1. BC assessment values real estate properties in Vancouver area to be increased about 10% averagely. The increasing value by the government will definitely support increasing house price.
2. Although major banks increased prime rate a little bit since last year, mortgage rate still keeps at a lower level.
3. Appreciation of the Renminbi vs Canadian Dollar from 1:6.8 to 1:6.2 since last year, will encourage more Chinese buyers to come to the Canadian real estate market because of higher purchasing power.
4. Chinese governments’ real estate investment rules force more Chinese investors to look at real estate investment opportunities overseas.

By Vancouver top real estate agent – Angel Wang

However the prices vary in those two areas, if you want to know more about the home buying market in those two areas, please contact Angel Wang or Helen Pan directly.

“With an average price hike of close to 20 per cent year to date [February], Greater Vancouver continues to show unprecedented strength,” real-estate services firm Re/Max said. “[The]average price now hovers at a record $780,000.”

Sales in the region have jumped 12 per cent from the same period last year, the report said.

Despite the erosion in affordability, first-time and move-up buyers are leading the housing charge, especially in areas such as Richmond and Vancouver westside, the firm said.

“Many entry-level purchasers are compromising on their housing choices, scaling back on expectations, sacrificing quality or size to realize home ownership,” Re/Max said. “Some are moving further east or south of the city to communities that stretch the dollar a little further.”

In Langley, Surrey and Cloverdale, new or newer houses on smaller lots can be found for prices starting from $500,000 to $550,000, it said.

Re/Max said the prospect of higher mortgage rates has prompted many Canadians planning to get into the market to act in the early part of this year.

Another factor is Ottawa’s new rules for mortgages that reduce the maximum amortization period for government-insured mortgages to 30 from 35 years, and decrease the amount people can borrow when refinancing mortgages to 85 from 90 per cent of the value of their homes.

As per the reports of REBGV (Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver), about 3,512 residential properties have been sold in April 2010. It is about 18.5% increase in comparison to 2,693 sales during the same month a year back and 9.1% increase (with 3,218 sales) from that of April 2008. The housing sales figure of April 2010 also signifies that there has been about 12% increase in comparison to March 2010.

There have been about 7,648 new listings (in April 2010) for attached, detached and apartment properties in the Greater Vancouver Area that amounts to about 64.5% increase as compared to the similar period in 2009. In comparison to March 2010, there has been about 9.2% increase in property listings. The sales of detached, attached and apartment properties have also increased remarkably in the past 1 year.

The housing prices have also increased during the similar time period. In the past 12 months, the HPI (Housing Price Index) benchmark for all residential real estate properties has increased from $499,021 (in April 2009) to $593,419 (in April 2010). The benchmark for detached, attached and apartment properties in April 2010 has increased by 21.2%, 16.4% and 16.9% respectively as compared to April 2009.

One of the major reasons behind the increased price of Vancouver homes is that the demand has been a lot more than the supply for the past 1 year. According to the industry experts, the housing price will continue to be higher in 2010. So, this is the ideal time for the Vancouverites to own a property before the price rises more. Moreover, the low mortgage rates may soon disappear along with the addition of 12% HST (‘Harmonized Sales Tax’, the combined federal-provincial tax) to the price of homes from July 1, 2010.

Due to the housing mortgage meltdown in US, Canadian lenders have become cautious about offering home loans to the borrowers. They’re assessing the financial condition of the mortgage borrower before originating a home loan. So, make sure that your finances are in order so that you can qualify for taking out a mortgage loan if you want to own a property in the Greater Vancouver Area, Canada.

The news was released lately in VANCOUVER, B.C. on February 2, 2010.

In terms of historical perspective, January ranked as an average month for number of residential housing sales over the past decade, with higher sales in January 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006.

Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 17.2 per cent to $573,241 from $489,007 in January 2009. This price is 0.8 per cent
above the previous high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.

There is also closer alignment between supply and demand in today’s housing market. At 18 per cent, the sales to-active listings ratio in January is approximately 10 per cent lower than we’ve seen in our market over the last six
months.

In January, sales of detached properties increased 141.4 per cent to 705 from the 292 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2009. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, for detached
properties increased 19.5 per cent from January 2009 to $788,499.

Sales of apartment properties in January 2010 increased 146.8 per cent to 891 compared to 361 sales in January 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 15.2 per cent from January 2009 to $385,487.
Attached property sales in January 2010 are up 200 per cent to 327, compared with the 109 sales in January 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 13.4 per cent between January 2009 and 2010 to $482,478.

While everyone is wondering how the Olympics is going to effect on Vancouver’s real estate market in February and in the future, diverse selection and favorable interest rates continue to drive demand in the Greater Vancouver housing market.

Download the complete report with chart (PDF) here.

For further inquires about how to select and build your own house, please contact Angel directly.