It's Vital to Price Your Home Accurately

In today’s market with prices falling slightly, but demand high, it’s important to have an expert Realtor® help you to properly price your home right from the start.

Homeowners who make the mistake of overpricing their homes may eventually have to drop the price.

When potential buyers see the price drop and/or the length of time the home has been on the market, it leaves them wondering if the price drop was caused by something wrong with the house. Nothing is wrong; The price was just too high.

Call me to receive an assessment of the value of your home before you list.

Quick Review of Benchmark Prices in Greater Victoria

The year-over-year benchmark price of a single-family home in Victoria's core dipped 2.9 per cent to $860,800 in May 2019. A year ago, that price was $886,200. Benchmark prices for single-family homes in other parts of the Capital Region were also down slightly.

In Greater Victoria, the benchmark dropped to $756,000 from $758,800 a year ago. On the Saanich Peninsula, the price dropped to $791,1000 from $808,900 in 2018. Only the West Shore saw an increase in the benchmark price of single-family homes, rising to $637,300 from $627,100 in May 2018. The benchmark price for a condo in the Victoria core increased slightly from $506,100 in May 2018 to $519,300 in May 2019.

Canadian Housing’s Soft Landing

Some economists say Canada's housing market may now have hit bottom after the slowdown engineered by policy makers. Many believe these policies appear to have done the trick, with a soft landing rather than a crash.

The latest Canadian Real Estate Association report shows sales on the upswing in April for a second consecutive month.
Royal Bank of Canada senior economist Robert Hogue said, "The 3.6-per-cent month-over-month advance isn’t an ‘all-clear’ signal for the market but strongly suggests that the cyclical bottom has been reached.”

So, what comes next?
This is the stated opinion of Andres Carbacho-Burgos, lead housing economist at Moody's Analytics, which is the sister company of the credit rating agency: "With the direct and indirect effects of monetary tightening, house price appreciation will slow down in 2020, turn briefly negative in 2021, and only recover in the following years.”

Source: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/briefing/article-hitting-market-bottom-a-five-year-forecast-for-house-prices-in-3/?fbclid=IwAR24IPWE3yJzNP26RdQgYppVh1MqtL5T6_tK5FXqvIm-vN2k6bA3n971nG4

What is Your Opinion of the Stress Test?

Evan Siddall, chief executive officer of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., offered an aggressive defence of Canada’s tough mortgage qualification standard which was set in place to forestall potentially devastating economic consequences.

He lashed out against industry groups such as Mortgage Professionals Canada (MPC) who have been urging reforms to the stress test which would, (in Mr. Siddall’s opinion), drive up home prices in major cities while stimulating more borrowing by Canadians who are already deeply indebted.

“Apparently the MPC is content to see home builders, real estate agents and mortgage brokers receive short-term benefits while Canadians bear the long-term costs,” Mr. Siddall said. “My job is to advise you against this reckless myopia and protect our economy from potentially tragic consequences.”

Housing Starts in Greater Victoria

Housing starts are up in Greater Victoria as a whole, but they vary widely across the municipalities according to new figures from the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CHMC). In Greater Victoria as a whole, they continue to trend up, rising 21.2 per cent year-to-date in 2019, despite a drop of more than 45 per cent in Saanich, Vancouver Island’s largest municipality.

The City of Victoria saw a huge increase year-to-date, jumping to 347 starts from 13, with most of the increase in the category of apartments (331). Nearby Esquimalt also recorded a steep increase with new housing starts jumping from four to 78. In Saanich, housing starts dropped by 45.2 per cent while Oak Bay recorded a drop of almost 47 per cent.

On the Saanich Peninsula, Central Saanich recorded an increase of 80 per cent while Sidney is down 35.7 per cent and North Saanich is down 82.9 per cent.

In the Western Communities, Langford recorded an increase of 43.4 per cent while Colwood recorded a drop of 64 per cent and Sooke recorded a drop of 31.1 per cent. Metchosin, View Royal and Highlands also recorded a drop.

Of the 1,196 housing starts in Greater Victoria, 887 fell into the category of apartments. Condominiums accounted for 55 per cent, followed by rentals with 28 per cent.

Source: https://www.bclocalnews.com/news/increased-rental-construction-boosts-housing-starts-across-greater-victoria/?fbclid=IwAR22hm2HbcliIVdZgEa3C41Wvi0uxidJWUSgjxpM3y0M7GUfdaK_jZbDelo

BC Wildfires in 2019

To date, BC has avoided uncontrolled wildfires this year, and that’s great news! If you like to keep track of wildfires around the province, the Vancouver Sun provides a page to go for updates on what is happening. The information is regularly updated and includes a map of all current wildfires, air quality information, wildfires of note and important contacts and resources.

Source: https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/b-c-wildfires-map-2019-updates-on-fire-locations-evacuation-alerts-orders

The Latest Plans to Build a New Crystal Pool for Victoria

City staff have been exploring options for a pool location that might include complementary uses such as affordable housing, green space, childcare and parking. This led to a proposal to put the new pool on the playing field west of Central Middle School. However, neighbourhood groups are telling city council that existing parks shouldn’t be reduced by building any type of facilities inside the parks.

Source: https://www.timescolonist.com/news/local/victoria-considers-making-green-spaces-no-build-zones-could-nix-pool-plan-1.23830920?fbclid=IwAR0yOXzSYxEITMm7NPV2v-YfIZ2Eb5RjMM-Cn69seFCiISDgrvvnQJ8q9pY