So, you’re thinking about buying a property but wondering if now’s the right time. Well, here’s the scoop: inventory is up across the province—condos, houses, farms, ranches, you name it. The median price for August in our region was $718k, down from $798k in 2022. We’re in a buyer’s market, and prices are under pressure. […]
Category Archives: BC Market News
Bank of Canada – Happy Rate Cut Day!
The Bank of Canada announced this morning that they have reduced their Target Overnight Rate by 25 basis points (.25%). This is the rate used by the big banks to determine their prime lending rate therefore Prime Rate should lower to 6.7% (aside from TD, which is higher). This would impact any borrowers with fluctuating rate mortgages and/or secured lines […]
Spring Insights: Unveiling Rural Realities for Prospective BC Acreage Owners
Early spring land tours offer more than just an opportunity to admire the changing seasons; they provide invaluable insights for prospective landowners. As winter’s grip loosens, venturing into the province’s interior reveals crucial details about properties that may go unnoticed during other times of the year. Transitioning from snowshoes to rubber boots, explorers can navigate […]
Western Investor: New gold mine will transform tiny, historic Wells, B.C.
Cariboo Gold project – which has completed its environmental assessment – would generate $53 million annual payroll and require twice as many workers as the town’s currrent population Nelson Bennett, Glacier Media. The tiny, historic town of Wells, B.C. is about to experience an economic transfusion, whether it likes it or not, in the form of […]
Part 2: Locating and Evaluating Potable Water Sources on Rural Property
When the property you are inspecting has a “shallow well” designation you could come across a system as crude as a large open pit dug by a backhoe that captures ground seep and run-off water to a hand-bored sand point with a hand pump or 12-volt solar pump on off-grid properties. Shallow wells are typically 25 feet below the surface of the ground or less and can experience taste and odor issues from mineral content like iron and manganese.
Locating and Evaluating Potable Water Sources on Rural Property
Part 1 of a two-article series on groundwater sources and water systems on rural land.
A clean, year-round, potable water source will always be the most important land attribute you need to sustain life. Understanding the different types of rural property water sources and how you can and cannot access, divert and use them will save you time in vetting rural properties and raw land for both residential and commercial use.
Early spring land tours reveal more than just flood risks.
Break up has arrived in the interior of the province, and Right Now! is one of the best times to head north and strap on pair of snowshoes or a pair of rubber boots and go make trails around the properties you are interested in possibly owning.
Walking property during the transition between winter and spring will give you valuable insight into how the geography changes with winter snow accumulation, and more importantly how well the geography deals with snow melt and runoff water. Characteristics you need to know about before you invest in or plan the location of driveways, dwellings, gardens, and outbuildings.
Manufactured home sees 60K dwelling tax assessment increase.
A 27 year old mobile home, previously assessed at $55,400 in 2021, is now being assessed for $116,000, a $60K increase, year over year. BC Assessment had previously de-valued the mobile by -$1700 in 2021 even with an increase in the land value.
Foreign Buyers Ban Creates Compliance Confusion
2023 dawned an altered and uncharted chapter in our province’s history of real estate. With well-meant intentions to expose corruption, reduce speculation, and increase affordable supply back into BC markets, buyers and sellers will now have several additional layers of government policy to navigate when entering into any real estate transaction.
Altered Expectations Required To Return Balance
Using the historically high 2021 figures as a benchmark for where market values should aim to be is misleading to potential buyers, investors and home owners. Your home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, at the time you are ready to sell it. And you should only buy or sell a home or property when it makes sense for you, and not just when the market is at the lowest or highest point. Yes, it is financially advantageous when you can time the purchase or sale of your property to coincide with the beginning or end of a cycle, but the real return on investment in owning your own home is received while you are living in it and still paying for it. Somewhere along the line we have forgotten that.
Waterfront Property Rewards Beyond Value Retention
Savvy buyers and property investors look beyond luxury square footage to first locate a one-of-a-kind, spectacular location before entering into any type of residential or
commercial land purchase, and so should you!
Whether you buy .25 or 500+ acres, a land purchase is an investment in the physical geography in that unique location. Highly sought after geographical attributes like, water frontage, clean air, sunshine hours, fertile soil, mild climate, mature trees & timber, the view, the privacy and clean drinking water, all factor into the locations desirability and increases the richness of both lifestyle and market value.
Contingent to: Common Sense
BC NDP Finance Minister Selina Robinson, served up what can only be described as, “the 3 Day Nothing Burger” as her governments solution to calm overheated markets that saw the average sale price of a home in BC reach $1.096 million dollars in March 2022. The same month Minister Robinson commissioned the BC Financial Services Association to consult industry stakeholders in examining ways to cool down the frenzied market activity.