All Blog Entries by Steve Harmer

It may not be official, but Canada’s most expensive cities for housing seem to have a “one-bedroom policy” and millennials are no longer buying in.

A new survey from ratesupermarket.ca finds 72.1 per cent of millennials believe their ability to start or expand their family is directly impacted by real estate prices in their region. In Toronto, young families are now facing a detached home that sells for an average price of $1 million, while in Vancouver it’s almost $1.6 million.

There is a notion that if you don’t buy the house with the nice backyard something is wrong with you

The option being rejected by millennials, and other segments of the population, is to start household formation in condominiums — 60 per cent of which are

Take a look at Kamloops

Article from the hometown series from BCmag.ca

Kamloops is a city of approximately 85,000 locals who are so welcoming it has been called “The friendliest in B.C.” However, the people aren’t the only warm thing in Kamloops—this region is treated to over 2,000 hours of sunshine annually, making it an ideal location for outdoor enthusiasts.

Kamloops is where the North and South Thompson Rivers meet. The water spills into a surging silver stream that runs alongside Riverside Park and North Shore. Houses, schools and churches are nestled into the upper hills. Trains snake past Kamloops Lake and rumble through the city centre. From its beginnings with the First Nations, fur traders and the construction of the Canadian

The Canadian economy is tied closely to the price of oil, meaning crude will have a broad impact over the coming year.

As they say, the cure for high prices is high prices.

That’s the truth at the heart of the collapse in oil prices in 2015, a force that will shape our personal finances in the coming year. In the GTA, it’s good news. The commute is cheaper and so is the cost of heating our homes. It adds up to a tax cut as good as the one the Liberals are giving us.

In the west, where 40,000 industry-related jobs have disappeared, more pain is on the way because the energy rout may only be midstream. Even if it isn’t, more jobs will likely go. Until the price of oil stabilizes, the only thing companies can do is guess and keep

There are distinct advantages to having a Realtor® acting for you in buying or selling a property. With careful selection, you can benefit greatly from the skills of a knowledgeable and sincere Realtor®. There are a number of approaches to finding a good real estate agent. For example, friends, neighbors, and relatives may have the names of agents that they have dealt with and would recommend. Open houses also provide an opportunity to meet Realtors®. Newspaper ads list the names and phone numbers of agents who are active in your area. “For Sale” signs provide an agent’s name and phone number. And real estate firms in your area can be located through the Yellow Pages. Any of course, the Internet is one of the most popular methods of research

Mortgage rates weren’t supposed to make record lows in 2015, not if you asked economists and the Bank of Canada two years ago. But they did. And despite all the chatter about the first U.S. rate hike since 2006, Canadian rates could do it again in 2016.

But interest rates won’t be all that’s changing in the coming 12 months. Here are four mortgage trends you need to watch in 2016.

More missed payments?

Seemingly every year the government throws new rules at the mortgage market, lending gets tighter and the housing market gets safer. But one thing Ottawa can’t control is world economics. Despite manufacturing gains from a cheap loonie, global growth is slowing. That and plunging oil means more Canadians could be out of work, and when people lose

A buyer who fails to close on a purchase may be risking more than just the deposit - you could be looking at damages, says lawyer Richard Bell

Q: What happens to my deposit if I cannot close my purchase?

A: Whenever a buyer makes an offer for the purchase of real estate the contract provides for a deposit. The deposit is normally around 5 per cent of the purchase price and in most instances is payable within a day or two of removal of any subjects. The standard subjects are subject to financing and inspection. Where the property is strata titled there will also be subjects for satisfactory review of such items as strata minutes, engineer’s reports and depreciation reports.

The reason for a deposit is to secure the buyer’s commitment to purchase

Submitting a low offer is one thing, but getting the offer accepted is another thing altogether.

Vancouver agent Barry Magee explains the factors

A common topic among real estate buyers is whether or not they should offer a price that is much lower than the listed price. It's an interesting concept, but one that is not without its pitfalls. Submitting an offer is one thing, but getting the offer accepted is another thing altogether. Let's take a look at the different factors to consider:

1) Be Certain You Fully Understand Market Conditions

In a market like Vancouver and the Lower Mainland we are often faced with an inevitable reality – people really like living here. Sellers are more than aware of this, and are primed to take full advantage.

Most purchase and sale agreements come in standard formats, with standard clauses, and are drafted by the builder or real estate board. There are generally spaces throughout the agreement for additional, customized clauses to be added.

It is recommended to have a lawyer review your offer to purchase before you sign it. Regrettably, relatively few people do this, because they either don’t realize they should, perceive it to be an unnecessary or costly legal expense, or could cause delay that could cause a purchase to be lost to someone else, or otherwise kill the deal.

Alternatively, rather than seeing a lawyer before submitting an offer to purchase, some people may wish to insert a condition that states the offer is subject to approval as to form

You’ve had this feeling before. You’re not totally sure how things are supposed to happen. A million questions are bubbling on your lips. You know your goal, but you need some guidance on how to get from start to finish.

Only this time, you aren’t a first-time buyer. You are on the other end of the equation: you are a first time seller.

Here’s what you need to know.

1. Do I really need an agent to sell my home?
2. How do I pick a real estate agent?
3. How does the listing contract work?
4. What do I have to disclose?
5. What do I need to do to get my home ready for sale?
6. How does the offer process work?      
7. Once I have a firm sale, what are the next steps?
8. What are the final costs of selling?

Lets look at the answers....

When the time comes to sell your home, you may be tempted to sell it yourself. There is only one reason for doing so, and that is saving on a real estate commission. Other motivation could be a personal challenge or learning experience, but basically the desire to save money is the main motivator. You may indeed save money, but on the other hand, the saving could be an expensive illusion.

Based on my  professional experience, there are some general disadvantages of selling a home yourself, as opposed to using a carefully selected and experienced Realtor. The following remarks are not intended to dissuade you from attempting to sell your own home, but rather to place the process in a realistic perspective. These comments apply whether you are selling