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Home sales across Metro Vancouver were down dramatically last month compared with last year's record-breaking pace, while prices across the region remained more stable.

The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board says a limited supply of listings and an unusually snowy start to the year affected the market.

It says residential sales totalled 2,425 in February, an almost 42-per-cent plunge from February 2016.

But sales in February were up about 59 per cent from January.

The board says the number of properties that changed hands was 7.7 per cent below the 10-year sales average for February.

The board says the benchmark price for detached properties was about $1.47 million, down 6.5 per cent over the previous six months.

Prices for condos and townhomes climbed marginally over January, reflecting limited supply.

``While home sales are not happening at the pace we experienced last year, home seller supply is still struggling to keep up with today's demand,'' board president Dan Morrison said in a statement. ``This is why we've seen little downward pressure on home prices, particularly in the condominium and townhome markets.''


Canadian Press 

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Central Yaletown Location

Amazing Outdoor Space

Open: Feb 25 from 1:00 to 3:00

Priced at $1,248,800

 

Absolutely Stunning! Professionally renovated top-bottom. The search ends here! This bright & well laid out 1062sqft/2lvl/2bed+den/2bath quiet town home in popular Aqua building is walking distance to everything. Enjoy the 492sqft private SE facing patio surrounded by green space. Features: brushed oak floors, glass railing, contemporary moldings, tons of storage & more. Gourmet kitchen: custom teak cabinets, Caeserstone counters, over-sized sink, top-end SS apps & very functional island. Upstairs: large master, walk-in closet, bistro sized patio & spa-inspired 3pc ensuite. The 2nd bed is well sized & the main 4 pc is a tiled masterpiece. 24-hour concierge, top-notch amenities, parking & locker. Act Now! Open Feb 25 from 1 to 3.


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What a view! Perfect for the students, singles or investors alike. This bright 376sqft studio is in excellent condition & shows well. Features: over height ceilings, granite counters, updated appliances, in-suite laundry, 1 parking & beautiful City and open Sky views. Located in Novo I a concrete building with exercise room and pet and rental friendly. Move-in or generate excellent cash flow from high rental demand. Close to: transit, shopping, indoor/outdoor recreation & a host of perks available only to UniverCity residences. Do not miss your chance to enjoy living in this great lifestyle neighborhood!


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Mountain Views

Spacious 1 Bed & Den

Priced at $339,800

 

University, a city within a city. Enjoy the peace & tranquility this area has to offer. This 1 bed & den 669 sqft unit will not disappoint. Features: open layout, granite counters throughout, stainless steel appliances, laminate floors, front load washer & dryer, large covered balcony, & excellent sized den. Located in Novo II, this building offers recreation facilities & allows for rentals & pets. Close to: transit, shopping, indoor/outdoor recreation & a host of perks available only to UniverCity residences. Do not miss your chance to enjoy living in this great lifestyle neighborhood!


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On the heels of multiple government announcements in 2016 and early 2017, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) welcomes the latest: an increase in the Property Transfer Tax exemption threshold for first-time buyers, announced in Budget 2017. The increase, to $500,000 from $475,000, takes effect today.


BCREA appreciates this government’s attention to the needs of first-time homebuyers. To keep pace with the dynamic real estate market and ensure that homebuyers aren’t left behind, the Association strongly believes that this threshold—and all others related to the Property Transfer Tax—should be indexed, with adjustments made annually.


During Minister de Jong’s budget consultation in January, BCREA recommended that the first-time buyer exemption be increased to $750,000. That number would align with the exemption for newlybuilt homes and with the BC HOME Partnership program. This measure would have expanded consumer choices, because the First Time Home Buyers’ Program exemption applies to all homes, rather than only newly-built homes, which are often out of reach of first-time buyers.


BCREA also looks forward to learning more about the provincial government’s plans to partner with local governments to increase housing supply. Specifically, the Association supports incentives that result in faster housing and development approval processes, as well as increased density of familyoriented homes along transit corridors.

 

BCREA is the professional association for more than 20,000 REALTORS® in BC, focusing on provincial issues that impact real estate. Working with the province’s 11 real estate boards, BCREA provides continuing professional education, advocacy, economic research and standard forms to help REALTORS® provide value for their clients.

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Central Yaletown Location

Amazing Outdoor Space

Open: Feb 25 from 1:00 to 3:00

Priced at $1,248,800

 

Absolutely Stunning! Professionally renovated top-bottom. The search ends here! This bright & well laid out 1062sqft/2lvl/2bed+den/2bath quiet town home in popular Aqua building is walking distance to everything. Enjoy the 492sqft private SE facing patio surrounded by green space. Features: brushed oak floors, glass railing, contemporary moldings, tons of storage & more. Gourmet kitchen: custom teak cabinets, Caeserstone counters, over-sized sink, top-end SS apps & very functional island. Upstairs: large master, walk-in closet, bistro sized patio & spa-inspired 3pc ensuite. The 2nd bed is well sized & the main 4 pc is a tiled masterpiece. 24-hour concierge, top-notch amenities, parking & locker. Act Now! Open Feb 25 from 1 to 3.

 

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The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2017 First Quarter Housing Forecast Update today.

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province are forecast to decline 14.1 per cent to 96,345 units this year, after reaching a record 112,209 units in 2016. A moderation trend that began early in 2016, combined with tougher federal government mortgage qualification rules and the foreign buyer tax in Vancouver, is expected to limit consumer demand over the next two years. However, housing demand is expected to remain well above the tenyear average of 84,700 unit sales. “Solid fundamentals continue to underpin housing demand in the province,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “International trade, population growth and consumer confidence will be key economic drivers this year.” Of note, net migration to the province exceeded 50,000 individuals during the first three quarters of 2016, the highest level since 2008 and a 50 per cent increase from the previous year.

The average MLS® residential price in the province is forecast to decline nearly 5 per cent to $657,000 this year, largely the result of increased consumer demand for multi-family homes and a higher proportion of transactions occurring outside the Metro Vancouver market. While a significant number of new homes are under construction in the province, market conditions will continue to be tilted in favour of home sellers in many regions, while home builders scramble to complete existing projects.

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The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 4,487 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January, down 23 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $2.79 billion, down 36.5 per cent from January 2016. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $621,093, a 17.5 per cent decrease from the same period last year.

“Housing demand across the province returned to long-term average levels last month,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “However, regional variations persist, with Victoria posting above average performance and Vancouver falling below the average.”

‘’A marked decrease in the average MLS® residential price is largely the result of relatively more home sales occurring outside of the Lower Mainland,” added Muir.

Home sales from Vancouver fell from 43 per cent of provincial transactions in January 2016 to 35 per cent last month. In addition, fewer detached home sales in Vancouver relative to multifamily units has skewed the average price statistic down in the province’s largest urban area. In contrast, the MLS® Residential Benchmark Price in the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver area has declined 3.7 per cent over the past six months, but is up 15.6 per cent from January 2016.

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Amazing Storage & Workshop

Move-in Ready

Open: Feb 18 from 1:00 to 3:00

Priced at $588,455

 

Beautiful mountain views, quiet family oriented neighborhood, clean & spacious; this home has it all.  Your search ends here. This 1535sqft/3bed/2bath single level home sits on a fully fenced, almost 6000sqft level lot close to all sorts of amenities: schools, transit, parks, excellent commuting access & more. Features: separate living & dinning rooms, spacious kitchen w/eating area, adjacent family room & access to patio & rear yard; perfect for entertaining. The large master has 3pc ensuite & walk-in. 2 well sized rooms, 3 pc main bath & mud room w/laundry complete this home. Bonus: large over-height garage, amazing 5' 1050sqft crawl space & full height workshop with a window! Act Now! OPEN HOUSE Feb 18 from 1 to 3.


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According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales were down slightly in January 2017 on a month-over-month basis.

Highlights:

  • National home sales declined 1.3% from December 2016 to January 2017.
  • Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity in January was up 1.9% from a year earlier.
  • The number of newly listed homes dropped 6.7% from December 2016 to January 2017.
  • The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) in January was up 15.0% year-over-year (y-o-y).
  • The national average sale price was little changed (+0.2%) y-o-y in January.

Home sales over Canadian MLS® Sysems edged down by 1.3% month-over-month in January 2017, putting them at the second lowest monthly level since the fall of 2015 and only slightly above levels recorded last November when recently tightened mortgage regulations came into effect.


Sales activity was down from the previous month in about half of all local markets, led by three of Canada’s largest urban centres: the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Greater Vancouver and Montreal.


Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity was up 1.9% compared to the same month last year. While sales were up from year-ago levels in about two-thirds of all local housing markets including in the GTA, Calgary, Edmonton, London and St Thomas, and Montreal, they were down significantly in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia.


“Canadian homebuyers face some challenges this year, including new mortgage rules that make it harder to qualify for a mortgage and regulatory changes that will push up mortgage financing costs,” said CREA President Cliff Iverson. “It will take some time to gauge the extent to which these challenges will weigh on home buyers in different housing markets across Canada. All real estate is local, and REALTORS® remain your best source for information about sales and listings where you live or might like to in the future.”


“The shortage of homes available for sale has become more severe in some cities, particularly in and around Toronto and in parts of BC,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Unless sales activity drops dramatically, the outlook for home prices remains strong in places that face a continuing supply shortage.”


The number of newly listed homes dropped 6.7% in January 2017, the second consecutive monthly decline. New listings were down in about two-thirds of all local markets, led by the GTA and environs across Vancouver Island.


With the monthly decline in new listings surpassing the decline in sales, the national sales-to-new listings ratio jumped to 67.7% in January compared to 64.0% in December and 60.2% in November.


A sales-to-new listings ratio between 40 and 60 is generally consistent with balanced housing market conditions, with readings below and above this range indicating buyers’ and sellers’ markets respectively.

The ratio was above 60% in about half of all local housing markets in January, the vast majority of which are located in British Columbia, in and around the GTA and across southwestern Ontario. A monthly decline in newly listed homes further tightened housing markets that were already in sellers’ market territory.


The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents how long it would take to completely liquidate current inventories at the current rate of sales activity.


There were 4.6 months of inventory on a national basis at the end of January 2017 – unchanged from December 2016 and a six-year low for the measure.


The imbalance between limited housing supply and robust demand in Ontario’s Greater Golden Horseshoe region is without precedent (the region includes the GTA, Hamilton-Burlington, Oakville-Milton, Guelph, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford, the Niagara Region, Barrie and nearby cottage country). The number of months of inventory in January 2017 stood at or below one month in the GTA, Hamilton-Burlington, Oakville-Milton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Brantford and Guelph.


The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) now includes Oakville-Milton and Guelph, and has been historically revised to ensure that all aggregate measures remain comparable.he Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose by 15.0% y-o-y in January 2017. This was up slightly from December’s gain, reflecting an acceleration in apartment and townhouse/row unit price increases.


Prices for two-storey single family homes posted the strongest year-over-year gains (+16.8%), followed closely by townhouse/row units (+15.8%), one-storey single family homes (+14.4%) and apartment units (+13.3%).


While benchmark home prices were up from year-ago levels in 10 of 13 housing markets tracked by the MLS® HPI, price trends continued to vary widely by location.


 In the Fraser Valley and Greater Vancouver, prices have receded from their peaks posted in August 2016. That said, home prices in these regions nonetheless remain well above year-ago levels (+24.9% and +15.6% respectively).


Meanwhile, benchmark prices continue to climb in Victoria and elsewhere on Vancouver Island together with Greater Toronto, Oakville-Milton and Guelph. Year-over-year price gains in these five markets ranged from about 18% to 26% in January.


By comparison, home prices were down 2.9% y-o-y in Calgary and by 1.0% y-o-y in Saskatoon. Prices in these two markets now stand 5.9% and 4.3% below their respective peaks reached in 2015.


Home prices were up modestly from year-ago levels in Regina (+3.8%), Ottawa (+3.7%) and Greater Montreal (+3.1%). In Greater Moncton, home prices for the market overall held steady (-0.2%), reflecting an increase in townhouse row units prices (5.8%) that was offset by a decline in prices for one-storey single family homes (-1.0%).


The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) provides the best way of gauging price trends because average price trends are prone to being strongly distorted by changes in the mix of sales activity from one month to the next.


The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in January 2017 was $470,253, almost unchanged (+0.2%) from where it stood one year earlier.


The national average price continues to be pulled upward by sales activity in Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto, which remain two of Canada’s tightest, most active and expensive housing markets.


 That said, Greater Vancouver’s share of national sales activity has diminished considerably over the past year, giving it less upward influence on the national average price. The average price is reduced by almost $120,000 to $351,998 if Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto sales are excluded from calculations.


The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 120,000 REALTORS® working through some 90 real estate Boards and Associations.

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The trend measure of housing starts in Canada was 199,834 units in January compared to 197,881 in December, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The trend is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

 

“New home construction started off strong in 2017, both in terms of single-detached homes and multi-unit residential,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC Chief Economist. “While Ontario starts continue to drive the national trend upwards, construction has slowed in BC since last July when it reached a near record high. This slowdown can be partly attributed to builders focusing on projects still underway.”

 

CMHC uses the trend measure as a complement to the monthly SAAR of housing starts to account for considerable swings in monthly estimates and obtain a more complete picture of the state of Canada’s housing market. In some situations analyzing only SAAR data can be misleading, as they are largely driven by the multi-unit segment of the market which can vary significantly from one month to the next.

 

The standalone monthly SAAR for all areas in Canada was 207,408 units in January, up from 206,305 units in December. The SAAR of urban starts increased by 1.0 per cent in January to 189,688 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 4.2 per cent to 125,886 units in January and single-detached urban starts decreased by 4.6 per cent, to 63,802 units.

 

In January, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of urban starts increased in Ontario and Atlantic Canada, but decreased in British Columbia, the Prairies and Quebec.

 

 

Rural starts were estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17,720 units.

 

As Canada’s authority on housing, CMHC contributes to the stability of the housing market and financial system, provides support for Canadians in housing need, and offers objective housing research and information to Canadian governments, consumers and the housing industry

 

Preliminary Housing Start Data
    January 2017  
  December 2016January 2017
Trend1, all areas 197,881 199,834
SAAR, all areas 206,305 207,408
SAAR, rural areas2 18,553 17,720
SAAR, urban centres3    
Single-detached 66,895 63,802
Multiples 120,857 125,886
Total 187,752 189,688
Atlantic, urban centres3 5,208 5,941
Quebec, urban centres3 33,444 31,475
Ontario, urban centres3 77,474 96,883
Prairies, urban centres3 32,615 29,081
British Columbia, urban centres3 39,011 26,308
Canada January 2016January 2017
Actual, all areas 10,217 12,964
Actual, rural areas2 508 638
Actual, urban centres3    
January — Single-detached 3,191 3,318
January — Multiples 6,518 9,008
January — Total 9,709 12,326
January to January — Single-detached 3,191 3,318
January to January — Multiples 6,518 9,008
January to January — Total 9,709 12,326
 

 

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Spacious and Open Layout

3 Bedroom Concrete Home

Open House Feb 4 1:00 to 3:00

Priced at $538,800


Open Sky views, bright, spacious & extremely clean! This 3bed/2bath/1168sqft luxury concrete home, located in OneUniversity offers an excellent layout, fresh paint & shows well. You won't be disappointed. Features: East/West exposure from two large covered balconies, 9’ ceilings, open kitchen w/SS apps, bar fridge, quartz counters & breakfast bar & a cozy fireplace. The large master has his/her walk-through closet, 5pc ensuite w/soaker & separate shower. The 2nd & 3rd rooms are well sized with plenty of closet space. Bonus: 1 parking, 1 locker & well-appointed complex amenities w/gym. Close to: transit, shopping, indoor/outdoor rec. & a host of perks available only to UniverCity residents. Act Now! 



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