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How to Spend July in Surrey, BC

Now that July is here and kids are out of school for the summer, it’s time again to post some of the great activities happening this month in Surrey. Our Canada Day celebration on July 1 was a super way to kick of this month and was a great success with entertainment and activities for the whole family at the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre. Here are some other activities for the rest of July.

A fun way to stay cool: swimming

If you are looking for somewhere to stay cool when the July weather gets hot in Surrey there are public swimming pools which are now open until September, and they’re free! Try a pool in your area. There are great outdoor pools in all around Surrey so you won’t have to drive a long way to find one. Here’s a list of neighbourhood outdoor pools:

  • Sunnyside Outdoor Pool at 15433 – 26 Avenue in South Surrey
  • Bear Creek Outdoor Pool at 13820 – 88 Avenue in North Surrey
  • Kwantlen Outdoor Pool at 13035 – 104 Avenue in North Surrey
  • Unwin Outdoor Pool at 6845 – 133 Street in Newton
  • Greenaway Outdoor Pool at 17901 – 60 Avenue in Cloversdale
  • Hjorth Road Outdoor Pool at 10277 – 148 Street in Guildford
  • Holly Outdoor Pool at 10662 – 148 Street in Guilford
  • Port Kells Outdoor Pool at 19340 – 88 Avenue in Guildford

There are also excellent indoor pools throughout Surrey but you will need to get a recreation pass for these: Grandview Heights Aquatic Centre; North Surrey Recreation Centre; South Surrey Indoor Pool; and the Surrey Sport and Leisure Complex.

There is also a great indoor wave pool at the Newton Recreation Centre at 13730 – 72 Avenue, and thanks to sponsorship by Fortis BC sponsorship, this is a free activity for the whole family to enjoy.

Newton Days

Newton also has a special program of summer events on four Saturdays this month. July 7, 14, 21, and 28 mark the return of the second Newton Days this year. On each of these Saturdays from noon to 4:00 pm at the Newton Grove there will be a number of fun events for families to enjoy such as a farms’ market, food trucks, and a free BBQ along with lots of activities for kids like a fun zone, face painting, and a Science World demonstration. Be sure to pick up your free $5.00 Farm voucher beforehand (one customer per day) at the Newton Recreation Centre, Newton Senior Centre, Newton Library, or from the Newton BIA photo booth.

Surrey’s neighbourhood parks are also great places for families with kids to enjoy this summer. Starting July 2 and running though to August 23, each of the parks will have free sports, games, and other activities.

On July 21 at Cloverdale Youth Park and Chuck Bailey Park there will be the Surrey Rides Tournament. Whether it’s on a skateboard, scooter or bike, young riders are invited to show their skills, as well as practice, in a safe and competitive environment provided in Surrey’s various parks. The Surrey Rises event series takes place at all Surry youth parks listed here:

  • Bear Creek Park, 84 Avenue and King George Blvd.
  • Chuck Bailey Youth Park, Tom Binnie Park at 12458 197 A Avenue.
  • Cloverdale Youth Park, 17800 64 Avenue
  • Fleetwood Youth Park, 16555 Fraser Highway
  • Fraser Heights Youth Park, 10588 – 160 Avenue
  • Guildford Youth Park, 15105 – 105 Avfenue
  • Kwantlen Youth Park, 13035 – 104 Avenue
  • South Surrey Youth Park, 14601 – 20 Avenue

Nature hikes and sights

If you would prefer a connection to nature, I recommend exploring Blackie Spit Park in the Crescent Beach area of South Surrey. Here you can find birds of many kinds. As one of the best bird watching areas in Canada, there are some 200 different species throughout the year. And basking in the sun on the sandbars you will see harbour seals and their pups. You can get some great walking exercise too. The nature trail around the park is 5 kilometre long and seeing the sights in this urban forest is a great way to spend a couple of hours.

Summer Music Series

Summer is Surrey is also rich in cultural life as well. This July you can take in some excellent music at free live performances featuring music styles from Bluegrass to New Orleans Jazz. Bring a blanket with you for these evening concerts and enjoy the music in one of these lovely park settings:

  • July 4 in Glades of Garden Park at 561 – 172 Street it’s Pop-eclectica with Caviar & Lace from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
  • July 11 in Fleetwood Park at 15802 – 80 Avenue it Celtic with Tiller’s Folloy from 6:30 pm to 8:00 pm.
  • July 18 in Bear Creek Park Garden at 13750 – 88 Avenue it’s Folk Blues with Cannery Row from 6:30 t0 8:00 pm.
  • July 25 in Darts Hill Garden Park at 1633 – 170 Street there’s a free concert from 6:30 to 8:00 pm. Gates open at 5 pm, but note the park does not allow pets.
  • And if it’s an afternoon concert that appeals to you, then on July 13 Darts Hill Garden Park from 1:00 to 2:30 pm there’s the Razz Matazz Trio jazz concert.

Surrey Fusion Festival

Photo via: https://www.facebook.com/pg/SurreyFusionFestival/

Of course, you don’t want to miss Surrey’s annual Fusion Festival which takes place this year July 21 and July 22. This is a must attend event in Holland Park just south of the Surrey Centre Mall. The festival is a fantastic multicultural celebration of Surrey’s incredibly diverse population and this year will host over 45 cultural and community groups from around the world including more than 150 artists and performers.

These are just some of the great summer activities happening in Surrey during July. I don’t have space to describe everything there is to do, but Surrey is never without fun activities. They show you why Surrey is such a great place to live and raise a family.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

New Veteran’s Village Development in Whalley

An exciting development project in the Whalley area of North Surrey is back on again! A new Legion Veteran’s Village has been struggling to get launched for a few years now, but this time, the $66-million project is expected to break ground this fall at Whalley Legion property. Surrey City Council gave its approval to the $66-million Legion Veterans Village project on Monday, June 25th. The location of the proposed $66-million project is listed officially as: 110630 City Pkwy., 13525 106th Ave. and 10647 135A Street, and the first phase of the project is to be a 20-story mixed-use tower that will house the Whalley Legion on the main floor, along with a medical clinic, coffee shop and cadet training centre. On the higher floors, the tower would also have 148 rental apartments with 48 affordable rental units for veterans and first responders, along with 10 transitional units which for short-term housing for individuals needing short-term housing upon discharge from a hospital. All of this is great news, not only for the needed space for veterans as well as more affordable rental units for others, but for the overall development of the area.

Project to include Centre of Excellence

One of the great things about this for the veterans is that they will have access to the best and long over-due treatment that the country has to offer. The plans for the building are to house Canada’s first “Centre of Excellence” for treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and mental health, along with research and rehabilitation for injured vets. A national centre of excellence is major part of any specialized science or research discipline. It would bring together the best of researchers in their field and generate spin-off developments in technologies and industry, so being a driver of other economic development as well. The centre will focus on robotics and devices to help amputees and other modern neuroscience applications for these highly deserving individuals.

Revitalization and beautification for area

This area of Surrey is rapidly shedding its worn-out look and is being revitalized and beautified with modern buildings all around the Gateway Skytrain station. On City Parkway close to the location of the proposed new tower, there is already new food market, bank, and drug store very convenient for the condo towers and townhouses surrounding the area. The new legion tower will be a great enhancement to the Whalley area and a boost to the living standard for everyone in the neighborhood.

There is also a second phase planned for the Veteran’s Village which will include a second tower beside to be built beside the first one. The proposed second tower would be 26 stories with 14 ground-level townhouses and 311 apartments, all to be available as market residential units.

The latest plans

The architecture of the latest design for the buildings will be very modern, but it is planned to keep with theme for the Canadian war veterans by resembling the famous Vimy Ridge war memorial in Europe. The planned design shows the exterior of the building which faces City Parkway with sun shades that run up the tower to look like the twin towers of the Vimy Ridge monument. The exterior of building will be coloured red in the theme of the annual Remembrance Day poppy that Canadians wear in November. On the other sides of the tower there will also be red shares but in simpler fashion along with silver panels and clear glass walls. In short, the planned building will be a lovely, modern addition to the neighborhood, and a major boost in both use and beautification.

The process

The Veteran’s Village project has been on Surrey’s agenda before. The first design plan was unveiled in 2015 and at that time the project was for two towers to be 20 to 28 floors high. Then in 2016 the design concept was changed to a single tower during the first phase of development and the number of floors was still undetermined. The latest design proposed two phases with one of the two towers to be built in each phase. Following the approval by city council last month, let’s hope it proceeds without delay this time. It will be a great improvement to the neighbourhood and would serve to be a value booster. In addition to serving the deserving veterans it will provide some much-needed market rental units as well. If it goes ahead as planned the developers expect they can break ground this fall, the project could then be completed by 2020 if all goes as expected.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

How Homeowners Can Keep (and Properly Care for) Tropical Fish

A lot of people enjoy fishing for relaxation. I’ve never been one of them, that is someone who stands with hip waders in a river casting a line with hook for hours, or even sitting patiently in a boat drifting for an afternoon waiting for a bite. However, I have discovered a way of enjoying fish. I must admit that watching the tropical fish in my son’s fish tank can be very calming. Warren took up this hobby last year and it came with a lot of responsibility for him. I’m proud of his conscientious care for his fish, and I get to enjoy them while he does everything required to give them the proper care.

Warren did a lot a research before he started his hobby. What kind of fish did he want to care for? What size of tank did he need? What temperature did the water need to be? How would he keep it clean? What did the fish need to eat? What kind of environment did he need create for them inside the tank? These are just some of the questions for which he had to know the correct answers, and he took on the task very seriously.

Like anything that involves looking after some living thing, there are important issues to take into consideration. I recently came across a 2017 article called “The Ethical Issues of Keeping Tropical Fish.” One of the first things the article said was that goldfish were first made pets in China as long ago as 800AD. Of course, being from China, I knew goldfish had been kept in domestic ponds for a long time, but I didn’t realize exactly how ancient this hobby was. The article went on to say that some goldfish have been know to live longer than 40 years. I found that amazing! And in one recorded case, a goldfish grew to be over one and half feet long. Now that opens up the discussion about how big a tank should be. A very large tank, or perhaps an even larger pond, would be needed to grow a goldfish to that size. Of course, there are many different kinds of tropical fish besides goldfish – I will have to ask my son as this is something he knows more about now than me – but he knows exactly how much water they need to have a healthy environment.

His tank is small, and perhaps some day, if he keeps enjoying his hobby as he grows older, he will get a larger one and keep larger fish. But for now, he’s got a number of chores to keep his little fish happy in his bedroom tank. It’s really creates a nice ambience in his room, peaceful and calming. The lighting of the tank can also make a big difference so if you are planning to put a fish tank into a room in your home, keep in mind what kind of lighting will enhance the colour of your room and create the mood you like. Something read in another article on energy consumption was that some fish tank lights can consume a lot of energy and therefore be somewhat expensive to maintain. Of course it depends on the size of the tank. The article said a large tank with live coral and several species of fish could consume several thousand KWh a year, so if you are a major hobbiest this could get expensive since electricity rates are steadily going up. But the editor also said that a small fish tank could consume a little as 150kWh per year.

However, some solutions to this issue have been offered by Matt Clarke, editor of Practical Fishkeeping magazine, who suggested that modern LED lights can help fishkeepers by reducing energy costs. The LED bulbs allow you to replace fluorescent and metal halide lamps which are high wattage and save substantially on your energy bill. All that is good for energy savings, but remember it’s still important to keep in mind what is best for the species of fish you are keeping. Some tropical fish species will require that you create an environment that closely resembles their natural habitat, so it’s something that you need to research before picking up whatever is on your pet store shelf.

Well, as I said at the beginning of the Blog, I get to enjoy the fish and my son gets to do all the research and work necessary to care properly for the fish. He is great with his responsibilities and enjoys the lessons that his tropical fish hobby teaches. And this includes those important moments when he can just gaze into his fish tank and let his mind relax and enjoy the beauty he has nurtured. This is a great arrangement.

If you want to start a tropical fish tank, I highly recommend you encourage your children to enjoy the hobby with you.

Music Lessons for Children

My son Warren won a trophy in his music school recently. I am extremely proud of him of course, but the trophy really represents his love of learning to play to piano. And that has much to do with his teacher and great lessons that make it so enjoyable for him to practice. He’s just been taking lessons since last year but his progress has been so rapid that he can now compose his own music as well as play popular and classical pieces. I’m sure he will enjoy his ability to read music and play the piano when he is an adult, but I started to wonder if there were other benefits to music lessons after reading some research in this area.

One particularly interesting article published in 2017 by the Novak DJokovik Foundation reported all kinds of other benefits arising from children’s music education. According to 2004 study University of Toronto Psychology researcher E. Glenn Schellenberg, six-year children taking weekly music lessons showed a small increase in their IQs. At first I was somewhat skeptical about this claim, but then I read about research conducted by Dr. Eric Rasmussen at Johns Hopkins University which looked at the neuroscience behind this idea. It was discovered that children taking music education have more growth of their neural activity. In other words, playing an musical instrument causes you to use more areas of your brain. This finding was also supported by a study done by Ellen Winner, a Psychology professor at Boston College and Gottfreid Schlaug, a professor of neurology at Beth Israel Deacones Medical Centre and Harvard Medical School. These researchers found changes in brain images in children after 15 weeks of weekly music lessons. What these images supported with visual evidence was the improved sound discrimination and fine motor skills in these children.

Another interesting scientific finding about children who took music lessons was the link between music and spatial intelligence. This means that music can help in the visualization of things that should go together, for example in the kind of problem solving in some types of math problems. It also applies to the kind of skills that are used in architecture, engineering, art, and gaming of the sort designed with computers.

Researcher Mary Mary Luehrisen at the National Association of Music Merchants said that music can also bring significant benefits to children’s formal learning through enhanced language development between ages two and nine. I take it from this that a two-year old is not actually taking music lessons, so it would mean that providing an environment of music for a young child would have beneficial effects. However, I didn’t find what kind of music the two year child was exposed to, and I think this is probably important. I have heard that the classical music of Mozart is very good for children, and I would be naturally inclined to play for my youngster over some heavy metal rock. My son’s piano lessons include classical pieces by great composers like Beethoven and it seems to be proving very effective. As far as Warren’s language development being improved with music, it is probably a bit late to see effects there. He has always been a avid reader, and this helped develop his early language skills. However, research by Yale University researcher Kyle Pruett showed the relationship between language development and music can be the other way around. That is to say, that language development enhances the parts of the brain that process music. So it seems that the link between language development and music works both ways. Other research showed that music lessons actually helped developed the left side of the brain, which is also the side used to process language. I found this very interesting because the left side of the brain is associated with analytical skills such as mathematical problem solving, while the right side is normally associated with intuitive operations like artistic expression. So, it appears these hemispheres of the brain are connected in their functions, just as music and language development are connected.

There is also a broader kind of educational value that has been uncovered in the overall effects of music education. It is that because language competence is the basis of competence in social relationships. It can be seen then that with the verbal capacity strengthened by the child’s musical experience, the child will be inclined to greater social competence.

All of this is very good to know, but it wasn’t the reason my son Warren is taking piano lessons. He just loves learning, and music is its own reward. But nonetheless, I’m very proud of his accomplishment so far.

But the most important thing, I believe, is that is that he enjoys it!

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

Abbotsford Airport (YXX)

The fact that a small community like Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley has an international airport is interesting in itself!

What it is best known for, of course, is the annual Abbotsford International Air Show, which brings spectacular air acrobatics, and is one of one of the highest profile events in the region. There is, however, a great development that makes the Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) even more attractive.

If you are like many of my real estate clients who are either living in the Fraser Valley, or who are thinking moving there, YXX is a major reason that the Valley is an increasingly attractive area! For anyone who needs to fly for business, or who wants an easy way to start a vacation, the Abbotsford International Airport is poised to offer even more flights for domestic and international destinations.

This is a big advantage from having to compute to the Vancouver Airport on Sea Island. In fact, in 2012 a flight from Abbotsford to Vancouver International Airport was one of Abbotsford International’s marquis services, when Island Express Air launched a 12- minute flight to the South Terminal of Vancouver International, a considerable time saver over a two-hour driving time – and for a mere $50.00. Today, more and more residents of the Fraser Valley are realizing that Abbotsford Airport is a convenient alternative to the commute to Vancouver’s Sea Island, and one that is ramping up new flights and destinations each year.

The most recent news this year shows that the number of passengers using Abbotsford appears to be rising exponentially each year. In 2017, a total of 677,653 passengers flew through the Airport, an increase of 147,010 or 27.7 per cent over 2016; and 2016 saw an increase of 8.78 per cent over the previous year, according to a news release at the beginning of this year. The Abbotsford Airport is preparing for considerably more growth in the future. This year is plans to add 14,000 square feet of new space in its terminal building, which will double the present seating capacity to accommodate 600 passengers, and a second expansion is scheduled to be completed by 2021. It will also add two more airline gates in anticipation of more airlines using the international airport. This is great news for flyers who want to have more flights both within in Canada and to other countries.

At the beginning of this year, the Airport was home to several national airlines as well as smaller local airlines, together offering an array of services to national and international destinations as well as locations on Vancouver Island and elsewhere in the province.

In June 2017, Abbotsford International celebrated its 20th anniversary of service by WestJet, the first national air carrier to service Abbotsford International Airport with 3,000 passengers in 1997 and over 530,00 in 2016. WestJet now also flies vacationers from Abbotsford to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico on a frequent schedule. In June 2015, Air Canada started its Rouge service at Abbotsford International with a non-stop flight between Abbotsford and Toronto, announced at the time by Air Canada as the “only non-stop flights between eastern Canada and Abbotsford, the largest municipality in BC’s Fraser Valley Regional District.”

According to a Vancouver Sun news article in March this year, Abbotsford International is poised to expand to over 800,000 passengers by 2020 with the arrival of Flair Airlines service to Edmonton, Hamilton and Winnipeg. In addition. two low cost carriers, Swoop and Canada Jetlines are planning to offer holiday flights to the USA, Mexico and the Caribbean. Rounding out the benefits of having a local airport than can provide access to domestic, national, and international flights, is the Fraser Valley’s shuttle service for the Airport. Valley Airporter advertises it will transport you for reasonable rates between YXX and your residential address in any of the Fraser Valley’s municipalities.

The Abbotsford International Airport is just one of the special features that make living in the Fraser Valley an enjoyable experience. When you need to get to an airport, it’s nice not to arrive tired after a long drive. And this is especially true for the return trip. When you arrive at the Abbotsford International Airport, you want to get home after your trip as quickly and efficiently as possible. This is just one of the many things that living in the Fraser Valley has to offer!

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

Photo credit to: http://www.summitbrooke.com/

April’s Market Update for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

OUR CURRENT RESIDENTIAL MARKET

As we move into the second quarter of 2018, I’m sure everyone is looking forward to more sunshine and fewer rainy days. The weather can be a factor in our outlook and affect our decision-making even on major transactions like buying or selling a residential property. That’s a good reason to pay close attention to some key market trends occurring in local prices and inventories. With so much recent news on new government regulations and taxes on property, it’s easy to develop negative views that are not wholly informed by the facts of the marketplace. Another thing that can contribute to unnecessary pessimism is an over-emphasis on longer term historical comparisons. Regular readers of my monthly newsletter get a picture of the marketplace which is as up-to-date as available statistics make possible, allowing them to understand the where and why of prevailing prices in a context that is relevant to current circumstances. I will continue to breakdown the market segments for each property type in the following geographical regions of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.

METRO VANCOUVER

In the past month of March there were total of 4,450 new listings in Metro Vancouver which was increase of 5.4 per cent over the preceding February. That’s good news for the active home seeker; yet, it’s fewer than the 4,762 listings that occurred in the same month one year ago. The latter statistic might be of interest in broader academic analysis of the Vancouver residential market, but it’s probably not going to affect a decision to buy or sell at the current time because the prevailing market psychology doesn’t believe that prices are going to move backwards in time. 00 For that reason, I am always talking to my clients to understand what they really want to know for the decisions that are important to them. And what I hear is that you wish to know about what is happening now, and in a context of what it points to in the near term. So here are my selected key metrics based on market activity tabulated on the end of last month.

Across all residential property types in Metro Vancouver there were 2,517 sales at the end of March. This was 14 per cent higher than the preceding month of February, so we can see there is still upward pressure on based on demand and the relatively low increase in new listings. At the end of March, the total inventory of listed homes in Metro Vancouver was 8,380. Breaking down the demand in each property type, we see 14.2 per cent for detached homes; 39.9 per cent for townhouses; and 61.6 per cent for condominiums. The composite Benchmark price for all Metro Vancouver residential properties at the end of March was $1,084,000, an increase of 1.1 per cent over one month. Below I will look at each property type in more detail.

Detached Properties

The Benchmark price for a detached residential property in the Greater Vancouver area at the end of March was $1,608,500, more than half a million dollars above the composite benchmark price for the region. This may give you an idea of a general price level. However,it needs to be considered in relationship to the property types factored into the composite benchmark, which we can look at under their individual headings below. For Single Family Detached homes, the Benchmark price is an average between price extremities of $3,449,000 in Vancouver West (noteworthy: higher than West Vancouver at $3,115,400.) and $606,000 on the Sunshine Coast. I have selected three municipalities closest on the upper side of the Benchmark, and three which are closest on the lower side, where you can see the price change in the past month. On the higher side of the Benchmark were South Burnaby at $1,673,700, a decline of 0.5 per cent in one month; Richmond at $1,708,400, an increase of 0.6 per cent in one month; and North Vancouver at $1,723,200, an increase of 2.2 per cent in one month. On the lower side of the Benchmark are North Burnaby at $1,544,100, an increase of 0.7 per cent in one month; Vancouver East at $1,553,100, a decrease of 0.5 per cent in one month; and Port Moody at $1,484,800, an increase of 0.1 per cent in one month.

Townhouses

The Benchmark price for townhouses in the Greater Vancouver area at the end of March was $835,300, an increase of 2.0 per cent over one month. This average had extremities of $1,271,000 in Vancouver West, and increase of 1.7 per cent in one month; and $575,100 in Maple Ridge, an increase of 4.3 per cent in one month. Excluding Squamish and Whistler for their distance from Metro Vancouver, I have selected three municipalities closest on each side of the Benchmark. On the upper side are Vancouver East at $908,200, an increase of 4.5 per cent in one month; North Vancouver at $1,005,400, an increase of 0.7 per cent in one month; and Vancouver West at $1,271,000, an increase of 1.7 per cent in one month.

Condominiums

The Benchmark price for condominiums in the Greater Vancouver areas at the end of March was $693,500, an increase of 1.6 per cent in one month. The extremities for this average were West Vancouver at $1,278,600 and Ladner at $459,300. Again, excluding Squamish and Whistler because of their distance for Metro Vancouver buyers, here are three municipalities with closest prices on the upper and lower side of the Benchmark, along with their month over month price change: South Burnaby at $727,300, an increase of 2.4 per cent in one month; East Burnaby at $727,800, an increase of 3.0 per cent in one month; and Vancouver West at $844,700, an increase of 1.1 per cent in one month. Closest to the Benchmark on the lower side were Port Moody at $675,000, an increase of 1.0 per cent in month; Richmond at $659,700, an increase of 0.3 per cent in one month; and North Burnaby at $641,600, a decrease of 0.1 per cent in one month.

FRASER VALLEY

The Valley continues to be a very active market which shows no sign of slowing. With Spring around the corner, I urge anyone who is seriously contemplating a purchasing a Valley residence of any type to take advantage of open houses in their desired category. There were 2,865 new listings in March which was a close to a 25 per cent increase from February’s new listings. Keep in mind that new property listings in an active market can attract more prospective buyers, especially as the weather invites more viewers. Even with an increased inventory, demand is still very strong putting upward pressure on prices. At the end of last month there was a total inventory almost 5,000 properties overall. Townhouses and condominiums made up just over 50 per cent of all Valley sales and were the fastest to sell after their listing, on average 16 days for a townhouse and 13 days for a condominium. Single detached homes sold on average in 30 days after listing. Below I examine at each property type by their current Benchmark prices and make some recommendations on which municipalities you might wish to look.

Single Family Detached

A major milestone has been reached in the Fraser Valley. The million-dollar mark for a single detached residence was reached for the first time at the end of March with a Benchmark price $1,001,400, an increase of 0.9 per cent in one month. We have been waiting for several months to see this threshold reached. It now remains to be seen if this will be a psychological threshold as well, both for buyers and sellers. For the former, some prospective buyers may decide they are now priced out of a single detached home and begin to look for a home of another property type. For sellers, we will have to see if the new price level encourages more listings. Focusing on prices closest to this Benchmark average, along with their month-over-month price change, here is my standard selection of three areas above and below the Benchmark. On the upper side of the Benchmark were: Langley at $1.026,600, a decrease of 0.2 per cent in one month; Surrey at $1,031,500, an increase of 1.2 per cent in one month; and Cloverdale at $1,045,400, an increase of 0.8 per cent in one month. Closest on the lower side of the Benchmark price were: North Surrey at $980,100, an increase of 0.8 per cent in one month; North Delta at $950,200, an increase of 0.6 per cent in one month; and Abbotsford at $814,000, an increase of 1.3 per cent in one month.

Townhouses

The Benchmark price for a Fraser Valley townhouse at the end of March was $541,800, an increase of 2.0 per cent in one month. The extremities of this average were South Surrey/White Rock at $678,000 and Abbotsford at $383,000. Municipalities with prices closest to the Benchmark were: On the upper side, North Surrey at $573,800, an increase of 2.4 per cent in one month; Surrey at $577,800, an increase of 1.6 per cent in one month; and North Delta at $591,300, an increase of 1.8 per cent in one month; closest on the lower side of the Benchmark were: Langley at $514,900, an increase of 1.3 per cent in one month; Mission at $446,500, an increase of 3.0 per cent in one month; and Abbotsford at $383,000, an increase of 3.1 per cent in one month.

Condominiums

The Valley Benchmark at the end of March for condominiums was $440,400, an increase of or 4.3 per cent in one month. The extremities for this average were South Surrey/White Rock at $524,100 and Mission at $329,500. Municipalities with prices closest on the upper side of this Benchmark were: Langley at $444,500, an increase of 4.8 per cent in one month; Surrey at $452,300, an increase of 5.8 per cent in one month; and Cloverdale at $507,100, an increase of 3.9 per cent in one month. On the lower side of the Benchmark, the closest prices were in North Delta at $425,900, an increase of 8.1 per cent in one month; North Surrey, at $424,900, an increase of 3.5 per cent in one month; and Abbotsford at $336,600, an increase of 6.6 per cent in one month.

AFTERWORD

In closing, I suggest you pay close attention to any trends you may spot in the month-over-month increases in Benchmark prices that I mention in each newsletter. This may help you see where prices are driven by demand and as you become familiar with increases – or decreases – in the short term, this may assist your decision making. However, keep in mind that there may be other factors that cause price changes which is out of the usual range. If you have any questions and need specific information on any housing type in any of the areas in the lower mainland, please don’t hesitate to call me. I keep an close eye on the residential market, and I want to help my clients find what they are looking for, or to make a listing decision when the time is right.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

B.C.’s New Real Estate Taxes – Part 2

The Additional Property Transfer Tax

As mentioned in my last blog in March, one of two new real estate taxes announced by the B.C. government in its 2018 budget this past February is the Additional Property Transfer Tax. In this blog I will provide an outline of the measures covered by this tax and highlight some of the main points that could affect current B.C. property owners and prospective home buyers.

Prior to February 21, 2018, the property tax transfer rate was 15 % on properties in the Greater Vancouver Regional District. After February 21, the transfer tax increased from 15 % to 20 %, based on the fair market value at the time of registration for property transfers in the following areas in the province of British Columbia:

  • Greater Vancouver Regional District
  • Capital Regional District
  • Fraser Valley Regional District
  • Regional District of Central Okanagan
  • Regional District of Nanaimo

Two Important Exceptions

Excluding the Greater Vancouver Regional District, the remaining four regions noted above have two instances where you don’t have to pay the additional transfer tax on property transfers after February 21: First, you don’t have to pay if you register before, or on, May 18, 2018, as long as the property transfer is subject to a written agreement dated on or before February 20, 2018; and second, if the transfer is subject to a court order dated before February 20, 2018, or several other specific legal conditions on property transfers related to divorces, separations, or estates of deceased persons. I advise you to get advice from your lawyer if any of these situations applies to you.

As a general guide, the changes introduced on the property tax transfer took effect February 21, 2018. If you purchase a property that is registered at the provincial Land Title Office, you will need to pay certain transaction costs which are taxable. Without going into the details of the various legally required transactions – which your Realtor can explain to you – I want to point out to you that you can qualify for a reduced tax if you are: a) purchasing your first home; or b) purchasing a newly built home.

The tax is calculated on the fair market value at the time of property registration. Note that properties on the Tsawwassen First Nation lands are exempt from the additional property transfer tax. There are also two other exemptions which I would advise you get legal advice if you not sure they apply to you. The first is any exemption that applied to you for the previous property tax transfer also exempts you from the additional transfer tax, except in the following situations: i) a transfer resulting from an amalgamation; ii) a transfer to a surviving tenant; iii) a transfer where the transferee is or becomes a trustee in relation to the property, even if the trust does not change; and second, if you are confirmed B.C. Provincial Nominee and certain criteria are met for foreign nationals under the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program.

Foreign Nationals and Foreign Entities

If you are a confirmed under the B.C. Provincial Nominee Program when the property transfer is registered with the Land Title Office; ii) the property is to be used as your principal residence; iii) the property transfer is made to an individual. Note that the additional property transfer tax does NOT apply to registration of mutual fund trusts, real estate investment trusts or specified flow-through trusts. You should also note that if you were confirmed as a B.C. Provincial Nominee between August 2, 2016 and March 17, 2017, you might be eligible for a refund of the additional transfer tax if you paid it.

If you happen to be a foreign national, a foreign corporation, or a taxable trustee, there is also an additional transfer tax on residential properties in certain areas of British Columbia, as listed above.

This summary of the new Additional Property Tax is based on information provided by the Government of British Columbia. I have summarized what I think are the major points of interests for my clients; however, like any tax measures, there are always situations that may require more in depth information. I would recommend that if you think you may be in such a situation that you talk to a knowledgeable tax lawyer about your specific situation. I hope the above summary has informed you adequately to understand if the new transfer tax may apply to you, You may find additional information on the new transfer tax at: B.C. Provincial Budget Tax Changes.

I will watch for any changes in these tax rules and report what I see in the blog space. Please feel free to ask for any advice that I might be able to provide. I’m always happy to help in any way I can.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

B.C.’s New Real Estate Taxes (Part 1)

You have probably heard about two new taxes related to real estate transactions in the province of British Columbia. In order to give you a general understanding and to highlight some key issues that may affect prospective home buyers, I will devote this blog and my next one to these new taxes announced in the B.C. provincial budget this past February. In this blog I focus on the new Speculation Tax. In my next blog in early April, I will discuss the province’s Additional Property Tax Transfer.

New Speculation Tax

The British Columbia government announced in its 2018 Budget in February that it would introduce what is called a Speculation Tax which will affect some home owners and prospective home buyers. At this time, the government has not released all the details of this new tax, but in the blog I will outline the general features of the proposed legislation as there are many questions owing to a lot media attention on the topic.

The first thing I want to draw to the attention of my readers is that the majority of homeowners in B.C. will be exempt from the tax, which will apply initially in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley, the Capital Regional District, the Nanaimo Regional District, and in the municipalities of Kelowna and West Kelowna. Home owners will receive first tax notice in the fall of 2018.

The government has said it will be effective for the 2018 tax year, and that it will target foreign and domestic persons who are speculating with their purchases of residential properties in the province. The tax rate for 2018 will be $5.00 per $1,000 of the assessed property value. In 2019, the rate will increase to $20.00 per $1,000 of assessed value. The government’s early information on what this means is not highly detailed yet, but its intent seems quite clear. Speculators will be considered as home owners who are primarily interested in the rising value their property may acquire during a time that it is not occupied by the owner, or a least occupied very little of the time, and is not a long-term rental property. Long-term rental properties will be exempt from the tax, but short-term rentals by out of province owners will be taxed.

Without digressing from the basic facts of the new tax, I think it’s safe to assume that this tax measure is an attempt to keep speculators from driving up housing prices by buyers who wish to invest in a residence to make money primarily from its rising value and not as place to live as a principal residence. In fact, the government’s preliminary information describes some of these owners as “Satellite families – households with high worldwide income that pay little income tax in B.C.”

Tax Credit for B.C. Residents Affected by the New Tax

For B.C. residents who may be caught by the tax because they vacate their home for extended vacations, or who may wish to rent the property on a short-term basis, the provincial government is going to implement a corresponding income tax credit to help offset the tax for B.C. residents. More information on this income tax credit has been promised by the government before the tax is implemented, but it has announced that Satellite families will not be eligible for a principal residence exemption, although they will still be eligible to claim the income tax credit – to the extent that they pay tax in British Columbia.

In cases where a B.C. resident who own two homes, for example a principal resident in Vancouver and a vacation property in Kelowna, they would be able to apply for the B.C. income tax credit. In other words, the vacation property will be subject to the new tax, but the owner will be able to claim an income tax credit in such a case. The B.C. government has said that among its goals for the new tax will be to minimize the administrative compliance burden for the vast majority of home owners who will be claiming the up-front exemption. The objective is to reduce the number of notices that will need to be sent in future years.

Obviously, there are many questions that need to be answered at this time. B.C. property owners that may be subject to the tax will want to know the definitions of key terms such as short-term and long-term rentals, and other specifics of the new speculation tax. I will endeavor to provide additional information for my readers when it is available. The B.C. government has said it will issue notices by mail to advise residential property owners to a B.C. Government website that will have an electronic tax form or phone numbers with more information. Until then, you may find some information at www.gov.bc.ca/propertytaxes

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

Happy Chinese New Year!

 

My family and I are very lucky. We get to celebrate two New Year events each year. The first one of course is January 1st when we celebrate the official New Year date in Canada and many other countries around the world. The second one celebrated by us and other Chinese people all around the world is Chinese New Years, which has different start date each year. The celebrations therefore have other names including the Lunar New Year and the Spring Festival. It’s a time for activities that last for a couple of weeks, so we have lots or time to visit our relatives and friends. A few days before the official start, many Chinese families prepare for the new year by doing a thorough house cleaning. This corresponds to what is often called Spring cleaning by others. At the end of the New Year season, there is often lantern festival (many houses will put up red decorations including red lanterns), special food, and fireworks to wind up the festivities on the 15th day.

A CHANGING DATE

This year the start date for Chinese New Year is February 16. The date changes every year because it is set according to the Chinese lunisolar calendar, which is based on the astronomical phases of the moon and adjusted to an average time period that corresponds to the length of the solar cycle. This is a very old calendar in which the days of the week and the lunar cycles (months) return to the same point in the solar year every 532 years.

On the Gregorian calendar, which has been in effect in the Western world since the 16th century, the Lunar New Year starts on the night of the new moon that happens anywhere from January 21 to February 20. This period is actually for the second new moon after the winter solstice (the day with the shortest daylight and the longest darkness). In Vancouver this year the Winter Solstice will fall on December 21. Based on the Winter Solstice in 2017, the Lunar New Year started last year on January 28 and next year the date will be February 5.

2018: YEAR OF THE DOG

Every Chinese New Year also has a name of an animal which carries symbolic meaning and is said to influence the personality of anyone born in that year. This year is the Year of Dog. The Dog in China is considered a loyal member and protector of a family, particularly for a farm family, and is also thought to be natural survivor so it can be independent and look after itself. Because the Chinese zodiac is made goes through a 2 year cycles, there is a Year of the Dog every 12 years. But they are not necessarily all the same kinds of Dogs. For example, this year is really the Year of the Earth Dog, and someone born this year should be a good communicator and also a good worker.

THE RED ENVELOPE TRADITION

Among the ways that Chinese people celebrate their New Year is with a gift of money in a traditional red envelope. This gift is not really for the value of the money but is meant as a wish to bring good luck and prosperity to the receiver. It is often given to children by relatives or close friends. Traditionally, the red envelopes also conveys the idea of luck and you see these envelopes in stationery and card stores at this time of year. But like every custom and tradition in the modern global world, technology is taking over in this area too. Now I see there is a special “app” for your mobile phone which is designed for the Chinese New Year gift. Instead of getting a real envelope with some cash inside, many children will be receiving a digital money transfer through their phone app. (I even noticed that Paypal has set up special “red envelop) money transfer on their site.) In a world where many grandparents could live thousands of miles from their grandchildren, this can be a marvellous way for them to keep up with the custom. However, I think that children will probably be much faster to learn how to use such an app than their elderly grandparents. Like so may traditions and customs, the important thing is that we can pass them on to our children, whatever tradition we hold on to. This makes for great global world that can celebrate so many different traditions and cultures.

At this time of year, my family and I wish you much good luck and prosperity for 2018.

Gung Hay Fat Chow! (Gong xi fa cai!)

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

Your February Real Estate Recap for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

METRO VANCOUVER

As we move into the second month of 2018, average price levels across all property types continue to inch upwards, or remain the same as last month. However, it’s worth keeping in mind that even a modest price increase of less than 1.0 per cent can add several thousands of dollars to home when we are in a market where the composite benchmark price for all residential properties, based on last month’s closing figures of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, is $1,056,500. Since my January newsletter, when this same benchmark was $1,050,000, you can see the actual difference. So, once again, my general advice to anyone who needs to find a home before being outpriced, is not to delay because it’s likely you will pay more in the future for a similar property. That said, I am still continually scouring the market for any specific good buys for my clients that can get overlooked in a general average.

Some good news this month is that there were 3,796 new listings across all property types on the Multiple Listing Service for Metro Vancouver. This brings the total inventory of listed properties to 6,947, which provides a wide choice selection, although admittedly in a high demand market. Looking at the sales in each property type last month, we continue to see the greatest number was for condominiums with 57.2 percent, followed by townhouses with 32.8 per cent. Detached homes remained in the last place, as has been the trend for several months. Looking at the actual number of sales in each category last month, we can compare these figures with one year ago to see the underlying upward pressure on price levels now in place. Detached home sales in last month were 487, an increase of almost 10 per cent over January sales in 2017. The current benchmark price for detached properties in Metro Vancouver is $1,601,500, an increase of just over 8 per cent since January 2017. Condominium sales last month were 1,012, an increase of almost 23 per cent since January 2017. The current benchmark price for a condominium in Metro Vancouver is $665,400, an increase of slightly more than 27 per cent over January 2017. Townhouse sales last month were 319, almost 26 per cent higher than sales in January 2017. The benchmark price for a Metro Vancouver townhouse is currently $803,700, an increase of almost 18 per cent since January 2017. Although the correlation between the increase in sales and the increase in price here is a bit rough, there appears to be relationship between the monthly number of sales and the price increases that is somewhat in synch. You might want to use this a rule of thumb, though not a perfect one, for predicting future price increases in whatever property category you are searching. I will keep you informed of monthly sales and prices in each of my newsletters.

Detached Properties

There is quite a large difference between the extremes in prices for Single Family Detached homes across Metro Vancouver. Excluding areas such as Whistler and Sunshine Coast which are farther out than my clients are looking, here is the range of the prices that make up the benchmark price of $1,601,500. In West Vancouver and Vancouver West, the benchmark price is, respectively, $3,099,500, and $3,548,400. On the other end of the scale are Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, at, respectively, $833,600 and $904,600. Only Burnaby South, Richmond and North Vancouver are higher than the Metro Vancouver benchmark, while other municipalities are currently below. In each of the middle-priced municipalities, the prices are close to the Metro Benchmark. I will be happy to supply anyone looking to buy a detached property an exact benchmark for the desired area if you would like to contact me.

For the other property types, I have made the following area selections based on current price changes.

Townhouses

The benchmark price for townhouses in Metro Vancouver, excluding Whistler and Squamish, remained unchanged since the previous month’s figures at $665,400. The extremities of the average in January ranged from $1,247,900 in Vancouver West to $533,800 in Maple Ridge. Two municipalities showed a one month decrease: Vancouver East with a benchmark of $857,600 was a drop of 2.5 per cent from one month previous, and Ladner at $776,000 was a one month decrease of 0.1 per cent. Most of the other municipalities had small increases below 1.0 per cent. But there were three notable exceptions where the month-over-month benchmark price was somewhat higher: Burnaby South showed the biggest jump with a 2.8 per cent increase to $786,400; Richmond had one month increase of 1.8 per cent to $822,500; and Burnaby East increased 1.3 per cent to $667,900.

Condominiums

The benchmark price for condominiums in Metro Vancouver, excluding Whistler and Squamish, showed a 1.5 per cent increase over one month. The benchmark average had extremities of $1,179,400 in West Vancouver, which was a one month increase of 0.7 per cent; and $291,500 in Maple Ridge, a one month increase of 3.3 per cent. Notably, the one month increase in Maple Ridge was the highest across Metro Vancouver, followed by a 3.2 per cent increase in Pitt Meadows to $436,200. The third highest monthly increase was in Burnaby North at $618,400. It is worth observing that the largest monthly increases appear to be happening in the lower priced market segment. Since condominiums are often the entry level for residential property owners, I would recommend that this category of buyers, often singles or young couples, not delay in making a purchasing decision if your budget down payment and mortgage are already determined.

FRASER VALLEY

The Valley market showed one of the strongest January sales volumes ever, with 1,210 sales across all property types. This was a 24 per cent increase for January sales since 2017, and third highest January on record with the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. The January benchmark price for a Fraser Valley Single Detached property $982,700, still under the $1-million mark and only a slight increase 0.6 per cent from the preceding month. Note that this was a over a 15 per cent increase year over year, which is a good reflection of the market activity in this region. The greatest sales activity, however, continues to be for townhouses and condominiums, which represented 51 per cent of all sales in January. Of the total number 1,210 of residential sales, 281 were townhouses, and 338 were condominiums. It is important to note that demand is outpacing supply in the Fraser Valley. While there were 2,092 new listings in January, which brought the total Valley inventory to 3,962, there continues to be an increasing number of potential buyers, so prices overall are moving upwards, although not with any alarming increases. I will be happy to show provide specific and current benchmark prices for single detached properties to anyone shopping in the that category, but with most Fraser Valley clients looking for the other two property types I will focus on these segments here.

Townhouses

The January benchmark price for a Valley townhouse was $519,400, a 1.2 per cent increase from the preceding month. Again, I point out that this price level is a year over increase of 23.4 per cent so it is important keep in mind that delayed purchasing decisions in this current market can be costly. The current benchmark average price has relatively narrow extremities ranging from a high in South Surrey/White Rock at $664,200 to a low of $361,800 in Abbotsford. Interestingly, the South Surrey/White Rock price is a 0.5 per cent decrease from the preceding month. All other municipalities show modest month-over-month increases. The areas with the three largest month-over-month benchmark price percentage increases were: Mission at $432,000, an increase of 3.7 per cent; Langley and North Surrey both had monthly increases of 1.9 per cent, bringing their prices, respectively, to $499,200 and $543,400; and Abbotsford, at $361,800, a monthly increase of 1.7 per cent.

Condominiums

The January benchmark price for a condominium in the Fraser Valley was $404,100, a month-over-month increase of 4.0 per cent. The extremities of this average range from $507,400 in South Surrey/White Rock, an increase of 4.0 per cent from the preceding month to $300,100 in Abbotsford, an increase of 4.7 per cent from the preceding month. The three municipalities with the biggest month-over-month increase in this segment’s benchmark price were Surrey, with an increase of 5.2 per cent bringing its January benchmark to 402,000; Abbotsford, with an increase of 4.7 per cent bringing its January benchmark to $300,100; and Cloverdale, with an increase of 4.6 per cent, for a January benchmark of $469,300. Again, I would draw attention to larger percentage increases often occurring in the lower end of the market prices. For entry level buyers, I would advise if you are looking for condominium to get started, that you don’t delay too long as prices are moving up in this market segment.

If any of my newsletter readers would like a personal and confidential consultation on your home requirements, I would be very happy to advise you. I have experience in both finance and Real Estate, and pay close attention to the market.

Please feel free to give me a call. I am here to help!

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®