Tara Matthews

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5 Minute Tips: Prep Your Home for Viewing


You have potential buyers coming but you’re already running late for work. What can you do in 5 minutes that will have the most impact?


1. Tidy the foyer / front entrance.

The front entrance is the first impression of your home. Put away your family’s shoes, hats, jackets, mail, etc.


2. Turn on lights and open the curtains.

Brighter homes look larger and more welcoming. Your real estate agent would be happy to turn off the lights and close the curtains after the prospective buyers have left, if you ask them.


3. Give the powder rooms a once-over.

Put the toilet lids down, wipe any hair and toothpaste spills from the sink, and put away toiletries.


4. Remove personal items.

Quickly go through your home and remove personal items such as family photos, bills and jewellery. This will help potential buyers picture themselves making the home their own.


5. Shake off your welcome mat.

Make sure your welcome mat is clean, free of leaves, bugs or other outdoor distractions that have a habit of accumulating.

This quick and easy task list will help you present your home to buyers in the best light, and it will ensure your mind doesn’t wander back to your house throughout the day with worries that you did not leave your home as clean as you could have.


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A News1130 Article was posted today regarding BC bringing in a 15% property transfer tax for forgein buyers in Vancouver.

 

Here is the story:

 

METRO VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The province will start singling out foreign buyers with a new 15 per cent property transfer tax as a way to cool demand for Metro Vancouver real estate.

 

The BC Liberals introduced legislation to make several changes during a special summer session in Victoria this week.

Foreign nationals and foreign-controlled companies will be hit with the levy.

 

The BC government says 15 per cent tax will amount to about $300,000 in tax on the sale of a $2-million home.

The size and footprint of the tax can be adjusted once we see how the tax affects the market.

 

The tax can be increased and decreased between 10 and 20 per cent. Regional districts outside of Metro Vancouver can be included if the tax pushes foreign buyers to other areas.

 

Finance Minister Mike de Jong says the specific motivation behind the tax is to decrease demand, but there’s going to be a bonus for people struggling to buy something affordable or find a place to rent. He says the cash collected under this tax will go into something they’re calling the Housing Priority Initiatives Fund for provincial housing and rental programs.

 

“Some of you will be thinking how much? We can’t say with certainty the proceeds of the additional property transfer tax are but we are resolved to keep the public informed and continue to release data.”

 

 

The property transfer tax for foreign buyers represents a departure from the BC Liberals’ position in the past.

The finance minister said just two months ago he has a “significant bias” against a punitive tax singling out foreign buyers. Premier Christy Clark shot down the idea when it was proposed by the creator of a petition on the subject last year.

 

Clark says they’re taking action based on data collected over the last few weeks.

 

“I have always said every suggestion that we’ve received is on the table. I’ve said that consistently and those have been suggestions from critics, from municipal governments, from academics and our job has been to take those suggestions and turn them into legislation.”

 

Clark adds the data they’ve been collecting over a less-than-two-month period has contributed to the change of heart.

 

The province changed the rules in May, requiring foreign buyers to declare their citizenship on the property transfer tax form.

 

Data gleaned from the forms between June 10th and July 14th shows foreign buyers spent about $1-billion residential real estate in BC and 86 per cent of that was spent in the Lower Mainland.

 

The tax kicks in next Tuesday.

 

The BC government’s legislation also includes changing the Vancouver charter to allow the municipality to tax vacant homes and changes recommended by an independent advisory group on real estate in Metro Vancouver.

 

Article taken off News1130, please follow this link for original story. 

http://www.news1130.com/2016/07/25/bc-brings-in-15-property-tax-for-foreign-buyers/

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Buying and Selling Real Estate in Tri-Cities such as Coquitlam Continues to Remain Active 

 

Modern Coquitlam House

 

Residential property sales in the region totalled 4,400 in June 2016, an increase of 0.6 per cent from the 4,375 sales recorded in June 2015 and a decrease of 7.7 per cent compared to May 2016 when 4,769 homes sold.

 

Last month’s sales were 28.1 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month and rank as the highest selling June on record.

 

"While we're starting to see more properties coming onto the market in recent months, the imbalance between supply and demand continues to influence market conditions," Dan Morrison REBGV president said.

 

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 5,875 in June 2016. This represents an increase of 1.2 per cent compared to the 5,803 units listed in June 2015 and a 6.6 per cent decrease compared to May 2016 when 6,289 properties were listed.

 

“Since March, we’ve seen more homes listed for sale in our market than in any other four-month period this decade,” Morrison said.

 

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 7,812, a 35.9 per cent decline compared to June 2015 (12,181) and a 1.1 per cent increase compared to May 2016 (7,726).

 

The sales-to-active listings ratio for June 2016 is 56.3 per cent. While clearly indicative of a seller’s market, this is the lowest this measure has been since February.

 

Generally, analysts say that downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it reaches the 20 to 22 per cent range in a particular community for a sustained period of time.

 

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $917,800. This represents a 32.1 per cent increase compared to June 2015.

 

Sales of detached properties in June 2016 reached 1,562, a decrease of 18.6 per cent from the 1,920 detached sales recorded in June 2015. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 38.7 per cent from June 2015 to $1,561,500.

 

Sales of apartment properties reached 2,108 in June 2016, an increase of 18.8 per cent compared to the 1,774 sales in June 2015.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 25.3 per cent from June 2015 to $501,100.

 

Attached property sales in June 2016 totalled 730, an increase of 7.2 per cent compared to the 681 sales in June 2015. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 28.1 per cent from June 2015 to $656,900.

 

Article taken from: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

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Setting the right list price for a home is a mystery for many sellers. How do you begin to determine what buyers are likely to pay for your property? Afterall, no two homes are exactly alike.

 

tara-matthews-house

 

Yet, setting the right price is crucial. You need to avoid the two price “tipping points” that, if crossed, can cause you a lot of problems.

The first tipping point is a price that’s low enough for buyers to begin

thinking something is wrong. They wonder, “Why is your price so low? What are you not telling us about your property?” But that’s not even the worst problem with this tipping point. If you do get offers at that low price, you’ll have a bigger issue – leaving thousands of dollars on the table.

 

The other tipping point is setting your price so high it discourages buyers from giving your listing a second look. When your price is that high, you’ll get few enquiries and even fewer people coming to see your property. Of course, you can lower your price later, if necessary. But experience shows that reduced prices make potential buyers skeptical. Most sellers who price high in the hopes of getting a windfall actually end up selling for much less than they would have if they had priced their properties correctly in the first place.

 

So what’s the right price to list your property? The answer is somewhere in-between those two tipping points.

 

Call today for help determining the right price for your property.

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