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Three Different Forecasters, One Basic Forecast

Frank O’Brien
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High immigration to Metro Vancouver and continued low interest rates will keep the regional housing market strong this year and into 2012, a Vancouver Board of Trade (VBT) panel discussion on housing was told last week.

The VBT panel was moderated by Dave Podmore, CEO and chairman of Concert Properties and made up of Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Eugen Klein; Richard Wozny, of research and consulting firm Site Economics Ltd.; and Ward McAllister, CEO of developer Ledingham McAllister Properties Ltd.

Eugen Klein looked at the resale residential market in and noted that the resale housing market has turned into a buyer’s market in most of the Lower Mainland. “Supply is outpacing the demand,” he said.

The exception is found in three markets: Richmond, Vancouver West and West Vancouver. Average detached house prices in these markets in the past year have risen by $200,000, $400,000 and $275,000, respectively, he said.

Between January and September of this year, he noted, there were 953 houses sold for $2.5 million each. “This is almost as much as in the three previous years combined.”

Klein said that internal Board polling of members shows that from 10 per cent to 12 per cent of all home buyers this year are moving into Greater Vancouver from outside of Canada, but only 3 per cent are foreign investors who don’t plan to live here.

Wozny warned that Asian buyers may not continue as a market force.

“China is seeing a property bubble,” Wozny said. “Sixty million homes remain vacant in China and hundreds of millions of square feet of office and industrial are vacant, all just speculative.”

Yet Wozny said, that “given [historically] low interest rates, my verdict is, there is no bubble in Vancouver.”

McAllister was also bullish on the new home market. He said Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation forecasts are for 17,000 housing starts in Metro Vancouver in 2012, 14,000 of which will be strata units. But, forecasts also call for 52,700 people moving into B.C. this year and a further 61,000 in 2012 and most of these will move into Metro Vancouver, estimated at 42,000 this year and 46,000 next year. The federal government, estimates that immigration to B.C. will average 60,000 people a year over the next five years.

This means annual demand for at least 17,000 new homes in Metro Vancouver from immigrants alone, McAllister said.

McAllister also had some advice for those baby boomers who think it is time to sell their Metro Vancouver house before all the other boomers get the same idea; “Don’t.” According to McAllister, if you sell your house now “you may never get back into the market.” 

© 2011 REW

Frank O’Brien
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From January 1 to the end of September of this year, 953 homes sold in Greater Vancouver for $2.5 million or more each, according to Eugene Klein, president of the commercial division of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. “That is almost as many as the three previous years combined,” Klein said.

The eye-popping sale prices have spurred considerable international interest, with the Board interviewed by major news outlets from the US, Europe and Asia, Klein said.

The demand for luxury homes is not seen just in the traditional high-end markets, such as West Vancouver or Vancouver’s West Side, but is also in the new home market from the Fraser Valley to Greater Vancouver, according to studies.

The Teranet-National Bank composite new home index shows that the typical price for a new home in Metro Vancouver increased 9.9 per cent as of August, compared to a year earlier. This is the highest increase for new home values in Canada.

“The strength of the upper-end segment continues to defy expectations,” said Elton Ash, regional executive vice-president, Re/Max of Western Canada, which profiled the luxury market in a study earlier this year.

According to the report, the improved financial standing among high net worth households is the major factor driving strong sales activity at the top end of Canada’s housing markets. The report notes, though, that foreign buyers also account for a number of luxury home sales in BC.

Re/Max examined 12 major Canadian centres and found that luxury sales surged in close to two-thirds of housing markets in the first four months of 2011, compared to the same period in 2010.

In terms of percentage increases over the period, Metro Vancouver — where foreign investment has also played a major role — led the nation with a 118-per-cent increase in luxury home sales, which ReMax defined as prices of $2 million or more.

That was followed by:

• Ottawa (59 per cent)

• Calgary (51 per cent)

• Halifax-Dartmouth (27 per cent)

• Winnipeg (24 per cent)

• Hamilton-Burlington (13 per cent)

• Greater Toronto (9 per cent).

“Greater Vancouver’s luxury market continues to show unprecedented strength, with the number of sales over $2 million more than doubling in the first four months of 2011,” the report said. However October’s figures show sales of multimillion dollar homes dropping to more normal levels.

New home buyers should not be deterred by all the action in the high-end market. A tour of new home projects shows that there are many new condominiums, townhouses and even detached houses priced well below the seven-figure range.

© 2011 REW

New Homes Registry Keeps Homebuyers Informed

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Buying or building your own home? Find out about your rights, obligations and information that can help you make a more informed purchasing decision. Visit the provincial Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) website for free consumer information including:

SERVICES:

– New Homers Registry – find out if any home registered with the HPO after November 2007:

·         can be legally offered for sale

·         has a policy of home warranty insurance

·         is built by a Licensed Residential Builder or an owner builder
      

– Registry of Licensed Residential Builders

PUBLICATIONS:

– Residential construction Performance Guide – helps determine when owners should file a home warranty insurance claim

– Buying a Home in British Columbia – A Consumer Protection Guide

– About Home Warranty Insurance in British Columbia

– Maintenance Matters bulletins – practical information for homeowners in multi-unit buildings

– Sign up for an online subscription of consumer protection publications

New Homes Registry Keeps Homebuyers Informed

Savvy home buyers are taking advantage of free access to the New Homes Registry to stay informed.

This helpful, easy-to-use online resource is available from the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) website at hpo.bc.ca. Prospective home buyers are using the registry to make more informed purchasing decisions.

Home buyers, as well as realtors, lawyers, local governments, and others can quickly check the residential builder licensing and warranty status of a new home or a new home under construction.

The New Homes Registry provides free access to find out if a home has a policy of home warranty insurance and is built by a Licensed Residential Builder, or whether it is built without home warranty insurance. Home buyers can obtain valuable information such as the name and contact number of the warranty provider, the builder’s warranty number and whether an owner-built home can be legally offered for sale.

Every new home built for sale by a Licensed Residential Builder in British Columbia is protected by mandatory third-party home warranty insurance. Better known as 2-5-10 home warranty insurance, this coverage includes: two years on labour and materials, five years on the building envelope (including water penetration), and 10 years on the structure. It’s the strongest system of construction defect insurance in Canada.

The New Homes Registry allows home buyers to search online at their convenience for both single detached homes and multi-unit homes registered with the HPO after November 2007.

For free access to the New Homes Registry visit the Home buyers section of the HPO website at hpo.bc.ca/homebuyers.

RE/MAX Launches True Global Real Estate Listing Site: www.global.remax.com Offers Customized Search of More Than 60 Countries

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(Denver, CO) – RE/MAX, LLC, the recognized real estate leader, has launched a new website, www.global.remax.com, the first truly global resource for consumers, with hundreds of thousands of home listings in countries around the world. The site features customized search tools that allow buyers to search for properties in 30 languages, translate currencies and find the latest international real estate news. At launch, the site will contain listings from Brazil, France, Italy, India, Portugal, the United States, Canada, Italy and New Zealand – a total of more than 60 countries and territories around the world.

“We make our customers our priority, and they told us they needed a comprehensive resource for international properties,” said William E. Soteroff, RE/MAX Executive Vice President, U.S. and International Regional Development. “We’re seeing an increasing number of foreign buyers looking for property in the U.S. and American buyers looking overseas. www.global.remax.com is essentially a one-stop source for residential and commercial real estate, no matter where you live.”

Real estate trends differ from country to country, city to city and even neighborhood to neighborhood. Buyers and sellers who visit global.remax.com can stay on top of the latest real estate news and events through an in-depth and detailed news feed. The site will also feature a rotating spotlight on a specific country or region, offering visitors insight into that market and any new developments.

In countries like India, Brazil and China, as the population grows and incomes rise, families are searching for homes of their own and investment properties. RE/MAX is also growing, adding offices around the globe. Franchise sales were up nearly 15% in the first half of 2011, a mark that looks to outpace last year’s total franchise sales, which recorded an impressive 30% increase over 2009. In Brazil alone, RE/MAX has seen 133% growth over 2010.

“We’re growing because there’s a need for experienced and professional agents,” said Soteroff. “In some countries, RE/MAX has been the first real estate brand to go in and open for business. It’s exciting to be a part of that.”

RE/MAX has a presence in more than 80 countries, a reach far greater than any competitor. With more than 6,300 offices around the world and a sales force of nearly 90,000 agents, buyers and sellers can take advantage of the experience and knowledge of the most productive professionals in the real estate industry.

For more information about RE/MAX global listings, please visit: www.global.remax.com  To find out more RE/MAX, visit www.remax.com  To join the best performing real estate sales force, visit www.joinremax.com

Watch a video about global.remax.com

About the RE/MAX Network:
RE/MAX was founded in 1973 by Dave and Gail Liniger, real estate industry visionaries who still lead the Denver-based global franchisor today. RE/MAX is recognized as a leading real estate franchise company with the most productive sales force in the industry and a global reach of more than 80 countries. With a passion for the communities in which its agents live and work, RE/MAX is proud to have raised more than $100 million for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® and other charities. Nobody in the world sells more real estate than RE/MAX. Please visit www.remax.com or www.joinremax.com.

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