If you think the BC Liberals got tough on foreign buyers last year, get ready for an even rougher ride for foreign nationals buying B.C. homes if the BC NDP wins the May 9 provincial election.

On August 2, the Liberals slapped a 15% foreign-buyer tax on resale home purchases in Metro Vancouver, a move largely blamed for a subsequent collapse of detached house sales, which immediately plunged as much as 70% in higher-priced municipalities. In February, seven months after the tax was introduced, Metro Vancouver detached sales remain 47% below the pace of a year earlier and average prices have fallen 4%. 

Based on real estate board figures, the tax has wiped $2 billion in equity out of the Metro Vancouver housing market, or about twice what B.C.’s Ministry of Finance had expected.

In a recent forecast, the Canadian Real Estate Association said B.C. housing sales will plunge 17.5% in 2017, the worst year-over-year decline in Canada. 

Last month, the province moved to water down the foreign-buyer tax, lifting it on international citizens who hold a B.C. work permit and pay taxes in the province. Premier Christy Clark also suggested there might be compensation for such people who had paid the tax on a home purchase.

But the original tax was not broad enough, said David Eby, the NDP housing critic and MLA for Vancouver Pont Grey.

“The problem with the foreign-buyer tax, unfortunately, is it doesn’t affect anyone who got into the market before the tax was introduced,” Eby told Business in Vancouver.

Eby said that, under the NDP’s proposed Housing Affordability Fund and Speculator Fee Act, a foreign national who did not pay taxes in B.C on his or her income would be subject to a retroactive foreign-buyer tax on all B.C. home purchases, regardless of how long the properties had been owned. Eby said an NDP government would apply a 2% tax on the assessed value of all such property. 

The NDP would also close what Eby termed two “loopholes” in the foreign-buyer regulations: the use of trusts and other corporate vehicles to disguise home ownership and the exemption on transactions of pre-sale condo assignments.

Currently, the foreign-buyer tax does not apply to any foreign national who sets up a company in B.C. as long as no more than 25% of the shares are owned offshore, said Christine Duhaime of Duhaime Law in Vancouver, who is considered an expert on Asian real estate. 

The tax also does not apply to a trust. 

Eby said the NDP would require that the owners of the property be disclosed and “whenever the beneficial benefit is transferred, through selling shares in the company, or any manner, the property transfer tax would have to be paid.” 

The NDP would also move to police and tax transactions of sales contracts for pre-sale condos. These are know as assignment sales. 

According to the Finance Ministry, all pre-sale contracts on new homes, not just condominiums, are exempt from property sales tax until the home is finished and a title transfer completed. 

“[The Liberals] left the speculation of pre-sale condos out of the tax,” Eby said, suggesting it was done to benefit its major donors in the real estate and development industry.

He added that the NDP would require registration of all pre-sale contracts on new homes, and the foreign-buyer tax would be triggered by the sale of such registrations, not just on transfer of title.

Metro Vancouver real estate agents say such extra regulations and restrictions would increase uncertainty in a residential market that is already struggling.

Is Vancouver’s real estate market warming up? Here’s what went down in the city’s condo market, where prices might be on the move again.

Vancouver real estate is struggling to pick a direction, and the newest condo stats definitely reflect that. Numbers from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) show that February was fairly busy, despite it being cooler than last year. Generally speaking, condos saw higher prices, less sales, but also less listings.

Vancouver Condo Prices Increased

Condos across the Greater Vancouver Region (GVR) got just a little more expensive. The benchmark price is now $526,300, a 2.7% increase from the month before. While that is a massive monthly increase, the six month trend is only up 2.4%. The price increase is a positive sign, but the large one-month jump is playing catch up.

Some regions in the GVR had a better month than others. Vancouver West saw the greatest increase with the benchmark now at $688,400, a 3.9% rise from January. Squamish and Tsawwassen had the largest decrease. The benchmark price in those regions droped 0.4% to $369,800, and 0.4% to $403,900 respectively.

Vancouver Condo Benchmark Price

Vancouver Condo Sales Decreased

Sales are on the slide in the GVR, where they dropped by almost a third. The REBGV saw 1,275 sales, a decline of 28.8% from last year. All regions however saw an increase from the month prior. The monthly rise is expected in February.

Vancouver Condo Sales

Vancouver Condo Listings Decreased

Listings declined, which likely provided a better balance for sales. February saw 1,615 listings, a drop of 27.86% from the same time last year. Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadow regions saw the greatest percentage increase of listings, rising by 55.3%. Conversely, Delta region saw the largest decline, with listings in the area dropping 46.2% from last year. A drop in listings puts more pressure on buyers, so generally speaking prices increase.

Rising prices are kind of surprising for the level, but from a technical standpoint they make sense. The drop in sales, was a similar drop in listings. So in actuality, the sales to listings ratio is only 1% different from the same time last year. This means the level of demand for condos, relative to inventory is actually quite similar to February 2016. Not quite the same case for detached inventory.

Materials Needed:

• Paint
• Egg carton (6 cup side)
• White card stock paper
• Tissue paper
• Glue
• Pipe cleaner
• Scissors

Start by cutting up an egg carton so you have 6 cups connected (this is the dragonfly’s body). Have the kids paint it whatever colors they want. We used a light blue, darker blue, and purple.

Cut out some dragonfly wings with white card stock paper  Cut up squares out of tissue paper and have them glue them all over the wings. Poke a knife or pen into the front and add small pipe cleaner antennas. Once the paint is all dry, glue the wings on top of the second “cup” of the egg carton. Note that the wings might curl up during drying so you might want to put some heavy objects on it.

Rising home prices, decline in sales and increase in inventory were all evident in the Greater Vancouver Region in February. This mixture of data makes it uncertain as to what direction home prices will take and it would be unfair to admit that the mix of data was an odd one.

Home sales from the prior month rose both year-over-year and month-over-month with the average sale price surging 13.9% to $906,700 making it a 1.2% increase from January. And even though last year’s figure during the same period must have been higher, the figures however this year would not be considered as a collapse.

Home prices in the city are recovering from the drop experienced during the Q3 in 2016 but it is still less than the record high figures recorded last year.

Similarly to other months, the region saw increases in various areas with the largest increases seen in Squamish and Whistler regions with the average home prices increasing 29.5% and 30.3% respectively.

Looking at the lower end, Maple Ridge and Tsawwassen regions recorded the lowest figures where prices rose 8.6% and 8.95 respectively. Although there was a considerable amount of drop in the region, there was however strong gains overall.

The region also saw a decline in home sales with 2,425 recorded for February which is a 41.9% decline from the same period last year. According to Dan Morrison, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the reason why home sales were hampered was because of the bad weather condition.

Furthermore, there was a significant decline in new home listings in the region with only 3,666 new listing recorded in February a 36.9% decline.

However, reports on the media did not do justice to the figures as they neglected to state that there was a total of 7,299 properties listed, which is a 4.95 increase from the previous year.

But the decline in the various regions does not indicate a market crash but a slow market growth. However only time will tell when the market goes through a crash but as of now, inventory and sales are still building.

Unless you have a workshop or a man cave in your basement, it usually only gets cleaned once or twice a year. While it may seem that odors congregate in the basement just to keep you from going down there, it's only because heavy air contaminated with odors and gases succumb to gravity and settle in the basement. In most cases, there is no way for those odors and gases to escape. Here are some steps to get the smell out and make that space available again.

Step 1 - Evaluate

To eliminate odors and that musty smell, you first have to find the cause. Do you have boxes of old clothing or miscellaneous items you just can’t seem to part with? Well, you must! (Pun intended.) Get rid of what you haven’t used in the last year, since old items can hold onto odors and therefore contaminate the room.

Do your walls feel damp? Is there any white residue on the brick or concrete? Dampness leaks through the walls from the outside, so if there is white residue, you had (or have) moisture coming through at one point. The white stuff is called efflorescence and is a sure sign of a problem.

Step 2 - Eliminate the Humidity

Concrete (which most basements are made of) absorbs moisture from the outside and will allow it to leech into your basement. This is especially true when the frost is coming out of the ground in the spring. The ice turns into water, and water finds the path of least resistance and is absorbed by the concrete, which comes into your basement.

The moisture level in any part of the house should be somewhere between 30 and 50 percent. Anything higher will permit mold to grow. Using your hygrometer, check corners, floors, and areas around water sources like the washing machine and stationary tub. The moisture-attracting culprits are usually near walls and dark corners.

Purchase a hygrometer to measure the relative humidity in the basement. Relative humidity, in short, is the amount of moisture the air can hold at a certain temperature. Be sure the hygrometer measures relative humidity—your basement is cooler than any other part of the house, and that is why you need to measure the humidity relative to the overall temperature.

While you are out buying a hygrometer, invest in a dehumidifier. A dehumidifier will capture any excess moisture in the air and turn it back into liquid water. The best place for a dehumidifier is in the center of the room. If you have an area that is extremely high in humidity, put it there until the levels go down a bit and then move it to the center of the room where it can keep the whole basement dryer.

Step 3 - Air It Out

There is nothing better than the first spring day when it’s warm enough to open windows and get rid of all that stuffy air. That’s exactly what you need to do in the basement. Be sure to pick a day when there is low outside humidity. You can get that information from any weather report.

Step 4 - Yikes! There Are Still Smells

If the fresh air and dehumidifier didn’t work to remove the odors, there are some other handy tricks you can use on surfaces.

If you have wall-to-wall carpeting on the floors in the basement, you may have to get rid of it. Carpet, like any other cloth, absorbs moisture and the smells that come with it. Consider getting an area rug to replace the carpeting, so you at least have something you can occasionally remove and dry out.

Step 5 - Stop it From Happening Again

Your dehumidifier will help a lot. But how about investing in some fans to help those damp spots? One or two fans will keep the air circulating and stop the heavy, smelly air from settling in corners. Better yet, put one fan up in the window facing out so that it will pull the musty air out and put another fan in an opposite window to draw the clean air in.

Another, slightly more complicated way to reduce the heavy air is to add some vents in your existing system. You will need one in your supply and one in your return ducting. You could also install a basement exhaust fan.

After all these steps are considered, think about painting the basement with a mildewcide paint. If the walls have never been painted before, you must prime the walls with a mildewcide primer, such as Kilz.

That’s it! Clean it up, air it out, and reclaim the basement as your own.

A Whistler Village-inspired design proposal for the Coquitlam Central transit station featuring a 55-storey residential “statement tower” and a public plaza earned a group of UBC students top prize at a real-estate competition.

The Pacific Northwest Real Estate Challenge, hosted by TransLink and Commercial Real Estate of Metro Vancouver (NAIOP) challenged teams from real estate programs at UBC, the University of Washington and Portland State University to come up with a mixed-use, master-planned community around Coquitlam Central Station.

The competition launched in mid-January and the student competitors presented their design ideas to a panel of judges this week. UBC last won the competition in 2015.

The UBC team’s development, called Chrono, includes seven condo towers — one of which would be the statement tower — three rental towers, 47,000 square feet of office space, 136,000 square feet of retail and a public plaza on the north side.

Health and fitness, food and entertainment are the focus for the retail space. Parking would be hidden underground and the area would be pedestrian focused.

In keeping with the guidelines for the competition, the plan retains a bus loop (which would be covered in this design) and the stations for the Evergreen SkyTrain extension and West Coast Express.

It’s a five phase development that would be completed by 2038. The total cost of the project is almost $2.7 billion.

Coquitlam Mayor Richard Stewart praised all of the designs — particularly their walkability — but said the UBC team’s submission was his first choice.

“I really think that they’ve embraced some of the planning principles that we’re trying to achieve in Coquitlam,” he said.

And that 55-storey statement tower?

“Oh, my goodness. We do have to build some iconic elements and that’s a key corner in Coquitlam where we’re going to need something striking. That tower, that was neat,” he said.

Guy Akester, director of real estate programs and partnerships at TransLink, called Coquitlam Central “a critical transportation hub” and said he wanted to help bring the competition to Canada for the first time because it was a great opportunity.

“From a really selfish perspective, I get all these smart kids coming up with really great ideas that we can then leverage in our own design process,” he said.

Any development on the site is years away.

This summer, Coquitlam will begin the process of updating its city centre neighbourhood plan, which includes updating the land use for the area around the transit hub. It will take about two years.

At the same time, TransLink will continue to monitor transit usage so it has a better idea of how to redesign the site.

“It’s really a bit of a wait and see for the next couple of years,” said Akester.

For the entirety of Apple’s existence, the company’s bread and butter has been selling premium products at premium prices. So if you’re looking to get a great deal on a new computer or smartphone, you’ll probably want to steer clear of Apple retail stores. Whereas some companies are more than happy to sacrifice profits at the altar marketshare, Apple, in stark contrast, has forever been beholden to maintaining healthy margins across the entirety of its product line.

That said, there are a few ways for users to get some of Apple’s latest products at a discount. As a quick example, one helpful but perhaps lesser-known program is a 10% price matching initiative whereby Apple will honor discounted prices from authorized Apple retailers. Simply put, if a place like Best Buy is running a great promotion on new iPhones, Apple will gladly match it up to 10% off the product’s original list price.

Taking things a step further, an Apple store employee took to Reddit this morning and said that the artificial 10% ceiling on price matching is no longer in effect.

Apple is removing their limitations on price matching. Previously, Apple capped their price matching at 10% off, but that’s going away. You can now price match further, and they will even match promotions that include iTunes or Apple Store gift cards. Still has to be from brick and mortar store official websites, like Costco or Best Buy, but will not apply to places like Amazon.

All in all, this sounds like a great deal for consumers. Of course, with Apple being Apple, don’t expect any in-store employees to openly advertise the price-matching program. Instead, you’ll have to bring up price-matching on your own if you want to take advantage of the offer.

To this point, one Redditor who claims to have worked in Apple retail for eight years adds:

The policy is they don’t offer discounts unless the customer says something specifically about purchasing from a reseller. They used to be really up tight about it- requiring the employee to get manager approval but in recent years have loosened it up to allow any employee to give up to a 10% discount on their own. So all you might have to say is- I saw this cheaper at XYZ store and they might just discount for you. That’s what I did if people were nice.

Apple’s policy was that they might not win on price but they certainly wouldn’t lose. Sounds like they might be getting more aggressive.

With new Mac refreshes and revamped iPads slated for release over the next few months, you’ll definitely want to keep Apple’s updated discount policy in mind.

The top reason why foreign buyers from China want to get into the Canadian housing market is education, not investment, according to data from a popular global real estate listings website.

Figures released Tuesday by the Chinese website Juwai.com in partnership with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada found that schooling was the primary motivation for potential Chinese homebuyers who viewed property listings in major Canadian cities in 2016.

It found that housing needed for educational purposes was the most cited reason why 46 per cent of Chinese users were looking at properties in Montreal, followed by 44 per cent in Vancouver, 41 per cent in Toronto and nine per cent in Calgary.

The second most common motivator for the interested homebuyers was “own use,” which could mean the home would be used as a second or third property. Sixty-two per cent of those looking for homes in Calgary cited this was their main reason, followed by 37 per cent for Toronto, 25 per cent for Vancouver and 34 per cent for Montreal.

Brad Henderson, president at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, says the figures show that there have been misconceptions about why Chinese homebuyers look to Canadian real estate.

“I really think a lot of perception that people have around foreign buyers and specifically buyers from mainland China⦠are informed by more anecdotal information and not statistics,” he said.

The data also indicated that the majority of Chinese property searches were for Canadian homes priced below $655,050.

“While home buyers from mainland China have been identified as a notable segment of foreign purchases within the luxury property markets of Vancouver and Toronto, Juwai.com data dispels the assumption that Chinese interest is limited to the high-end segment,” said the report.

“Instead, it implies that conventional real estate dominates demand.”

The figures also found that the implementation of a 15 per cent foreign-buyers tax last August in Vancouver had a swift impact on the interest of those searching for Canadian properties.

Juwai.com says that immediately following the announcement of the tax in July, its listing inquiries for Vancouver plummeted 81 per cent year-over-year and 78 per cent in August year-over-year when the tax came into effect.

It also saw that listing searches increased in other Canadian cities, with property inquiries soaring 1050 per cent and 420 per cent year-over-year in Calgary during August and September, and rising 62 per cent and 72 per cent year-over-year in August and September in Toronto.

Montreal saw a small decline of four per cent year-over-year in August before gaining 152 per cent year-over-year in September.

Even so, Henderson says he anticipates the number of Vancouver searches to pick up again, citing a modest increase in the number of inquiries in the last quarter of 2016 which he attributed to prospective buyers having digested the impact of the foreign-buyers tax.

“So we believe that in 2017, we’ll probably see an increased interest in properties in Vancouver.”

The data also found that Canada ranked third by users as the most popular destination for international homebuying, after the United States and Australia.

Juwai.com says the data was compiled over the course of 2016 from its more than two million monthly Chinese visitors.

Take any nail polish, apply two coats, and you're done. That's how easy this DIY project is. Remove with nail polish remover, and you can start all over with new colors. It's definitely cheaper than buying key covers for all of the members of your household and much easier to personalize.

Reluctance amongst Metro Vancouver home sellers is impacting sale and price activity throughout the region’s housing market.

Residential home sales in the region totalled 2,425 in February 2017. This is a 41.9 per cent decrease from the record 4,172 homes sold in February 2016 and an increase of 59.2 per cent compared to January 2017 when 1,523 homes sold.

Last month’s sales were 7.7 per cent below the 10-year February sales average.

“February home sales were well below the record-breaking activity from one year ago and in line with our long-term historical average for the month,” Dan Morrison, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “Limited supply and snowy weather were two factors hampering this activity.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 3,666 in February 2017. This represents a 36.9 per cent decrease compared to the 5,812 units listed in February 2016 and an 11.4 per cent decrease compared to January 2017 when 4,140 properties were listed.

This is the lowest number of new listings registered in February since 2003.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Metro Vancouver is 7,594, a four per cent increase compared to February 2016 (7,299) and a 4.9 per cent increase compared to January 2017 (7,238).

The region’s sales-to-active listings ratio for February 2017 is 31.9 per cent, a 10-point increase from January. Generally, analysts say that downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12 per cent mark for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20 per cent over several months.

“While home sales are not happening at the pace we experienced last year, home seller supply is still struggling to keep up with today’s demand. This is why we’ve seen little downward pressure on home prices, particularly in the condominium and townhome markets,” Morrison said.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $906,700. This represents a 2.8 per cent decrease over the past six months and a 1.2 per cent increase compared to January 2017.

Sales of detached properties in February 2017 reached 745, a decrease of 58.1 per cent from the 1,778 detached sales recorded in February 2016. The benchmark price for detached properties is $1,474,200. This represents a 6.5 per cent decrease over the past six months and is unchanged compared to January 2017.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,275 in February 2017, a decrease of 28.8 per cent compared to the 1,790 sales in February 2016.The benchmark price of an apartment property is $526,300. This represents a 2.3 per cent increase over the past six months and a 2.7 per cent increase compared to January 2017.

Attached property sales in February 2017 totalled 404, a decrease of 33.1 per cent compared to the 604 sales in February 2016. The benchmark price of an attached unit is $675,500. This represents a 0.3 per cent decrease over the past six months and a 1.3 per cent increase compared to January 2017.

Surging sales of condos and townhomes are pushing up the price for a typical Metro Vancouver home once again, according to the latest figures from the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board (GVREB).

According to figures released today, benchmark prices are rising fastest for apartment units, which are up 2.7 per cent to $526,300 since January.

Prices for attached properties such as townhomes also rose 0.3 per cent to $675,500, while detached homes remained about the same as January at $1,474,200.

The rising prices were driven by an increasing number of residential sales, which were up 59 per cent compared with January.

But that's still 42 per cent less than the record set in February of last year during the height of the region's real estate boom,

Dan Morrison, the president of the GVREB, says another factor pushing up prices is a lack of new listings last month. In fact, the number of new listing totaled only 3,666 in February, the lowest level since 2003.

"While home sales are not happening at the pace we experienced last year, home seller supply is still struggling to keep up with today's demand. This is why we've seen little downward pressure on home prices, particularly in the condominium and townhome markets," Morrison said.

Similar trends in the Fraser Valley

In the Fraser Valley, prices are also rising according the February figures from the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board (FVREB).

The benchmark price for a single family home in the valley is $859,300, up 0.4 per cent compared to January and 20.4 per cent compared to February of last year.

Townhomes hit $422,400, up 0.5 per cent since January and 25 per cent since Feb 2016.

Apartment rose the most, hitting $267,000, up 1.8 since January, and up 26 per cent since February 2016.

Overall, the trend is a return to normal historical sales numbers, said FVREB president Gopal Sahota.

"This is the kind of February we like to see. Last year at this time, the incredible demand created a market that was difficult for consumers."

"Now, we have sales moving upward from the winter months at a typical, healthy pace and a growing inventory to support it."

Benchmark prices are calculated to reflect the price of a typical home, rather than the average price, which can be skewed by the sale of a small number of luxury homes.