Infographic: Greater Vancouver Real Estate, February 2017

Greater Vancouver Real Estate Break Down as of February 2017

Check out the info graphics below:

To read the full news story, click here.

Greater Vancouver condo prices rise despite tumbling sales

Prices for condos and town homes are climbing in Greater Vancouver, despite tumbling sales.

Total sales volume last month range in 7.7 per cent under the 10-year February average. But the number of residential transactions last month rose 59.2 per cent compared with January, marking the first time that sales have increased month over month since March, 2016.



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Yours,

Carmen Leal *PREC
Macdonald Realty Ltd.

TOP 10 1 BEDROOM MEDIAN RENT PRICES

B.C. Premier Christy Clark to lift foreign buyers tax for those with work permits

Premier Christy Clark announced Sunday that foreigners with work permits who live and work in B.C. will be exempted from the province’s 15-per-cent homebuyers tax.

Clark made the statement during a scrum at Vancouver’s Chinatown Lunar New Year Parade in response to questions on U.S. President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from seven predominantly Muslim countries.

For the full article please Click HERE

Tiny-house movement gets big push forward in Vancouver campaign

Very interesting read!

The tiny-house movement has been percolating in North America for two decades, as people have looked for ways to reduce the cost of housing and live a simpler life.

It’s getting a big push in Metro Vancouver this year, as two local women have ramped up a campaign to promote the idea of living in small, portable houses of less than 500 square feet, as well as to get buy-in from local municipalities.  To continue on the full article click HERE

Yours,

Carmen Leal Personal Real Estate Corporation

Website: www.carmenleal.ca

Direct: 604-218-4846

Email: carmen@carmenleal.ca

Vancouver’s interest-free loans for homebuyers

A Canadian province has an unusual offer for first-time buyers struggling to enter one of the world’s hottest property markets — a cheap loan to bulk up their down payment.

"If there’s no new supply, giving people more money just leads to higher prices"

Starting Jan. 16, 2017 British Columbia — home to Vancouver, the nation’s most expensive real estate market — will start a program to match the nest eggs saved by buyers for their first house by up to $37,500 or 5 per cent of the purchase value.

The unconventional step comes as policymakers scramble to respond to surging home prices in Vancouver and Toronto that have turned Canada into one of the world’s fastest-appreciating real estate markets. Households have racked up a record $2 trillion in debt amid rock-bottom borrowing costs, triggering concerns about the stability of the financial system.

‘Ample Support’

“Too much encouragement to buy homes exposes vulnerable people to excessive financial risk, pushes prices higher where acute supply inelasticity exists – like here in Vancouver – and jeopardizes our economic prospects.”

"Worse, those poor buyers will end up paying higher property taxes than they would’ve otherwise"

Policy measures to cool the market have all addressed demand, not supply. They include a 15 per cent tax of foreign buyers in B.C., stricter federal government mortgage rules, and plans to tax empty homes in Vancouver.

Supply, on the other hand, has stalled, failing to respond to a nearly 40 per cent increase in Vancouver prices earlier this year. The inventory of homes for sale is at its lowest in almost a decade, even as the price of a typical single-family home surged to $1.5 million, about 20 times what the median household earns in a year.

Facing Election

B.C. Premier Christy Clark, whose Liberal Party faces re-election in May, insisted the new program doesn’t encourage risky loan taking, saying only those who meet the newly tightened federal mortgage rules will qualify. It will also be restricted to households earning up to $150,000 and purchasing a property that’s worth $750,000 or less.

The 25-year loans will have no interest or repayments for the first five years.

Different Directions

Lenders won’t treat that government funding as equity because it’s a loan, meaning it won’t reduce the burden on the buyer of saving up — it just lets them pay less for the first five years.

The Bank of Canada said Thursday before B.C.’s announcement that elevated levels of household debt and imbalances in the housing market remain the primary risks to the country’s financial system, but that new rules — including mortgage-tightening ones introduced in October — will mitigate those dangers.

For further information:

Contact Carmen Leal at Carmen Leal Personal Real Estate Corporation. 604-218-4846 Email: carmen@carmenleal.ca Website: www.carmenleal.ca

November Stats: Home sales and listings just below 10-year average

VANCOUVER, BC – December 2, 2016 – Home buyer and seller activity remains near historical averages in the Metro Vancouver* housing market.

Residential home sales in the region totalled 2,214 in November 2016, a decrease of 0.9 per cent from the 2,233 sales recorded in October 2016 and a decrease of 37.2 per cent compared to November 2015 when 3,524 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 7.6 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month. 

“While 2016 has been anything but a normal year for the Metro Vancouver housing market, supply and demand totals have returned to more historically normal levels over the last few months,” said Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president. 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,147 in November 2016. This represents a decrease of 20.9 per cent compared to the 3,981 units listed in October 2016 and a 7.2 per cent decrease compared to November 2015 when 3,392 properties were listed.

Last month’s new listing count was 1.2 per cent below the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 8,385, an 8.3 per cent decrease compared to October 2016 (9,143) and a 3.6 per cent increase compared to November 2015 (8,096).

The sales-to-active listings ratio for November 2016 is 26.4 per cent. This is up two per cent from last month (24.4 per cent). Downward pressure on home prices can occur when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a sustained period, while home prices can experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

“Demand, relative to supply, for detached homes is lower right now than demand for townhomes and apartments,” Morrison said. “This is causing prices to remain stable, or flat, for townhomes and apartments, while detached homes are seeing modest month-over-moth declines.”

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $908,300. This represents a 1.2 per cent decrease compared to last month and a 20.5 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

Sales of detached properties in November 2016 reached 638, a decrease of 2.1 per cent from the 652 detached sales recorded in October 2016 and a 52.2 per cent decline over November 2015. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,511,100. This represents a 2.2 per cent decline compared to last month and a 23 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,200 in November 2016, an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to the 1,178 sales in October 2016 and a 22.7 per cent decrease compared to November 2015.The benchmark price of an apartment property is $512,100. This is unchanged from last month and is an 18 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

Attached property sales in November 2016 totalled 376, a decrease of 6.7 per cent compared to the 403 sales in October 2016 and a 40.9 per cent decline compared to November 2015. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $667,100. This represents a 0.3 per cent decrease compared to last month and a 23 per cent increase compared to November 2015.

*Editor’s Note: Areas covered by Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge and South Delta.

Download the full stats package from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver HERE