What are the qualifications to be exempt from the Property Transfer Tax?

As a first time home buyer, you are exempt from paying the property transfer tax.  There are certain requirements that you must meet in order to qualify.  They are stated below:

• You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada.
• You must be the purchasing a principal residence.
• You must not have previously owned an interest in real estate anywhere in the world.
• You must have resided in the province of B.C. for at least one year (12 consecutive months) immediately prior to the application to register the purchase of the principal residence.
• The maximum purchase price that will qualify for the exemption in Vancouver is $425,000 (A partial exemption is available for homes between $425,000.00 and $450,000.00).
• The term of your mortgage must be at least one year.
• The purchaser must occupy the property as their principal residence within 92 days of completion.
• The purchaser must continue to occupy the property as their principal residence for at least 1 year from the date the transfer was registered.
• For more information on this and the first time home buyers program, please visit http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/brochures/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.pdf

Do you have more questions about first time home buyers?  If so, please contact Leilani!

How do I increase the value of my vancouver condo?

Before my clients sell their property, they often ask me the question, “If I were to do 3 things to my vancouver condo to increase the value of it for resale what would they be?

Most of my clients don’t realize that there isn’t much that you need to do when you sell your home:  Below are 3 cost effective ways to increase the value of your home before putting it on the market:

1)Paint-A new coat of paint is a cost effective and easy way to increase the value of your home.  Most potential purchasers (especially first time home buyers) often want to do as little work as possible when they move into their home.  A neutral color of beiges, tans, and browns seem to be the most desirable colors of yaletown and downtown condos.  These colors seem to appeal to a large audience probably because they are easy to work with. 

2)Floors-In Vancouver, having hardwood floors is worth more than having carpet.  Hardwood or Laminate flooring is easier to clean and more attractive in condo living.  It often makes the space look larger and more modern.  Laminate  and hardwood flooring can range from $2/sqft to $8/sqft. 

3)Declutter-  Moving as much of your personal items into storage including your pictures is always important.  When a potential purchaser walks into a home, they automatically imagine the home as if it were their own.   With staging and decluttering companies like http://www.chandeliershomestaging.com, it is easy to make your space appear larger and more desirable for the potential purchaser.  Sometimes it is easy as rearranging your furniture and adding a few small items to your home.

What are the differences between concrete condos and wood frame condos?

What is the difference between concrete high rise buildings and wood frame low rise buildings?  This is a common question I get asked on a regular basis.  There are a few differences between the two types of homes however neither one is better than the other.  It is based soley on your personal preference.

Wood frame units are not as noise friendly as concrete condos.  However the newer wood frame condos are attractive to first time home buyers because they often offer larger spaces for the same price as a concrete condo.  For example, in the burnaby north brentwood mall area, a one bedroom in a newer wood frame building around 650 sqft will go for around $249,000 to $289,900 whereas a similar unit in a concrete highrise will go for $289,000 to $320,000. 

The home insurance on wood frame units will be a little higher than on concrete condos.  Wood frame units are more prone to fire and as such the home insurance on these homes will be a little higher. 

There are also certain areas in which all or most of the homes are wood frame so if you wanted to live in those areas you would have to purchase a wood frame unit.  For example in the UBC area, most of the homes there are low rise.  They do also have some concrete low rise condos available as well.  Most of the units in this area are leasehold.  Another area where the majority of homes are low rise condos would be in kitsilano.   I hope this helps.

Do multiple offer situations still exist in this market?

It has been a crazy weekend showing about 4 new first time home buyers properties downtown and in the burnaby north area.  I wrote two offers this weekend and guess what?  In both situations with two separate buyers, we ended up in multiple offer situations.   One offer was on a 2 bedroom in the Tandem towers in Burnaby north.  It had its first showings on Saturday and 4 offers on Sunday!.  I am looking for sellers of 2 bedrooms in those 3 towers so if you know anyone that is interested in selling please let me know.  NOW is the time to purchase Vancouver real estate and start that real estate portfolio you have always wanted

What is the difference between variable and fixed mortgages?

 

Many of my clients have been asking me what the difference is between variable and fixed interest rates so I decided to get my mortgage broker to write up an article on it and post it below.  Here it is:

Variable Vs. Fixed

 

Variable mortgage rates are tied to the bank’s Prime lending rate, which is directly linked to the Bank of Canada’s Overnight Rate. In most circumstances, the Prime lending rate will change in the same direction and by the same amount, as any change to the Overnight Rate. Therefore, if the Bank of Canada announces a decrease in the Overnight Rate by one quarter of 1%, then you can expect most Variable rate mortgages to also drop by one quarter of 1%. 

Fixed mortgage rates, in contrast, are determined by yields in the bond market, and do not fluctuate with changes in the Prime rate. Therefore, while the Central Bank’s decisions do impact Variable rate mortgages, these decisions do not influence Fixed mortgage rates. It is not uncommon, in fact, to see Fixed mortgage rates increase while the Prime rate decreases, and vice versa. So unless you are shopping for a Variable rate mortgage, don’t pay attention to the hype surrounding interest rate announcements by the Bank of Canada.

 

In order to determine where Fixed rate mortgages are headed, it is useful to study changes in the bond market. Consistent increases or decreases in the yield on the bond that corresponds with your mortgage term should give an indication of where your rate is headed. For example, if you are interested in a 5-year mortgage rate then track the equivalent 5-year Government of Canada bond; if you are interested in a 1-year mortgage rate then track the equivalent 1-year Government of Canada bond.

 

Given the current economic climate, consisting of historically low Government of Canada bond yields and Fixed mortgage rates, now is the ideal time for prospective homeowners to obtain a Pre-Approval. Not only does a Pre-Approval secure your financing in advance of the home search process, but it also protects you against potential future increases in interest rates. This is accomplished through a “Rate Hold”, which is typically valid for 90-120 days. Therefore, if rates increase while you search for your ideal home, you can rest assured that you still have access to financing at your Pre-Approved rate. However, if rates decrease during the interim period, your rate will automatically float down to the lower rate.

 

 

 

Property Listings Decrease as February Sales Improve

 

Property listings decrease, as February sales improve 

VANCOUVER, B.C. – Residential housing sales in Greater Vancouver rose 94 per cent in February compared to the month before, with 1,480 sales registered in February compared to 762 sales in January, which was the slowest month for housing sales in 25 years. Over the past 10 years, February sales have typically surpassed January by an average increase of 53 per cent. 

At the same time, new MLS® listings for residential properties continued to decrease for the fourth month in a row. New listings decreased 25.6 per cent in February compared to the previous year; 20 per cent in January; 8.6 per cent in December; and 10 per cent in November. 

“There are terrific opportunities out there right now, but with property listings continuing to decrease, those opportunities may be available only for a brief window of time,” said Dave Watt, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). 

REBGV reports that year-over-year property sales in Greater Vancouver declined 44.7 per cent in February 2009 from the 2,676 sales recorded in February 2008. Year-over-year, those are the lowest sales figures for February since the mid-1980s. 

“REALTORS® are reporting more activity compared to recent months as people begin to see whether their position in the housing market has strengthened as a result of falling interest rates and improved affordability,” Watt says. “It took, on average, 67 days to sell a home in Greater Vancouver in February, seven days less than last month, but behind the seller’s market of last February when the average stood at 33 days. 

Sales of detached properties in February 2009 declined 41 per cent to 587 from the 995 units sold during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties declined 14.2 per cent from February 2008 to $653,452. 

Sales of apartment properties declined 45.6 per cent last month to 650, compared to the 1,197 sales in February 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 13.9 per cent from February 2008 to $333,143.  

Attached property sales in February 2009 decreased 49.8 per cent to 243, compared with the 484 sales during the same month in 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 9.7 per cent between Februarys 2008 and 2009 to $426,268. 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties declined 25.6 per cent to 3,916 in February 2009 compared to February 2008, when 5,260 new units were listed.

Discounted Presales in Yaletown

Amacon is offering discounted presale units starting on April 4th.  They will be offering a minimum of 22 percent discount on their Beasley development located at Homer and Smithe in Yaletown and will be offering original purchasers the chance to refinance their units at the discounted prices.  Take a look at their site http://www.thebeasley.com/ for floorplans.

Showings Showings Showings!

Well this weekend was pretty crazy!.  The open houses were packed full of potential purchasers and many of these units already have accepted offers!  This is great news for sellers that are thinking about putting their places on the market as it is quite obvious that the market is picking up particularly for units below $400,000.   This year seems to be one for first time home buyers as they take advantage of the low interest rates and the reduction in home prices.  There were some great units at the Tandem (4178 Dawson) street.  You can get a 2 bedroom there under $400,000 with 2 parking spots, one storage locker, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, amazing layouts, and great rents.  Another building with some great opportunities is One Madison Avenue.  There is a beautiful 2 bedroom corner unit available on the 5th floor.  The bedrooms are a decent size and the unit is nice and bright and cozy.  This building has a great ammenities room between tower one and tower two which includes a fitness center, jacuzzi, and sauna.  If you would like to learn more about these units or other opportunities in the Brentwood area, please contact me at 604-780-7877.

Great Investment Opportunities in Yaletown Park

There are currently some amazing opportunities in the Yaletown Park Towers.  These towers are well desired by both home owners as well as investors.  It is extremely easy to rent out suites with one bedrooms ranging from $1500/ month for a one bedroom unfurnished up to $2800/month for one furnished.  Suites are well laid out with no wasted space and the location is perfect.  Only minutes away from Marinaside, Yaletown, Robson, restaurants, shopping, recreation.  What more could one ask for?

The Beautiful Bayshore Area

Have you ever noticed how beautiful the bayshore area is?  Even on a cloudy Vancouver day, Bayshore Drive is stunning.  I love how quiet the neighbourhood is, how close you are to the water and to Stanley Park and how it feels like such a community over there.  It is close enough to downtown but far enough that you are not in the midst of everything.   I have met some amazing people around the area in particular the concierge at 1616 Bayshore Milanka.  She is such a pleasant person to be around and extremely helpful as well.  If you are ever in the Bayshore area, make sure you say hi to her!