Our market remained in a balanced state for most of the year, although higher levels of demand for detached properties in the region’s largest communities caused prices in certain areas to rise higher than others. For example, the benchmark price of a single-family detached home experienced double-digit increases in nine areas within the region over the last 12 months.

Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president, summed up the 2011 real estate market development.

New listings for detached, attached, and apartment properties reached 1,629, decreasing 4.1 per cent compared to December 2010, when new listings reached 1,699. This represents a rapid 49.4 per cent fall compared to the previous month’s 3,222 sales.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in the Greater Vancouver Area has experienced an increase of 7.6 per cent over the last year, climbing up to $621,674 since December 2010. Since reaching the top of $630,921 in June 2011, prices are experiencing a mere 1.5 per cent increase.

Net residential property sales of detached, attached, and apartment properties reached 32,390, growing by 5.9 per cent compared to December 2010, when property sales run up to 30,595. This represents a 9.2 per cent downturn compared to the 2009 sales reaching 35,669.

• Detached property sales (774 units) experienced a 4.6 per cent decrease compared to December 2010 (811 units) and a 32.9 per cent decline compared to December 2009 (1,154 units). The benchmark price increased 3.7 per cent from December 2010 to $401,396.

• Apartment property sales (1,000) decreased 4.9 per cent compared to December 2010 (1,052) and decreased 28.4 per cent compared to December 2009 (1,396). The benchmark price increased by 2.7 per cent from December 2010 to $399,686.

• Attached property sales (254 units) experienced a 20.4 per cent decline compared to December 2010 (319 units), and a 44.7 per cent decrease compared to December 2009 (459 units). The benchmark price increased by 4.2 per cent since December 2010 to $511,499.

Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market Results: December

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner. Another year, another reason to celebrate. Seems like we’ve barely finished with Christmas gifts and we’re stuck trying to figure out what to do on the craziest night of the year. This NYE’s events offer a surprisingly diverse mixture of parties, fireworks, traditional sleepovers, great food, and fabulous drinks. Whether you want to dress to the nines and head out to the last glamourous party of this year or you want to spend the night with your family, you have plenty of options to choose from. This article brings you a list of the most interesting events and venues to go to on this NYE.

New Year’s Eve for Families

Robson Square Ice Rink

Robson Square Ice Rink by Casey Yee

Robson Square Ice Rink has always been one of the most popular places to visit in Vancouver. Last winter, over 8,300 people visited this wonderful venue, bringing fun to Vancouverites and their children. Like every year without exception, Robson Square is going to host the 2012 new Year’s Eve celebration. You can look forward to live music, stilt walkers, witches, sorcerers, and a magician’s stage show. The early countdown at 8:00 P.M. will hopefully be a satisfactory compensation for the youngest children who have to go to bed early, and free noisemakers and glow sticks won’t bother their parents too much in 2012!

14th Annual Bright Nights in Stanley Park

Bright Nights in Stanley Park
by Marcin Chady

The Vancouver Park Board and British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters’ Burn Fund prepared this night full of lights and magical atmosphere for you once again. The train ride through the forest decorated with two million lights, various animated displays, and Christmas songs will ride from 3:00 P.M.-10:00 P.M. on NYE. Creations brought to you by Mortal Coil’s will make this ride even more enjoyable for you and your children. This most spectacular display of lights in Canada has over 200,000 annual visitors, so make sure to purchase your place in the ride in advance. Tickets cost $9 for adults and $6 for children. You can buy tickets through 1-855-985-5000 or by visiting Ticketmaster’s website or any of its sales locations. If you happen to be at Stanley park, you can get tickets at the ticket booth in the train Plaza.

Vancouver Aquarium New Year’s Eve Sleepover 2011

New Year’s Eve Sleepover 2011

Vancouver aquarium celebrates the 25th anniversary of their sleepover program, and no fan of the ocean should miss this event. More than 70,000 residents of the aquarium are looking forward to host this unique “whale of a year” celebration. The cost of the event is quite reasonable, as opposed to some other similar events organized over the past years: $190 for adults and youth between 13-18 years ($152 for members) and $140 for children between 6-12 years ($112 for members). You can look forward to a 4-D Theatre presentation, a special beluga show, a unique behind-the-scenes tour, including the aquarium’s research area, retro sleepover activities, a gourmet dessert buffet and breakfast, and many other amazing activities. To register, call 604-659-3552 Monday to Friday, 8:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. or send an e-mail to

NYE Party Vancouver

Solid NYE with Tiesto

Place: Pacific Coliseum, 100 North Renfrew St.
Time: 8:00 P.M. to 3:00 A.M.

DJ Tiesto has decided to end the year 2011 in a big style. Prepare to be blown away by the vastest party of the ending year. Pacific Coliseum, the 5,000-capacity home of the Vancouver Giants, promises “the most trance-inducing light show this side of Ibiza.” Tickets are currently sold at $180 and up.

New Year’s Eve Club Crawl

Place: Roxy Nightclub, 932 Granville St.
Time: 7:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M.

This is not the party for everybody. It might get unexpectedly crazy! Tickets run for $30 and up. You start at the Roxy, then make your way to Shark Club and Blarney Stone. You’ve never experienced such a ride in your life — all without paying any covers or lining up!

Pan Pacific NYE 2012 Grand Gala

Place: Pan Pacific Hotel, 300-999 Canada Place
Time: 8:00 P.M. to 2:00 A.M.

Are you a tuxedo/gown type? Do you like to dress extremely fancily and be with people with similar taste? Than you want to hit the Pan Pacific Hotel’s NYE party. Pan Pacific has prepared a red carpet-paparazzi-style photo shoot, live music in the Grand Ballroom, hot and cold hors d’oeuvres, and many other high-class surprises only for $90.

New Year’s Eve Events in Vancouver

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

November is behind us, and as the year 2011 slowly comes to an end, we bring you a short review of this year’s 11th Real Estate Market Results report, issued by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. November 2011 didn’t experience any major diversions from this part of the year’s usual home sale and listing activity.

Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president, commented on the situation:

The pace of home listings entering the market eased slightly in November, compared to recent months, while sale levels remained fairly normal for this time of year. November activity helped put our market firmly in balanced territory.

Net residential property sales of detached, attached, and apartment properties reached 2,360, decreasing by 5.9 per cent compared to November 2010, when property sales totalled 2,509. This represents a 1.9 per cent raise compared to the previous month’s 2,317 sales.

• Detached property sales (916 units) experienced a 12.8 per cent decrease compared to November 2010 (1,050 units) and a 21.3 per cent decrease compared to November 2009 (1,164 units). The benchmark price increased 11.4 per cent from November 2010 to $890,204.
• Apartment property sales (1,000) decreased 4.9 per cent compared to November 2010 (1,052) and decreased 28.4 per cent compared to November 2009 (1,396). The benchmark price increased by 2.7 per cent from November to $399,686.

• Attached property sales (444 units) experienced a 9.1 per cent increase compared to November 2010 (407 units), and a 15.1 per cent decrease compared to November 2009 (523 units). The benchmark price increased by 4.5 per cent since November 2010 to $510,960.

The net count of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® stopped at 14,090. Compared to October 2011, this number represents a 9 per cent decline. On the other hand, this number increased by 13 per cent compared to last year’s figures.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in the Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has experienced an increase of 7.2 per cent from $580,080 in November 2010 to $622,087 in November 2011.

Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market Results: November

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

An October 2011 economic outlook report by Freddie Mac reveals an increasing trend in choosing rental housing over homeownership, hinting at positive economic developments in the multifamily sector in the U.S. market.

According to data provided by the Census Bureau in June 2011, there was a net increase of 1.4 million families that made a decision to move into rental housing. The figures come as a slight surprise since the market boasts probably the highest affordability in decades. Overall, the number of home owners in the U.S. declined by 1.5 per cent over the last year, and the number of tenant households increased by 4 per cent.

“Apartments, which are considered part of the commercial real estate sector, are well ahead of retail, office properties and industrial properties in the recovery because of the release of pent up demand,” said Hessam Nadij, managing director of research and advisory services for Marcus & Millichap, for HousingWire magazine.

Under-30-year-olds are leading the list of the rental seekers, as they take their time before making the final decision for the purchase or mortgage. The percentage of home owners under 25 years of age decreased about 4.4 per cent to 21.9 per cent, and the ownership rate of people aged 25 to 29 years fell 7 per cent to 34.7 per cent.

Everything seems to point to a fact that Americans expect home prices to continue to decline. Freddie Mac experts see the cause of the situation in easily accessible financing for rental housing, low mortgage rates, and thriving apartment-sector economics together with the comeback of traditional lending that was put on hold during the crisis.

U.S. Rentals on the Rise

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

The question many economists have been analyzing lately relates to one of the biggest real estate markets in the world: China. It is clear that there is a housing market bubble, and nobody disagrees that its impact could be considerable. The real question is: how big is it really going to be?

This question became a nightmare not only for the Chinese government, but also for European and American leaders, still living with a vivid memory of the U.S. real estate bubble burst crisis. Although it didn’t seem possible a year ago, today it seems perfectly reasonable to say that the Chinese property bubble looks benign. It’s probably going to slowly deflate without causing any greater harm, as argued at The Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering.

Bubbles All Over the World

The Chinese housing price index has risen by at least 70 per cent since 2000. Year after year, housing prices increase by as much as 10 per cent in some cities, and by at least 3 per cent in the major tier-one cities, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. This increase in prices is very similar to the development of a property bubble in Japan (1982-1991), followed by “lost decade,” and the U.S. property bubble formation (1996-2006), which caused much greater crises. However, the Chinese government has taken action to revive property markets soon enough, and it seems to be working.

Is Chinese Bubble Identical to the U.S. One?

Empty by Peretz Partensky

Although some say that the U.S. and Chinese bubbles are identical, the opposite is true. They are very different. While the U.S. decreased interest rates while housing was increasing rapidly, pretending the bubble didn’t exist, China started to raise rates to make loans for housing very difficult to obtain. China also exploited the European Union and U.S. suffering economies in times of global financial crisis and gained $700 billion in stimulus spending. Despite the huge potential, not all investments made of this capital met with success.

Empty Cities

With the stock market as stable as a casino and bank rates just above inflation, the Chinese don’t have many options concerning where to invest their money. Hence, the government started to build extensive housing, relying on the “build it, eventually, they’ll come”. The problem is they haven’t — yet. China has to deal with a problem that might potentially increase into a magnitude China will no longer be able to maintain. Vast ghost cities, holding an estimated 64 million empty flats in total, according to SBS Dateline. Also large commercial centres all over the country now stand abandoned, unused.

Not So Bad After All

Not only has China experienced the continuous growth of home prices, but also the investment/GDP ratio reached 48.5 per cent as of last year. Despite this development, the Chinese bubble has been able to resist the pressure and prices of properties still haven’t fell rapidly. Barclays named these factors as reasons for continuous sustainability on the market: “Strong income growth; Urbanization, home upgrading and favourable demographic change; Limited investment alternatives; Households’ strong balance sheets. According to Barclays, “The IMF-HKMA (2010) research found that over the past decade, when misalignments in house prices have occurred in China, they have been corrected relatively quickly.”

Chinese Real Estate Bubble – About to Burst or Just Slowly Deflating?

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

Camelot Estate
by Charpac Properties Ltd.

The most expensive house in Vancouver is also the most expensive house in the whole of Canada. The name of the avenue on which this house can be found is quite significant. The three-building estate you’ll get for the listing price is more like a modern castle than a normal house. The property is located in West Vancouver with a view of the Lower Mainland, downtown, the U.S., and Vancouver Island.

Travelling to and from the property is also relatively painless. It takes only ten minutes to get downtown by car, and the property has direct access to Highway 1. This enables the owner to be on the US border in an hour or wander off to Kelowna or Okanagan, which are approximately a four-hour drive. If you decide to head west, you can be in one of world’s best ski resorts, Whistler, in one hour and 20 minutes, or take a ferry to Gulf Island from the Horseshoe ferry terminal, which is only ten minutes away.

The property currently features a doll house with walking trails, stables, a tennis court, and charming forest surroundings, with a 5,000-square-foot house. The property is approximately 5.44 acres. The current zoning of the property enables the potential buyer to build three structures to a maximum size of 49,055 square feet, 5,774 square feet, and 15,489 square feet, respectively. The future owner may place all three structures as ranchers (one-storey buildings). The main rancher house has been designed at 21,091 square feet, the guest house at 7,000 square feet, and the office/maids’ quarters at 2,580 square feet. All houses have separate driveways.

The main house is a miracle of modern architecture. Imagine three waterfalls, a vast hot tub, a negative edge pool, both indoor and outdoor pools, six bedrooms, a wine cellar, a massage room, a gym, a billiards room, and a 15-car garage inside one house. Welcome to real-estate paradise. If you wish to sit outside, just open one of the glass walls and enter an outdoor kitchen, cabanas, viewing area, or just sit by the fireplace.

The guest house consists of four private en-suites with patios. The guest house also features a media room, a negative edge pool, and a three-car garage.

The last of the buildings has more levels and includes a two-bedroom maids quarters and an owner’s office consisting of a waiting area, kitchen, board room, reception area, and bathrooms. The top-floor office also includes a bar and a commanding view.

The Most Expensive House in Vancouver

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

The International Monetary Fund points to rising household debt and recommends government action soon. Finance minister Jim Flaherty says no further mortgage tightening is needed now.

IMF warns in its latest regional outlook for the Western Hemisphere that Canadian household debt reached 147 per cent in Q2 and is heading towards 151 per cent in 2013. The report considers an appropriate ratio to be between 138 and 142 per cent.

While the Canadian economy is stronger than US or EU economies, continuous debt buildup may represent problem. While Julie Dickson, superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI), recently said they are “stepping in to increase the monitoring of home loans and lines of credit secured by real estate," finance minister Jim Flaherty is not considering further mortgage tightening after the latest round earlier this year. “It will take clear evidence of a bubble in the housing market in Canada, which we have not seen,” he said.

While real estate markets in most provinces are advancing moderately, the average price of Vancouver real estate grew by 17 per cent on a year-to-year basis, driven mainly by demand from foreign investors. Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage, told CRE online: "Vancouver is being influenced at the margin by foreign investment. I believe that that is a sustainable scenario.”

IMF Points Our Debt, Flaherty Says No Mortgage Tightening

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

Since May 2011, Canada has been experiencing a rapid outburst of recreational property purchases. Most big real-estate companies believe that this trend is going to continue throughout next year as well, barely dropping at all. According to a nationwide survey of Canadian attitudes toward recreational property ownership commissioned by Royal LePage Real Estate Services and run on the Angus Reid Forum, most Canadians believe that the purchase of a vacation home is a good long-term investment.

Confidence of Canadians in Recreational Properties on the Rise

The aforementioned survey found that nearly 90 per cent of prospective buyers and current owners agree with the notion of the recreational property market being the best in which to invest. According to the survey, 92 per cent of Albertans, 91 per cent of Ontarians, 87 per cent of British Columbians, and 81 per cent of Quebecers are confident that investing in this type of property will grant them considerable financial return.

Phil Soper, president and chief executive of Royal LePage Real Estate Services, commented on the situation:

“Canadians’ confidence in recreational property values is mirroring what we have been seeing in Canada’s urban centres. This spring, the horror stories from some fundamentally flawed international housing markets that had dampened demand for cottage-type living during the recession era, are being shrugged off. Canada’s traditionally buoyant recreational property market appears to have found its groove once more.”

Canadians aren’t afraid of either reduction of their personal spending accounts or rising interest rates. Although the weather has delayed the start of the 2011 recreational property buying season, other regions show a steady rise in consumer confidence in the market. The weather just delayed the action, not the intention. According to the report, real-estate agents should be expecting the boom in luxury and higher-end segments.

An increasing number of buyers plan to use their recreational property as a rental. This will allow more and more families to reach the recreational property of their dreams without a need to buy it and allow the owner to finance a mortgage or get the investment returned partially. However, the majority of purchases are still made as lifestyle choices rather than financial investments.

What is Important for Buyers in Different Regions of Canada?

British Columbia

As you’ll see, BC residents don’t differ from the rest of Canada much. They find all-year usage, quiet surroundings, and the proximity of amenities crucial. British Columbians also stated that renting potential is important to them.

Average price range in 2011: $330,000-$1,000,000

Ontario

House Near the Lake by Richard Hsu

According to Ontarians, it is extremely important for the recreational property to be suitable for all-year usage, it has to be quiet, and nearly one quarter said that rental potential is also a decision factor. Over 60 per cent of them answered that they would like to buy a property next to a lake.

Average price range in 2011: $150,000-$750,000

Alberta

Respondents from Alberta found all-year usage similarly important as Ontarians. They also tend to look for quiet properties located close to amenities. Nearly all of the respondents stated that “a recreational property is a great way to bring family together.”

Average price range in 2011: $350,000-$400,000

Quebec

The majority of Quebecers stated that whether or not the place is quiet has a great influence on their decision. Nearly half of them are only willing to drive one hour from their permanent residence to their vacation house. Up to 14 per cent will use their recreational property more than once a week.

Average price range in 2011: $250,000-$1,000,000

Ideal Conditions for a Purchase Are Here

“Buyers who held off during the recession are back in recreational property markets from coast to coast. Their patience has been rewarded with more affordable recreational values and greater inventory levels. It’s the perfect storm, as ideal market conditions dovetail with wealth recovery,” says Pamela Alexander, CEO, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada.

The situation is profitable also for Americans who bought a recreational property in Canada when the dollar fell to 65 cents. They are now selling with much greater revenue, taking advantage of currency exchange and the appreciation of prices.

According to the RE/MAX Recreational Property Report 2011, surprisingly, even in such a strong market as British Columbia, prices are at or near the bottom. Softer values are largely boosting sales in the west, where prices have risen in nearly sixty per cent of markets, beating the national average by far. Elton Ash, Regional Executive Vice President, RE/MAX of Western Canada, commented on the situation:

“Opportunities that haven’t been seen in years are now presenting themselves, especially on the West Coast, prices are down as much as 20 per cent from peak levels reported in 2006-2007, bringing ownership within reach to many potential purchasers.“

According to the report, the composition of recreational properties continues to change as well. Whereas, in years past, traditional cottages were the object of desire of purchasers, desire for the year-round lifestyle continues to boost renovation and new construction activity of more luxurious properties.

Recreational Property Purchases Hit Canada

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

The current down-turning trend of home prices in the U.S. has been encouraging for foreign investors. The decreasing value of the U.S. dollar on currency markets played a major role in the increase of foreign investment activity on U.S. real estate market.

According to a recent Scotia Economics (the analytic branch of Scotiabank Group) Global Real Estate Report, the average price of a U.S. existing home in terms of the Canadian dollar (CAD$) has fallen more than 35% over the past six years. The impact of the CAD$ appreciation is especially vivid in comparison with the mere 20% average price decrease in US$ terms: a US$57,000 drop from US$275,000 to US$218,000.

There factors largely contributed to the Canadian real estate spree on U.S. markets. The amount of Canadian purchases stand for up to 25% of net foreign purchases of U.S. residential property in the twelve months to March 2011. As the U.S. National Association of Realtors stated, Canadians, including temporary visa holders and recent immigrants, bought US$19 billion worth of U.S. property over this short period. This represents the major share among all other foreign property investments. The increase of Canadian, Asian, and Latin American interest in the U.S. real estate market balanced out the decline of purchases coming from Europe.

Aiming Florida

Beach house Florida by Britt Reints

Although it might seem that foreign purchases account for a share of annual U.S. existing home property transactions, this isn’t even worth mentioning since we have to look at the situation on the regional level to find a real impact. Arizona and Florida are experiencing the main inflow of Canadian buyers, who are buying vacation houses in these warm parts of the U.S. However, they are also aiming for rental and purely investment-oriented properties.

According to the Scotia Economics Report, “In the 12 months to June 2011, foreign non-resident buyers purchased US$13 billion in Florida property, representing just over 25% of all property purchases in the state.” This boost helped in balancing a drop in residential investments. Home prices in popular real-estate markets like Miami and Tampa are still around 50% below where they used to be in times of the highest price-ranges.

Similarly to the combined U.S. market, Canadian purchasers account for the major share in foreign non-resident transactions on the Florida market. This share takes up to 39% of them, climbing up to $5 billion in Florida property in 2010 only. Canadians invest mainly in resort areas, choosing condominium properties over the other options (57%).

In spite of the abundance of Canadian purchases, Canadian buyers tend to buy low-priced properties. According to the Scotia Economics Report, up to “two-thirds of buyers paid less than US$200,000 for their Florida property, with a median purchase price of only $152,000.”

Despite the positive effects of foreign investors on the U.S. real-estate market, the U.S. fails to provide easier access to financing for them. Even for well-qualified borrowers with a significant downpayment, it is quite complicated to obtain financing to purchase such properties, resulting in nine out of ten buyers purchasing a property in cash. If you’re considering purchasing U.S. property, you’ll have to take estate and income taxes into consideration as well.
 

Expansion of Canadian Investments In U.S. Real Estate Markets

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks

Many clients think that Realtors® are there only to make a sale. Akin to the car salesperson paradigm, people often think that real estate agents’ only goal is to sell-sell-sell no matter what house or to whom. Sadly, many agents actually fuel this misconception by acting irresponsibly and neglecting their due diligence when interacting with their clients.

In reality, the role of a real estate agent is to help her or his clients. Realty is a complicated field, and achieving expertise is conditioned by accumulating experience, investing considerable amounts of time, and having an internal passion for the job of matching buyers with sellers. Because of this complexity, it is nearly impossible for a private seller or buyer to acquire the same level of proficiency at navigating the market as a seasoned Realtor® can offer. This is also the reason why real estate agency is a profession and why it is an important public service.

Although the two are not directly comparable, the model of real estate agency resembles that of medical care. Patients visit a doctor hoping to find a customized solution to their own problem and, preferably, one that would last for a long time. If the solution is based on false advice or if it has to rely on compromises and assumptions, it will have lasting negative effects on the patient’s quality of life. Similarly, selling to a client a suboptimal Vancouver house or condo is going to have lasting repercussions in that client’s everyday life.

Recognize Responsible Realtor

Because the client is not an expert on home buying, he or she relies on his or her professional advisor. It is the moral and professional duty of every Realtor® to work in favour of her or his client. If it is in the best interest of the buyer not to buy then the Realtor® should communicate that to him or her very clearly and persuasively. There is no selling a home unless the buyer expressly agrees with all of its flaws and shortcomings. An unhappy buyer will definitely give his or her realty agent bad references and will never trust that agent again.

Piggy savings bank
by Alan Cleaver

Selling no home is much better than selling a bad home to a client. By the established analogy, referring a patient to another doctor is much better than harming a patient. Every Realtor® should understand that she or he is largely responsible for the future well-being of her or his clients.

It is crucial that the client choose a reliable real estate agent to guide him or her through the process of trading his or her home. Only a qualified and responsible agent will be able to find you and your family the best home in the market.

Be wary of home salespeople. Work only with the pros.

Pushing the Client over the Edge

Post from: Vancouver REALTOR® Jay Banks