surrey bc real estate

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®

Your March Market Update for Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley

If you happened to read the news story in the Globe and Mail at the beginning of the month, the headline surely intrigued you: “Vancouver housing sales fall 9 % in February.” The story behind the decline is really the more important consideration for prospective home buyers. As a statistician, I always want my clients to understand the reason when a number is cited.

First, the February sales decline is for all property types across Metro Vancouver, so we will have to look more closely at the different categories. Based on ten-year sales average, February’s sales for all property types were down 14.4 per cent; detached sales declined 39.4 per cent; townhouse declined 6.8 per cent, but condominium sales rose 5.5 per cent above the 10-year average. Second, the 9 per cent decrease is a comparison with February sales in 2017. It’s a significant percentage, but the actual number of sales for the respective months were 2,207 in 2018 and 2,424 in 2017, so in practical terms not really a huge difference. And the number of sales in February this year was a monthly increase of 21.4 per cent over January, so it’s important to recognize that the market is still very active. The composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver at the end of February was $1,071.800, a 16.9 per cent increase year-over-year and a 1.4 per cent increase since January this year. It will be important to watch these two price levels in coming months.

What the newspaper story was really about what may be the beginning of fewer sales each month following the provincial budget announcements in February that impact out-of-province buyers. The BC government has targeted speculative buyers with an additional tax as well as increasing and expanding the foreign buyers tax beyond Metro Vancouver. I will talk more about these tax measures in my next Blog, but for now I will focus on the market place prices for prospective local home buyers and sellers.

Detached Properties

The benchmark price for a single detached property in Greater Vancouver at the end of February was $1,602,000, an 8.2 per cent increase from the February 2017, and a 1.9 per cent increase from January this year. The extremities of this average range from a high in Vancouver West (higher than West Vancouver, and excluding Whistler) at $3,500,600 to a low in low in Maple Ridge at $847,700. That’s obviously quite a large spread, so I’ve selected three areas on each side of the Benchmark where you can find properties closest to the Metro Benchmark at the end of February. On the higher side, the Burnaby South Benchmark price was $1,682,600, an increase of 0.9 per cent over the previous month. North Vancouver’s Benchmark was $1686,800, an increase of 1.0 per cent over the previous month; and Richmond’s Benchmark was $1,697,900, an increase of 0.4 per cent over the previous month. On the lower side, the Vancouver East Benchmark was $1,560,400, a decrease of 0,2 per cent from the previous month; the Burnaby North Benchmark was $1,532,700, a decrease of 2.2 per cent from the previous month; and Port Moody’s Benchmark was $1,483,700, a decrease of 0.7 per cent from the preceding month.

Townhouses

The Benchmark price for a townhouse in Metro Vancouver at the end of February was $819,200. This average was made up of prices ranging from a high of $1,250,100 in Vancouver West to a low of $551,400 in Maple Ridge. I have again selected three areas on each side of the Benchmark which are closest to the Benchmark at the end of February. On the higher side, almost identical to the Metro Benchmark was the Richmond Benchmark at $819,500, a decrease of 0.4 per cent from the previous month. The Benchmark for Vancouver East was $868,900, an increase of 1.3 per cent from the previous month; and the North Vancouver Benchmark at $998,400, an increase of 0.7 per cent from the previous month. On the lower side, the Benchmark for Burnaby South was $807,600, an increase of 2.7 per cent over the previous month. The Tsawwassen Benchmark was $756,000, a decrease of 0.9 per cent from the previous month; and the Ladner Benchmark at $783,200, an increase of 0.9 per cent from the previous month. In this breakdown, I have excluded Whistler as I normally do for areas farther out than my clients wish to look.

Condominiums

The Metro Vancouver Benchmark price for condominiums at the end of February was $682,800. The extremities of this average ranged from a high in West Vancouver at $1,237,100 to a low in Maple Ridge of $307,800. Here is my selection of three areas closest on both sides of the Benchmark. On the higher side, the Benchmark for Burnaby East was $706,700, an increase of 2.6 per cent over the previous month. The Benchmark for Burnaby South was $710,100, an increase of 1.8 per cent over the preceding month; and Vancouver West’s Benchmark at $835,800 was an increase of 2.9 per cent over the previous month. On the lower side, the Benchmark for Port Moody was $668,300, an increase of 4.0 per cent over the previous month. Richmond’s Benchmark at $657,800 was an increase of 1.2 per cent over the previous month; and the Burnaby North Benchmark at $642,500 was an increase of 3.9 per cent over the previous month. These selections are made to guide my clients who are looking to purchase, or sell, one of these property types within the Metro Vancouver region based on the mid-range prices of comparable properties.

There are of course many properties in areas outside the mid-price range I have focused on in my selections above. If you would like to learn more about prices in any other areas of Greater Vancouver, I will be happy to help you find a property that fits your mortgage range. Please feel free to give me a call.

FRASER VALLEY

There was also a decrease – a small one — in the year-over-year number of February sales in the Fraser Valley, a mere 0.8 per cent decline. However, the Valley continues as a high demand area, noted by February’s 14.5 per cent increase over January 2018 sales activity. As has been the case for many months, attached properties – townhouses and condominiums – together represented more than half of all the transactions. Fraser Valley home seekers can again be buoyed with the fact that inventory in February increased 9.5 per cent over the preceding month, bringing the total supply of properties on the market at the end of February to 4,340.

For anyone thinking about listing their property for sale, it is nonetheless a good time because demand continues to be greater than the 10-year average for this time of year. During the month of February, detached properties took on an average of 38 days to sell, while townhouses sold after an average of 28 days, and condominiums on an average of 13 days. I highly recommend home purchases in the Fraser Valley at this time. Prices on average are still below those of comparable properties in Metro Vancouver. The composite Benchmark price for all property types in the Fraser Valley at the end of February was $795,100. For this reason, it is a favorite starting area for young families and singles often looking in the townhouse and condominium market segment. However, there is excellent value to be found in all housing types, and for families who want to start with a detached property, or perhaps move up to detached home from their existing townhouse, the Valley has very good prices. I will review the Benchmark prices for each property type in the space below and will make some recommendations on which areas you might wish to look for your preferred price range.

Detached Homes

The Benchmark price for a single family detached home in the Fraser Valley was $992,100 at the end of February, an increase of 1.0 per cent over the preceding month, and a 15.7 per cent increase year-over-year. Compared with the Metro Vancouver Benchmark of $1,602,000 for a comparable property, you can see why this is an attractive investment. The extremities of this average are not as far apart as Metro Vancouver areas, with South Surrey/White Rock at the high end at $1,482,800 and Mission at the low end at $663,500. Closest to the Valley Benchmark on the higher side at the end of February were: Cloverdale at $1,036,600, a 2.2 per cent increase over January; Langley at $1,028,200, a 0,4 per cent increase over January; and Surrey at $1,019,500, an increase of 0.6 per cent over January. Closest to the Valley Benchmark on the lower side were: North Surrey at $972,100, an increase of 0.6 per cent over January; North Delta at $944,800, an increase of 0.4 per cent over January; and Abbotsford at $803,300, an increase of 2.2 per cent over January.

Townhouses

The Benchmark price for townhouses in the Fraser Valley was $531,000 at the end of February. This average is from the extremities of $656,000 in South Surrey/White Rock and $371,600 in Abbotsford. Closest on the higher side of the Benchmark were: North Surrey at $560,200, an increase of 3.1 per cent over January; Surrey at $569,000, an increase of 2.1 per cent over January; and North Delta at $581,000, an increase of 0.4 per cent over January. Closest to the Benchmark on the lower side were: Langley at $508,500, an increase of 1.9 per cent over January; Abbotsford at $371,600 and increase of 2.7 per cent over January; and Mission at $433,400, an increase of 0.3 per cent over January.

Condominiums

The Benchmark price for condominiums in the Fraser Valley was $422,300 at the end of February. The extremities for this average were $519,00 in South Surrey White Rock and $315,400 in Mission. Closest to this Benchmark on the higher side were: Langley at $424,300, an increase of 4.3 per cent over January; Surrey at $427,400, an increase of 6.3 per cent over January; and Cloverdale at $488,100, an increase of 4.0 per cent over January. Closest on the lower side of the Benchmark price were: North Surrey at $410,400, an increase of 4.8 per cent over January; North Delta at $394,100, an increase of 4.8 per cent over January; and Abbotsford at $315,900, an increase of 5.3 per cent over January.

I selected the above areas to assist you in your search for a home to fit your mortgage capability. Keep in mind that the Benchmark prices are a comparison of comparable properties in their respective categories.

If there is any area that you would like to get more specific information on prices in any area, please feel free to call me. I keep a close eye on new listings and changes in prices, and I am always happy to help in any way I can.

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®

Fairness Should Be Restored to Financial Transactions

I recently noted a very interesting development about changes to Canada’s law governing railroad cargo service in this country. As I understand the proposed change, which comes after years of complaints by grain farmers, in the future there will be “reciprocal penalties” for not fulfilling shipping agreements. Reciprocal means applying equally to both parties in an agreement. In the past, the shipper was the only party held responsible for not holding up his end of the bargain. If the shipper missed getting his cargo to the train on time, the shipper paid a penalty. The change will mean that if the railway company is to blame, then the shipper will also be able collect a penalty in the form of a payment from the railway. This seems so basically fair it is hard to imagine why it is only coming into existence now; but my reason for noting this is not to comment on railway service, which is not my area of expertise. What I find so interesting is that this reveals a basic principle of fairness – one that I think should be implemented in several other areas of our lives.

We are accustomed to problems arising from technologies that don’t work properly, to many other issues that can cause irritation and which actually cost us time and money – unfairly. Take for example, bank service charges. We pay them because the bank or credit union, which makes money on our deposits, says they are a charge for the service they provide to us in managing our account. This would include holding our deposits safely, keeping track of our deposits and withdrawals, and providing us with a statement of these transactions each month. But what if the bank makes a mistake? Recently, a friend of mine showed me his bank statement which had withdrawals wrongly posted to his account. His bank fixed the mistake when he brought the errors to their attention. But when he questioned who should be held responsible for the mistake, the financial institution told him that it was up to him to check his monthly statements – in other words, the customer was held responsible for the bank’s mistakes. This is another example where I think fairness would dictate that the customer should be able to have a penalty assessed against the bank and to compensation for the time it has taken him to double check what the bank is supposed to be doing carefully. After all, a customer’s time is also valuable. Banks have a whole lot of different charges for mistakes that clients may make: overdraft charges, NSF penalties on cheques, normal service charges just for posting transactions (even mistaken ones), among others. So why shouldn’t a customer also be able to charge a bank when the bank makes a mistake on the customer’s account. This would be implementing the principle of Reciprocal Penalties – like the railroad company example – and establishing some basic fairness in our everyday lives.

The same principle could be implemented in other areas of daily commerce as well. Have you ever had to challenge incorrect phone charges on your telephone bill; or your cable bill? Or maybe even your tax assessment? I know some people might say these things fall under the heading of “Don’t Sweat the Small Things” – a generally wise philosophy for living in a complex world – but are we in danger of allowing corporations, big computer systems, and big bureaucracies of making a lot of money at the collective expense of all of us, and not being held accountable for their mistakes, as we are for ours? Have we become so used to being treated unfairly that we don’t think it’s important anymore? I think that’s a bigger question that we should think about.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

Metro Vancouver/Fraser Valley Market Update, November 2017

November has announced that Winter is just around the corner. The noticeable drop in temperature is a good reminder to get prepared for the coming season; snow tires, Christmas decorations, maybe a short holiday to a warmer region. There are lots of things to do before winter rolls around.

Metro Vancouver

Another noticeable thermometer change of a different sort this November – with importance for home shoppers – was the big jump in residential sales last month. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported that October’s sales volume was 7.1 per cent higher than September’s, and a huge 35.3 per cent higher than one year ago. In fact, last month’s sales volume was 15 per cent higher than the 10-year average for the month of October. However, there’s one prominent figure that has remained almost unchanged from last month – and very close to what it was this past summer: the composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver. My monthly newsletter readers have been following my review of this benchmark price since it surpassed the $1-million mark in July this year. Since then, its rate of increase has really slowed down – a psychological threshold I have speculated – with the October price of $1,042,300 a mere 0.5 per cent higher than the preceding September bench mark price. And what is particularly interesting is that this rate of increase is exactly the same as the rate of decrease for the benchmark price of a detached property ($1,609,600) in the same month-over-month period. Now, that may well be just a curious coincidence, but it makes one suspect a hidden inverse correlation between detached properties and other types of residences in the current market. In other words, are homebuyers shifting from one housing type to another at this price level? If so, this would support my hypothesis of a price threshold for detached homes; and there was a similar increase in sales activity for both townhouses and condominiums in October.

The October benchmark price for apartments increased 1.0 per cent from the September 2017 price, to reach $642,000. The benchmark price increase for townhouses for the same period was 2.0 per cent, reaching $812,400. These prices are still attracting a lot of buyers. The inventory of available properties in Metro Vancouver in October was 9,137, a decrease of 3.5 per cent from September. Below I have selected some areas where the benchmark prices (as of October 2017) for apartments and condominiums – the market segment of interest to most of my clients – are currently recommended for viewing.

For apartments, I have selected four areas that are closest to the Metro Vancouver benchmark price of $642,000. Each of these areas has its own benchmark price above $600,000, providing prospective buyers with similar property characteristics in the same price range but in distinctly different geographical locations. As usual I have also indicated the most recent rate of price change from the preceding month. You can then narrow your search according to your preferred area to live. In South Burnaby the benchmark price was $664,200, which was the same price in the preceding month; in Burnaby East, where the benchmark price was $661,100, with a decrease of 3.1 per cent from the preceding month; in Port Moody, which had a benchmark price of $613,399 and a 2.0 per cent increase from the preceding month; and Richmond, where the benchmark price was $609,600 with a 1.6 per cent increase from the preceding month.

For townhouses, the benchmark price for Metro Vancouver was $802,400. I have again selected four areas closest to this price, excluding Whistler and West Vancouver because they are each over the $1-million threshold, and Squamish at 899,900, simply because most of my clients are looking for something closer to Vancouver. The four remaining areas are: North Vancouver at $977,000 with a 1.3 per cent increase over the preceding month; Vancouver East at $855,200 with a 0.2 per cent increase over the preceding month; Richmond at $800,000 with a 0.2 per cent decrease over the preceding month; and Burnaby South at 762,300 with a 1.9 per cent increase over the preceding month.

Fraser Valley

If you are in the market for a townhouse or condominium, the Fraser Valley is where I have been directing my readers for value properties at prices that are still within the range of first-time buyer budgets. Certainly, I can help you find a detached property if that is what you are after. The benchmark price in October for a single family detached home was $971,900, which is close to the benchmark price in Metro Vancouver, but still under the $1-million mark. So, if the same pattern holds for price increases as discussed above, the rate of increase may start slowing down soon. It will be interesting to watch if this pattern holds in the Valley as it has done in Metro Vancouver. However, the major sales focus in the Valley is still in the market segment for attached properties. This typically offers what young families are looking for in a townhouse, or for young singles just starting out with a condo. This is an excellent strategy for your longer-term living plans because you start building equity in owning a property. As your family may grow, and your work career develops, you will be in market in which you can move up in value if you like. This is a much more desirable position to be in than trying at a later stage to get into a market that is relentlessly pushing upwards in value.

But there is only one way to describe sales activity in the Valley – it is hot! This past October saw overall sales reach the second highest level in history, with an increase of 23 per cent over October 2016, and 11.1 per cent higher than September 2017. The attached sales were 56 per cent of all market activity with sales of condominiums reaching 591 units and townhouses at 418.

The October benchmark price for a Valley townhouse was $502,800 and for a condominium, $369,400. I have again selected some areas where I see some very good value at prices that are in the affordable range for my clients. I hope you will find the following selection a useful guide in your search for what you want. Each of my selected areas is as close possible to the benchmark price while remaining in the $500,000 range with the $100,000 increment for each benchmark price. I have also included the last month’s rate of change in the price for that area.

For townhouses, the October Valley benchmark price in North Delta was $579, 300 with a 0.8 per cent increase over the preceding month; Cloverdale at $562,700 with a 0.4 per cent increase; Surrey at $540,300 with a 1.2 per cent increase; and North Surrey at $510,600 with a 0.8 per cent increase.

For condominiums, the October Valley benchmark price in Langley was $379,100 with a increase of 2.9 per cent increase over the preceding month; Surrey, at $364,200 with a 3.8 per cent increase; North Surrey at $354,800 with a 3.2 per cent increase; and North Delta at $345,100 with a 3.6 per cent increase.

Please let me know if I can help you with any specific market questions. I am more than happy to crunch the numbers that can help you make the best decision for your home buying plans.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®

Your Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver Market Update

 

For the last few months I’ve been talking about the curious slowing of price increases for detached homes in Metro Vancouver. The benchmark price in September for a detached property was $1,617, 300, which is only 0.1 per cent higher than August. That’s a remarkable decline in the month-over- month rate of increase, recalling that in July the benchmark price rose above $1-million for the first time. Obviously, there was a big spike as the price moved quickly to the mid-range between $1-million and $2-million.

So, a good question now is why has it levelled off in the last couple of months? Is demand declining at this price point? I believe there are a combination of factors that need to be considered. A general price equilibrium, even for a short period, is also a function of supply – in other words, the available housing stock. If there are a relatively higher number of listings for comparable detached properties, price can become a more competitive issue for the seller. Alternatively, on the buyers’ side, a shift to other types of housing appears to be occurring at this price level. Last month, the ratio of sales to active listings was approximately 15 per cent for detached homes, while townhouses and apartments made up the rest. By way of a general observation then, it appears that the detached home benchmark price is going to remain stable as long as there are new detached listings coming onstream and the supply of townhouses and apartments also remains strong. I would therefore advise those clients who are committed to buying a detached home, that now is a time to strike. This market segment is always going to increase in the long term, so take advantage of a period when price escalation has slowed. For the rest of my clients who are looking at townhouses and apartments, here are my suggestions for good opportunities based on the latest figures.

For townhouses, the benchmark price for September in the Greater Vancouver area was $786,600, while in the Lower Mainland it was $661,600. At less than 50 per cent of the price for a detached home, this category of home is very attractive to young families, many on starting salaries and therefore wanting affordable monthly mortgage payments. This month I have selected some municipalities that have good value while staying on the lower side of average price for the Lower Mainland. These include: Coquitlam at $641,400; Burnaby (East) at $636,500; Port Coquitlam at $635,400; Port Moody at $605,400; Pitt Meadows at $572,900; and Maple Ridge at $514,600.

For apartments, the benchmark price for September in Greater Vancouver was $635,800; and in the Lower Mainland $585,300. Again, I have selected some municipalities which have average prices on the lower side of the Lower Mainland benchmark in order to assist a large number of clients who are on limited budgets. I have excluded Whistler and Squamish in this selection, although there are some attractively priced apartments in these areas if you wish to live father out. For others, I suggest looking in Burnaby North with a bench mark price at $576,700; North Vancouver at $553,500; New Westminster at $488,600; Coquitlam at $482,300; Ladner at $422,800; Tsawwassen at $451,600; Port Coquitlam at $414,200; Pitt Meadows at $392,300; and Maple Ridge at $262,400.

Fraser Valley

Here’s some really interesting news! If you’ve been following my contest for predicting the month when the Benchmark Price for a single detached home in the Fraser Valley would exceed $1-million, you probably bet the winner would be announced this month. In July, the benchmark price for a Fraser Valley single detached residence was $966,000. It couldn’t get much closer then, but now in September, it has declined to $974,500. Will we see it break the $1-million mark this year, or will it continue to decline? I have now changed the rules of my contest to include guesses in either direction. If you can predict – within 0.25 per cent – how much the benchmark price for a detached residence in the Fraser Valley will change by the end of this month, I will prepare a customized Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) of your current property. Each CMA is an estimate of the owner’s house value using its condition, (neighbourhood study), real estate market study, and recently sold homes in the same area.

Send your guesses to zhangsibo@hotmail.com by the end of this month. Be sure to include your name and phone number so we can collaborate on your CMA. Winners will be announced in my newsletter and on my website www.liveincentralcity.ca.

Looking at other types of residences in the Valley, we see the opposite trend. Benchmark prices for both townhouses and apartments increased month of month – 1.4 per cent higher for townhouses (now $498,900), and 2.5 per cent higher for apartments (now $358,200). These increases are understandable since the Fraser Valley is still a popular area for young families and singles who are purchasing their first residence. For these home seekers, I have again selected some areas in price ranges about equal distance on each side of the benchmark price.

For townhouses, these areas are: Langley at $465,200; North Surrey at $507,900; and Surrey at $534,000.

For apartments, look in the areas of: North Delta at $333,000; North Surrey at $344,000; Surrey at $350,900; Langley at $368,500; and Cloverdale at $415,400.

Please let me know if you have a specific price range or other features in mind for the home you are seeking. I can also help you determine an affordable mortgage for your income and the equity you can build in your home. I love to crunch numbers and to help my clients in any way I can.

Thanks for reading!

Sibo Zhang, REALTOR®