Change of Blog

I have recently updated my website and
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http://www.danmccarthy.ca/

Thanks,
Dan McCarthy
RE/MAX Central

Market News

B.C. home inspectors to be licensed.

Vancouver Sun.
January 31, 2009.

B.C. will become the first province in Canada to license home inspectors to protect buyers, Solicitor-General John van Dongen announced Friday in Vancouver.

"A home is the single biggest investment most British Columbians make but financial risk can be the result of an incorrect or misleading report from an unqualified inspector," van Dongen said in a news release. "Whether they're buying their first condo or starter home, dream or retirement home, consumers need to have confidence that the person who is doing the inspection has the qualifications to make a professional assessment."

Up until now, home inspection training has been voluntary, and consumers have had no way of knowing if the inspector they hired were adequately knowledgeable.

Federal Budget

Federal budget offers good news for homebuyers and homeowners.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – January 29, 2009

Yesterday’s federal budget offered a number of initiatives to benefit homebuyers and homeowners in our communities.
“The housing measures tabled in yesterday’s budget will go a long way to addressing local economic uncertainties, consumer confidence and the quality of life in our neighbourhoods,” said REBGV president Dave Watt. “Home sales are so important to our economy. Each time a home changes hands, the transaction generates significant spin-offs and jobs because homebuyers also purchase furniture, appliances, carpeting, and numerous other goods and services related to their homes.”

The federal budget announced a new First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit of up to $750 to help homebuyers with closing costs such as land transfer taxes and legal fees, a new Home Renovation Tax Credit of up to $1,350 for homeowners who renovate, a new funding program for ecoENERGY retrofits that provides home and property owners up to $5,000 for energy improvements and a new social housing program.

The federal budget also announced an increase to the Home Buyers’ Plan withdrawal limit to $25,000 from $20,000. The Plan was first introduced in 1992 to help first-time homebuyers by allowing them to withdraw from their RRSPs to buy a home. The withdrawal limit had not been increased since then. Eligible couples can now withdraw up to $50,000.

The REBGV has advocated these changes for many years, and, in 2008 received support from Delta-Richmond East MP John Cummins who introduced a private members’ bill and personally raised the issue with colleagues from all parties, including the Minister of Finance.

“The federal budget demonstrates that the Government of Canada is listening to our concerns and paying attention to what we have to say,” said Watt. “As a result of the budget announcements, homeownership today is more accessible and more affordable for all Canadians.”

Market News

Current property decline won't last long: Rennie

'Now is time to buy undervalued property as financial blowout will be done by next September'

By John Bermingham
The ProvinceJanuary 25, 2009

The city's most famous realtor is predicting that the current property slowdown in home sales won't last long, and that now is the time to buy undervalued property. Bob Rennie told The Province Friday that low mortgage rates, which have dipped below five per cent, make it a great time to buy.

"I think there's some really good buys out there," he said. "You've got to look at interest rates, and take advantage of them." The financial and corporate blowouts will be done by next September, he predicted, arguing that developers have reacted quickly to the downturn and are now eager for an upturn. "Supply is really going to quickly show that the tap's been turned off," said Rennie. "I think we'll come out of this in 2010."

For sellers, Rennie suggested that it's better to sit tight.

"If you don't have to sell, wait till the market stabilizes," he said. "If you want to give yours away and buy a good buy in this market, that's another decision." B.C.'s property developers remained optimistic Friday at the annual Urban Development Institute forecast lunch, predicting a market turnaround in the late fall. More than 1,100 of them packed into a Vancouver hotel to hear from the experts where the property market is headed in 2009.

Veteran property developer Michael Audain predicted the current lower prices won't remain so for long.
Sales volumes of homes will pick up in the spring, Audain suggested. Prices will rise, too, he said, although he couldn't say when. "Today, the Vancouver housing market is in a cyclical correction characterized by low volume and weak prices," said the founder of Polygon Homes. "I do not believe it is a housing recession. The problem we face in Vancouver is primarily a serious loss of consumer confidence." Audain stressed B.C.'s fundamental value as a desirable place to live in the world. "The year ahead will pose great challenges for us," he told developers. "But for homebuyers, it should be a year of remarkable pportunity."

Fellow Vancouver developer Rob Macdonald noted that the 2010 Winter Olympics will soon be advertised in the world's media. "We need to make the best of this Olympic opportunity," said Macdonald. "We want to be the place where people travel and invest." Prices should firm up from last year's declines, he said, and will start to go back up.
"We are going to see a pent-up demand forming over the next 12 months," he said.

B.C. residential sales fell 31 per cent last year, to their lowest level since 2000, and December sales were off 49 per cent.

"I expect that, while the economy is going to be weaker in 2009, real-estate sales will be higher than 2008," said Cameron Muir, chief economist with the B.C. Real Estate Association. "While we've seen prices decline, the rate of decline has been slowing. If that trend continues, home prices should firm up over the next couple of months." Muir said the oversupply of available homes is pushing prices downward, but that could redress in the spring, paving the way for higher home prices. "Homes today are more affordable than any time in the last two years, and affordability is a tremendous signal for potential homebuyers who've been sitting on the fence," he said.

CMHC regional economist Carol Frketich sees a slower economy in 2009, and she predicts Greater Vancouver home prices will fall about 10 per cent this year, with an average price of $535,000, compared with last year's $593,767.
"In 2009, the outlook is not rosy, but things will improve," said Frketich. "Things will improve in 2010, but the housing market could lag the economic growth."

Market Update

BC Home Sales Decline by One - Third in 2008.

Vancouver, BC - January 12, 2009.

British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports residential sales dollar volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC declined 31 per cent to $31.3 billion in 2008, compared to 2007. Residential unit sales declined 33 per cent to 68,923 units last year, the lowest level since 2000, when 54,179 transactions were recorded. The average MLS® residential price in 2008 was $454,599, up 3.5 per cent from 2007.

“The housing market came in like a lion and went out like a lamb in 2008,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Home prices reached a record high in March, but edged lower during the balance of the year.” The average residential sales price hit $483,291 in March and ended the year at $429,210, an 11 per cent decline in nine months.

“The global financial crisis, a sharp correction in the equity markets and a recessionary environment in Canada has wreaked havoc on consumer confidence,” added Muir. “While it’s difficult to predict when consumer confidence will strengthen, home affordability is quietly improving as lower prices and mortgage interest rates increase the buying power of BC households.”

December MLS® residential sales dollar volume in the province declined 52 per cent to $1.05 billion, compared to December 2007. Provincial MLS® sales were down 49 per cent to 2,456 units, while the average residential price declined 6 per cent to $429,210 over the same period.

Market Review

2008 brought improved housing affordability to Greater Vancouver.

VANCOUVER, B.C. – January 5, 2009

The record-breaking real estate market cycle in Greater Vancouver, longer than normal at seven consecutive years, ended in 2008 amidst global economic challenges. The change brought relief from rising prices that saw benchmark prices escalate from $357,770 for a single family detached home in December 2001 to $648,421 by December 2008.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties decreased 35.3 per cent in 2008 to 24,626 sales compared to 38,050 sales in 2007. Property listings for the year increased 13.9 per cent to 62,561 compared to 2007 when 54,945 new properties were listed.

“Trends in the latter half of 2008 showed a consistent month-over-month decrease in residential housing prices, a departure from the rising home prices and record-breaking sales that were experienced in Greater Vancouver for much of this decade,” said REBGV president, Dave Watt.

“It’s also important to note that our December statistics show a third consecutive month of a decrease in active
property listings in Greater Vancouver. That means supply is coming down,” Watt said. “Last month was also the first
time in 27 years that Greater Vancouver homes sales for December were higher than November.”
Residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, declined 10.9 per cent between Decembers 2007 and 2008. Since May 2008, the overall residential benchmark price has declined 14.8 per cent in Greater Vancouver to $484,211 from $568,411.

“For buyers, lower prices haven’t been a concern as much as the perception that prices are falling. It’s difficult to
identify the ‘bottom’ of the market. The reality is that people tend to buy when prices are going up, not when they’re going down,” Watt said.

In December 2008, sales of detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 924, a decrease of 51.3 per cent compared to the 1,897 sales in December 2007.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 8.6 per cent to 1,550 in December 2008 compared to December 2007 when 1,695 new units were listed. Total listings in December declined 17.2 per cent to 15,193 from the 18,348 total active listings in Greater Vancouver in November 2008.

Sales of detached properties in December 2008 declined 48.7 per cent to 348 from the 679 units sold during the same period in 2007. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 11.2 per cent from $730,399 in December 2007 to $648,421 in December 2008. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 15.9 per cent.

Sales of apartment properties declined 53.7 per cent last month to 417 compared to 901 sales in December 2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 11.7 per cent from $377,579 in December 2007 to $333,275 in December 2008. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an apartment property in Greater Vancouver has declined 14.5 per cent.

Attached property sales in December 2008 decreased 49.8 per cent to 159, compared with the 317 sales in December 2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 7.4 per cent from $456,941 in December 2007 to $423,338 in December 2008. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an attached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 11.6 per cent.