Langley BC Real Estate | Condominums And Town Homes

VANCOUVER, B.C. — March 4, 2008 – The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential attached, detached and apartment property sales totalled 2,676 in February 2008, a decline of 6.4 per cent from the 2,859 residential sales recorded in February 2007, and a decline of 9 per cent compared to the 2, 941 sales in February 2006.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties rose 26.2 per cent to 5,260 in February 2008 compared with February 2007, which had 4,167 units listed. New listings this February rose 21.2 per cent over new listings figures from February 2006.

“We continue to see the market rebalance, particularly with detached properties, where listings climb and sales either hold or decline slightly,” says REBGV president Brian Naphtali. “This shift increases buyer options and allows people more time to make decisions when purchasing a home.”

Sales of detached properties declined 11.2 per cent to 995 from the 1,121 detached sales totalled over the same period in 2007. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties rose 14.1 per cent from February 2007 to $761,342.

Sales of apartment properties in February 2008 declined 5.7 per cent to 1,197, compared to 1,269 sales in February 2007. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 12.7 per cent from February 2007 to $387,032.

Attached property sales in February 2008 increased 3.2 per cent to 484, compared with the 469 sales in February 2007. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 12.9 per cent between February 2007 and 2008 to $472,147.

Bright spots in Greater Vancouver in January 2008 compared to January 2007:

Detached:
West Vancouver/Howe Sound….. up 16.7 per cent (56 units sold up from 48)
Whistler/Pemberton………………… up 100 per cent (10 units sold up from 5)
Port Moody/Belcarra……………….. up 22.7 per cent (27 units sold up from 22)

Attached:
New Westminster…………………….. up 216.7 per cent (19 units sold up from 6)
Port Coquitlam…………………………. up 68.4 per cent (32 units sold up from 19)

Apartments:
Burnaby…………………………………… up 9.5 per cent (150 units sold up from 137)
Whistler/Pemberton………………… up 62.5 per cent (13 units sold up from
Port Moody/Belcarra……………….. up 27.6 per cent (37 units sold up from 29)

For Immediate Release: March 4, 2008

(Surrey, BC) – With greater choice available, Fraser Valley home buyers continued to snap up properties in February, paying on average seven per cent more for a single family home compared to the same month last year.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board recorded 1,308 sales on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in February, compared with 1,413 during February of last year, a decrease of seven per cent.

The MLS® received 2,808 new listings in February, which added up to 8,185 active listings for the month, an increase of 30 per cent compared to the 6,304 active listings that were available in February 2007.

“There is tremendous interest in Fraser Valley real estate,” confirms President Kelvin Neufeld. “We have buyers from out of town coming for work, from Greater Vancouver looking to get more bang for their buck, first-time buyers looking to enter the market with a condo or townhouse, and long-time Fraser Valley residents asking us to help them downsize or upsize.

“All this activity is keeping prices competitive. It’s also the reason why Fraser Valley REALTORS® anticipate another busy spring in 2008.”

The average price of a single-family detached house in the Fraser Valley in February was $544,495, an increase of 7.3 per cent compared to the same month last year. In February 2007, the average price was $507,439.Similarly, the average apartment price went up 7.4 per cent, from February 2007’s average of $208,885, to $224,430 in 2008.

The average price of townhouses increased by 11 per cent in one year, selling for an average of $346,853 in February 2008, compared to an average of $312,421 during the same month last year.

Perhaps you’ve heard the terms “Freehold” or “Leasehold” to describe a person’s title to a piece of property and wondered exactly what that means.  The following is a list and explanation of the different ways Title to a property in British Columbia can be held.

Freehold – A freehold interest (also known as a fee simple) is the more precise term for what we ordinarily refer to as “ownership” of a home. The owner of the freehold interest has full use and control of the land and the buildings on it, subject to any rights of the Crown, local land-use bylaws, and any other restrictions in place at the time of purchase.

Strata Title – The strata title form of ownership is designed to provide exclusive use and ownership of a specific housing unit (the strata lot) which is contained in a larger property (the strata project), plus shared use and ownership of the common areas such as halls, grounds, garages, elevators, etc. This type of ownership is used for duplexes, apartment blocks, townhouse complexes, warehouses, and many other types of buildings. Because ownership of the common space is shared, the owners also share financial responsibility for its maintenance.

Leasehold – In some cases, you might purchase the right to use a residential property for a long, but limited, period of time. The owner of this right of use has a type of ownership called a leasehold interest. This type of ownership is used most often for townhouses or apartments built on city-owned land. It is also used occasionally for single detached homes on farm land, on First Nation reserves, and for apartments where the owner of the freehold interest of an entire apartment block sells leasehold interests in individual apartment units to other “owners.” Leasehold interests are frequently set for periods of 99 years, but regardless of the length of the original term, you will only be able to purchase the remaining portion. Of course, the shorter the remaining portion, the less you, or the person who eventually purchases from you, will be willing to pay for the leasehold interest.

Cooperative – In the cooperative form of ownership, each owner owns a share in a company or cooperative association which, in turn, owns a property containing a number of housing units. Each shareholder is assigned one particular unit in which to reside.

from the Real Estate Council of British Columbia 

If it is possible, as some individuals suggest, for many people to quickly become very wealthy by dealing in real estate, then unfortunately, other people on the opposite side of the same transactions must, just as quickly, lose some of what they have invested. Usually, those who stand to lose are sellers who agree to be a party to buyers’ financing arrangement in which the sellers assume risks.

Essentially, there is nothing wrong with most innovative or creative financing if all parties are fully aware of the potential risks and fully understand the possible consequences of such risks. However, the fact is that many owners (sellers) are not aware of the potential disasters which may occur. It is strongly recommended that you secure competent advice from a real estate licensee or legal counsel before finalizing any real estate contract. This recommendation is much more urgent when the offer you are considering includes terms which could jeopardize you financially.

Be wary of offers which require any of the following: