John Grasty - Port Moody Real Estate Agent and Homeowner Advocate

Be bold Vancouver, buy a place in ‘JALE’

John Grasty — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:52:19 +0000

{EAV_BLOG_VER:e9c21fab426529bf}

The city plans to turn an old prison into social housing in the Downtown Eastside, but it should consider this edgy alternative first

More Info: Click here

Vancouver`s average rent, at $1,181, most expensive in Canada: CMHC

John Grasty — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 19:22:19 +0000

Just how expensive are the rental housing units in Metro Vancouver? Up to close to $10,000 a month in some cases, it appears.

Find out what the average monthly rents are in Canada’s major cities according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s April 2011 Rental Market Survey.

OTTAWA — Demand is outstripping supply in the country’s apartment rental market, pushing the national vacancy rate lower and making it more difficult for renters to find accommodations, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported Thursday.

The vacancy rate fell to 2.5% in April from 2.9% a year earlier, the national housing agency said.

“Immigration continues to be a factor in supporting rental housing demand. Recent immigrants tend to rent first before becoming homeowners,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist.

“In addition, condominium completions moved lower in the past months, while rental apartment unit completions remained relatively stable. As a result, the overall demand for rental apartment units increased faster than supply for this type of housing. Accordingly, this pushed Canada’s vacancy rate downward.”

The average monthly rent in new and existing structures for a two-bedroom apartment edged up to $864 in April from $848 in April 2010.

The highest average rents were found in Vancouver, at $1,181; Toronto, at $1,124; Ottawa-Gatineau, at $1,056 for the Ontario portion; Calgary, at $1,040; Edmonton, at $1,029; and Victoria, at $1,024.

The lowest monthly rents were found in the Quebec centres of Saguenay, at $542; Trois-Rivieres, at $546; and Sherbrooke, at $577.

The major urban centres with the lowest vacancy rates were Winnipeg and Regina, at 0.7%; Quebec City, at one per cent; Toronto, at 1.6%; and Kingston, Ont., at 1.7%.

Those with the highest vacancy rates were Windsor, Ont., at 9.4%; Kelowna and Abbotsford in B.C., at 6.6 per cent; and Charlottetown at 4.9%.

Factoring out newly built structures, which carry higher rents and can skew the national average, rents across Canada’s 35 major centres rose 2.2% year over year.

Photos here: Click here

More Info: Click here

CMHC raises housing starts forecast, cites strengthening economy

John Grasty — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:52:19 +0000

New home construction and existing home sales in Metro Vancouver will grow this year and next, according to a report released Monday by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Photograph by: Bryan Schlosser, Leader-Post, Leader-Post

More Info: Click here

Shangri-la aloft

John Grasty — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:32:10 +0000

A hard-hat tour of this condo is harrowing, but when it’s built, residents will be grounded in luxury

More Info: Click here

Housing market feels impact of HST introduction

John Grasty — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 00:11:15 +0000

TORONTO — The new harmonized sales tax introduced in British Columbia and Ontario last month had an immediate impact on the housing market, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The Ottawa-based group, which represents 100 boards across the country, said July sales plunged 6.8% on a seasonally adjusted basis from a month ago, a decline Ã¢ÂÂalmost entirely the result of fewer sales in British Columbia and Ontario.Ã¢ÂÂ

The slowdown had been expected as consumers rushed to buy homes ahead of the July 1 implementation in those provinces. The HST only applies to services used in purchasing and selling an existing home, such as real estate commission, and not the actual sale price.

In British Columbia sales dropped 14.1% from a month ago on a seasonally adjusted basis and Ontario the decline was 8%. The two provinces accounted for 85% of the the change in national activity.

Ã¢ÂÂThe soft sales figures weÃ¢ÂÂre seeing right now can be attributed in part to accelerated home purchases earlier in the year,Ã¢ÂÂ said Georges Pahud, CREA president.

The group noted the drops in sales was smaller than in previous months with the Prairie provinces and Quebec staying even with June levels.

However, sales are showing they cannot keep pace with the blistering activity of the second half of 2009. Actual July sales dropped 30% from a year ago when activity set a record for the month. Still, for the first seven months of this year sales remain up 5.6% from a year ago. CREA warned activity will be off for the rest of of 2010 on a year-over-year basis.

Ã¢ÂÂActivity may remain at lower levels for some time, but ultimately we expect a more stable market to emerge, with demand coming back into line with economic fundamentals, said Mr. Pahud. Ã¢ÂÂWhile the outlook for economic and job growth remains generally positive nationally and in all provinces, the pace of the recovery will vary by region.Ã¢ÂÂ

The housing market continues to get a boost from supply dropping which is expected to keep prices stable. The seasonally adjusted number of new residential listings fell 7.2% in July from June Ã¢ÂÂ the third consecutive month-over-month decrease and the steepest drop in more than a decade.

But the impact on prices, which are the now relatively flat, was minimal. The average price of a homes sold in July was $330,351, just a 1% increase from a year. Again, CREA said the lack of activity in B.C. and Ontario, which included two of the countryÃ¢ÂÂs most expensive marketed, likely skewed average prices down.

On province-by-province basis, prices also dropped in Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island but every other province had gains above the national average.

Overall inventory is climbing. The number of months of inventory, which represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, was seven month in July. A year ago the number was 4.4 months.

gmarr@nationalpost.com

More Info: Click here

Let’s hope the Evergreen Line is done right…

John Grasty — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 07:23:37 +0000

There should be responsible and integrated planning for the Evergreen Line and a connector from Murray to the Barnet Highway. To do any less is an affront to the taxpayer: http://blog.realestateevolved.com/?p=842

Highrise from Onni a first for Port Coquitlam

John Grasty — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:06:57 +0000

New “suburbia” features affordable and sustainable housing close to shops, dining and transit

More Info: Click here

Port Moody council pushes for western station

John Grasty — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 22:15:22 +0000

Of course, the connector is a pre-requisite…

But this is great news: Port Moody council pushes for western station.

All Aboard the MurrayVille Connector…

John Grasty — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:20:31 +0000

MurrayVille Connector is a concept transportation and land-use planning game tool for Facebook suggested (on a FB comment) by my right-brained wife, Catharine.

Since so many of us, including our local politicians and bureaucrats, are regularly occupied in the social media phenomenon called Facebook, an opportunity has arisen for the development of some new-era “spoof” communications.

Since the goal is for everyone to win by building a Connector for MurrayVille with the Evergreen Line, and since this game is in the design stage, your input is sought.

After 20 years of delays and excuses, citizens of the northeast sector could finally get to build their own virtual Connector themselves.

Status and progress bars will include:

Citizens input
Political will
Common sense
Leadership
Evergreen cooperation
Open minds
Provincial Capital
Federal Capital
TransLink Cash
Port Moody Cash
Private Cash
Hidden agenda’s
Nimby’s
Vancouver’s precedence
Excuses
Delays

To start building you must engage the community to find out what they envision. It might take several attempts (and years) so don’t jump to conclusions or you might lose your job. Also, beware of hidden agendas.

You only start to earn points though if you listen to citizens.

Changing parties, politicians and priorities, will all present challenges (excuses and delays)

There will be special maneuvers and political games to make this life-like; almost like a reality show.

In this game all ideas are welcome and will be considered. Thank you for your input.

Real Estate Models: Fee-For-Service Vs. Contingency (Commission)

John Grasty — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 04:24:34 +0000

It’s ironic that Joe William should call his business “Best Value” real estate, and perhaps a bit misleading as well. The $109 “fee for service” listing William offers leaves the Seller to take care of everything else; there is no representation!

This is what John Ruskin knew more than 100 years ago: “There is nothing in the world that some men cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and he who considers price only is that man’s lawful prey.”

When someone perhaps not properly informed is preyed upon, buying business by offering lower prices is relatively easy. This is the essence of real estate commoditization, and in my opinion, using the cost of selling is the laziest and riskiest method to market with.

The home buying and selling public do not always understand a real estate sales professional’s value, and in many cases they believe all real estate agents do the same thing.

When the consumer is presented the full spectrum of service models (and credentials) to understand and make an informed choice, value versus price commoditizing will win every time and besides, the risks that can accompany a bungled transaction far outweigh the costs.

In “Balanced” and “Buyers” markets there are many Sellers getting in “pennywise, pound-foolish” situations, and it has been proven time and time again that far too many lose.

The real estate industry commonly offers the public something called, “Full Service”, which is a bundled package that is generally undefined.

Even some of these generically named, “Full-Service” real estate models will provide for economizing consumers, but can only maximize the ROI with some regularity in a “Sellers” market.

Selling using William’s “fee for service” model certainly won’t guarantee that a Seller doesn’t face additional commission fees. If a Seller posts through William for $109 and the buying party is using a real estate agent, commission fees based on the selling price will likely apply.

Research findings of Richard Robbins International show that a Buyers representative spends on average 32 hours with a Buyer. When the other costs are figured in, that Buyers representative will expect to be fairly compensated if they deliver a pre-approved Buyer to the Seller.

Offering a low Buyer’s commission is counter intuitive if a Seller wants to attract pre-approved, qualified Buyers.

Despite being unaware of the many issues that can complicate a sales transaction, some sellers using low cost fee for services are successful in getting what they pay for.

An “economical” sale is more likely to cost unsuspecting consumers more money, take up much more time than selling with a professional, and has additional risks.

The time spent planning, preparing (the home itself, making signs, printing feature sheets, etc), advertising (newspaper, Internet, etc), taking or returning phone calls, arranging showings (to sell an average home requires 12-20 showings, each showing takes 30-45 minutes), etc., is daunting.

Unlike a Realtor, the public is not covered by errors and omissions insurance and will face the risks of showing the home and everything in it to unqualified buyers.

Many buyers who do look at private sales are bargain-hunters looking to save, and don’t kid yourself, they are well informed and expect the full commission deducted from the sales price.

What if, like the majority of unassisted sales, your house undersells by 3 or 4% because of the discount mentality? Ouch!

If by chance (or because it was priced too low) you were able to obtain multiple offers are you able to deal correctly with them?

Don’t forget the fact that dealing with unqualified buyers often leads to private Sellers having numerous offers collapse.

A discounted service that loses sales, reduces marketability, results in a lower selling price, or misses any opportunity, could be a very expensive lesson.

When you lower your commission, you essentially have two choices – to reduce your profit margin, or to cut back on what you use to get the home sold. Neither scenario is very attractive or helpful in guaranteeing you earn the highest possible price for that home.

Think about how much you really saved in commissions? What other experts offering low cost solutions do you know?

Remember that a Realtor offering fee concessions has already given away a part of their commission before they’ve even started. Do you really want them negotiating for you?

Your choice of Realtor could be the best investment you make as either a Buyer or Seller. Why compromise? Well it is your money and it is your choice, so choose wisely.

Going into a real estate transaction few people understand what (value) they are getting, which has contributed to a belief by some that Realtors are overpaid.

You should question the value of the business model that you choose for your real estate services because most REALTORS work on a contingency basis, which means they don’t get paid unless you are successful.

The value of loyalty offered by REALTORS working on a contingency basis (versus, “fee for service”) to consumers in a real estate transaction is unquestionable and underestimated.

Sure, we’re more expensive than the competition, but there’s a good reason for that …

All things are not equal and I set myself apart from the low cost, minimal care and short service providers, and I will not compromise my reputation, or my customer’s best interests.

We’re certainly not about to start compromising our reputation by downgrading our service and offering concessions, or most importantly our results.

If you’re looking for cursory services you’ve obviously come to the wrong place. I really want to help people who are interested in what I have to offer (real value for money).

Delivering the high-level of service the customer pays for and the results expected, is where the real differentiation begins.

The most important question we can ask is, “What do our customers expect?” How could I possibly be fulfilling my professional obligations, working in the customer’s best interest, without knowing this?

Through an interview and assessment process I want to clearly understand what a prospective customer expects at the outset.

Then I put together a customized but flexible project plan in writing for the prospective customer to clearly understand what they will get, and if the plan needs to be changed it will be.