Archive for August, 2014

Home buyers continue to slightly outpace sellers, but not by much

Tuesday, August 5th, 2014

REBGV
Other

The Greater Vancouver housing market continues to see slightly elevated demand from home buyers, steady levels of supply from home sellers and incremental gains in home values depending on the area and property type.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 3,061 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July 2014. This represents a 3.9 per cent increase compared to the 2,946 sales recorded in July 2013, and a 10.1 per cent decline compared to the 3,406 sales in June 2014.
“This is the fourth consecutive month that the Greater Vancouver market has exceeded 3,000 sales,” Darcy McLeod, REBGV president-elect said. “Prior to this, our market had not surpassed the 3,000 sale mark since June of 2011.”

Last month’s sales were 3.8 per cent above the 10-year sales average for July of 2,948.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver* is currently $628,600. This represents a 4.4 per cent increase compared to July 2013.

“Today’s activity continues to put Metro Vancouver in the upper reaches of a balanced real estate market,” McLeod said.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 19.6 per cent in Metro Vancouver. This ratio has ranged between 18 and 20 per cent over the last four months.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 4,925 in July. This represents a 1.5 per cent increase compared to the 4,854 new listings in July 2013 and a 7.8 per cent decline from the 5,339 new listings in June.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 15,617, a six per cent decline compared to July 2013 and a 2.5 per cent decrease compared to June 2014.

Sales of detached properties in July 2014 reached 1,322, an increase of 5.8 per cent from the 1,249 detached sales recorded in July 2013, and a 68 per cent increase from the 787 units sold in July 2012. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.5 per cent from July 2013 to
$980,500.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,212 in July 2014, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the 1,210 sales in July 2013, and a 30.7 per cent increase compared to the 927 sales in July 2012.

The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.2 per cent from July 2013 to $376,500. Attached property sales in July 2014 totalled 527, an 8.2 per cent increase compared to the 487 sales in July 2013, and a 37.2 per cent increase over the 384 attached properties sold in July
2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 3.4 per cent between July 2013 and 2014 to $472,400.

* 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, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.

The real estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2013, 28,524 homes changed ownership in the Board’s area, generating $1.84 billion in economic spin-off activity and 13,977 jobs. The total dollar value of residential sales transacted through the MLS® system in Greater Vancouver totalled $22 billion in 2013. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 11,000 REALTORS® and their companies.

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

Terrace draws Asian investor by avoiding sticker shock

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Frank O’Brien
Other

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Recreational buyers find sles are up, prices are down

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Other

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First time buyers heating up Fraser Valley housing market

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Patrick Blennerhassett
Other

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Metro office developers find going green is trendy and profitable

Friday, August 1st, 2014

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Outlet malls disrupt Metro traditional retail sector

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Glen Korstrom
Other

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CP Arbutus Corridor deadline passes

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Naoibh O’Connor
Van. Courier

CP’s July 31 deadline to remove “encroachments” on its property along Arbutus Corridor has passed and work is resuming to return the corridor to federal operating standards, according to spokesman Ed Greenberg.

That includes crews beginning to identify items such as sheds, gardens or vehicles that remain on CP property and pose a safety risk as work takes place, Greenberg said in an email to the Courier.

“As track work progresses on the corridor any identified encroachments will be removed in order to maintain a safe work environment for CP crews,” he wrote. “With the resumption of track work along the corridor, and to ensure safety, it would be important for people to please stay off the railway’s property as it is an active corridor and work is commencing.”

Greenberg added that CP won’t comment on “reports or speculation when it comes to any discussions with the City of Vancouver.”

“After more than a decade of discussions, CP still remains very much open to productive talks with the City, but in the meantime, we are proceeding with work on the CP corridor to resume train operations,” he added.

© Vancouver Courier

Most Cabin Owners Won’t Keep It in the Family: Survey

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Joannah Connolly
Other

As British Columbians flock to vacation homes for the long BC day weekend, the dream of the family-owned cabin is slipping out of the reach of the younger generation, according to a BlueShore Financial survey released July 29.

Of those respondents who own a vacation property, only 39% said that their children will inherit the family property.

And in an exactly correlating figure, 61% of respondents whose parents own recreational property don’t think that property will be passed down to them.

BlueShore said that the number one concern parents have about leaving the family vacation home to their children is long-term affordability of maintenance and taxes.

“The dream of inheriting the family cabin is moving beyond the reach of many people,” said Chris Catliff, president and CEO of BlueShore Financial.

“Our survey shows that parents are worried their kids can’t afford to keep up their recreational property. Given that so many recreational properties have a huge emotional investment, this is an important issue for families.”

The survey report also said there was a lack of planning among property owners who do hope to transfer ownership to their children, with more than half (56%) not having a plan for transferring ownership. And even when they do have a plan, most (54%) haven’t discussed details with their children.

“People may not realize what their options are for transferring property to other family members,” said Catliff. “By getting some good advice now, they may be able to keep the cabin in the family for future generations.”

© 2014 Real Estate Weekly

Vancouver Real Estate: 3D Scanning Technology set to Change Market

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Other

Working directly with a Y Combinator Silicon Valley start-up, Real Estate Channel has adopted the state of the art technology that creates immersive experiences of interior spaces using a 3D scanner and proprietary software.  In addition, Real Estate Channel now offers HD photography and video service accessible & affordable for industry professionals.

Website: http://clients.realestatechannel.ca/services/

SOURCE Real Estate Channel

Video with caption: “Video: Real Estate Channel Breaks New Ground in Industry With 3D Scanning Technology”. Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20140731_C2290_VIDEO_EN_4570.mp4&poster=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos.newswire.ca%2Fimages%2F20140731_C2290_VIDEO_EN_4570.jpg&order=1&jdd=20140731&cnum=C2290

Vancouver Real Estate: 3D Scanning Technology set to Change Market

Friday, August 1st, 2014

Other

Working directly with a Y Combinator Silicon Valley start-up, Real Estate Channel has adopted the state of the art technology that creates immersive experiences of interior spaces using a 3D scanner and proprietary software.  In addition, Real Estate Channel now offers HD photography and video service accessible & affordable for industry professionals.

Website: http://clients.realestatechannel.ca/services/

SOURCE Real Estate Channel

Video with caption: “Video: Real Estate Channel Breaks New Ground in Industry With 3D Scanning Technology”. Video available at: http://stream1.newswire.ca/cgi-bin/playback.cgi?file=20140731_C2290_VIDEO_EN_4570.mp4&poster=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos.newswire.ca%2Fimages%2F20140731_C2290_VIDEO_EN_4570.jpg&order=1&jdd=20140731&cnum=C2290