VANCOUVER, B.C. – April 4, 2011 – Activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market continued to strengthen in March with both the number of homes sold and added to the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reaching near record levels.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 4,080 in March 2011. This represents a 31.7 per cent increase compared to the 3,097 sales recorded in February 2011, an increase of 30.1 per cent compared to the 3,137 sales in March 2010 and an 80.1 per cent increase from the 2,265 home sales in March 2009. The all-time sales record for March occurred in 2004 when 4,371 transactions were recorded.

“Our market has had a very strong start to the spring season,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “With home sales

above 4,000 and nearly 7,000 home listings added to the MLS® in March, it’s clear that home buyers and sellers view this as a good time to be active in their local housing market.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 6,797 in March 2011. This represents a 3 per cent decline compared to March 2010 when 7,004 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, an all-time record for March. Compared to February 2011, last month’s new listings total registered a 19.4 per cent increase.

At, 13,110, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 9.9 per cent in March compared to last month and declined 3 per cent from this time last year.

“Conditions favour sellers at the moment, but we’re seeing differences in home-price trends and overall activity depending on the region and property type,” Setticasi said.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5.4 per cent to $615,810 in March 2011 from $584,435 in March 2010.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in March 2011 reached 1,795, an increase of 34.4 per cent from the 1,336 detached sales recorded in March 2010, and a 100.1 per cent increase from the 897 units sold in March 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 8.3 per cent from March 2010 to $866,806.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,622 in March 2011, a 29.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,252 sales in March 2010, and an increase of 66.2 per cent compared to the 976 sales in March 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.1 per cent from March 2010 to $403,885.

Attached property sales in March 2011 totalled 663, a 20.8 per cent increase compared to the 549 sales in March 2010, and a 69.1 per cent increase from the 392 attached properties sold in March 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 3.6 per cent between March 2010 and 2011 to $511,039.

StatsRelease_March2011

David Allison of Real Estate News Exchange notes that research into NIMBYs (not in my backyard) in Canada has found that most people would rather have a landfill than a casino as their neighbour.

The study, by a U.K. group, the Saint Consulting Group, that studies NIMBY attitudes, found that Canadians continue to oppose casino development, as 83% of respondents cited opposition. However, just 75% of respondents oppose a landfill

For a city that prides it’s self on quality of life issues, this idea seems strangely out of place. Granted that the revenues for the Province could be pretty significant … the City’s share of revenue may be much less attractive.

The proposal was announced March last year, by then Permier Gordon Campbell and David Podmore, developer and Chair of BC Pavilion Corporation.

The proposal would see Edgewater Casino relocated from it’s current site at Plaza of Nations and expanded at a rezoned site adjacent to B.C. Place. The 800,000-square-foot complex would include two hotels, restaurants, lounges, and a spa.

The current Edgewater generates $120 million a year in revenues for the Province. The expanded casino would double or even triple those numbers, maybe.

Studies from Detroit USA show that there is a positive net effect on commercial property values within a 5 mile radius of casino developments. However, the effect on immediate residential properties may be harder to guage.

I would be surprised-despite the vociferous and organized-opposition - that this project doesn’t go ahead. There is just too much money involved and too many real estate developers in the mix here for it not to happen.

LOW INTEREST RENOVATION LOANS

Vancity’s Bright Ideas personal loan offers home owners up to $20,000 at prime + 1% for up to 10 years for ‘green’ renovations. RBC’s Energy Saver loan offers 1% off the interest rate for a fixed rate installment loan over $5,000 or a $100 renovation on a home energy audit on a fixed rate installment loan over $5,000. For information visit your financial institution or go to: www.vancity.com/Loans/BrightIdeas/ orwww.rbcroyalbank.com/ and in the search box enter ‘energy saver loan’.

BC RESIDENTIAL ENERGY CREDIT

Home owners and residential landlords buying heating fuel receive a BC government point-of-sale rebate on utility bills equal to the provincial component of the HST. For more information: www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/notices/HST_ Notice_010.pdf

BC NEW RENTAL HOUSING REBATE (HST)

Landlords buying new or substantially renovated homes are eligible for a rebate of 71.43% of the provincial portion of the HST, up to $26,250 per unit. www.hstinbc.ca/making_your_choice/ faqs/new_housing_rebate/

CMHC MORTGAGE LOAN INSURANCE PREMIUM REFUND

Provides home buyers with CMHC mortgage insurance, a 10% premium refund and possible extended amortization without surcharge when buyers purchase an energy efficient mortgage or make energy saving renovations. For more information:www.cmhc.ca/en/co/ moloin/moloin_008.cfm#reno

Other  lenders often wait for one of them to make a decision and then they all follow suit, so we may be seeing the end of 35 year amortizations with most or even all major banks

“This comes as a bit of a surprise to not only myself but many others in the industry as well.” Says Kyle Green of Mortgage Alliance, 778-373-5441, kgreen@mortgagealliance.com:

If you have less than 20% down (i.e an insured or CMHC mortgage) the new amortizations rules will effectively reduce the amount you can borrow by 7.5%.

So, if you are currently pre-approved for a $400,000 mortgage, you will likely qualify for only $370,000 after the new rules come into effect.

Remember that you only need to write an offer and submit it for financing to have yourself grandfathered, you do not need to complete on the purchase before March 18th.

As mentioned above, these rules may be affecting all lenders’ conventional amortization as well, so we may see some big changes for anyone looking for 35 year amortizations!

There is intense interest in Vancouver area apartment buildings and the prices reflect it. Average per-door prices are now north of $234,00 in the West End; $217,000 in South Granville; and $150,000 in Burnaby. All these average prices to track higher this year.

Look at the statistics in our previous post. We have highlighted two eye-popping price trends directly below.  These numbers are based on yesterday’s Vancouver Real Estate Board media release for February’s market activity:

• Between November 2010 and February 2011, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price of a detached home in Richmond increased $190,739 to $1,099,679

• In Vancouver West, detached home prices increased $222,185 to $1,850,072.

Just look at those numbers again, and the time frame in which it occurred.

• In comparison, detached home prices across the region increased $51,762 between November 2010 and February 2011 to $848,645.

Based on both anecdotal evidence, and my experiences around the desirable area of Douglas Park (on the Westside) where I recently lived and sold homes – the astonishing price increases are almost entirely due to a torrent of cash coming out of China to Vancouver’s Westside and Richmond.  For example;

• Lots in Seafair in Richmond soared from $800,000 to $1.2 million in 2 months
• Lots on the Westside listed at $1.5 million attracted 27 offers and sold at $2.1 million
• I heard anecdotal evidence last week of one Chinese buyer who bought over 14 properties in a single purchasing trip !

Now if you have guts and cash then – suddenly – Westside and Richmond look like solid flipping environments. Buy and resell quickly. No ? You could make yourself a couple of hundred grand before the end of Summer ? It’s possible. Indeed it might be that buyers from Mainland China are purchasing to flip to other buyers from China.

But we are deep into bubble territory here and your understanding of what you are buying and why is critical- not to mention your timing.

Bu, when the bubble bursts could  the resulting crash bring the rest of the (more stable) Vancouver market with it ?

Only time will tell.

Between November 2010 and February 2011, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price of a detached home in Richmond increased $190,739 to $1,099,679; in Vancouver West, detached home prices increased $222,185 to $1,850,072.

In comparison, detached home prices across the region increased $51,762 between November 2010 and February 2011 to $848,645.

Looking across the region, the REBGV reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 3,097 in February 2011. This represents an increase of 25 per cent compared to the 2,473 sales in February 2010 and a 109.3 per cent increase from the 1,480 home sales in February 2009.

At, 11,925, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 14.2 per cent in February compared to last month and increased 5 per cent from this time last year.

“This reduction in the amortization will reduce a borrower’s maximum financing by ~7.5%, so if you currently qualify for a $300,000 purchase, you will only qualify for $277,500 after the rules come into effect. Remember also, that if you write an offer and your application is sent to CMHC before March 17th, that you are grandfathered and will qualify for a 35 year amortization, so your deal doesn’t have to close before the deadline, you just have to write an offer and apply for financing before that date.”

Kyle is a great investor focused mortgage broker and knows his stuff inside out. Even if you’re not an investor, call him if you’re in the market for a mortgage or solid financing advice.

Check out this website: http://bit.ly/hlEQir

Use the Condo Price Calculator for high rise, low rise or townhouse condos.  Answer a few questions about the condo you’re looking for and the Condo Price Calculator will give you an estimate of how much such a condo has been selling for over the past six months. And more.

You can also compare condo prices in other major Vancouver condo markets, look at sales and price trends in your selected market and compare sales and listings by size range over the past three months.

The Condo Price Calculator will also show you up to five current listings that come closest to meeting your specifications.

I sold my Westside town home at the end of last year, so I decided to test out the town home price calculator, to see how my town home compared to sales of similar properties.

It’s an interesting tool and it offers some useful features, most notably a quick and easy to understand graphical display of price and sale trends for your home type in a particular area. You can quickly guage the real state of affairs in the market you intend to sell or buy.

The actual price calculator itself is useful but the sales data it uses is drawn from six months of past sales, which is too long a period to select comparable sales, in my opinion. I prefer to draw comparable sales from the previous 90 days or less.

However, the site, the reports and the market forecasts on the rest of the site look excellent. Well worth checking out for investor or home buyer alike.

Still riding an Olympic high from hosting the Vancouver 2010 Games, the city beat out Melbourne, Australia and Vienna, Austria as the place where people most choose to live.

Two other Canadian cities, Toronto and Calgary, also made the Economist Intelligence Unit’s top ten list at fourth and fifth respectively.

At the other end of the spectrum was Harare, Zimbabwe, once a beautiful city but after three decades of rule under Robert Mugabe is squalid.

Vancouver took top spot with a score of 98 per cent based on rankings including health care, infrastructure, culture, environment and education. The Economist surveyed 140 cities.

Eight of the 10 top spots went to cities in Canada and Australia, with Vienna coming third and Helsinki, Finland sixth. “Vancouver remains at the top of the ranking, a position that can only have been cemented by the successful hosting of the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, which provided a boost to the infrastructure and culture and environment categories,” the report summary said.

Source:Vancouver Sun