Size Matters…. Lot Size That Is! - Critical Factors in Getting your Home Sold – Part 3

In Part 1 and 2 of Critical Factors in Getting your Home Sold, we talked about Location of your home as well as Market Conditions. We talked about why these factors matter and how they can affect the sale of your home.

Today, I am going to discuss Lot Size with respect to Greater Vancouver. Lot size is an interesting topic when discussing property value, especially considering the changes we are seeing in the size of lots that new homes are being built upon. In order to best understand why lot size matters to the sale of your home in Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, we need to go back to Part 1 of this series where I discussed a few of the economic drivers specific to the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market. Specifically, I want to discuss the drivers which affect Supply and Demand; the lack of land available for development. Because of the restrictions placed on land due to the Ocean, Mountains, US Border and Agricultural Land Reserve, we, plain and simple, are running out of land to build new homes on. For example, the area of Coquitlam called Burke Mountain is currently being developed and is the last major area within Coquitlam where new homes can be built. Because of this, new homes are being built on lots that are no bigger than 4000 to 5000 square feet, a drastic difference from homes built throughout Coquitlam in previous decades on large lots of 7500 to 9000 square feet.

So what am I trying to say here? As the amount of useable land decreases, you are likely to see large lots become a scarcity. It is true that as you move your real estate search further out in the Fraser Valley this trend tends to decrease depending on location, a factor, which will dictate demand. All in all though, the trend is certain to be repeated as amenities and transportation improve throughout the outlying regions of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. In addition if people continue to move here at the rates projected, then we are going to see a different Vancouver taking shape over the next couple of decades.

So does lot size matter? – Of course! The closer you are to Vancouver and the larger the lot you have, the better your position from a long-term investment point of view. Regardless of these factors, if you love your home and the property is functioning in the ways that you need it to be, then you my friend, have a great piece of Real Estate!

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog!

If you are interested in the current market here is a link to Greater Vancouver Real Estate Boards Press Release – (http://www.rebgv.org/news-statistics/home-listings-continue-rise-greater-vancouver-housing-market)

As always, if you would like more information about my services or any properties that you are interested in, feel free to call me @ 604.561.4371 or e-mail me @ jkyle@remax.net

All the Best!

Jeremy Kyle MBA

Okay, so we covered the fact that market conditions are important and these conditions are always in flux. We covered that there are certain factors in Vancouver that will put a certain amount of pressure on the Real Estate market that cannot be removed. Finally, we discussed that there are external pressures such as international demand that affect price and motivation by ultimately affecting the supply of homes for sale.

So what about the location of your home? Again, there are a number of ways to discuss this question. First things first…what municipality do you live in? This is important because the market in Vancouver has certain behaviors that can be observed. The historical and statistical truth is that the Vancouver Real Estate generally works like an earthquake. It starts at the epicenter of downtown Vancouver and the West End and then spreads or ripples outwards. To put this in perspective, let’s talk about this past spring, 2011. Reports from news stations and colleagues confirmed that money from offshore China entered Canada and was put towards purchasing homes in Downtown Vancouver, Vancouver West and Richmond. This sent the market into a frenzy whereby property prices rose substantially due to a rise in demand, and led to homes selling in multiple offer situations. As the prices rose, it drove people out of their local market or market of choice because of the change in affordability. So where did they go to buy homes? They moved into the adjacent municipalities, where a similar pattern was observed of buying and price increases. This effect has rippled through the lower mainland with decreasing effect as we move outward from the traditional city center talked about above. So does your municipality matter? YES… The behavior of the markets throughout the Greater Vancouver area will affect the price of your home differently depending on the municipality you live in.

What about the location of your home within a municipality? That matters too. Realtors that have been around the block or lived in the area for years on end know this well. They know which areas have higher demand because they are just “sexier” than the neighborhood down the block. I have lived in the Tri-cities (Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody) since 1987 and there are definitely areas that have higher demand than others – and often the demand is due to factors like larger lots, family neighborhoods, close to transit, view, etc…. While other areas have a more negative our tougher reputation. So in a nutshell, neighborhood does matter both for when you buy and when you sell and this will show in the amount of competition that you experience in either case.

What about the location of your home on your street or the location relative to main roads? In my experience, each buyer has their own general take on what they like and dislike BUT what you will see is that properties which are on quiet streets will generally have a higher demand when it comes to selling than those that do not. In addition, properties that are waterfront, positioned with views, have private settings or back onto a green space tend to be more sought after as well. On the opposite end of the spectrum, properties located by railway, highway/busy road, or power-lines tend to have a longer lifetime on the market unless these factors are taken into account when pricing the property. Again it comes to personal preference or what a buyer might want in a home and these are fluctuating all of the time. If you are wondering why I am not talking about the curb appeal of homes in your neighborhood – I will make sure I come to that later.

As always, if you would like more information about my services or any properties that you are interested in, feel free to call me @ 604.561.4371 or e-mail me @ jkyle@remax.net

All the Best!

Jeremy

Critical Factors in Getting your Home Sold

A lot of people ask me when I talk to them about selling their home, “Jeremy, what is the most important things that I need to do to get the most money for my home?” Undoubtedly, there are numerous things that every homeowner thinks they “should” do, like attempt to turn back the clock and make their home brand new again. The problem with this is that we are all busy, we have jobs, we have kids, we have kids with lives and we need to sleep – sleep…. Yes you need to sleep!!!

In my opinion, it is important to look at number of different factors that will influence both the price your home will sell for and amount of time it will take to sell your home.

Like the common question I mentioned above indicates, there are some things that the homeowner has control over both before they list their home and during the time that their home is on the market – Home Condition, Easy Property Access, Market Exposure and dare I say it, “Agent Choice”

There are other factors, though, that are out of the control of individual homeowners when selling – Market Conditions, the Location of Your Home, Your Lot Size and (drum roll please…..) Asking Price.

So let’s take a moment to discuss these “Critical Factors” and we will start with those factors that you, the homeowner, CAN NOT control.

Market Conditions in Greater Vancouver, which includes of course the Coquitlam, Port Moody and Port Coquitlam Municipalities, are created by the whirlwind of international/global, national and local events and factors. As we saw in the recent, economic crisis, just how the global financial markets when crunched affect local markets like ours. The good news is that Greater Vancouver recovered in approximately 2 years to the price levels that were observed just before the economic crisis took full effect. So is Vancouver insulated from catastrophic events and financial meltdowns? No – Period. But there are a number of interesting aspects of Vancouver that make it more resilient than other markets.

Greater Vancouver is a beautiful place that attracts many people from around the world. Its location on the Pacific Rim, the clean air and the fact that Canada is an unbelievable place to live and fulfill dreams make the destination of choice for people from around the world. As we saw through the lens of the 2011 Olympics, Greater Vancouver has a lot to offer for lifestyle. But here is the catch – there always is one, right? – Vancouver has a LIMITED amount of land, which can be developed. Here in Vancouver, we are surrounded by the Coastal and Rocky Mountains, the Pacific Ocean and our American Friends to the South (Border) as well as a little something called the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) all, which affect the supply and demand of Real Estate. Let’s be clear here, most cities don’t even have one of these factors affecting it. So in a nutshell, the supply is fixed in terms of current available land and the clock is ticking.

So what does this mean for our local markets? What does it mean for the Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody Markets? It has a huge impact overall as demand continues to stay relatively steady for homes. In 2011, initial sales in Vancouver West, Richmond and the North Shore of Vancouver spiked due to outside demand, which pushed local demand further away from the downtown core in a sort of ripple effect. As this outside influence has slowed into this fall of 2011, the number of listed properties have continued to increase while the number of sales, which is an indicator of buyer demand, has diminished. Now is this the way it will stay? Absolutely not, the market is always changing and it has peaks and lows sort of like the ocean tide. The most important thing for you as homeowner wanting to sell is to get a good “snapshot” of what is going on in your community both in terms of your immediate area and the surrounding municipality. Enter the Realtor – this is where I come in and help you out. It is a partnership after all and I want to make sure that you maximize your sales price and sell in the least amount of days as possible.

If you would like more information feel free to call me @ 604.561.4371 or e-mail me @ jkyle@remax.net

Cheers,

Jeremy