Chelsea @ Southlands - 2001 Silver Georgia award winner in the best low-rise category! This well laid-out 899 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom north-facing home features a large open kitchen, an enclosed balcony, and cozy gas fireplace. 1parking, 1...
RARE FIND! WATERFRONT WITH VIEWS OF WATER AND CITY! Exquisitly finished apartment with custom included furniture, Top miele and Leiberman appliances, silestone counter tops, italian tile, h/w flrs throughout, alpaca carpets, custom colours,grohe fixtures. Efficient layout makes this suite feel...
STUNNING CITY/WATER VIEWS from this immaculate corner 2 bedroom & den @ 'City Crest'. Featuring an open floorplan with lots of natural light, the bedrooms are located on seperate sides of the large & spacious living area for optimum privacy....
If you are ready to buy your first house, condo or townhouse in Vancouver Yaletown, Kitsilano, Vancouver Downtown, Gastown, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Kerrisdale, False Creek or other parts of the Lower Mainland, then there are three vital tips that you will want to keep in mind as you prepare to enter into the Vancouver real estate marketplace. By following these tips, you will be in the best possible position to ensure that you really will be able to find and buy your dream home.
Get Pre-approved for a Home Mortgage
Perhaps the most important step that you should keep in mind when it comes to buying your first home is to get pre-approved for a home mortgage loan. By getting pre-approved for a home mortgage loan before you start looking, you will be in a far stronger position to enter into a real estate contract.
The typical home seller will be more eager to enter into a sales contract with a person who has been pre-approved for a home mortgage loan. One of the biggest obstacles to closing a real estate deal in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland is usually the inability of the buyer to obtain acceptable bank financing. By coming to the bargaining table with a pre-approved home mortgage, you will be able to demonstrate to a seller that you are serious about buying their home.
Develop a Specific Home Buying Plan
Another important step that you will want to take when it comes to buying your first home is to develop a specific home buying plan. If you do not have a plan, you will often be tempted off course in your search for that perfect property. A Vancouver Realtor will help you set up your plan.
Perhaps the most significant element of a plan is to set forth specifically what you are willing to pay for a house, condo or townhouse. The failure to establish such a budget oftentimes results in a person ending up spending far more on a home than he/she can actually afford.
Consult with Amalia Liapis
Finally, your interests can be best served by engaging a professional Vancouver real estate agent to assist you in your search for your home. Amalia Liapis will provide you with the newest Vancouver MLS real estate listings, advise you on all facets of a property and the current market, guide you through the complex contract negotiations and always be there for your needs. By selecting a professional Vancouver real estate agent like Amalia Liapis to assist you in your home search, you have the best chance for success in finding your ideal Vancouver house, condo or townhouse and ensuring your experience is both exciting and stress-free.
The government today announced the HST/PST transitional rules on new homes.
As the province transitions back to the PST, which will replace the HST effective April 1, 2013, measures to ease the HST burden on new home buyers include:
The BC New Housing Rebate threshold will increase to $850,000 from $525,000, so that more than 90% of newly built homes will now be eligible for a provincial HST rebate effective April 1, 2012.
The maximum rebate will increase to $42,500 from $26,250 effective April 1, 2012.
Buyers of new secondary vacation or recreational homes outside the Greater Vancouver and Capital Regional Districts priced up to $850,000 will now be eligible to claim a provincial grant of up to $42,500 effective April 1, 2012.
For newly built homes where construction begins before April 1,...
Open House on Sunday, February 19, 2012 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
STUNNING CITY/WATER VIEWS from this immaculate corner 2 bedroom & den @ 'City Crest'. Featuring an open floorplan with lots of natural light, the bedrooms are located on seperate sides of the large & spacious living area for optimum privacy. This home has been tastefully & professionally renovated from top to bottom with brazilian cherry hardwood throughout, European Miele wshr/dryr, gourmet kitchen with new s/s appliances, imported tile backsplash, custom cabinetry, granite countertops and more! Includes TWO parking stalls & a storage locker. Located in Yaletown, City Crest is minutes away from everything downtown Vancouver has to offer - parks, eateries,...
The Real Estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2008, 24,626 homes changed hands in the Board's area generating $1.03 billion in spin-offs. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 9,400 REALTORS®. The Real Estate Board provides a variety of membership services, including the Multiple Listing Service®.
Chelsea @ Southlands - 2001 Silver Georgia award winner in the best low-rise category! This well laid-out 899 square foot, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom north-facing home features a large open kitchen, an enclosed balcony, and cozy gas fireplace. 1parking, 1 storage locker. Walking distance to some of the best schools (Crofton House, Kerrisdale Elementary), transit, IGA and local shops & eateries. Easy access to St. Georges, Point Grey Secondary, UBC, golf courses and more. Priced to SELL, don't miss this one!
Economists often get a bad rap for seeing the world as exclusively a glass half empty. Given this reputation, it is not surprising that economics is dubbed the ‘dismal science.’ Still, they are also known to call a spade a spade when they see it. We must do just this when we say that the Canadian economy ended last year on a more positive note than they had last predicted. This momentum represents a solid hand-off into 2012. What’s more, financial markets so far this year have enjoyed the absence of volatility that was the dominant theme for 2011.
The latest tracking shows the Canadian economy grew by 2.0-2.5% in the fourth quarter annualized an upside from most banks December forecast. An important part of the story has been Canadian consumers. We saw evidence of this...
Does the looming tax deadline have you gritting your teeth? Here's how to get a bigger, better refund.
Does the looming tax deadline have you gritting your teeth? We all have to pay our taxes. And nobody wants to pay too much.
“Unfortunately, people tend to pay more tax than they need to because they do tend to overlook some of the savings they can take advantage of,” said Carol Bezaire, vice-president, tax and estate planning, at Mackenzie Financial.
A deduction is valuable because it reduces your income for tax purposes.
Rack up enough of deductions and you’ll pull yourself down into a lower tax bracket and end up with a big refund, if you’re lucky.
These are worth more to those in higher tax brackets. By contrast, a non-refundable tax credit reduces the amount of taxes...
Vancouver is the world’s second-least affordable major city to buy a house, according to an annual survey of global housing markets.
The Eighth Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey covers 325 metropolitan markets around the world.
It measures the markets using something called the “median multiple,” which is the median house price divided by gross annual median household income.
The study comes as Canadian banks worry about the state of the market and economists suggest prices could drop by as much as 10 per cent in cities such as Vancouver and Toronto.
Canada was the third most affordable market, behind the United States and Ireland. The markets that were surveyed were Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Ireland, United Kingdom and the United States....
Continuous bad news about rising Canadian debt has been making headlines for the past few years – and now we’re hearing over and over again that mortgage debt has reached epic proportions.
Is all of this negativity accurate? We decided to find out by asking some credible sources.
The truth about household debt.
It is true: the overall household debt of Canadians is at a record of $1.5 trillion, growing from $147 billion in 1982. Two-thirds of the increase from 1982 - 2010 occurred from 1999 - 2010. The largest component of debt among households is residential mortgages which account for two-thirds of all household debt. The debt has kept pace with home prices, and is larger in BC and Ontario than other provinces. In 2010, residential mortgages represented about 68% of total household...
STUNNING CITY/WATER VIEWS from this spacious corner 2 bedroom & den at 'City Crest'. Featuring a functional floorplan with lots of natural light, the bedrooms are located on seperate sides of the large & open living area for maximum privacy. This immaculate home has been tastefully & professionally renovated from top to bottom with brazilian cherry hardwood throughout, Miele wshr/dryr, gourmet kitchen with new s/s applainaces, imported tile backsplash, custom cabinetry, granite countertops and more! Home includes TWO parking stalls & a storage locker. Located in Yaletown, City Crest is minutes away from everything downtown Vancouver has to offer - parks, eateries, shopping, skytrain, etc. This one is priced to...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – From the desk of Amalia Liapis
2012 MARKET FORECAST
As we move forward into 2012, the year of the Dragon, I thought it helpful to review some global activity that will have a measurable effect on our local real estate market.
China’s fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP) rose 8.9% from a year earlier, beating analysts’ expectations of 8.6% growth. For the full year of 2011, China’s GDP rose by 9.2% compared to a 10.4% rise in 2010. It always amazes me how China can produce statistics so quickly but market analysts are always skeptical on how accurate the data is out of China as there is no way to reliably check the accuracy.
USA reporting season is in full swing for the December quarter and results here will direct US and world markets over...
