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.
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.
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.
North to south, BC markets are at different stages of a market correction. The low interest rate buying frenzy is behind us as prices fall in line with realistic lender assessments and approvals. Careful consideration, in-depth vetting and negotiation has returned to the real estate process. A welcomed change for…
Start by walking your property and the roads or alleys surrounding it, and examine it like a thief would, looking for opportune points of entry. You should do this in the daytime and at night, to get the perspective of what a thief might see on foot and from a vehicle. The harder it is for a thief to get onto your property, the less likely you are to experience a burglary or property crime. Opportunity is what most criminals look for, un-gated
driveways, hedges around an unfenced border, gates without…
Despite the costs of building a backyard zen, investing in your property instead of a couple costly weekend get-aways gives you a forever space that can be enjoy every day of the week. Well built outdoor improvements add value to your property, and they become unique future selling features. In my experience, buyers are impressed by extra storage, inspired by covered outdoor living areas, and excited to discover a greenhouse or garden that
The southern BC Markets have shifted, with an influx of new inventory giving buyers more choices amid a slower paced sales and multiple offers have all but disappeared, for now. In the active Harrison Hot Springs market, we have seen initial listing prices quickly reduced after open house events have yielded zero offer situations. Canada’s national housing starts were down in February by 2,285 units over last year, an indicator to watch that will predict further economic pullback.
We have already seen hyper-inflationary price increases in many sectors; shipping, lumber, gasoline, heating fuel, and the leader of the pack, real estate. An impoverishing trend that has a huge demographic priced out of home ownership, at a time when becoming a homeowner could help to hedge any hard earned wealth they have earned.
Canada’s largest land owner tells you they care about the plight of the low and middle class Canadian not being able to afford a home for their family, and then turns around and spends federal & private land management proceeds for anything but actually improving the housing crisis. Their promises are just like the supply chain – broken at best.
If the provincial government released another 2-3% of Provincial Crown Land into the private saleable holdings we would see an immediate and lasting impact on the real estate market as supply would increase dramatically and prices would stop their continued rise. The uplifting economic benefits of homeownership could continue to grow the economy and the province and its residents would actually benefit as a result instead of being continually penalized for a population growth issue that has been neglected by governing bodies in BC. The released crown parcels could be ear-marked for specific types of qualifying multi-unit and single family affordable housing which could actually be affordable!
Insured mortgages are running at record highs across Canada, meaning that banks are still actively lending and approving residential real estate mortgages. These risk free loans backed by CMHC and the Federal Government are a way to continue to bolster our failing economy and keep Canadians borrowing and spending money.
