Victoria residents will soon recall with fondness the days when garbage was collected weekly. Beginning in February we’ll only hear the hydraulic trash-truck squashing our rubbish on a by-monthly basis.

Garbage Eclipse!

In February we are having a rare GARBAGE ECLIPSE. Be warned neighbours, don’t sleep through this rare event! On our street the garbage truck will rumble by just ONCE in the whole month of February! Dear neighbours mark February 15th in your calendars and circle it in RED or you will be left holding your burgeoning bucket and bags until March!!! Cancel your Valentine’s Day party plans, you’ll need to spend that evening marshalling your two-week’s store of garbage!

Garbage Planning

Yes, garbage collection is now a planned event. Miss it and, BANG!, you’ll wind up contending with a month’s worth of it! I diligently went onto the City of Victoria’s web site, www.victoria.ca, and followed the handy front page  “Kitchen Scraps and Garbage: Collection Day Reminders” link to learn on which days my now (with stat holidays and all) bi-monthly collections days would fall. I carefully plotted these onto my Outlook calendar, adding generous reminder times. We’re prepared! Victoria will also help us remember. On their site (see above link) along with a wealth of information about the new collection system, they make this helpful offer:

"Sign up for text, email, voice mail, Twitter, or iCalendar collection day reminders.  A collection day reminder app will also be available in February.  View your Collection Schedule online to see when your first collection day is."

Brand New Cans & Kitchen Scrap Containers

To ease us into this new garbage planning regime we’ve had delivered to our doors new trash cans and, ta da! Kitchen scrap containers. All our food waste will go in the latter and, with that and all the host of recyclables we can now shuttle elsewhere, we should have a lot less garbage. That’s a good thing!

What can you make of GARBAGE?

For example: Grab A Real Big And Greasy Eel! Yeah, you can do better than that. We’ll give a real non-garbage prize to the best GARBAGE sentence. Enter by emailing the Rosie team at rosietherealtor@shaw.ca. You may, of course, write to us about anything (and/or comment on this blog).

Rosemarie is a great resource for your Real Estate needs, please do write her about that. She’d love to hear from you.

BC Home Sales to Trend Higher in 2013/2014
BCREA 2013 First Quarter Housing Forecast Update

Vancouver, BC – January 30, 2013. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2013 First Quarter Housing Forecast Update today.

BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are forecast to increase 5.6 per cent to 71,450 units this year, before increasing a further 6.1 per cent to 75,830 units in 2014. The five-year average is 74,600 unit sales, while the ten-year average is 86,800 unit sales. A record 106,300 MLS® residential sales were recorded in 2005.

“2013 is shaping up to be a transition year in the BC housing market,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The groundwork has already begun for stronger housing demand as a significant number of part-time jobs in BC were converted into full-time employment last year.”

“Residential values are expected to be on a more solid footing in 2013 as lower prices, both actual and inflation adjusted, have improved affordability. Many potential buyers that stayed on the sidelines in 2012 will likely enter the marketplace over the next year as the relatively strong financial condition of BC households precludes any deflationary spiral.”

The average MLS® residential price in BC is forecast to edge down nearly 1 per cent to $510,400 this year and remain relatively unchanged in 2014, albeit up 0.6 per cent to $513,500.

The Globe and Mail's Michael Babad takes a look at the latest housing numbers

http://bit.ly/Xbwpzb

2012 Ends on a Steady Note for Greater Victoria Real Estate Market

January 2, 2013

VICTORIA BC - Victoria’s real estate market ended 2012 with relatively flat pricing when compared to 2011, along with similar sales numbers for the third consecutive year.

Total MLS® sales in December 2012 were 283, a 17% decrease over December 2011 when 339 units sold. A different picture is told, however, when comparing full years, where there is only a 5% decline from 2011 to 2012.

Similarly, pricing has held steady year-over-year. The annual average price of a single-family home in Greater Victoria was $603,298 in 2012 compared to $613,839 in 2011. Shelley Mann, President of the Victoria Real Estate Board, notes that while the annual average in 2010 was $629,925, it was $580,748 in 2009.

"In December there were less active listings on the MLS® system than in recent months," Mann says. "With less competition, homeowners have a better opportunity to sell. But the property must show well, and they cannot expect to sell for the all-time high prices of 2010 and 2011." Current active listings are 3,896.

"We continue to see buyers waiting to make their move. Two factors seem to have triggered this, the first being the tightening of lending regulations which has affected the purchasing power of many consumers," Mann says.

"The second factor is that some buyers are continuing to wait for the market to fall," Mann says. "What we heard at the local 2012 CMHC Housing Outlook Conference is that the market has bottomed out and slow growth is in store for 2013."

There were 65 condominium sales in December 2012, compared to 98 in November 2012 and 89 in December 2011, and the year-over-year average price has decreased by 3%. Townhome pricing remains flat.

Total Waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 10, also 10 in December 2011
Total Non-waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 146, down 27 sales from December 2011
Single Family Dwellings sold over $1 million: 10 (3 over $2 million)

I'm excited to be holding the following Open House this w/e. Know somebody looking to move right now?, please pass along the info....maybe see you there!:

Sunday, December 2nd
#20 – 1473 Garnet Rd 1-3pm
MLS#314542

Here is a like for like comparison to shopping for a home in 2007 when the market was robust and it was a great time for buyers:

October 2007 Median Price: $495,000

5 year rate (2007): 5.75%

Amortization: (2007) 35 years

Monthly Payment: $2717.64 (25 year term would have a monthly payment of $3093.86!)

Remaining balance after initial 5 year term: 469,139.48 NOTE: remaining balance at a 25 year amortization would be $443,103.80

VS.

October 2012 Median Price: $526,500

5 year rate: 2.99%

Amortization (new rules): 25 years

Monthly Payment: $2488.94

Remaining balance after initial 5 year term: $449,937.10

Not only is the monthly cash flow BETTER buying today with lower rates and under the new rules of a shorter amortization, but you get to pay down an additional $19,202.32 in principal reduction on the mortgage. All this after purchasing today at a HIGHER Median Price point!


TSX -118.41 to 11,811.38   
DOW -28.57  to 12,542.38
Dollar +0.27 to 99.91
Oil -0.03 to 85.42
Gold -4.80 to 1,709.00
*these numbers have been taken from  www.tmxmoney.com  at 8:00AM EST
 
Canadian 5 yr bond yields markets -0.01400 to 1.30000  The spread (based on the 5 yr published rate of 3.29%) is within the comfort zone at 1.99% http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GCAN5YR:IND  The rate of return on your bond, can be read through a yield curve, If the increase in bond yield continues to go up, the spread will continue to shrink and this could be a trigger for interest rates to rise.  The comfort zone is between 1.90 and 2.10

Thanks to Callum Greig    
Franchise Owner    
DLC - Prime Mortgage Works Inc.

November 2012

As we maneuver ourselves through this muted market I have been truly struck by just how many incentives are still available for First Time Homebuyers in 2012. Simply put it really has never been a better time to buy. Here are the latest incentives:

* BC Homeowner Bonus up to $10,000 for FTHB

* Property Transfer Tax Waiver for FTHB

* $750 Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit for FTHB

* 10% rebate on Mortgage Insurance Premiums for a "energuide" rated property

* 5 Year Mortgage money BELOW 3%

* Current Market Prices

Seriously now! In a hot market, these incentives are unlikely to be available for much longer and considering a $200k purchase price assuming 5% down purchase on a NEW Qualifying Property (subject to HST) you will enjoy the following:

$10,000 BC Bonus
$550.00 Mortgage Insurance rebate
$10,550 CASH! 6-8 weeks after closing
and
$2000 Savings via PTT Waiver
AND $750 Tax Credit
 

Buy a NEW Qualifying Home and you will get $10,550 in CASH then Save additional $2000 in PTT savings and still get a $750 Tax Credit, all financed at 2.99% over 25 years!. 

TSX -39.54 to 12,191.05   
DOW -121.41  to 12,811.32
Dollar -0.0017 to 99.78
Oil -0.45 to 84.64
Gold +5.40 to 1,731.40
*these numbers have been taken from  www.tmxmoney.com  at 5:30AM EST
 
Canadian 5 yr bond yields markets +0.0200 to 1.281  The spread (based on the 5 yr published rate of 3.29%) is within the comfort zone at 2.009% http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/GCAN5YR:IND  The rate of return on your bond, can be read through a yield curve, If the increase in bond yield continues to go up, the spread will continue to shrink and this could be a trigger for interest rates to rise.  The comfort zone is between 1.90 and 2.10
 
Thanks to Callum Greig,

Franchise Owner    
DLC - Prime Mortgage Works Inc.
Office: 250-708-2063
Cell: 250-580-5626
Fax: 1-866-845-8513    
Email: callum@primemortgageworks.com
Website: primemortgageworks.com
Twitter: @primemortgagewx

I'm excited to be holding the following Open Houses this w/e. Know somebody looking to move right now?, please pass along the info....maybe see you there!:

Saturday, October 27th
#20 – 1473 Garnet Rd 1-3pm ML#314542
#111 – 3921 Shelbourne St. 2-4pm ML#316050

Sunday, October 28th
623 Manchester Rd 1-3pm ML#314651
#302 1000 McClure 2-4pm ML#314996

I'm excited to be holding the following Open Houses this w/e. Know somebody looking to move right now?, please pass along the info....maybe see you there!:

Saturday October 20th:
·#302- 100 McClure – 2-4pm. ML 314996
·#2- 1473 Garnet Rd – 2-4pm. ML 314542
·#111 – 3921 Shelbourne Ave. 2-4pm. ML 310912

Sunday October 21st:
· 623 Manchester 1-3pm ML 314651
· #401 2940 Harriet Rd. 1-3pm. ML 314737

October 3, 2012

VICTORIA BC - REALTORS® across Vancouver Island are experiencing a "wait and see" attitude amongst buyers and sellers alike. The result? Prices remain steady but sales numbers are down in some categories.

Total MLS® residential sales for September 2012 were 400 compared to 435 in September 2011. During the month, 216 single family homes sold throughout the Victoria Real Estate Board’s region, just 28 fewer than the 244 sold in September 2011. The average price for single family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $589,361, down from September 2011’s average of $622,393. The median price is down by $16,500 to $517,500 over September 2011. There are 5,025 active listings.

"We are at a bit of a standoff in the Greater Victoria real estate market," says Carol Crabb, President of the Victoria Real Estate Board. "Buyers are waiting for prices to go down, but there are no economic indicators to show that will happen. Sellers are pricing their properties reasonably for the current market, which is reflected by the fact that single family homes are selling for an average 96% of list price.

"The median price of a single family home is only 1.5% lower than last year and that number has held steady for the last five months," Crabb says.

Condominium and manufactured home sales are virtually unchanged over September 2011 (approximately 1% each), while townhomes sales have declined 10%.

Total Waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 18, up 7 sales from 2011
Total Non-waterfront Single Family Dwellings sold: 198, down 35 sales from September 2011
Single Family Dwellings sold over $1 million: 14 (0 over $2 million)

*The original news release issued on October 1, 2012 contained an error. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.