The other day I came across an awesome quote, "Aging is an Opportunity Not a Problem to be Solved! I thought to myself, what a positive refreshing way to look at being a baby boomer or a member of the SCC (senior citizen club). Like all stages in life one is experiencing it for the very first time, and each phase of life offers different challenges and rewards. One starts to wonder what the future will bring. As, a realtor I have had many conversations with clients about such topics especially concerning housing. Is it time to downsize? 

I find the concept of downsizing a bit misleading. It implies giving up something which is somewhat negative. I mean typically, homeowners don't sit around daydreaming about living in a smaller house!! So, I think resizing is a much more positive term. What do I mean by resizing. Simply put, it moving to a smaller home than the one you currently are living in. I like to compare resizing to buying your first home. It is exciting and scary at the same time. This is a big move. what if I don't like it?

The first decision to be made, is, is resizing right for me?  I suggest that one thinks of the following reasons  to consider  resizing before making a decision.

#1. If you have been in your current home for a while chances are it has likely increased in value.  You may have paid off your mortgage or have a very small morgage left. This means ,you can probably buy a smaller home for cash, and have money left over for your retirement. Keep in mind, the sale of the personal residence is tax free.

#2. Resizing to smaller home often results in lower property taxes, utilities and home maintenance.

#3. Choosing to resize is eco-friendlier. The environment will thank you,  as a smaller requires less energy for lighting, heating and air conditioning. Living small is the new living large.

#4. A smaller home can be designed with aging in mind. Wider doorways, walk-showers, enhanced security and don't forget NO stairs to fall or trip on. These things will help reduce the stress of aging and keep you more comfortable.

#5. Resizing can free up time and money that can be used for travel,hobbies or new activities. It is an opportunity to get rid of clutter. It can be a fresh start in a modern, easily maintained home equipped with conveniences and luxuries you have worked for. 

This is your time. If resizing is in your future, give me a call. As a  Certified Relocation Transition Specialist, I have the experience and expertise to help make this smooth transition.

As of August 2021 the British Columbia Financial Services Act or BCFSA took  sole autjhority over real estate aagents in the proivince. Realtors were no longer self governing. Instead, the BCFSA became the authority over real estate eucation, licensing,all investigations and disipline of realtors . This included fines and revoking of a licence if the siitutation warranted it. The BCFSA has the authority to make rules as to how real estate licenseees conduct their business. There mandate is to protect consumers from undue loss or unfair market conduct on the part of licences and to  try and make a more level playing field for consumers. In order to accomplish this their have been a number of directives as to how realtors represent and work for the consumer.

Home Buyer Rescission Period ( HBRP)

The Home Buyer recission Period is also known as the "cooling off" period. This will allow homebuyers to rescind a contract to purchase residential real estate within 3 business days and cannot be waived by either the seller or buyer or their representatatives. Saturdays ,Sundays and Statuatory holidays do not count in the 3 days. It will begin the next business day after final acceptance of an offer.If the buyer recinds the offer within the 3 business days without justification a penalty of .25@ of the purchase price will be owing to the seller. The thinking behind this cooling of period is to reduce the number of subject free offers made in a multi offer scenario.This will not run concurrently with other conditions of the offer. If a buyer wants to have access to the home in this cooling off period for a home inspection it must be agreed upon in the offer.

In my opipion if this was meant to slow the market down ,it was to little to late. Higher interest rates and inflation have done that without government interference in the marketplace.

Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers

To give the seller's agent ample time to market a property and increse the chance of more than one buyer making a offer, a date and time would be set for offer presentation.This was not as effective as it was meant to be ,because along would come a  pre-emptive offer or bully offer. When  the appointed time and day arrived, the property would already be sold. As a buyers's agent this was extremely,flustrarting for buyer and agent alike.

To stop this  practice of bully offers the BCFSA introduced

Irrevocable Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers 

This is a direction  signed by the seller as to the date and time an offer can be presented to the seller. It is irrevocable. Meaning, the seller or the agent cannot present or review offers until the set tiome and date.When market activity slows down this is really not necessary.

Disclosure of Remuneration

I like to call this the"no surprises " disclosure. The seller is informed for each offer and counter offer the amount of  commissions that are to be paid and to whom. Also if there is a rferral involved it is stated here as well.

Prohibition on the Purchase of residential  Property by Non -Canadians

This ban came into effect January 2023. It was mainly a political move with too many exceptions to mention here. As a real estate agent you must do your due diligence and know your client.

Have you ever noticed that experts in many professions speak in a language which is sort of familiar and understandable but not really?Real state agents do the same thing. We  take for granted it is common knowledge what we are talking about. 

For example MLS what is it and what does it do?

Well is the Multiple Listing Service. It is a coperative marketing system  owned by realtors that helps the public buy and sell real estate. It's a system for sharing information between realtors on homes for sale, and it has become the most powerful real estate marketing system in the country. For over 65 years housing information originating from it  has long been reconized as the most reliable and comprehenssive data available for those looking to buy or sell a home. 

But what other terms do realtors like myself use taking for granted that you understand what I am talking about?

Well lets look at three  of my favorites:

1. MLS Home Price Index (HPI)

2.Sales to listing ratio (SAR)

3. Days on the Market (DOM)

The MLS Home Price Index  (HPI)tracks changes of the "middle -of-the range or typical homes and excludes the extreme high-end and low-end properties. It uses various quantittive property attributes such above ground living space in sq.ft,# of bedrooms ,# of bathrooms  and qualitative housing features such as distance to schools,shopping,transportation.Using these features together it establishes a BENCHMARK price.  The benchmark price could be for  specific segment i.e. condos, townhomes or for an entire community such as Vancouver or Burnanby. It can also be a mixture of both type and neighborhood.The benchmark price is the most reliable . It is important to keep in mind that the Lower Mainland real estate market is highly dynamic and benchmark prices can vary drastically by segment and location.

2. Active sales to listing ratio (SAR)

Unlike the HPI the active sales to listing ration measures supply and demand of the market. It does that  by looking at the total number of homes for sale compard to sales during the month. It is considered a sellers market if the SAR is 20% or better. A ratio of 13-19% is a balanced market and below 12% it is a buyers market. So it is a very good ration to pay attention to whether you are buying or selling.

3. Days on the Market(DOM)

I always pay attention to days on the market because the number of days a home spends on the market directly affects the price of the home. The longer the home sits on the market can work to the buyer's advantage. On the opposite end of the spectrum the shorter time the house is on the market is usually a indicator that the seller will get his asking price or better.

I hope this blog is helpful as you traverse the process of buying or selling a property.