| Monday, March 8, 2010 The reason your agent wants to see your ID...by RE/MAX Select Properties on Mon, Mar, 8, 2010 07:52 PM FINTRAC fines brokerage $27,000
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has assessed its first fine against a real estate brokerage. HomeLife Effect Realty in Hamilton was fined $27,000 for violating the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act.
FINTRAC says the brokerage was fined for committing four violations:
- Failure of a person or entity to appoint a person to be responsible for the implementation of a compliance program;
- Failure of a person or entity to develop and apply written compliance policies and procedures that are kept up to date and, in the case of an entity, are approved by a senior officer;
- Failure of a person or entity to assess and document risk; and
- Failure of a person or entity that has employees, agents or other persons authorized to act on their behalf to develop and maintain a written ongoing compliance training program for those employees, agents or persons.
FINTRAC has had the authority to issue administrative monetary penalties in response to non-compliance with the act and related regulations since December 30, 2008. It says penalties are used as a last recourse after other measures to ensure compliance with the law have been exhausted.
“FINTRAC remains committed to working with reporting entities in ensuring compliance with the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act and related regulations,” says the agency in a news release. “The new penalties are a tool to encourage compliance.”
FINTRAC is an independent federal government agency with a mandate to assist in the detection, deterrence and prevention of money laundering and the financing of terrorist activities. Friday, March 5, 2010 Hang Onto Your Seatbeats!by RE/MAX Select Properties on Fri, Mar, 5, 2010 11:42 AM The indications all point to a very active market for this fall in Vancouver. Following the excitement and energy of a successful hosting of the 2010 Olympic games, Vancouver is poised to experience a gold medal spring in terms of the real estate market in the lower mainland.
Several factors point to continued growth in development, sales activity, and price. Firstly, the market fundamental of supply and demand has never been stronger on the demand side. Vancouver is desirable as a world class city with it's amazing urban amenities. The city is in a natural setting that is second to none in the world. It is nestled between mountains and sea. The incredible landscape also provides for a mild temperature, something unusual for a Canadian city. The forests are lush, with moss and ferns under the canopy of giant spruce and cedar trees. Vancouver is a mountain metropolis surrounded by a rainforest. Following the exposure the area received during the games, inquiries from around the globe have increased, signalling continued demand for Vancouver real estate.
The price of land will continue to climb as long as there is more demand than available supply. Despite the fact that Vancouver is already categorized as "severely unaffordable" in comparision studies between average wage and average house price, the allure of living in this amazing city continues to drive the market.
In order to continue to keep up with the demand, developers seek out new locations for high density housing. Projects are fanning further and further away from the core of Greater Vancouver, ahead of mass transit infrastructure projects. This activity on the development side brings employment and opportunity, which continues to feed the demand for housing.
Sales activity remains strong as baby boomers seek to use the sale of their homes to leverage their retirement plans. Many long time Vancouverites are benefiting from the surge in prices and demand for property in Great Vancouver. This demand has created many new millionaires, who can now consider selling and retiring by downsizing and cashing in on their new found equity.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 Real Estate Board Stats During the Olympicsby Ari Lahdekorpi on Tue, Mar, 2, 2010 04:57 PM
VANCOUVER, B.C. – March 2, 2010
–The Greater Vancouver housing market continued to experience strong demand
from homebuyers and an increase in total property listings in a month where the eyes of the world were focused on the
region.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled
2,473 in February 2010, an increase of 67.1 per cent compared to February 2009 when 1,480 sales were recorded and a 28.6
per cent increase compared to the 1,923 sales recorded in January 2010.
More broadly, last month’s sales totals marked a 7.6 per cent decline compared to the 2,676 sales recorded in February
2008 and were 13.5 per cent behind February 2007 when 2,859 residential sales were recorded on the Multiple Listing Service
(MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in
Greater Vancouver increased 19.7 per cent to $581,911 from $486,054 in February 2009. This price is 2.4 per cent above the
previous high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.
“We don’t know at this point what long-term impact the Olympics will have on our housing market, but we do know that
activity in our market remained steady through all of the excitement and distraction of the last few weeks,” Scott Russell,
REBGV president said.
“In February, for example, 110 sales were recorded on the MLS® in downtown Vancouver. That’s higher than 2009 and
slightly lower than the mid-2000s, which is consistent with data from the overall market. It’s too soon to say whether that’s
an Olympic effect,” Russell said.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,606 in February 2010. This
represents a 17.6 per cent increase compared to February 2009 when 3,916 new units were listed, and a 10.5 per cent decrease
compared to January 2010 when 5,147 properties were listed on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver.
At 11,346, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 11 per cent in February compared to last month
and declined 21 per cent from this time last year.
“Two months into 2010, we see the total number of homes listed for sale on the rise and demand in the market strong, but
less frenzied than we saw in the latter part of 2009,” Russell said.
Sales of detached properties increased 67.5 per cent in February 2010 to 983 from the 587 detached sales recorded during
the same period in 2009. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties
increased 22.5 per cent from February 2009 to $800,796.
Sales of apartment properties in February 2010 increased 65.2 per cent to 1,074 compared to 650 sales in February 2009.
The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 17.3 per cent from February 2009 to $390,899.
Attached property sales in February 2010 are up 71.2 per cent to 416, compared with the 243 sales in February 2009. The
benchmark price of an attached unit increased 16.2 per cent between Februarys 2009 and 2010 to $495,496.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 It's all doneby Ari Lahdekorpi on Sun, Feb, 28, 2010 07:41 PM Well...after a nail biter of a hockey game...the Winter Olympics of 2010 are almost done. The special Olympics will be taking place over the next few weeks...but the primary bulk of the events have been completed. Canada has realized its potential...the pride in the nation is amazing...and we have some amazing and wonderful memories to keep in our minds and hearts from this event.
Over the last few days it seems as if the city of Vancouver has come alive with the fever of the games. I have seen people on the street at all hours of the day in Canadian gear...face painting and the red and white garb...today when Canada won the gold medal game in hockey, the response was unmistakable on the streets. People were honking their car horns and singing the national anthem...I have never experienced anything like the unity of the city during these last few days.
Last night we went to the olympic village area for the last time to bid farewell to the event and the atheletes. The crowds were so wonderful and energized that we didn't want to leave.
In terms of real estate in Vancouver during this period of the games...it does seem that there was a distraction from the games that impacted on the number and scale of the deals in the Select office, but it looks like all of the slight dip will be over compensated for with the increase in business that will be following in the coming months!
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 The Final Week of the Gamesby RE/MAX Select Properties on Tue, Feb, 23, 2010 06:06 PM As the Winter Olympic Games of 2010 begin to wind down in Vancouver, the lasting impact and impressions will begin to make themselves clear. Most of our agents have not experienced any obvious slow down in their business. In fact one agent was telling me that she put together 3 deals last weekend, at the height of the Olympic Festivities.
Real estate activity can defy predictablility often. The early fears of a negative impact on activity and marketability of properties during the Games, were simply proven to be unfounded. While the media began to call the Vancouver Games the "glitch-olympics", the spirit and excitement on the streets kept building. This final week of the games have turned all the negatives around...in fact, it even began snowing on Cypress Mountain! While Canada may not have achieved the medal count of The Turin Games, we have accomplished a far more important goal. We have created an atmosphere of fun and excitement as good hosts to the world.
Vancouver is a world-class city in a setting that can leave a visitor breathless in awe of the natural beauty. We welcomed the world, and showed what makes Canada, and Vancouver special. As long as there are more people wanting to move to Vancouver than there are suitable properties on the market, our economic growth will continue. After the Sydney Games, the real estate agents there noted a spike in activity for the following 2 years. Now that the atheletes and fans from around the world have been exposed to the magic of Vancouver, there is no reason to believe the same effect will not take hold.
Monday, February 15, 2010 The Olympic effectby Ari Lahdekorpi on Mon, Feb, 15, 2010 11:46 AM The expected lull termed the olympic effect has not hit the market yet.The activity remains brisk in the office with both buyers and sellers.
Over the last 12 months the MLS housing price index has increased by 17 percent. The benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is now at $573,241 up from $489,007 last year at this time. The city is also seeing an increase in new listings. In January there was a total of 5,147 lisitngs. This is up by 39 % from a year ago in January..
If we do see a slow down due to the olympic factor, it may be a good time for motivated buyers to search for properties. The spring will most likely be a strong market if interest rates remain low as buyers may want to buy before the HST comes into effect his summer.
In a recent survey of "most live-able" cities in the world, Vancouver ranked as number one. The housing market here in Vancouver attests to the desire many have to plant roots in this city.
Canada has now moved into Gold medal territory...and the excitement in the streets of Vancouver continues to grow. Wednesday, February 10, 2010 just hours from the opening...by Ari Lahdekorpi on Wed, Feb, 10, 2010 05:20 PM As the hours count down to the start of the 2010 Olympics it seems that real estate activity is stepping up dramatically in our office here at RE/MAX Select Properties. I was just speaking with our conveyancing department, they tell me that the number of deals this week have more than doubled from the previous weeks. One of the agents just showed me a 4.8 million dollar listing that they processed this morning...so activity remains strong here on the West Side of Vancouver.
The Olympic flame will be passing through my neighbourhood on Thursday morning, but I will be on a plane to the RE/MAX Western Conference in Edmonton. Word is that the airport will be much busier than usual in Vancouver. The airport authority is claiming that March 1st will be the busiest day in the airport history.
The excitement is building now in the city for the games. It seems that even the most cynical are beginning to warm up to the notion that they are part of something very special. Monday, February 8, 2010 Olympic Weekby Ari Lahdekorpi on Mon, Feb, 8, 2010 10:52 AM So far the traffic has not been an issue here in Vancouver. A number of road closures have required a change in routes for delivers and commutes, but the drivers have adapted. The word on the radio is that transit usage is up, so that might be part of the reason that the congestion on the roads has not been too bad at this point. I did note that there were 5 buses lined up on King Edward at Cambie for the morning commute.
On friday the official opening ceremonies will take place. It will be interesting to see how that impacts on the commute from the areas around Vancouver. Friday will most likely set the tone for the functioning of the city around the increased population of visitors to the area.
Vancouver Real Estate has not been impacted in any tangible way at this point. Sales and listings continue unabated on the West-Side. The number of new listings is remaining relatively static. There is some indication from a few of our agents that they have clients wanting to wait out the Olympic period before they list or buy, but the numbers do not reflect any appreciable change at this point. If there is some slowing of the market for the games, it will only serve to create a frenzied spring market as the pent up demand will be so much greater.
The fundamentals remain strong in the Vancouver area markets. There is presently more demand for housing than there is supply...even given the higher prices in the Vancouver marketplace. Friday, January 29, 2010 Market Observations in the Pre-game Environmentby Ari Lahdekorpi on Fri, Jan, 29, 2010 02:32 PM There has been a lot of speculation regarding what impact the Olympics will have on the Greater Vancouver real estate market. Opinions vary regarding the effects during, and post-games, but we are now witnessing what is unfolding 2 weeks prior to the event.
All indications thus far are that the has been no negative impact on the current market. Information that our associates in our Arbutus St office are communicating is a strong and sturdy market thus far this year. Numbers appear to be up, and we are hearing tales of multiple offers, and robust numbers of Buyers actively looking for properties.
The general consensus seems to be that we should expect a slow down in market activity during the games. There will be problematic issues with accessing certain routes, managing showings, and dealing with the distraction of large numbers of visitors and activities in the area during the Olympics. Adjustments need to be made and managed to facilitate the daunting task of entertaining the world.
Vancouver west side REALTORS(r) will most likely enjoy a surge of activity once the Olympics are over. There will be an increase in the pent-up demand that already exists in the market. Other factors that will impact on the post-games market include new interest from the global real estate investor; and the rush to enter the real estate market prior to the introduction of the Harmonized Sales Tax in July of 2010. |
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