My East Van Blog

Drop in Sales due to New Mortgage Rules

In July, the maximum amortization for mortgages was reduced from 30 years to 25 years.  The maximum amount for high-ratio mortgages was reduced from 85% to 80% of the property value.

We are starting to see the effects now.  From July to August, Vancouver number of home sales dropped 8.5%, and new listings dropped 1.5%.

Prices however actually gained 3%. Robin Wiebe with Conference Board of Canada says... read more.

Interior Design Show West 2012

The Interior Design Show West (IDSwest) is Western Canada’s annual premiere residential design show featuring 200 exhibitors showcasing quality products and services to an audience of industry professionals, architects, designers, consumers and media.Annually the show continues to grow in size, importance and reputation and in 2011 welcomed over 28,500 visitors.

IDSwest 2012 will continue to showc... read more.

More Metro Vancouver people living in condos

In Metro Vancouver, more people are living in condos than single detached homes.  40% of owners are living in multi-unit buildings, compared to 34% in houses.  Nationally, 55% of Canadians live in single detached homes.

Cameron Muir with the BC Real Estate Association says this trend has been developing over the last decade, and all appearances show it will continue.

"In fact, if you look at the first... read more.

Best time to Buy US properties?

Attention bargain hunters, says BMO chief economist Sherry Cooper.  There hasn't been a better time for Canadians to buy property in America's sunshine states in nearly 40 years.

Thanks to the combination of a huge gap between average Canadian and US home prices and a strong loonie, real estate south of the border is looking like a good investment, Dr. Cooper said in "The Bottom Line" Thursday.

Coope... read more.

Slow Housing Market equals more Renos

Renovations always pick up when sales of new homes fall off.  Kitchens, bathrooms and basement suites continue to be the most popular renovations, but people are also renovating their entire homes.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp’s third-quarter Housing Market Outlook, released in August, said renovation spending in 2011 was $61.7 billion in Canada. CHMC says that amount will moderate in 2012, grow... read more.

East Van selling 2 times faster than West Van!

“We’ve seen a slowdown in the market in terms of the number of transactions, but there’s relative price stability,” Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Eugen Klein said.

Here are some key points from Eugen Klein's interview with the Vancouver Sun newspaper:

• Detached homes in East Vancouver are selling almost twice as fast as west side homes. Average days on market is 55 days on the west... read more.

Government Happy Housing Market Slow Down

Earlier this summer, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty took action to tighten the mortgage and borrowing rules in hopes to cool the housing market. 

While Flaherty says it’s too early to gauge the effect the new rules are having on the real estate market, he welcomed indications of a recent cooling in the condo market, particularly in Vancouver and Toronto.

“That’s desirable,” said Flaherty. “It’s bette... read more.