Why I wouldn’t mind being a first-time buyer right now

Vancouver Sun- Real estate pundits are starting to announce -albeit somewhat apologetically, in some cases -that the Metro Vancouver real estate market is now leaning away from sellers in favour of buyers.

Hey, there’s nothing wrong with a buyer’s market. If market balance and sharper pricing allow more folks to climb on to the property ladder, bring it on. And history teaches us market conditions in Lotus Land-by-the-Sea can shift quickly. The buyer’s market might be short-lived, a summer fling.

I have also noticed that real estate organizations believe the HST has caused some confusion among homebuyers, perhaps stalling their purchase decisions. These organizations want consumers to know there is no HST on resale homes. Hmm, I wonder if this messaging, given the increase in listings, is aimed at steering buyers to resale homes. That tactic would be way too obvious, wouldn’t it?…

Why I wouldn’t mind being a first-time buyer right now

HST contributing to double-digit decline in B.C. housing starts

Biv Business Today- The number of B.C. housing starts fell 13.3% in July, according to data released Tuesday morning by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

The number of starts fell to 1,817 in July, down from 2,096 in June. The most significant decline was in Metro Vancouver with a 10% decline to 1,124 units from 1,250 in June.

From a seasonally adjusted basis, B.C. housing starts fell 14.8% in July, slipping to an average annual rate of 20,100 from 23,500 in June. The average annual rate in Metro Vancouver fell to 12,900 units from 14,100…

www.bivinteractive.com – HST contributing to double-digit decline in B.C. housing starts

B.C. housing sales expected to ease this year but rise in 2011: survey

Vancouver Sun- Residential sales across the province are expected to ease by three per cent this year to 82,350 units before increasing four per cent in 2011 to 85,900 units, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association.

Waning demand, upward pressure on mortgage rates and tighter lending restrictions will moderate consumer demand this year, particularly in the Metro Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley areas, the association said in its second quarter housing forecast released Monday.

Improving economic conditions, however, are expected to counter-balance some of the erosion and stronger economic and employment growth next year will push home sales higher…

B.C. housing sales expected to ease this year but rise in 2011: survey

Vancouver real estate prices hit January peak while regional sales pace levels off

The Vancouver Sun- Metro Vancouver house prices reached a new peak level in January while the overall pace of sales across the Lower Mainland eased off the torrid pace seen in December, according to reports from the region’s real estate boards.

In Metro Vancouver, the benchmark price for a single-family home, the average price for typical homes sold, hit $788,499, some 20 per cent above January a year ago, when prices were still falling during the economic downturn, and two per cent above the previous peak of $771,250 in May of 2008.

That new high, however, was driven mostly by the sales of higher-priced properties in specific municipalities, Robyn Adamache, a market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said in an interview…

Vancouver real estate prices hit January peak while regional sales pace levels off

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