The province-wide slowdown in the BC housing market continued in January. Sales were down 33 per cent compared to the same month last year, while the average home price was down just under 8 per cent.

A large part of that is due to the stress tests on mortgages, according to BC Real Estate Association Chief Economist Cameron Muir.

“Pulled as much as 20 per cent of the purchasing power out of the many potential buyers and that doesn’t go on without seeing an impact,” he said. “Many markets now are showing signs of buyers market territory which means some downward pressure on prices, but many other markets are firmly in balance territory – prices rising around the rate of inflation plus or minus 2 per cent a year.”

Kamloops was a little better off

If you’re embarking on a home improvement project to simply make your home more comfortable and enjoyable to live in, then when you’re looking at the cost it’s a matter of what you can afford, and what you’re prepared to pay for the benefits the improvements will bring.

In contrast, if you’re having work done with a mind to increasing your home’s value in a future sale, then you need to take a somewhat harder-headed approach. Contrary to popular belief, not every improvement to your home will be reflected in its sellable value, so if you want to realize a return on your improvement budget, here are four types of project to avoid – and two others to give more serious consideration.

Home Improvements That Make a Poor Investment

#1 A Home Office

In most property transactions the word appraisal comes up sometimes more than once.

As a home buyer you may hear the word appraisal, if you are getting a loan to buy your house, an appraisal could be part of the process. Your lending institution may demand an appraisal on the property if it thinks that the house is not worth what you have offered for it.

This is a professional appraisers estimated value. The appraiser will use recent properties that have sold in the area to help determine the value of the home you choose. The appraiser will also consider the condition of your home, age, size and so forth in determining the value. To better understand what an appraisal typically looks like let me list a few parameters: Sales typically can’t be more

Between rising home costs, low inventory and the prevalence of all-cash offers, potential home buyers will readily tell you: It’s rough out there.

So if you’re lucky enough to find an affordable house you like, you may feel the pressure to make an offer right away.  Not so fast.

Before you put down that deposit, don’t forget to carefully inspect the home—even if it appears to be in good condition. “Looks can be deceiving,” says Leslie Piper, a consumer housing specialist for Realtor.com. Of course, there are some flaws you can ignore, like outdated appliances and misguided paint choices. But there are others that might be true deal breakers. And if you overlook the wrong ones, your new home can quickly become a money pit, says Ilyce Glink, a real

Once upon a time it was possible for buyers to identify a bank foreclosure from a mile off.

They were often run-down, stripped-to-the-bone and abandoned buildings which looked completely uninhabitable. However it’s a different ball game today, as many banks now choose to renovate their real estate owned (REO) properties before listing them on the market for end users to purchase. This prevents investors and contractors from making a lucrative profit through the bank’s loss.

Banks are cleverer these days, and they understand that the market has improved significantly in recent years, so they won’t come across as desperate anymore. Instead of trying to sell as quickly as possible, they look to minimize their losses. This ultimately creates both

Article Provided by Real Estate Council of British Columbia

Buying a home is the largest investment most of us ever become involved in.

Yet people sometimes take less time over it than they do when buying a new car. That’s because it’s unfamiliar territory to many of us. We don’t know what questions to ask. We may take things for granted, rely on others when we shouldn’t, and sometimes we later wish we had known more about the process involved.

The Real Estate Council of British Columbia feels it is important for you to understand the procedures normally involved in the purchase of a home, to recognize the significance of the documents you will encounter, and to understand the role of other people who may be involved in the transaction. Buying a

The Importance of Listing Descriptions When Selling a Home

With so much emphasis on great pictures – and now video – it is easy to let the listing description for the property you are selling fall through the cracks. Unfortunately, failing to describe the property well can limit the effectiveness of your listing. Interested buyers are going to read the listing description, so it is important to make sure you have good real estate copy if you want to stay at the top of your game as a real estate agent.

In every business there are those who will go the extra mile to make sure they are at the pinnacle of their game, likewise, there are those who don’t pay attention, are lazy, or just don’t care enough to standout at what they do. This is certainly the

Kamloops is one of only four markets in the province where homes for sale align with local earnings, according to a study of 20 B.C. markets by real-estate search and data website Zoocasa.

The findings are based on a summary of October benchmark and average home prices as reported by local real estate boards, the income required to afford the homes and regional median incomes as reported by Statistics Canada.

Kamloops is one of only four markets in the province where homes for sale align with local earnings, according to a study of 20 B.C. markets by real-estate search and data website Zoocasa. 

The findings are based on a summary of October benchmark and average home prices as reported by local real estate boards, the income required to afford

Have you been looking at homes to buy in Kamloops? Have you seen the line "zoning"? What does it all mean?

The city of Kamloops like all other cities across BC and Canada use a system of zoning on every home and piece of land. There are many of these zones and obviously some of them do not apply to Kamloops home buyers.

The full list is large but we can look at some of the most important ones that apply to residential property. To see the full list click here and get the inside scoop.

A-1 (AGRICULTURAL)
FD (FUTURE DEVELOPMENT)
OS (OPEN SPACE)
P-1 (PARKS AND RECREATION)
P-2 (CHURCHES)
P-3 (SCHOOLS)
P-4 (PUBLIC AND QUASI PUBLIC USE) 
P-5 (PRIVATE RECREATIONAL)
P-7 (FUNERAL HOMES)
CR-1 (COUNTRY RESIDENTIAL-1)
CR-2 (COUNTRY RESIDENTIAL-2)
CR-3 (COUNTRY