Greater Vancouver saw a typical, solid month of residential home sales on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April, in contrast to the near record pace witnessed in the two preceding months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 3,225 in April 2011, an 8.2 per cent decrease compared to the 3,512 sales in April 2010 and a 21 per cent decline compared to the 4,080 sales in March 2011.

Looking back further, last month’s residential sales represent an 8.8 per cent increase over the 2,963 residential sales in April 2009, relatively unchanged compared to April 2008, and a 4.8 per cent decline compared to the 3,387 sales in April 2007.

“While it continues to be a seller’s market in Greater Vancouver, last month’s activity brought greater balance between supply and demand in the overall marketplace,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “The year-over-year decline in April sales can be attributed to a less active condominium market on our MLS®, as there were more detached and townhome sales this April compared to last year.”
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,847 in April 2011. This represents a 23.5 per cent decline compared to April 2010 when 7,648 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, which was an all-time record for April. Compared to March 2011, last month’s new listings total registered a 14 per cent decline.

At 14,187, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 8.2 per cent in April compared to last month and declined 10 per cent from this time last year.
“There’s considerable variation in activity within the communities in our region. This is causing home price trends to differ depending on the area,” Setticasi said. “Your local REALTOR® is a valuable resource for obtaining the most accurate, up-to-date market evaluation.”

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5 per cent to $622,991 in April 2011 from $593,419 in April 2010.
Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in April 2011 reached 1,402, an increase of 2.3 per cent from the 1,370 detached sales recorded in April 2010, and a 17.8 per cent increase from the 1,190 units sold in April 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 7.4 per cent from April 2010 to $879,039.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,201 in April 2011, a 21.3 per cent decrease compared to the 1,526 sales in April 2010, and an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to the 1,179 sales in April 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.9 per cent from April 2010 to $409,242.

Attached property sales in April 2011 totalled 622, a 1 per cent increase compared to the 616 sales in April 2010, and a 4.7 per cent increase from the 594 attached properties sold in April 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 2.4 per cent between April 2010 and 2011 to $514,670.

LOOKING FOR VANCOUVER CONDO PRESALE INVESTMENTS? Check out these videos on Presale Condo Investments in Vancouver!

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So you’re ready to write an offer and your Realtor has had you read and sign several disclosures as we discussed in Episode 6 First Time Home Buyers Advice.

A Real Estate Offer is a Contract of Purchase and Sale in BC?

Contract of Purchase for Vancouver BC Courtesy of Mike Stewart Realtor

Yes! In British Columbia, a Real Estate Offer is officially referred to as a Contract of Purchase and Sale. The sample offer or Contract of Purchase and Sale BELOW is a generally a 4 to 7 page document and has three main uses:

1. Communication – The Contract of Purchase and Sale is a written proposal  that allows a Buyer to communicate clearly to the Seller how much the Buyer is willing to pay for the property and when, the size of the Buyers deposit, what is included with the property, what kind of checks on the property the Buyer wants to make, and anything else the Buyer wants to offer the Seller. (More detailed discussion of this to come!) When the Seller receives the Offer or Contract of Purchase, they can clearly communicate to the Buyer what they want in the offer by making changes or accepting the offer and sending it
2. Property Ownership Transfer Document – When Buyer and Seller eventually come to an agreement and both sides accept the offer in writing, this same document is used to transfer ownership of the property from Seller to Buyer.
3. Reference for Disputes – The Contract of Purchase and Sale will also be used as a reference should there be any disputes, disagreements, or confusion about the sale of the property or the condition after the sale. So remember to keep a copy of everything!

Please Note – The Contract of Purchase and Sale or Offer document is quite detailed, so for ease of understanding, I have broken down the sections over the next few video posts to explain each section in detail. I have also included a very general version of the contract, you should see different clauses and subjects in the Addendum of the offer depending on the type of property you are buying.

Let me know if you have any questions!

Check out for First Time Home Buyers Advice 8: Purchase Price

I saw this great animation about the Credit Crisis and I thought I’d share it. Its by Jonathan Jarvis as part of his thesis work in the Media Design Program, a graduate studio at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California.

The Crisis of Credit Visualized from Jonathan Jarvis on Vimeo.

What do you think?

Hi All,

Pretty much everyday someone asks me when prices in the Vancouver real estate market will hit bottom and everyday I say I don’t know.

I say I don’t know, because I don’t have a crystal ball and can’t see the future and as I licensed Realtor I can be liable if people take a hit relying on my predictions.

There are people out there who are saying they KNOW when the prices will hit bottom and they can tell when prices are bottoming as they are hitting bottom. Don’t trust these people!

What happens if prices stabilise and a bottom is called and then prices fall again? Nobody can accurately predict a market bottom and don’t trust those who say they can.

The market bottom can only accurately ascertained with 100% certainty AFTER it has been hit.

In making your decisions about buying or selling real estate and timing your transactions, do your own research. Read widely and speak to a variety of people with different viewpoints. Don’t rely on those who have simple answers that are too easy.

If something is too good to be true, more than likely it isn’t true.

Please leave a comment, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Stimulus packages coupled with ultra low interest rates are attempts by national governments and central banks to reflate economies around the world. If these efforts are successful (I think they will) I think inflation will be an issue in 2-3 years in Canada. I think elected politicians and to a lesser extent central bankers will find it very difficult to stop priming the pump once things improve.

I think changes in the Chinese economy will also push up inflation as we move forward. A 2007 Report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has said inexpensive Chinese exports have kept inflation around the world in check. As China develops though, the cost of China’s labour becomes more expensive, pushing up costs for the huge amount of simple products it exports around the world.

How does this relate to Vancouver Real Estate?

Inflation will cause prices and rents in Vancouver to increase while fixed rate mortgages locked in before inflation hits will decline in real and nominal value at an accelerated rate. Equity will increase at an accelerated rate for those with fixed rate mortgages.

Variable rate mortgage holders would see their rates and possibly payments rise in line with Bank of Canada rate increases to combat inflation.

If inflation does re-appear it will be very interesting time in the Vancouver Real Estate Market.

I’d love to hear everyone’s thougths!

Hi All,

The global recession has caused national governments around the world to enact huge stimulus packages to get their economies going. I think with the global nature of stimulus efforts we should pull out of this recession in line with the Bank of Canada and other commentators predictions by 2010.

What are your thoughts? Is it the end of the world? Are we going into another Great Depression?

I’d love to see your comments below.

I found this great interactive map on the Economist site and I wanted to share it. If you click on the countries you can see the details of each countries stimulus package.

Have a look at this article below by Paul Krugman that I recently read in the Guardian. It explains clearly and in an easy to understand manner, what in the US and its effect on the rest of the World.

I am a big fan of Paul Krugman. I took Political Science at Simon Fraser University and I read alot of his stuff. I love it and I’d love to hear your thoughts!

We all go together when we go

The first great financial crisis of the 21st century has begun. Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman explains how it happened, and how it can be cured

We all go together when we go
The first great financial crisis of the 21st century has begun. Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman explains how it happened, and how it can be cured

I’m tempted to say that the crisis is like nothing we’ve ever seen before, but it might be more accurate to say that it’s like everything we’ve seen before, all at once: a bursting real estate bubble comparable to what happened in Japan at the end of the 80s; a wave of bank runs comparable to those of the early 30s; a liquidity trap in the US, again reminiscent of Japan; and, most recently, a disruption of international capital flows and a wave of currency crises all too reminiscent of what happened to Asia in the late 90s.

Let’s tell the tale.

Read the rest of Paul Krugmans article on this site