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Well? It was the best one listed in your neighbourhood, totally unique and in mint condition - so why didn’t it sell? According to you, your Realtor and the property description your house should have sold in no time. It was the best one after all.
An expired listing is simply bad - so bad that some Realtors will try and hide that fact. They will terminate the listing prior to it expiring. Then list again. Same goes for price drops - terminate the listing and then submit a new one with a lower price.
Just imagine the day the house was listed - you were so excited. You interviewed (you did, right?) the agent, their confidence was so infectious: “Yes, Mr. Seller. I can sell your home for more money and in less time. And yes, I will get you the price that you want.”
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We recently did a price change on a listing - 22865 14 Ave, Langley, BC. The listing price has been dropped to $1,300,000 and it must sell fast. We are open to all offers.
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This is fundamental question that every buyer should be asking prior to starting their home search. Most people have a really good idea of how much of a payment they can afford, but few know exactly how much of a loan they will qualify for.
You see, there is a difference between what you can afford and what you will likely qualify for. When a buyer thinks about how much he or she can afford monthly towards mortgage payment, more often than not they focus on the best case scenario. The bank on the other hand looks at the opposite when they try and qualify you. Let me explain how a bank qualifies a prospective home buyer.
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A little while back I did a post on ethics in real estate. If you missed that post, here is a link to it:
How ethical is your Realtor?
You are bound to come across bad apples in every industry, and real estate is not any different. Some agents are bad agents due to a lack of knowledge or education, others simply aren’t intelligent enough. This group has your best interests at heart, but are unable to deliver. However, the other more sinister group, is what gives Realtors a black mark. This group knows that they are doing something wrong, but still go ahead and do it - because they figure that they can get away with it.
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Are you considering a pre-sale in the Fraser Valley? If you are, I just did a post on some of the questions you should consider when deciding if a pre-sale is right for you, especially in the current market. Here is a quick link to that post:
Fraser Valley condo pre-sales - are they right for you?
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A few years ago, while at a print shop, I saw the following sign:
Fast. Good. Cheap
Pick any two.
The logic goes that you can have something printed for cheap and get is fast, but it won’t be good. Or you can pick good and fast printing and it won’t be cheap. Or Good and cheap, but it won’t be cheap.
Mortgages work the same way. It is impossible to get a mortgage for a short term, and a low rate and have low payments. Although you really don’t have the option of picking any two. And it is highly unlikely that two customers will walk out with the exact same deal.
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I thought it would be fun to do a post on most expensive residential listings in each Fraser Valley area. I chose not to include bare land, or properties that are ripe for development - just homes that you can live in, if you can afford them.
Surrey Luxury Real Estate Listings
The first listing comes courtesy of Re/max Colonial Pacific Realty. Listed at $4,249,000 and located at 17007 28th Ave in Surrey, this 8900 sq.ft. majestic Georgian residence, resting proudly on 2.6 acres of grounds offers wrought iron gates, fountain and sculptured grounds. Here is a direct link to this listing:
Surrey luxury real estate listing F2801725
The second listing in Surrey comes courtesy of Homelife Benchmark Rlty.(w.r.). Listed at $3,600,000, this 11057 sq.ft. home located at 19111 90th Ave in Surrey sits on a 4.92 acre estate and offers resort living with a pool, tennis courts, games room & playground all within a park like setting.
Surrey luxury real estate listing F2729357
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In British Columbia, a first time home buyer is exempt from Property Transfer Tax when purchasing their new home. There are some eligibility requirements, both for the home buyer and the property itself.
Who can claim the exemption?
To qualify for a Property Transfer Tax exemption, the home buyer must be ALL of the following:
- A Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- a person who has resided in British Columbia for 12 consecutive months
immediately prior to the date of registration of the transfer, or who has filed
two income tax returns as a British Columbia resident within the last
six years,
- a person who has never, at any time, held a registered interest in a principal
residence anywhere in the world (a principal residence is defined as the
usual place where an individual resides), and
- a person who has not previously received an FTHB exemption or refund.
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Quattro, a six-phase development on four hectares at 108th Avenue and East Whalley Ring Road in North Whalley, sold 90% of the units in Quattro3 in less than 4 hours. A total of 109 units were sold on the weekend, for a total of 23 million dollars.
Quattro’s developer is a Realtor trying his hand at developing. He is not a big company like a Bosa, Polygon or an ONNI, etc. My main concern would be what if he has cost over-runs? Does he have the money to finish it or does he walk away, leaving presale buyers out of luck?
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With 4458 new listings just in April, the total inventory is now at 11,111 listings. With sales declining from month to month, it is clear that the Fraser Valley real estate market is slowing down.
This incredible rise in the number of listings can be attributed to one thing: both sellers and buyers believing that the market is at it’s peak and is about to turn the other way. The sellers are rushing to sell before the market turns; the buyers are waiting for the market to turn.
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