Posted on
May 24, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
Since we have officially entered a "buyers market," here are a few tips on how to sell your house faster and for more money then your competition.
Buyer’s market at-a-glance
- More homes on the market than buyers
- Prices tend to be lower because of increased supply
- Homes are more likely to sit unsold
- Housing surplus can slow rising prices and even lead to price reductions
- Buyers have more choices and more leverage to negotiate
If you’re looking to buy (or sell) a home, it’s important to know which type of market you’re entering into. If you’re unsure, ask your real estate agent. Of course, selling a home in a seller’s market is optimal, as is buying a property in a buyer’s market. But people don’t necessarily have the luxury of timing their home sale or purchase to coincide with the most advantageous market. It could be quite likely, for instance, that you’d be buying in a seller’s market or selling in a buyer’s market.
Tips on selling your home in different housing markets
Selling in a seller’s market is generally quick and easy. In a buyer’s market, with an abundance of properties sitting idle, you may want to do some legwork to help sell your home. There are a number of things you can do to improve your chances for making a sale. These include:
- Understand the local market and your competition
- Price your home right (and conservatively)
- Make sure your home is ready to be shown at all times (consider using a professional home-stager who can help show off the best features of every room in your house)
- Be accommodating to prospective buyer’s schedules (think of every showing as the one that could get you the sale)
- Be flexible with your terms (offer an extended closing date or lower your asking price)
- Be patient (and stay positive)
- If you get an offer early on, give it serious consideration because a better offer may not come along
If you're looking to buy or sell and would like assistance, please give me a call and I'll be happy to assist.
Posted on
May 17, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
Get to know the Pros and Cons and the best option for you.
There once was a time when renting your entire life may have made reasonable financial sense. It was only a generation ago that mortgage rates were in the double digits and affordable rental units were aplenty. But over time, borrowing rates have fallen, and in major centres in Canada, rental rates have skyrocketed.
It now appears the attitude among Canadians is to buy as soon as you possibly can. While home ownership is a truly rewarding goal to achieve, you really need to assess your own situation to ensure you are making the best decision.
Below is a little graph to help you decide whether you should stay a renter or take the plunge and buy. If buying is not an option for you yet, get a head start by learning the in's and out's of the home buying process.If home ownership is a serious goal, partner with a mortgage broker in your area to discus your individual situation. As far away as the goal may seem, you might be surprised how a professional can help you get your foot in the door - or at least in the right direction!
Article from Dominion Lending Centres - 2019 Special Edition - The Mortgage Annual
Posted on
May 10, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
- 4 in 10 households spend more than 30 percent of their pre-tax income on rent, this is above the commonly accepted affordability threshold.
Talk to anyone renting a place in a large city like Toronto or Vancouver, and you'll probably hear a common complaint: Rental units are hard to find and very expensive when you do.
The most recent comprehensive market survey by the Canada Mortgage Housing Corp. would seem to back up those claims. According to CMHC's rental market report published in late fall 2018, the national vacancy rate has dropped to 2.4 per cent, while the average rent is $987.
But a closer look at the report paints a stark picture in the larger markets. The largest increases in average rent for two-bedroom apartments from the previous year were in B.C., more specifically in Kelowna (+9.4 per cent), Victoria (+7.6 per cent), Abbotsford-Mission (+8.2 per cent) and Vancouver (+5.5 per cent).
Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton saw increases in rent by 2.8 per cent, 1.5 per cent and 1.3 per cent respectively
The average rent for a two-bedroom condo in Toronto topped the list at $2,393 while in Vancouver it was $2,034. Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton all had average rents at $1,208, 1,533 and $1,392 respectively.
Meanwhile, the lowest rental condominium vacancy rates were observed in Vancouver (0.3%), Victoria (0.4%), Kelowna (0.6%), Toronto (0.7%) and Hamilton (0.9%).
Article sourced from Dominion Lending Centres - 2019 Special Edition - The Mortgage Annual
Posted on
May 3, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
Here is a great tool that everyone looking for a property and a mortgage should have.
My Mortgage Toolbox is a new mobile app from Dominion Lending Centres designed to be a pocket-sized mortgage guide for everyday Canadians. A first-of-its-kind for the industry, the app makes it easy for consumers to find a mortgage broker nearest them and get the best mortgage product at the lowest rate available.
My Mortgage Toolbox guides the users while taking away all the stress of getting a mortgage.
Some of the feature of the app include:
• Affordability Calculator
• Minimum Down Payment Calculator
• Total Monthly Ownership Calculator
• Closing Cost Calculator
• A Stress Test Tool to calculate affordability
• Beautiful graphs and illustrations
The app has also been translated into several languages including English, French, Spanish Chinese and Hindi.
If you wish to talk to a Mortgage Professional, we recommend contacting Linda Fleming or Matt Robinson at 604-852-1703.
Posted on
April 26, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
I have been watching this case for couple of years. I must say, the latest information to unfold has brought some clarity into an otherwise confusing issue of property disclosure.
Murder on B.C. property didn’t need to be disclosed before sale, court rules.
The Buyer had tried to break contract after learning a man with ties to crime had been murdered there.
A Vancouver woman has won her appeal and will not have to pay damages after she failed to tell a homebuyer that someone had been murdered on the sidewalk of her property.
The BC Court of Appeal on Tuesday reversed a lower court ruling that had said Mei Zhen Wang had misrepresented the sale of her $6.1-million Shaughnessy mansion.
Justice Mary V. Newbury wrote in the decision that Wang could not have known that the home buyer, Feng Yun Shao, would have any “sensitivity” to the killing of her son-in-law, Raymond Huang, in 2007 and that that did not alter the quality of the home or its usefulness.
Posted on
April 19, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
Here's an idea of what the current real estate statistics in Abbotsford for the month of March 2019.
Residential Detached in Abbotsford
Average sale price was $817,639, down from March 2018's average sale price of $836,591.
Townhomes
Average sale price was $464,450, down from March 2018's average sale price of $519,021.
Condo's/Apartments
Average sale price was $305,268, down from March 2018's average sale price of $333,463.
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Residential Detached in Chilliwack.
Average sale price was $651,024, down from March 2018's average sale price of $660,427.
Townhomes
Average sale price was $449,161, down from March 2018's average sale price of $479,029.
Condo's/Apartments
Average sale price was $245,210, down from March 2018's average sale price of $249,648.
If you wish to receive more detailed stats, reply to this email with your request.
Posted on
April 12, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
I'm sharing a good article I read in The Vancouver Sun...
Canadians are ramping up borrowing against their homes even as the real estate market slumps, exposing the country’s financial system to vulnerabilities, rating company DBRS said.
Home equity lines of credit, or Helocs, reached a record $243 billion as of Oct. 31, or 11.3 per cent of total household credit, the highest share since mid-2015, analysts including Robert Colangelo said in a report Thursday. Borrowing to fund everything from home renovations to car purchases has grown faster than residential mortgages since 2017, and undrawn commitments at the large Canadian banks stood at $120 billion.
“The flexibility of Helocs could increase financial system vulnerabilities,” the analysts said. “In the event of a correction, borrowers could find themselves with a debt load that exceeds the value of their home, which is often referred to as negative equity.”
In addition, Heloc borrowing may also make it more difficult for lenders to identify emerging credit problems, because borrowers can use Helocs to manage increases in their debt loads by consolidating high-interest loans into a secured credit line that charges a lower interest rate, according to the report.
Toronto-Dominion Bank has the largest exposure to Helocs at about 39 per cent, followed by Royal Bank of Canada at 18 per cent and the other large banks averaging 11 per cent, according to the report.
Posted on
April 5, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
10 Ways to Prep Your Home for Sale
With the high inventory of homes on the market today, home buyers can afford to be choosy. Buyers are looking for the best, so a home for sale can easily slip through the cracks if it's not in pristine condition. Use these 10 tips to whip your home into shape and wow potential buyers.
- Improve your landscaping. Curb appeal is crucial to a good first impression, so make sure your home's lawn is immaculate. Mow the lawn, prune the bushes, weed the garden and plant flowers.
- Clean the outside. A sloppy exterior will make buyers think you've slacked off on interior maintenance as well. Be sure to clean the gutters and pressure wash your home's siding.
- Make repairs. In a buyer's market, you want your home to be in the best condition possible. Take care of major defects like broken windows or a leaky roof that could discourage buyers.
- Make the front door inviting, but a new Welcome mat. A fresh coat of paint, especially in a color that contrasts with the home, will make the front door stand out. Replace faded house numbers so buyers can see them from the curb.
- Remove clutter and depersonalize. Buyers want to envision their belongings in your home. Clean up by renting a storage unit for knickknacks, photos, extra furniture and other personal items.
- Organize closets and drawers. Messy closets give the appearance that your home doesn't have enough storage space.
- Make every surface shine. From ceiling fans to floors and everything in between, clean your home until it sparkles.
- Take color down a notch. You might like your lime-green bedroom, but it may sour buyers. Paint your walls a neutral color that will appeal to a wide range of buyers.
- Eliminate bad odors. Hide the litter box and spray air neutralizer throughout your home. When showing the home, fill it with inviting smells by putting out fresh flowers and baking a batch of cookies.
Article: https://www.hgtv.com/design/real-estate/10-ways-to-prep-your-home-for-sale
Posted on
March 29, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
Federal budget 2019: What to know about the new CMHC mortgage incentive
- article from Global News
Arguably the most talked-about measure of the Liberals’ latest federal budget is the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive.
Under the plan, the government would help some first-time buyers by advancing up to 10 per cent of the purchase price of a home so they can take out a smaller mortgage and keep monthly payments lower.
The program would be administered by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the crown corporation that insures most Canadian mortgages on homes purchased with a down payment of less than 20 per cent of the price. Indeed, the new incentive would only be available for CMHC-insured mortgages.
There are number of other caveats. Buyers must pony up their own cash for a down payment — at least five per cent of the home price. And they must have a household income below $120,000 a year. Also, the amount of the insured mortgage plus the CMHC incentive would be capped at four times the home buyers’ annual incomes, or up to $480,000.
That means the most expensive home you can hope to buy under the plan would be worth somewhere between $500,000 and $600,000, depending on the size of your down payment.
The CMHC would give out up to $1.25 billion in incentives over three years starting in September. Buyers of newly-constructed homes would get 10 per cent of the home price, while those purchasing an existing property would get five per cent.
That’s what we know about the program for now. But there are a number of missing details and bigger questions surrounding the proposal:
How exactly will you need to repay the money? How exactly will your income be assessed? How would the new policy impact home prices? These topics and more are discussed on the Global News article here: https://globalnews.ca/news/5075888/federal-budget-2019-cmhc-shared-equity-mortgage/
Posted on
March 22, 2019
by
Tibor Bogdan
Recently, we've been asked a few times about Bridge Financing. So I have asked a trusted Mortgage Planner, Matt Robinson from Dominion Lending Centres to help us explain how Bridge Financing works. If you have any questions, please feel free reply to this email, or see below the article for Matt's contact info.
Bridge Financing
It’s unlikely that the first home you buy will be the home you stay in forever. At some point, you may wish to sell and buy a new home. Sometimes clients find themselves in a situation where the closing date for the home they’re purchasing is before the closing date of the home they’re selling. This is where bridge financing comes in.
Bridge financing is a tool that can allow a borrower to complete & take possession of a new home prior to completing the sale of their existing home.
As the primary trigger for bridge financing is a gap in dates between the purchase (of the new property) and the sale (of the current property), there must be a firm sale agreement (subject free) on your existing residence to secure bridge financing approval.
Most lenders will provide bridge financing with this subject free offer on your existing home to “bridge” that timeline gap.
To provide you with an example, let’s say you are purchasing a $750,000 home and you made a $25,000 deposit, but you have $150,000 of equity in your existing home you want to use as a down payment. The issue being your purchase completes April 15th and the sale of your existing home does not complete until June 10th. In this situation you would need to bridge $125,000 ($150,000 down payment - $25,000 deposit = $125,000 bridge financing) for 56 days.
Bridge financing often comes at rates similar to a line of credit in the Prime plus 2.00% - 3.00% range. While the interest rate on the bridge is higher than a typical mortgage rate, it will only be charged for a short amount of time.
If you find yourself in a situation where you don’t have a subject free offer on your home, then you would need Interim financing. Interim financing is a more expensive route and a topic for another day.
Matt Robinson, AMP, MBI | Mortgage PlannerDominion Lending Centres - A Better Way201-2600 Gladys Avenue, Abbotsford, BC V2S 0E9Office: 604.852.1703info@matthewrobinson.ca
Better Choice - Better Advice - Better Rates....a Better Way
 What is a pre-sale?Example scenario: When the developer intends to build an apartment building and applies for financing, the bank will grant financing under certain conditions. One of them will likely be a certain percentage of pre-sales the developer will need to secure before receiving the funds.
It is common practice for a developer to approach several real estate investors and offer them an opportunity to purchase units of the non-existent building at a discounted price, and on good terms.
Once the number of pre-sales is accomplished, the developer goes ahead with the construction, which will likely take two years or longer to complete. During construction, their marketing team offers the remainder of the units for sale at market value to the public.
If you are a RE investor, you know that it is preferable to be buying at the pre-sale prices, not market value prices.
The question is, how do you get the invitation to buy a pre-sale?
In the past many years, investors have made substantial income by buying at wholesale prices and selling at retail prices even before they needed to complete their purchase. I saw many of them lining up and sometimes even camping overnight in front of the sales center to get a chance to buy at lower prices, but not everyone was lucky enough. You needed to be well-connected to get an opportunity, and you had to act fast.
Today is a bit of a different story. Several projects in the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley offer really good prices and incentives to secure a unit now and complete the purchase two or three years later. The list of incentives varies from one project to the next. Besides attractive prices, you can get low deposit amounts (5-15%), low or no assignment fees, free updates, a mortgage rate buy-down program, extra parking and more.
A month ago, I helped a few of my clients purchase a presale in Surrey that sold out in 2 days, and I know of another good developer that will be offering a few units for sale as well.
If you would like to know more about these opportunities, I would encourage you to call or email me, and I’ll be happy to send you details on those projects.
Kind regards,
Tibor Bogdan
Century 21 Creekside Realty Ltd.
45428 Luckakuck Way #190, Chilliwack, BC V2R 3S9
cell: 604-855-2521
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