For this month’s roundup we figured that everyone could do with a healthy dose of positivity! Something that it seems has been in short supply throughout 2020, with that in mind, here’s a look at some of the positive recent trends in BC real estate.
Covid-19 is continuing to impact the housing market often in unexpected ways - in particular, changing the ways in which both buyers and sellers are organizing their priorities and desires.
In this post we’re going to highlight one example that is indicative of a larger future trend that will be worth watching over the coming months.
Whether you’ve already received yours or are expecting one soon, if you’re among the 374,600 property owners throughout Vancouver Island to receive a 2020 assessment notice from BC Assessment, you may already be reevaluating your future property decisions for the coming year.
These assessments — which reflect property values as of July 2019 — are issued yearly by BC Assessment based on their yearly analysis of the relevant data. The picture that’s being painted is one of relative stability, especially in the southern areas of Vancouver Island, with shifts falling primarily in the range of -5% to +5%. However, further upland there are more significant examples of volatility, especially in terms of price increases.
Two recent BC court cases clarify when a strata council might list a terminated development project for sale, or contract to sell it to a buyer.
Many of BC's earliest strata developments are around 50 years old. Aging strata buildings may be located in an area rezoned for higher density development, or need so much remedial work that selling the project to a developer for redevelopment is more cost effective. In 2016, the province of BC made it easier for strata owners to choose to terminate their development, lowering the threshold for a winding-up resolution to 80%. Since then, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has decided several important termination cases.
A recent news report suggests that up to $1 billion may have been laundered through Vancouver luxury real estate in 2016. BCREA has been supporting the provincial government's ongoing investigations and efforts to understand and eliminate money laundering vulnerabilities in BC real estate transactions.
“As the report says, money laundering is a complex problem and recognizing when sophisticated international crime syndicates – who are experts at fraud and deception – are at work behind the scenes takes significant resources,” noted BCREA CEO Darlene Hyde. “At BCREA, we are ready to make our contribution to keeping BC's economy safe from organized crime and we have committed to assisting the government.”
On June 15, 2018, consumer protection rules from the Superintendent of Real Estate will take effect. The goals of the rules are to ensure consumers are well-protected, well-informed, and can benefit from the undivided loyalty of a real estate licensee who is acting in their best interests. These rules will protect consumers by:
The Superintendent’s rules will change the way real estate is practiced in BC, and will enforce the fundamental REALTOR® duties of undivided client loyalty, confidentiality, managing conflicts of interests, and informed client consent.
The Provincial Government has introduced legislation that requires all Building Inspectors to be registered to provide building inspections commencing September 2016.
The Provincial government intent to improve the rules and regulations for Building Inspections. Implementation of the regulations will take effect on September 1, 2016 and the updated requirements are:
The Province intends to undertake a comprehensive review of qualifications required for a Building Inspector and these new standards are intended to be implemented in 2017.
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