Sunny weather did not slow the pace of home sale activity in July. Last month was the highest selling month of the year in Greater Vancouver and the highest selling July since 2009.   The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,946 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July 2013. This represents a 40.4 per cent increase compared to the 2,098 sales recorded in July 2012, and an 11.5 per cent increase compared to ... Full Article...

    While the number of home sales in Greater Vancouver continued to trend below the 10-year average in May, the balance of sales and listings meant continued market stability this spring.         The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,882 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May 2013. This represents a one per cent increase compared to the 2,853 sales recorded in May 2012, and a 9.7 per cent increase ...

  Starting July 9 2012, those with less than 20% equity will no longer be able to get a prime mortgage with a 30 year amortization. The maximum amortization term will be 25 years.  Also, the upper limit that Canadians can borrow against their home equity will drop from 85% to 80% of their home's value.  In addition, the government will: ?Limit the maximum gross debt service (GDS) and total debt service (TDS) to 39% and 44% respectively (Currently, GDS does not apply to qualified borrowers with ... Full Article...

    All data and graphs from REBGV.  Contact us for data and graphs for other regions in the Lower Mainland and we would be happy to assist you.  

It?s not easy being a home seller in this market. It?s even harder for first-time sellers. Selling a home is one of the biggest financial transactions most people ever do in their lives. And the current real estate market, still plagued with a record number of foreclosures and short sales, can be a challenge for anyone. ?This is a unique market,? says Walter Molony, senior public affairs specialist at the National Association of Realtors (NAR). ?The real estate market is cyclical in nature, but ... Full Article...

Moving day stinks. There's no two ways about it. You've spent hours packing up and preparing for the arrival of your movers. Then you hold your breath as they begin the arduous process of transporting all of your worldly possessions from one place to another. You hope your furniture survives the journey and that your new home survives the move-in process unscathed. Few of us are able to claim that our homes or furniture didn't suffer a single scratch, that a mirror didn't break or that at ...

Subject to approval by the legislature, the B.C. government intends to implement a temporary BC First-Time New Home Buyers? Bonus. Effective February 21, 2012 to March 31, 2013, the bonus is a one-time refundable personal income tax credit worth up to $10,000. Requirements to Qualify for the Bonus...ELIGIBLE FIRST-TIME NEW HOME BUYER You will qualify as a first-time new home buyer if:-You purchase or build an eligible new home located in B.C.;-You, or for couples, you and your spouse or common ... Full Article...

For those of you who aren?t sure if condo living is right for you, take the following test provided by www.sphinxlegal.com:   1. My privacy is: ___ Not important to me.              ___ Somewhat important to me.                 ___ So important I used to be a hermit.   2. My need to be in control of my living environment can best be described as: ___ NOT a control freak.                       ___ Need to be in control, at least to some degree.                  ___ As a matter of fact, someone ... Full Article...

Vancouver displaced Sydney as the least-affordable housing market after Hong Kong among large English-speaking cities, as home prices rose faster than incomes, a study of 325 metropolitan areas worldwide showed. Vancouver?s median home price of $678,000 in the third quarter was 10.6 times its median pretax household income of $63,800, making the city ?severely unaffordable,? Demographia said in a report today. A ratio of 3 or less is considered ?affordable,? according to the public-policy ...

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