|
|
Archive for the ‘Selling a Home’ Category
Monday, September 13th, 2010
The following is the Victoria area update in sales activity for the month of August from the Victoria Real Estate Board.
September 1, 2010
The property market throughout Greater Victoria softened in August with fewer sales and a decline in overall prices for single family homes and condominiums; overall prices for townhomes, however, rose in August.
A total of 425 homes and other properties sold in August through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), down from the 527 sales in July. There were 764 sales in August of last year.
Victoria Real Estate Board President, Randi Masters, noted that a softening of sales this year compared to last year was not unexpected given that 2009 was an exceptional year. “Looking ahead, we anticipate that the market will remain relatively stable as any increase in interest rates in the near future will likely be modest. While there may be some further slowing of sales and moderation of prices compared to the unusual year we had in 2009, we expect such changes to be gradual for the foreseeable future,” said Masters. Masters added that the Canadian experience has been very different from that in the U.S. where the significant correction in home prices is set against a massive oversupply of homes due to distress sales, combined with a drop in housing demand due to high unemployment. “There is no indication at present that we will be faced with a similar situation arising in our market,” commented Masters.
The number of properties available for sale at the end of last month declined to 4,356 but this was still 24 per cent higher compared to the 3,509 available properties in August of last year.
The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $586,676 down from $615,004 in July. The median price declined to $548,500. The six-month average declined slightly to $629,272. There were eight single family home sales of over $1 million in August compared to 16 such sales the previous month. The overall average price for condominiums was $320,874 last month, down from $322,905 in July. The average for the last six months was $330,234. The median price for condominiums in August declined to $275,000. The average price of all townhomes sold last month, however, rose to $432,284 from $420,578 in July. The median price rose to $405,000. The six month average was $439,636.
MLS® sales last month included 223 single family homes, 113 condominiums, 43 townhomes and 15 manufactured homes.
Posted in Around Victoria, Buying a Home, Selling a Home | No Comments »
Saturday, July 3rd, 2010
Well, like it or not the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) is now in effect, as of July 1, 2010. The HST rate will be 12% (5% federal component + 7% provincial component). There’s seems to be lots of confusion around how HST applies to real estate transactions so we have wanted to provide some information here.
Previously under the GST, new housing is taxed while resale housing was not. No housing sales are directly taxed under the PST, although the B.C. Ministry of Finance states that there an average of 2% PST is embedded in the cost of new homes from PST charges on construction materials. Under the HST the full 12% HST would apply only to new housing.
The key points to be aware of are:
- The HST rate will is 12% (5% federal component + 7% provincial component).
- The PST will be eliminated completely.
- The HST only applies to new housing. HST does not apply to resale housing.
- There will be a partial rebate of the provincial portion of the HST of up to $26,250 on new housing.
- Input tax credits will be available for HST in the same manner as under the current GST.
- BC will provide a rebate for new housing purchased as a primary residence to ensure that purchasers of new homes up to $525,000 do not pay any additional tax.
- Real estate services such as real estate commissions and legal fees are now subject to HST.
About the New Housing Rebate
Homes under $525,000 will be subject to a tax 2% higher than the current system. Homes over $525,000 will be taxed at a rate 7% higher than under the current system, less a flat $26,250 rebate (in addition to the GST new housing rebate currently available for homes up to $450,000).
An HST partial rebate (5% of the purchase price up to a maximum rebate of $26,250) will be provided to purchasers on new housing.
The rebate rate was created to ensure that purchasers of eligible new homes priced up to $525,000 do not pay more provincial HST, on average, than under the PST.
Rebate rate: (7% BC HST minus 2% embedded BC PST) / 7% BC HST
Rebate rate = 5/7 = 71.43% of provincial portion of HST paid, to a maximum of $26,250.
Total Sales Tax Payable on New Homes
 Total Sales Tax Payable on New Homes Following are a few links to additional information and resources about the BC HST.
If you have any questions about the HST, or anything else regarding real estate, please don’t hesitate to contact Komal or Karn Dodd at 250-744-3301 or email info@KomalDodd.com
Tags: Harmonized Sales Tax, HST, Rebate
Posted in Buying a Home, Selling a Home | No Comments »
Friday, July 2nd, 2010
July 2, 2010
Following is a summary of the market activity during the previous month including comment from the Victoria Real Estate Board President.
Greater Victoria home buyers have a growing number of properties from which to choose as inventory levels rose to 4,730 properties available for sale at the end of June – up 25 per cent from the 3,794 available properties a year earlier. Sales, meantime, softened last month while overall prices showed little change.
A total of 625 homes and other properties sold in June through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), down from the 695 sales in May. There were 946 sales in June of last year.
 Average Selling Price Victoria Real Estate Board President, Randi Masters, noted that total sales so far this year are running just two per cent ahead of the same period a year ago. “We are seeing a reverse trend to a year ago when sales were slow in the early part of the year then picked up considerably in the spring and summer; this year sales have now begun to slow somewhat following a strong start to the year.” Masters added that despite the increase in the number of properties available for sale, prices have remained very stable. “Last month showed very little change in overall prices and with the growing inventory of available properties we do not anticipate any significant upward pressure on prices in the near future.”
Overall average prices for single family homes and condominiums rose slightly last month while prices for townhomes moderated. The average price for single-family homes sold in Greater Victoria last month was $649,280 up from $646,483 in May. The median price declined to $560,822. The six-month average showed little change at $635,893. There were 27 sales of over $1 million including two on the Gulf Islands. The overall average price for condominiums was $331,131 last month, up from $324,005 in May. The average for the last six months was $325,664. The median price for condominiums in June rose to $295,000. The average price of all townhomes sold last month was $429,549 down slightly from $430,713 in May. The median price declined to $405,500. The six month average was $447,573.
MLS® sales last month included 326 single family homes, 168 condominiums, 67 townhomes and 20 manufactured homes.
If you have any questions about the these stats, or anything else regarding real estate, please don’t hesitate to contact Komal or Karn Dodd at 250-744-3301 or email info@KomalDodd.com
Tags: Avg Selling Price, VREB, Weekly Update
Posted in Buying a Home, Real Estate News, Selling a Home | No Comments »
|
|
|
