Facts regarding unlicensed assistants

Did you know? - Showing properties. Hosting open houses. Prospecting for buyers and sellers. These, and more, are among the duties that busy licensees may sometimes consider asking their unlicensed assistants to take care of for them. But in fact, these are services that only a licensed individual can perform. And paying an unlicensed person (even your eager-to-succeed assistant) to provide real estate services that require licensing is in violation of section 6-1 of the Council Rules.

http://www.recbc.ca/2015/02/february-2015-report-from-council-newsletter/#rules-of-engagement

There's still a place for mobile homes — Langley Township mayor

• by  Dan Ferguson - Langley Times
• posted May 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM— updated May 21, 2013 at 8:39 AM

Manufactured homes will have a place in the new Brookswood/Fernridge community plan, Mayor Jack Froese promised mobile home park residents at a question-and-answer session held in Township council chambers.

About 200 residents attended the May 8 session to ask questions about the proposal to more than double the number of people living in the south Langley community and the impact that will have on the seniors who live in mobile home communities.

“I know that whether we call them mobile, manufactured, or by any other name, these are your homes,” Mayor Froese said.

“We know that you have concerns about the future of your homes and we intend to take that into account and prepare the best plan possible.”

Township engineering and community development manager Ramin Seifi, long range planning manager Paul Crawford, and planner Lisa Moffatt fielded questions.

Residents were told the proposed plan will provide maximum protection of existing mobile home parks.

Tenants are also protected under provincial regulations and the Township’s Mobile Home Park Redevelopment Policy, the staffers said.

The meeting with the mobile home owners came after a series of open houses and workshops that were held earlier this year.

Brookswood/Fernridge currently has a population of 13,000. The new Griffith Neighbourhood Plan would increase the number of residents  to 40,000 people over the next three decades.

It’s estimated the Township has 35 to 40 per cent of all manufactured homes in the Metro Vancouver region.

Less than one per cent of Township housing is subsidized seniors’ or family housing, compared with nine per cent in the City of Langley and five per cent in Coquitlam.

B.C. assessments show strong appreciation in Vancouver single-family home values

Metro Vancouver homeowners have grown accustomed to healthy increases on their annual B.C. Assessment notices, which are now landing in mailboxes.

What’s new this year is that condo values are also rising in the region, after a few flat years that saw condo construction outpace homebuyer demand.

“Condominiums, that’s apartments and townhouses, up until 2014 had been relatively flat over three years,” said Cameron Muir, chief economist of the B.C. Real Estate Association.

Over 2014, however, Muir said condo sale prices have risen in step with inflation. Condo prices in Vancouver and its nearer suburbs were up about two per cent as of July, when B.C. Assessment sets its values for the next year’s assessment roll.

Single-family home values were up a more substantial 6.5 per cent, Muir said, but some of the condo valuations were a departure from the previous year.

“We’re probably looking, in Vancouver, at sales (increases) of 16 to 17 per cent in 2014,” Muir said, “so, there’s much stronger demand, and we’re also seeing inventory levels steadily decline.”

B.C. Assessment doesn’t produce average assessment values for property types in Lower Mainland markets but does highlight representative examples.

In Vancouver, a typical east-side two-bedroom apartment increased 4.7 per cent to $381,000, from $364,000 a year earlier.

On Vancouver’s west side, values for a typical two-bedroom apartment rose 7.5 per cent (to $616,000), in line with the growth in value of a detached home on a 33-foot lot (up 7.5 per cent to $1.575 million).

In its real estate assessments a year ago, B.C. Assessment had highlighted decreasing condominium values in the range of four to five per cent — the second consecutive year that condo prices declined or offered minimal increases.

“Changes within a plus or minus five per cent range, that’s what we categorize as stable,” said Dharmesh Sisodraker, B.C. Assessment’s deputy assessor for the Vancouver Sea to Sky region, which takes in Vancouver and the North Shore all the way to Whistler.

Assessments, which are used by municipalities to set property taxes, tend to lag the overall market by the time they are released.

In east Vancouver, a typical detached house on a 33-foot lot saw an increase of 11.3 per cent, to $993,000.

In Vancouver Heights, typical detached home prices rose five per cent to $955,000.

“(Condominium) prices are still under pressure versus detached homes, mostly because there is so much (condominium) product on the market,” explained Ray Harris, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, and the increases in condo prices are “sporadic.”

In Metro Vancouver, demand for new condos has been in high-growth areas linked to rapid transit, such as the Marine Gateway development at Cambie and Marine in Vancouver or the Metrotown and Brentwood town centres in Burnaby.

“If a complex is in demand and there are not a lot of units in the market, you can get more of a lift,” Harris said.

Suburbs such as Burnaby, Coquitlam and Port Moody — communities either on SkyTrain, or where SkyTrain is being built — are among those that have seen modest increases in the range of two to three per cent.

However, the gains weren’t shared equally and some spots still showed decreasing assessment values. B.C. Assessment cited an example at Simon Fraser University’s UniverCity development, where the assessed value of a two-bedroom highrise unit declined 2.5 per cent from 2014.

“There are a few pockets where values decreased slightly,” said Zina Weston, a deputy assessor for B.C. Assessment in its North Fraser region, which takes in the eastern suburbs closest to Vancouver.

“If there is a lot of building that comes on in a short period of time in a finite area, there might be some (downward) pressure on pricing,” Weston said.

Harris added that condo owners trying to re-sell are having a tougher time because developers are selling new units at lower prices than they would be if the market were stronger.

Condo values also declined in Fraser Valley suburbs from Langley to Chilliwack, where single-family home prices are in the reach of more buyers.

Dan Scarrow, a vice-president at Macdonald Realty in Vancouver, added that some municipalities are more encouraging to condo developers and “as a result of that, maybe some areas tend to get overbuilt.”

“Then, in some municipalities, say Vancouver, it is more difficult to get a project off the ground, but demand is actually quite high,” Scarrow added.

Markets that rely on recreational property sales — such as Whistler, the Okanagan and Kootenays, where sales collapsed and values declined following the 2008 recession — also took part in some of the rebound in 2015 assessments.

B.C. Assessment cited examples in Kelowna where assessments were up from four to seven per cent. In Whistler, a typical home in the White Gold area increased in value 7.4 per cent, to $1.06 million.

depenner@vancouversun.com

Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/assessments+show+strong+appreciation+Vancouver+single+family+home+values/10697150/story.html#ixzz3O9qZ2S4H

FVREB - News Release: January 5, 2015

News Release: January 5, 2015

STEADY HOME SALES IN DECEMBER CAP SOLID YEAR FOR FRASER VALLEY REAL ESTATE

(Surrey, BC) – Fraser’s Valley’s real estate market returned to normal activity levels in 2014 with sales of single family detached homes leading the way.

Ray Werger, President of the Board, says, “It was a busy year for both buyers and sellers. In 2014, both sales and new listings were stronger in Fraser Valley compared to 2013 – most notably for detached homes and townhomes – with the result that we’ve returned to normal market activity for our region on par with our 10-year average.”

The Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) processed 15,840 sales in 2014, compared to 13,663 the previous year, an increase of 16 per cent. It also received 4 per cent more new listings during the same time period – 30,642 in 2014 compared to 29,338 in 2013. Over the year, the number of active listings for buyers to choose from dropped by 23 per cent going from 7,541 properties in December 2013 to 6,380 in December 2014.

According to Werger, sales during the month of December followed the same trend as every month in 2014 with sales surpassing the same month compared to 2013. “It was the third busiest December we’ve experienced in the last decade with sales almost keeping pace with the number of new listings.

“As a result, we’ve seen our inventory deplete, which is normal for this time of year however, our selection hasn’t been this low for almost eight years. We hope to see the usual influx of new listings during the first quarter of 2015 because we’re currently seeing a shortage of affordably priced single family detached homes in certain areas.”

In December, sales increased by 21 per cent, going from 890 in 2013 to 1,075 last month. New listings increased by 13 per cent in December compared to 2013 going from 1,013 to 1,147.

Home prices in December continued along the same trends as seen for most of 2014, with prices of single family detached homes continuing to rise; townhouse prices remaining steady, and apartment prices decreasing slightly. The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) benchmark price of a detached home in December was $573,100 an increase of 4.3 per cent compared to December 2013, when it was $549,500.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price of townhouses in December was $293,500 on par with $293,300 in December 2013. The benchmark price of apartments decreased year-over-year by 0.8 per cent, going from $192,600 in December 2013 to $191,100 in December 2014.

News Release: December 2, 2014

News Release: December 2, 2014

2014 TREND TOWARDS INCREASED SALES AND STEADY PRICING CONTINUES INTO NOVEMBER

(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,136 sales on its Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in November, an increase of 15 per cent compared to the 986 sales during the same month last year and 22 per cent lower than the 1,448 sales processed in October.

New listings in the Fraser Valley decreased by 2 per cent in November, going from 1,774 last year to 1,748 last month taking the number of active listings to 8,302, a decrease of 4 per cent compared to the 8,641 active listings in November of 2013.

“This is the time of year when families are settling in for winter and the holidays, so we expect to see a decrease in activity,” explains the Board’s president, REALTOR® Ray Werger. “After a busy fall with volumes reaching 5-year highs, we’re winding down the year with sales on par with the ten-year average, but about 8 per cent fewer new listings therefore home buyers will notice a shortage of inventory in certain price ranges.”

Pricing continues along the same trends as seen for most of 2014, with single family detached prices continuing to rise; townhouse prices remaining steady, and apartment prices decreasing. The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) benchmark price of a detached home in November was $575,400 an increase of 4.6 per cent compared to November 2013, when it was $550,300

.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price of townhouses increased 2.2 per cent from $292,400 in November 2013 to $298,900 last month. The benchmark price of apartments decreased year-over-year by 3.5 per cent, going from $196,200 in November of last year to $189,400 in November 2014.

“Prices are a function of supply and demand - which your REALTOR® will explain varies considerably from area to area and within the different property types - as well as local amenities, transportation options and future community development, underscoring the importance of expert guidance when you’re looking to list or buy,” says Werger.

“Overall, 2014 is shaping up to be a good year for Fraser Valley real estate,” continues Werger. “We hit a bit of a trough during the summer of last year, but since then sales have recovered and we’re tracking towards a 15 per cent increase in year-to-date sales for 2014 compared to 2013 with prices remaining relatively stable.”

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,751 real estate professionals who live and work in the BC communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission. The FVREB marked its 90-year anniversary in 2011.

Full package:

http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package%20201411.pdf

News Release: November 4, 2014

News Release: November 4, 2014

 

INCREASED DEMAND FOR FRASER VALLEY TOWNHOUSES AND SINGLE FAMILY HOMES

 

(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,448 sales on its Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) in October, an increase of 16 per cent compared to the 1,249 sales during the same month last year and 2 per cent more than in September.

 

Ray Werger, the Board’s president, says, “Sales overall continue to outperform last year and as we’ve seen for a number of months now are the best they’ve been in five years.

 

“Demand remains steady in our region for single family detached homes and townhomes. Last month, the market share of sales of single family homes increased by almost five per cent compared to last year; while the share of condo sales decreased by the same amount and we’re seeing that preference reflected in prices.” 

 

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) benchmark price of a detached home in October was $573,500 an increase of 4 per cent compared to October 2013, when it was $551,400.

 

The MLS® HPI benchmark price of townhouses increased 1 per cent from $295,500 in October 2013 to $298,500 last month. The benchmark price of apartments decreased year-over-year by 3.5 per cent, going from $199,500 in October of last year to $192,600 in October 2014.

 

In the last five years, the MLS® HPI benchmark price of a detached home in the Fraser Valley has increased by 16.6 per cent. For townhouses, the price is flat having increased by 0.5 per cent and for apartments; the price has decreased by 6 per cent.

 

Werger adds, “With the influx of new developments and a steady supply of resale units, we’ve never had a better selection of condos than we do right now at prices the lowest they’ve been in years. For those that say housing isn’t affordable in Metro Vancouver, you need to check out the opportunities currently for condo buyers in the Valley.”   

 

In October, new listings in the Fraser Valley increased by 3 per cent, going from 2,336 last year to 2,395 last month taking the number of active listings to 8,807, a decrease of 3 per cent compared to the 9,047 active listings in October of 2013. “Inventory is edging down, which is typical for this time of year,” says Werger. “The result is we’re seeing good quality homes that are priced right moving quickly.”

 

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,738 real estate professionals who live and work in the BC communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission. The FVREB marked its 90-year anniversary in 2011.

 

Full package: http://www.fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package%20201410.pdf

These real-estate agents walked into real-life houses of horror

The first floor of the house contained many floor to ceiling bookshelves, displaying countless vases.

That was odd.

In the second-floor office, sitting on a desk, sat a sign that read “World’s Greatest Mortician.”

“Either it was the craziest coincidence that the owner liked to collect vases and was a mortician, or we were in a mausoleum,” and all those vases were actually urns, said Briarcliff Manor, N.Y.-based real-estate broker Phil Faranda, of J. Philip Real Estate.

It doesn’t have to be Halloween for real-estate agents to stumble into some truly creepy houses. In some cases, sellers haven’t taken the care to stage their home properly before listing. Foreclosures also often yield some rather odd showings. Here are some of their stories.

The creepy

Halloween spectacular: The seller’s birthday was on Halloween, and his home décor showed it. The house was decorated with skulls, scary dolls and other odd items, said real-estate agent Cyndi Lesinski, of Cyndi Lesinski & Associates — Cobalt Realty Group, based in Valencia, Calif. She took limited pictures for the listing so she wouldn’t scare off buyers. When prospective buyers arrived, some people couldn’t give the house a chance, and would walk out of the showing.

Haunted-looking house: Atlanta real-estate agent Colette Barnett and her clients saw a foreclosure home that could rival a haunted-house attraction: The porch was held up by cinder blocks — and had caution tape strung around it. The stairs were crooked. A garden window was caved in. A huge patch of black mold colored a wall in the basement, and tiles were falling off the shower. The house “looked like it had survived an earthquake,” said Barnett, an agent with Redfin.

Strange boarding house: Something about the house in Santa Clara, Calif., looked not quite right from the outside. But when Janelle Boyenga, with the Boyenga Team of Intero Real Estate Services, entered the place with her client, they discovered it was, in essence, a boarding house. Bedroom after bedroom had locks that needed to be accessed with a key, and even more rooms were carved out in the attic, garage and storage shed spaces. Some rooms they could get into, some they couldn’t. “It was kinda creepy — every nook and cranny was occupied by someone,” Boyenga said.

Terrifying money pit: In Colorado Springs, real-estate agent Willi Ellis, with ERA Shields, showed a pre-foreclosure home where most of the flooring was ripped out, exposing the plywood subflooring. A beat-up refrigerator was in the dining room, and clothes were piled in a bathtub. Her clients bought it anyway, seeing it as a diamond in the rough, but the problems continued — asbestos remediation was required and radon levels were well over the EPA’s limit.

The weird

Someone’s watching you: A number of times, Jordan Clarke, a buyer’s agent with Redfin in San Diego, has come across mannequins lurking in corners — clearly items used by seamstresses in their work, but very creepy when you’re not expecting to see a human figure while walking through an empty house. “You walk in and get that sense that something is staring at you,” he said. “This has probably happened a half dozen times now. I had one client scream briefly,” Clarke said.

Creepy reptiles: The townhome was fairly new, and very normal — until they reached the basement, said Tonya Nelson, a real-estate agent with Redfin in Arlington and Alexandria, Va. Once down there, she and her clients discovered 10 large reptile aquariums containing frogs, snakes and alligators — and fluorescent lights everywhere.

The gross

Disgusting discovery: When you visit a foreclosure, you might not be expecting the tidiest home on the block. But you also don’t expect to find piles of feces in the bedrooms. That’s what Atlanta-based agent Barnett and her clients found in a house they visited, likely the work of homeowners who became very angry when they were told to leave. Barnett wasn’t sure if the waste was from a human or a dog, but it didn’t matter — she and her prospective buyers rushed out of the house quickly. While the former owners left that surprise behind, they took plenty of the house’s fixtures with them, including the kitchen cabinets.

Teen spirit: The house wasn’t exactly clean, but that was no preparation for when Clarke, the San Diego agent, and his clients entered the mother-in-law suite of one particular home. The area reeked of body odor, he said, adding “it was almost as if a dozen teenage boys were living in there with no housekeeping whatsoever.” His clients were able to stay and look at it; he had to get out of there.

The lessons

In preparing a home for sale, it’s important for it to be clean and uncluttered. “Anything that is too specific to a homeowner has to be put away,” said Kerrie Kelly, interior design expert for Zillow Digs, Zillow’s home design site, and the founder of Kerrie Kelly Design Lab.

To make sure smells aren’t a problem, be sure to air out your house regularly. Do this even as the weather gets colder, just keep the doors and windows open for a shorter amount of time, she said. You might even ask a friend or family member for a second opinion on how fresh your place smells.

Also, it’s best to board pets or keep them at a friend’s home during showings and open houses, said Nelson, the real-estate agent from Arlington who stumbled upon the reptile-filled basement.

Of course, if you can look beyond the scary aspects of these homes as a buyer, you may be able to cut a good deal — since much of your competition will run for the door.

By Amy Hoak, MarketWatch