Macrealty Market Update Archives | Shauna Gold (*PREC)

January 2019 Market Update

January 11, 2019

Property values released by B.C. Assessment

B.C Assessment’s valuation of homes across the province, which is based on what was happening in the real estate market as of July 1 this year, was released this morning.

“It’s a real mix in property value changes, but the market can best be summed up as showing signs of stability across most areas of the province,” said assessor Tina Ireland, in a press release. “Changes in property assessments really depend on where you live. For example, assessed values for detached single family homes in many areas of Metro Vancouver may see a softening in value, while other markets and areas of the province will see modest increases over last year’s values.”

B.C. experienced ‘mild provincial housing recession’ in 2018: credit union

A financial services institution is forecasting an ongoing slowdown in British Columbia’s housing market, one day after the Canadian Real Estate Association predicted home sales will continue to dip in the province next year.

B.C. Real Estate News

Homeowners worried about paying down debt as interest rates go up

November 16, 2018

Younger homeowners have never experienced a significant rise in interest rates.

Many Canadian homeowners are worried about rising interest rates and how they will impact their budget, a new CBC Research survey finds.

Thanks to years of access to cheap money, household debt has ballooned in Canada. Now that interest rates are rising, there are mounting concerns over how people will continue to pay down mountains of debt.

Failing to budget for heftier mortgage payments could lead to even more hardships, such as homeowners digging into their savings or turning to credit cards to make ends meet.

B.C. Real Estate News

LOWER MAINLAND

Vancouver housing sales fall to six-year low (The Globe and Mail)

Slow sales and lots of inventory push down Vancouver home prices (Business In Vancouver)

Stress test, latest rate hike pressuring Vancouver Island housing market (My Campbell River Now)

October brings slight bump to sales for Fraser Valley (Fraser Valley Real Estate Board)

VICTORIA & VANCOUVER ISLAND

October property sales pop in Greater Victoria (Vic News)

Greater Victoria builders struggle to keep up with demand (Times Colonist)

Stress test, latest rate hike pressuring Vancouver Island housing market (My Campbell River Now)

SQUAMISH

Signs of a market recovery? Home sales improve slightly in October (The Chief)

Squamish: Canada’s outdoor capital is also one of its fastest growing communities (Vancouver Sun)

OKANAGAN

Home prices on wild ride (Castanet)

Okanagan real estate sales climb (Kelowna Capital News)

Home sales in B.C. to drop 21% this year: forecast

October 9, 2018

It may be no coincidence that one forecast issued August 20 is predicting a decline in B.C. home sales this year of around 20 per cent, while a separate study has found 18 per cent of would-be buyers are being locked out of the market by the new mortgage stress test

MLS residential sales across the province are expected to be 21 per cent lower in 2018 than in 2017, dropping from more than 100,000 to around 82,000 transactions this year, according to a new forecast by the British Columbia Real Estate Association.

The BCREA lays the blame for this squarely at the feet of the mortgage qualification stress test that was introduced for all home buyers in January 2018. This requires that all mortgage applicants qualify for a mortgage at a higher rate than they will actually pay, to ensure their ability to continue payments in case of financial difficulties or future interest rate rises. However, it also has the effect of reducing the amount that home buyers are able to borrow, by up to 20 per cent.

Monthly Local Market Update

Click the link below to view the monthly market statistics for your area in an easy to understand infographic. Listings, sales and prices are summarized for condos, townhomes and single family homes for cities across B.C.

Top picks from the new Ikea catalogue

Western Living highlights this year’s Ikea collection-some revisits in a new light, some hot off the designer’s floor-all guaranteed to bring Swedish order to your life.