Home listings withdraw as sales volume slows VANCOUVER, B.C. – February 3, 2009 – The first month of 2009 saw a continued reduction in the number of homes listed for sale in Greater Vancouver, while sales volumes in January were the lowest for that month since the early 1980s. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properti ...

Federal Budget Announcement: The proposed federal budget released a couple days ago contains a few items of interest to those in the residential real estate and construction industry. In summary, they are as follows: Home renovation tax credit: Homeowners can claim a non-refundable 15% tax credit on eligible home renovation costs incurred and paid after January 27, 2009, and before February ...

You shop for a home. You find one you like. You make an offer — conditional on a satisfactory home inspection. Okay so far. Then the inspector discovers a problem with the home that may require an expensive repair or renovation. Perhaps there is a broken window; or there’s a leak in the roof; or the furnace is due to be replaced. What do you do? You don’t want to pass up an oppor ...

There is probably a long list of things you need and things you want in your next home.  But putting them all on a single  list would be a mistake. Why? Because buyers who separate what they need from what they want are much more likely to find a home that meets all their requirements. For example, say youwant a home that is close to a golf course but you need it to be in a neighborh ...

What is the perfect open house? It is, of course, an event that attracts lots of potential buyers, of whom a few become seriously interested in your house, and at least one makes you a fair offer. Chances are, you already know the basics. On the big day, your house should be clean, relatively free of clutter, and presentable. But you need to go even further if you want your ope ...

For those of you who missed the October 15th deadline for 0% down, there are still financing options for you out there.  A few my favourite mortgage brokers are still offering 100% financing.  Basically they will loan you the 5% down (tacked onto your mortgage) with a competitive interest rate.  Banks are still also offering 35 year amortization rates.  Ask for more details on how to minimize ...

“Standing on the Curb”. Many people focus on preparing the inside of their house for sale, and neglect preparing the outside.This is amistake. Studies confirm that curb appeal has a huge influence over how quickly your house will sell, and for how much. How do you improve curb appeal? You don’t need to do a major landscaping renovation! In fact, small improvements often make the ...

Typical real estate scams members encounter include: The Nigerian/East African/Middle Eastern scam: Most of us have seen emails in which we are promised a large cash reward in return for sending a few thousand dollars in order to free up access to the email sender’s fortune. In real estate, the scam involves overseas buyers who are looking to buy expensive properties. Con ...

The federal government stated that it is raising the Loan to Value ratio requiring mortgage insurance from the current 75 per cent to 80 per cent. This will help some home buyers who will now be able to forgo scrimping to save for a 25% down payment to avoid fees for mortgage insurance. To give an example, for a borrower with a $200,000 mortgage, this change would save them the 1% mortgage ...

Housing market gears up for busy spring cycle Vancouver, B.C. April 3, 2007 –The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales for detached, attached and apartment properties reached 3,582 units in March 2007, a decrease of 11.2 per cent when compared to the 4,033 units sold in March 2006 and a decrease of 9.0 per cent when compared to the 3 ...