Vancouver real estate prices/values

The Real estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported on 2 December in their monthly publication that the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is now only 1.9 per cent lower than the most recent high point of May 2008.
And Sellers know it! It is harder to negotiate offers - Sellers are confident that prices will continue to increase and hold out for higher prices in negotiations or take their property off the market now with the intention of re-listing in the near future.
The downturn will cost property owners likely a little more than 1 1/2 years of value growth and has given others the opportunity to buy the real estate they could not afford before May 08.

New developments

"The Mark" by Onni in Yaletown was launched on Saturday 28 November and in the first two days 76% of the condos were sold.
"Pacific Spirit" at UBC was sold out on 27 November within a few weeks of the launch.

The final decision on the introduction of the 12% HST in BC will be made this week but the uncertainty does not seem to affect the interest of condo Buyers.
Will the Olympics influence the Vancouver real estate values? And if so, will the prices be higher or lower after February 2010?

Activity in the market

So much activity with sales, listings and launches of new developments that one almost forgets the bad months of end 2008 and early 2009. The monthly statistics of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board remain very positive about the number of sales and increase in values, well priced properties sell in a short time period and often in multiple offer situations and the first "after 2008" new development in the Downtown peninsula "The Mark" by Onni cnr Pacific/Seymour will be available for purchase on 28 November. Please contact me if you like to receive more information about "The Mark".

I have some great new listings:
- impressive 3,600 sq ft high floor NW condo with stunning water and mountain views in Aspec's flag ship building Two Harbour Green at 1139 W Cordova Street, Coal Harbour priced at CAD 6.6 mil
- beautiful 2 bed/2 bath condo with water and marina view, in Palladio at 1228 W Hastings, Coal Harbour. Well priced at CAD 619,500
- brand-new 2 bed/2 bath high floor condo with panoramic water/mountain/city views in well known Woodwards W43 at 128 W Cordova Street, Downtown priced at CAD 720,000 (GST paid)
- 5,250 sq ft beautiful view home in Lower Chartwell, West Vancouver. Close to good schools, easy access to shops and highway. Priced at CAD 2,198,000
- more new listings coming shortly
All very easy to show. Please contact me if you like to view these great condos.

Olympic Village in Vancouver

Construction of the Olympic Village is almost completed and it looks impressive. One would expect the buildings to be in the same or similar style since they are built quite close to each other but instead there are many different styles of construction.

Some of the water front buildings were designed by legendary Arthur Erickson and must be among his last creations before his death - these buildings have an irregular exterior with different floor plans on each floor and have aluminum sheets on the exterior which resemble fish scales.

Construction is at Platinum LEED standard so very environmentally friendly. There is a large open area - a plaza - in a central location, the village adjoins the seawall and an island has been created in False Creek on the SW side of the Village.

Some units at the Village will only be sold at a later stage.

www.vancouver-condos.net,www.christinelouw.com

Wesbrook at UBC, Vancouver

Impressive Wesbrook by ASPEC was relaunched on Wednesday 14 October and is now ready for move in. The building is near the intersection of Wesbrook Mall and 16th Ave which is close to the new shopping centre which is under construction and the planned community centre. The condos vary in size between 1,480 sq ft and 4,660 sq ft (the penthouse on the 17th and 18th floor) and have 2 to 4 bedrooms. The 3 bedroom townhomes are 2,400 sq ft. The luxury finishes include a gourmet Snaidero kitchen from Italy, Miele appliances, Kohler fittings and beautiful bathrooms.
The building has a guest suite, gym and billiard room. The unusual and welcome amenity is a car for use by residents.

ASPEC is the developer of many of the water front buildings in Coal Harbour: Avila, Bauhinia, Cascina, Denia, One Harbour Green and Two Harbour Green. Condos in Three Harbour Green are currently for sale.

The location of new condos in Vancouver can be seen on the map with new developments on my sites www.christinelouw.com or www.vancouver-condos.net

Mortage interest rates

Mortgage rates continue to go down. Best rates I have seen this week: variable open mortgages at prime (2.25%) plus 0.6, variable closed mortgages at prime and 5 year fixed rate at 3.69%. When investigating what mortgage conditions institutions offer you also enquire after what acceleration of payments is permitted without penalty, ask about costs in case of early paying off of the mortgage and conversion costs in case of a variable mortgage. I personally discovered recently that there is a big difference in costs between banks.
Australia increased its prime rate by .25% this week and was the first country to do so since the economic downturn. The US dollar is depreciating against the Canadian dollar - it is reported that it may be necessay to increase the prime rate in Canada if this trend continues.
I am a Realtor, not a mortgage expert and the information above is just a personal observation. For expert advice contact a mortgage broker or consultant. Several mortgage experts are listed under "mortgage" on my website www.christinelouw.com.

Developers have renewed confidence in the Vancouver real estate market

Six new condo buildings have been launched recently or will be launched in the near future: V6A, District Southmain, Sage, Maynards, Social and The Mark. Several of the developments are in what in Vancouver is regarded as the more affordable price range.
V6A (at Union and Main), Social and The Mark are developments by Onni. The Mark at the corner of Seymour and Pacific is advertized by its developer as the highest building in Yaletown and many of the condos should have great views.
District Southmain is an Amacon development. Sales of both District Southmain and V6A condos started last week. Building 1 of District Southmain is already sold out and building 2 will be launched this weekend ahead of schedule.
Sales of condos in Maynards (by Aquilini) in SE False Creek (at 1st and Wylie) will start on 17 October.
Sage by Kenstone Properties is located in Wesbrook Place at UBC near the intersection of W16th and Wesbrook Mall - sales started on 3 October. The Wesbrook is located next to Sage and will be re-launched next week.
Please contact Christine Louw at 604 926 3936 or at christinelouw@shaw.ca if you like to receive information about new condos or townhomes. www.christinelouw.com or www.vancouver-condos.net

Average Vancouver real estate values have recovered

According to the stats of the Vancouver Real Estate Board values have almost recovered to the level of 12 months ago after an average increase in prices of 11.4% since January 09! The GVREB also reported that the number of properties sold in August 09 was 119.5% higher than in August 08 and 1.7% higher than in August 07 when the market was very active.
Let's hope that real estate values and the economy in general continue to improve.

US housing market seems to be recovering

When the US housing is not doing well, Buyers in Sellers in Vancouver frequently refer to the US housing market as an indicator of the likely trend in the near future of the Vancouver housing market. It is up for discussion whether this is a valid indicator but for people who believe it is, there is good news.

Both the news media and the NAR (the American National Association of Realtors) have reported that existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June.

Out of country Buyers have returned

Internationally optimism about the immediate future trend of Vancouver real estate must have returned because out of country Buyers are back and are buying. Their optimism confirms what Realtors have seen in the Vancouver market.

HST and real estate - update

John Tillie, president of the BC Real Estate Association, wrote in the Vancouver Sun today that the province is offering a partial rebate of the provincial portion for the 12% HST on new homes up to $400,000 and a flat rebate of $20,000 for new homes over $400,000. The logic for this is that people buying at or below the median price will "generally be fully protected from a tax increase".
Many Buyers cannot afford to complete on new development at the moment and properties completing in the next two to three years have already been sold to Buyers who did not count on a large additional cash expense. Buyers of new development will seek to recover the extra tax when selling their property which would decrease affordabilty of BC housing.
The different real estate organizations in BC are negotiating on how to best negotiate this subject with the provincial government. Let's hope Buyers of new homes will not have to pay 7% more tax.

HST and real estate

Is HST going to be applied to the purchase of newly built real estate? Will Buyers of new development after mid 2010 have to pay 12% HST on the purchase price instead of the current 5%GST? I hope Real Estate organizations will be able to negotiate an exemption of the additional 7% tax on purchases of newly built real estate as the restaurant owners have done for their purchases/sales.

Back to the old market of 2008?

In many areas demand is increasing at a higher rate than supply. In areas like Kitsilano and Downtown Vancouver reasonably priced new listings are snapped up shortly after listing. It is again difficult to set up a series of showings because so many of the properties on MLS have accepted offers and many Seller's Realtors will not go the extra mile any more to give access.
However there are some great buys in buildings where developers are quietly selling condos the first Buyer has defaulted on - the selling price is now much lower than at the launch of the building.

22 APRIL - BANK OF CANADA CUTS KEY RATE TO .25% RESULTING IN LOWER MORTGAGE RATES.

Variable mortgage rates dropped by .25% in response to the drop of the overnight key lending rate by the Bank of Canada. This is a great development for the housing market and especially for first time home Buyers.
Home owners with existing variable mortgages with rates discounted from the prime lending rate, now have extremely low cost mortgages boosting their spending power.

The rate cut does not encourage saving because interest rates on savings accounts were also reduced.

The Central bank set its overnight lending rate to .25% - the minimum and the lowest rate since its creation in 1934.
The reason given for this is the intensification of the global recession and the delayed stabilization of the global financial system after the introduction of the previous measures which is expected to result in a deeper recession in Canada than anticipated.
The bank also announced that it intends to maintain the .25% rate until at least June 2010 conditional on the outlook for inflation. Since December 2007 the overnight target rate has been cut by 4.25%.

30 March 09 - Increasing demand

In mid March 66 pre-construction condos were for sale in "The Beasley" at the corner of Smithe and Homer, completion 2012. Today one 1bed condo is available for sale - specific other condos have been advertized as for sale on 31 March so can only be bought tomorrow but Buyers are already lining up now!

Investors are looking to buy again and in general there is increasing Buyer demand. I just sold a lovely view condo at 2104-1500 Howe in False Creek North, asking price $748,000 and this last week negotiated several offers in West Vancouver and Downtown. To see listings of other condos in False Creek North click on http://www.falsecreeknorthcondos.com/

I hope the word also spreads to people outside Vancouver that our real estate market is improving. This is a good time to buy but some out of area Buyers expect unrealistic discounts which results in showings and negotiations that do not have any chance of leading to a sale.

21 March 09 - Impressive penthouse for sale in "The Melville", Coal Harbour.

On Wednesday 18 March the penthouse at "The Melville" at 1189 Melville Street in Coal Harbour was open for Realtors to view. The penthouse is a 5,700 sq ft one level condo with 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms and 2 powder rooms. It has high ceilings, fantastic 360 degree views and impressive finishes. The marble foyer is stunning, the millwork is exceptional. Price $10,800,000. For more information about condos in Coal Harbour go to http://www.coalharbourcondos.info

21 March 09 - Substantial price reduction for new condos in The Beasley in Downtown Vancouver.

Amacon is the developer of "The Beasley" at the corner of Smithe and Homer in Downtown Vancouver. Condos are still available and Amacon just reduced the prices substantially for Buyers of the unsold condos but also for people who bought into the development already. Great initiative and good public relations. I especially like the west facing 1 bedroom condos. Completion is in 2012. To search for properties on MLS go to http://www.christinelouw.com/

Friday 20 March 09 - Lots of action this week

- Many showings, several offers and several accepted offers. I was in the third multiple offer situation in the last month.

- Investors are looking to buy again indicating a return of confidence in real estate as a good investment. My personal experience with condos in the $1,300/1,400 per month bracket is that rental demand is good.

- Booking showings for this weekend and about 35% of properties were reported to have an accepted offer. This applies to the more affordable price ranges; showings of high end properties are always easier to book.

- Still a lot of negative talk about the real estate market from Buyers. Trying to keep prices down?

-The stock market has been going up the last few days. Real estate demand has increased the last few weeks. Is this the start of a trend?

Have a great weekend! To search MLS for real estate listings go to http://www.christinelouw.com/