Real Estate Information

Closer alignment between home buyer and home seller activity brought greater balance to the Greater Vancouver housing market in February.  Property sales totaled just over 2500 last month with makes it the third lowest total for February in the last decade.

There were 5,500 new listings added in the month which is slightly down from the same month a year ago but it is the second highest total since 1996.  These new listings pushed the total to over 14,000 which is almost 20% higher than last year.  Because of this the sales to active listings ratio has risen to 18% which puts us right in the centre of a balanced market (15%-20%).  Prices have remained relatively stable in Greater Vancouver for the last 6 months.

The average time on market was 44 days in February which is a little better than the 55 days in January.

First-time home buyers will now receive an income tax credit of $10,000 when they purchase newly built homes. The bonus begins phasing out for individuals and families earning a net income of $150,000 and is eliminated completely for individuals earning $200,000 net (and families earning $250,000 net).

In our opinion it is a much need break to first-time home buyers!

The HST changes on new housing will also be in effect starting April 1, 2012. There will be transitional rules between now and April 1, 2013 (when the HST should bid adios completely), but the previous maximum of $26,250 rebate has increased to $42, 500 on homes above $850,000. Homes below $850,000 will be subject to significant HST rebates as well, but depending on when you buy and when the home is complete the rules will vary. 

Contact us if you'd like more information or see: www.pstinbc.ca

Happy Home Hunting,

The Axfords

These rules (as usual) seem almost impossible to understand, but maybe if we Realtors and members of the public read them enough times we may get an inkling of what it's all about. 

As the province transitions back to the PST, which will replace the HST effective April 1, 2013, measures to ease the HST burden on new home buyers include:

• The BC New Housing Rebate threshold will increase to $850,000 from $525,000, so that more than 90% of newly built homes will now be eligible for a provincial HST rebate effective April 1, 2012.
• The maximum rebate will increase to $42,500 from $26,250 effective April 1, 2012.
• Buyers of new secondary vacation or recreational homes outside the Greater Vancouver and Capital Regional Districts priced up to $850,000 will now be eligible to claim a provincial grant of up to $42,500 effective April 1, 2012.
• For newly built homes where construction begins before April 1, 2013, but ownership and possession occur after, purchasers will not pay the 7% provincial portion of the HST. Instead, purchasers will pay a temporary, transitional provincial tax of 2% on the full house price.

HST/PST transition rules will help ensure that whenever purchasers buy a new home they will all pay a consistent and equitable amount of tax, whether the home is built:

• entirely under the HST;
• entirely under the PST; or
• partly under HST and partly under the PST.

The temporary housing transition measures will be in place until March 31, 2015. The tax only applies to homes where construction begins before the transition date and ownership and possession occur after.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver successfully advocated for the following:

• An increase in the threshold value of homes to be covered by the rebate;
• An increase in the rebate amount;
• An announcement of the transition rules for new homes as early as possible.

Home Sellers have been more active than home Buyers to start off the new year. Even though there were 1,577 sales in January this was a 5% decline over January 2011(which makes it the second lowest sales total in the last decade). On the other hand, the number of listings increased 20% from last January making it the highest total for new listings since 1995!  And the total number of listings in Greater Vancouver is 12.5% higher than December 2011.

These factors offer pricing stability and more selection which is great news for Buyers.

A strong international demand for bonds from Canada's biggest banks is trickling through the system and pushing mortgage rates to record lows at the consumer level. This is a result of a broader trend in which international bond investors are gobbling up Canadian offerings because they're generally perceived as being safer than bonds from other countries (Italy and eight other European countries saw their S&P credit ratings downgraded).

This has resulted in the lowest mortgage rate in Canadian history - the five year fixed rate is 2.99%.  This could be enough to entice new home buyers to enter the market and could also benefit existing owners who are looking to refinance their existing mortgage. 

Some economists have begun to question how long housing prices will continue to climb and predicted a plateau in housing sales and inventory. This will likely add a few more months to the spree of housing sales.

Consumers must keep in mind that these rates will be short term and prepare themselves for an future increase at the time they need to renew their mortgage.

Como Lake Gardens is a YWCA Metro Vancouver supportive housing development with construction due to complete in the next couple of months.  The YWCA will take possession the the building toward the end of March and families will begin moving in shortly thereafter.  The 4 storey building located at 528 Como Lake Avenue, which is designed to meet LEED gold standards and incorporates "green-friendly" standards, will contain 30 residential units. 

This is a housing project for single moms and their children and it already has a waiting list.  The rent is based on 30% of the mother's income and support will be available 4 days a week to help parents connect with YWCA services as well as daycare and education in the area. This project is made possible by the granting of a 60-year lease (for one dollar per year) by the City of Coquitlam, a mortgage provided by key project partner BC Housing and monies contributed by Generous YWCA donors.

Although housing starts in Canada rose almost 8% month over month in December, new home construction in BC urban centres fell 26% year over year in the same month. In our province, the 2011 story ended on a positive note with an overall increase of 3% to a total of 24,235 starts.

Major metropolitan areas in BC varied from city to city.  Vancouver finished 2011 up 17% (17,687 units) while Abbotsford new home construction was up only 3% for the year (543 units).  And Victoria finished the year down 22% from 2010.

For 2012, it is expected that housing starts will grow roughly in-line with new household formations at about 27,500 units. There will be a clear bias toward multi-family units and relatively weak new single family starts.

2011 began with varied demand in various regional hot-spots and concluded with greater balance between Seller supply and Buyer demand.  There were more than 32,000 sales on the mls system which is up 6% from recorded sales in 2010 but still down 6% from the 10 year average.

The total number of properties listed in 2011 was just short of 60,000 which is the second highest amount in the 10 year average.

Even though the market remained relatively balanced for most of the year, higher demand for detached properties in our larger communities caused prices in some areas to rise higher than others (double digit increases were realized in several communities - West and North Vancouver, Vancouver, Port Moody, Burnaby, Richmond and South Delta).  The benchmark price for all properties peaked in June at over 7% increase but has since come down about 1.5%.

In December the total number of sales was 1,658 which is down 12% from last December and 30% from November 2011(it should be noted that December is traditionally a quieter time in Real Estate).  Currently, there are over 11,000 properties for sale on our mls system.

We wish you a healthy, happy 2012.

Lots of fun was had at our office with children decorating 'house' cookies with oodles of icing and candies.  We ran out of cookies early so next year we will know better.  Apologizes to those who couldn't participate.

Santa and his elves were there for photo ops and lots of candy canes.  The tree was lit (eventually) and it's beautiful.  Make sure you come down one evening to enjoy all the decorations.  There are lots of of fabulously decorated balconies as well.

Mark December 1, from 4:00 - 9:00  pm on your calendar to visit the Suterbrook Mall for loads and loads of fun and festivities.

Santa and his elves will be here. Children and adults alike can enjoy the:

Christmas Tree lighting,
Sleigh rides,
Crafts for kids,
Choirs and singing,
Snacks and drinks for all.

Drop by our office at 13-201 Morrissey Road and decorate a Christmas House cookie. 

It's on no matter what the weather is doing so we look forward to seeing you here! Suterbrook is located on the corner of Ioco Road and Murray Street (the Thrifty Market mall).