According to a recent study by the major Canadian banks, Canadians are staying in their principal residences much longer in years and one of the fastest growing demographics for home purchasers is the 65 to 72 year old demographic. According to the study 70% of all Canadians at 75 years old are still living in their principal residence. This goes against the prediction of a best selling book back in 1996 entitled "Boom Bust Echo". This book predicted that aging baby boomers would all at once start selling these large homes in the suburbs to downsize, thus causing a glut in the market and prices to plummet.

Canadians are always looking for ways to pay less tax and shelter money for better growth. Did you know the best tax shelter still available to us in this county is owning your principal residence? Outside of a TFSA which is limited to $5500 a year. All the capital gain in your principal residence grows completely tax free and when you sell the house all the capital gain is received without a penny in tax. It's by far the best tax shelter we still have in this country and why home ownership is considered the foundation to financial security.

Here are some of the basics I've learned over the past 18 years on being a Real Estate investor and landlord.  What to buy? How to get a tenant? And the Tenancy Agreement and running a credit check. One thing I forgot to mention in my video is once you get a good long term tenant who takes care of the place, pays their rent on time and doesn't bother you with minor little things; don't raise the rent!  Let him stay, paying that same rent for years if he wants to stay. Tenant turnover costs a lot of time and money. That extra 2 or 3% you could legally increase his rent by every year does not offset all the time and money it takes to get a good quality tenant like you already have. Here is my personal philosophy on investing in Vanco ...

I think shares in Apple right now are on sale! So I bought some today at just under $425 a share. Apple's share price has dropped by nearly $300 over the last 8 months. They've taken that company out to the wood shed and put a beating on it for sure. If you read the financial news there seems to be 2 very opinionated groups of people out there. Group A thinks Apple is crashing and it's still headed much lower. Group B thinks at the current valuation Apple is on sale and a good buy based on current  fundamentals. Especially if you're a long term value investor and are willing to hold it for many years to let the stock come back. The fact that Apple is going to pay you a 2.5% dividend yield now and I think as much as a 4%  dividend y ...

A large Coal Harbour condo tower recently passed an non smoking bylaw that prohibits smoking everywhere in the building including an owner's own suite. I'm not sure if this will stick as it might get overturned at the strata's next AGM however it does set an interesting precedent. Here is a link to the original article in the Vancouver Sun. http://www.vancouversun.com/health/Smoking+banned+storey+Vancouver+condo+tower/7304934/story.html

Here is what I'm currently seeing on the front lines for Spring 2013. Sales volume is still below our normal levels - down approx 20 to25%. That said prices have not really come down much more since my last update for Winter and for the most part seem to be treading water. It's a classic Mexican standoff where neither side wants to blink. Many sellers who were unable to get their price this past Fall and Winter simply took their home off the market and have not re-listed it and many buyers are still in a wait and see mode. In early March I started to notice a fairly large increase in showings and sales for units priced under $250,000. I think 1st time buyers who have been looking the past 12 months are finally deciding to take the ...

Richmond based realtor Owen Bigland talks about the dangers of overpricing your home in a buyers market where prices are trending lower each month. You can get away with testing the high side of the price when we're in a sellers market where prices are going up. However when we're in a buyers market and prices are trending lower you need to price that home properly from Day 1.  If you don't, you can get into situation where you're always one step behind and forced to make several price reductions as you follow the market down.Below is an excerpt from my Informed Sellers booklet on the importance of proper pricing in a buyers market. PRICE.  You need to get it right the first time! Sometimes a house is priced based on the sellers ne ...

This is a friendly reminder. If you do any type of renovation or upgrade to your home make sure you contact your insurance company and update your home owners policy to cover the improvements and betterments you have made. If you don't and your unit is damaged, say in a flood, these new upgrades are not going to be covered. All it takes is a phone call and it won't increase your premium by much. Also make sure you have the proper liability insurance to cover the Strata's insurance deductible. They can and will go after you for this deductible if there is damage done to other units or the common area of the Strata resulting from something that has arisen from your unit.

The From B is an  important document that you are going to want to order (Valid for 30 days) before you remove subjects on the condo or townhouse. Think of the Form B as a snapshot of the current situation of that strata unit as well as the Strata Corp you are buying into which provides lots of valuable info. Some of the key things you will find on the Form B:What is the current monthly Strata Fee?Is there any money owning to the Strata Corp by the existing owner? How much money is in the Contingency reserve fund? How is the parking and storage locker allocated? Are there any court proceedings or judgments against the strata?

In all the years I have been involved in Real Estate, both as an investor and marketing/listing specialist my LONG TERM outlook on how it will perform from a long term investment standpoint has never wavered one bit. I'm just as positive and bullish on Vancouver Real Estate today as I was 20 years ago when I bought my first investment property. I know first hand the power of buying a principal residence as well as buying investment properties and the magic of simply letting time do its thing (Paying down the principal each month and appreciation or Capital Gain over time). So when media outlets contact me to ask my opinion on Vancouver Real estate and if now is a good time to buy, I refer them back to a video blog I did last Fall. ...