Canadian housing starts registered 197,976 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) in December, down slightly from 201,376 (SAAR) in November.  Annual starts rose 11 per cent in 2012. 

New home construction in BC urban centres also posted a modest decline, falling to 20,227 (SAAR) in December from 22,043 units (SAAR) in November.  On a year-over-year basis, multiple unit starts in BC were unchanged from December 2011 while single family starts were 4 per cent lower. Overall,  total BC housing starts were 2 per cent lower than in December 2011. New home construction in BC's urban areas finished the year at 25,477 units, an increase of 5 per cent over 2011. New home construction continued to shift toward multiples in 2012. That segment of the market saw a 9 per cent increase in 2012 to 18.763 starts while single-detached starts declined 5 per cent to just 6,714 units.

Looking at census metropolitan areas (CMA) in BC, Vancouver CMA starts fell 1 per cent year-over-year in December but were 6 per cent higher for all of 2012 at 19,027 total units.  New home construction in the Abbotsford CMA was off 58 per cent compared to December 2011 and down 31 per cent for all of 2012 at just 371 total units.  Housing starts in the Kelowna CMA rose 27 per cent year- over-year in December due to a jump in single-detached starts. For all of 2012, total housing starts in the Kelowna CMA were down 10% from 2011 at 836 units.  Housing starts in Victoria were down 28 per cent year-over-year in December but were up 4 per cent for all of 2012 at 1,700 total starts.

Information provided by www.bcrea.bc.ca 

Say you’re a homeowner wanting to sell your two-storey, detached home. You sit down and make a list of things that need to get done to make your property as attractive as possible to buyers. 

You consider the backyard. “Hmm,” you think. “Doesn’t our deck need a new finish and our flowerbed need new edging stones?”

Then you think about the basement. “The carpeting. It’s old. We really should replace it. We should install a new drop ceiling, too.”

Then the main floor. “Our kitchen cabinets are old. We should get a contractor in to quote on replacing them. How about a brand new shiny sink and faucet? That should increase the resale value of our home, shouldn’t it?”

Before you know it, you have a long list of updates, repairs and renovations that you think you should be doing, and you haven’t even started on the second floor!

It’s easy to get carried away with preparing your home to be listed, and end up spending a lot more money than you’ll ever get back from the eventual sale.

So how do you determine what improvements you should be making in order to get your property ready for the market?

That’s easy. Talk to a good REALTOR®. 

A REALTOR® who knows the local market can inspect your property and advise you on the repairs and upgrades you need to make. He or she will know what buyers are looking for, and will also have a good idea of the return on investment you can expect from a particular improvement.

He or she may also be able to recommend reputable trades people and other professionals to assist you in making those improvements.

So go ahead and make that long list. Then, review it with your REALTOR® so you can make an informed decision on how to get your property ready for sale.

Looking for a good REALTOR®? Call the Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today!!

There is no doubt about it! Even if the weather is relatively pleasant, your home won’t show as well in the winter as it would in the summer, especially from the outside. Fortunately, there are many ways to make your home look more attractive and appealing to buyers during the winter season.

First, before showing your home to a potential buyer, clear your front walkway. Make sure fence doors and gates open freely. Also, clear off the backyard deck or patio area. You want buyers to be able to explore around your property without any obstructions.

In short, do everything you can to make the experience of walking up to your front door and around your property as pleasant as possible.

Second, clear away any boots, shoes and other outerwear from the front foyer. You want buyers to focus on your beautiful home, not a cluttered entranceway. Also, have mats on both the outside and inside of your main entranceway. This will give buyers – as well as you and your family – a chance to wipe their boots and shoes.

Next, adjust your thermostat. You want your home to feel warm, cozy and comfortable for potential buyers.

Finally, remember that in the winter, homes show much better during the day. In the evening, it may be too dark to fully appreciate your property. So work with your REALTOR® to schedule viewings during the day whenever possible. If you can, also have pictures of your property available that showcase what it looks like in the summer. That takes planning. So if you're even just casually thinking of the possibility of selling your home, take some good "summer" pictures.

Want more advice on how to sell your home in the winter? Call The Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today.

If you’re selling your home, you’ll have a very personal perspective on what it‘s worth. You’ll remember all the hours you put into making the backyard flower garden beautiful, or the work you put into renovating the basement, or the money you spent on installing new hardwood floors in the living room and hallways.

It’s natural to want these improvements factored into the asking price.

However, potential buyers don’t have that same perspective. Although they may appreciate the improvements made to the home, buyers will only be interested in paying current market value for your property. That’s the price for which comparable homes with comparable features are currently selling in your area.

Buyers don’t see all the hours you spent on improvements and renovations.

What they see, instead, are the final features: the hardwood floors, the freshly painted bedrooms, the sparkling new master ensuite. Features like these will certainly help sell your home faster and for the best price — but that price will likely be close to the current market value.

Now, it’s tempting to try to set a list price high above the current market value in the hopes that some buyer will appreciate all the time and money put into the property. But that strategy rarely, if ever, works. In most cases, pricing your home higher than comparable properties on the market only discourages potential buyers from viewing it.

Buyers expect to pay market price.

Want to know the market value of your home? Call the Dion-Ivans Real Estate Group today!!

Property Type:
28.7% of purchases were by Move-Up Buyers 
18.9% by First Time Buyers 
12.8% buying Revenue/Investment Property (up from 8.4% in October)*
10.4% moving from Single Family Home to Strata Unit
9.1% purchasing Recreation Property (up from 7.3% in October)*
4.3% moving from Strata property to Single Family Home 
3.7% moving into Retirement Home/Seniors Community (up from 2.8% in October)*

* During the month of November, there was a jump in the sales of Revenue/Investment and Recreation Properties, and an increase in Seniors moving to Retirement Communities compared to October – as noted above. Other categories remained at similar levels to the previous month.

Buyer Type (Family Dynamic):
27.1% Couple without Children 
27.1% Two Parent Family/Children (up from 18.6% in October)**
19.4% Empty Nesters/Retired  (down from 24.0% in October)**
10.0% Single Female (down from 14.8% in October)**
8.8% Single Male (down from 16.4% in October)**
5.3% Single Parent with Children (up from 3.8% in October)**

** In November, there was a significant increase in purchases by Two Parent Families with Children, and by Single Parents compared to October – as noted above, while other categories saw decreases or remained at similar levels as the previous month.

Moving From: 
57.6% from Within OMREB Board Area  
11.6% from Alberta  (down from 14.3% in October)***
10.5% from Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island  (down from 13.7% in October)***
9.3% from Other Areas in BC (up from 8.8% in October)***
4.1% from Saskatchewan/Manitoba (up from 0.5% in October)***
3.5% from Outside Canada (up from 2.2% in October)***
2.9% from Eastern Canada/Maritimes 
0.6% from NWT/Yukon (15th month reported)

*** Compared to October, there was less migration from Alberta and the Lower Mainland/Vancouver Island in November, but more movement from other areas of BC, Saskatchewan/Manitoba, and outside Canada -- as noted above.

Information provided by www.omreb.com

After a pause in October, Canadian employment surged in November, rising by 59,000.  The increase in jobs was primarily in full-time employment, which grew by 55,200. The Canadian unemployment rate declined 0.2 points to 7.2 per cent.

The BC economy lost jobs for the second consecutive month as payrolls declined by 4,700. Job losses were concentrated in the services sector and particularly in the healthcare and government sectors. The BC unemployment rate edged 0.1 points higher to 6.8 per cent. In spite of recent declines, employment in BC has still grown 1.7 per cent over 2011, a significant improvement in job growth from last year's 0.8 per cent. 

The US economy added 146,000 jobs in November while its unemployment rate fell to 7.7 per cent. However, the November jobs report was particularly noisy due to disruption from Hurricane Sandy.

Information provided by www.bcrea.bc.ca