Industry News - Page 18 of 33

20Dec

Staging Strategies To Boost Winter Home Sales

[Forbes - November 18, 2019] There are both advantages and disadvantages that are inherent in listing a home for sale in the winter. However, one factor remains constant: Presenting a home in its best light will result in a quicker sale and a higher selling price. Reduced inventory on the market in the winter months provides a golden opportunity to make your home stand out. Here are several suggestions aimed at showing any property at its winter best. Winter Curb Appeal Positive [...]

Home Design + Decor, Vancouver Real Estate

20Dec

Property Watch: B.C’s 2020 real estate forecast is decidedly cloudy

[BC Business - December 19, 2019] Will the market continue its rebound in 2020, or fall prey to a slowdown driven by rising supply? All bets are off. It’s been a whirlwind of a year for the B.C. housing market. Gossip about real estate, often considered British Columbians’ favourite pastime, quieted to a whisper at the start of 2019. Sales volumes reached six-year lows and prices began falling—a rare event for the 68 percent of B.C. residents who own a home, [...]

British Columbia, Economic Outlook

19Dec

Toronto, Vancouver among biggest property bubbles in the world, UBS says

[CBC - September 28, 2019] 9 years salary to buy a house in Vancouver, more than 6 in Toronto Swiss investment bank UBS has deemed Toronto and Vancouver to have among the world's biggest housing bubbles, with mispricing that's even more pronounced than it is in expensive cities like Paris and San Francisco. In an annual report published Thursday, the Swiss bank looked at 20 cities around the world that are considered to be financial centres, local metropolises that are hubs for [...]

Economic Outlook, Toronto, Ontario, Vancouver Real Estate

19Dec

Despite recent sales spike, analyst predicts Greater Vancouver market will see more owners losing homes

[News 1130 - December 15, 2019] VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Don’t believe the hype. That’s a real estate tracker’s warning about claims home sales in Greater Vancouver are climbing up again. Dane Eitel, the founder and lead analyst of Eitel Insights, says the market will get worse next year. “We could see a very real day of reckoning here come 2020 to the detached market and that’s where we’re actually going to see some need-based selling, which we haven’t seen for many, [...]

Economic Outlook, Vancouver Real Estate

18Dec

Armed with new data, B.C. set for crackdown on tax evasion in Vancouver property market

[Globe and Mail - December 11, 2019] Government policies aimed at reducing speculation in Vancouver’s property market have worked to curb foreign buying and speculative demand. That was merely part one, says high-profile immigration lawyer and analyst, Richard Kurland, who’s been studying the impact of those policies. “Part 1 was putting the machine together,” Mr. Kurland says. “Part 2 is using the machine to go after tax evaders in the Vancouver property market. At the end of the day, we are [...]

British Columbia, International Influence, Vancouver Real Estate

18Dec

Vancouver’s empty homes tax increasing by 25%

[CTV - November 28, 2019] VANCOUVER -- Vancouver's controversial empty homes tax is going up by 25 per cent starting next year, and there will be more increases to come, following a decision by city council. The change means that starting next year, homeowners affected by the tax will be paying 1.25 per cent on their home's assessed value, up from the one per cent they have been paying since the tax took effect in January 2017. The motion, brought forward by [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

18Dec

Vancouver passes 7% property tax increase for 2020

[CBC - December 17, 2019] Vancouver homeowners will see their highest property tax increase in at least a decade — but it will be smaller than what was originally considered. Council passed its 2020 budget Tuesday with an average seven per cent property tax increase for next year, down from the 8.2 per cent proposed last month. "It is funding … council priorities that align with public priorities," said Coun. Adriane Carr, who brought forward the main amendments to the budget. "[But] in every department there's [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

12Dec

10,000 units of public rental housing needed in Metro Vancouver every year: report

[Vancouver Urbanized - December 11, 2019] There is a need for a public housing program that generates 10,000 units of non-market rental housing in Metro Vancouver annually, according to a new report by a think tank. The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives says such an ambitious housing strategy led by the provincial and federal governments could take inspiration from the public housing programs of cities like Singapore and Vienna, where half of the housing is by the state. This would address the [...]

Vancouver Real Estate

12Dec

B.C.’s speculation tax increasing from 0.5% to 2% in 2020

[CBC - December 10, 2019] The B.C. government has announced it is raising the Speculation and Vacancy Tax on Dec. 31 from 0.5 per cent to two per cent for foreign owners and for satellite families, the majority of whose income is not reported on a Canadian tax return. Some new exemptions to the tax will be brought in while others currently in place will be phased out. Stricter rules also coming for exemptions - The province says the $115 million in revenue collected from the [...]

British Columbia, Vancouver Real Estate

16Nov

Canadian Housing Market Trends To Look Out For In 2020 – The slowdown seems to be over.

[Huffington Post - November 3, 2019] The floodgates have officially opened for Canadian housing market forecasts for the next year. We’ve already heard that interest rates will likely sink lower in 2020 as the housing market continues to rally through the first half of the year. There’s also speculation around how the Liberals’ October election win will impact housing affordability and whether the NDP will play a bigger role in setting the housing policy agenda within the new minority government. Now the Canada [...]

Canada, Economic Outlook