The children have grown and moved on. Now for the first time in many years this Kitsilano home is for sale. It is a neat old place that that offers a combination of new and historic features that may appeal to you or someone you know.

The home is a solid 1930′s vintage bungalow with a full suited basement. From all appearance is seems very well maintained. Its durability as a good home in which to live is derived from the combination of the surrounding neighbourhood, its overall structural and mechanical condition and its lasting ‘charm’.

Room Highlights

Living Room

This home brings old and the new together in a easy-going comfortable manner. Starting with the entrance’s lead glass door your eyes will travel to the custom color leaded glass windows. From there you will undoubtedly notice two wall display alcoves in which to display your cherished somethings.

Daylight enters the room via the Pella wall to wall window opening the vista to the front yard shaded by tall trees.

Old world meets new with a gas fireplace insert ensconced by the original tile hearth and wood mantle.

Dining Room

Extended from the living area the dining area is framed with impeccably crafted cove ceilings. Of architectural interest is a feature in the dining room entrance. Carved into the entry arch is a stepped formation defining the transition from the living area.

Spaciously compact there is sufficient room for a table for 6 and large buffet.

Kitchen

Modern efficient Euro design incorporates black quartz counter tops complimented by high white shaker cabinetry. Full ‘easy close’ doors and drawers accent the latest in kitchen comfort. The deep under mount stainless compliments the all stainless steel appliance package highlighted by the flow of natural light from the eating area solarium.

Eating Area

A quiet place to play cards, enjoy a light meal or simply cuddle up and read a book in this room that is the outside within.

Main Bath

New in 2007 the main bath features black slate floor with bright white Kohler fixtures all emphasized by a custom made lead glass window.

Basement Suite

Two comfortably roomy bedrooms one of which is semi-ensuite. A modest but serviceable kitchen and a huge living space complete this area.

Schools

The home is in prime Kitsilano territory. If you require an elementary school you will find Carnarvon only a few blocks away. If high school is what you need then Kitsilano High School is also within walking distance. L’École Bilingue is just up the hill near Lord Byng.

Is the University of BC one your destinations? It is about 20 minutes by bus with a stop at 16th and Blenheim – only short block’s distance. The 99 BeeLine bus stop is approximately 6 blocks distance.

Downtown

If you are riding a bike an estimated time to reach the core of Vancouver would be approximately 35 minutes – much faster if you are in shape. By car, about half that time.

West Broadway, Dunbar and Upper 10th Ave

Vegetable shops, clothing shops, pharmacy, medical clinics, banks, and restaurants are a plenty in this section of Broadway. If exercise, skating or the gym is your preference you will find Kitsilano Community Center close at hand.

Up the hill you will find West 10th with another selection of shops to provide the services you need.

Equally close but in another direction you will find the Dunbar business district. Here too you will find a delightful grouping of retail offerings the Dunbar Community Center and the Dunbar neighbourhood movie theater. Pacific Spirit Park is a healthy walk up the hill and is where you will find miles of well forested trails on which to bike or walk.

Parks

Almond Park with childrens play area, Tennis Courts and an open field in which to kick a ball or two is just a short few blocks away.

FULL DETAILS

If Vancouver real estate is your secret lover you might think it fickle.

As sweet, warm and inviting as the swirls of foamed milk in your lover’s coffee this affair constantly changes. Capricious, it exhibits unpredictability suggesting motives unstable and unresolved with an outlook that casually alters as quickly as your lover’s loyalty.

Average Price 1977 – 2012

Detached

In the month of April there was a subtle unpredictable change as Vancouver’s detached average home price subsided to $1,152,091 down from March’s 1,176,642.

Attached

Seemingly without motive Vancouver’s attached average price for April 2013 moved closer to 2013′s high of $570,910 ending the month with an average price $549,447.

Apartment

Apartment’s were in the heat of passion in March with an average price that rose $456,358 – the highest average price achieved in 2013. In April, March’s lustful moment unceremoniously deflated as the average fell limp to settle at $417,460.

Vancouver Real Estate Average Prices:

Vancouver Real Estate Inventory – Active Listings

Vancouver Real Estate – Units Sold

*Percent = YOY

Photo Credit: Time Warner-Doris Day,Rock Hudson

The computer said I have an email. It was from the Real Estate Weekly politely asking if I would share some thoughts about the upcoming provincial election. The question asked “How the result of the BC election will affect the local real estate market?

Accordingly I was informed that there would be other notables who too would be asked to respond to this question. I pondered, I reflected and concluded that it would be fun to join in with this notable cabal of opinion.

Faced with a worthy group who have much to say, I cast my pithy words into the fray.

Headliners

The headline – “What Do You Think? BC Election and the Housing Market” led the way to a list of headlining opinion from:

1. David Allison, a Director of Braun/Allison Inc., a branding and communications firm that specializes in residential, commercial and recreational real estate development
2. Michael Ferreira, Managing Principal at Urban Analytics Inc., a research and advisory firm that services the new multi-family development industry in Metro Vancouver and beyond,
3. Peter Mitham, real estate columnist, Business in Vancouver; co-author, Real Estate Investing for Canadians for Dummies,
4. Frank Schliewinsky, Principal and Founder, Strategics, a company providing market research and analysis to the housing development industry; author, Strategics’ Vancouver Condo Report,
5. Fifth but not last is the ever observant Shadow, the Village Whisper, whose popular blog Whispers from the Village on the Edge of the Rainforest takes a critical look at the local real estate market and economics
6. and last, Yatter Matters – a self proclaimed place to find Insight on Vancouver Real Estate.

Scrutiny

It’s always been a personal opinion that the best is always saved for last. Whether that is true or whether it was simply a matter of formatting I don’t know but being last at anything deserves modest scrutiny.

It’s Elementary

Being the last name on a list of notorious notables did rekindle a memory. It was conjured from my tenure in elementary school and if you bear with me it may provide insight.

It was you see, due to the spelling of my last name that I invariably achieved class room seating in the same order as this list – I was always assigned the last desk in the last row.

Salvation

This situation persisted for an interminable time. Then one day as good fortune would have it, salvation arrived in the form of a kid named Zimmerman. It was a year in which I championed the second to last seat in the last row. By all measure what might appear to less sensitive souls as an incremental geographical shift was in fact the dawning of new life altering perspective.

Last Thoughts

Unfortunately, Zimmerman isn’t amongst this group of esteemed gentlemen. Thus once more, after all these years, I am last again!

So it is gentle readers that you, now armed with this knowledge, will find my pithy commentary on the upcoming B.C. Election and its possible effect on Vancouver real estate at the end of the list. Hopefully it offers you a lasting perspective.

Click here to read the Real Estate Weekly’s compilation of real estate opinion.

List Courtesy REW
Photo Credit: Flickr -Caitlyn Willows

There are days when the Vancouver real estate market blossoms. Sometimes it is at night when you get to share in those simple things that make this place we call home more than just a market.

Cherry Blossom

With the help of my trusty iPhone assistant I stumbled on this while walking along Kitsilano’s Carnarvon street. A cherry tree in full bloom on a full moon lit night – a simple thing.

Some things don’t change. At this time of year you can hear the battle cry of Realtor’s® saying “spring is the best time to sell your house so list now”!

Keeping the Faith

In this glutted market of listings and few sales, some Realtors® and their sellers are keeping the faith. They believe that ‘the spring market’ is the right time to sell. They also believe the Vancouver real estate market will not let them down – ‘it will sell!’

Yet, opposition to such faith exists in heretical evidence – listings in the lower mainland now exceed 25,092. This number surpasses the previous highs seen in 2011 – [22,323] and 2012 – [23,087].

Notably it is highest level in three years at a time when sales reported by the various boards, are below 10 year averages.

Losing My Religion

I have an ear worm.

Ringing in my ear are the lyrics to this R.E.M. song released in 1991. A song which Michael Stipe the lead singer has noted as “ just a song about having a crush.”

It’s probably not out of line to suggest that we in Vancouver have a ‘crush’ on real estate.

As Stipe’s lyrics state “every whisper of every waking hour” we continue to keep our faith in that love affair.

Hint of The Century

Yet the reality of the numbers in the “corner” under the “spotlight” might be the “hint of the century”.

Is it possible that this Vancouver real estate love affair, this ‘crush’, is not working?

The massive increase in listings suggests that some Realtors® and Sellers continue to keep their faith. Yet, I wonder – is the reality of this glut of listings a foretelling that without a huge increase in sales their faith in Vancouver real estate may shatter and cause them to ‘Lose Their Religion’?

Crushing the Crush

While I respect the faith people have in a market, I also realize that the toughest part of any Realtor’s® job is delivering the truth revealed in hard numbers. In that truth exists the ability to destroy a “crush”!

So I wonder! Have “I said too much”?

Image: Rhubarbwine

Take the local Real Estate statistics along with the accorded speculation depicting our slow Vancouver real estate market and put them in your back pocket. Instead, consider a new information from Statistics Canada – a report that might serve as a possible explanation for the Vancouver market decline.

Not Since 2009

According to the CBC “Canada’s economy lost 54,500 jobs in March, bleak new data from Statistics Canada showed Friday.” This pushed the jobless rate to 7.2 per cent up from 7%.

An added dimension evolves when you consider that “private sector hiring, the engine of growth that policy makers keep a close eye on, actually fared even worse. There were 85,000 fewer private sector workers in March.”

In the face of these new numbers Finance Minister Jim went against the grain saying that “this is a snapshot in time.” “If you look at job creation since the depth of the global recession July 2009, employment in Canada has increased by nearly 900,000 and is now more than 465,000 above its pre-recession peak.”

This should leave the newly unemployed who are unable to pay their mortgage feel a lot better.

The Exceptional Problem

“Much of the losses came among those in the core working-age group of those between 25 and 54. Among those younger than 25 and older than 54, the job numbers were pretty steady.”

Is it too obvious to suggest that this is the core group of people who represent the buyer market for Vancouver homes? 85,000 people without a job is a lot of potential buyers. A sizable number even when spread across our country. Remove that number of potentials out of the mix, add a few new mortgage qualification rules to make a home purchase more difficult and voila – a dead market.

Thanks for the Chuckle

One has to chuckle at Flaherty’s rationale. His thoughts reminded me of an old sales adage that said ‘you are only as good as your last sale.’ What he has yet figure out is that few are buying his hype and fewer still are buying homes.

Photo Credit: Flickr CC – Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Quotes: CBC

You have probably heard the news – Vancouver real estate is having a hard time. By extension you may have also heard stories that some Vancouver Realtors® are experiencing a hard time making a living in this tough market.

As some Realtors® face ever increasing financial pressures in their ‘dream’ career their ability to lessen that pressure vis a vis a home sale may lead them to the dark side.

How Tough Is It?

At the start of this 30 year career I was told that being a Realtor® is the most simple and most difficult career a person could choose. With empirical certainty that has been proven and there is little doubt that this career is not for everyone.

Amongst my peers I’ve seen real estate salespeople who through consistent dedication to their craft develop a clientele of interesting people from which they subsequently enjoy the accorded benefit of providing a first rate service.

It would however, appear that there are a few among us who by circumstance or choice, seek out other methods to pay their bills.

Stand Out

An outstanding example of this came to light in Saskatoon’s local paper, The Star Phoenix.

Hannah Spray a writer for the Star Phoenix, states that “according to a police news release, (the Realtor) was charged after members of the vice unit encountered a 17-year-old girl allegedly working in the sex trade at a north-end hotel. The vice unit was enforcing the adult services bylaw at the time, but further investigation led them to lay the criminal charge against (that Realtor).

Spray further notes that “The charge of living off the avails of prostitution of someone under the age of 18 carries a minimum sentence of two years in a federal penitentiary and a maximum sentence of 14 years.”

“The conditions of (this Realtor’s®) release include that he is subject to a curfew of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., except for a one-week period starting Thursday, when he will be on a pre-arranged trip out of the country. He must surrender his passport when he returns.”

Reputation Management

This Realtors® career has just become more difficult?

With the publication of this information it seems moot to discuss whether he is innocent or guilty? What is clear is that his integrity as an upstanding member of the community is now at question. A certainty is that he can never hide. In that the story has been published on the internet means he will forever dance with the elephant that never forgets.

It is known that Canadians a forgiving people but one wonders if there exists a remote possibility that this individual will ever regain his standing in his community?

What do you think.

Real estate is a demanding career that can be very unforgiving. Like Lady Marmalade’s chosen profession it is a tough sandbox to play in!

Ask yourself if this character who is yet to be proven guilty, someone you would trust with the sale of your home. In your view, is it possible for him to regain his community integrity in light of these published charges – will he ever be innocent? If he is, would you choose to do business with him regardless of the negative notoriety?

A note – before you rush to chastise consider that Spray noted in her missive that “except for a one-week period starting Thursday, when he will be on a pre-arranged trip out of the country. He must surrender his passport when he returns.”

With that in hand, do we dare contemplate pronouncing judgment? Is the alternative simply to accept that greater legal minds expect his return thus implying that his integrity is in tact. Are those legal minds also suggesting that we should simply go about our business at Starbucks and order a Mocha Choca lata?

Read the Article here:The Star Phoenix

Another Perspective

Photo Credit: Christina Aguilera – Moulin Rouge

Over time we keep track of Vancouver Real Estate prices using such tools as Averages Prices, Median Prices, House Price Indexes, Whispers and Hearsay.

One or all of them are correct or almost correct some of the time. Making sense of this arsenal of information is the fun and frustrating part. As a Vancouver Realtor® experience tells me the only element that is certain is that time just keeps on ticking.

Median Price

For your consideration here is my tabulation of Median Prices based on Vancouver Real Estate Board data dating back to the year 2000. The tabulation is for four areas that include Vancouver West, Vancouver East, West Vancouver and North Vancouver.

To those who might expect a median price graph for every area the board serves I’ll leave you with this frustrating thought – I ran out of time.

According to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, “lower levels of both supply and demand in recent months are holding home prices in check in the Greater Vancouver housing market.”

Prices are one thing but a 18.3% decrease in sales from last year and a 30.6% decrease from just a month ago would suggest to most of us that the market simply ain’t pretty!

Stats Don’t Lie

Let’s be very clear! “Last month’s sales were the second lowest March total in the region since 2001.

At 30.2% below the 10-year sales average for the month” one might conclude that not only is the market not pretty but a lot of sellers might think it is really ugly if they were to consider that:

• February 2013 had a 29.3% decline YOY in sales
• second lowest February total since 2001 or put another way
• sales were 30.9% below the 10 year average

Now in addition

• March 2013 has an 18.3 per cent sales decline compared to the 2,874 sales recorded in March 2012,
• it is the second lowest March total in the region since 2001
• sales were 30.2 per cent below the 10-year sales average

The Wyant Sentiment

According to the new President of the Vancouver Real Estate Board Sandra Wyant – “while home sales were below what’s typical for March, we are seeing more balance between the number of sales and listings on the market in the last two months, which is having a stabilizing impact on home prices.”

I remain uncomfortable with statements suggesting that things have ‘stabilized’. It leaves one to ask if we have hit bottom? With respect, I remain reticent in believing that Ms. Wyant would sign her name to that conclusion.

On The Bright Side of the Road

• The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 15.2 per cent in Greater Vancouver, a three per cent increase from last month. This is the first time this ratio has been above 15 per cent since May 2012.”
• New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,839 in March.
• This represents a 17.2 per cent decline compared to the 5,843 new listings reported in March 2012 and a 0.1 per cent increase from the 4,833 new listings in February of this year.
• Last month’s new listing count was 14.4 per cent below the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

March Numbers

• The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is currently $593,100.
• this represents a decline of 3.9 per cent compared to this time last year and an increase of 0.9 per cent compared to January 2013
• March’s new listing count was 14.4 per cent below the region’s 10-year new listing average for the month.

Detached

• Detached sales in March 2013 reached 933 up from February’s 704, but still lower than the 1,183 recorded in March 2012 a decrease of 21.1%.
• Detached Benchmark price decreased 5% YOY to settle at $906,900.

Apartment

• Apartment sales in March 2013 reached 982 up from 760 in February 2013, but still down 17.5% from the 1,191 sales recorded in March 2012.
• Apartment Benchmark price declined 3.3 % to $362,100,400 down 5.1% from the peak.

Attached

• Attached sales in March 2013 totalled 432 up 333 in February 2013 but down by 13.6% when compared to the 500 sales recorded in March 2012.
• Benchmark price decreased 2.5 per cent between March 2012 and 2013 to $454,300.

Wrinkles

Vancouver’s real estate market is not very pretty when there are so many gravity induced wrinkles. In the short run of a month an increase in sales and a decrease in active listings might suggest that the market is ‘tarting’ up in readiness for a party. The problem with party makeup is that it is a thin cover. With a long hot summer drive to the party still ahead (it took ten years to get here) that veneer may fade leaving some Vancouver home seller’s wrinkles exposed.

Full Report Here

Photo Credit:UFUNK – Photogapher – Leland Bobbé from the ‘Before and After Project.’

A quick peek at the 599 sales recorded on MLXchange® – the MLS® system of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board, the 31 days of March revealed that most of the sales action took place in the $1.3 and $3 million dollar range.

Top 10

Looking at the Top 10 sales we find that sold prices started at $4.72 million and climbed to a March high of $11.65 million dollars.