Saturday, August 28, 2010

West and North Vancouver Open Houses this Weekend: August 28-29th!

I am pleased to be holding 3 Open Houses this weekend:

> Open Saturday August 28th, 33-884 Premier St, North Vancouver, 2-4pm!

2 Bed, 952 sq ft, Top Floor - $268,000.

Fully renovated with new laminate, granite countertops and window trim, large south facing BB friendly patio, Acres of trails and parks surround you, easy access to Second Narrows Bridge, No restrictions, utilities includes taxes and hot water/heat.

The Best 2 Bedroom Value on The Northshore for $268,000 = $281/sq ft!!

> Open Sunday August 29th, 1295 Ottawa Avenue, West Vancouver, 2-4pm!


11,500 sq ft LOT, 6 bedroom, 4,600 sq ft home! NEW PRICE! NOW $1,595,000!

Upper Ambleside Contemporary Post & Beam Home with stunning views of Lions Gate Bridge, Downtown Vancouver, and the ocean. Large, sun drenched property on a family friendly Lot with 145 ft frontage, fenced Pool, wrap around driveway, and and In-Law suited currently tenanted for $1100.


The Best Value in West Vancouver!

> Open Sunday August 29th 2-4pm, 801-1427 Duchess Avenue. $1,178,000!

Ambleside Penthouse stapes from the Beach with Stunning Panoramic Ocean, Lions Gate Bridge, Stanley Park, and Mounain Views! Ideal for Professionals or Empty Nesters!

1350 sq ft, 14 ft ceilings, 2 BR with guest suite on main floor, and a 600 sq ft rooftop patio with Hot Tub!

Friday, August 20, 2010

Pricing Strategies To Sell Your Home!


Be Sharp & List for Less to Sell for More!

In today's market, I believe the key factor in selling your home within the Real Estate Boards average sale period of 45 days, is to be priced sharp.

Other things help too, such as Home Staging, Manicured Landscaping, Open Houses, Professional Photography & Video, and the ability to show on short notice to motivated Buyers.

But if your price is too high, Realtors and the educated public will "drive-by" or "click-past" your listing. The tricky reality is that homeowners have emotional attachments to their home and value it higher than the market value.

An over-priced listing becomes a dead listing that ends up being reduced multiple times and ultimately selling for less than if it were priced sharp.

In many parts of Europe, real estate is sold in an Auction, with a bidding process. A property is listed, the open house is advertised, and the highest bid come Sunday buys the property.

The Seller still has right to refuse offers, and while this may be unsuccessful in a down market, it is smart in stable or hot markets.

In Vancouver, we see some Realtors and Sellers implement this strategy by pricing well below appraised value and holding all offers until Sunday evening or Monday after Opens on sat & sun, and it often works very well as a lot of people inevitably turn up for the showings.

A house in North Van just listed for $699,000 when the tax value was $760,000....4 days later the house received multiple offers and sold to a no subjects offer of $825,000.

For Sellers who need to sell fast, this an excellent strategy and interestingly enough in Real Estate a lower asking price can equate to a higher Sale Price!

If you have any questions please call me at 604.562.0532!

Thank You and Happy Home Hunting:)

SB

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Just SOLD by Stu! 627 Duchess


I just Sold this gorgeous and meticulously redeveloped Cape Cod Character by Cragg Built Construction for $1,295,000!

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

July 2010 Greater Vancouver Real Estate Statistic

August 4, 2010

REBGV Stats

Homebuyers and sellers less active in July

Home sales activity in Greater Vancouver was quieter last month than most Julys over the past decade, with residential sales, prices, and the number of homes listed for sale trending downward in recent months.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,255 in July 2010. This represents a 45.2 per cent decline from the 4,114 sales in July 2009, the highest selling July ever recorded, and a 24.1 per cent decline compared to June 2010.

Looking back further, last month’s residential sales represent a 3.7 per cent increase over the 2,174 residential sales in July 2008, a 41.8 per cent decline compared to July 2007’s 3,873 sales, and a 17.5 per cent decline compared to July 2006’s 2,732 sales.

“With the pace of home sales and listings easing off in our market, we’ve begun to see a levelling of home prices from the record highs seen in the spring, creating greater affordability,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said. “Activity in today’s marketplace is clearly trending in favour of buyers.”

The number of properties listed for sale on the market has been trending downward since spring, with 4,138 new listings in July compared to April’s peak of 7,648. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) declined 17.9 per cent in July 2010 compared to July 2009, when 5,041 properties were listed for sale.

At 16,431, the total number of property listings on the MLS® in July declined 6.5 per cent compared to last month and increased 33 per cent compared to July 2009.

“It’s currently taking home sellers who work with a REALTOR®, on average, 45 days to sell their property, which is a historically healthy timeframe for people on both sides of a transaction,” Moldowan said.

Since spring, housing prices have decreased 2.8 per cent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the residential benchmark price was $593,419. Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 9.1 per cent to $577,074 in July 2010 from $528,821 in July 2009.

Sales of detached properties in July 2010 reached 908, a decrease of 43.7 per cent from the 1,614 detached sales recorded in July 2009 and a 9.8 per cent increase from the 827 units sold in July 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.5 per cent from July 2009 to $793,193.

Sales of apartment properties reached 979 in July 2010, a decline of 42.7 per cent compared to the 1,708 sales in July 2009 and an increase of 1.3 per cent compared to the 966 sales in July 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 6.2 per cent from July 2009 to $387,879.

Attached property sales in July 2010 totalled 368, a decline of 53.5 per cent compared to the 792 sales in July 2009 and a 3.4 per cent decline from the 381 attached properties sold in July 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 8.6 per cent between July 2009 and 2010 to $490,995.

So it appears the traditional summer lull took its course in July, slowing down all markets on both the buy and sell side. Todays market is a Buyers market, with increased supply, motivated sellers, and low interest rates. Skepticism is low and generally consumer confidence is strong but excellent summer weather and family vacations mixed with HST and a global economic recovery has slowed down the number of real estate transactions.

The Fall, typically a very active market, should bring increased activity so Buyers may be better to act in August while sellers may be better off waiting to list in September.

We will all have to wait and see what happens, in the meantime, enjoy our beautiful weather and our gorgeous city; Happy House Hunting:)

SB