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BC REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION GAZES INTO VICTORIA'S FUTURE Friday, July 30, 2010 Jul 30, 2010 THE BC REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION PREDICTS THE CURRENT BUYER'S MARKET IN BC WILL BE SHORT LIVED. THEIR FORECAST WAS RELEASED FRIDAY, PREDICTING THE GLUT OF HOMES ON THE BC MARKET RIGHT NOW WILL DROP THIS FALL. IN VICTORIA, THEY PREDICT AN OVER 11 PERCENT INVENTORY DECREASE AND A SUBSEQUENT PRICE INCREASE OF OVER 6 PER CENT. THE REAL ESTATE ASSOCIATION BELIEVES THAT, BY FALL OF NEXT YEAR, INVENTORY IN VICTORIA WILL CREEP BACK UP. BUT, AT THE SAME TIME, PRICES MAY NOT SEE A DRASTIC CHANGE AND MAY POSSIBLY DROP SLIGHTLY. THE PREDICTED AVERAGE PRICE ON THE MULTIPLE LISTINGS SERVICE FOR A VICTORIA AREA HOME THIS FALL IS NEARLY 508-THOUSAND DOLLARS. - RYAN PRICE CFAX Radio posted by Brian Niles at 4:39 pm - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

BC home sales volumes are dropping Friday, July 16, 2010 Home sales in B.C. tumbled 23 per cent last month, the B.C. Real Estate Association says. Residential sales through the Multiple Listing Service in the province plunged to 7,722 in June from the same month last year, the association said Thursday. Seasonally adjusted sales fell five per cent in June from May 2010, the association said. The average MLS home price rose eight per cent to $499,908 in June from the same month a year earlier. "Market conditions have shifted from balanced conditions at the start of the year to a buyers' market this summer," association chief economist Cameron Muir said. "Tighter credit conditions for homes with secondary suites and low-equity home buyers have moderated consumer demand," he added. Nationally, existing home sales continued their rapid decline last month, with 70 per cent of markets showing a drop in sales in June from May, says the Canadian Real Estate Association. The Ottawa-based group, which has 100 boards across the country, said sales were off 8.2 per cent from a month ago on a seasonally adjusted basis. Toronto and Calgary led the decline. Actual sales activity was down 19.7 per cent in June 2010 from a year ago when there were a record number of sales. Sales activity for the second quarter is actually down 2.8 per cent from a year ago but for the year to date sales are still up 13.6 per cent. The number of Canadians putting their homes up for sale is declining, which should be good for the market. The number of new listings on the market in June dropped 6.8 per cent from May. Price increases are also starting to slow. CREA said the national average sales price rose just 4.9 per cent from a year ago to $342,662. The number of months of inventory in the market, which represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, is also rising fast. It was 5.7 months at the end of June 2010 nationally, up from 4.2 months a year ago. "The housing market is becoming more challenging for sellers," said Georges Pahud, CREA president. "Buyers are in less of a hurry." © Copyright (c) The Province Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/business/Home+sales+downward+slide/3285662/story.html#ixzz0ttC9qENU posted by Brian Niles at 4:02 pm - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

Update from Chief Economist Sunday, January 31, 2010  According to a new estimate from the B.C. Real Estate Association, Association chief economist Cameron Muir is forecasting province-wide sales in 2010 to increase only three per cent above the hot 2009 results to 90,100 sales in 2010, then slip back three per cent to 87,500 units in 2011.  Sourced from Vancouver Sun Jan. 31 edition. posted by Brian Niles at 3:18 pm - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

Mortgage rate update Thursday, January 7, 2010 The Bank of Canada is still considering increasing the prime rate in the summer (which would increase variable mortgage rates). There has been talk of a housing bubble due to the low mortgage interest rates and the increased demand so the increase in rates may cool the market in the 2nd half of 2010.  That being said, there is more to the economy that the housing market so increased rates in the summer may be too soon. At this point we should expect the increase until we hear different.  The 5 year fixed rate for most lenders is 3.99% with quick close programs as low as 3.79%. One lender increased their rate to 4.44% last week but no other lenders have followed. The bonds have been steadily increasing for the past couple weeks so the increase may be coming, again.  The 5 year rate has dropped below 4% and gone up to 4.4% three times in the past 9 months so it is hard to predict when they will increase and stay.  We are getting close to the end of really low rates for this economic cycle. It will be interesting to see how the Olympics affect the economy and the Bank of Canada’s decision making.  Info courtesy of Chris Cavaghan of Dominion Lending 250-381-2589 posted by Brian Niles at 10:52 am - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

2010 Real Estate looking BRIGHT! Thursday, January 7, 2010 A new Royal LePage survey out today (Jan. 7) predicts Canada's residential real estate market will remain "unusually strong" through the first half of 2010. As confidence in the economic recovery grows, average prices are likely to increase, the real estate agency says. Royal LePage executive Phil Soper says the real estate market enters 2010 with "considerable momentum from an unusually strong finish to the previous year." The stimulus effect of low borrowing costs has contributed to a sharp rise in demand that has driven activity to new highs, he says. Story is courtesy of CBC.ca posted by Brian Niles at 10:34 am - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

Sales rebound upward for late 2009 Wednesday, January 6, 2010 The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province climbed 165% to 7,182 units in November compared to the same month last year. Last month posted the highest number of MLS® residential sales for the month of November since 2005, when 7,721 units changed hands. Triple-digit gains in province-wide unit sales reflect a low number of unit sales in November 2008. posted by Brian Niles at 10:37 am - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

Current active listings Friday, January 1, 2010 As we head into the new year, there are currently 1,277 active listings in the Greater Victoria area.  There are 574 single family homes for sale and 703 apartments, condos, town homes or duplexes.  This is approximately 30% fewer listings than needed for a balanced market.  This means that there is competition for the good listings when they come up.  A word to the wise would be to ensure you are on our automated search feature if looking to buy right now. This will ensure that you receive the new listings prior to the public.  posted by Brian Niles at 1:37 pm - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post

2009 - A strong year for Greater Victoria real estate sales Wednesday, December 16, 2009 After a lack-luster start to the year in terms of housing sales volume and sale prices, 2009 has ended with a bang!  The pendulum has once again swung in favour of the Sellers, with extremely low inventory at present and a large number of pre-qualified Buyers vying for limited listings.  This has resulted in modest price increases, although we are still off the all time high prices of mid to late 2008.  The BC Real Estate Association believes we will see a strong 2010 in the Greater Victoria Housing market with an 8% increase in sales volumes and modest increases in home values.  To learn more about the value of your home, give me a call anytime at 250-590-9888.  Happy Holidays to one and all!  Brian Niles posted by Brian Niles at 8:21 pm - 0 comments CLICK HERE to Add a Comment to This Post