The Vancouver market remains very strong with prices up, sales up and inventory near historic lows. Not surprising were starting to see cries for the Government to step in and cool this market once again. Over the past 5 years the Government at all levels has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at the market in an effort to try and cool it by focusing on the demand side. Endless mortgage tightening, Stress Test, Foreign Buyers Tax, Vancouver Empty Homes Tax, BC Speculation Tax, Restrictions and Rental Rate Caps, Property Tax Increases. In the past they have pointed the finger at Foreign Buyers, Money Launders and Speculators as the cause. Today the buyers are all locals. Maybe it’s time we started working the supply side more ins ...

Been awhile since I posted a video tour of one of my listings. This is an exterior video of a home I just listed in the highly desirable Cedar Cottage area of Mt Pleasant. The special thing about this home is that it’s zoned RT-5. This allows for a legal duplex as well as an infill Stratified Coach house. This Coach house should not be confused with a laneway home. A Coach house will have a separate title and can be sold. Stay tuned for a video on these new stratified Coach houses coming soon. THIS HOME HAS NOW SOLD WITH MULTIPLE OFFERS - WELL OVER ASKING PRICE Offered at $1,699,000

As the condo market continues to heat up I’m hearing cries for the Government to step in and do something to cool the market. Right now condo prices are just starting to approach the prices they were at in late 2017. The Government has already thrown everything but the kitchen sink in the form of taxes and restriction to try and curb demand yet prices continue to climb. Maybe we should start working the supply side a bit more. Get rid of the red tape and exorbitant fees and restrictions the City of Vancouver puts on Developers. It’s worth a try because trying to curb demand in a city as desirable as Vancouver is just not working!

I have often used a rule of thumb that if you buy a home today you can expect the value of that home to double every 20 years. I’m actually using quite a conservative rate of return here compared to what Vancouver homes have appreciated over the past 3 or 4 decades. I also compare how the slow and steady return of Vancouver Real Estate pales in comparison to what many high quality stocks have returned over the past 20-25 years.

In our current hot Canadian Real Estate market it was only a matter of time before I started seeing overly optimistic articles in various publications and blogs. They try and convey a message that RE only goes up, buy now or forever be priced out. Buy a pre-sale condo or two and make a $100K in a few years without having to close. Sure these things might happen if everything goes your way but what if it doesn’t? As always, I suggest my clients and viewers to always take a long term balanced approach to buying RE and why you always should have at least 8-10 year holding period with any property you buy. Don’t over leverage and allow a buffer for potential interest rate increases. Markets can do some crazy things in the short term and ...

I can tell you from experience if you follow these habits you will have a great deal of success in your life. Hope you enjoy!

A variety of topics in this video including the record breaking February statistics from the GVREB as we move into a strong sellers market on all product types. CMHC Evan Siddal is leaving next month and tweets out that he was wrong on his bold prediction that the market was headed for a major correction and it's time again for the annual BC Envy Tax Declarations.

I've been speaking with a number of builders and renovators recently, who have told me the cost of building and renovating has spiked up 15 to 20% in the past 12 months. Materials like wood, drywall, flooring, fixtures and appliances have all taken a spike up. A shortage of skilled trades is also to blame. In this video I also discuss strata restrictions on Lower Mainland condos. No rentals, no pets and age restrictions and their effect on prices and the time it takes to sell these homes.

I see some bad strategies in the comments section of my blog when it comes to Vancouver Real Estate. One of the worst is selling your principal residence after a year or two because you’ve made some quick gains on it. Then rent for a year or two and hope to buy back in at a better price. Some of the others are selling an investment unit with a fixed term tenancy as well as paying off the mortgage on an investment unit early when you have a low mortgage rate of sub 3%.

It’s great to see small investors take control of their financial future with the rise of no fee or low fee brokerages like Robinhood. However it can also encourage investors to start speculating on the wrong kind of companies. Most day traders are simply trading in circles. Most will end up losing all or most of their money. The others will eke out a small return that equates to a few dollars an hour when you take into consideration all the time they are spending. Most investors would be far better off simply buying and holding the index via low cost ETF’s from providers like Vanguard and I-Shares.