Interesting results from home renovations survey
Posted on Mar 14, 2021 in Home improvements
Here are some facts about home renovations, based on a survey conducted earlier this year by BC Hydro:
• Over half (53 per cent) of the 800 homeowners surveyed have completed a home reno project since COVID-19 arrived
• Improving aesthetics was their principal motivation, and “comfort” was second
• About 20 per cent regret at least some aspect of thei...
Interest rates expected to stay low until 2023
Posted on Mar 10, 2021 in Government and real estate
In case you missed it, the benchmark interest rate is probably going to stay at one-quarter of one per cent (0.25%) until sometime in 2023.
That extends the record-low interest rate for another two years and that’s good news for — among other industries — real estate. In theory, that figures to ease the financial burden for people who want to find h...
Market speculation rampant among experts
Posted on Mar 07, 2021 in Real estate market
Speculating what's going to happen with the real estate market is going to continue until...the end of time!
The latest collection of what some financial experts think was published in The Financial Post, and it prevews the possibilities as the market heads into spring, which is habitually a strong time of year for real-estate transactions.
Sometime...
What will come of working from home?
Posted on Feb 28, 2021
One of the situations that is driving the stable-or-stronger real estate market is working from home. Employees with WFH privileges during the pandemic have discovered that “home” is not as well suited for “work” — especially if more than one member of the household is doing it.
Some WFH employees have solved the problem by moving into a bigger home...
Something that turned a looker into a buyer
Posted on Jan 26, 2021 in Home improvements
In another time, on the North Shore, friends of ours had their home listed and while they were getting some lookers they weren’t getting any offers. It was a nice house…four bedrooms on the same level, family room with fireplace, dining room, generous living room with fireplace, two-car garage, large backyard with an in-ground pool.
They called it t...
Revisiting foreign buyer taxes
Posted on Jan 22, 2021 in Government and real estate
Four years ago, B.C.’s provincial government introduced a tax on foreign buyers that was designed to make housing more affordable for Metro Vancouver residents.
A tax of 15 per cent was levied on residential properties purchased by foreigners. Two years later, in 2018, the 15 per cent foreign buyer tax was changed to 20 per cent and, later that year...