Langley BC Real Estate | Condominums And Town Homes

Vancouver, B.C. November 5, 2007 – The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total residential sales reached 3028 units in October 2007, an increase of 11.2 per cent compared to 2,722 sales in October 2006, and a 2.3 per cent decrease compared to the 3,099 units sold in October 2005.Property listings remain relatively unchanged compared to last year’s levels, with 4,819 active listings at October month-end, compared to 4,862 last year.

DETACHED:
Burnaby up 14.5%………………………… (95 units sold, up from 83)
Coquitlam up 31.9%…………………… (124 units sold, up from 94)
Richmond up 20.4%…………………… (136 units sold, up from 113)
Vancouver East up 11.6%……………..163 units sold, up from 146)
Vancouver West up 11.4% …………. (156 units sold, up from 140)

For Immediate Release: November 5, 2007

(Surrey, BC) – Fraser Valley’s real estate market remained balanced in October, showing increases on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in listings, sales and average home prices. The total number of sales processed through the MLS® in October was 1,464, an increase of 14 per cent compared to the same month last year when 1,287 sales were processed.

New listings increased by 12 per cent compared to the same month last year with 3,124 new listings in October taking the number of active listings to 8,712, an increase of 17 per cent compared to the 7,438 active listings in October of 2006.

“ It’s been seven years since Fraser Valley buyers had this much inventory to choose from,” says Jim McCaughan, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “REALTORS® are able to show their clients more properties and as a result, we’re noticing a gradual increase in the length of time homes are on the market.”

In October, the average number of days to sell a detached home in the Fraser Valley was 52 days, an increase of 10 days compared to the same month last year. It took an average 8 days longer to sell an apartment last month, 47.4 days compared to 38.7 days in October 2006.

Townhouses on the other hand took less time to sell in October with the average days to sell at 33 compared to 35 in October 2006. Jim McCaughan explains, “Townhouses are becoming more popular on both ends of the buying spectrum. They’re more affordable for families getting into the market and empty-nesters are opting to downsize to an attached home as a lifestyle choice.”

The price of a single-family detached home in October averaged $517,087, a 6.1 per cent increase in one year. The average price in October 2006 was $487,238. The average price of a Fraser Valley townhouse in October was $329,991, an increase of 9.5 per cent compared to last year’s average price of $301,496. Average apartment prices in the Fraser Valley increased by 17.5 per cent compared to last year. In October 2006, they averaged $193,466 compared to $227,358 last month.

6 Ways to Kill Your Credit Score

Lenders will charge you more or flat-out reject you if you show up with a low Beacon score. Here’s how you may be doing yourself harm.

1. Be a big spender at the wrong time: The bigger your total balance as a percent of your total credit limit across all your credit cards, the lower your score will be. Beacon scores range from 300 to 850 - the higher the better, with anything above 760 being the most desirable. Experts estimate you lose 1 point for every percent of your credit limit that you use. So if you have a total credit limit of $10,000 and have an outstanding balance of $4,000 (40%), your score would be 40 points lower than if you had a $0 balance. Ideally, credit experts say, you never want your balance to exceed 30 percent of your credit limit. It’s always good to pay off your balances every month. To boost your score: Don’t charge anything for at least 60 days before applying for a loan. If you can’t pay off your total balance in full, at least keep it under 30 percent of your total credit limit.

2. Be a payment-slacker: Sending in your loan or credit card payments late can really hurt. Experts estimate when you’re 30 days past due and your balance is still unpaid, your score could take a 60-point hit. Late payments from your past that you have since paid off will have less and less of a negative effect on your score as time goes on. To boost your score: Pay your bill in full and mail it as soon as it arrives or at the very least the minimum due. If you are late one month, be sure to pay off what you owe as soon as possible.

3. Be too thin: When it comes to your credit record, fat is good, emaciated bad. Even if you’re the most responsible, on-time, in-full bill payer on the planet, your credit score won’t be as high as it could be if you have just one credit account. The reason: Your credit profile is too thin and lenders ideally like to see a potential borrower responsibly managing a mix of revolving debt (such as credit cards, where you can reuse the credit after paying it back) and installment debt (such as a car loan or most mortgages, where you pay the same amount every month for a certain period). To boost your score: Consider opening another credit-card account or taking out a car loan or small bank loan.

4. Be too young and eager: Old credit accounts count more than young ones in your credit score. Lenders prefer borrowers who have responsibly managed the same accounts for years. That’s a more reliable indicator of creditworthiness than a few months of exemplary behavior on a new account. Lenders also don’t like to see a borrower who’s gone on a credit binge, applying for a lot of new accounts or loans in a short period. Every time you apply for new credit, your score may be dinged by 5 points. To boost your score: Avoid applying on your own for a lot of loans and credit cards, particularly in a short period.

5. Be too tidy: The bigger your balance relative to your credit limit, the lower your score. But while it may be tempting to close out a credit card account when you transfer the balance to a lower-rate card, you may inadvertently hurt your score. That’s because your total balance stays the same but your credit limit goes down when you close an account. Say you have three credit cards with a combined credit limit of $24,000 ($8,000 each) and you owe $6,000 total. Your balance represents 25% of your credit limit. If you then close out one of your accounts, your credit limit goes down to $16,000 but your debt is still $6,000, which now represents 37.5% of your credit limit. To boost your score: Don’t close unused accounts when you transfer debt.

6. Be too nonchalant: You may be a great credit risk, but your score won’t reflect that if there are errors in your credit report. The last thing you need is to have someone else’s delinquencies wrongly assigned to you. To boost your score: Order a credit report once a year from www.Equifax.ca and check it carefully!