Olena Osipov REALTOR® - Maple Ridge Real Estate

Everybody keeps thinking how bad the market is and how nothing is selling. Well, here, in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, BC market we even manage to get multiple offers. That's right, in a dropping marketplace and in the month of December.

A couple of weeks ago we were on our regular weekly office tour of just listed homes. We drop into this nice townhouse and go through it. Nothing special, just clean and nicely decorated. The next day I hear it had multiple offers. Wasn't I pleased to hear that?! It got sold within 10 days.

The next week I get into a car with other fellow agents to go on a tour and REALTOR who listed it happened to be in the same car. We start chatting and apparently she sold it during the office tour. One of the agents in our office went through it and by the time he exited he said he'll bring a qualified buyer with an offer this afternoon. Shortly after that, another agent from the tour came with an offer, so the seller ended up with multiple offers.

In my conversation with the listing agent I've asked her how did she get this listing. A little memo, this house was listed before with a discount brokerage and has expired. I have doorknocked on this property and nobody was there as it was vacant. I have left my flyer and business card there. Anyways, apparently the son of the passed away owner found her on Internet. She suggested staging the property a bit and she would take care of all the details as the existing owner lives quite far away.

This is a good example how Internet presence and going a little bit beyond makes you money. Even in today's market. I just thought it was great and the listing agent did a wonderfull job. So it's still possible to get multiple offers even in today's market.

I just couldn't miss the great article in today's issue of Vancouver Sun from the President of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board Dave Watt. I just heard this morning from one of my clients "Did you watch the news this morning? Canada's foreclosures went up 20%. Oh My God, this is the end!". I'm just so tired of this kind of talks so I've decided to post this article and please just read it over again. Canada's banking system is not like the one in the US. Media is making so much money out of this. The headlines in the 90's were pretty much the same as today. Just read an example on my Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge Real Estate website.

"In recent months, economists have had the unenviable task of trying to calculate the direction the housing market is likely to take, factoring in things like unemployment rates, population and immigration figures, economic growth, mortgage rates, and that most nebulous of criteria, consumer confidence.

They agree that the decrease in housing sales and prices bears little relation to the economic indicators in British Columbia. What has changed is public perception of our financial security, triggered by the troubled global financial markets.

As realtors, people are asking us to help make sense of the housing market.

Sellers are asking if the market value of their home is decreasing. Buyers want to know if they should wait for further price reductions. Homeowners not in the market to buy or sell want to understand the impact on their equity, which may affect decisions like plans for renovations.

Investors are asking about short-term impact -- is it a good time to buy, renovate, and re-sell for a profit? And long-term impact -- is quality real estate now available at lower prices? First-time buyers want to know how much they need for a down payment, whether they can afford the monthly mortgage payment, and if they can get financing in these uncertain times. There are no easy answers. Around the Lower Mainland's kitchen tables, realtors are helping people assess their individual situations.

Circumstances cause each of us to make decisions despite uncertainties related to global economies and politics. Someone gets a job in another city. A family must consider estate planning for a parent. A young couple wants to start investing in their own home, rather than renting.

Our MLS statistics and housing price index (HPI) tell us that, since May, residential home sales and prices have been decreasing. After five years of unprecedented growth in home values in the Lower Mainland, that's not particularly surprising or necessarily unwelcome.

Between 2003 and 2008, the HPI benchmark price of a detached home in Greater Vancouver increased nearly 70 per cent to $761,000 from $449,000. Condominiums over the same period increased 82 per cent to $387,000 from $213,000.

Left unchecked at this rate, by 2013 the benchmark price of a detached home would top $1.2 million and condos more than $700,000.

Current trends offer moderation to a market where affordability, for much of this decade, was eroding, making home ownership unattainable to an expanding segment of our community.

Since May, residential home prices have declined 12.8 per cent, resulting in an 8.3-per-cent year-to-date price reduction for detached, attached and apartment properties across Greater Vancouver.

These moderating home prices should not be confused with the U.S. housing downturn. Since 2005, prices in the U.S. have been edging downward owing in large part to imprudent subprime lending practices.

The local real estate market is not immune to global economic challenges; however, Canada's disciplined lending structure has kept the mortgage landscape steady in these uncertain times.

While the current rate of foreclosures in the U.S. is nearly five per cent, only 0.28 per cent of mortgages in Canada are in arrears, a proportion that is not only low but steady, according to the Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP).

Low prices are not the concern as much as the view that prices are falling. Buyers are waiting to see of the real estate market has hit bottom.

Identifying the "bottom" of a market is difficult, given that certain variables must remain constant to attain real savings.

For example, interest rates must remain low and that perfect house must remain available at an acceptable price.

Most of us sell a home and buy a home within the same market; while we may be selling at a lower price, we're also buying within that lower-priced market.

Deciding to buy or sell a home should be a milestone moment based on your financial and personal circumstances, and the market conditions within your neighbourhood of choice. For those whose finances allow it, there are excellent opportunities in today's housing market. This is a good market for long-term investors.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has existed for nearly 90 years and witnessed numerous market cycles. Sales increase and decrease. Prices go up and down. Historically, the values at the peak of the next cycle inevitably surpass the ones before."

Dave Watt is president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

VANCOUVER, B.C. - November 3, 2008 - Housing price reductions across Greater Vancouver over the last six months have eliminated price gains witnessed in the first quarter of 2008.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential benchmark prices, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, declined 8.8 per cent between May and October 2008, resulting in a 3.9 per cent year-to-date price reduction for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver between Octobers 2007 and 2008. In May 2008, the overall residential benchmark price was $568,411, compared to $518,668
in October 2008.
"Home sales are not keeping pace with the positive economic conditions in BC," said REBGV president, Dave Watt. "That's a direct result of a loss of consumer confidence in the overall market. Accordingly, today's housing market is characterized by moderating home prices and wide selection. It's definitely a buyer's market."
Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver declined 55 per cent in October 2008 to 1,364 from the 3,028 sales recorded in October 2007. Active listings totalled 19,257 in October 2008, a three per cent decline from the 19,852 active listings reported in September 2008. New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties increased one per cent to 4,867 in
October 2008 compared to October 2007, when 4,819 new units were listed. Sales of detached properties in October 2008 declined 56.5 per cent to 493 from the 1,133 sales recorded during the same period in 2007. The benchmark price for detached properties declined 4.7 per cent from October 2007 to $695,962. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 9.8 per cent.
Sales of apartment properties in October 2008 declined 52.7 per cent to 647, compared to 1,368 sales in October 2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property declined 3.5 per cent from October 2007 to $358,359. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an apartment property in Greater Vancouver has declined eight per cent.
Attached property sales in October 2008 are down 57.5 per cent to 224, compared with the 527 sales in October 2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit declined 1.4 per cent in Greater Vancouver between October 2007 and 2008 to $448,152. Since May 2008, the benchmark price for an attached property in Greater Vancouver has declined 6.4 per cent.

Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

Olena's comment: It's a great time to buy considering dropped prices and good mortgage rates.