It's a Good Sign

Exciting Traditional in Prime Burnaby location! 5 bedrooms-5 baths, spacious living room, family room, kitchen, dining & media room. Some nice updates include 3 baths, fresh Benjamin Moore decorator colours, Stainless Steel appliances, New Metal Roof in 2008 with 50 year guarantee, 80% of window systems replaced. Fabulous, covered deck with light panels in roof for a feeling of sky overhead. Inspiring View of mountains. New Fencing all around the incredible back yard. So much to enjoy with gorgeous shade tree, new Pergoal with deck, play set with swings & a vegetable garden. This is an impressive home with great street appeal and a quiet location on large cul-de-sac yet close to schools, parks, transit & major shopping. 4842 Woodglen Court, Burnaby, BC

 The HST is having a real impact on the building industry inBritish Colombia, and the new figures released by CMHC support that theory.

New home construction has fallen 34% year-over-year in Nanaimoand 49% in Greater Victoria in 2011, according to the latest stats fromCMHC. These decreases have been reflected throughout the province.

Builders, province wide, blame the introduction of the HST asthe hammer that has knocked the momentum out of the market.

Slowdown in new home construction does not just hurt thebuilding industry either.  Thereare ramifications for other sectors in local economies as well.

Representatives from the building industry suggest that thereneeds to be a more cohesive approach from the industry and the governmentalike, regarding the HST- and the impact on new home construction and sales.

The HST affects homes priced beyond $525,000- which, given thehigh property prices in much of the province, has implications.

There is a mail-in referendum for the HST scheduled for thesummer—and that is putting a damper on buyer’s moods and motivationsapparently. It seems, as reflected in the numbers- that there is reason to stayfirmly put on the fence.

This comes as no surprise. to those in the industry. In aCanadian Home Builder’s Association of BC sanctioned report prior to theintroduction of the HST, predictions were made in regards to impact that theHST would have on home sales, renovations and would have “far reachingnegative  economic and equity implications for B.C.”

If the numbers from CMHC are any indicator, the predictions andfears have come to pass. Further driving this point home, home constructionsurged last year prior to the HST introduction- regardless of any othereconomic conditions present.

House Builders suggest that the HST has placed new homeownership outside of affordability for many, and are hopeful that this will becommunicated during this summer’s to those in the industry.

Article Courtesy of Property Wire 

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• 1,700 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm 3-level split - $1,050,000 - Great Market Value

Woodwards, Richmond  -  Woodwards Neighbourhood - One of Richmond's most sought after communities! A tidy, well maintained, 3-level split. 3 bedrooms, 3 baths, Kitchen (updated about 7 yrs ago), spacious living room & dining area as well as a friendly, casual eating area beside the kitchen, family room & den. Fireplace in Living Room & Family Room (one wood / one gas). There is a garden area with apple & plum tree, beautiful landscaping, new covered sundeck with 'light' panel & New Roof. Parks, schools, shopping & transit are all close by but life on this street is peaceful & quiet. A comfortable home or a great building lot!

Property information

By and large, across the nation, home sales maintained their position in the month of March.
According to a recent press release issued by CREA, “With national sales in each of the first three months of 2011 running close to their five- or ten-year monthly averages, seasonally adjusted national sales activity in the first quarter of 2011 was up 4.5 per cent from levels recorded in the fourth quarter of last year, and reached the highest quarterly level in a year. “

This rise in levels can be mostly attributed to a surge in activity in both the Toronto and Vancouver markets.

Additionally, there is speculation that the introduction of Flaherty’s mortgage changes may have pushed business forward that would not otherwise have occurred during the quarter.
Inventory levels are coming into line with buyer activity as well, with the national sales-to-new listings ratio, which is an indicator of balance between supply and demand, registered at 56.5 % in March.
Looking at this measure, more than half of the country’s markets could be considered balanced in the month of March.

"The majority of local housing markets across Canada are well balanced, but not all of them are," said Gary Morse, CREA's President. "Within a province or local market, the balance between resale housing supply and demand can vary widely and evolve quickly, so buyers and sellers should speak with a local REALTOR® to understand housing market trends where they live."
The average price across the country increased in March- 8.9% year-over-year. This increase, however, is partly because of high prices in the Vancouver area.

A record number of multi-million dollar property sales in Richmond and Vancouver West are pushing up average prices for Greater Vancouver, British Columbia and nationally," stated Gregory Klump, CREA's Chief Economist. "If Vancouver is excluded from the equation, the national average price increase is cut by more than half to 4.3 per cent."

"Looking ahead, evidence suggests that the potential rush of sales activity in March before recent changes to mortgage regulations took effect was a story that was largely focused in condo sales activity in Greater Vancouver. This confirms that the expected impact on sales activity of recent changes to mortgage regulations will likely be minor over the near term. Interest rates are now widely expected to remain on hold until at least mid-July, which is supportive for resale housing demand, market balance and prices," Klump added.  Courtesy of National News

'The clichet 'Think out of the box' may mean you should consider the box itself. The Modular Home Construction movement which started many years ago is taking on new energy. Around the world there are a growing number of innovative answers to 'home in a box' construction techniques. Maybe this is the answer for your dream 'cabin'? Over the next few months we will be featuring 'unique' building solutions that might inspire or bring fun to your housing ideas.

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