CREA scrambles to retain Quebec members

Great article! (CREA scrambles to retain Quebec members) Frankly, I agree with part of the Quebec broker's positions. First off, I find Realtor.ca a very primitive, useless platform. The reason why many buyers are looking many places for properties is because the CREA's website is not as good as it needs to be.

Furthermore, I also agree with Quebec's law that requires listing agents to verify data on listings. I strongly oppose the so called mere-posting that Melanie Aitken was advocating through her position at the Competition Bureau (but funny she didn't utilize it herself). The public demands and needs the real estate industry to be professional, accurate, reliable, and experienced.

Can you imagine buying a property listed on the MLS that you assume is being put forth by an ethical, legally-bound and bonded agent only to find out it's the seller putting false representations forward? We're talking hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars. Protection of your largest asset should be of monumental importance!

 

What are your thoughts?

Professional Photos make the difference!

Photos of a home or property are a listing's first impression - they are what invite a viewer in for a closer look -  and now a new study by Redfin shows what a difference those photos can make.

The study analyzed homes priced between $200,000 and $1 million, listed and sold in 2013 across 22 major markets. Analysts compared home-selling success rates for homes professionally photographed with a DSLR camera versus those with listing photos taken with an amateur point-and-shoot camera. The study’s main conclusions include:

Christmas is coming!!

Christmas is upon us and the kids will be out of school (and full of anticipation) as of tomorrow...
Looking for some family activities to enjoy this holiday season??

Check out the list below!

- Festival of Lights at VanDusen Gardens http:...//vandusengarden.org/visit/whats-happening/featured-events

  - Games and Visits with Santa at Castle Fun Park in Abbotsford

Housing Forecast for 2014

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has released its housing sales forecast for Canada in 2014.
For 2013, the market remained stable - for the sixth year in a row, sales will be around 450,000 units for the year.
In 2014, this is expected to increase to 475,000 units, an increase of 3.7%. British Columbia is predicted to have the strongest increase in 2014, with a projected sales increase of 8.4%. The rest of the country is expected to have gains in the 2 to 4 percent range.
The average national house price is also expected to rise in 2014, by 2.5% to 391,100. Alberta is forecast to have the biggest rise in average price, with an increase of 3.4%.
Read the entire report online here.

Thinking of selling your home in 2014? Contact us for a free Comparative Market Analysis of your home!

REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive 2013 helps over 20,000 people in need

Issued by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and the Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board:

VANCOUVER, BC – For dozens of local charities and the people they help, the November 18 – 25 timing of this year's REALTORS Care® Blanket Drive couldn't have been better.

For the 19th year in a row, REALTORS® collected enough donations of coats, blankets, sleeping bags and warm clothing to help more than 20,000 people as the mercury plummeted.

Canada Post to end Door to Door delivery in Urban areas

Canada Post has announced a new business plan to begin in 2014 which will see the end of door to door delivery in all Urban areas across Canada. Over the next five years door to door service will be replaced by community mailboxes - a move that will save close to 500 million dollars every year. Canada Post developed the plan, which also includes increasing stamp prices, in order to reach financial stability without taking taxpayer money.

Response to a Home Inspector

 

 

http://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/news/item/1822-whistle-blower-points-to-home-inspection-shortfalls

 

On December 4th, Canadian Real Estate Magazine posted the above article about home inspections. It features an interview with a home inspector who has recently published a book on this issues with the home inspection profession - and attempts to blame Realtors for the problems.

 

This home inspector needs to give his head a shake. Here are the problems with his article:

1) Realtors(r) do not dictate how inspections result, and don't choose inspectors based on "blown sales." First off, Realtors(r) do not choose inspectors: buyers do.

 

Agents may recommend a few inspectors, but they may never recommend just one. And just as the Buyer freely chooses their Realtor(r), the buyer freely chooses their inspector.

Historic home offered for FREE - with a catch

 Didn't find anything on Black Friday or Cyber Monday? This could be the deal you are looking for.

A 100 year old home in the beautiful community of Rosedale, BC is being offered up for sale - for free. The house itself, a beautiful heritage home, will cost you nothing - but of course there is a catch.

Record year for Luxury Real Estate in Calgary

This week the Gelderman.ca Real Estate team set a record for the highest non-acreage home sale in Abbotsford, B.C.; breaking the previous record by over a million dollars.

We aren't the only ones breaking records - according to the Calgary Herald, 2013 has been a record year in upper-end residential real estate in Calgary and the surrounding area.

How small can you go?

Small living spaces have been a trend in the news this past year with new micro-condos being built in Vancouver and across Canada - but how small can you go?

A Vancouver-based company, NOMAD Micro Homes, is hoping to start selling these tiny homes early next year.

These 100 square foot homes are about the size of most people's garden sheds - yet include a bathroom, kitchen, heat and a bedroom loft. There is even an option for solar panels and rainwater collection so you can live "off-the-grid".
You can order them online, and they ship the ready to assemble home to you to build yourself - kind of like IKEA.

Great time to go to a VARIABLE rate mortgage!!

Macleans - The Bank of Canada is adopting a neutral stance on the direction of interest rates over the next few years, signalling it may be as prepared to cut the cost of borrowing as to raise it, in light of persistently low inflation and a weaker forecast for economic growth through 2015.

As expected, the central bank announced Wednesday it is keeping the overnight rate which impacts short-term interest rates at one per cent, where it’s been for more than three years.

But removal of the central bank’s so-called tightening bias — in place since April 2012 — suggests at the very least that it’s even less anxious to raise interest rates than a few months ago.

Read the entire article at Macleans.ca:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2013/10/23/bank-of-canada-downgrades-economy-for-next-three-years/

Vancouver building council bans the doorknob

Say goodbye to doorknobs...they are about to become a thing of the past.

Vancouver has adopted new amendments to the city building code that will require lever handles on all doors for all new construction in the city, effective March 2014. In the past, changes that have been made in Vancouver have spread to all of B.C....then to all of Canada.

BC Homes sales - Strongest October in Four Years

 

Vancouver, BC – November 15, 2013: The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 6,673 residential sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC during October, up 26.5% from October 2012. Total sales dollar volume was 34.5% higher than a year ago at $3.6 billion. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $540,432, up 6.3% from October 2012. 

Abusive Condo owner ordered to sell

The B.C. Court of Appeal handed down a decision Tuesday ordering a disruptive condo owner to sell after years of legal disputes. The condo owner and her son had more than 1,100 complaints going back to 2006 - including behaviour so abusive their neighbours started wearing cameras to video the conflicts. The court decided the age old "a man's home is his castle" does not apply in cases like this:  “the right of quiet enjoyment in collective living” trumps property rights. Check out the entire article at http://www.vancouversun.com/technology/Mulgrew+Abusive+condo+owner+ordered+sell/9157577/story.html

The RE/MAX Collection - local luxury homes for sale

Nov 13, 2013 - "RE/MAX proudly announces a new website which displays a collection of upper-end properties listed for sale."

 

Check out this new website for the RE/MAX Collection tailored to Canadian properties. Whether you are in the market or just want to see what is available out there - beautiful luxury homes for sale in your area! www.theremaxcollection.ca

 

If you are a fan of Hoarders....check out this listing

Check out this listing in Ohio - A three bedroom Hoarder's Paradise listed for $44,900. Favourite quote: "Seller recommends you wear long pants, protective shoes and have a tetanus shot before entering". Wow.


Check out the entire listing and lovely photos at http://www.kw.com/homes-for-sale/44070/OH/North-Olmsted/23975-Mastick-Rd/3yd-NEOHREXOH-3452827.html

Single Family Homes in Vancouver a Dying Breed

Vancouver Sun - In the city of Vancouver single family homes are a dying breed. Some 85% of new construction in the Metro core is multi-family housing. Single family housing accounts for just 15 per cent of new housing construction in the Lower Mainland and families that want an affordable traditional home with a fence around it will likely find themselves living as far east as Mission.

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/city+single+family+homes+dying+breed/9128287/story.html#ixzz2kTDpKi9c

It's a Seller's Market in Calgary

According to the Calgary Herald - Calgary’s resale housing market continued to soar in October with strong year-over-year hikes in both sales and prices. Check out the full article by selecting the link below!

http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/Calgary+housing+market+soaring+with+sales+price+hikes/9112111/story.html

Housing Market Rebound to Extend into 2014

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2013 Fourth Quarter Housing Forecast today.

BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are forecast to increase 6 per cent to 71,700 units this year, before increasing a further 6.3 per cent to 76,200 units in 2014.

“Consumer demand has bounced back after waning for most of 2012,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “With higher interest rates on the horizon, many potential homebuyers are choosing to lock in a mortgage sooner rather than later. However, rather than signaling a return to frenetic home buying activity and accelerating markets, consumer demand is simply transitioning back to its long term average.”
The average MLS® residential price forecast for the province has been revised upward from a 3.3 to a 4.3 per cent increase to $537,100 this year, as a result of stronger than expected market conditions in Vancouver. The average MLS® residential price in BC is forecast to increase a further 2.1 per cent to 548,200 in 2014.

See more information at : http://www.bcrea.bc.ca/news-and-publications/news-room/news-releases/housing-forecast-news-release