Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Fairview VW Condo for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Housing market factors indicate stability in recent months

September home sales in Greater Vancouver were consistent with activity experienced in the preceding two months across most categories.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,220 in September 2010. This represents a 0.8 per cent increase compared to August 2010 and 37.6 per cent decline from the 3,559 sales in September 2009.

In comparison, last month’s residential sales represent a 40.1 per cent increase over the 1,585 residential sales in September 2008, a 20 per cent decline compared to September 2007’s 2,776 sales, and an 11.9 per cent decline compared to September 2006’s 2,519 sales.

“We’ve seen fewer properties coming on to the market over the last three months. This trend, combined with the continued attraction of low interest rates, is likely having the effect of less downward pressure on home prices,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.

Since spring, housing prices in the region have trended slightly downward, with a decrease of 2.7 per cent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) residential benchmark price was $593,419. The overall benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5.5 per cent to $577,174 in September 2010 from $547,092 in September 2009. The current price remains consistent with last month, rising just 0.1 per cent between August and September 2010.

Total active property listings posted on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,401, basically unchanged compared to last month and a 22 per cent increase from September 2009. Over the last three months, active listings in the region have declined12.3 per cent.

New residential property listings posted in September declined 17.6 per cent to 4,731 compared to September 2009 when 5,746 new units were listed.

“We saw signs of more stability in our marketplace last month than we have seen since spring based on a variety of indicators that we look at each month,” Moldowan said. “At 56 days, it took, on average, three days less to sell a home in our region compared to August. This is the first month-over-month decline we’ve seen in this category since April.”

Sales of detached properties in September 2010 reached 866, a decrease of 39.1 per cent from the 1,423 detached sales recorded in September 2009, and a 58.6 per cent increase from the 546 units sold in September 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.7 per cent from September 2009 to $790,992.

Sales of apartment properties reached 971 in September 2010, a decline of 34.7 per cent compared to the 1,489 sales in September 2009, and an increase of 27.1 per cent compared to the 764 sales in September 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.7 per cent from September 2009 to $388,373.

Attached property sales in September 2010 totalled 383, a decline of 40.1 per cent compared to the 647 sales in September 2009, and a 39.3 per cent increase from the 275 attached properties sold in September 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 5.2 per cent between September 2009 and 2010 to $490,385.

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Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Fairview VW Condo for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Fairview VW Condo for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Fairview VW Condo for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,255 in July 2010. This represents a 45.2 percent decline from the 4,114 sales in July 2009, the highest selling July ever recorded, and a 24.1 percent decline compared to June 2010.

Looking back further, last month’s residential sales represent a 3.7 percent increase over the 2,174 residential sales in July 2008, a 41.8 percent decline compared to July 2007’s 3,873 sales, and a 17.5 percent decline compared to July 2006’s 2,732 sales.

“With the pace of home sales and listings easing off in our market, we’ve begun to see a levelling of home prices from the record highs seen in the spring, creating greater affordability,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said. “Activity in today’s marketplace is clearly trending in favour of buyers.”

The number of properties listed for sale on the market has been trending downward since spring, with 4,138 new listings in July compared to April’s peak of 7,648. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) declined 17.9 percent in July 2010 compared to July 2009, when 5,041 properties were listed for sale.

At 16,431, the total number of property listings on the MLS® in July declined 6.5 per cent compared to last month and increased 33 percent compared to July 2009.

“It’s currently taking home sellers who work with a REALTOR®, on average, 45 days to sell their property, which is a historically healthy timeframe for people on both sides of a transaction,” Moldowan said.

Since spring, housing prices have decreased 2.8 percent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the residential benchmark price was $593,419. Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 9.1 percent to $577,074 in July 2010 from $528,821 in July 2009.

Sales of detached properties in July 2010 reached 908, a decrease of 43.7 percent from the 1,614 detached sales recorded in July 2009 and a 9.8 percent increase from the 827 units sold in July 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.5 percent from July 2009 to $793,193.

Sales of apartment properties reached 979 in July 2010, a decline of 42.7 percent compared to the 1,708 sales in July 2009 and an increase of 1.3 percent compared to the 966 sales in July 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 6.2 percent from July 2009 to $387,879.

Attached property sales in July 2010 totalled 368, a decline of 53.5 percent compared to the 792 sales in July 2009 and a 3.4 percent decline from the 381 attached properties sold in July 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 8.6 percent between July 2009 and 2010 to $490,995.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Kitsilano Townhouse for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

We are proud to announce that this Saturday, July 24, 2010, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 82 West 18th Ave in Cambie, Vancouver West. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent House for sale in beautiful Cambie.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Cambie House for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

We are proud to announce that this Sunday, July 25, 2010, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 82 West 18th Ave in Cambie, Vancouver West. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent House for sale in beautiful Cambie.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Cambie House for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Cambie House for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Cambie House for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

“Activity in June marked a healthy balance between the near record setting pace of June 2009 and the considerably slower activity witnessed in June 2008, a period of recession as we all know,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.

Compared to June 2008, last month’s sales represent a 22.6 percent increase over the 2,425 sales recorded that month, but are 30 percent less than the 4,244 sales in June 2007. June 2010 sales also represent a 5.8 percent decline compared to the previous month’s sales totals.

“We didn’t experience any record-breaking activity in June, but we did see a stable summer market,” Moldowan said. “The number of new listings coming on the market is not as dramatic as we saw over the previous three months and demand remains at a healthy level for this traditionally quieter time of year.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties totalled 5,544 in June 2010, a 3.2 percent increase compared to June 2009 when 5,372 new units were listed, and a 21 percent decline compared to May 2010 when 7,014 properties were added to the MLS®.

At 17,564, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 1.2 percent in June compared to last month, and is up 32 percent compared to this time last year.

“There has been less upward pressure on prices in our market the last few months, which has allowed prices to ease back from the record high numbers seen in April,” Moldowan said.

Over the last 12 months, the overall MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 11.8 percent to $580,237 from $518,855 in June 2009.

Sales of detached properties in June 2010 reached 1,139, a decrease of 31.7 percent from the 1,667 detached sales recorded in June 2009 and a 24.1 percent increase from the 918 units sold in June 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 13.4 percent from June 2009 to $795,025.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,258 in June 2010, a decline of 29.7 percent compared to the 1,790 sales in June 2009 and an increase of 19 percent compared to the 1,057 sales in June 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 9.7 percent from June 2009 to $391,528.

Attached property sales in June 2010 totalled 575, a decline of 28.3 percent compared to the 802 sales in June 2009 and a 27.8 percent increase from the 450 attached properties sold in June 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 11.6 percent between June 2009 and 2010 to $492,861.

 CA: Bank of Canada Shifts Into First Gear

• The Bank of Canada hiked its target for the overnight rate by 25bps, from 0.25% to 0.50%

• The forward-looking statement is quite tentative, indicating that although the default assumption is further hikes, a notable element of uncertainty remains.

• The key phrases in the report are “increasingly uneven”, “variability”, and “considerable uncertainty” – nothing is certain about the future.

The Bank of Canada lived up to tentative market expectations by delivering on a 25 basis point rate hike today, raising the overnight rate from just 0.25% to 0.50%.  Of course, there was never anything certain about this, and the text of the statement bears no resembling to the prior one, revealing the tensions underlying the decision.  The Canadian economy remains “robust”, and is “unfolding largely as expected”, both for GDP and inflation.  Looking purely at domestic fundamentals, a strong case can be made not just for hiking but for outright monetary mountain climbing.  However, global risks are weighing unusually heavily on the mind of the Bank of Canada, with particular emphasis on “renewed weakness” and “renewed tensions” in Europe.  As a result, the true theme of this statement is one of uncertainty:  the global recovery is “increasingly uneven”, “deleveraging will add to the variability”, and future actions have “considerable uncertainty”.

On the subject of future Bank of Canada decisions, we believe that a July 20^th rate hike is significantly more likely than not, but the Bank’s forward-looking statement is designed to impart a high level of uncertainty: “Given the considerable uncertainty surrounding the outlook, any further reduction of monetary stimulus would have to be weighed carefully against domestic and global economic developments.”  The bottom line is that we remain very much in a data and event dependent mode, as was the case for the past month.  The difference is that with a first rate hike under its belt, “this decision still leaves considerable monetary stimulus in place”, and so the automatic assumption shifts very clearly towards additional hikes.  In the early stages of the last Bank of Canada tightening cycle, no forward-looking statements were offered whatsoever, so this is not unprecedented.

The conditional commitment that the Bank abandoned in April merited no mention in this latest statement, nor did the Canadian dollar.  The loonie’s absence is not entirely surprising, as the Canadian dollar is behaving reasonably given global developments, and remains only a few cents softer than the Bank’s assumed USDCAD 1.01 level.

Once again, the balance of risks is not formally characterized in the Bank’s statement, and this is likely done by design to suggest a balance not horribly far from even.  However, it is notable that the Bank acknowledges that more rapid fiscal tightening – one of the Bank’s formal downside risks – is likely to proceed.  In turn, the risks have perhaps tilted slightly downward, whether the Bank admits it or not.

The bottom line is that the Canadian period of monetary tightening has begun.  Barring significant negative developments either domestically or globally, we expect a July 20^th rate hike, and further cautious rate increases at subsequent decisions.  What is clear is that despite the ultra-low level of the overnight rate, the present environment is not one conducive to outsized rate hikes of the 50bps or larger variety.  These have always been rare during tightening cycles, and will be doubly so this time around.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Kitsilano Townhouse for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Kitsilano Townhouse for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Fairview VW Condo for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604-263-2823 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Stephanie Corcoran
RE/MAX Real Estate Services

View this recently sold Condo or see all my home sales

Location, location! Siena of Portico by Bosa. You'll recognize quality at the front door. With a NE exposure, this 2 bdrm suite offers views to False Creek, Downtown & N. Shore mountains. Quality interior finishes include granite counter tops in the kitchen, tiled back splash, gas range, generous pantry storage. Steps from Granville St. shopping and transit, Granville Island & False Creek Seawall. Live in the heart of the city! 2 sec. parking & storage. Pets welcome. Rentals limited to 10. Call for your appointment to view, you won't be disappointed.

Location, location! North of 4th, steps to Kits beach! This home offers truly functional living space with quality updates and abundant outdoor space!! Living/dining area features engineered wood floors, wood burning fireplace, sunny balcony & 2 pc. powder rm. Upstairs, 2 bedrooms, w/2 full baths, the master is generous in size with custom closets for 2! Guest bedroom is ensuited and also features a private patio for fresh air, sun & relaxation. Steps up to a stunning roof deck (15x15) for Al Fresco dining w/friends, loads of room green thumbs & sun lovers! Pets welcome, rentals limited to 2. Fully rain screened, boutique, 10 unit strata. 1 parking & storage down. Act fast! You won't be disappointed. Open Sun Jun 13, 2-4pm.