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Fraser Valley Real Estate Statistics January 2012

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:27:21 GMT

2012 KICKS OFF WITH NEW HOME PRICE MEASUREMENT; AND, A SLUGGLISH START TO SALES

(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) processed 799 sales in January, a decrease of 4 per cent compared to the 834 sales in January last year and 10 per cent fewer than were processed in December. In the last decade, January 2012 was second only to 2009 for lowest volume.

On the flip side, compared to other starts during the last 10 years, the Board received one of its highest influxes of new listings for January – 2,753 – 5 per cent more than January 2011 and 143 per cent more than December the month before. The increase in new inventory raised the volume of active properties in Fraser Valley to 8,320 by the end of January.

Sukh Sidhu is the Board’s president. “For spring house hunters this is great news. For buying power you can’t beat the combination of greater selection, the continuation of extremely low interest rates and stable prices.”

The Board’s new MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), launched today, reveals that residential home prices in Fraser Valley have decreased gradually over the last six months, while still showing increases year-over-year.

In January, the benchmark price of a detached home in the Fraser Valley was $567,700, an increase of 7.6 per cent compared to $527,500 in January 2011 and an increase of 0.1 per cent compared to December.

For townhouses, the benchmark price in January was $314,200, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to the same month last year when it was $306,800 and down 1.1 per cent compared to December. The benchmark price of apartments in January was $199,600, a decrease of 0.1 per cent compared to January 2011 when it was $199,800 and an increase of 0.3 per cent compared to December.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI), replacing the Lower Mainland’s MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is a new measure of price for residential properties in five major markets across Canada. It includes Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal, with more markets to be added. It was pioneered by six founding partners: the real estate boards of Calgary, Fraser Valley, Greater Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Greater Toronto and the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Sukh Sidhu says the new MLS® HPI will be very helpful to REALTORS® in guiding homeowners. “It’s a bigger, better tool to measure the change in home prices in the Fraser Valley and now we can more accurately compare our market to other major cities in Canada.” Learn more at www.homepriceindex.ca.

Download Stats Package here.

Supporting Local School Kids

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:37:00 GMT

Here is a message for you to support the wonderful people at Bayridge Elementary School:

Helping without having to do anything – sort of.

Thrifty Foods Smile Cards - If you don't already have one of our special Community Smilecards from last year, pick one from the counter at the office. The card comes with a zero balance, and each time you shop at Thriftys, just load the card at customer service and pay anyway you like. Every time you load or reload the card, Bayridge gets 5% of the amount loaded. Then use your card at the cashier to pay for your groceries. You still collect your Thrifty's points as normal. This can really add up over the year, so your support in remembering to load at the service desk before you shop is really appreciated! The program runs until June and please feel free to grab a card for friends and family as they work at any location.

If you would like one, let me know and I will drop one off at your door, complimentary.

604-773-3940

Garage Sales for This Week

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 07:32:40 GMT

The Garage Sale list is a bit small this week, but better than last week. I’ll bet you can find some good finds at this weeks. Click on the photo for the map.

Property Assessment Notice

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 19:22:20 GMT

Property owners throughout BC received their 2012 assessment notice the first week of January from BC Assessment (BCA).

This notice is BC Assessment’s estimate of a property’s value as of July 1, 2011, and for new construction or substantially renovated homes, the physical condition as of October 31, 2011.

BCA is the government agency responsible for determining and reporting property value estimates for the 1,917,394 properties in its database, a 0.75% increase in the number of properties since 2011.

BC Assessment and a REALTOR® assessment. Why the difference?

BCA’s assessment and the market value determined by a REALTOR® may be different. Why?

Both BCA assessors and REALTORS® calculate market value by analyzing sales of comparable homes within a local market, and look at factors that affect value such as size of home, view, location – on a busy or quiet street, number of bedrooms, construction quality, floor level, and garage or parking stalls.

Where every lot and every home on a street are typically the same, both BCA’s value and a REALTOR’s® value will be similar during stable market conditions.

Differences occur in neighbourhoods where lots have been rezoned or are different shapes and sizes, where architecture and views are unique, and where owners have made changes that BCA hasn’t yet taken into account.

Differences also occur during market instability when prices rise or fall during the six-month period between July 1 and January 1 the following year.

Wake-up call – how to appeal an assessment

Since July 1, 2011 home owners may have seen prices stalling in some neighbourhoods and rising in others. Assessments may reflect these changes.

Sample Changes Year Over Year
Location	2012 Assessment Roll	2011 Assessment Roll	$ change	% change
Burnaby (Capital Hill, detached)	$665,000	$630,000	$35,000	5.6%
Coquitlam (Maillardville, detached)	$621,000	$547,000	$74,000	13.5%
Ladner (Detached)	$784,000	$759,000	$25,000	3.3%
Maple Ridge (Detached)	$385,000	$382,000	$3,000	0.8%
New Westminster (Sapperton, detached)	$523,000	$524,600	-$1,600	-0.3%
North Vancouver, District (Lynn Valley, detached)	$878,000	$844,000	$34,000	4.0%
Pemberton Village (Detached)	$499,000	$550,000	-$51,000	-9.3%
Port Coquitlam (Lincoln Park, detached)	$486,000	$494,000	-$8,000	-1.6%
Richmond (Steveston, detached)	$809,000	$738,300	$70,700	9.6%
Sunshine Coast (Gibsons, detached)	$431,000	$459,000	-$28,000	-6.1%
Vancouver (Downtown, 2-bed apartment)	$610,000	$542,000	$68,000	12.5%
Vancouver (East side, detached, 33’ lot)	$1,031,000	$816,000	$215,000	26.3%
Vancouver (West side, detached 50’ lot)	$1,645,000	$1,189,000	$456,000	38.4%
West Vancouver (Ambleside, detached)	$1,577,000	$1,229,000	$348,000	28.3%
Whistler (Village, 2-bed apartment)	$498,000	$583,000	-$85,000	-14.6%

The deadline to appeal is January 31, 2012

Property owners who disagree with their assessment should do their homework by visiting www.bcassessment.ca and then e-valueBC to compare their assessment with those of their neighbours. Each year, about 1.6% of all BC property owners appeal their assessment.

Property owners should first contact their local assessment office and talk to staff who can make adjustments if there is an obvious error, for example if BCA includes a new swimming pool, when, in fact, the pool is a shallow fish pond.

Area assessors’ phone numbers
Location	Phone number
Vancouver, the North Shore, Squamish, Whistler, Pemberton, Sunshine Coast	604-739-8588 Local 450
Richmond, South Delta	604-241-1364 Local 254
Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge	604-850-5900 Local 261
Anmore, Belcarra, Burnaby, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Port Coquitlam, Port Moody	604-294-6441 Local 256

Property owners who decide to appeal must file a written request by January 31, 2012. For information, visit www.bcassessment.ca and select Learn more about the Notice of Complaint (Appeal) process and the Property Assessment Review Panel.

What can an appeal mean for a property owner?

While BCA determines the assessed value of property tax for tax purposes, it’s the local taxing authorities – both provincial and local governments – which set tax rates each spring according budget requirements.

The formula for calculating taxes on property is:

Tax Rate x Assessed Value / 1,000

If the tax rate is 4.000 and the property assessment is $1 million, then the taxes payable are $4,000.

No notice

Property owners who haven’t received an assessment notice by mid-January should contact the area phone numbers listed above or request their tax notice online at www.bcassessment.ca. (See Receive your assessment notice online - right hand side).

If a property owner has concerns about their local taxes, they should contact their local government office. Taxes aren’t appealable.

New feature - save assessment data

Visit www.bcassessment.ca and select e-valueBC to view and compare the assessed value of any BC property. A new feature this year lets you download and save assessment data as a PDF or an Excel file.

Garage Sales for January 7th 2012

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 07:26:15 GMT

Happy New Year!

Similar to the holiday season, there are few sales going on at the moment. However, that does not mean that there is not quality to be found in the ones going on.

Click on the photo for the map and list.

Fraser Valley Real Estate Statistics – Dec 2011

Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:32:31 GMT

2011 REAL ESTATE MARKET SHOWCASES REGIONAL VARIATION

(Surrey, BC) – Overall, Fraser Valley’s real estate market in 2011 was below the 10-year average in property sales and above average in the number of new listings received, however, according to the president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, results varied widely depending on the community and property type.

Fraser Valley Real Estate Board President, Sukh Sidhu observes, “I can’t remember a year that illustrates better how local real estate is and the importance of talking to your REALTOR® before making a decision to buy or sell. For example, in my community of Abbotsford, sales of single family homes dropped by almost 7 per cent compared to 2010, pushing prices down slightly, while in South Surrey/White Rock sales increased year over year by 45 per cent resulting in double-digit price increases.”

The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® processed 15,529 sales in 2011 compared to 14,891 the previous year, an increase of 4 per cent, while the number of new listings remained about the same – 31,592 in 2011 compared to 31,437 in 2010. Over the year, the number of active listings for buyers to choose from dropped by 9 per cent going from 8,139 properties in December 2010 to 7,399 in December 2011.

Although 2011 ranks the third slowest year for sales in Fraser Valley since 2002, it was only 10 per cent less than the 10-year average of 17,210 sales. The volume of new listings received in 2011 was 6 per cent more than the 10-year average of 29,867 new listings, placing last year third in ranking since 2002.

Sidhu adds, “One trend from 2011 that is clear was the preference for single family homes. For the most part in our region, both sales and prices of townhomes and condos either stayed on par with 2010 or decreased.”

In December, the benchmark price of a detached home in the Fraser Valley was $522,998, an increase of 3.3 per cent compared to $506,145 in December 2010 and a decrease of 1.7 per cent compared to November.

For townhouses, the benchmark price in December was $315,330, a decrease of 2.1 per cent compared to the same month last year when it was $322,054 and down 3.8 per cent compared to November. The benchmark price of apartments in December was $237,285, a decrease of 1.2 per cent compared to December 2010 and a decrease of 0.5 per cent compared to November.

Average prices year over year show detached homes up 9.1 per cent – $610,269 in 2011 compared to $559,456 in 2010. The average price of townhomes increased by 2.6 per cent, going from $336,484 in 2010 to $345,138 in 2011 and the average price of apartments increased by 0.9 per cent going from $223,910 in 2010 to $225,976 in 2011.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,893 real estate professionals who live and work in the BC communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission. The FVREB marked its 90-year anniversary in 2011.

Full package: Here

BC Government Raises Homeowner Grant Threshold

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:54:14 GMT

The B.C. government has raised the threshold for homeowner property grant to $1.285 million to accommodate rising property values.

The news comes as hundreds of thousands of annual property assessments are being prepared for B.C. property owners by the government. Last year, the threshold was $1.15 million. The grant effectively reduces the property tax paid by most B.C. homeowners by up to $1,045

Every year the province adjusts the grant to ensure 95.5 per cent of homeowners receive the full amount of the grant. Those with homes above the threshold may still be eligible for part of the grant.

"The homeowner grant provides a maximum reduction in residential property taxes on principal residences of $570 in the Capital, Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley regional districts and $770 elsewhere in the province," said a statement issued by the government on Tuesday.

"An additional grant of $275 is available to those who are age 65 or over, permanently disabled or a veteran of certain wars,."

"We continue to see challenging economic times around the world. By maintaining the homeowner grant, we continue to help families with the costs of owning their homes," said Finance Minister Kevin Falcon in the statement.

The grant is only available to Canadian citizens and to landed immigrants who normally reside in B.C.

For more information regarding the homeowner grant, please contact us at 778-869-7653

Bank of Canada Holds Steady

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:29:12 GMT

Ottawa - The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent.

Uncertainty around the global economic outlook has increased in the weeks since the Bank released its October Monetary Policy Report (MPR). Conditions in global financial markets have deteriorated as the sovereign debt crisis in Europe has deepened. Additional measures will be required to contain the European crisis. The recession in Europe is now expected to be more pronounced than the Bank had anticipated in October, as a result of increased deleveraging and tighter financial conditions, as well as necessary fiscal austerity and structural reforms.

Recent economic data suggest that growth in the United States has been slightly more robust than anticipated, largely as a result of continued vigour in consumer spending and business investment. Nonetheless, household deleveraging, fiscal consolidation and negative spillover effects from the European crisis are all expected to weigh on U.S. growth. Growth in China and other emerging-market economies continues to be strong, although there are signs that it is moderating to a more sustainable pace in response to weaker external demand and the lagged effects of past policy tightening.

On balance, recent economic indicators in Canada suggest that growth in the second half of this year is slightly stronger than the Bank projected in October. Household expenditures have more momentum than had been expected and business investment remains solid. Going forward, the weaker external outlook is expected to dampen GDP growth in Canada through financial, confidence and trade channels. The economy also continues to face competitiveness challenges, including the persistent strength of the Canadian dollar.

Although total CPI inflation has been slightly higher than projected, the Bank continues to expect the inflation rate to decline as a result of reduced pressures from food and energy prices and ongoing excess supply in the economy. Core inflation has also been slightly firmer than projected and is expected to ease as the output gap persists well into 2013.

Reflecting all of these factors, the Bank has decided to maintain the target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. With the target interest rate near historic lows and the financial system functioning well, there is considerable monetary policy stimulus in Canada. The Bank will continue to monitor carefully economic and financial developments in the Canadian and global economies, together with the evolution of risks, and set monetary policy consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target over the medium term.

Information note:

The next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is 17 January 2012. A full update of the Bank’s outlook for the economy and inflation, including risks to the projection, will be published in the MPR on 18 January 2012.

Metro Vancouver Real Estate Statistics–November 2011

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:01:11 GMT

Historically normal activity keeps the Greater Vancouver housing market in a balanced state

(click house to download stats)

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties on the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reached 2,360 in November. This represents a 5.9 per cent decline compared to the 2,509 sales in November 2010 and a 1.9 per cent increase compared to the 2,317 sales recorded in October 2011.

Looking back further, last month’s residential sales total is 5.8 per cent below the ten-year average for sales in November.

“The pace of home listings entering the market eased slightly in November, compared to recent months, while sale levels remained fairly normal for this time of year,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “November activity helped put our market firmly in balanced territory.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,222 in November. This represents a 26.3 per cent decline compared to the 4,374 new listings reported in October 2011, but a 6.3 per cent increase compared to November 2010 when 3,030 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®.

Looking back further, last month’s new listing total is 2.1 per cent above the ten-year average for November.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® sits at 14,090, a decline of 9 per cent compared to October 2011 but an increase of 13 per cent when compared to this time last year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 7.2 per cent to $622,087 in November 2011 from $580,080 in November 2010.

Since reaching a peak in June of $630,921, the benchmark price for all residential properties in the region has declined 1.4 per cent.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in November 2011 reached 916, a decrease of 12.8 per cent from the 1,050 detached sales recorded in November 2010, and a 21.3 per cent decrease from the 1,164 units sold in November 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.4 per cent from November 2010 to $890,204.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,000 in November 2011, a 4.9 per cent decrease compared to the 1,052 sales in November 2010, and a decrease of 28.4 per cent compared to the 1,396 sales in November 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.7 per cent from November 2010 to $399,686.

Attached property sales in November 2011 totalled 444, a 9.1 per cent increase compared to the 407 sales in November 2010, and a 15.1 per cent decrease from the 523 attached properties sold in November 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 4.5 per cent between November 2010 and 2011 to $510,960.

Fraser Valley Real Estate Statistics – November 2011

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:50:42 GMT

STEADY DEMAND FOR HOMES HEADING INTO THE HOLIDAYS

(click photo to download stats)

(Surrey, BC) – The November property sales in the Fraser Valley are up slightly compared to last year and didn’t experience the usual month-over-month seasonal decline.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,120 sales in November on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), an increase of 3 per cent compared to the 1,084 sales during the same month last year and a decrease of 2 per cent compared to 1,139 sales in October. In the last decade, sales decreased on average 9 per cent from October to November.

Board president, Sukh Sidhu says, “Given the time of year, Fraser Valley is experiencing steady buying activity with notable month-over-month increases in the sale of homes with an attractive price point.

“For example, townhome sales in central Surrey increased by 20 per cent in one month and in Langley by 43 per cent.” Sidhu adds, “Fraser Valley offers buyers the key value of affordability. Currently, over half of our townhomes and condos are listed for $289,000 or less.”

While sales remained stable, MLS® inventory decreased from October to November, typical for the time of year. The board posted 1,926 new properties in November, an increase of 9 per cent compared to November of last year and a decrease of 23 per cent compared to October. November finished with 9,471 active listings in the Fraser Valley, 5 per cent more than the same month last year and 5 per cent less than October’s 10,005 listings.

Sidhu says, “Even with fewer listings coming on stream, buyers can still take advantage of almost nine months of inventory, which is putting downward pressure on prices in certain areas and property types.” Prices for a typical Fraser Valley apartment are down year-over-year and month-over-month, while both single family detached and townhomes are still showing positive price gains compared to November last year and remain stable compared to October.

In November, the benchmark price of a detached home in the Fraser Valley was $532,086, an increase of 5.4 per cent compared to $504,848 in November 2010 and an increase of 0.3 per cent compared to October.

For townhouses, the benchmark price in November was $327,764, an increase of 2.5 per cent compared to the same month last year when it was $319,623 and up 0.7 per cent compared to October. The benchmark price of apartments in November was $238,461, a decrease of 1.6 per cent compared to November 2010 and a decrease of 2.2 per cent compared to October.