November 2013

While most sellers look first at the stated purchase price of a home in Vancouver, the price is really only the starting point. Other details reveal the true costs to the buyer and the true proceeds to the seller.   The most obvious is the request for the seller to pay the buyer's closing costs. Depending upon the loan program, this could be as much as 9% of the purchase price. On a home valued at $200,000, paying buyer's closing costs could mean an $18,000 reduction in proceeds for the seller – and an $18,000 savings for the buyer.   Then there are the inspections and repairs. Every purchase offer should include a set figure that the seller agrees to spend on repairs, if required. This figure must be deducted when the seller is looking at…

Part of buying or selling a home in Vancouver is the price negotiation. Part of strong negotiation is the willingness to walk away – whether it's true or not.   That means it's in your best interests that the "other side" in your transaction doesn't know just how motivated you are.   Buyers who walk into a home and say: "I love this. I have to have this home," when the seller or the listing agent is present have just given away their negotiating power. But it can also be lost in more subtle ways.   For instance, they might ask why you're moving or how soon you need to be moved. The answer to either question can indicate how anxious you are to come to agreement and get the transaction closed.   We've been hearing lately about…

When you're moving in or out of a home in Vancouver, you'll have a long list of things to do.   Here are a few tasks that might get overlooked in the last-minute rush:   

• Check to see if you've left any clothes at the dry cleaners – or anything at a repair shop.
• Did you remember to return books, videos, and games? Make sure they don't get packed and taken along.
• Even though everything is digital today, get your medical and dental records. Get refills of your prescriptions and pack them in something you will keep with you as you travel.
• If you wear glasses, ask for a copy of your prescription, just in case something happens to your glasses before you have a new eye doctor.
• And if you have pets – get their medical records.

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Market Update for October 2013:   http://www.realtalkbc.ca/2013/11/07/rebgv-oct-2013-stats/  

Buyers and sellers activity continues to be at historical averages in the Lower Mainland housing market. These trends have helped keep the region in a balanced state for the last nine months.

The REGVB  states that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,661 on the  MLS in October 2013. This is a 37.8 per cent increase compared to the 1,931 sales recorded in October 2012, and a 7.2 per cent increase from the 2,483 sales recorded in September 2013.

New listings for attached, detached and apartment properties in  Vancouver totaled 4,315 in October 2013. This represents a 0.2 per cent decline from the 4,323 new listings reported in October 2012, and a decrease of 14.2 per cent compared to the 5,030 new listings reported in September

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