VANCOUVER ISLAND – Sandy Clark has been passionate about real estate since her early 20’s, and at the age of 43 finally pursued her passion to become a highly recognized realtor on Vancouver Island.
Sandy managed to fight her way through the gauntlet to the upper echelons of the industry on Vancouver Island receiving multiple awards year after year as a top producing agent for her proven capabilities, successes and professionalism in the industry.
“I was licensed in 2010 and fought my way through the then male dominated industry to prove myself as a highly respected, reputable, knowledgeable commercial realtor for central Vancouver Island,” she notes. “Quite often, my associates will contact me for intel on prospective development properties coming up or to see if I have buyers for their off market unlisted opportunities.”
Sandy began her real estate career as an unlicensed assistant in residential and commercial real estate while working for five very busy commercial agents at DTZ Barnicke Nanaimo (now NAI Commercial). As a life-long Island resident of the Island and family throughout, she is very familiar with the communities between Victoria and Campbell River with offices in Victoria and Nanaimo.
“My area of expertise is solution focused, industry diversity, due diligence, understanding current and potential use of a property permitted under the existing zoning bylaws and future permitted use as per the OCP (Official Community Plan) of a community,” she states. “I have guided development clients on my recommendation for the highest and best use of a development property whereby my recommendation has served them well and provided a positive return on their investment.”
Sandy does occasionally assist clients with leasing, however sales are her dominant preference with experience selling manufactured home parks, gas stations, strip malls, development property, multi-family investments, re-sale of individual condo units during and after construction, commercial buildings and single family homes with development potential.
“I also provide residential real estate services for individuals and developers as there is a disconnect for most commercial agents who assist clients with purchasing a development property, build out the site to turn key residential units, and then re-sell the finished product on behalf of the seller to the end user,” she adds. “I fill this gap to provide full real estate services for my clients from inception to completion.”
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
