Real eState
BC Real Estate this Winter
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While COVID-19 and social distancing adaptations have proven challenging for the overall economy, there has been an upswing of activity in most BC submarkets since the spring.
Although overall, post-COVID economic recovery isn’t in sight just yet. The need for affordable housing options is dire in this province. A large gap remains between available housing options and types of housing that are in demand. Demand is edging towards single-detached homes due to shifting lifestyle desires as a result of the virus. Many people who were confined to condos longed for more space and this is evident in purchasing trends.
Historically, winter is typically a slow real estate season, as people don’t want to deal with blistery weather conditions, and many are preoccupied by time spent with family during the holidays. Will these trends remain consistent as we creep closer to the 4th quarter?
Below we explore the top BC real estate markets to watch this winter, and the trends that are propelling their post-COVID recovery.
The Greater Vancouver Real Estate market
The Greater Vancouver real estate market was buzzing over the summer months, but will this activity trickle into the fall and winter seasons? Considered a popular and expensive market to purchase in, there is a lot of uncertainty as to how the market will fare as 2020 draws to a close.
This will likely depend on the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for another wave causing businesses to shut their doors and residents to stay in their homes. For now, many are surprised at the level of activity as an outcome of the pent-up demand from spring.
The prices of homes have been edging up since spring homebuying had been put on hold due to the virus. As a result, there have been an influx of new homes on the market. Demand has started to pick up, leading to even more competition in the Greater Vancouver market and multiple offer bidding wars on listed properties.
Year over year there were 60.6 per cent more homes sold in September. The high sales numbers included properties that have been on the high end of the market.
Condo market
In Vancouver condo prices year over year in September had increased by 26.7 per cent. It remains uncertain whether trends within the Vancouver condo market will play out in the same manner as we have seen in Toronto, where demand and prices in the local condo market are trending downward.
Condo prices may begin to drop further as homebuyer preferences shift to large floorplans over small, well-located condos. If a flood of condo supply comes to the market, this could dramatically decrease condo pricing overall. As a result of the residents of the Greater Vancouver area working from home during the pandemic and home-schooling their children, some are recognizing the need for more space. Therefore, a shift may occur whereby single-detached homes with more greenspace could become more desirable.
Fraser Valley Real Estate market
When looking at the Fraser Valley market, one would never know we were in a pandemic or recession. According to the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, similar to the summer months, sales and new listings were at record highs in this area. Sales of single-detached and townhomes spiked, which put upward pressure on prices. This may continue into the winter season, although, with the potential for further COVID-19 waves, there’s no telling how this market will react.
Victoria Real Estate Market
The Victoria real estate market has seen an acceleration of sales as a result of the pent-up demand from the spring homebuying season. High home inventory in September has not kept up with demand. While local industry experts project that this strong activity will continue throughout the winter, they are well aware that the situation can change in the blink of an eye due to the uncertain nature of COVID-19 outbreaks.
Overall BC Market Uncertainties
Uncertainties related to the coronavirus means that the real estate market in BC could dramatically slow down once again in the winter. With flu season returning, fears of another wave could be heightened and lead to a decrease in activity across the province. People may put their real estate agenda on the backburner until there is more certainty within the provincial housing market and the economy at large.
The BC real estate market remains a popular destination for homebuyers. Although the coronavirus affected the market early on, with increased confidence and improving market conditions, we’ve seen activity in this market pick up at a promising rate in local markets province wide.
Source:- RE/MAX News
Real eState
Real Estate Stocks Fall As Mortgage Rates Rise To 4-Month Highs: 'Inflation Is Proving Tougher To Bring D – Benzinga
Real estate stocks slid at Wednesday’s market open, weighed down by the latest disappointing data on housing starts and a spike in mortgage rates, darkening the outlook for the sector.
By 9:00 a.m. EST, the Real Estate Select Sector SPDR Fund XLRE had dropped by 0.3%. This marked its fourth consecutive day of losses and set a course for its lowest close since the end of November 2023.
The fund has also slipped below its 200-day moving average, a critical long-term benchmark, signaling that investor sentiment has turned negative.
The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances up to $766,550 climbed by 12 basis points to 7.13% for the week ending Apr. 12, 2024, according to the latest figures from the Mortgage Bankers Association. This rate is the highest recorded since early December.
On Wednesday, the yield on a 30-year Treasury bond, a key benchmark for long-term mortgage rates, traded at 4.75%, at the highest since mid-November 2023, as Fed Chair Powell admitted that there has been a lack of progress in the disinflation trend.
Chart: Real Estate Stocks Fall Below Key Long-Term Moving Average As Inflation Bites Again
Weaknesses In Multifamily Segment Continue
Joel Kan, MBA’s Vice President and Deputy Chief Economist, explained the rise in rates, stating, “Rates increased for the second consecutive week, driven by incoming data indicating that the economy remains strong and inflation is proving tougher to bring down.”
Despite the uptick in mortgage rates, there was a 3.3% week-over-week increase in the Market Composite Index, which measures mortgage loan application volume.
Kan further noted, “Application activity picked up, possibly as some borrowers decided to act in case rates continue to rise. Purchase applications were the primary driver of this increase, although they are still about 10% lower than last year’s levels. There was a slight uptick in refinance applications, mainly due to a 3% rise in conventional applications.”
Chart: US 30-Year Mortgage Rates Rose To The Highest Level Since Late November
The real estate market’s challenges are linked to affordability and a shrinking availability as the supply of new homes falls.
Andrew Foran, an economist at Toronto Dominion Securities, commented on the trend in home building, “Homebuilding activity moderated in March as weakness in the multifamily segment persisted and the single-family segment gave back most of its considerable gain from the prior month.”
Data revealed a 14.7% month-over-month decline in housing starts in March, with the figures dropping to 1.32 million annualized units, significantly below the anticipated 1.49 million.
Both the single-family and multifamily sectors experienced declines, with single-family starts down by 12.4% (or 145,000 units) and multifamily starts plummeting by 21.7% (or 83,000 units). This retreat in multifamily starts marked the lowest level since April 2020.
Additionally, residential permits decreased more than expected in March, falling by 4.3% month-over-month to 1.46 million annualized units. This included a 5.7% drop in single-family permits—the first decline in fifteen months—and a 1.2% reduction in multifamily permits.
Rising & Falling
The weakest performers among real estate stocks with a market cap of at least $1 billion on Wednesday were:
| Name | 1-day %chg |
|---|---|
| Prologis, Inc. PLD | -6.55% |
| First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. FR | -3.33% |
| STAG Industrial, Inc. STAG | -2.89% |
| EastGroup Properties, Inc. EGP | -2.89% |
| Rexford Industrial Realty, Inc. REXR | -2.35% |
Those showing the highest gains were:
| Name | 1-day %chg |
|---|---|
| SL Green Realty Corp. SLG | 3.18% |
| Opendoor Technologies Inc. OPEN | 2.55% |
| Medical Properties Trust, Inc. MPW | 2.49% |
| eXp World Holdings, Inc. EXPI | 2.32% |
| Vornado Realty Trust VNO | 2.25% |
Now Read: Best REITs to Buy in April
Image: Midjourney
Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
A Toronto real estate agent posted a picture of a $799,000 house that appears to be burnt down on TikTok saying it’s perfect for first-time homebuyers on a budget.
The agent, Ruthie Miller, was half joking.
Miller’s real estate career has run parallel to being a stand-up comedian. She found the run-down house as she was trying to look for a place to invest in herself.
Though she wasn’t the seller of the house, she thought posting the entertaining video on TikTok would attract more buyers to it.
The Yorkdale-Glen neighbourhood home is placed on a 25 x 130 ft. lot and the listing includes pictures of burnt down areas in the home.
Miller posted the video a week ago, but now the price is currently over $1 million on Realtor.ca.
“This house did have a fire and probably needs a lot of work. If you’re anything like me and you think to yourself, ‘Oh, I can fix him. All he needs is a little bit of TLC. He’s just had some bad relationships in the past,’ then you might be into this one,” Miller said in the video.
Some viewers were confused and wondered if the video was a parody.
“LOL genuinely can’t tell if this is a joke or not … a budget? Your gonna need another 200k to fix it it’s not even livable,” one person commented.
When asked if she thought her comedic approach to real estate could mislead people, Miller said, “I don’t know.”
Miller told Now Toronto that she was joking about some parts, especially about the house being suitable for a first-time homebuyer because of the structural issues.
Miller believes she’s bringing attention to real estate regardless of the method and people are going to look at the listing and request more information if they want to.
“I’m a comedian also, so why not mesh the two? It’s a clever way of doing it,” Miller challenged.
Miller believes Toronto’s real estate market always has room for humour.
“I personally like it. I hope I’m not breaking any rules with my professionalism. I like blending comedy with real estate. It’s easy to make fun of realtors because they’re usually advertising multi-million dollar properties when most of the city can’t afford rent.”
Real eState
Former HGTV star from Los Gatos sentenced in $10M real estate fraud case – CBS San Francisco
LOS GATOS – A Los Gatos man who starred in a real estate reality show was sentenced to jail and ordered to pay back nearly $10 million to his victims after being convicted of real estate fraud, prosecutors said Tuesday.
According to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office, 58-year-old Charles “Todd” Hill received a four-year sentence. Hill starred in the HGTV show “Flip It to Win It“, which featured teams buying dilapidated homes and fixing them, before selling them for a profit.
The show aired in 2014.
Prosecutors said Hill was convicted in Sep. 2023 after admitting to grand theft with aggravated white-collar enhancements for committing real estate and financial fraud against 11 victims. Hill was indicted in 2019 following an investigation by the DA’s office.
“Some see the huge amount of money in Silicon Valley real estate as a business opportunity,” Rosen said in a statement. “Others, unfortunately, see it as a criminal opportunity – and we will hold those people strictly accountable.”
According to the DA’s office, Hill engaged in “multiple fraud schemes”, with some scams dating back before the HGTV show.
Prosecutors said in one instance, he diverted construction money for his personal use. In another, Hill created a Ponzi scheme by taking money intended to buy homes from an investor and spending it on a lavish lifestyle instead. He hid the theft by creating false balance sheets and used fraudulent information to obtain loans, according to prosecutors.
In a third case, prosecutors said an investor who provided $250,000 to remodel a home toured the property, only finding it to be a “burnt down shell” with no work performed.
Hill had used the money on a rented apartment in San Francisco along with spending on hotels, vacations and luxury cars, prosecutors said.
In addition to jail time, Hill was ordered to pay back $9,402,678.43 in restitution and serve 10 years probation. Hill has been remanded into custody, the DA’s office announced.
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