Real Estate Violetta Joziak

(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley experienced a return to typical home sale levels plus an early surge in new listings in January, according to the latest figures from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

Paul Penner, President of the Board said, “Compared to last January, the market has returned to balance. Consumers continue to take advantage of the affordability created by lower interest rates.”

There were 981 sales processed on FVREB’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January, an increase of 152 per cent compared to the same month last year when 389 sales were processed. There was also a 46.8 per cent increase in new listings, 2,941 compared to 2,003 during January last year.

On a month-to-month basis, sales decreased 22 per cent in January compared to December, while new inventory more than doubled, going from 1,453 new listings in December to 2,941 in January. This increased overall inventory by 14 per cent in one month.

Penner added, “If I were house-hunting right now, I’d be pretty excited. There is more selection and potentially less competition over the next few weeks.

“Some buyers will put their house-hunting on hold during the Olympics creating an advantage for those who don’t want to wait.”

While residential benchmark prices, as determined by the MLSLink Housing Price Index (HPI), continued to recover, they remain 3 per cent lower than in spring 2008. The price in January for the three main residential property types combined was $446,671 compared to $460,682 in May 2008.

In one year, the benchmark price for detached homes in the Fraser Valley increased by 10.8 per cent going from $452,145 in January 2009 to $500,931 in January 2010.

The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in January was $317,719, a 7.6 per cent increase compared to $295,339 in January 2009. The benchmark price of apartments increased by 10.4 per cent year-over-year going from $220,595 in January 2009 to $243,470 in January 2010.

Information and photos of all Fraser Valley Real Estate Board listings can be found on the national, public web site www.REALTOR.ca. Further market statistics can be found on the Board’s web page at www.fvreb.bc.ca. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,964 real estate professionals who live and work in the communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission.

BCREA Housing Forecast Update - First Quarter 2010

Vancouver, BC – January 29, 2010. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its Housing Forecast Update for the first quarter of 2010 today.

BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are forecast to increase 6 per cent from 85,028 units in 2009 to 90,100 units this year, before declining 3 per cent to 87,500 units in 2011. Higher home prices and rising mortgage interest rates will provide a constraint on home sales next year.

“BC MLS® residential sales sprinted from an annualized rate of 50,000 units during the first quarter to 112,000 units during the fourth quarter last year,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “That gold medal finish will give way to a silver medal performance in 2010.”   

Relatively slow economic growth, waning pent-up demand and rising carrying costs are expected to keep home sales from continuing at their frenetic pace.

While home sales in Victoria, Vancouver and the Fraser Valley rebounded sharply last year and weighted heavily in the provincial total, the rest of the province is demonstrating more gradual improvement.

The average annual MLS® residential price in BC is forecast to increase 5 per cent to $490,900 this year and then rise by 1 per cent to $494,800 in 2011. “Higher mortgage interest rates will limit price appreciation next year,” added Muir.  

Do have questions about the process of purchasing a home or how home warranty insurance works? The Homeowner Protection Office has two new guides that may help.

The Buying a Home in British Columbia: A Consumer Protection Guide has detailed information to take a consumer through the home buying process, explains things they need to know, suggests questions to ask, and gives information on where to get help. Although this guide is mostly aimed at buyers of newly constructed homes, it will also be helpful for buyers of resale homes.

REALTOR.ca, one of Canada's most popular sources of real estate information, is now accessible on mobile phones. If you are tech savvy, be sure to test drive the service. Go to: http://beta.mobile.realtor.ca or http://mobile.realtor.ca.

CREA says the new site is not designed for extensive searching of large areas or for searching using a broad variety of criteria, however you will be able to get some quick details on a property, such as price, number of bedrooms, photos and the REALTOR® to contact from your phone.

As of January 1, 2010, new distracted driver legislation came into effect. Here are some tips from the Langley RCMP:

Drivers can no longer:

• send or read emails or text messages
• make or take calls unless they're using a hands-free device
• hold, operate, talk on or watch any handheld electronic device
• operate handheld or hands-free devices if they are learners or novice drivers under the Graduated License Program (GLP)

Electronic devices include cell phones, Blackberry, and other handheld devices that have telephone capabilities and/or which you can send text messages or emails (e.g. iPods and other audio players, GPS systems, hand microphones, televisions).

(Surrey, BC) - Results from Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in December reflect the real estate story of 2009: recovery.

“In 12 months, we went from the worst January in 20 years to the third best December,” said Paul Penner, President of the Board. “Home buyers took Boxing Day shopping to new levels with some Fraser Valley REALTORS® showing multiple homes per day between Christmas and New Years.”

According to Penner, a significant portion of the 148 per cent increase in activity in December’s sales, 1,260 compared to 508 in December 2009, can be attributed to first-time home buyers confident with the current economic conditions and taking advantage of all-time low interest rates. “An informal poll of our members in December revealed 40 per cent of home sales were by first-time buyers when it would normally be in the 25 per cent range.”

The trend overall for 2009 was one of increasing sales, decreasing inventory and prices rebounding. The Board’s MLS® processed 16,721 sales in 2009, compared to 13,194 the previous year, an increase of 26 per cent. However, it received 15 per cent fewer new listings during the same time period – 30,221 in 2009 compared to 35,651 in 2008. Over the year, the number of active listings for buyers to choose from dropped by 34 per cent going from 9,960 properties in December 2008 to 6,534 in December 2009.

“We’re seeing the combined effect of fewer homes being listed, which is normal for this time of year, a flurry of buying activity, plus a decrease in the number of new homes being built. This has put pressure on prices in the Fraser Valley, particularly on homes in the lower to mid-range markets,” explained Penner.

The MLSLink Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for detached homes was $497,732 in December compared to $464,189 in December 2008, an increase of 7.2 per cent. Although prices have gradually recovered, they have not yet reached the previous benchmark high of $513,798 in May 2008.

The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses in December 2009 was $318,174, a 7.4 per cent increase compared to $296,296 in December 2008. That price also last peaked at $335,991 in May 2008.

The benchmark price of apartments decreased by 0.3 per cent year-over-year going from $237,786 in December 2008 to $237,157 in December 2009. It’s previous high was in April 2008, at $260,037.

Information and photos of all Fraser Valley Real Estate Board listings can be found on the national, public web site www.REALTOR.ca. Further market statistics can be found on the Board’s web page at www.fvreb.bc.ca. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,961 real estate professionals who live and work in the communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission.

HST will take effect on July 1, 2010. What does it mean to home buyers? I sense a bit of a panic from my clients mostly, because of lack of understanding of how will HST affect property purchase.

HST combines a 7% B.C. rate with the 5% federal GST. Therefore, at 12 %, B.C. would have the lowest HST rate in Canada.

In a recent press release, Finance Minister Colin Hansen announced that the threshold for B.C. HST new housing rebate will increase from $400,000 to $525,000. This will ensure that, on average, purchasers of new homes up to $525,000 pay no more tax due to harmonization.

Purchasers of new homes would be eligible for a rebate of 71.43 per cent of the provincial portion of the HST paid on a new home, up to a maximum of $26,250. Homes above $525,000 would receive a flat rebate of $26,250. This enhanced rebate represents a 30 per cent increase in the threshold and maximum rebate available. As a result, purchasers of homes priced up to $525,000 would pay no more tax, on average, than under the current PST.

The B.C. Real Estate Association is forecasting that average condominium prices will increase 3% in 2010, with detached house prices up by about 5%.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province climbed 115 per cent to 8,624 units in October compared to the same month last year. Last month posted the highest number of MLS® residential sales for the month of October since 2003, when 8,682 units changed hands. The average MLS® residential sales price in the province climbed 17 per cent to $493,328 from $420,259 in October 2008.

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its Fall 2009 Housing Forecast today.

"A sharp rebound in consumer demand turned a potentially dismal year into a very strong year for home sales,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Vancouver and Victoria, in particular, are posting near record unit sales this fall."   

“Recovery in the BC economy will unfold gradually next year,” added Muir. “With sales prices in some markets flirting with record highs, affordability constraints will limit home price inflation over the next year.”  

Despite a rebounding real estate market that we have seen over the past months, it looks like our economic recovery will not show up until 2011, according to Cameron Muir, the Chief Economist for the BC Real Estate Association. Real estate prices will likely remain stable, as the Bank of Canada has promised to keep interest rate until mid-2010. Muir says, that he would not be surprised if by mid-2011 the prime rates rise from 2.25% to 4.25%.

Vancouver, BC – May 14, 2009. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that April was the third consecutive month of increasing home sales in the province, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Consumer demand was bolstered by lower home prices and record low mortgage interest rates. Housing affordability hit a three-year high at the beginning of the month. 

“Downward pressure on home prices has eased considerably,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “An increase in consumer demand combined with fewer homes for sale has trended the market near balanced conditions.” The number of homes for sale through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) fell to a twelve-month low in April, on a seasonally adjusted basis.

MLS® residential sales dollar volume in BC declined 25 per cent to $3.1 billion in April, compared to the same month last year. Residential unit sales declined 20 per cent to 6,918 units during the same period. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $449,372 in April, down 6 per cent from April 2008. Year-to-date, MLS® residential sales dollar volume was down 41 per cent to $7.8 billion over the same period last year. A total of 1,889 units were sold in the first four months, down 35 per cent from 2008, while the average MLS® price declined 9 per cent to $433,246.   

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For more information, please contact: 

Cameron Muir
Chief Economist
Direct: 604.742.2780
Mobile: 778.229.1884
Email: cmuir@bcrea.bc.ca

(...) The Fraser Valley real estate market continued to show signs of rebalancing in April with the number of sales increasing for the third month in a row while the volume of available properties stayed constant. Benchmark prices for detached homes and condominiums also showed increases over the last three months.