:
Check out the link by clicking on the photo below.



Carmen Leal
www.carmenleal.ca
604-218-4846
Macdonald Realty Ltd.

Monday 26 October 2015

Thursday 8 October 2015

Just Listed-1605-1188 Quebec Street (City Gate)



City Gate built by BOSA is a quality built and much desired building equipped with amazing amenities including a pool, gym & sauna. Walking distance to the seawall, cafes, restaurants, shopping and much more. Enjoy the gorgeous views of false creek, science world, Olympic village and downtown from this very rare south west facing three bedroom unit with spacious outdoor space great for entertaining. Includes a lavish kitchen with granite countertops and stainless steel Bosch & GE appliances. Master Bedroom includes a large soaker tub and separate shower. Very bright unit with floor to ceiling windows throughout the home with a cozy fireplace in the living room area. This unit comes with two parking spots and one storage locker. Don’t miss out on this great opportunity.

For a viewing contact Carmen at 604-218-4846
3 bedroom + 2 bathroom 1417sqft 2 parking + 1 storage locker
$948,800








http://carmenleal.ca/mylistings.html/details-52248673

Wednesday 7 October 2015

New Listing at CityGate in Mount Pleasant

New Listing at CityGate 1605-1188 Quebec Street, Vancouver Bc
3bedroom 2bath 2parking 1locker. For more details please contact Carmen at  or 604-218-4846. http://carmenleal.ca/contact.html

First Viewing will be on Friday October 9 from 10am to 12noon by appointment. Open House Saturday October 10 and Sunday 11 from 2pm to 4pm by appointment only.







Friday 2 October 2015

Interesting Read: Surge in Canadian home prices among fastest in the world

I came across this article in the Globe in Mail.

Very interesting read and wanted to share it will everyone of you.

Housing market on rise

Canadian home prices are rising at a rapid-fire pace that is among the fastest in the world.
A quarterly look by Bank of Nova Scotia’s Adrienne Warren shows prices in Canada rose 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2015, compared to a year earlier.
Ireland topped the list, at 13.3 per cent, followed by Sweden, at 10.5 per cent. Australia was just a shade above Canada, at 8.3 per cent.
“Canadian home sales and pricing are proving resilient in the face of a more challenging economic environment, buoyed by ultra-low borrowing costs and favourable home buying demographics,” Ms. Warren said in her recent report.
She also warned, however, that “among the more robust housing markets globally, including Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Ireland, stretched affordability could pose an increasing challenge.”



The Canadian cities of Vancouver and Toronto, of course, are well known for high housing costs and fast-rising prices, so much so that the former is seen by some to be suffering an affordability crisis.
“Foreign demand, especially for luxury properties in top-tier cities, will likely remain high, as investors seek geographical and asset diversification,” Ms. Warren said.
“Traditionally popular markets for foreign buyers include the U.S., the U.K., Australia and Canada,” she added.
“Foreign exchange considerations are taking on a bigger role, increasing the attractiveness of properties in countries whose currencies have weakened at the expensive of relatively stronger currency markets in the U.S. and U.K.”
The pickup in the second quarter in Canada compared to a first-quarter annual pace of 6 per cent.

WOW set to launch

An Icelandic low-cost carrier is out to create some turbulence in the Canadian market with plans to offer deep-discount fares on transatlantic flights out of Toronto and Montreal, The Globe and Mail’s Bertrand Marotte reports.
WOW air, founded by entrepreneur Skuli Mogensen, is launching two new routes from Montreal and Toronto to the Icelandic capital of Reykjavik, starting at $99 one-way.
The upstart airline is the latest European-based company to offer low-cost fares on long-haul routes across the Atlantic as the continent’s budget carriers extend their territory outside home base.

Chart of the day

Federal elections tend to have little effect on the “underlying trend” in currency movements, Bank of Nova Scotia says, and this one may be no different.
“Our own work suggests that while there has been a fair degree of currency market volatility around the election itself, it is very hard to distinguish moves related to domestic politics from the general trend in the markets,” Scotiabank foreign exchange strategists Shaun Osborne and Eric Theoret said in a recent report.



In terms of the immediate aftermath, the loonie rose in the three weeks after the 2004 Liberal victory and the 2011 win by the Conservatives.
“But these moves reflect the trend in place well before the vote itself,” they said.
“Frequently, a trend in motion before the election stays in motion after it. Prospects for something similar this time around appear strong, we think.”

Tuesday 29 September 2015

Bank of Mom and Dad Enabling Lofty Vancouver Home Buying Goals


Eyebrow-raising results emerge as local home buyers and sellers reveal aspirations, funding sources and opinions in comprehensive survey



The Bank of Mom and Dad is largely enabling young and move-up homebuyers achieve their seemingly ambitious property ownership goals in Metro Vancouver’s pricey real estate market.
This makes the transfer of generational wealth a key reason for the continuing rise in house prices in Metro Vancouver, and not just foreign buyers as is commonly perceived.
While much news has been focused on the rise of real estate prices due to foreign investment, what has been reported as ‘the biggest wealth transfer in history’ from baby-boomers to their children seems to be fuelling local buyer activities quietly in the background in terms of day-to-day transactions. This held true across all age demographics. Three-quarters of under-30s respondents anticipate help from the Bank of Mom and Dad to form a down payment, while even 64 per cent of upsizers in the 41-50 age bracket expect some financial help from family as well.
A survey that was done by REW.ca of about 400 readers in June also found that one-third of the respondents said inheritance would play a role in their purchase.
These game changers are influencing buyers’ beliefs that they can afford homes with larger price tags, even when they have lower incomes.
The survey clearly points to the high aspirations of homebuyers under the age of 30 for this reason. Although the household income for over 50 per cent of these respondents was under $70,000, about 75 per cent reported their budget as being over $400,000. 
The above finding contrasts with the 69 per cent of the survey respondents who feel foreign ownership is pushing up local home prices and the 60 per cent who would like to see limits placed on foreign ownership. Support for the first statement was strongest among the 21-30 age category at 72 per cent and support for the second statement highest among those earning $70,000 to $89,000 at 69 per cent.
From the 28-question survey, other key findings include the following:

What Local Buyers Can Afford                                                                

  • The highest proportion of first-time buyers (40 per cent) expect to purchase a condo. Thirty-four per cent of them intend to spend less than $400,000 for a home, which is in line with the BC Real Estate Association’s 2014 findings that 32 per cent of Metro Vancouver homes were sold for less than $400,000.
  • Just less than 40 per cent of respondents are looking for a house and 68 per cent have less than $700,000 for their budget.

Housing and Investment Value

  • Respondents appear to have mixed feelings about whether Lower Mainland housing is a good investment or overvalued. Given that 77 per cent of the survey takers believe buying a home here is a good investment while 74 per cent feel homes in the area are overvalued, it may be that the word “overvalued” is seen as synonymous with “expensive.”

Importance of Transit

  • Eighty per cent of respondents consider transit an important factor in determining where they live, with 46 per cent saying they are planning to buy close to a transit hub or major route.
  • Transit is most significant to those 30 and under, with 84 per cent rating it very or somewhat important. Likewise, the 21-30 age category was the one most likely to purchase close to transit (57 per cent).

Opinions on Densification

  • The survey found that support for densification appears to increase with household income – a surprising result given that densification is often touted as a way to address affordability concerns with lower income groups.

Contact Carmen if you want more info on the real estate market. 
Carmen Leal Real Estate | www.carmenleal.ca | E: carmen@carmenleal.ca | C: 604.218.4846

Thursday 3 September 2015

Metro Vancouver housing sales soar by 30%, property values up 11.2%

Metro Vancouver housing sales soar by 30%, property values up 11.2%



Demand remains exceedingly strong in Metro Vancouver’s housing market, to the extent that there has been a major drop in the number of home listings.
According to the newest data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, there was a 26.3 per cent decline in listings for July 2015 compared to what was experienced the same month a year ago. Approximately 11,500 properties were listed for sale last month.
All the while, the number of sales recorded during the period rose by 30 per cent compared to the 3,061 sales in July 2014. There were 3,978 property sales in July 2015, but this is a decrease of 9.1 per cent compared to the 4,375 sales in June 2015.
Compared over the long-term scale, last month’s sales were 33.5 per cent higher than the 10-year sales average for the month.
Much of today’s activity can be traced to strong consumer confidence, low interest rates, and a reduced supply of homes for sale. We have about 5,000 to 6,000 fewer homes for sale today than we’ve seen at this time of year over the last five to six years.
The pent up demand likely played a role in the significant one-year increase in property values. The average price for a Metro Vancouver residential property is now $700,500, an increase of 11.2 per cent compared to July 2014.
The average value of a detached property is now $1,141,800 (+16.2%) while an apartment property is $400,900 (+5.9%) and an attached property is $511,500 (+7.8%).
Sales of detached properties
  • July 2015: 1,559 properties (+17.9% over one year)
  • July 2014: 1,322 properties (+5.8% over one year)
  • July 2013: 1,249 properties (+58.7% over one year)
  • July 2012: 787 properties (-28.4% over one year)
Sales of apartment properties
  • July 2015: 1,729 properties (+42.7% over one year)
  • July 2014: 1,212 properties (+0.17% over one year)
  • July 2013: 1,210 properties (+30.5% over one year)
  • July 2012: 927 properties (-10.9% over one year)
Sales of attached properties
  • July 2015: 690 properties (+30.9% over one year)
  • July 2014: 527 properties (+8.2% over one year)
  • July 2013: 487 properties (+26.8% over one year)
  • July 2012: 384 properties (-12.5% over one year)

For further information please contact Carmen Leal at 604-218-4846 or email: carmen@carmenleal.ca

Carmen Leal Real Estate

Macdonald Realty Ltd. 

Wednesday 5 August 2015

Thank you for the kind words

Carmen,


I have been following you since your move. And I have never responded to a realtor before. But I have to tell you that you have my 100% respect and admiration and you  MUST be proud of the video for 179 Furry Creek. 

Best promotion video I've seen in 2014/15. 

Great job! 

Keep up the good work! Great value for your clients. 




Sincerely,

Gregory Derksen
Managing Director
Realtor®

Solutions Mazatlan

Real Estate – Bienes Raices

Saturday 1 August 2015

Carmen Leal - 604-218-4846 | 360hometours.ca



Check out the new development in Coquitlam, BC.

For Further details contact Carmen at 604-218-4846

Units on Sale now! Call to make an appt. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to own a upscale townhouse in a desirable location.





Wednesday 22 July 2015

Testimonial Thank you


'Carmen was professional, patient, and very hard working, taking the trouble to hold regular open houses until she found a buyer for our property. We would use her services again.'

Jack and Andrea Little.

Thursday 16 July 2015

BLUE MOUNTAIN ESTATES: NEW! CONTEMPORARY DUPLEXES in the heart of Coquitl...



On Sale. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to own in hottest area in Coquitlam!



BLUE MOUNTAIN ESTATES: NEW! CONTEMPORARY DUPLEXES in the heart of Coquitl...: Pricing Starting from $755,000 + GST (5%) Floor Plans  Building A: Unit 1 & 2                  M...

Friday 10 July 2015

169 Furry Creek Drive, Furry Creek | Carmen Leal - 360hometours.ca

169 Furry Creek Drive



*Great Vacation home with a Million Dollar view!!

Come by an have a look and you will understand what I mean :)



OPEN HOUSE:



Saturday July 11 from 2pm to 4pm



For further details Contact Carmen at 604-218-4846








169 Furry Creek Drive, Furry Creek | Carmen Leal - 360hometours.ca





169 Furry Creek Drive



*Great Vacation home with a Million Dollar view!!

Come by an have a look and you will understand what I mean :)



OPEN HOUSE:



Saturday July 11 from 2pm to 4pm



For further details Contact Carmen at 604-218-4846






179 Furry Creek, Furry Creek | Carmen Leal - 360hometours.ca

OPEN HOUSE - Saturday July 11 from 2pm to 4pm.



*Great Vacation home with a Million Dollar view!!

Come by an have a look and you will understand what I mean :)



Looking forward to see all of you there!



For further information please contact Carmen Leal at 604-218-4846 or Email: carmen@carmenleal.ca







Wednesday 3 June 2015

Vancouver real estate facing highest demand in eight years

Be prepared to feel the heat if you’re in the housing market. The British Columbia Real Estate Association released their second quarter results, and demand for homes in the province are the highest they’ve been since 2007.
According to the report, Vancouver and the Fraser Valley are leading BC’s housing growth with a 16 and 17 percent increase in sales, respectively.
Demand for single family homes in Vancouver will go down, while demand for apartments will go up, so expect to see more construction of multi-family buildings over the next year.
The city will also see the average home price shoot to $870,000, which is an increase of seven percent. The board says to expect that number to grow to nearly $900,000 in 2016.
“Market conditions in Vancouver have improved as a result of consumer demand rising faster than the number of homes for sale. While the market is exhibiting sellers’ market conditions overall, there is variability according to product type and its location in the region,” reads the report.
The BCREA notes that foreign investment persists, but it remains a “relatively small, niche market” in the luxury sector.
The average price for an apartment in Vancouver is $465,000, up 1.4 percent.

For more information on the Vancouver Real Estate Market Contact Carmen Leal at 604-218-4846 or send an email to www.carmenleal.ca

Monday 25 May 2015

179 Furry Creek, Furry Creek | Carmen Leal - 360hometours.ca

Enjoy!

Great home as a retreat from your busy every day life. With breathtaking water and mountain views.

For a private viewing contact Carmen at 604-218-4846 or send an email to carmen@carmenleal.ca







169 Furry Creek Drive, Furry Creek | Carmen Leal - 360hometours.ca

Enjoy!

Great home as a retreat from your busy every day life. With breathtaking water and mountain views.

For a private viewing contact Carmen at 604-218-4846 or send an email to carmen@carmenleal.ca







Wednesday 29 April 2015

New Listing 169 Furry Creek Drive

New Listing coming soon. Stay tuned for the Cinematic Film featuring Architect Fook Weng Chan!


For more information contact Carmen at 604-218-4846 or email at carmen@carmenleal.ca









Friday 17 April 2015

Open-Houses-Vancouver-Real-Estate-Carmen-Leal-604.218.4846

OPEN HOUSE
  Cellular: 604.218.4846   |   www.CarmenLeal.ca   |   Carmen@CarmenLeal.ca

OPEN HOUSE
2706-833 Seymour Street, Vancouver BC

Sunday, April 19 from 2:30pm to 4:00pm 


http://carmenleal.ca/mylistings.html/details-47392883

For further details contact Carmen at 604.218.4846

http://carmenleal.ca/contact.html
601-1108 Nicola Street, Vancouver BC

Saturday, April 18 from 2:30pm to 4:00pm 


http://carmenleal.ca/mylistings.html/details-46816763

For further details contact Carmen at 604.218.4846

http://carmenleal.ca/contact.html
179 Furry Creek Drive, West Vancouver Bc

To schedule a private viewing and for more information contact Carmen at 604-218-4846 


http://carmenleal.ca/mylistings.html/details-44205403
Any thoughts of selling or interested in knowing the value of your home? Feel free to contact me at 604.218.4846 or simply click on  http://carmenleal.ca/home-evaluation.html. Call me today so I can provide you with a free home evaluation. Also, ask me about my marketing package and strategy!