Real Estate Market Cooling?
47 Sales in Vancouver today & 33 yesterday including West Van waterfront for $10,000,000; West Van Estate for $22,000,000; West Van Building Lot for $3,300,000; and Shangri la Condo for $3,100,000 on the high end. The low end remains busy starting with a studio sale in The Max Downtown for $290,000, and units at Vista Place are finally selling as a 2 bedroom sold for $600,000!
Conclusion: Be careful what you read in The Vancouver Sun;)
Listings traditionally pile up in the spring and the summer is typically slower as Westerners enjoy the Weather and Vacation Time. I would look for a bump in activity later this month as Buyers with fixed rates fear losing them after the 90 day hold period, then a few months of a Buyers market where low ball offers have their best chance, then the Fall Market will bring more activity and increased consumer confidence as HST is adjusted for and interest rates still remain low.
While there are some question marks that warrant our concern, such as the economy, job market, & interest rates; a key factor is our positive stream of foreign migration & investment. With our Open Border policy and our top rated banking system people and money will continue coming to Vancouver and People need houses and in the long run real estate out performs stocks and mutual funds with a fraction of the risk! So like my first year Economic Professor at Gonzaga or my graduate professor Tsur Sommerville at UBC preached for months, "Supply and Demand drives every economy." Well here we are in the Most beautiful city in The Word, surrounded by a border, mountains, and the ocean; fair enough to say supply is fairly limited, so as Demand undoubtedly continues to grow, fundamentally so will our prices.
Real Estate Acquisition, whether for occupancy or for investment, enables the Buyer to take advantage of LEVERAGE. Unlike any other form of investing, real estate only requires 5-10% down to become an Owner. So if you put $25K down on a $500K purchase that doubles in 10 years, that's $500K profit off of a $25K initial investment (not to mention paying down principle on your mortgage monthly!)
So in conclusion, I predict the market plateaus for a few months, good real estate will sell, bad will not, motivated sellers may lose money, others will wait, in the end Vancouver Real Estate will inflate and now, being a superb time to get in the market with cheap borrowing costs, no HST, and lots of supply, may be the time we look back on saying I wish I had bought then:)
If you have any questions, call, text, tweet (StuBellRealtor), facebook, or message me at 604.562.0632!
Best Regards,
Stu Bell
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Saturday, June 5, 2010
The Effects of HST on BC Real Estate?
I get asked a lot these days what HST (harmonized sales tax of 12% vs 5% GST) is going to do to Real Estate Sales and Values in Greater Vancouver.
The general consensus is that is is going to be very bad, and everyone should rush to buy Real Estate before July 1st 2010.
The Fact is that HST is only going to apply to BRAND NEW Real Estate or completely renovated Real Estate.
So if you are planning on Buying a brand new custom home or a new condo do it before July 1st! (ie a $2 million dollar home will cost you $140,000 more in taxes or a $650,000 apartment will cost you $45,500 more!)
Also keep in mind there will be a HST exemption for property under $525,000 for up to $26,250, so if your budget is under $525,000, don't sweat the HST, especially if you are a first time home buyer as you can claim full exemption on HST & PPT (1% of 1st $200K & 2% of the remainder) for purchases under $425,000.
We all have to now pay HST on services such as legal fees and Realtor commissions, but this change will be nominal.
If you are buying resale property, which makes up almost all of the 3,500 or so sales a month in Vancouver, you have no need to worry or rush in fact you may want to wait until after July 1st when developers will be adjusting their sale prices down which may have a domino effect and bring market prices down by 2-5%. But don't wait too long, especially if you have a good interest rate locked in or you find a property you love because it will probably be gone and with today's market conditions you can negotiate a purchase price of 5-10% off asking price, essentially hedging you against any market corrections later in the summer.
Overall, I believe the effects will be minimal to consumers, prices will rise slowly this year with inflation, and developers will be forced to lose profits and come up with creative marketing and financing ideas to remain competitive with the resale market after HST is applied on July 1st, 2010.
If you have any questions regarding this topic or any Real Estate inquiries, please do not hesitate to call, text, tweet, message, or email me, and I'd love to chat about it.
The general consensus is that is is going to be very bad, and everyone should rush to buy Real Estate before July 1st 2010.
The Fact is that HST is only going to apply to BRAND NEW Real Estate or completely renovated Real Estate.
So if you are planning on Buying a brand new custom home or a new condo do it before July 1st! (ie a $2 million dollar home will cost you $140,000 more in taxes or a $650,000 apartment will cost you $45,500 more!)
Also keep in mind there will be a HST exemption for property under $525,000 for up to $26,250, so if your budget is under $525,000, don't sweat the HST, especially if you are a first time home buyer as you can claim full exemption on HST & PPT (1% of 1st $200K & 2% of the remainder) for purchases under $425,000.
We all have to now pay HST on services such as legal fees and Realtor commissions, but this change will be nominal.
If you are buying resale property, which makes up almost all of the 3,500 or so sales a month in Vancouver, you have no need to worry or rush in fact you may want to wait until after July 1st when developers will be adjusting their sale prices down which may have a domino effect and bring market prices down by 2-5%. But don't wait too long, especially if you have a good interest rate locked in or you find a property you love because it will probably be gone and with today's market conditions you can negotiate a purchase price of 5-10% off asking price, essentially hedging you against any market corrections later in the summer.
Overall, I believe the effects will be minimal to consumers, prices will rise slowly this year with inflation, and developers will be forced to lose profits and come up with creative marketing and financing ideas to remain competitive with the resale market after HST is applied on July 1st, 2010.
If you have any questions regarding this topic or any Real Estate inquiries, please do not hesitate to call, text, tweet, message, or email me, and I'd love to chat about it.
May 2010 GVREB Statistics
June 4, 2010
REBGV Stats
May market offers buyers greater selection
The number of properties listed for sale in Greater Vancouver continued to rise in May, while the number of sales showed a year-over-year decrease.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,156 in May 2010, a decline of 10.4 per cent compared to the 3,524 sales in May 2009; 5.1 per cent more than the 3,002 sales in May 2008; and 27.1 per cent less than the 4,331 sales in May 2007. May 2010 sales also represent a 10.1 per cent decline compared to last month’s sales.
In terms of number of property listings, last month marked the third consecutive month during which more than 7,000 homes were listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 7,014 in May 2010, a 48.2 per cent increase compared to May 2009 when 4,733 new units were listed, and an 8.3 per cent decline compared to April 2010 when 7,648 properties were added to the MLS®.
At 17,492, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 10 per cent in May compared to last month, and is up 28.2 per cent compared to this time last year.
“Prospective home buyers in today’s market have a broad selection to choose from in every property type. REALTORS® are telling us they’re working with buyers who are not feeling as rushed to make a decision as they did late last year and earlier in the year,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.
Over the last 12 months, the overall MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 16.7 per cent to $590,662 from $506,201 in May 2009.
“It’s important for those looking to buy or sell a home to remember that real estate is local and wise real estate decisions are made by those who understand current market conditions at the neighbourhood level,” Moldowan said.
Sales of detached properties in May 2010 reached 1,256, a decrease of 10.4 per cent from the 1,402 detached sales recorded in May 2009 and a 4.4 per cent increase from the 1,203 units sold in May 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 19.1 per cent from May 2009 to $810,175.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,354 in May 2010, a decline of 7.1 per cent compared to the 1,458 sales in May 2009 and an increase of 8.8 per cent compared to the 1,244 sales in May 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 13.9 per cent from May 2009 to $398,783.
Attached property sales in May 2010 totalled 546, a decline of 17.8 per cent compared to the 664 sales in May 2009 and a 1.6 per cent decline from the 555 attached properties sold in May 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 14.8 per cent between May 2009 and 2010 to $500,339.
REBGV Stats
May market offers buyers greater selection
The number of properties listed for sale in Greater Vancouver continued to rise in May, while the number of sales showed a year-over-year decrease.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,156 in May 2010, a decline of 10.4 per cent compared to the 3,524 sales in May 2009; 5.1 per cent more than the 3,002 sales in May 2008; and 27.1 per cent less than the 4,331 sales in May 2007. May 2010 sales also represent a 10.1 per cent decline compared to last month’s sales.
In terms of number of property listings, last month marked the third consecutive month during which more than 7,000 homes were listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 7,014 in May 2010, a 48.2 per cent increase compared to May 2009 when 4,733 new units were listed, and an 8.3 per cent decline compared to April 2010 when 7,648 properties were added to the MLS®.
At 17,492, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 10 per cent in May compared to last month, and is up 28.2 per cent compared to this time last year.
“Prospective home buyers in today’s market have a broad selection to choose from in every property type. REALTORS® are telling us they’re working with buyers who are not feeling as rushed to make a decision as they did late last year and earlier in the year,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.
Over the last 12 months, the overall MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 16.7 per cent to $590,662 from $506,201 in May 2009.
“It’s important for those looking to buy or sell a home to remember that real estate is local and wise real estate decisions are made by those who understand current market conditions at the neighbourhood level,” Moldowan said.
Sales of detached properties in May 2010 reached 1,256, a decrease of 10.4 per cent from the 1,402 detached sales recorded in May 2009 and a 4.4 per cent increase from the 1,203 units sold in May 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 19.1 per cent from May 2009 to $810,175.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,354 in May 2010, a decline of 7.1 per cent compared to the 1,458 sales in May 2009 and an increase of 8.8 per cent compared to the 1,244 sales in May 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 13.9 per cent from May 2009 to $398,783.
Attached property sales in May 2010 totalled 546, a decline of 17.8 per cent compared to the 664 sales in May 2009 and a 1.6 per cent decline from the 555 attached properties sold in May 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 14.8 per cent between May 2009 and 2010 to $500,339.
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