DATE

selling Vancouver condo
Steve Saretsky -

Top 3 Industry Secrets Revealed to Save You Thousands A Recent survey shows 67.5% of the public doesn’t trust Realtors. With all the negative stigma around the industry how can you trust your Realtor will get you the best price when selling your Vancouver condo? In this post, i’ll outline the industry secrets and show you how you can avoid them to ensure a smooth sale. Selling Your Condo Below Value Studies from the popular book Freakonomics show that most Realtors won’t work harder to get you a higher sales price. Seems counter intuitive since they get paid on commission, right? However, due to the way commissions are structured there is little incentive to fight for that extra dollar. Let me explain, let’s say you get an offer of $600,000 on your condo. It likely doesn’t make mathematical sense for the Realtor to tell you to hold off and try and get $620,000. To keep things simple lets say commissions are 3% of the price, which is shared equally with the buyers agent. If you sell for $600,000 the Realtor will make $9000. If you sell for $620,000 the Realtor will make $9300. Most Realtors would rather a quick sale

Steve Saretsky -

Avoiding These 5 Mistakes When Selling and Save Thousands Selling your Vancouver condo can be a stressful decision. In a quick changing market, deciding when to sell and for how much can cost you tens of thousands of dollars or more. Along with timing, how do you select the right Realtor to market and sell your condo for the most money? Below I’ll list the 5 most common mistakes I see when Vancouver sellers pick their Realtor. This post will save you from those mistakes and ensure you walk away wealthier. Here are the 5 critical mistakes to avoid: Hiring a Realtor based on the highest list price This is without a doubt the number one mistake I see time and time again. When Realtors are competing for listings they will intentionally bid higher than one another. The Realtor who can promise to sell your listing for the highest price is usually the one you go with, right? Wrong. Just because a Realtor promises you a price does not mean he or she will it. In fact, many times they end up overpricing the listing which ends up costing you in the long run. Some don’t even care if the

Steve Saretsky -

4 Steps To Fix The Vancouver Real Estate Industry On June 29 Chirsty Clark came down hard on the Vancouver real estate industry. Declaring the end of self regulation and promising provincial oversight on the RECBC (Real estate council of BC). The move shocked very few in the industry. With the public losing a great deal of trust in Realtors and the non stop chatter of the Vancouver housing crisis it’s clear changes were coming. Although many Realtors see it as a cover up, one that makes Christy Clark appear pro active on the housing crisis that’s a topic for another day. So changes are coming. Here’s how I would fix the Vancouver real estate industry if I were the new super intendant of the Real estate council. Firstly, the barrier of entry is way too low. I wrote a post on how to get your Vancouver real estate license. To sum it up it’s about 6 months to a year of work. Much too easy for people who are about to handle the publics largest asset. With over 12,000 Realtors licensed with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver it’s clearly an enticing job and the overwhelmingly large number

Steve Saretsky -

Top 5 Biggest Mistakes When Buying a Condo Are you thinking about buying a condo in Vancouver? No doubt it’s an exciting time, but many buyers let their emotions get the best of them and make some big mistakes in the process. Here’s the top 5 biggest mistakes when buying a condo. Are you making any of them? 1. Fear of Missing Out Let’s be honest, Vancouver real estate is all the buzz these days. Everyone wants a piece of the pie before it’s too late. It’s what we call FOMO or fear of missing out. Just because everyone is buying real estate or because prices are soaring doesn’t mean you need to or should be getting in on the action. For many people they end up stretching their budgets and becoming house poor. They’re no longer able to do the things they love because they’re putting every dollar they have into paying off a mortgage. Stick to a budget and don’t buy just for the sake of buying, sometimes renting makes more sense for the time being. 2. Not Getting Pre-Approved Here’s the deal. The Vancouver real estate market moves quickly. Once you find a home you like you

Steve Saretsky -

Empty Home Tax Provides Minimal Relief to Housing Crisis Big news today in Vancouver as Mayor Gregor Robertson announced with or without the support of the provincial government, Vancouver will impose an empty home tax. Gregor Robertson has plenty of critics but kudos to him for stepping up and being the first to take some real action on the Vancouver housing crisis. Here’s what The Mayor of Vancouver has proposed: Option 1: increase property taxes on empty homes with the help of the provincial government. Option 2: introduce a new business tax on empty or under occupied properties. Now he and the rest of us here in Vancouver await Christy Clark and the provincial government to respond by August 1. However a tax will go ahead with or without them come August 1. Don’t hold your breath waiting to hear back from the provincial government though. “Robertson said he wrote Premier Christy Clark last year asking for the province to support a speculation tax but hasn’t heard back.” So what impact will the empty home tax have on the Vancouver housing market? It will most likely have little to no effect on housing prices. What it will do is encourage many

Steve Saretsky -

Step by Step Process to Getting Vancouver Real Estate License Are you considering becoming a Realtor? Do you want to know how to get your Vancouver real estate license? If so then I’m going to tell you how to do that in this post. I legitimately have a friend or someone reach out to me on Facebook at least once a month asking me how to get their Vancouver real estate license. So I’m hoping this will help people out. Given the lower barrier of entry to become a Realtor and the lucrative money involved i’m not surprised so many people want to or try to become one. However, this is a full on disclaimer before we go any further! This profession is downright hard. It’s the exact same as if you were to start your own business. The first couple years are gruelling and you probably won’t make much money, even if the market is hot. Fun fact, 90% of all Realtors drop out of the industry in the first 2 years. Many would make more money working full time at McDonald’s. If you think you’re going to do this part time on the side, good luck! Ok so

Steve Saretsky -

Parking stall costs in Vancouver Parking stalls are at a premium in Vancouver. But exactly how much do parking stalls cost? With many people commuting to the downtown core to get to work parking costs can add up. Public transit and car sharing like Evo and Car2Go have made life easier, but still, wouldn’t it be nice to just own a parking stall somewhere close to your work and not have to worry if the same stall will be there today? Or not have to worry about paying excessive amounts for parking on daily basis, upwards of $20. Why you can’t buy parking stalls in Vancouver Parking stalls in residential buildings are rarely for sale. But why? For the vast majority of residential strata buildings parking is only allowed to be sold to owners in the building. So even though an owner may own 2 parking stalls and want to sell you one for what seems to be the going rate of $40,000 he will not be allowed to. The first reason is safety concerns. Allowing the general public access to the underground imposes certain problems with maintaining the overall safety of the building and the residents who live there.

Steve Saretsky -

BC Tax Assessment Does not Determine True Value It’s true, it has zero correlation to how much your home is actually worth on the market. Let me explain. Too many times buyers will look at the BC tax assessment for a property and they will see that the assessed value does not line up with what the seller is asking. They make a huge case that the property is over priced and negotiations become tense. The hard part can be trying to educate them that the BC tax assessment has zero relevance when determining what a property is actually worth on the market. If you look at sold properties and compare them with their BC tax assessment you will see that the numbers are generally way off, sometimes by a couple hundred thousand. Let’s break it down.  A loft on Beatty Street has an assessed value of $641,000 yet sells for $815,000. A condo on Hornby street is assed at $254,000 yet sells for $362,500. The list goes on and on. There’s nothing special about these units other than the fact that BC assessments mean nothing when determining a homes worth, period. BC tax assessments are strictly used by the

Steve Saretsky -

Will Vancouver Housing Bubble Pop? There’s always 2 sides of the coin. Such as this article Vancouver Prices Are Not Cooling. Some predict continued growth for Vancouver real estate while some are saying the Vancouver housing bubble could pop. I want to provide some insight on some research I found yesterday.  Famous real estate investor and best selling author Robert Kiyosaki predicts a major economic collapse. You could say it’s just another investor who has his opinions, however his predictions do have some factual findings. If there’s one person I would take real estate advice from it would be Robert Kiyosaki who owns a real estate empire with a net worth of 80 million. Robert was saying how the United States is in more debt than they were in 2008 when there was a major recession. In fact the United States has added an additional 7 trillion in debt. The Chinese economy is slowing down. Anytime the biggest economy slows down evidently the rest of the world will feel the ripple effects. The Canadian dollar is the lowest it’s been in 15 years. Mortgage rates are at all time lows, trying to encourage spending. The fact is people are getting

Steve Saretsky -

Thinking of buying pre sale condos? Here are 10 things you need to know before you do. So you’re thinking about buying pre sale condos here in Vancouver. There are many pros and cons of pre sale condos in Vancouver. You get the peace of mind of having something brand new, but there are also additional costs and the uncertainty of what you will end up with upon completion. You’re about to invest in a pile of dirt, buyer beware. You need to be aware that all pre sale condos are subject to 5% GST on top of the purchase price. This is a significant additional cost so make sure you factor it in. If you’re a first time buyer you are eligible for a rebate of 36% if it’s under $350,000. Anything from $350-450,000 will be subject to a portion of that rebate. There can also be builder closing costs upon completion. It’s important to review your contract to determine what they will be  There is no guarantee of financing. You can get pre-approved for financing of the condo, however should your financing situation change (losing your job) before closing, you are still required to close. Timelines can change.

Steve Saretsky -

Name your price in hot sellers market We’re in a market right now where it’s turned into a name your price situation. The inventory is so low and the demand is so ridiculously high that it’s become senseless. As i’m doing an evaluation for a client I show him all the recent comparable sales in the building and the most recent one, same square footage and view sold for $475,000 in September. Although it was sold by a discount brokerage and really wasn’t marketed the best I came to the conclusion that his would sell for about $530,000 today. That’s a $55,000 jump in a mere 4 months. The rates at which prices continue to climb is truly astonishing. Seeing one bedroom condos in Yaletown hit 10 offers and go 50,000 over asking is starting to feel like common place. So when I start telling clients these prices they go “how can that be, this one sold for X just a couple months ago.” Throw everything out the window, sales you see from just a couple months ago are hardly relevant. It seems every day new records are being set in buildings. It’s as if people are just naming their

Steve Saretsky -

Which is better concrete or wood buildings? Well, it’s a popular question, concrete vs wood buildings- which is better and what do you recommend I buy? It’s a longstanding debate and today i’ll shed some light on the debate and hopefully give you some key takeaways to help you with your purchasing decision. Concrete buildings, although generally more expensive than wood frame buildings, are worth it in the long term. It’s important to always look long term, in all aspects of life. The same thinking can be applied to when investing in your next condo. Although wood frame buildings are cheaper for developers and thus cheaper for the potential buyer, the costs in the long run are more expensive. Wood frame buildings can see a much quicker depreciation in the structural aspects of the building. We get so much rain in Vancouver each year, should the roof or siding fail and water penetrates it, it runs the risk of getting to the wood frame. Should this happen, the dampness can lead to structural issues down the road. Wood frame buildings also don’t insulate noise as well as concrete buildings. Concrete is considered to be the premium when it comes to

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The Canadian Economy

Steve Saretsky -

Top 3 Industry Secrets Revealed to Save You Thousands A Recent survey shows 67.5% of the public doesn’t trust Realtors. With all the negative stigma around the industry how can you trust your Realtor will get you the best price when selling your Vancouver condo? In this post, i’ll outline...

Steve Saretsky -

Avoiding These 5 Mistakes When Selling and Save Thousands Selling your Vancouver condo can be a stressful decision. In a quick changing market, deciding when to sell and for how much can cost you tens of thousands of dollars or more. Along with timing, how do you select the right...

Steve Saretsky -

4 Steps To Fix The Vancouver Real Estate Industry On June 29 Chirsty Clark came down hard on the Vancouver real estate industry. Declaring the end of self regulation and promising provincial oversight on the RECBC (Real estate council of BC). The move shocked very few in the industry. With...

Steve Saretsky -

Top 5 Biggest Mistakes When Buying a Condo Are you thinking about buying a condo in Vancouver? No doubt it’s an exciting time, but many buyers let their emotions get the best of them and make some big mistakes in the process. Here’s the top 5 biggest mistakes when buying...

Steve Saretsky -

Empty Home Tax Provides Minimal Relief to Housing Crisis Big news today in Vancouver as Mayor Gregor Robertson announced with or without the support of the provincial government, Vancouver will impose an empty home tax. Gregor Robertson has plenty of critics but kudos to him for stepping up and being...

Steve Saretsky -

Step by Step Process to Getting Vancouver Real Estate License Are you considering becoming a Realtor? Do you want to know how to get your Vancouver real estate license? If so then I’m going to tell you how to do that in this post. I legitimately have a friend or...

Steve Saretsky -

Parking stall costs in Vancouver Parking stalls are at a premium in Vancouver. But exactly how much do parking stalls cost? With many people commuting to the downtown core to get to work parking costs can add up. Public transit and car sharing like Evo and Car2Go have made life...

Steve Saretsky -

BC Tax Assessment Does not Determine True Value It’s true, it has zero correlation to how much your home is actually worth on the market. Let me explain. Too many times buyers will look at the BC tax assessment for a property and they will see that the assessed value...

Steve Saretsky -

Will Vancouver Housing Bubble Pop? There’s always 2 sides of the coin. Such as this article Vancouver Prices Are Not Cooling. Some predict continued growth for Vancouver real estate while some are saying the Vancouver housing bubble could pop. I want to provide some insight on some research I found...

Steve Saretsky -

Thinking of buying pre sale condos? Here are 10 things you need to know before you do. So you’re thinking about buying pre sale condos here in Vancouver. There are many pros and cons of pre sale condos in Vancouver. You get the peace of mind of having something brand...

Steve Saretsky -

Name your price in hot sellers market We’re in a market right now where it’s turned into a name your price situation. The inventory is so low and the demand is so ridiculously high that it’s become senseless. As i’m doing an evaluation for a client I show him all...

Steve Saretsky -

Which is better concrete or wood buildings? Well, it’s a popular question, concrete vs wood buildings- which is better and what do you recommend I buy? It’s a longstanding debate and today i’ll shed some light on the debate and hopefully give you some key takeaways to help you with...

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The Saretsky Report. December 2022