Vancouver's Real Estate Market

[Drow]

^ good that the developers are taking note...

I still rmb shopping for a condo and seeing the Richmond Concord presale prices in 2017...

I was so close to pulling the trigger on Concord at the peak.

[Harvey Specter]

Province moves forward on condo, strata assignment register

The British Columbia government has released regulations to create a new condo and strata assignment register.

This register is designed to crack down on tax evasion and make B.C.’s real estate market more transparent and fair for British Columbians.

“We will not allow real estate speculators and tax frauds to take advantage of loopholes in the system any longer, and this register sends a clear message. The days of avoiding taxes through condo flipping are over,” said Carole James, Minister of Finance. “This register will help bring fairness and integrity back to B.C.’s real estate market, so that people can afford homes in the communities where they live and work.”

The existing real estate regime in British Columbia was vulnerable to those involved in flipping pre-sale condo assignments without paying the appropriate taxes. To crack down on tax evasion, the B.C. government is creating the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register (CSAIR). The government will collect comprehensive information on condo and strata assignments through the register and help tax authorities find people who are not paying the appropriate taxes.

Effective Jan. 1, 2019, developers who sell strata lots in development properties must:

include terms and a notice in their contracts to inform buyers of the new collection and reporting requirements;
collect information, including the terms of the assignment and the name and social insurance number or business information of the parties to the assignment; and
report this information in the online register.

The B.C. government will provide this information to the Canada Revenue Agency so that transactions can be traced back to the assigner’s income tax return. This will ensure that people who assign condos are paying the appropriate income taxes.

The government will use this information to ensure that buyers accurately report the final purchase price of a condo unit, including all assignment amounts, and pay the appropriate property transfer tax. The government will also use the information to inform future housing and tax policy.

The Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia will manage the online register system. In order to comply with the new assignment reporting requirements, developers must update their contracts by Jan. 1, 2019, and must have a myLTSA Enterprise account by March 31, 2019. The first assignment reporting period ends March 31, 2019, and the report is due on April 30, 2019.

The register is one part of the B.C. government’s 30-Point Housing Plan to address housing affordability. Already, the government has taken several actions to address tax fraud and close loopholes in the real estate market, including:

Convened an Expert Panel on Money Laundering in Real Estate to identify systemic risks that leave the real estate and financial services sectors open to money laundering.
Consulting on legislation to establish a new, publicly accessible registry of beneficial owners of real estate in B.C.
Updating the property transfer tax return to uncover beneficial owners behind corporations and trusts.
Enacting legislation to allow information sharing on the homeowner grant with federal tax officials to improve tax enforcement.
Strengthening property transfer tax auditors’ ability to take action on tax evasion.
Establishing a federal-provincial working group on tax fraud and money laundering.

Learn More:

Read the regulation: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content?i...13F9409C154127

Information on the Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register for developers:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/g...al-estate/news

30-Point Plan for Housing Affordability: http://bcbudget.gov.bc.ca/2018/homes...mes_For_BC.pdf

[G]

There was a unit that was on the same level and same floorplan as mine when I listed my property (1 BR - 600 SQ.FT at Ormidale WCCP) in June/July.

Started off at 600k, dropped to 580, then dropped to 550. His listing said something about wanting to complete in October, and I am assuming that he had another property lined up etc. Well, October rolled around and no offers, dropped down to 499 and sold a few days later at 488..... what a steal? Totally skews the value in the building though IMO.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

A friend has been listing at Highgate Esprit Building for the last 3 months. Listed for $699k 2 BR 2 BA 849 Sqft. Highest floor + 2 parking spots. Apparently highest offer so far was $580k. Would it be a good buy at $600k :thinking:

More realistic is around 650k.

[Acurapinoy]

Originally Posted by Gerbs

A friend has been listing at Highgate Esprit Building for the last 3 months. Listed for $699k 2 BR 2 BA 849 Sqft. Highest floor + 2 parking spots. Apparently highest offer so far was $580k. Would it be a good buy at $600k :thinking:

Your friend is giving you the inside scoop of offers eh. He can probably tell his client that your 600k offer would be the best theyll get then ; )

[Liquid_o2]

People have to remember that November is a terrible time for real estate sales no matter the market. Unless you have to sell right away, I would wait for March to roll around, the market typically picks back up.

A 2 bed 2 bath property in my building got listed for $1,000 a square foot. I think it is crazy high... it has already had 2 open houses. Will be interesting to see what happens with it. Hopefully it doesn't sell for too low and kill the values of the building itself.

[fliptuner]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

People have to remember that November is a terrible time for real estate sales no matter the market. Unless you have to sell right away, I would wait for March to roll around, the market typically picks back up.

A 2 bed 2 bath property in my building got listed for $1,000 a square foot. I think it is crazy high... it has already had 2 open houses. Will be interesting to see what happens with it. Hopefully it doesn't sell for too low and kill the values of the building itself.

Wait til March and expect less, even if it's not typically the best time to sell right now. By then, interest rates will be up again, maybe twice and it might be even harder to sell. It's a race to the basement.

[Liquid_o2]

Interest rates might rise, but you also will have more people looking.

Depending the neighbourhood and supply it might be better to sell now, especially in lower-demand markets.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Wait til March and expect less, even if it's not typically the best time to sell right now. By then, interest rates will be up again, maybe twice and it might be even harder to sell. It's a race to the basement.

Second this.

In a market with a negative outlook (which YVR certainly is in now), CASH is king.

With rate going up, all newly elected officials willing to put more pressure on the housing market, China tightening the outflow of capitals... etc, we are in a perfect storm.

If you can get an offer now that's reasonable and not lowballing, I'd suggest to take it.

Detached are already selling at big discounts for motivated sellers. It's only a matter of time the rest of the market catches up.

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Hehe

Second this.

In a market with a negative outlook (which YVR certainly is in now), CASH is king.

With rate going up, all newly elected officials willing to put more pressure on the housing market, China tightening the outflow of capitals... etc, we are in a perfect storm.

If you can get an offer now that's reasonable and not lowballing, I'd suggest to take it.

Detached are already selling at big discounts for motivated sellers. It's only a matter of time the rest of the market catches up.

Agreed, been watching detached closely all year and they are not selling atm almost at all. Same inventory just sitting and reducing and sitting some more.

I'm waiting until spring and I'll evaluate then what I'm going to do.

[Liquid_o2]

Originally Posted by quasi

Agreed, been watching detached closely all year and they are not selling atm almost at all. Same inventory just sitting and reducing and sitting some more.

I'm waiting until spring and I'll evaluate then what I'm going to do.

Worse off to keep the house on the market for months and continually reduce. That only invites lowball offers. No offers? Pull it off the market and try again after Christmas.

[quasi]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Worse off to keep the house on the market for months and continually reduce. That only invites lowball offers. No offers? Pull it off the market and try again after Christmas.

Agreed, it's why I've held off listing mine. I think prices are going to continue to drop and since we're buying a more expensive house the drops are to our benefit overall.

[Gerbs]

Does anyone know how many developments / suits will be up and running in the next 4 - 5 years? Seems like there's a tons of new development West of Richmond's #3 Road.

[fliptuner]

Originally Posted by Hehe

Second this.

In a market with a negative outlook (which YVR certainly is in now), CASH is king.

With rate going up, all newly elected officials willing to put more pressure on the housing market, China tightening the outflow of capitals... etc, we are in a perfect storm.

If you can get an offer now that's reasonable and not lowballing, I'd suggest to take it.

Detached are already selling at big discounts for motivated sellers. It's only a matter of time the rest of the market catches up.

Exactly. I've doubled up in 2.5 years (TH). If I have to take a bit of a hit, I'm still way up and I'm liquid. The flexibility of being able to put in a subject-free offer (including possession dates, since I'm also renting), in this market, will be pretty enticing for sellers. The discount I'll have to give on my TH is far less than the discount I'm going to get, buying a detach. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze.

[Hehe]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

Exactly. I've doubled up in 2.5 years (TH). If I have to take a bit of a hit, I'm still way up and I'm liquid. The flexibility of being able to put in a subject-free offer (including possession dates, since I'm also renting), in this market, will be pretty enticing for sellers. The discount I'll have to give on my TH is far less than the discount I'm going to get, buying a detach. The juice is definitely worth the squeeze.

Yeah. I think what we are currently in can be similar to what the US had a few years back.

I was all cash, and a commercial property came along. The seller was already taking a huge hit on its asking. But since I was the only one willing to offer an offer WITHOUT subject to financing, even though my offer wasn't the highest, I was able to buy the property for a sweet deal.

By being all cash, you'd be in a much stronger position should the CRASH really comes along. I've heard stories in the US that people were able to pay pennies on the dollar for properties simply because the seller had to sell.

My parents who invest heavily in commercial RE ALWAYS buy in a recession. That's basically their secret to accumulate wealth.

[PeanutButter]

Originally Posted by Liquid_o2

Interest rates might rise, but you also will have more people looking.

Depending the neighbourhood and supply it might be better to sell now, especially in lower-demand markets.

More people looking doesn't really mean anything.
Most of the people interested right now can't afford the juice on the mortgage as it is. If the rates continue to rise, it squeezes them more and they'll have to look at cheaper units.

The interest increases are only advantageous for those people luckily enough to have cash ready to go, which is not many.

[fliptuner]

The price peak was also about 3 years ago (for detaches in my neighborhood at least). Depending on their term, I'm sure a lot of them are going to be due to refinance soon, at a much higher rate. Couple that with the fact that a lot of them are fully leveraged, means they'll be hard pressed to make payments at the new rates.

[Phozy]

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[Acurapinoy]

Originally Posted by fliptuner

The price peak was also about 3 years ago (for detaches in my neighborhood at least). Depending on their term, I'm sure a lot of them are going to be due to refinance soon, at a much higher rate. Couple that with the fact that a lot of them are fully leveraged, means they'll be hard pressed to make payments at the new rates.

How big of a difference would it be from years before to today’s interest rate. Im guessing it’ll be roughly 50$ more biweekly? Of course this depends on the home value

[d1gbick]

prices are definitely dropping for detached but pre sales dont seem like they are slowing down at all. Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, Surrey, all new developments that are packed on the opening days (I have been keeping an eye out)

[donk.]

Anyone on here recently rent out their current home, and purchase a second home?

PM me, got some questions.

Looking to rent out my condo in pomo and move closer to work. I sent an email off to my bank to see what the total scoop is, would love to hear from someone that has gone through it.

[Traum]

Originally Posted by donk.

Anyone on here recently rent out their current home, and purchase a second home?

PM me, got some questions.

Looking to rent out my condo in pomo and move closer to work. I sent an email off to my bank to see what the total scoop is, would love to hear from someone that has gone through it.

What exactly are you looking to do / to ask?

As far as mortage application is concerned, you can use the proposed rental income as part of your income in the mortgage application to qualify for a higher mortgage amount. If you were dealing with a mortgage broker, he can easily arrange to hire an external and supposedly independent appraiser to assess the rental value for you -- you'd just have to pay for the service, which I think is ~$200. If you are dealing with the bank directly, you might have to find that appraiser that yourself.

[soymilk]

Originally Posted by donk.

Anyone on here recently rent out their current home, and purchase a second home?

PM me, got some questions.

Looking to rent out my condo in pomo and move closer to work. I sent an email off to my bank to see what the total scoop is, would love to hear from someone that has gone through it.

Unless you have your condo paid off or have an insignificant mortgage balance, it might be difficult to get a second mortgage as the big banks only take 1/2 of your rental income in their calculations. They don't seem to have the appetite for individuals who are already levered.

[Mr.HappySilp]

Originally Posted by d1gbick

prices are definitely dropping for detached but pre sales dont seem like they are slowing down at all. Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, Surrey, all new developments that are packed on the opening days (I have been keeping an eye out)

By the time a pre sal hits public over 70% is already purchased by VIP, friend and family of the developer etc etc…… so the public is left with the crappy units.

[Hehe]

I think what many people fail to see in a down market is about the cashflow and opportunity cost.

Sure that in the very long term, RE always goes up because it adjusts itself to inflation.

However, if it costs you say $2000 per month on mortgage and the unit is generating 0 cashflows, then one should calculate to see if the opportunity cost of ownership outweighs the potential benefit.

With this, one could get a very good idea whether to sell or to buy into the market.