Russell Sharp North Vancouver Realtor

We all know that interest rates are at a historical low...don't we? If you are buying a home in Vancouver you would be mad not to take out a mortgage now as the interest rates are shockingly low in the history of Vancouver Real Estate! So what are the factors to look out for in a mortgage?

Prepayment:

1. With a prepayment privilage you can make your payments towards the principle portion of the loan over and above your monthly payments.
2. Closed Mortgages have a different type of pre-payment option. The amount you can pre-pay becomes important if you get bonus payments (like we Realtors dget with what is left over that your real estate brokerage has not taken off you), an inheritance, or a windfall like winning the lottery! 
3. An open mortgage means you can pay off the entire pricipal sum without notice. This is a great option if you are self employed or get regular bonus payments...like bankers used to get!

Portability:

1. Can  you transfer the balanace of your current mortgage to your new home? 

Expandability:

1. Can you increase the prinipal amount in the future? Say you want to buy another larger home...?
2. If so, what will happen to your interest rate?

There are two rate structures to choose from:

1. A fixed rate mortgage : this will remain the same rate for the length of time you have negotiated, your term. You can choose an open or closed mortgage but this depends on the term.
2. A variable rate mortgage: this fluctuates with the current market rates. Your monthly payments will usually remain constant (usually for a year or a couple of years) but the amount allocated to your principal will vary. If the interest rates go down then this may be a good option. If the interest rates go up then you may want to convert your mortgage to a fixed rate mortgage.

Choose from Three Payment Types:

1. Payment option 1: Open Mortgage offers a huge amount of flexibility, as it can be repaid in part of full at any time without penalty.
2. Payment option 2: the closed Mortgage where interest rates are fixed for the full term of the mortgage and you will have to pay a penalty to break or change the agreement conditions.
3. Payment option 3: The convertible mortgage has the flexibility to convert to a longer closed mortgage at any time without payment.

There you go, these are the other considerations when getting a mortgage. If you need a Realtor to find you a Vancouver house or a condo in Vancouver then I would be delighted to help you. Please call Russell Sharp on 604 437 4277 at any time. 

Happy New Year to my Chinese Clients. It is the Year of the Dragon! Vancouver Real Estate has been seen by some to be a 'micro market' favoured by Chinese investors. Julia Lau, Chinese real-estate specialist at Sotheby's International Realty believes sales are set to spike in Vancouver real estate due to the three week holiday associated with Chinese New Year. This she believes will happen in only a few neighbourhoods. Lau's clients are wealthy Chinese businessmen who set their families up in Vancouver and Vancouver West that offer multi million dollar real estate homes next to the top schools in Vancouver. Many of these investors will buy their properties remotely from China whilst sending their families over to Canada to occupy the luxury homes they have just purchased. In the first few months of 2011 there were stunning growths in sales in Vancouver real estate particularly in Vancouver West and West Vancouver and Richmond. These gains have started to wane though according to the Canadian Real Estate Association with sales slowing in December and Vancouver's average price dropping two percent to $734,766. So, keep an eye on the market after Chinese New Year!  

Housing experts say the ship may have sailed for affordable housing in Vancouver proper, or on the North Shore, where there are only eight two-bedroom suites under $300,000 listed with MLS, but numbers increase marginally elsewhere, with 70 such properties in Burnaby, 77 in Richmond and 42 in New Westminster.

Vancouver needs “more housing created in the low-to middle-income range,” Robertson said. Gregor Roberston has appointed a task force on housing affordability, which includes social housing for the homeless, and he said he expects an initial report this spring. The experts will look at solutions based on zoning, density and different ownership models that work elsewhere, he said. Whilst it is not the place of the city to become a developer or interfere with the mechanisms of the free market, Mayor Gregor Robertson said there is  “a limited ability to affect the market.” But he said the city does have some tools and incentives to encourage higher density and mixed-income developments.

You may have seen the multiple for sale signs as you drive down Granville Street south towards Richmond?  You may have also noticed that there are entire blocks for sale with the same Vancouver Realtor ® listing the whole block? Well, Vancouver Real Estate speculation has another street in sight, Granville Street. Granville Street does not have any rezoning planned thought money is pouring into buying up entire blocks of it. Perhaps Granville Street is trying to emulate the changes in Cambie street in Vancouver? Cambie has increased its density and some believe that Granville Street is next on the map. One block in Granville Street south where formerly there were single family homes on small lots, was bought up in its entirity. The residents of those houses sold for three times the tax assessment value of the house and some doubled their money if they bought in 2011! This block of eight lots is for sale for $30,000,000. It is expected that a developer will pick up these blocks of lots and develop (once the city changes the development plans for Granville South that is!). So, you heard it here first on MrSharp.com Granville Street is next on the Vancouver real estate speculative investors' horizon. And, whoever sold thier house for double its 2011 purchase value is the luckiest or wisest real estate investors of all. For more stories like this and if you simply want some more real estate information, please go to MrSharp.com or contact me directly on 604.43.Sharp, 604-437-4277.

December 2011 sales in Vancouver Real Estate showed a marked delcine compared to November 2011. There was a decrease of  29.7% from sales reported in Vancouver real estate in Novermber 2011. This is also a 12.7% decline in overall sales compared to December 2010 a year before. December 2011 showed a decrease of 34.1% compared to December 2009. 

Is this drop in sales serious for Vancouver real estate. Well, overall last year showed a 'balanced' market where the number of listings and buyers equalled itself out. Overall sales in 2011 were 5.9% up on 2010. Though it was a 9.2% decrease from 2009. In other words overall things are getting better in the Vancouver real estate market though there is a marked drop in sales in December. If this shows to be a trend then we could have problems in the market. Comparing last year's sales to the 10 year average we see a 6.3% (below the ten year average). Supply of real estate was up last year with a 2.7% increase in listings in 2011. More listings trend and less buyers (it is predicted there to be 15% less buyers in the Vancouver real estate market in 2012 then 2011) simple economics dictates that the prices are set to drop in 2012.

The most luxurious Vancouver Penthouse for sale ever!

 A cool $28,800,000 will buy you the most prestigious penthouse in Canada, and possibly the World. At the top of Vancouver’s tallest building the Fairmont Pacific Rim there is no comparison to this piece of Vancouver real estate. The views are to die for with patios and gardens. The finishings have been done by Vancouver’s premier interior decorator Robert Bailey. The interior is on two levels with 6,434 square feet of space.

 If you are a billionaire reading this and you are interested I would be happy to arrange an appointment to see it. Call Mr. Sharp Vancouver realtor on 604.437.4277 anytime.

It is turning into a buyer’s market as the number of listings has increased each month since the start of the year.

There has been an increase in the sales of attached houses and detached houses in greater Vancouver with a 14% increase compared to the July 2010. However, there was a fall in sales by 21.2% compared to last month.

There are less multiple offer situations compared to the last few months. The average time to sell a home in Vancouver is now 41 days. This has gone unchanged from June.

Number of listings has risen by 23.2 % compared to July of last year. However, there is 12% less listings in July this year compared to June this year. There has also been an 8% drop in listings compared to last month (June 2011).

Overall the houses prices have gone up with a 9.2% increase compared to a year ago.

Sales of detached houses in Vancouver Real Estate have increased by 21% since the same time last year. The benchmark price for detached houses in Vancouver Real Estate has increased by 13.3% since the same time last year.

Sales of apartments has increased by 17.4% compared to the same time last year. The benchmark price of an apartment increased 4.5% from the same time last year.

In North Vancouver we saw detached 294 houses for sale in total. The number of listings in North Vancouver has remained unchanged between June and July 2011. The number of sales in North Vancouver has reduced between June and July. In June there were 132 detached houses sold in North Vancouver whereas in July this was reduced to 91 detached houses sold. In West Vancouver real estate the number of houses sold went down from 120 to 94.

In simple terms Compared to last month.

Sales in Vancouver DOWN by 21.2%.

Number of listings DOWN by 12%

Average Price of all properties in Vancouver DOWN by 0.1%

Number of Sales of Detached Houses DOWN by 25.3%

Number of Sales of Apartments DOWN by 17.9%

Average price of Apartments DOWN by 0.4%

Average price of Detached house DOWN by 0.3%

North Vancouver Detached houses sales DOWN by 31%

West Vancouver Detached houses sales DOWN by 22%

North Vancouver may not seem an obvious choice for people when they are thinking of moving to Vancouver from another location. Even within Vancouver, North Vancouver is seen as ‘that place over the bridge’, and ‘that awful bridge is always jammed with traffic’, but I decided to give you ten great reasons to buy North Vancouver Real Estate.

1.     North Vancouver real estate is home to some excellent shopping. There are Malls like Park Royal, small intimate malls in Edgemont Village, Londsale Avenue.

2.     Post-secondary schools are plentiful and excellent. The University, Capilano, is nearby and you are a short distance from the downtown campuses of the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, by the scenic seabus. Seriously, take the seabus just for fun, it is invigorating first thing in the morning

3.     The cost of Vancouver Real estate can be huge so for firs-time-buyers North Vancouver offers affordable first time homes, and you can stretch the dollars to get you larger sized places. Larger lots and some great views also make North Vancouver real estate attractive to foreign buyers.

4.     If you are a jetsetter, having a home in North Vancouver means easy access to the airport via the seabus and then onto the skytrain. YVR flies to over 150 destinations and the Canada Line is 20 minutes from down town.

5.     Being on the North Shore you are close to one of the best ski resorts in the World, Whistler and Blackcombe. You are also ten minutes away from Horseshoe Bay where you can get ferries across to Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast.

6.     North Vancouver real estate offers a great investment because the supply/demand ration  here means that property values tend to stay stable or rise. An excellent choice for having a second home and a great investment in the long run.

7.     If you have children North Vancouver is a great place to call home. There are some top-notch schools as well as private and alternative schools too. There is much more of a community feel to North Vancouver than there is in other parts of Vancouver. I have personally lived downtown and in West Vancouver and I find that the sense of community in North Vancouver surpasses both of these places. It is definitely a place for having children and there are many parks and recreational centres set up for the family days out.

8.     North Vancouver has the lowest immigration count of any area of Vancouver. This means that there is stability in the neighbourhoods and low crime rates. Unfortunately, areas with high immigrant counts also tend to have high crime rates. North Vancouver remains multicultural but stable in comparison to other areas of Vancouver.

9.     North Vancouver is a peaceful and quiet place. You are minutes away from the hustle and bustle of Downtown Vancouver either by one of the two bridges or by seabus.

10.  Houses for sale in North Vancouver are the best value for a detached house in the whole of Vancouver. Many people are moving to North Vancouver from other areas in Vancouver to take advantage of the large detached houses for still ‘affordable prices’ in comparison to other areas of Vancouver.