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pleased to be able to contribute to The White Rock Sun, an innovative eco-friendly
approach to news gathering from the people who make up this community. This
communication concept, has the ability to create a more unified group of residents
who support each others endeavors, trials and dreams. Make the White Rock Sun
(www.whiterocksun.com) your home page,
and we can be the little engine that could!
Do you have a question or a subject you wish covered?
I'd be glad to hear from you! Write, email or call.
Leigh Morrow
Bay Realty
604-531-4000
leigh@bayrealty.com
www.leighmorrow.com
June 16, 2010
In the news today you will hear what we realtors have been saying, writing about, and seeing for weeks. Home sales are mainlining. The huge buzz of listing/sales activity in the winter and early spring was just pent up demand after the "crash" when no one was buying, not even the real estate savvy investors who had seen it all.
Home Sales are about to go very flat.
Part of the issue is the inventory. It seems everyone and their mother decided to list this spring to take advantage of the "sellers" market.
After all, home prices were bounding up to before "crash" levels and everyone who had worries they wouldn't be able to sell, was suddenly back in the market and listing.
The added problem is that much of the inventory is rehashed homes from when nothing was selling, and the homes are problematic. Too close to a noisy intersection, on a busy street, no parking, not enough living space, all fundamental issues concerning a homes livability. Most of the homes on todays market have a problem or blemish of one sort or another. New listings that are unique and under represented, like ranchers on quiet streets, still sell. Our sold in under two weeks for VERY close to list price. However that is a rarity in todays market.
If your home has been on the market for some time (over 60 days) become very aggressive about your pricing. The excess inventory is giving buyers allot of room to negotiate. If you are priced too high, they are going to offer far lower an offer price, so get in the game now, to at least get up to the plate.
If you are not on the market and can wait this out, do so.
Tighter credit from the banks is another significant factor in languishing sales. It is going to be allot harder to get money for a new mortgage or for investors hoping to buy, renovate and flip.
According to the survey, B.C. sales declined 3.9 per cent to 7,950 units in May compared to the same month in 2009. On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales declined 11 per cent in May from April 2010, while the average price climbed seven per cent to $498,294 in May compared to the same month a year earlier.
Transactions dropped 10.3 per cent in Metro Vancouver from May 2009's 3,569 to this
May's 3,202. Victoria saw sales drop 19.6 per cent over the same period from 836 to 672. In the Fraser Valley, sales dropped 0.8 per cent to 1,403 from 1,415
So what to do? If you are already listed, get very real about your price. If you can wait to list, do so, hoping the next cycle will be favourable. If you are buying, and have the money or the blessing from the bank, negotiate hard, as there are savings out there to be had.
I would be pleased to answer your real estate questions. Just ask!
Leigh Morrow
Bay Realty
www.leighmorrow.com
leigh@bayrealty.com
604-531-4000
June 09, 2010
Sign Of The Times?
I just finished handling the purchase of my first foreclosure. It proved to be an excellent lesson in uncertainty. Foreclosures, as you may have noticed, are becoming much more common here on the Peninsula. The process though, may be slightly unnerving for many. The price attracts those not so risk adversed in the first place.
Here are the coles notes on trying to buy a foreclosure.
1. Finding the right property in the right location may take several months. Fore closures are not as common a listing, so you will have to hunt hard and make some compromises on location.
2. Make an offer subject to the normal proviso's like title, inspection, strata mins etc,
but understand you are on your own after you remove subjects. These properties are " as is" which often means they won't look the same on completion as when you viewed it.
3. Don't expect to offer a low ball bid if the property has not been on the market for some time which usually means more than six months. The bank wants to get as much of its money back and if the property sits for several months, thats allowing sufficient time to determine fair market value.
4. Once you have removed subjects, the final purchase price has been determined, be prepared to wait another six weeks (or more) before you go to court.
5. Court day finally comes, and you could find other interested parties walking into one of the court rooms to try and bid against your home. Everyone else will know how much you have agreed to buy the property for, so you are at a disadvantage. You went through all the leg work to get to court and someone else could walk away with your home for a few extra bucks.
5. The judge can say no. Even if the banks lawyer tells the judge they are satisfied with the price. The judge can flatly refuse to accept whatever you negotiated six weeks earlier.
The person who use to own the foreclosure can turn up in court, asking for an extension so he/she can solve their debt with the bank. And of course, those other buyers can walk in and try and out bid you.
6. Be prepared when you go to court to have a higher number ready in your mind in case you need to up the ante from your competitors.
7. If no one else shows up, and the judge feels the sale price is fair, it can all be over so quickly you can miss it. You will hear "ok let it go" from the judge, and by george, you are a homeowner, just like that.
8. On possession date, the property could look worse than when you viewed it and made an offer. Ours was missing the appliances, but we knew that going in. Horror stories include toilets removed, taps left running, light fixtures ripped from the ceiling and door handles broken.
9.The financial savings could be significant enough that even a complete reno later, would still bring you in under current market value.
10. Remember your deposit is locked up until the judge decides if your price is going to take the property. This usually means your hands are tied until court date and other properties may come on the market you will have to take a pass at. At the end of the day, you have earned the lower price through patience and the uncertainty that you could be back to square one. Only a small segment of the buying population can "wait out" the process.
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"Surrey is the best place to buy real estate in BC, and the 4th best place in Canada" says Don Campbell.
According to a study released today, this is the best place to make a real estae investment in BC. The authors of the study, the Real Estate Investment Network of Canada, looked at economic growth, affordability,income levels, population growth and job creation.
“With two border crossings to the United States, links to five major highways, deep sea docks, and four railways, it’s easy to see why Surrey is a prime location to do business, with access to local, national, and international markets,” said the report. “When reviewing Surrey’s economic fundamentals, we see an area going through a positive transition."
The author of the report and president of the Real Estate Investment Network, Don Campbell makes his living writing real estate investment books, giving seminars, and signing up members for his newsletters. He will be in Vancouver giving one of those seminars next week. Interesting timing!
May 27, 2010
There will be no drastic drop in Canadian housing prices, says the Canadian Real Estate Association.because "house prices will stabilize and climbing household income will make owning a home more affordable".
Really!! My experience as a practicing realtor is much different. Especially here on the peninsula. IF the home is a rare and unusual product like a huge rancher on a fabulous quiet botanical lot, you will sell quickly with many buyers coming to look and meet your list price or (fingers crossed) multiple bids. As for climbing incomes, nothing indicates that.
HOWEVER if the product is over saturated like the lower condo market, expect to wait and wait and wait some more for a buyer to come though the doors and make an offer. And as you sit, the list price will go down if you want to be competitive and sell So WHERE does the CREA bosses come up with the above byline?
Their answer: Responding to reports from some of the country’s largest banks that prices could see drops of as much as 10 per cent in the next two years as higher mortgage rates and rising prices make housing more expensive, the association said the naysayers are ignoring the cyclical nature of Canada’s real estate market.
“The relationship between average price and income has recently been cited as portending a U.S.-style correction in Canadian home prices,” said the association’s chief economist Gregory Klump. “However, such warnings ignore the longer-term relationship between prices and income, and disregard typical Canadian housing market cycle dynamics.”
The housing market has been key to Canada’s recovery, with average prices up 23 per cent from their recessionary lows at the end of April. The average price of a home at the end of April was $344,968, the highest on record and 7 per cent higher than before the recession.
In a report Tuesday, CIBC economist Benjamin Tal said his analysis showed that 17 per cent of Canadian homes had overshot their “fair value” by as much as 14 per cent by the end of April. He said there wasn’t the imminent threat of a crash, but warned prices could drift as much as 10 per cent lower in the next two years as more supply comes onto the market. So forget the headlines of no drastic drop!
“The house market is overshooting, that’s a given,” he said in an interview. “The market is already responding, supply is increasing very quickly and the market is correction itself. That is much different than a panicked crash.”
TD Bank recently suggested prices could fall by 2.7 per cent in 2011. The Canadian Real Estate Association’s own forecast suggests a decline of 1.5 per cent by the end of next year. Only the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. calls for higher prices in 2011, with an anticipated gain of 1.3 per cent.
However, Mr. Klump said worries have been blown out of proportion because Canada’s market has always been characterized by periods of sharp growth followed by periods of relative inactivity. By contrast, he said, incomes tend to climb over time giving home owners a chance to catch up to higher prices.
Well, here on the peninsula, realtors are scrambling to find buyers for their listings BEGGING them to come and make an offer. I see the tide has turned to that of a buyers market as I wrote last week, with nothing to say it will improve in the weeks to come. Not until this inventory is drastically reduced.
Leigh Morrow Bay Realty Have a question? Just ask me at leigh@bayrealty.com
May 19, 2010
You just have to take a walk around the block, where ever you live on the peninsula,and you will see there are homes for sale. Infact, dozens and dozens of homes and lots, are on the market.. Open Houses this past Sunday were as thick as the dandelions growing in May heat. The local paper had three pages of Open Houses. Usually we realtors pay and occupy one page of Open House ads, maybe 2 but seldom three. Compared to April of last year, listings are up 21%. This is May, so expect this months listings to be even higher. Every day for the last several weeks, 30-40 new listings hit the market. Everyone who thought it was a sellers market, jumped on the listing bandwagon, and now there is a glut. That means the market is now favoring the Buyers. They have more selection, and can haggle hard on price. Supply and Demand are the two temperature monitors to determine if it is a buyer or sellers market. Right now, the market is awash with old stale listings that never sold during the last slump in late 08/09. They are back on the market hoping to attract buyers,many of whom have locked in to lower rates and have less than a month now, to complete on a sale. Unique and well priced homes can sell in under a week here on the peninsula, just because they are so hard to find..but the rest will languish and see price reductions to keep competitive. It's a market that is hard to swallow as a seller, but sweet as a buyer.
This area is still extremely desirable as a place to live, so that will keep the people coming, and buying, but expect a price alignment as the market swells with property. So..what to do? If you need to sell because of personal reasons, divorce,age,health,etc,don't list for what you wish the property will go for. Understand the market and price under the wave. If you price high, your timing on this cycle is off and you risk the wave crashing down on your head. The result will be no offers and a stale listing no one wants to even view. Even if you reduce late in the game, you will have missed those who were interested initially, and have now bought and moved on. A property's history - a list of the property's listing prices- is easily accessed by realtors and can instantly reveal which way the property is going- up or more often-down.
Be realistic, listen to your realtors advise on pricing- and get the home show ready from day one because that first day maybe the busiest your home gets!
The good news is that once your home is sold, you can be part of the popular buyers market, and offset any losses from the sale of your home, with a lucrative purchase.
Be warned, those in subject sales, buyers are walking from accepted offers, as more product comes on the market . The sellers are finding new product that they like more..usually because of the price. There are many deals falling apart right now, because the buyers see the latest prices, and feel they have paid too for the home they are in contract with, and use a subject clause to walk and buy across the street.
If you have any real estate questions or need more information about your home, feel free to contact me.
Leigh Morrow Bay Realty
www.leighmorrow.com
leigh@bayrealty.com
604-531-4000
May 12, 2010
OUTDOOR JOB'S...it's time!
With the great weather it's time to get those jobs done. Here is my toplist of to do jobs, but you may well find your house has a few others!
Touch up the paint outside
Why now: Aside from making a home look a tad, well, neglected, peeling paint lets moisture and ultra-violet light get at the wood siding. That means more paint is going to come off and, after a couple of seasons of exposure, your house won't hold new paint well either, making a full paint job a pricier proposition.
What do buy: Go for the most expensive paint in the store ($30 to $45 a gallon). While it may be tempting to buy the cheap stuff instead ($15 to $20 a gallon), the high-quality pigments and binders in top-drawer paint make it last five or more years longer than economy products. Take a chip of existing paint to the store, and an optical computer will match the color. Ask for water-based paint, which is easier to use and more environmentally friendly than oil-based products. One gallon will be plenty. You'll also need to spend another $40 for a gallon of premium oil-based primer, which will make the paint stick better.
Get it right: Don't try to touch up more than a few isolated spots that are peeling -- if your exterior has more than that, you'll need a full-blown paint job, which should be done by a professional and typically runs $3,000 to $6,000 and up. Otherwise, simply remove any loose paint in the troubled areas with a scraper, and then use a polyester brush to apply one coat of primer to any raw wood followed by two coats of paint.
If you want to hire: House-painters generally won't do touchups unless they're fixing a previous paint job of their own -- in which case, they may not charge you at all if the job was under warranty and it's been only a couple of years since it was done. Failing that, your best bet is to hire an experienced handyman, who will cost you about $100 to $400.
Mulch The Yard
Why now: A fresh layer of mulch provides visual contrast to the plants in your landscape, giving foliage and flowers eye-catching pop. Mulch also promotes healthier plants all year round because it keeps water in the soil and provides nutrients as it breaks down.
What to buy: Skip the bags of mulch at the home center ($3 to $4 each) because you need more than can fit in even the biggest SUV. Instead, spend $35 to $60 per "yard" (including delivery) for mulch at a landscape supply yard; it will be a local product, which is less likely to introduce invasive diseases or insects into your garden (a risk with bagged mulch that has been trucked hundreds of miles from its source). Cedar, pine, cypress, and hardwood are all equally good, so pick the look you like. But make sure to get 100% bark, since whole-log mulch can release plant-damaging compounds into the soil. Expect to use five to 10 yards of mulch for the typical lot.
Get it right: Use a garden spade to cut a nice clean edge in the lawn around the beds. Then use a pitchfork, wheelbarrow, and rake to lay a two-inch thick mulch bed. It'll take a weekend of hard labor to complete the job in an average half-acre yard.
If you want to hire: Since there's little skill involved, a handy-man or even a laborer can handle this job. You'll pay around $500 to $1,500 for mulch and labor on a half-acre lot -- or up to twice as much if your yard is heavily planted.
Seal The Decks and Fences
Why now: Unless it's a tropical hardwood like teak, all outdoor woodwork needs protection from the elements. Otherwise you'll be shelling out $1,000 to $2,000 for new decking in a few years.
What to buy: Seal with stain, not paint, which would require you to scrape and sand every time you need to refresh the job. Use oil-based stain, which will soak into the wood and minimize the prep work for the next coat, says Ernie Sears, a Manassas, Va., deck and outdoor product manufacturer. Expect to spend $20 to $35 for a gallon of premium oil-based stain; choose a solid stain for a painted look or a clear stain for a natural look. Make sure the clear stain contains chemical UV-blockers to prevent wood degradation from the sun. You'll also need wood cleaner ($25 a gallon) and a soft-bristled scrub brush or a power washer ($50 to $100 for a one-day rental) to remove dirt, mildew, and any remaining finish before staining.
Get it right: Good news for the home-improvement-challenged: Staining a fence is one of the most DIY-friendly jobs out there. Drips or spills land on the ground, where you can just scoop some soil over them.
If you want to hire: Some painters specialize in this job -- and just about any handyman will tackle it. Either way, you'll pay $500 to $1,000 for a typical deck or fence -- unless you can use Tom Sawyer's trick to get the kids to do it for free.
MAY 05, 2010
Mother's Day
Picking up an exotic gulf island property with its own private beach or a luxury downtown waterfront condo that shows off Vancouver's harbour at night, is a terrific gift for Mom, but most of us are going to have to settle for a special gift with less zeros behind it.
Since this column is all about real estate, what about gifts that benefit the home, and in turn, benefit the families real estate investment?
IDEAS
1. Flowers-Native perennials are king. Big in color and longevity. Low in maintenance. Big plus is that your money is not wasted year after year. Perennials are more expensive on first blush to annuals, but within two to three years, just when they are showing their real glory, they pay for themselves. Landscaping can greatly increase curb appeal of the home.
2. Kitchen makeover. Most women dream of a new kitchen for themselves and their family. If you can swing it,(avg 20,000 to 30,000) give a kitchen makeover for Mother's Day. Your investment will see good returns for re-sale and you will make her sooo happy in the meantime. Get the kids to draw the new kitchen on graph paper and enclose that in the card..
3. New Front Door -this is real curb appeal. If your front door is looking worn and tired so will your home. Buy a new front door and get a great color to paint it. Post loving notes from each of the family members including the dog on the door and your Mom will remember the love, long after it is installed. Your home will look show ready as well.
4.New Tub. Yep Mom's love a deep soaker tub after a long day in the trenches. You can order the tub and cut out a copy to include in the card. This is a gift that will last and last and add value to the bathroom. The deeper the soaker tub the better. If you can install before Mother's Day do so.. toss rose petals in the tub and light a few candles before you dim the lights and show her the present.
5.Closet organizers.
Doesn't sound very sexy but Moms who love organization will be thrilled to get an unruly closet under organization with a custom closet package. They are not cheap, but good ones can make use of every available space and in today's newer homes, space is premium.
6. A New Deck -With summer just around the corner a functional and artistically appealing deck could be a great gift for Mom. Remember this is a gift with add ons..Add a BBQ for Fathers Day's!
7 A House of Memories. If any of the above dont get you excited about recognizing your Mom, how about making a card/book/crafty little digital presentation/ which shows all the great memories your home has held as a family? Breakfast before Santa, Late nite movies, Early spring picnic on the grass that was a bit wet still, weeding in Feb, shovelling in Nov, you get the idea. The time and effort will make her smile. And you will have a great time just putting it together.
Have Fun. Happy Mother's Day.
If you have any real estate questions feel free to send them to me.
Leigh Morrow Bay Realty 604-531-4000
April 21, 2010
Our Super Sleuth Editor Dave Chesney sent this my way, and it is just too fun to pass by.
Mind you there are more crack shacks than mansions in the Greater Vancouver Area, but its still fun for us Peninsula People to try and guess which is which.
And see how you score.
On another note....real estate is still pumping along out here, but the staggering number of new lists is about to out number the buyers, and we all know that means the market flips. Supply and Demand. Today alone, just on the peninsula, there were over 24 new properties put on the market.but only 8 sold.
If inventory continues to climb, the market could change from one that favours the Sellers, to one that is advantageous to the Buyers. That is providing they can afford the mortgage. With interest rates climbing many of today's buyers have already locked into a mortgage and now have 90 days to go shopping. After that..who knows how many will still qualify for a mortgage at today's rates.
Let me know how you rated on the Crack Shack or Mansion quiz.
Till next week,
Leigh Morrow Bay Realty 604-531-4000
Thanks for reading and look forward to hearing your comments on real estate here on the Peninsula.
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