Vancouver Realty Online

Vancouver Realty Online would like to present  ‘Westside Detached Stat Package’ for the week of February 9th – February 16th.

This past week there were 58 new detached active listings in the Vancouver West Region. Please note if your neighbourhood is not included in the weekly list it indicates there were zero (0) new listings in your area for that period.

The 58 new detached active listings on the Westside were distributed as follows:

Arbutus (AR) : 5
Cambie (CA) : 6
Dunbar (DU) : 5
Kerrisdale (KE) : 12
Kitsilano (KT) : 2
MacKenzie Heights (MH) : 7
Marpole (MR) : 1
Oakridge (OA) : 1
Point Grey (PG) : 2
Quilchena (QU) : 1
Shaughnessy (SH) : 5
South Cambie (SC) : 2
South Granville (SG) : 6
Southlands (SL) : 2
University (UL) : 2

58 total detached listings on the Westside from February 9th – February 16th.

This past week there were 34 detached sold listings in the Vancouver West Region. Please note if your neighbourhood is not included in the weekly list it indicates there were zero (0) sales in your area for that period.

The 34 detached sold listings on the Westside were distributed as follows:

Arbutus (AR) : 2
Cambie (CA) : 5
Dunbar (DU) : 6
Kerrisdale (KE) : 2
Kitsilano (KT) : 4
Point Grey (PG) : 4
Quilchena (QU) : 5
South Granville (SG) : 1
Shaughnessy (SH) : 2
Southlands (SL) : 1
S.W. Marine (SW) : 1
University (UL) : 1

34 total detached sales on the Westside from February 9th-February 16th.

If you are interested in more detailed breakdowns of sales versus listing ratios for your area please do not hesitate to get in touch with us! And remember to visit http://www.vancouverrealtyonline.com for even more real estate updates and info!

Westside resident?  Check out http://www.kitsilanoshomes.com for information, and news specific to your neighbourhood!

Vancouver Realty Online would like to present our  ‘Westside Attached Stat Package‘, for the week of February 9th – February 16th.  New listing numbers remained relatively static, moving from 87 new attached listings to 83 on the Westside.  Sales figures spiked slightly as we continue to experience a resurgence in buyer activity, and are hoping to see a continued rise in sales volume over the next four weeks as price depreciation, and favorable financing options start to take hold.

This past week there were 193 new active attached listings in the Vancouver West Region with 83 falling in the Westside neighbourhoods. Please note if your neighbourhood is not included in the weekly list it indicates there were zero (0) new listings in your area for that period.

The 83 new active attached listings on the Westside were distributed as follows:

University (UL) : 9
S.W. Marine (SW) : 2
Shaughnessy (SH) : 2
South Granville (SG) : 1
South Cambie (SC) : 1
Quilchena (QU) : 4
Oakridge (OA) : 4
Marpole (MR) : 7
Mount Pleasant (MP) : 4
Kitsilano (KT): 16
Kerrisdale (KE): 2
False Creek (FC) : 3
Fairview (FA) : 25
Dunbar (DU) : 1
Cambie (CA) : 2

The Westisde neighbourhoods accounted for 83 : 193 or 43% of overall Vancouver West attached new listings from February 9th – February 16th.

This past week there were 86 sold attached listings in the Vancouver West Region with 38 falling in the Westside neighbourhoods. Please note if your neighbourhood is not included in the weekly list it indicates there were zero (0) sales in your area for that period.

The 38 sold listings on the Westside were distributed as follows:

University (UL) : 4
South Cambie (SC) : 1
Quilchena (QU) : 2
Marpole (MR) : 1
Mount Pleasant (MP) : 2
Kitsilano (KT) : 14
Fairview (FA) : 11
Dunbar (DU) : 1
Cambie (CA) : 2

The Westside neighbourhoods accounted for 38 : 86 or 44% of overall Vancouver West attached solds from February 9th – February 16th.

If you are interested in more detailed breakdowns of sales versus listing ratios for your area please do not hesitate to get in touch with us! And remember to visit http://www.vancouverrealtyonline.com for even more real estate updates and info!

Westside resident?  Check out http://www.kitsilanoshomes.com for information, and news specific to your neighbourhood!

We have compiled sales and listings statistics for the period running from February 9th to February 16th, and released them in this easy to read format!  If you have any further questions or require more detail please get in touch with us.  Buyers continued to actively browse the market as showing activity again increased this week, and was followed by a slight rise in sales volume.  Again we see a noted decrease in new supply, and a marginal increase in our sales figure.  As mentioned, we expect the increased buyer activity and great lending conditions to result in an increase in sales over the next four weeks.

Listing versus Sales update for February 9th – February 16th

193 new listings in the Vancouver West Region with 109 (56%) falling in the downtown areas (including: West End, Downtown, Coal Harbour, and False Creek North sub-areas).

New Listings Per Sub-Area:

• Downtown Core: 50 (46%)
• Coal Harbour: 17 (16%)
• West End: 22 (20%)
• False Creek North: 20 (18%)

TOTAL : 109

86 total sales in the Vancouver West Region with 48 (56%) falling in the downtown areas.

Sales Per Sub-Area:

• Downtown Core: 29 (60%)
• West End: 8 (17%)
• Coal Harbour: 3 (6%)
• False Creek North: 8 (17%)

TOTAL : 48

Sales were up once again, moving from 51 sales to 86; the number remains well below seasonal norms.  As stated previously there has been an influx of buyer activity over the past three weeks as more individuals seem to be looking at price depreciation and favorable mortgage conditions. The sales to listing ratio spiked this past week moving up to [86 : 193] or 46%.

If you have any questions about specific figures or activity in your neighbourhood please do not hesitate to give us a call!

If you have any questions about specific figures or activity in your neighbourhood please do not hesitate to give us a call! And remember to visit www.vancouverrealtyonline.com for up to date statistics, new listings, and all relevant real estate news!

Vancouver Realty Online

On March 31st, 2009, British Columbia will become the first Canadian province requiring home inspectors to be licensed.

For the past decade, together with the BC Real Estate Association, your Board has advocated that home inspectors meet licensing and uniform education standards.

Members were concerned that training for inspectors was voluntary and anyone could call themselves a home inspector.  This created problems for homebuyers who hired ‘professional’ home inspectors who ultimately weren’t qualified.  When problems were discovered that an inspector should have identified, the homebuyer had no recourse.

Under the new standards, the province’s 300 to 400 home inspectors will be required to meet the qualifications of one of the following organizations:

• the Canadian Association of Home & Property Inspectors – BC branch;
• the Applied Science Technologists and Technicians of British Columbia; or
• the National Certification Program for Home and Property Inspectors.

Licensing will be under the Business Practices and Consumer Protection Act.   Home inspectors must complete examinations and field and field experience, undero a criminal record check and pay a $100 licensing fee.   The Business Practices and Consumer Protection Authority (BPCPA) will be the regulatory body, overseeing licensing and complaints, and will monitor compliance through inspections and enforcement.  Maximum penalties for non compliance will be $5,000.

Licensing information and application forms will be posted on the BPCPA website at http://www.bpcpa.ca by February 27, 2009.  Until March 31, 2009, home inspectors who haven’t met the requirements of a BPCPA-recognized professional association or authority can apply to the BPCPA to have their experience, knowledge and ability assessed and may be issued a licence. “Grandfathered” inspectors must meet the requirements of one of the three recognied groups by March 31, 2011.

Questions have been raised about whether the new standards will prove adequate.  Discussions between the government and the inspection industry organizations are ongoing.

See the licence!

After March 31, 2009, when you provide a list of home inspectors to your clients, make sure each inspector has a wallet-sized licence and make sure your clients ask to see it.

If your clients have a complaint about a licencsed inspector they can visit the BPCPA website at http://www.bpcpa.ca or phone toll-free 1.888.564.9963 for assistance.

Most frequent house problems found by home inspectors…

1. Improper surface grading/drainage: Results in water penetration in the basement or crawl space.
2. Improper electrical wiring: Includes insufficient electrical service to the house, inadequate overload protection, and amateur, often dangerous, wiring connections.
3. Roof damage: Includes old or damanged shingles or improper flashing which case water leakage.
4. Heating systems: Includes broken or malfunctioning operation controls, blocked chimneys and unsafe exhaust disposal.
5. Poor overall maintenance: Includes cracked, peeling, or dirty painted surfaces, crumbling masonry, makeshift wiring or plumbing, and broken fixtures or appliances.
6. Structure related problems: Includes damage to foundation walls, floor joists, rafters, and window and door headers.
7. Plumbing: Includes old or incompatible piping materials, faulty fixtures and waste lines.
8. Exterior flaws: Includes inadequate caulking and/or weather stripping on windows, doors, and wall surfaces which leads to water and air penetration.
9. Poor ventilation: Includes over-sealed homes which result in excessive interior moisture that causes rotting and premature failure of structural and non-structural elements.

Source: The Canadian Association of Home and Property Inspectors.