VANCOUVER, BC. - February 4, 2014 - The first month of 2014 saw home sale and listing totals outpace historical averages in the Greater Vancouver housing market.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,760 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2014. This represents a 30.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,351 sales recorded in January 2013, and a 9.9 per cent decline compared to the 1,953 sales in December 2013.

Last month’s sales were 7.2 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

“The Greater Vancouver housing market has been in a balanced market for nearly a year. This has meant steady home sale and listing activity accompanied by stable home prices,” Sandra Wyant, REBGV president said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,345 in January. This represents a 4.2 per cent increase compared to the 5,128 new listings reported in January 2013.

Last month’s new listing count was 17.7 per cent higher than the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® is 12,602, a 4.9 per cent decline compared to January 2013 and a nine per cent increase compared to December 2013.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $606,800. This represents a 3.2 per cent increase compared to January 2013.

With the sales-to-active-listings ratio at 14 per cent, the region remains in balanced market territory.

“If you’re looking to sell your home in a balanced market, it’s critical that your list price is reflective of current market conditions,” Wyant said.

Sales of detached properties in January 2014 reached 728, an increase of 34.3 per cent from the 542 detached sales recorded in January 2013, and a 10.5 per cent increase from the 659 units sold in January 2012. The benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver increased 3.2 per cent from January 2013 to $929,700.

Sales of apartment properties reached 753 in January 2014, an increase of 30.7 per cent compared to the 576 sales in January 2013, and an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to the 657 sales in January 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.7 per cent from January 2013 to $371,500.

Attached property sales in January 2014 totalled 279, an increase of 19.7 per cent compared to the 233 sales in January 2013, and a 6.9 per cent increase from the 261 attached properties sold in January 2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 1.7 per cent between January 2013 and 2014 to $457,700. 

Download the complete stats package by clicking here.  

 
Courtesy of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver 

TOP 10 TIPS TO SUCCESSFUL HOME STAGING!

Preparing your house for selling can be a daunting and overwhelming task whether you have lived in your home a few years or many. The longer you have lived in your home the more things you will have acquired. The intent of this Top 10 Tips for Successful Home Staging is to help you save TIME, MONEY and ENERGY.

In preparing your house for selling you need to take a step back and have the mind set that this is no longer your home but your investment for your future. You want your home to have broad buyer appeal to your target market. Following these 10 Tips for Successful Home Staging will help you sell your house sooner and possibly for more money than if you did not prepare it for selling! Remember most people want to move into their new home without having to make updates to it.

1. Curb Appeal 

Stand back and view your home as if you were seeing it for the first time. This is the ‘first impression’ stage. Depending on the season you may want to have pots of colourful and attractive flowers to greet buyers; a clean and inviting door mat; new and shiny door handles and/or knockers; a freshly painted door.
  

2. Declutter 

Start your pre-pack as soon as possible. You need to decide what you are going to keep, give away,

sell or throw away/recycle. Many clients will rent storage lockers or have pods delivered so they can start to clear out what is not going to make the house look good.

3. Clean

You would think this one is common sense but let me assure you, I wish it was so! A clean home translates into ‘They must have really cared for their home.” Use environmentally friendly cleaners where you can, for hard cleaning areas tsp is a good product. Bathrooms and kitchens must be sparkling clean at the very least.

4. Depersonalize

We know you love your family photos and your personal treasures and for living they are perfect. For selling pack them up carefully so you can showcase them in your new home. For selling you want buyers to focus on the best features of your home and not your personal things or collections.

5. A neutral colour scheme is the way to go for selling.

Choose only 3 colours or less to paint your house for selling. If you have an open floor plan then paint the main floor all the same colour. Bedrooms look good in light sage greens or warm blues like the new aqua.

6. Highlight your home’s best architectural features

Place your furniture in each room so that you have very obvious focal points that show off the home’s best selling features. For example, if you have a beautiful fireplace then place the furniture in a parallel grouping so that the eye is drawn to the fireplace.

7. Decide on the function in each room

If you were using your guest bedroom as your den for living, for selling turn it back into a bedroom with bedroom furniture in it. If you do not have the right furniture for each room consider renting it. There are more and more rental furnishing companies opening up every day. If you don’t want to rent then borrow.

8. Lighting your home to its best advantage

Spend money on new light fixtures in brushed nickel or stainless steel. Brass is out so don’t fight it. There are many low-cost lighting stores to select from so no excuses for having dated light fixtures.

9. Window treatments that sell your home 

The most popular on the market are the 2” faux woods in a white tone to go with your trim. Decorative side panels will do the trick if you need to add warmth and colour.

 

10. Flooring needs special attention and is a good investment for updating the look of your home 

Tile or linoleum is great for entranceways, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry rooms; a good quality laminate or hardwood is perfect for living rooms and family rooms; bedrooms are attractive in a neutral carpet.

By planning and budgeting you can get yourself to the “OPEN HOUSE READY” stage. 

Remember that over 79% of prospective buyers have already checked you out through the MLS listings. Will they like what they see? 

Happy Selling!
 

Courtesy of http://www.remax-western.ca 

OPEN HOUSE Saturday, February 1st from 12:00pm -4:o0pm 

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THE PIER, Steveston South
SALES CENTRE @ 12235 No. 1 Road, Richmond

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Come visit me at our sales centre and learn more about The Pier at London Landing!

The Pier at London Landing: A unique waterfront development on the South shore of the Fraser river. Two buildings house 76 unique centerpiece homes featuring open concept floor plans, spacious living areas, entertainment style kitchens/ dining areas, and many enjoy double garages and direct-access, semi-private elevators. Marvel at the spectacular river, farmland and mountain vistas from generous terraces and balconies with BBQ hook-ups and year-round climate comfort indoors thanks to centralized air conditioning and heating (Geo-exchange). Discovery Centre open 1pm-5pm Mon-Fri & 12pm-4pm Sat-Sun at 12235 No 1 Rd.

Alisa Sakamoto

RE/MAX Westcoast 

1. Variables are back. Several lenders are offering strong “prime minus” rates that could save you thousands in interest. And the Bank of Canada is still holding their key “overnight rate” very steady and very low… making variable-rate mortgages a sensible option right now. Fixed versus variable has always been a challenging mortgage decision. Let us help you decide which financing option best meets your needs.
   
    
2. Don’t sleepwalk through your mortgage renewal. Don’t miss out on an opportunity to save thousands on your mortgage. When your lender sends you a letter saying it’s time to renew… then it’s time to get an expert second opinion. We’re independent and we have access to over 50 lenders. If there’s a better deal, we’ll find it.
   
    
3. Pay your phone bill on time! Paying your bills on time has always been the most important credit habit. Equifax recently started to include phone companies on credit bureau reports – so your lender can see if you have any delinquencies with your phone bills. Look like a good borrower.
   
    
4. Keep other good credit habits. Don’t let your credit accounts exceed 30 per cent of your limit. Don’t cancel an old credit card without getting advice. And don’t sign up for store cards: they often have crazy interest rates, and the application triggers a credit inquiry (you don’t want a lot of those).
   
    
5. Mortgage versus total debt. Do you have high-interest debt outside your mortgage that you won’t be able to pay off in the next few months? Then think about rolling that debt into a new low-rate mortgage. This one, smart strategy could save you thousands… and boost your monthly cash flow. We can analyze your situation to see if you qualify.
   
    
6. What’s the prepayment penalty? Don’t let anyone tell you prepayment penalties are “all the same”. They’re not. If you ever need to get out of your mortgage early, the right mortgage could save you thousands. Not all lenders calculate penalties the same way, and the differences can be substantial. It helps to know which lenders have the most fair prepayment penalties. With access to dozens of lenders – we’ve got that information at our fingertips.
   
    
7. If one of you wants to keep the marital home. If you are going through a separation or divorce and one of you wants to keep the marital home, we’ve got some great mortgage options, including a mortgage to 95 per cent. Your home can be the asset that gives you both a fresh start!
   
    
8. A paydown will pay it forward. Take every opportunity to beat down your mortgage principal using any prepayment privileges! Use tax refunds, bonuses, whatever. Or switch to weekly or bi-weekly payments. Every dollar you pay down on principal means every future payment goes further.
   
    
9. Thinking renovation? We see what you see. Your reno will add value to your home. That’s why we have a special “Refinance Plus Improvements” mortgage that lets you refinance up to 80 per cent of the new, post-reno value of your home. Cool deal.
   
    
10. Come in for a checkup. Your mortgage needs an annual checkup. Really. Life doesn’t stand still, which means your needs may have changed. Even a minor tweak can pay big dividends.
    
    
    

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Metro Vancouver housing market characterized by modest home sale and price increases in 2013

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Congratulations to my Sellers: Daniel, Chris & Melanie!

View this recently sold Condo or see all my home sales