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…
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.
Home ownership is no longer a part of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s future plans for affordable housing in Canada. Ultra-wealthy oligarch billionaires have decided that long standing Canadian values and aspirations for individual financial security and growth through asset and business ownership should no longer be our way of life.
Many rural and remote acreages are being purchased this year and lots of buyers are discovering that they need the professional services of a surveyor to begin the process of securing the land with gating and fencing and to plan out the location of new dwellings and outbuildings. A boundary survey adds value to your title, it allows the title owner to confidently create a land use plan and develop the acreage to add maximum value using the land in the best possible way.
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!
The exit of the CMBPP leaves long term collateral damages like double digit price growth and widens the wealth inequality gap between renters and asset holders even further. The BOC had a primary directive to stabilize the economy with the Bond Purchasing Program and stated the widening wealth gap is a by-product of this best policy approach.
British Columbians have been living with uncertainty for over 2 years, and even when the threat of viral infection becomes a secondary consideration, fundamentally what we have lived through has changed us.
Having pushed the restart button and emerged into the “New Normal, we discover that BC’s economic engine is but a shadow of its former self. Citizens and businesses must now face the long term consequences of the national measures taken to combat the Covid19 pandemic. No amount of government stimulus funding will make up for […]
2020 residential real estate poised to be a “much more typical year” than recent activity, says B.C. Real Estate Association Joannah Connolly Glacier Media Real EstateJanuary 13, 2020 Following a slide in B.C. home sales that put total transactions in 2018 at 24.5 per cent lower than 2017, a flurry of activity in the second half […]
Remember back to a time when you were imagining how you would run your own business and what kind of lifestyle you would enjoy as a result of your imagined efforts. Before you registered your business name or incorporated, and before you knew what you know now about being an independent business owner. Was there […]
Planning a spring listing for your home or property? If your goal is to sell your home, you may be surprised to learn that there are many positives when potential purchasers are viewing your home during the winter months. The short lull in interested buyers around the December holidays turns into a mid January movement of […]
Nothing beats a great pair of wool socks for keeping you warm in winter, except a dual heating system that’s works even when the grid goes down. A back up heat source is not just for eccentric practical preppers, a short or long term grid down situation during the winter has the ability to put […]
British Columbia has both an ever increasing population and a prevalent lack of saleable, privately owned land. BC’s population growth outpaced five other provinces and increased by 5.6 per cent over four years from 2011-2016. The provinces 4,648,055 citizen count has shown steady growth with an increase of between 5%-7% every 5 years since 2001. All those […]
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…
Once you start knocking on the doors of unconventional home ownership you realize that there are comfortable, compliant, affordable options available, and that living large is relative to the richness of your lifestyle. Likened to free spirited eco gypsies, the ever popular tiny home movement offers real world solutions to housing affordability, maximizes land use and environmental responsibility.
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.
What a fantastic surprise; I read the Western Investor on my way back from my Mexico vacation. I was delighted to read that our view for a solution to the increasing land and home prices in British Columbia finds some prominent support. Thank you, Frank O’Brien and the Western Investor! Freddy Marks Read the entire […]
“We’re not sure what problem they are trying to solve with this,” says Victoria Real Estate Board president2 days ago By: Andrew Duffy The province’s announcement that it plans to impose a cooling-off period on home purchases took the industry by surprise and solves a “problem” that doesn’t exist, says the president of the Victoria Real Estate […]
Western Investor’s annual forecast of top investor towns looks at five centres that are riding out the pandemic and look solid for investors into 2022Nov 3, 2021 12:01 PM By: Frank O’Brien PreviousNext1 / 5 Victoria: industrial strata, such as this new project by PC Urban, is perhaps the best investor play in B.C.’s capital region. | PC UrbanExpand No. […]
Sales of land led a 130 per cent year-over-year increase in the value of commercial real estate transactions during the second quarter of 20212 days ago By: Frank O’Brien B.C.’s Lower Mainland saw its surging commercial real estate market continue a blistering pace in the second quarter (Q2) of 2021. There were 726 commercial real estate sales […]
Canadian Bankers Association says only 0.18 per cent of Canadian homeowners are underwater, despite record-high home high prices and mortgage debt 2 days ago By: Frank O’Brien When COVID-19 led to business lockdowns and layoffs early in 2020, there was widespread concern of a looming spike in mortgage defaults. Yet, despite a record rise in Canadian mortgage debt […]
