Time for another update on mortgages and some things to consider. In this ultra hot sellers market, many homeowners are deciding to sell and cash in. Make sure you have reviewed your mortgage documents and if you’re cancelling your mortgage early, know what your penalties are for paying it out before the expiry date. Also, with record low interest rates, make sure you are leaving room in your budget for a rate hike. Not sure when interest rates will be going up but they have no where to go but up from here. You should also try and take advantage of the accelerated payment options on your mortgage and pay it off early while the getting is good.

The BC Provincial Government and Vancouver City Hall continue to consider new taxes on Real Estate in hopes of curbing demand. Keep in mind, we are already one of the most taxed cities in the world when it comes to Real Estate. Instead of trying to curb demand with more taxes maybe we should try increasing the supply to help moderate the run away price increases we have been seeing the past 2 years.

Sellers don’t want to be buyers in this red hot Vancouver housing market when it comes to tangible product. Unfortunately, new condo development in Downtown Vancouver is no where to be seen. Sure, there are a few pre-construction projects that recently came to market and sold out quickly this past Spring. But I’m looking out towards later this year and next year and see very little new construction on the way. If the City of Vancouver is really interested in making Real Estate more affordable they will tackle the supply problem instead of trying to curb demand with new taxes.

Not much has changed since my Spring 2016 market update. We are still in a record setting sellers market. The only difference is that I’m starting to see a few early stages of buyer fatigue setting in. Where instead of getting 8 offers on a property we’re only getting 4. Lack of inventory and record low interest rates will keep prices high for the foreseeable future. For this market to change we will need some sort of catalyst such as an interest rate hike or some kind of new tax imposed by the provincial Government.

I was speaking with several home inspectors last week. They told me that the number of home inspections they are doing these days is down over 30%. The reason being that in this ultra hot Vancouver sellers market, more and more buyers are in competition. So, to make their offer more appealing to the seller they are writing the offer subject free. Subject free offers can be very dangerous if you don’t take some precautions and do your homework before you write. In this video I will tell you some of the ways you can reduce your risk before you write that subject free offer.

There are a myriad of ways that both buyers and sellers can be penny wise and pound foolish in this market. Trying to save a few bucks in commission but leaving thousands on the table in the final selling price. In this video I will explore why you always get what you pay for. Especially when it comes to buying and selling real estate in an ultra hot market like Vancouver.

Vancouver magazine has just published their annual rankings on all 60 Vancouver neighbourhoods. Not surprising, the top neighbourhoods all have a high walk score and community feel to them. You don’t need to jump in your car to get anywhere. This is a trend I have been seeing for the last 5 years now. More and more people are getting tired with the daily commute and want to live in areas where they can walk or bike to work, shopping and entertainment.

I still read about people who think it makes sense to rent a Vancouver condo over buying. In the short term 1-2 years, it can make sense. There were saving advantages to renting 10 years ago when interest rates were at 8%. However, with our current ultra low interest rate environment where you can lock in a 3 year mortgage at 2.3% and Vancouver rental rates being at all time highs. It makes no sense at all to be renting for longer periods of time. In this video I will explain all the reasons why home ownership should be the first step for most people.

With record low interest rates I always stress to my young buying clients to always leave yourself a bit of a financial buffer when buying and taking out your first mortgage. If a bank says you can qualify for a $400K mortgage, you don’t always have to take all of it. Unexpected special levies for repairs can arise at any time so you want to have an emergency cash fund to cover them. Also, keep in mind that interest rates can only go up from here so start planning and saving for the eventual increase now.

Yes, Vancouver is expensive but I’m here to tell you that you don’t need to save a million dollars to buy your first home in Vancouver. Start with an older 1 bedroom and move up from there. In this video I’m going to give you a few creative ways that me and my clients have used to get our foot in the door and started climbing the Vancouver Real Estate ladder.Correction: You can currently lock in a 3 year fixed term mortgage for 2.45% not 3.45% as stated.