About Greater Vancouver, BC

Vancouver Home Stager Attends Real Estate Staging Association Conference 2012 Las Vegas

One Conference all Vancouver Home Stagers should be attending is the RESA (Real Estate Staging Association) Conference. This important Conference brings together Stagers from across North America to exchange information, brain storm, share current trends and update skills. I was very excited to attend my 3rd RESA Conference and thought I'd share a few special moments.

Although the Conference is held at the Treasure Island Hotel, I have a special place in my heart for the Venetian Hotel across the road, and decided to hang my hat there for the duration.

My morning started with a quiet, zen moment by the pool at the Venetian, drinking my coffee and contemplating what was planned for the rest of the day.

The Venetian Hotel calms me. I love all the ornate ceiling ornamentation, and enjoy being serenaded in the elevators and hallways by tunes from Phantom of the Opera, and contemporary Italian ballads.

Once at the Conference, it was great to reconnect with Stagers from across Canada and the United States. We have a wonderful time catching up with our personal lives, as well as hearing how the Staging industry is clicking along in various parts of our respective countries.

From top left: Cathy Lee-CL Design Services, Lori Kim Polk-Premiere Home Staging, Janice Sutton-1st Stage Property Transformations; Jackson West-JacksonLaneWest.com, Me (Sally Weatherley, Exit Stage Right); Margaret Gehr-Chicagoland Home Staging; Lori Kim Polk-Birthday Girl!; Tori Toth-Stylish Stagers, Susan Evans-Home Suite Home Staging; Susan Evans, Lori Kim Polk, Peg Barcelo-Jackson-Fluff My House Home Staging, Me!

The RESA Conference offers wonderful, motivational speakers and industry experts. This is media darling Cathy Hobbs, sharing tips on how to leverage your way with television appearances. She was a fountain of information and gave us great insight into the media world.

The Conference is also a great platform on which to present industry awards, recognizing those individuals and companies who have excelled this year. Here is a photo of Kathy Nielsen, Georgia Interior Solutions, being honoured for a staging award. Congratulations, Kathy!

The Real Estate Staging Association Conference is something not to be missed. This Conference is too important in taking our Staging businesses to the next level, thereby serving the public to the best of our ability. After all, the name of the game is to help home owners sell their properties as painlessly and successfully as possible!

Greater Vancouver home sellers were more active than buyers in January and overall home prices, according to the new MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), continued to experience more stability and less fluctuation compared to the beginning of 2011.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,577 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2012. This represents a 4.9 per cent decrease compared to the 1,658 sales recorded in December 2011, a decrease of 13.3 per cent compared to the 1,819 sales in January 2011 and an 18 per cent decline from the 1,923 home sales in January 2010.

January sales in Greater Vancouver were the second lowest January total in the region since 2002, though only 146 sales below the 10-year average.

We’re seeing trends emerge in our market that favour buyers, such as increased selection and more stability in pricing compared to this time last year. Last month’s activity tells us that competition amongst home buyers was reduced in January, which means that individuals looking to purchase a home had more time to do their homework, consult with their REALTOR®, and make a decision.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,756 in January. This represents a 19.9 per cent increase compared to the 4,801 new listings reported in January 2011, and a 253.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,629 new listings reported in December 2011.

Last month’s new listing count was the highest January total in Greater Vancouver since 1995.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® is 12,544, a 12.5 per cent increase compared to December 2011 and an increase of 20.2 per cent compared to January 2011.

New MLS® Home Price Index launches in Canada

Today marks the launch of the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), the best and purest way of determining price trends in the housing market. The MLS® HPI was pioneered by six founding partners: the real estate boards of Calgary, Fraser Valley, Greater Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Toronto and the Canadian Real Estate Association. The partners contracted with Altus Group to develop the MLS® HPI which measures home price trends in the five major markets serviced by those boards.

The new index replaces the MLSLink Housing Price Index, which had been used by Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley REALTORS® since the mid 1990s. MLS® HPI statistics should not be compared with previous MLSLink HPI statistics.

The MLS® HPI is a national collaboration intended to give the public a more reliable and comprehensive tool to understand home price trends across the country.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver currently sits at $660,600, up 5.7 per cent compared to January 2011 and down 0.1 per cent compared to December 2011. The MLS® HPI also tracks home prices across the Lower Mainland.

The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower Mainland is $593,300, an increase of 5 per cent compared to January 2011.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in January 2012 reached 659, a decline of 16.9 per cent from the 793 detached sales recorded in January 2011, and a 6.5 per cent decrease from the 705 units sold in January 2010. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.3 per cent from January 2011 to $1,034,700.

Sales of apartment properties reached 657 in January 2012, a decline of 7.9 per cent compared to the 713 sales in January 2011, and a decrease of 26.3 per cent compared to the 891 sales in January 2010.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.4 per cent from January 2011 to $371,500.

Attached property sales in January 2012 totalled 261, a decline of 16.6 per cent compared to the 313 sales in January 2011, and a 20.2 per cent decrease from the 327 attached properties sold in January 2010. The benchmark price of a townhome 3 unit declined 0.5 per cent between January 2011 and 2012 to $468,000

Source Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

There are a lot more things to consider when purchasing a unit in a multi-residence complex or multi-suite building than whether or not you’ll get along with the overexcited couple in Unit 9. First off, there’s the matter of fitting your odd-shaped sectional through the front door. More importantly, however, you need to consider strata fees.

You might be asking “Strata what?” Strata fees (also known as condominium maintenance fees) are monthly fees collected from each unit owner in a multi-residence complex/multi-suite building to cover ongoing costs and maintenance. Living in a multi-residence complex or multi-suite building, you’ll have access to common areas. Both you and the sporty woman in unit 6 will have access to property like hallways, gardens, gym, pool, etc. The liability of common property form strata fees. These fees pay for your unit’s portion of costs for things like garbage removal, sewer, landscaping, building maintenance, on-site insurance, onsite-management, and so on.

Strata fees are calculated according to the square footage of your individual property, meaning you and the mysterious bachelor in Unit 20 most likely won’t be paying the exact same amount. Think about it. If you and a roommate were purchasing groceries, would you pay pitch in the same amount for buying two cups of a yogurt as your roommate who bought ten pounds of meat, five bags of chips, a box of ice cream, and a case of soda? Of course not! Strata fees are sort of like a monthly trip to the groceries, where you pay a percentage relative to what you purchased. If you’ve got a voracious appetite – in this case, the desire for a larger kitchen, bedroom, etc. – you’ll have to pay your fair share.

If you think strata fees are just a way to rob you of your hard-earned money, they’re not. Each year, the strata council sets a budget, breaking down the total costs involved in maintaining the strata lot. It calculates your monthly strata fee by dividing the square footage of your unit by the total strata lot square footage, multiplying this amount by the common area costs and diving it by 12. Say, for example, the total square footage of the strata lot was 159,600 square feet and your unit was 1,400 square feet. If common costs were $65,000, your monthly strata fee would be $47.51 per month. The more square footage your unit, the more you pay. It’s that simple.

Consider strata fees seriously when purchasing your unit. The more frills and features your multi-residence complex/multi-suite building has, the more it costs to maintain them, meaning higher strata fees for you each month. That swimming pool isn’t going to clean itself, now is it? Beefed-up security measures may be desirable, but consider that with heightened security, you’re paying more overall to keep your stuff safe (and will have less money for pizza and wings come Friday night.) Take strata fees into consideration before purchasing a unit in a multi-residence complex/condominium. The cushier the living situation, the more you’ll have to pay. Just remember. Without them, you’d be swimming in a bug-filled pool.

PRICED WELL BELOW ASSESSED VALUE FOR A VERY QUICK SALE. Price reflects the renovations required to mordernize the house to suit your needs. Fully finished suite to use as a Mortgage Helper. Can possibly rent out for approx. $900 - $1000/mthJust minutes from the Mary Hill Bypass, now you can arrive home and leave for work without having to access any side streets. Priced this low, this home is sure to sell fast. Hurry and make it yours before it's gone. Open House: Sat, Feb 4th, 2-4 PM.

FOR MORE INFO ON THIS PROPERTY, CLICK HERE

Whether you need some great looking & inexpensive drapery panels for staging or to brighten up your home Fabricland offers some terrific buys. As a member for $15 - $20 you can always get at least 25% off draperies and fabrics. Right now they have a fantastic sale with 50% off! Their panels give any home an updated look.

As a home stager I recommend using a hard window treatment such as a 2" faux wood blind (white to match the trim) and just add side drapery panels to soften the look, and to pull the room together. This is an inexpensive and attractive way to get a more updated look in your room. For a really modern look choose the ones with grommets and purchase a new brushed nickel or black rod iron rod; or go for the simpler version with a rod pocket which slips into standard curtain rods. I don't recommend spending much money on full draperies because the new owner may not like them! Be smart - stage with less.