Down Payments Delay Homeownership by up to 35 Years

In a nationwide survey of over 9,000 prospective homebuyers carried out on its platform, Point2 Homes found that 66% of the Millennials interested in purchasing a home would like to do so within one year.

However, almost half (49%) of the survey-takers aged between 25 and 38 years old have savings significantly under the national average down payment amount, which is $25,000. Moreover, some of the Millennials in the survey state that they haven’t managed to set aside anything at all, meaning that the desire to buy a home might be in conflict with Gen Y’s budgetary realities.

Most Millennials Set Aside Less Than 10% of their Monthly Income

35% of Millennials state that they set aside less than 10% of their income each month and 30% of respondents…

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Here’s the average cost of rent in major Canadian cities for February 2019

British Columbia and Ontario continue to be the most expensive place to rent a room, or rooms, in Canada.

A new rental report from PadMapper shows that Montreal is the only city in the country outside of those two provinces to crack the top 10.

Toronto takes the top spot for priciest one bedroom units with an average cost of $2,270, but Vancouver is easily the most expensive market for two bedroom units with an average cost of $3,280.

Alberta's major cities managed to stay out of the top ten, with Calgary and Edmonton ranking 13th and 18th respectively.

In Calgary, one bedroom units average out at $1,130 a month, while in Edmonton the average cost of a one bedroom home is $950.

On the east coast, Halifax leads the way at 16th with one…

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Real Estate Listing Descriptions Are Vital to Marketing

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…

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Will new cannabis laws affect your home’s value?

Under new federal legislation, Canadians will be able to grow up to four marijuana plants in their private residence.

But a lack of protections and awareness could cost them thousands – or even their mortgage.

Sentiment on smoking and cultivating marijuana at home still largely negative, finds new Zoocasa survey.

With the new cannabis laws coming into force, would growing pot at home reduce your property’s value? What about smoking weed at home? Do you think a new cannabis store in the neighbourhood would help or hinder a home sale? A majority of Canadian homeowners (64 per cent) believe that a home where the owners smoked pot would see a decreased value, according to a survey released October 16 by real estate website Zoocasa.

And 57 per cent…

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British Columbia's Top 10 Cities For Real Estate Investment Report

New research forecasts which cities will outperform the rest of the province's markets, despite recent dramatic value increases

A new report released today shows Surrey, the second largest city in B.C. and the fastest growing, has the diversity and strength required to lead the province in real estate investment potential. The Top 10 Towns and Cities – British Columbia report helps home-buyers and sellers decide whether now is a good time to buy, or sell, a property.

The Real Estate Investment Network (REIN) is an independent research and analysis firm that has been producing reports on housing markets across Canada for 25 years and has earned its reputation as a dependable source in providing unbiased research and analysis.

Studying 36…

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BC Assessments Vs. What Your Home is Truly Worth

BC Assessment notices arrive in the mail, giving some homeowners a big smile and a bit more spring in their step (increased property taxes aside), while others wilt and lament at a modest gain or decrease in assessed value. Do these numbers make you more interested in selling your home?

Wait a sec. Neither this assessment document, nor either parties’ emotions, are tied to a current true market value. In fact, provincial property assessments can be significantly too high or too low. Values are determined in July of the previous year, and properties are rarely visited in person by provincial appraisers.

For this reason, provincial property assessments should never be solely relied upon as any sort of relevant indicator of true market value for the…

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Aging in Community: Tips for Seniors

Guest article written by Karen Weeks from www.elderwellness.net

Aging in community is a popular way for seniors to focus on their health by staying active and social, but what exactly is it?

The definition can vary from person to person, but generally it simply means living at home or in a senior community that isn’t assisted by nurses or other caregivers. For many seniors, this is a big deal, as it means that they can continue to make decisions for themselves and live life on their own terms.

“As a matter of fact, a growing number of baby boomers are turning to shared living as an aging in place housing option. A 2014 AARP analysis of census data found approximately 132,000 households and 490,000 women over the age of 50 living with non-romantic…

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BC New Real Estate Consumer Protection Rules

New Consumer Protection Rules:  Information for Consumers

The Superintendent of Real Estate has announced new rules for real estate licensees (Realtors) that will change the way a real estate professional can provide service to consumers. Under the new rules, real estate licensees will be required to:

• give consumers more information about commissions and fees —  in particular, how the commission is to be divided between a listing brokerage and cooperating brokerage, or when there is no cooperating brokerage, retained by the listing brokerage;
• before working with consumers, inform them of the duties and responsibilities owed to clients and unrepresented parties;  
• inform unrepresented consumers of the risks of dealing with a licensee who is…

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Buying a home in BC - All you need to know.

Buying a Home in 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.

It is important for you to understand the the process that is 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 home is a major event. This information will help you better…

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B.C.’s NDP budget takes aim at real estate market

British Columbia's NDP government will introduce tax measures designed to push down the price of housing by targeting vacant homes owned by out-of-province investors.

Finance Minister Carole James said she hopes this and other changes will cool real estate costs, but would not predict how much, or what will happen if they take a bigger bite out of housing values than intended.

"We are treading on new ground," she told reporters on Tuesday as she unveiled her first full budget.

"We will be doing the analysis as we implement them."

The $54-billion balanced budget also promises historic investments in child care to create new spaces and train more caregivers, while giving tens of thousands of families access to two new programs to subsidize…

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