The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast

Travis Darke from IG Wealth Management sat with us this week to discuss where he is seeing the smart money being invested during these uncertain times.      We look at which type of investments benefit from a rising interest rate environment and how a long term focus is till the most prudent strategy. _________________________________  Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calen...

Wednesday's 100 basis point hike to the overnight interest rate brings the total increases this year to 2.25%.   This will understandably have a profound impact on housing prices.      The monthly payments to purchase the same home in January compared to today are up $1,100, or 52%.   The rising rates have already seen around a 20% decline in prices in the GTA, and here in Vancouver, around 1...

The Bank of Canada surprised everyone this morning raising interest rates a full 100 basis points - the largest single increase in 24 years.    We’ve now seen rates increase by  2.25% in just 5 months, radically transforming the lending landscape and housing. Buying power is down over 20% and mortgage payments compared to January of this year are upwards of 50% higher.   Understandably, this is go...

Home sales dropped 35% from this time last year in the Vancouver area,  and a full 43% in the Fraser Valley.   Toronto saw a similar decrease at 41%.    This is the third consecutive month of declines where the sales sit at 23% below the 10 year average.       The landscape is now vastly different than it was 3 months ago when buyers lined up to compete for the same home.  Now, homes are sitting,...

February 2022 has proven to be the most recent peak of property prices in Vancouver, which have since dropped 10%.  (That is in reference to the Median & Average prices - the HPI, a lagging indictor, will follow in the upcoming months.)   The majority of this drop happened last month, to the tune of around 5%. Inventory though was a surprise in June, after increasing by 14% in April and 10% in...

Inflation hit a 40 year high this week reaching 7.7%, with food and fuel driving the gains. Mortgage rates continue their northern ascent with fixed rates at or above 5%, and variable expected to rise to the realm of 4.5%. Mortgage payments on your typical Canadian home are up $1,000 per month, or 60% in just 9 months. Yet the Bank of Canada is set to raise rates at the July 13th announcement with...

Vince Taylor is our guest on this episode and he brings with him an immense amount of knowledge, and experience, in the real estate market.  Having seen 5 major market cycles in his life, and as someone who bought his first Vancouver home for $67,000, Vince provides an almost contradictory outlook on the market then what you will hear on the news.  He gives his opinion on how prices will fall, and...

Inflation hit a 40 year high in America this week, reaching 8.6%.    The ramifications of this were instantly felt with the stock markets dropping sharply.  Canada's next CPI announcement will almost certainly print higher when they announce on June 22nd.    Should there be an increase, a 0.50% increase at the July 13th seems like a lock, with rumours already spreading that the BoC may go wit...

The effects of the interest rate hikes are being felt as home prices dropped 5% in May.    This was prior to the June 1st hike of an additional 0.5% that will further add downward pressure on prices as purchasing power has been eroded to the tune of 15%.   Inventory surpassed 10,000 for the first time in 10 months and detached homes entered into a Balanced Market for the first time in 2 years.   ...

The Bank of Canada just announced their 3rd rate hike of 2022, and third in a row, raising the overnight rate to 1.5%.   This equals 1.25% in hikes in just 4 months, rapidly changing the landscape - and peoples borrowing power and payments.   The most recent time rates increased was during 2017 to 2018 where it took a whole year to increase by 1.25%.     Understandably, people are on edge wonderin...

Inflation hit a 30 year high in Canada this month, and looks to continue that trend in the upcoming months.    This further galvanizes the Bank of Canadas expected 50 basis point rate hike on June 1st, with more hikes anticipated, until, we enter a recession.  You could argue the main indicators of a recession are already in place, being high interest rates, low consumer confidence, and stagnant w...

2021 home sales volume was 20% higher than any other year.  Along with all these home purchases comes debt in the form of mortgages.    A quarter trillion of new mortgages in 2021 to be exact.    Household debt in Canada is now at 180% of disposable income, a new all time high.  Whats more, with rates rising, the majority of new mortgages have been variable to the tune of 55%, up from just 8% two...

On the 'plus' side, unemployment is at an all-time, never been seen before low, at 5.2%   Meanwhile, there are a whopping 862,000 job vacancies at the same time.    The economy looks good, right?    Well, stepping back a bit, wage growth is only at 3.4% while inflation is around 7%, making wage growth negative.   Businesses are raising prices faster than salaries and the FIRE industries...

We just reached episode 100 and wanted to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have listened to our Podcast over the past 2 years and to all our interviewee's.    Over this time we have prided ourselves on bringing you real time information on the Vancouver real estate market along with a deep dive look into why prices are moving the way they are, and our expert opinion on what to ex...

Home sales were just 1.5% above the 10 year average in April.   This is significant because for the last year and a half its been over 25% above.   This metric along with a record breaking reduction in the sales to active listings ratio are 2 of the biggest indicators of the shift in the marketplace.    In this episode we dive into the April 2022 stats and break down whats important and why the nu...

After an intense 27 month bull market that saw prices rise 38%, the Vancouver Real Estate market has officially peaked and now prices are dropping.  April home sales saw a 30% reduction in volume, and prices are lowering for the second month in a row.  While the drop is only a few thousand, the indicators are pointing for this amount to increase, and steadily fall for months to come.    In this ep...

Sifting through rental ads and applying again and again for a rental can be frustrating to say the least.   And how do you tell if the rental information listed is even accurate?   And for landlords, sifting through dozens of applications is time consuming and again, very hard to tell who the best candidates are.   The solution?  Say hello to RentalHunt.ca      An idea spawned from 2 college stude...

The Bank of Canada raised interest rates a half point on April 13th marking the largest increase in 22 years, and the first back-to-back rate hike in 5 years.   Variable mortgage holders are now paying more for their homes and the BoC has all but guaranteed there will be more rate hikes, and soon.   So is it time to be worried about your mortgage?  Is it the right time to move into a Fixed Rate mo...

With the March numbers firmly in place we can share that Vancouver home prices increased in value by over $130,000 in the first 3 months of 2022.   This comes on the heels of a record setting 20% increase in prices during 2021.   So when will this torrid pace of appreciating values end?  Soon.   Very soon.    2 of the 3 price metrics in March were lower - and this is just the beginning.  With most...

On March 28, 2022 the Minister of Finance introduced a one sentence amendment that would allow homebuyers the opportunity to back out of a contract within a given amount of time.   The details at this point are vague at best, but we wanted to share our thoughts on what we know so far.  Essentially, the Bill is being put in place, to be implemented by Summertime, to allow buyers the time to perform...

After a 2 year bull-run with 20%+ annualized gains the Canadian Real Estate market is facing some headwinds.  30 year inflation highs with raw materials up 13% in the last 2 months alone along with the major economical impacts of the Russian war yet to be felt in North America will all contribute to a sentiment shift in the market.   While under construction homes are at record highs, a majority o...

Do you have the wrong kind of debt? The kind that is not tax-deductible?   Most of us do. The wealthy have debt too. The difference is they routinely turn their loans into “good debt” by making the interest tax deductible with the help of expensive accountants and lawyers. So while the wealthy are transforming their house mortgage loans into free tax refunds, the rest of us are paying off huge amo...

There have been noticeable changes in the real estate market over the past 3 weeks.   Far less offers on properties, lower traffic levels at open houses, rising inventory, homes selling UNDER asking price.  It's a welcome change from the blowouts felt over the past 2 years.   And the cause?  Well, lots.   The increasing inflation felt largely in fuel and food, the stock market lowering and of...

Another month another record, right?  Well, this record is something else.  After a 2 year Bull Run the market is accelerating.   Last month home prices increased at the rate of 4.6%.  IN ONE MONTH.   We shouldn't be seeing that rate over an entire year.     So why is this happening?  We get into that answer and dissect the February numbers in this episode.  The recent interest rate hike is e...

While you mostly hear about homes selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars over asking price and homes selling in a week - it is far from rosy out there.   In reality, this market sucks.   It is so one sided that buyers are understandably having a challenging time.  There are stories of some buyers submitting 31 offers before getting one accepted!  Imagine that roller coaster. Ugh.   Lenders a...