No "doom and gloom" in store for Canadian real estate – Royal LePage’s Soper

by Ephraim Vecina29 Jul 2020


Sustained market strength, subject to supply constraints, will be the predominant dynamic in the Canadian housing sector for the rest of the year, according to Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper and Sotheby’s Canada CEO Don Kottick.


In a joint interview with The Financial Post, the two executives highlighted the major role that housing inventory will play in the period immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic eases.

Soper said that home prices largely rely on the balance between supply and buyer activity.

“There are a lot of people who are looking to put roofs over their heads,” Soper said. “We just don’t see the number of homes for sale, the supply side of this, climbing to the point where home prices will collapse.”

Royal LePage’s latest predictions have placed annual growth by year-end at 2.5%.


https://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/news/no-doom-and-gloom-in-store-for-canadian-real-estate--royal-lepages-soper-331927.aspx

MORTGAGE RATE FORECAST......BCREA


As the year ends, it's worth reflecting on how significantly the Canadian interest rate environment has changed in just twelve months. One year ago, the Canadian yield curve was its usual upward sloping shape, with markets expecting gradual rate increases by the Bank of Canada. Based partly on those expectations, Canadian mortgage rates were climbing. However, within 8 months the yield curve in Canada had inverted, bond yields tumbled, and Canadian mortgage rates were once again heading lower.


https://www.bcrea.bc.ca/economics/mortgage-rate-forecast/


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We know you are going to find this newsletter’s market update interesting especially as we continue to hear stories in the news speculating “where will this end”!

 

We all know that the market continues to be very active, even if we look at our own street’s activity, homes are listed and continue to sell very quickly – sometimes still over ask! But that’s not just here on the North Shore, areas offering more affordability are also seeing an increase in activity as people are willing to seek their best options in order to buy a home.

 

Let’s look at the benchmark* prices of detached and condo homes on the North Shore since we last updated you from December 31, 2015.                                                              

                                                        

 

 

DETACHED

CONDO

West Vancouver

January

$2,659,000

$766,600

 

February

$2,710,500

$761,600

 

March

$2,799,900

$822,000

 

 

 

 

North Vancouver

January

$1,351,900

$395,300

 

February

$1,382,000

$399,000

 

March

$1,422,900

$403,200

 *A typical property within each area

 

As we promised, our newsletter is being sent to you every quarter, however, if you are interested in looking at monthly data on an ongoing basis, we have added this information to our website – www.whyte-wood.ca. You can access the monthly Real Estate Board Stats under the Current Market tab. In addition, under the BLOG tab, our quarterly newsletters will be posted as well as current articles of real estate interest. For instance, you will see an article on the Housing Demand Forecast for 2017, the article on the $30 million Whistler Art Museum and from the Vancouver Sun on March 19th an article regarding flipping of homes which elicited an immediate response from the President of the Real Estate Board in order to direct the facts in a more accurate direction – which is also there for you to read!. A one-stop shop on what’s going on in Real Estate.

 

Also, our website now enables searching for listings in a far more convenient manner. The search bar is in the middle of the picture and requires only an area to be selected and all homes currently listed on MLS will be displayed. If you want to define your search even more, you can also select bedrooms & bathrooms desired and the search will provide you with all those listings available. Much, much easier than doing a search through Realtorlink – once again, a one-stop shop! A great way to reference the list price of homes in your neighbourhood! Give us a call if you find anything that interests you to view.

 

And, also for your convenience, have a look under the LINKS tab on our website where we have provided you with a convenient recommended Concierge List of Home Services which we have either used ourselves or which have come highly recommended by our clients. If you have had exceptional service from a company that you would like to share and recommend for our website, please let us know. We love to promote good work!

 

As always, I hope you find this newsletter of interest in your ongoing knowledge of the real estate market. Should you like a personal update on the value of your own home, please give us a call as we would be pleased to go to work on your behalf!

 

All the best, and Happy Spring!!

 

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The following letter was issued to The Vancouver Sun for publication earlier today:

Letter to the editor:

I am concerned about information presented in Lori Culbert’s March 19 article “Flipping on the rise, but still a small portion of sales.” The article listed the “top 10 most lucrative house flips.” Our analysis through the MLS® system found that seven of these ten homes were not “flipped,” but instead rebuilt and re-sold. In some cases, a laneway house was also added to the property.

The implication that these homes were re-sold as-is for a quick profit is false and it misleads your readers.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and the 12,500 REALTORS® we represent, encourage an open public discussion about today’s real estate market. We believe, however, that the information that informs this discussion must be presented factually and in proper context.

 

Yours truly,

 

Darcy McLeod
President
Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

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CHINESE INVESTORS BUY ONE-THIRD OF VANCOUVER HOMES: NATIONAL BANK ESTIMATE

 

Vancouver — Buyers from China comprised about one-third of purchases of Vancouver’s hot housing market in 2015, according to “back of the envelope calculations” by National Bank of Canada.

Chinese investors spent about $12.7 billion on real estate in Vancouver in 2015,



Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/chinese+investors+third+vancouver+homes+national+

bank+estimate/11804486/story.html#ixzz43m8zuIh2



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A major $30-million attraction will be opening at Whistler on March 12, but unlike the many recreational activities the resort town is known for this attraction is grounded on celebrating local art.

The Audain Art Museum, Whistler’s largest cultural attraction, is wedged into a forested area at the base of Whistler and Blackcomb mountains – on Blackcomb Way, at the eastern of Village Gate Boulevard.

See more at:  http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2016/03/whistler-audain-art-museum-village/  

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West Vancouver to consider tree cutting rules

Residents petition council for protections

District of West Vancouver council is looking to silence the chainsaws – although maybe not as fast as some would like.

A group of West Vancouver residents appeared as a delegation before council Monday night to request the district acknowledge there is a problem with sweeping clearcuts of mature trees on lots and challenge council to develop a policy that would be “win-win” for tree-loving West Vancouver residents and property owners looking to rebuild. The district currently has no bylaws protecting trees on private property.

“We believe there needs to be a combination of both disincentives as well as incentives with a view to encouraging the right type of decision-making as well as behaviour from our residents,” said Nic Tsangarakis, a 17th Street resident.

Beyond reining in the destruction of mature trees, Tsangarakis also asked council to help replenish the supply of trees that had been lost. He pointed to the City of Vancouver’s example of aiming to plant 150,000 more trees by 2020, which should up the city’s tree canopy density by more than 20 per cent.

“I think that is a wonderful goal, an auspicious goal and I think we can be doing something similar,” he said.

Tsangarakis and his supporters had also gathered 273 signatures for a petition. While council was largely receptive to the ideas, residents will have to wait until the fall before they can get a look at some proposed bylaws that would target tree retention on private property.

For some on council, however, the fall can’t come fast enough. Coun. Bill Soprovich questioned whether council could put in place a moratorium on tree cutting until the new policy is finalized. Council didn’t opt for Soprovich’s chainsaw ban, but others did note that while they deliberate and consult, more trees are being lost.

Coun. Craig Cameron referenced a letter and photos of a yard looking like a clearcut that had been delivered by a resident.

“It just underscores the urgency of the problem because while we mull these things seemingly endlessly – certainly for a longer period of time than I would like – this is what happens and so there’s a real cost to delay,” he said, adding that many of the felled trees were outside the building envelope and therefore did not need to be cut. “I’m really very concerned about the time this is taking us to come to this issue and I want to see something substantive and enforceable in a period of weeks or a month or two, not six months or eight months.”

Still, a measured process is better than a knee-jerk response, argued Coun. Michael Lewis.

“There is substantive community consultation that’s taking place around this issue and our response will be measured and well thought out, as identified, early this fall. I think we mustn’t forget the potential for unintended consequences – the issue of property rights,” he said.


© 2016 North Shore News - See more at: http://www.nsnews.com/news/west-vancouver-to-consider-tree-cutting-rules-1.2178399#sthash.f84WHw7u.dpuf

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