The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2017 Fourth Quarter Housing Forecast today. 

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province are forecast to decline 10.4 per cent to 91,700 units in 2018, after an expected 8.8 per cent decrease this year. A record 112,209 unit sales were recorded in 2016. The ten-year average for MLS® residential sales in BC is 84,700 units. Strong economic and demographic fundamentals are supporting elevated housing demand. However, a number of factors are expected to temper home sales in the province next year....

The purchase price you negotiate when buying or selling a home is just one part of the ultimate cost for a home. In addition to the purchase price there are a number of other fees—known as closing fees—that need to be factored in to any purchase or sale price. To help you plan the purchase or sale of your property, here’s a snapshot of the extra fees you can expect to pay out of pocket once you’ve settled on the home sale price.

Buyer’s Closing Costs

→ Land Transfer Tax

Most provinces and some major cities impose a land transfer tax that is calculated as a percentage...

Real estate isn’t just a place to live anymore, it’s now an integral part of your financial plan. But that doesn’t mean you should get in at all cost. To make it work, you need to consider the purchase of a home as part of your overall financial plan. To help you stay on track, here are eight simple steps you can take to start the home-buying process in a fiscally responsible way.

1. Start budgeting

Most people start their home buying process by going to an open house or by going online to the Multiple Listing Service— a collection of private databases...

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The SFU, UniverCity market boasts one of the lowest vacancy rates & some of the highest rental yields in Metro Vancouver. Looking for an ideal long term real estate invesment? Look no further than UniverCity,...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,677 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in October, an increase of 19.3 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $6.25 billion, up 41.6 per cent from October 2016. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $720,129, up 18.7 per cent from October 2016.

“BC home sales trended higher in October, up 23 per cent from January on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “A lack of supply...

The trend in housing starts was 216,770 units in October 2017, compared to 215,153 units in September 2017, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

”The trend in housing starts essentially held steady in October following a decrease in September,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. ”Nevertheless, new home construction remains very strong in 2017, as the seasonally adjusted number of starts has been above 200,000 units in nine...

Housing affordability is fundamentally linked to the relationship between the housing stock and market demand. Strong economic growth has created rising labour demand and consumer confidence side effects, while net migration and a wave of millennials entering their household-forming years have rounded out a “perfect storm” of demand-side momentum. In turn, the supply of resale homes on the market in Metro Vancouver has plunged to decade lows. This has led to continuing upward pressure on home prices, because elevated consumer demand hasn’t been matched by an equivalent increase...

Metro Vancouver* home sales exceeded typical historical levels in October with the majority concentrated in the townhouse and apartment markets.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region totalled 3,022 in October 2017, a 35.3 per cent increase from the 2,233 sales recorded in October 2016, and an increase of 7.1 per cent compared to September 2017 when 2,821 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 15 per cent above the 10-year October sales average.

"Conditions continue to vary significantly based on property type. The detached home...

Canada’s housing markets remain highly vulnerable¹ with evidence of moderate overvaluation and price acceleration, according to  Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). After a boost in residential construction in 2017, housing starts are projected to decline by 2019, but to remain close to the average level from the last 5 years.

This analysis is from two key CMHC reports released today: the Housing Market Assessment (HMA) and Housing Market Outlook (HMO).

CMHC’s HMA continues to find housing markets in Toronto, Hamilton, Vancouver, Victoria...

The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent.

Inflation has picked up in recent months, as anticipated in the Bank’s July Monetary Policy Report (MPR), reflecting stronger economic activity and higher gasoline prices. Measures of core inflation have edged up, in line with a narrowing output gap and the diminishing effects of lower food prices. The Bank projects inflation will rise to 2 per cent in the second half of 2018. This is a little later than anticipated in July...

After back-to-back interest rates hikes, the Bank of Canada can stay on the sidelines for longer than first anticipated, with tighter mortgage rules slowing the housing market and uncertainty about NAFTA clouding the outlook.

While more rate increases are on the horizon, possibly before the end of the year, the central bank is expected to hold rates at 1 percent on Wednesday as the list of unknowns and a moderating economy force policymakers to watch and wait.

© REUTERS/Chris Wattie/File Photo FILE PHOTO - A sign is pictured outside the Bank of Canada building in Ottawa 

The unknown...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 8,340 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September, an increase of 9.9 per cent from the same period last year. Total sales dollar volume was $5.8 billion, up 30.2 per cent from September 2016. The average MLS® residential price in the province was $693,774, up 18.5 per cent from September 2016. 

“BC home sales rose nearly 5 per cent from August on a seasonally adjusted basis,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Total active listings...

Vancouver’s skyline.

Darrryl Dyck/For The Globe and Mail  

Court records and advertisements reveal several ways potential buyers and realtors are eyeing as ways around the 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers, reports Xiao Xu

British Columbia's introduction of a foreign-buyer real-estate tax dumped a bucket of icy water on Vancouver's smoking hot market just over a year ago. Average house prices immediately fell, declining for six months before showing signs of renewed vitality in April and May.

A Globe and Mail examination of court records and advertisements reveals...

The trend in housing starts was 214,821 units in September 2017, compared to 220,573 units in August 2017, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This trend measure is a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rates (SAAR) of housing starts.

“Housing starts are trending lower in September after increasing for eight consecutive months,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Nevertheless, new home construction remains very strong as the seasonally adjusted number of starts was above 200,000 units for four straight months'....

The author of Millionaire Migrants was one the first to provide evidence that the foreign real-estate dreams of China’s wealthy have arguably had more impact than anything on Metro Vancouver’s housing unaffordability.

UBC geographer David Ley, along with SFU’s Wu Qiyan, told me early this year the city’s real-estate bubble would be punctured when leaders of the People’s Republic of China further restrict money leaving their country.

Now strong signs are appearing that Metro Vancouver’s real-estate balloon has indeed been pricked by China’s heightened...

Apartment and townhome activity is outpacing the detached home market across Metro Vancouver*. This activity helped push total residential sales above the historical average in September.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region totalled 2,821 in September 2017, a 25.2 per cent increase from the 2,253 sales recorded in September 2016, and a 7.3 per cent decrease compared to August 2017 when 3,043 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 13.1 per cent above the 10-year September sales average.

“Our detached homes market is balanced...

Housing affordability in Canada hit the worst level in 27 years in the second quarter of this year, according to a Royal Bank of Canada report.

RBC Economics said in a report Friday that its housing affordability measure for Canada deteriorated for the eighth straight quarter.

The least-affordable place to purchase a home remains the Vancouver area, where affordability worsened after two straight quarters of improvement but remains better than a year ago. Outside of British Columbia and Ontario, affordability remains mostly stable, RBC said.

RBC’s housing affordability measure shows the proportion...

HIGHLIGHTS

• 5-year fixed mortgage rates hit three-year high
• Rapid economic growth, but still no sign of inflation
• Bank of Canada tightening, but how quickly?

Mortgage Rate Outlook

Since our second quarter forecast, our projected rise in mortgage rates has occurred and accelerated, as the Bank of Canada—spurred by economic growth that far exceeded its outlook—turned suddenly hawkish. The Bank surprised with a 25-basis point increase in July and then again in September, taking its overnight rate back to 1 per cent, where it was before the precipitous drop in oil prices...