Vancouver Housing Market Forecast 2018 ⌂ Richmond Burnaby City of Vancouver Surrey Richmond BC

Vancouver Real Estate Market 2018 and 2019

Prices were up and sales were up, and listings are down in the greater Vancouver housing market last year.

GVREB reported that the MLS® HPI composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver
finished up 15.9% at $1,050,300 compared to December 2016. Home listings rose 44% over 2016, and sales to homes ratios hit a whopping 14% for detached homes, 38.8% for townhomes, and 59.6% for condominiums in greater Vancouver.

While there’s much talk about the depressing effects of Federal increases in interest rates and stress tests, it remains to be seen if it has any impact on the market, since those affected are unlikely to qualify to buy Vancouver’s high home prices anyway.

The December home market sunk by a whopping 28% from November’s totals and this will hardly spur new home development. It’s likely price pressure will return later in 2018. In fact, Phil Soper, President of Royal Lepage brokerage says Royal LePage predicts prices will rise 5% to 6% to $1.3 million on average across all home types in Greater Vancouver.

Just as in the Toronto real estate market, the condo market is where the focus is. That’s due to prices and the fed’s new stress test mortgage rules. With everyone bidding on lower priced condos in both cities, we should see big price increases, especially as borrowers hunt for new mortgage financing. Demand can disappear for a while, but it will return because so many people need a place to live.

Richmond and New Westminster bucked the downward trend with price growth of 2%. Richmond, Squamish, Whistler, Coquitlam, Burnaby and New Westminster also saw gains in apartment/condo prices in December.

December also saw the lowest level of home listings. The 20% decline is scary, making a 2018 housing forecast for Vancouver difficult.

Valiantly, Vancouver home builders are building multi-tenant buildings yet it looks like a losing battle. They issued permits for 263 units for all of Vancouver in October. It’s a market that’s run out of gas but the prices haven’t declined as governments had hoped.

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The Vancouver housing market is reflective of a strong BC and Canadian economy and the outlook for spring 2018 is positive too. As the King of unaffordability, Vancouver is suffering from a crushed housing market, big immigration, increased global trade, growing poverty and stagnant wages. The monthly stats send the same message each time.

This same situation exists in the Toronto housing market which is enjoying a stronger fall season as well. In fact, a few are sensing the beginnings of continued housing boom after a weak late winter 2018 season.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reported that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 35,993 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in 2017, a 9.9% decrease from the 39,943 sales recorded in 2016, and a 15% decrease over the 42,326 residential sales in 2015. — from GVREB 2017 Year Report.

Vancouver remains perhaps the most unaffordable city in North America based on home price vs income. With new mortgage rules coming in 3 weeks, more Vancouverites will find themslves stuck in the rental market which is also not getting any better. Ask any post secondary student about housing.

The sales to listing ratio for the all important condomnium market was an astonishing 68%, up 7% since September. Cheap condos are hot, and going for way beyond what they’re actually worth.

Check out Realtor Steve Saretski’s November report and this key revealing graphic that foretells of 2018 and 2019 markets:

Maple Ridge and Port Coquitlam had big prices increases of 3.8% and 4.2% price growth in apartments. Single family houses in Squamish grew 3% in price this last month.

Share this report on Facebook. Sharing is good. People need more perspective because what’s being done in the Vancouver market is not working.

Given the fate of the Liberals, the NDP government may not be too eager to go the market killing route. However, the new plan being proffered by the Gregor Robertson’s city government, may be the thing I’ve commented on many times – that governments start economic and housing crashes, not the markets themselves.

Robertson is quoted as complaining about Vancouver’s amazing prosperity as “hit us like a ton of bricks.” Those aren’t the kinds of words investors and homebuyers want to hear.

But should a local mayor be fiddling with strong global and national economic forces? Is he way overmatched, just like Wynne in Ontario?

One outrageous goal for Robertson may be to restrict ownership of Vancouver real estate by non residents. Seriously, in this era of open trade, he is actually considering it. Maybe Robertson will opt out of all trade deals and cross border business too since that just fuels demand for real estate?

It could be BC voters have learned that despite terribly high prices, that the BC economy is more important. And the strong Canadian economic forecast will push house prices higher. The solution is big investment in housing not in meddlesome government actions. When a politician fusses with administrative red tape, he’s telling us a lot.

The Need is for More Housing

Breaking News: PM Justin Trudeau has just announced a program to bring in one million new immigrants over the next 3 years. How many will choose Vancouver? The influx will almost certainly impact Vancouver’s housing availability. Most newcomers are to come from Asia. Many immigrants are already here as students and there’s no housing for them.

House and Condo Stats in November

Sales in Vancouver were up 7% from September and up 35% from last October. Prices rose .5% over September and 12% over October 2016. Buyers have more million dollar homes (up 14%) at an average price of $1.6 million and a DOM of 41 days. Vancouver condos / townhouses prices 14%) in October. The sales to active listings ratio was an incredible 67% in October. Prices rise when that ratio surpasses 20%.

Experts believe rising mortgage rates and more restrictive stress tests will deflate the market. Fewer middle class earners will be able to qualify. That will put more pressure on the Vancouver rental market which is approaching zero vacancy rate. Incredibly, housing starts are down and that will put upward pressure on the resale market.

BCREA in its 4th quarter report, forecast home sales might decline 10.4% to 91,700 units in 2018, after an expected 8.8%. A record 112,209 unit sales were recorded in 2016. But these drops in sales are just drops in financial transactions. Prices of condos and houses aren’t falling.

It would be difficult to rationalize lower prices given a strong, growing economy and a lack of housing in Vancouver.

It’s All About Condos in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, and Richmond

Demand for places to live and for investment properties is being funneled into the Greater Vancouver condominium market.

As of the first half of this year, HPO had received registrations for 1,788 new Vancouver condos, down from 2,488 units at the same time in 2016 — from a report in the Vancouver Sun.

Homes for sale scarcity combined with eager buyers, means demand is being focused on condos, townhouses and apartments. 3043 property sales were recorded in August 2017 which was 2.3% increase over July’s numbers. And it represented a 22% increase over August 2016 sales.

Condo Sales Driving Vancouver’s Market

While sales of detached homes dropped in August 2017 compared to July sales, and compared to August 2016 sales, Vancouver condos are in hot demand. More than 4200 condos and townhouses were listed for sale in August. The decreased availability and rising prices are putting big pressure on International students studying in Vancouver. UBC has 6000 students on their housing waitlist. Huge investment opportunity in foreign student housing.

Are you an investor? The August 2017 sales report shows townhouse/condo/apartment prices are rising fastest in Pitt Meadows, Squamish, Port Coquitlam, Burnaby East and Whistler. Mapleridge saw a big increase in apartment prices likely because the average price is only $252,000.

REGBV’s August 2017 report shows home and condo prices are rising. Any home for sale in Metro Vancouver between $350k and $750k are still subject to multiple offers. The big change is in the number of Vancouver area homes for sale which plummeted 19.2% since last month. Overall, the number of properties for sale dropped 4.2% since last month.

Check out the Calgary housing forecast and the Toronto housing Market for comparison.

REBGV President Jill Oudil stated the detached home market has achieved a balanced state and that buyers have more homes to choose from. That may contradict the reality that the volume of homes available for sale has plummeted. The truth might be that there are fewer buyers of homes above $750,000 which comprises most of the homes in Metro Vancouver. It’s a split market like Toronto.

The Federal Government has just raised the prime lending rate to 1% and hinted at further rate increases, and this will likely cool demand for higher end homes. The demand in Vancouver is still present, and the buyer target is condominiums.

Vancouver is host to tens of thousands of foreign students studying here, and they have an impact on condo prices. Currently companies such as CIBT specialize in student housing investment. They purchase properties such as hotels to fill this big demand in a Vancouver housing market that is near to a zero vacancy rate. Check out the student housing investment opportunity yourself. The forecast here is for more demand.

Vancouver’s Housing Forecast Remains Positive

The last 8 years have been a real awakening for the city of Vancouver and for the rest of BC. BC is now is perhaps the hottest province economically in Canada. This has spurred tremendous construction, entrepreneurial, and employment opportunities. The demand for housing speaks for itself.

The BCREA reports that housing starts next year will jump dramatically. However, is 2,000 more units sufficient to quell the overheated market for rentals and buyers?

Screen Capture Courtesy of BCREA

This new tax, good for the BC government, may squash employment growth as Asian buyers look to live and buy elsewhere. Although this is a downer for Vancouver, it’s brightening the forecast for Calgary and theToronto housing market, where new investment is predicted to grow. Judging by the number of people visiting my site looking for info on Toronto, the demand is changing.

Post tax implementation: The average composite price for a Vancouver home was $938,000 in July which is still 33% higher than one year ago. The BC government has its worked cut out for it. The BC provincial government was already collecting $1.6 Billion dollars in taxes and the new tax will create a ridiculous opportunity for government spending in 2017. Do you cheer or jeer?

Here’s a look at the historical price trends in Vancouver contrasted with Toronto pirces. You can see the Toronto real estate forecast here.

The total numbers for July and August of 2017 haven’t been reported but we’d have to guess at $10 Billion for the two months.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Metro Vancouver totalled 2,489 in August 2016, a decline of 26 per cent compared to the 3,362 sales in August 2015; 10.2% fewer than the 2,771 sales in August 2014; and 1% less than the 2,514 sales in August 2013. August 2016 sales also represent a 22.8% decline compared to last month’s sales. – From the latest market report from REBGV on Sept 2, 2016.

The forecast is for fewer sales and perhaps lower prices, yet because of the foreign buyers tax, it might look more precipitous right now than it actually will be.

Regarding Vancouver condos, it looks like demand has slackened for cheaper accommodation and apartments and condos. REGBV said “Sales of apartment properties reached 1,602 in July 2016, a decrease of 7.3 per cent compared to the 1,729 sales in July 2015. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 27.4 per cent from July 2015 to $510,600.”

BC Economic Outlook

Although employment growth and GDP will moderate, BC residents and homebuyers will have much more disposable income. These facts plus an expected 5.5% rise in retail sales will definitely perk the attention of businesses everywhere.

Running out of Land in Greater Vancouver

BC lower mainland real estate is doing well, in stark contrast with Northern BC which saw its sales volume drop 8% and total sales volume drop by 25% compared to January 2015. It will be much worse in August and September.

The Greater Vancouver area saw its sales volume rise 73% to $2,788,099,000. That was actually overshadowed by the 101% rise in sales volume in the Fraser Valley year over year in January. The valley had a growth of $427 Million. Chilliwack and Powell River saw significant gains too, as affordability issues are forcing more BC residents out into the burbs. The condo market in Vancouver showed a shocking increase of 50% year over year.

What it means for BC is a rare moment of sunshine where it is leading Canada in prosperity. Add that to BC’s more progressive and optimistic culture, and you’ve got an exciting mix. We can only hope it will last for a few more years before the Conservative wet blanket kills the party.

Vancouver Island enjoyed 50% growth in sales volume and the city of Victoria grew in sales to $260 Million in January. The south Okanagan region had a surprising growth of 44% in sales volume as well. It’s hard to argue that the Okanagan has not benefited from real estate and migration.

Yet, this market isn’t the hottest on record for BC, which was even more heated in 2005. Should this non-record high real estate market be snuffed out?

While politicians are jumping to suppress sales in BC, no one can argue that the deluge of real estate investment money is creating unheard of opportunity in Vancouver. The province is drawing migrants from Alberta and Saskatchewan who are looking for jobs at a time when Alberta is facing its biggest crisis ever. The worst hasn’t even hit Alberta yet, as oil sunk to touch $25 a barrel last week.

As far as the shadow flipping controversy is concerned, some believe the privacy issue in transactions will ensure the practice of flipping will continue unabated. Others suggest the inflow of Chinese funds into BC will be terminated by the Chinese government and price rises would then abate.

What is Shadow Flipping?

The Vancouver real estate forecast is glowing and is not headed upward, and Vancouver’s economic resilience has been tested by low commodity prices. Still, these good times never last so BC residents should revel in their wealth of opportunity. It’s a good time to be an entrepreneur in Vancouver.

Are you a Vancouver real estate agent selling condos in Vancouver or detached homes struggling with online exposure? You’ve come to the right place. Have a good look at the best realtor digital marketing program available anywhere.

* BCREA is the professional association for over 19,000 REALTORS® in British Columbia Canada. BCREA focuses on provincial issues that impact real estate. Working with the province’s 11 real estate boards, BCREA provides continuing professional education, advocacy, economic research and standard forms to help REALTORS® provide value for their clients.

October 8, 2017December 30, 2017

Student Housing Attracting Investment in the Billions | Real Estate Investment News

Record Investment in Student Housing in 2018?

2016 was a record year for student housing in the US. $10 billion was poured into investment grade student housing projects in the US. It was a 64% increase over 2015 investment numbers.

One report suggest 2017 totals will equal 2016’s torrid levels. Is there more gas in the tank for the student housing investment sector in 2018?

According to ARA Newmark Student Housing Group’s 2016 overview, $9.33 Billion of the 2016 total was directed toward the acquisition of investment-grade student housing assets priced above $10 million. This means the total market is much bigger.

Add to that the even more impressive numbers in cities like Vancouver and you have a huge and growing investment pool serving the student housing market in Vancouver Canada. The Canadian Economic Forecast is very positive too for 2017 and 2018 and that will make investors more eager to get into condo construction and the rental market. Yet the Vancouver condo market has many pressures on it.

No more Animal House – This is a Worthy Investment Asset

“More institutional investors are looking at student housing as a viable investment thanks to rising demand that continues to outweigh the current supply” — report from Forbes Magazine

Why the Boom in Student Housing in the US, UK, and Canada?

Why the big interest in student housing investment? It’s a global phenomena and the underlying demographics appear to be fueling demand. That’s drawing money from top investment funds.

Echo boomers in particular are the key age group pushing the numbers. Enrollment is up to 20 million students in degree granting institutions alone.
US state governments are withdrawing funding for higher education
US housing and Canadian housing is at record low availability, and a private investment driven housing solution was needed.
Investors are liking the ROI are ready to sink their money into student housing in 2017 and beyond.
Low interest rates
Student housing is less vulnerable to economic swings and recessions
Institutional funds are moving in because they’re less interested in traditional asset classes

“Interest in student housing has been growing steadily, as more investors look towards less traditional asset classes within commercial real estate. Much more institutional capital has entered the student housing space as of late,” — from a report in realtor.org.

Add low interest rates and willingness for big investment firms to participate, and you have record growth for student housing investment. Big foreign investment fund managers want in too. Recently, the Canada Pension Plan and a Singapore Investment group purchased $1.6 billion of properties in the US.

Anxious times for UBC Students Under Pressure

And the trend isn’t isolated to the US and Canada. Knight Frank reports that purpose-built student housing projects are peaking in the UK too.

Investor demand for student accommodation blocks is so strong that some potential buyers were forced to stand during presentations at a student housing investment conference in a ballroom in Covent Garden, central London this week – from a report in the Guardian .

In terms of risk, this student housing investment sector is less sensitive. Unlike apartment rentals, renters have the financial means and are not deterred by employment fluctuations.

“Rental growth in the sector has proven to be less volatile than that of conventional apartments — partially as a result of the sector being less economically sensitive. Results for some of the largest players in the market show rental growth volatility, as indicated by the standard deviation, was lower than conventional apartments, and capital expenditures are in line with those of conventional apartments,” said Tom Park, senior director, strategy and research, in a statement from irei.com article .

Foreign students are driving part of the demand too. They’re hungry for college and university degrees and their parents are willing to pony up the high price for a North American degree. These students emanate from China, Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Dubai, United Emirates, Brazil, Columbia, Mexico, and India.

Why is Vancouver so Popular in the Purpose Built Student Housing Market?

One notable one might be the preference of the lucrative foreign student market for the city of Vancouver. Anti-foreign policies by President Trump, high cost of living, and anti-immigration sentiments in the US are deterring foreign applicants. Vancouver is well known to Pacific Rim countries, offers a friendly atmosphere to foreign students, particularly from Asia, and Canada allows many foreign students to work and immigrate to Canada.

Add to that the lifestyle in Vancouver with its mountainous seaside communities and recreation opportunities, and the draw for wealthy foreign student’s families is complete.

Colleges and Universities in Vancouver

The Vancouver area is home to at least 12 colleges and universities serving a densely populated in the region. The institutions include Capilano University, Emily Carr University, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, New York Institute of Technology, Trinity Western University, Langara College, OMNI College, Simon Fraser University and The University of British Columbia (UBC).

Student housing communities can serve many schools simultaneously which makes them more attractive to investors. The cities of Richmond, Surrey, Burnaby and downtown Vancouver are central to these colleges and universities and are close to Vancouver’s major transit line.

Vancouver is in the midst of a severe housing shortage with near zero vacancy rates. That has perked housing investor’s attention. And it would explain why property investment firms such as CIBT have grown so fast. CIBT picks up the equation even further by bringing commercial services in as part of the money making scenario.

For investors, the student housing investment climate is a very attractive and potentially lucrative one. It might one to add to your investment portfolio for 2018.

The 2018 US housing market is looking a little flat, while the Vancouver housing market continues to show strong growth activity. Something to think about.

*This post is not intended as professional investment advice. Prospective investors should speak with a licensed investment advisor and review closely the prospectus of any student housing investment fund.

It’s a fast growing investment opportunity. To learn more contact Joyce Soo of Sutton Seafair Realty in Vancouver BC (604) 273-3155.

October 4, 2017December 30, 2017

Student Housing Investment Canada – CIBT Global Education Vancouver

CIBT Education Group Inc.

There aren’t many organizations that focus on the student housing investment market. CIBT is one of the best and biggest, and they have assets and opportunities in Vancouver.

CIBT Education Group Inc. is one of the largest education and student housing investment companies in Canada. It’s growth has been impressive over the last 6 years. They’ve been focused on the global education market since 1994, and own and operate several International schools that offer a variety of training and education services. They currently serve 15,000 students annually. CIBT is listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

GEC has developed a network of serviced apartments and hotels throughout the Metro Vancouver area, each at a centralized location and within approximately five minutes walking distance from a Skytrain station.

Screenshot courtesy of Global Education City, and studenthotel.ca

17 Storey Viva Tower is located conveniently in Downtown Vancouver BC near Stanley Park, with views of mountains and marinas.

CIBT’s property investments amount to over CAD $600 million and are owned by Global Education City Holdings, which is an investment holding company. CIBT is known for many services, however its business goal is the creation rentable student housing, and this is measured in beds not rooms or units, nor condos. CIBT’s goal is to reach 10,000 rentable beds in its vast portfolio of properties.

The Viva Luxury hotel tower has been renovated and converted into a student housing community and is an impressive image to attract foreign students.

What makes the city of Vancouver a focal point is its proximity to the Asian student market.

CIBT attracts students from across the globe, but the larger demand for International student education is from Asia (China, Hong Kong, Indonesia) and they prefer Vancouver due to cultural, safety, cost, and climate and lifestyle preferences. It’s hard to argue against Vancouver’s attractiveness to foreign students. It’s rated as one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and has endless recreation and shopping venues.

CIBT has wisely positioned itself as the premier business in student housing investment in Vancouver. They have extensive marketing reach in the Asian countries.

You’ll notice in this video that the accommodations are a far cut above the usual student dorms and off campus living situations.

Student Housing Vancouver | Student Housing Options in Vancouver | Investing in Student Housing | Student Housing Off Campus | Housing Market Vancouver | Stock Market Predictions | 2018 Calgary Real Estate Forecast | Vancouver Condos | Best Real Estate Investment | Doing Business in Vancouver | Auto Insurance Vancouver | Vancouver Real Estate Marketing | Condo Prices in Vancouver | How to Buy Real Estate in Canada | REIT Campus | Stock Forecast

This post is not intended as professional investment advice. Prospective investors should speak with a licensed investment advisor and review closely the prospectus of any student housing investment fund.

If you’re curious about student housing investing, please contact Joyce Soo of Seafair Realty in Vancouver at 604 273-3155.

July 28, 2017February 26, 2018

San Diego Real Estate Forecast

San Diego’s Real Estate Market

It’s hard not to forecast San Diego as a good housing market from 2017 through 2020 just as it is in LA, San Francisco and the Bay area. Buy if you can find anyone willing to sell.

The gorgeous climate, wonderful lifestyle, improving California economy, increased immigration of workers here, beefed up military spending, and proximity to Mexico and the Asian block countries means it is perfectly positioned for big housing demand and very high home prices.

There’s no better place to relocate to if you’re established or your business is doing well. San Diego will give you back everything you give it and more. I’ve had amazing clients in San Diego.

San Diego is an exciting place to live and for real estate investment. Similar to South Florida, it’s younger buyers in the US and foreign buyers that are eyeing property here. And while many experts call for only moderate price increases, you’ll see the stats below are suggesting higher San Diego home prices and decreased availability. It’s the right time to sell your San Diego home.

What’s San Diego’s achilles heel? Lack of housing development and urban intensification. Another problem might be politicians trying to suppress growth in this little piece of heaven. But San Diego’s smack dab in the middle of everything. They’ll be under extreme pressure to stop the resistance and net migration into SD County.

Political Resistance to Population Growth

In the face of huge demand, politicians will be under the gun about putting the Kaibosh on SD’s amazing real estate fortune. This factor will ensure prices will rocket out of control. Are local SD County politicians and the California government doing much to grow housing developments inland? Will the exodus of illegal Mexicans ease the issue? Are illegals buying homes?

Demand for homes in San Diego County will never subside. It is one the best places on earth and prices will stay high. For homeowners here, it is on of those infrequent opportunities to cash out and make a killing. You only need a dream and somewhere to go.

Here’s an easy to understand Forecast of San Diego’s real estate future.

San Diego’s Real Estate Forecast for 2017 is Rosy

And that’s despite the negative outlooks of some toward all of SoCal. February 2017 saw significant price increases (e.g., La Jolla up 29% year over year for detached houses and 55% for townhouse condos) and it’s driven by the California housing shortage crisis. Because of that, we’ll see big home prices right through the spring. The same outlook applies to Los Angeles, Orange County, San Jose, and the San Francisco Bay Area.

This graphics below shows housing is in short supply and affordability is plummeting. It’s an emergency situation that forecasts big rent increases and strong home price growth. Since home building takes time especially in a heavily regulated environment, there’s little chance of diminished demand. With incomes increasing and millennials coming into their family building years, the stage is set for rocketing prices.

The Three Tiered Market in SD

This excellent chart below courtesy of First Tuesday, shows how demand for lower priced properties is almost a separate world. It’s this more steep tier that is most likely to see huge price growth. Will this turn into a San Diego housing bubble as part of a US housing crash? The 2007 real estate crash saw big drops in luxury home prices in SD and this time around, we have to wonder if foreign money will vacate fast if the market heads downward. My opinion is that California and San Diego are pretty strong and there’s no other compelling destination for foreign money.

3 Tiered Real Estate Chart Courtesy of first tuesday

It’s an excellent opportunity for rental property investors who want to capitalize on the severe housing and rental property shortage. Property owners near the I5 with waterfront views in La Jolla, Del Mar, Claremont, Solana Beach, and Encinitas may not have much to be concerned with.

As long as the Trump ecconomic surge continues, San Diego’s outlook should be bright.

Should I Sell My San Diego Home?

You could hang onto your home for another 20%, but if enough San Diegans do keep their home off the market due to greed, the repercussions could be serious. This holding onto property is happening all over North America. With nowhere to go, there’s likely not going to be a big selloff anytime soon so price rises could elevate. To ease this crisis, governments could offer incentives for home sellers to let go of their property? For sure, new housing will not ease this crisis. What will make a difference is Realtors convincing people to sell their homes and move on with their lives.

The housing shortage is a global phenomena, not just in San Diego. All the in demand cities are seeing foreign that’s fleeing other countries boost up prices in New York, Palm Beach, Toronto, and Miami. The new problem we may face is a shortage of construction workers, which could raise construction costs. That will put upward pressure on resale home prices.

Considering Buying or Investing in Real Estate in San Diego?

Here’s 13 factors you should be weighing when buying or selling in San Diego County:

Housing Demand – High overall demand – “all cash bidding wars” in some cases
Housing Supply – Throttled, supply is far from what’s needed
Mortgage Rates – Continuing Low, especially in light of global economic slackening
Down Payment and mortgage rules – Banks are withdrawing FHA loans however some are offering downpayments as low as 3%
Regional Employment – Very low and falling
Buyer Income – low yet rising quickly
Home Prices – High and rising – out of reach for most buyers – many consider San Diego County homes grossly over-priced
Demographics – Millennials coming into family and home buying years and their income is growing fast
Number of Renters – increasing fast
New Home Construction: slow (100k to 140k per year) and illegal workers being chased out
Economic-Foreign Trade – Trump expected to raise US GDP and add fuel to incomes and home prices
President Trump – uncertainty of what Trump will create and how much interference he’ll see
Taxes on Sale of Home – Tax situation is great for sellers

What will the San Diego Real Estate Market Look Like in 2017?

2016 was a great year and there’s no reason to believe the market will falter. In fact, San Diego’s situation is very similar to the Los Angeles real estate forecast. Typically, SD’s housing market doesn’t pick up until after the main markets have grown. Normally, it takes years before demand for high end luxury homes reaches speed here in SD.

The market right now is in waiting mode for US buyers to get richer – particularly Millenials entering their family raising years. Sure there are South American Buyers looking for homes right now, as well as Russians, but that demand could dry up soon.

With the new Trump Era fully engaged, job growth will pick up steam in Southern California. This will drive growth in places like Escondido, Del Mar, Oceanside, Carlsbad, and San Diego.

San Diego Home Prices

Take a look at San Diego’s historic price chart courtesy of SDAR. Detached home prices are up $300,000 in the last 4.5 years. We’ll be looking at similar price growth rates in 2017. Many experts are commenting more on a possible housing crash, which would include San Diego.

If you’re thinking of selling, this might be the best time to contact a San Diego Realtor and begin the process. There is no vertical price rise on the graph, or glut of first time buyers with underwater mortgages, but 29% price rises in La Jolla might be a signal of trouble ahead.

My guess is that we’re in for good times for a while in San Diego. Make sure you review the Los Angeles report and the Toronto Real estate forecast to give you a better understanding the global foreign buyer demand that’s affecting all markets. US home builders should be optimistic about demand and put pressure on legislators to free up land and offer incentives.

Case Shiller’s home price index for San Diego is 229 compared to the national average of 185.

According to SDAR, home prices are up 6% to an average of $540,000. The real estate trends reflect the general demand as shown in the Los Angeles Market report. A sharp rise in real income, combined with lower unemployment, rising GDP, and fewer listings available points to higher prices in 2017, 2018 and 2019. But things are heating up as we saw in La Jolla where detached homes rose an astonishing 29% to an average of 2.26 million. These rates are only seen in other cities such as Toronto.

About Business: Should San Diego be a Startup Haven?

Forbes published their top cities for startups report and they chose San Diego as the best place to launch a new business. You probably wouldn’t get too much argument that a medical and security software startup would thrive here, but is SD better than silicon valley at anything else? Blair Giesen of Thevoiceofsandiego.com is a little skeptical that investors are here and that San Diego is a tech hub. But don’t tell that to San Diego Startup Week who just had their 5 day convention. And conventions are one big advantage San Diego does have.

San Diego Has All the Charm and a Good Economy – But are You Communicating That Well Enough?

California was just named the 5th largest economy in the world and it’s had a great year in 2016. That’s amazing, but does San Diego’s small business and startup growth compare to that of LA and silicon valley? Some of the data below suggests that despite growth in manufacturing and professional services, talented workers may not want to move to SD county. With the Trump presidency firmly launched, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles may be headed for boom times.

Source: Wallet Hub

Which industries are best for startup businesses in San Diego?

Team Up with the Right Partners

Should San Diego Chamber of Commerce and San Diego Regional Economic Development be doing more? Although some startups have found success, it isn’t easy to succeed especially in digital marketing against tough competition. Companies would be wise to get connected with companies and investors in other cities, perhaps Canada or the UK to build a wider base of success. By networking and accessing those components that don’t and never will exist in San Diego, SD might be able to compete equally with LA, NY, Boston and Silicon Valley. What shouldn’t be underestimated is the desire of companies in Vancouver or Toronto or London to work with SD companies. Motivation is a key factor in performance.

San Diego’s wonderful leisure climate and opportunities are a powerful draw to bring smart talent, business entrepreneurs, and investors from around the world. All that’s needed are people who believe in San Diego!

Check out SDEDC’s downloadable infographic of the current economic stats (June 2016)

Should SD be Leveraging the 4 Pillars instead of Leaning on Them?

San Diego has 4 key industries including maritime/naval, healthcare, tourism, and research.

Although US naval fleets and operations are the biggest engine of business and tax revenue in San Diego, the future of war doesn’t look good. If defense budgets stay at current levels, that’s fine, but San Diego needs to grow and diversify to generate greater opportunity, investment and of course jobs.

According to dot.ca.gov, in 2012, most employment sectors in San Diego enjoyed job growth. And the city’s current 4.2% jobless rate is extraordinary. Most cities can only dream of that. The largest gains occurred in professional services (+5,700 jobs), leisure and hospitality (+5,400 jobs), and retail and wholesale trade (+4,500 jobs), and education and healthcare (+4,300 jobs). The only sector that lost jobs was government (-1,400 jobs).

It’s expected that from 2013 to 2018, growth will average 1.9 % per year and the fastest rates of growth will occur in information and professional and business services with annual rates of 3.8% and 2.9%

Compare SD’s per capital income growth to San Francisco’s pictured here at right, and you can expect more skilled, creative talented IT related workers to choose Palo Alto and Mountainview rather than San Diego to work and live. But for startups, it might be better to stick to Toronto (see Entrepreneur.com’s vote), Vancouver or Charlotte. Boston, LA, San Francisco, and Silicon Valley are expensive. And Sergei Brin of Google agrees.

Don’t launch your startup in Silicon Valley. During the boom cycles, the expectations around the costs – real estate, salaries – the expectations people and employees have … it can be hard to make a scrappy initial business that’s self-sustaining. Silicon Valley is good for scaling that opportunity, providing more capital and allowing more risk.” — Sergei Brin stated at the Global Entrepreneurship Summit June 27, 2016

From 2016 to 2020, SD’s population will grow about 180,000 and per capita income will grow about $4,000 to an average of $58,428. The professional services sector will see the strongest job growth in total of more than 20,000 new jobs.

percapitasanfranciso — San Francisco’s average income is $30,000 above San Diego’s. It will take a lot for San Diego Businesses to overcome that, and the fact that Silicon Valley is full of investment money.

And in this graphic at right, we discover that per capita income will rise much faster than the California average (other CA counties will do much better).

High wages in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Mountainview, Santa Clara, San Jose will draw high skilled IT workers like flies. However the Bay Area is pricey and the cost of doing business there will eat away at capital and profits. Silicon Valley looks to India for alleys but Donald Trump might throw a monkey wrench into their machine.

REAL ESTATE: High volumes of sales and soaring home prices indicate that compared to the rest of the nation, California metros are benefitting from strong housing sector growth in 2013. San Francisco is considered by some to be the strongest market in the country, closely followed by several other California metros including San Jose, Sacramento, Orange, and San Joaquin Counties.

Where will you find San Francisco apartments for rent? Are you looking for the best cities to invest in real estate in 2017? Where is the best Vacation destination: Costa Rica or San Diego? Is this he right time to sell your home? Reports suggest people don’t intend to sell their homes so what impact will that have on the US housing construction forecast? How will first time buyers ever get the mortgage financing they need to buy?

July 17, 2017March 25, 2018

Canadians Buying US Real Estate

Lucrative Canadian Real Estate Market Spilling over into the US

Foreign buyers are buying up US properties and the biggest increase is coming from Canadians. Even NAR’s Chief Lawrence Yun was surprised by the growing demand from Canadians given the low Canadian dollar. Yun is quoted in an LA Times report that the high housing prices in Toronto and Vancouver were also behind the movement of investment money to buy US real estate.

Chinese Buyers looking to buy real property

Canadians are now the biggest buyers of US real estate at $20 Billion per year next to the Chinese at $31 Billion. There’s no reason to believe it won’t continue right through 2018.

Canadians are buying in Arizona, Florida, and Nevada and many are investing as vacation homes or as rental income properties. Interested in income properties? Check out the best cities for investment and the best US Cities to Live.

One Toronto real estate agent was quoted as saying buyers are cashing out in Canada and then buying second houses to vacation in the United States, usually in Florida. “The Canadians love your weather. We have more money because of our real estate market here — that’s really the answer.”

Canadian Investment in US Property up 50%

Purchases from foreign buyers in the US has grown 50% in the last year. This is a big trend which US real estate agents should be aware of. The lack of housing supply in the US is putting upward pressure on prices, which perhaps Canadian buyers are hoping to gain from.

Many Canadian and Chinese buyers go online to find suitable investment properties. Is your website visible online? Is it truly engaging for buyers and sellers? Take a good look at these real estate marketing packages to gauge where you should aim your strategy. There’s never been a better time to plan your real estate sales future.

Call me at 416 998 6246 and let’s get your career launched properly.

February 7, 2017March 25, 2018

The US Massive Debt with China and the $20 Trillion Nightmare

OMG: US Debt with China: $1 Trillion + $360 Billion Per Year Active Trade Deficit!

You don’t hear much about the massive US Trade deficit on the major TV networks. NBC, CNN, CBS, or ABC rarely mention the insidious debt with China and Mexico. You’d think that a number like $20 Trillion (estimated shortly), $61 Trillion Total Sovereign debt, and a $1 Billion per day deficit would be CNN’s headliner every single day.

It’s unlikely the swamp people will want to help – Pic courtesy of Salt Lake Tribune

Instead, CNN and the rest spend all day attacking Donald Trump. But then, Trump did say he was going to drain the swamp (including judges).

Unfortunately, Trump is launching another debt-driven campaign which may overheat the economy and grow the debt at more than $1 Trillion per year. Since it’s going into infrastructure spending with private participation, it’s not as toxic as Obama’s debt. However, Trump did say he wanted all shelves filled with nuclear bombs which is pretty much insanity.

As a result, he’s paying the price in the media for doing good deeds. Let’s hope he gets these things done before he’s impeached for conflict of interest. Because the US is in big debt trouble and Trump is the only one with a solution. And how ironic it would be if the US becomes seriously indebted to Mexico!

Yet, it’s a taboo topic lurking in the dark. But when interest rates rise, this villian will walk through the curtains and into the limelight. Are China and Mexico taking advantage of the US? The huge debt won’t go away. Rising interest rates to pay the interest on the debt could get out of control. That could impact the housing market and whether people buy homes.

There’s no bubble / crash in foreseeable future, especially with Trump beginning to take control, and as we see investment funds arrive back in the US. The stock market is at a record pace. Families and individuals need homes. Perhaps what’s at stake is who will be the landlord and who will be the renter. There’s big money in rental property investment and the Chinese have been buying. However, due to Trump’s actions, the Yuan will plummet and Chinese investment will soon be a thing of the past.

Forecasting the Economy: Where Should you Work, Invest and Live in the Next 10 Years?

So why don’t we look at the debt’s source, the numbers, the process, and consider what will happen if Donald Trump does manage to improve the situation.

You’ll find some eye-opening data, infographics, links and commentary in this post. Make sure everyone knows! It’s your civil duty. This post will be constantly updated so please bookmark it and share with your contacts.

Ultra wealthy Chinese. Photo courtesy of Ozy.com

And although Americans assume everything is good right now with “full employment” there’s a big “debt catch” with Obama’s legacy. With $500 Billion overall deficit in 2016 and almost $20 Trillion overall, the spirit, vitality, hope and wealth of the US is persistently eroded. The reason for the media silence is denial, and the so-called economic expert’s inability to make an emotional impact with Americans. There is no coincidence that the deficit has coincided with America’s slide into despair the last 20 years.

The US National Trade Deficit with China was $4 Trillion since 2000 — and a Growth Rate of 300% in the last few years

“Our nation stands at the crossroads of liberty. Crushing national debt, rampant illegal immigration, insane business regulations and staggering national unemployment are pushing our nation into unchartered territory.” — James Lankford from Brainy Quote.

US Trade Deficits with The World

Graphic Courtesy of PBS.org

6 of 20 Trillion Dollar Debt is Owned by Foreigners

Some suggest China may even threaten or blackmail the US over trade sanctions by calling in that debt. Doubtful, but how was this debt situation allowed by the US government?

Please Share this Post with others. Everyone around the world should know about the US national debt and deficit. This is something no 4 year job recovery can eliminate.

“I think it really scares us that we’re staring at $20 trillion in debt, not knowing how our grandchildren will repay it,” says Bob Kuck, a retiree living in a gated community in Sarasota, Florida — from CNN’s report: Is anyone worried about America’s $19 trillion debt? by Heather Long.

Of all the threats that America faces, it’s the quietest one that could bring the country down. Some may wonder if it’s too late for the US government to do anything about. And before Trump became President, he recognized how miserable the prospect of dealing with this gigantic national debtload is, grow the housing and investment outlook, and bring back good paying jobs. But he took the challenge anyway. It’s either heroic or suicidal.

Millennials and Gen Z’s Will be Paying the Bill

Tens of millions of millennial students having already been wrung through the US college educational system. They spent 4 to 7 years for an expensive education they’ll barely use along with a a whopping $1 Trillion in government backed student loans. They will be paying for all of it and Gen Z’s will be joining them. But don’t worry, Trump’s got a plan for you.

The purpose of the education system has been to create great jobs for teachers, not for educational efficiency and productivity.

As Trump brings jobs back, the question is whether these stressed out, indebted, wrongly educated workers can step up to the plate. I think we’re all optimistic the kids will bale us out. And what Americans can’t do, you can easily immigrate to fill. Make America Great will be the slogan of Millennials shortly, but they’ll never forget all the debt.

$360 Billion per Year! $1 Billion per Day

The US National Debt with China alone has now grown to $360 Billion per year. In a 6 year span, that is $1.6 Trillion, $4 Trillion since 2000. Just to pay the interest on that debt is a sizable chunk of US GDP.

Donald Trump says he’ll tackle it, but the last time I saw a mouse attack a Lion, the outcome was not favorable for the mouse. The picture the media presents of China is still one of impoverished yet diligent and deserving workers glad to have a job. But China’s not like that anymore. China is rich.

China’s robot factories are growing fast which has raised concerns about millions of layoffs of Chinese workers. Only a smaller number of engineers and technicians might be needed. Now they may have unemployed robots as well.

Chinese workers assisting robots. Photo courtesy of hangthebankers.com

Why Is the US National Debt so High?

The persistent trade deficits are a big reason. Obama/Clinton never talked about it, in fact, Obama spent $8 Trillion in the terrorist aftermath. A good portion of that handout was never traced. They don’t even know where that money went. The debt to China directly is now over $1 Trillion. Now China is able to buy up property and companies here like it’s a fire sale.

Another reason for the debt is Free Trade. While free trade was a theoretically good idea 20 years ago when I was studying International Business and Trade in college, it’s no longer so. Today, it’s a losing business concept for the US.

The fact US investment dollars are going to former third world countries to benefit their economies and creating jobs for them instead of in the US is bad enough. Further, these countries (China, Mexico) manipulate their currencies to keep an ongoing and artificial trade advantage. As Trump suggests, they play the currency markets like Candice Swanepoel plays the fiddle. China isn’t so genius at it though. They just demanded it.

I have to say that I’m saddened that Richard Branson invited Barack Obama to Necker island, and that he’s also asked the UK government to reconsider leaving the EU. The UK has it’s own massive deficit, which deserves its own blog post. This picture tells it all. The UK had to leave the EU. Brexit was a survival decision not a new vision for the UK.

Game of Monopoly: China Won. Let’s Start Over Again

When free trade theory was idealized and touted strongly decades ago, they didn’t consider the effect of currency manipulation and the ongoing human rot that occurs with overspecialization. And they wouldn’t admit to where it would lead.

The game of monopoly is the same. Inevitably, one player claims everything. In the real world, countries make excuses for cheating and not being fair. Worse, countries can specialize themselves out of existance. When countries have no options left, amidst cheating, it can lead to wars.

Choose Your Economic Theories Well

The economic theories of specialization and economies of scale works wonderfully, until the rising countries have all the investment money and a continuous way of beating the falling countries. If the free trade situation persists, countries like the US and the UK will continue to collapse. They collapse because their overspecialized workforce/businesses get caught in trade and technology circumstances, the same way an unemployed worker in Ohio or Michigan finds themselves suddently without a job through no fault of their own and their home is valued as worthless.

When countries grab up a monopoly on technology, distribution, investment flows, jobs, skills, education, etc., it’s unfair. Right now, Americans have limited job opportunities. And should an American want to be an engineer, or other high tech workers, they may have to move to Mexico or China.

Each country should have a well rounded economy for true economic health and prosperity

Some like the Democrats, want this situation to continue forever. The fact is, the skilled, sustainable, good paying jobs must return to the US, if only to pay the national debt.

Further Reading: http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikepatton/2016/03/28/u-s-debt-is-heading-toward-20-trillion-where-its-been-where-its-going-and-why/

http://nationalinterest.org/feature/why-americas-debt-bomb-wont-explode-yet-12963

http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/paying-for-college/articles/2017-01-31/3-student-loan-reforms-to-expect-under-trump

What are your thoughts on the jobs outlook for 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020? Is free trade about to transition to fair trade? Will the housing sector survive the fight with the deficit or is a housing crash inevitable? Is buying gold a good hedge strategy?

January 5, 2017February 21, 2018

Toronto Real Estate Market Forecast – The Pros and Cons of Homebuying in 2017

When Is the Best Time to Buy a Home?

A Laser Clear View of Toronto Housing — 2017 to 2018

Spring 2017 is almost here in Toronto, and tens of thousands of homebuyers will make the decision to buy a home. Yet buyers are confused, not because it may be a housing bubble, but because they can’t picture the value clearly, perhaps in numbers.

The question of whether to buy a home isn’t about seasons, and housing type, or even the neighbourhood. There’s more important factors to considers and you should weigh your pros and cons carefully.

But for some Toronto residents, do they even have a choice? We all have to live somewhere, and it doesn’t seem there’s enough homes to go around.

While Canada is suffering its worst ever performance in attracting foreign investment, foreign purchase of homes here has been high. Foreigners are desperate to park their money somewhere. With that, Vancouver, Kelowna, Toronto, Mississauga and even Montreal have seen their housing markets explode in price. Many of these properties sit idle and empty, waiting for a quick flip.

Yet our hyperactive housing market hides a big secret — our economy is not so hot. If not for the US revival occuring now, you’d have to say Canada’s future is very bleak — hence the lack of investment. Foreign investors are giving Canada a big thumbs down.

Vancouver Danger Signals

When BC applied its foreign buyers tax, it effectively killed the housing market in Vancouver. And with Toronto booming and its prices continuing a rocketing pace, will the Ontario government take similar action? While TREB might describe the market as balanced, it is a precarious, bubble like one where an irreversible slide might grow to a crash. Is this really a good time to invest in Toronto homes? Let’s look further.

Screen Capture courtesy of Teranet and the National Bank of Canada

The Key Role of Foreign Buyers in Toronto Real Estate

Foreign money may well be the key to Toronto Real Estate Market in recent years. Canadian investment in US property has fallen dramatically because of the sagging loonie, and perhaps due to new border restrictions expected by the Trump government. Canadians will now only be able to afford to buy in Canada. And many are selling their US properties to cash out their windfall. With that, they’ll likely be competing for GTA homes.

With the loonie so cheap against the US dollar, properties in Toronto, Mississauga, Oakville, and York Region look very inviting to Middle Eastern, Chinese and US buyers. Political and economic turmoil may well see foreign investors tune into Canada as a safe alternative to the US. Toronto real estate will be their first choice.

The Toronto Real Estate Board just reported another record month of sales on the Toronto MLS for January, and there is no sense or data to suggest condo and home prices won’t keep climbing.

8 Fundamentals of Rising Home Prices to Look for:

1. limited housing availability and people have to live somewhere
2. continued staunch refusal of homeowners to sell their properties
3. low mortgage rates rising only slightly
4. influx of foreign investment money from the Middle East, Russia, Germany and China
5. strong US economy set to spill over into Canada
6. high numbers of Millennials looking to buy their first home
7. condo rental prices are high with low availability meaning a sizble pool of potential buyers exists
8. immigation volume into Toronto is high thus soaking up rentals and creating more buyers from across the globe

The above fundamentals speak well of home prices in Toronto. As long as a US economic disaster doesn’t occur, the Toronto market looks okay. The question then becomes one of do you really want to buy vs rent? Can you afford repairs, taxes, and to commute to this location? Should you buy now so you can lock in at lower mortgage rates?

Worries on the Horizon

However, there is the negative side of the coin. Canadian debt loads are very high, bordering on crisis levels, and should interest rates rise, these same people may face foreclosure. If mortgage rates rise, few buyers will be able to buy at today’s prices. If prices are too high with a threat of a housing crash, fewer people will willingly take that big risk.

The biggest factor for a housing crash or continued growth comes from the US. The repatriation of jobs and business investment back into the United States is the biggest news story of the last 3 decades but there’s worries Canada might be shut out.

Note: Vancouver’s Market has Stopped Rising but Hasn’t Crashed

If the US can carve away at its monstrous trade imbalances and bring back the American middle class, the effects on American wealth will be dramatic. We’ve all seen what this wealth has created in Dubai, China, and Mexico. When all that wealth returns to the US, it will spill over into the Toronto Real Estate market.

The Canadian economy, particularly Toronto’s is intimately tied to with the US, both parties would be devastated by a break in trade. But Donald Trump may have little intention of alienating Canada, even with Justin Trudeau at its helm. The biggest threat we face is Donald Trump’s dislike of Justin Trudeau.

Trudeau’s lack of sympathy and joy for the great American revival will gnaw at Trump’s government. Canada may receive a weaker bilateral trade agreement, which Trudeau will have to negotiate. It could be much worse than the softwood trade has been.

The second biggest factor will be the lack of housing availability. Ontario’s governmental regulations on land development near Toronto is crippling growth. Its plan to intensify development in certain cities such as Markham, North York, and Mississauga will supercharge prices in those areas. Ontario’s high flying tax increases will further put upward pressure on house prices and make home ownership more costly.

Statscan reported job growth only in Ontario, with 20,000 new jobs. This followed on the heels of last month’s 74,000 new part time jobs. People working part time or with low wages can’t buy homes. The future lies with a growth in Canadian exports (the low loonie didn’t make that happen, likely because other countries are manipulating their currency downward for persistent advantage).

With demand continuing right through the winter, it’s hard to believe it won’t be a record spring for the Toronto market. The anticipation of the great American Revival will play increasingly on the psyche of hopeful buyers and those who would like higher paying jobs. It’s this anticipation that will have the greatest effect on where anyone will willingly purchase an average $600k to $1.5 million dollar condo or home.

It takes courage to buy a home, and courage should be built on a systematic pros and cons assessment of real estate investment. I hope your analysis gives you the right outcome. If you’re looking to buy in the Toronto area, please visit my Toronto homes for sale page.

Further reading:

Forecasts of political intervention by Canada’s biggest banks: http://business.financialpost.com/news/property-post/canadas-biggest-bank-warns-of-possible-cooling-measures-coming-to-toronto-housing-market

Best time to buy a home: https://www.newhomesource.com/resourcecenter/articles/smart-time-to-buy-a-new-home

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November 22, 2016February 21, 2018

Donald Trump on the US Economy, Reform, and Real Estate Market

What Donald Trump Said

2 months ago, I forecasted that Donald Trump would become the next President and sure enough, at the last minute, he pulled it off. I mentioned that Americans appeared tired of economic stagnation, debt, minimum wage futures, political lobbying and corruption, and a lack of control over their own lives and in 2017 they would have a new president to make the changes.

But even as we inspect what New York’s Donald Trump has said he wanted to do, the real matter is how he could make change in jobs, energy, real estate development, and trade.
Yet Trump is a hotel and real estate magnate, so this has to bode well for the travel and real estate sectors. Trump is all about real estate development. Trump stated he will change the tax brackets (lowering taxes for some) so they have more money for a purchase.

Once investment and laws are changed, the US should see an honest revival of its economy and as momentum grows over the years ahead, it makes sense that fairer trade and a made in America emphasis will see jobs and investment come back to the US. It’s doubtful that China and Mexico will be devastated and I might add that Canada may follow the same road to bring jobs back from China and Mexico. Those who have lost their jobs to foreign companies know what’s been happening at a real life and emotional level. Once jobs return, the euphoria will begin.

Whoever actually voted for Trump, their decision is one that’s put rich multi-national companies, billionaires, and even pampered Hollywood stars in their place. Clinton and the Democrats had no real plan to boost the economy, create jobs and fix the trade deficit problem with China, Japan and Mexico. I thought it was a no brainer — Trump was the people’s only hope despite the thrashing the media gave him. None of it mattered because Americans are determined to bring back prosperity.

Is 2018 the best year to buy rental income property? Find out more about the best investment opportunities in 2017 including investing in real estate

Everyone is wondering what a Donald Trump, president elect, lead government will look like. What did he say about housing and home ownership anyway? And how will his policies actually support small and medium-sized US businesses?

Share this post about Donal Trump with your friends and family on:

It is time to #DrainTheSwamp in Washington, D.C! Vote Nov. 8th to take down the #RIGGED system! pic.twitter.com/Ox9hH13Q9I – Official Team Trump (@TeamTrump) October 18, 2016

A good number of people are still upset right now that the much hyped new President got in. He promised to drain the swamp in Washington, fix trade deals with China, Mexico and Japan, and help people buy a home. And in San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange County, San Francisco, just as in New York City, Miami, Seattle, and most urban area, people have given up on the idea of owning and having equity in a home. That American dream had died.

Here’s a key statements and quotes from him (if you’re willing to believe his statements):

“American homeownership rate in Q2 2016 was 62.9% – lowest rate in 51 yrs,” Trump tweeted July 30, 2016. “WE will bring back the ‘American Dream!”

It’s not hard to believe that homeowners in Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco are low. Not much of a controversy there. How many millennials can afford a Million dollar property?

If his heart and head really are into making home ownership a reality for those in California, Texas, Florida, and New York and cities across the US where prices have gone bonkers, mostly due to a lack of development land. Trump’s bombastic style will fade in importance as he’s forced to get down to work and fix the American economy. There’s mention we’ll have panic and high global prices yet they’ll likely go down as manufacturers become more concerned about getting their products to their main customers — US consumers.

“I’m going to bring jobs back from China, Mexico Japan, Vietnam. They are taking our jobs. They are taking our wealth. We have $2.5 trillion offshore. We’re going to bring that money back. You take a look at what happened just this week, China bought the Chicago Stock Exchange. Nabisco and Ford, they’re all moving out. We have an economy that last quarter didn’t grow. We have to make our economy grow again” — Source: 2016 CBS Republican primary debate in South Carolina , Feb 13, 2016

Trump also has a lot of power now yet even the experts don’t know how he can improve the economy and boost the real estate and housing markets.

“A few years ago, Moody’s, the financial investment agency, calculated that every $1 of federal money invested in improving the infrastructure for highways and public schools would guarantee $1.44 back to the economy. Infrastructure investments have one of the strongest direct economic impacts.” Source: Crippled America, by Donald Trump, p124-5 , Nov 3, 2015

“My policy is going to be something that’s going to set the country back right. I mean, one of the big things is we have to take back jobs from China.” Source: Meet the Press 2015 interviews of 2016 presidential hopefuls , Aug 2, 2015.

So much for election promises and public political statements. We might want to visit his website and then calculate what impact taking jobs back from China, India, Japan, and Mexico will do.

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/trade

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/energy/

https://www.donaldjtrump.com/policies/economy/

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October 15, 2016November 10, 2017

Real Estate Investment Opportunities for Chinese Buyers Grows

Chinese Buyers Lead the Growth of Real Estate Investment

The demand for homes in Canada and US continues to grow relentlessly. China buyers are eager to have a piece of the economic revolution happening in places like San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Jose, Seattle, Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto where prices have shot up. Chinese buyers in particular are amazed by the size of homes and property they can buy here. And they should keep buying either as an investment or with intentions to emigrate here

The influx of Chinese immigrant investors looking for homes for sale has been good for Canada. And while Vancouver real estate is what they were after, they’re moving onward to explore Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal as possible places to invest.

Canada lacks the financial resources to build homes or to take advantage of our vast natural resources and the spread of the new financial infusion is creating business prosperity. Currently, our economy is at its weakest in growth in 60 years.

While some foreigners have offered to bring in their own workers and take all the natural resources away, our government has wisely declined the generous offer. Instead, Chinese immigrant investors could make a huge difference to our quality of life by moving here and helping with our growth. And it might even prevent the social malaise of poverty that’s hit so many communities — particularly in the north where youth suicide is a growing problem. Homelessless is becoming a big problem in Canada too where it never has been previously.

Our Canadian dollar isn’t low enough for Canadian companies to compete internationally with China, India, Viet Nam and Mexico. We’re suffering and the easy fix for that is investment money from China. Chinese immigrants love the opportunity to own a beautiful home here and have their children educated at what are increasingly excellent schools. The rise in quality of education institutions across Canada is shocking. However, entry into the new schools is expensive.

Chinese buyers are looking for good tax haven/risk management, and that’s driving the market. If Vancouver doesn’t want new investment anymore, that’s fine. Investors will find plenty of real estate and high quality of life in Alberta and Ontario. Chinese investors are finding out more about Canada and that it isn’t as bad as they thought. The quality of life is very high and they can launch new businesses in travel, resource extraction and processing, and financial services. Canada’s banks are very stable, benefit from a low currency exchange rate, and thus risk is low with fantastic upside.

Student Housing in Vancouver

Investors from Asia are also taking note of the growth of education services for foreign students. The student housing rental market is burgeoning due to the explosion of students coming to cities like Vancouver. That makes student housing investment a hot ticket for those can access it. Companies such as CIBT in Vancouver are building and buying properties solely for housing foreign students from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Dubai and other locations across the globe. The lack of housing availability in Richmond, Vancouver, Surrey, and Burnabyis creating a demand for these solutions.

Instead of slowing investment growth, the foreign buyer’s tax in BC will actually launch a new level of investment in Canada. This is just be beginning.

الاستثمار العقاري في كندا 投资在加拿大

The loonie has remained low so whether investors are moving their investment via Renminbe or Yuan, the exchange is still favorable. Investors can buy commercial or residential properties and see fantastic returns over 5 years.

vancouverhome — Picture courtesy of Malcom Hasman. Vancouver Luxury Home Realtor. Check out his exclusive magazine.

Middle East buyers are expected to spend 180 billion over the next decade across the world. 1/3 rd of all real estate purchasers in Vancouver are from China. Middle East and Chinese money will change Canada and the rest of the world. With the loonie so low, and active marketing by Canadian realtors, Canada’s share of that investment money could be huge.

It’s a window of opportunity for realtors in Canada and a key source of foreign investment in Canada. Without real estate money, foreign investment in Canada is at an all time low. Something our government doesn’t seem to be ashamed of.

购买加拿大或美国的房地产对中国投资者

欢迎中国投资者！中国房地产买家大量购买房屋和财产在洛杉矶，纽约，多伦多，旧金山和温哥华。尽管有害的行动，如在温哥华的15％，外地购房者的税收，在加拿大的投资仍在继续。这一投资趋势是加拿大和美国非常积极的。你可能不知道这里巨大的讨价还价。石油资源丰富的城市，如卡尔加里，埃德蒙顿，萨斯卡通有巨大的潜力。低买高卖。在中国经济持续低迷，这让好运在加拿大和美国购买。公寓价格便宜这里有丰富的土地。亚洲买家在这里做得很好。阅读此报告中。此外，起火的安大略省的环上读了。这是一个古老的流星降落站点的站点。该流星撞击形成了丰富的稀土金属 – 在金属的财富，他们打算尽快挖。贵金属数十亿美元，但如果将投资者从何而来？我希望中国的投资者将有助于做到这一点。告诉你的投资界的朋友约火圈。

Gòumǎi jiānádà huò měiguó de fángdìchǎn duì zhōngguó tóuzī zhě

huānyíng zhōngguó tóuzī zhě!

Zhōngguó fángdìchǎn mǎi jiā dàliàng gòumǎi fángwū hé cáichǎn zài luòshānjī, niǔyuē, duōlúnduō, jiùjīnshān hé wēngēhuá. Jǐnguǎn yǒuhài de xíngdòng, rú zài wēngēhuá de 15%, wàidì gòufáng zhě de shuìshōu, zài jiānádà de tóuzī réng zài jìxù. Zhè yī tóuzī qūshì shì jiānádà hé měiguó fēicháng jījí de.

Nǐ kěnéng bù zhīdào zhèlǐ jùdà de tǎojiàhuánjià. Shíyóu zīyuán fēngfù de chéngshì, rú kǎ’ěr jiālǐ, āi dé méng dùn, sà sī kǎtōng yǒu jùdà de qiánlì. Dī mǎi gāo mài.

Zài zhōngguó jīngjì chíxù dīmí, zhè ràng hǎo yùn zài jiānádà hé měiguó gòumǎi. Gōngyù jiàgé piányí zhè li yǒu fēngfù de tǔdì. Yàzhōu mǎi jiā zài zhèlǐ zuò dé hěn hǎo. Yuèdú cǐ bàogào zhōng.

Cǐwài, qǐhuǒ de āndàlüè shěng de huán shàng dúle. Zhè shì yīgè gǔlǎo de liúxīng jiàngluò zhàndiǎn de zhàndiǎn. Gāi liúxīng zhuàngjí xíngchéngle fēngfù de xītǔ jīnshǔ – zài jīnshǔ de cáifù, tāmen dǎsuàn jìn kuài wā. Guìjīnshǔ shù shí yì měiyuán, dàn rúguǒ jiāng tóuzī zhě cóng hé ér lái? Wǒ xīwàng zhōngguó de tóuzī zhě jiāng yǒu zhù yú zuò dào zhè yīdiǎn. Gàosù nǐ de tóuzī jiè de péngyǒu yuē huǒ quān. Http://Business.Financialpost.Com/news/mining/what-ontario-needs-to-unlock-ring-of-fires-mineral-wealth-is-a-marshall-plan

Aiding to this trend of foreign money is Canada’s reputation as a safe haven. And oil prices are expected to rebound in a few years and that will raise property values. With the loonie predicted to stay low for several years, Saudis and mainland Chinese will continue their quest to invest.

This all begs the question: “How do you get foreign real estate investors to your website?”

Sources of Foreign Real Estate Buyers

Here’s the likely sources of traffic to your website:

Google.sa organic search results pages and Google adwords advertising
Baidu.com organic and ad results
Facebook
Twitter
Google.com and numerous real estate sites such as zoocasa, trulia, zillow, realtor.com, Yahoo homes, and Dream Homes Magazine for US buyers.

Important Features of A Great Realtor Website

Creating a great real estate website isn’t easy, but you’re a realtor and you cherish the challenge. Besides SEO and social media engagement, here’s what’s important in generating a powerful real estate sales machine:

Mandarain and Arabic Language: If your targets are wealthy Chinese and Middle Easterners, you’ll need specially designed landing pages written in Mandarin and Arabic. They’ll be seeking upscale, likely $1 million plus to live in or to invest in. Of course, some are immigrants and will want a home for themselves. They’ll be better informed and comfortable with you if you have content written in their language.

IDX Listings: Have an interpreter translate some of your regular copy in your IDX pages. These prospects will feel much more comfortable if they see their language in the home listing pages.

Excellent Content Strategy: Consider how your content is mapped to your conversion funnel. You’ll have content that fulfills the buyer journey. Oh, and it should be search engine optimized. For US buyers, ensure your copy relates to the property’s investment value. Add any forecasts and outlook for the local economy, Canadian economy, scarcity of homes/condos, and again, the low loonie.

Obvious Value Proposition: You should have a blog post(s) written on the topic in an informative and persuasive fashion. Since the listing page may be the landing page for visitors from Google, have a link to your “investment value” page. Reinforce the value proposition right away, since it’s actually more important than the home listing itself. The visitor will give you a very short time to make a believable promise of value. Now they’ll stay a little longer on your site, read further, and view more listings.

Trust and authority: are important too. They’re spending millions so they want to know they’re not wasting their time, and that you’re someone who can find excellent properties and help them execute investment deals. Don’t worry that you’re not Arabic or Chinese. They may actually trust you more because you’re not. They’re hip to shysters. Build your value proposition and your realtor brand on the high value of working with you. You’re the only realtor they need to know in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Kelowna, or Edmonton.

These are Wealthy People Enthused About Bargains in Canada

Most investors won’t be looking at anything under $1 million. So their search will look much like this.

With special landing pages written in Mandarin or Arabic, your site will have a chance of ranking for keyword searches in those languages. You might even consider altering the design to appeal to their preferences. Anything you can do to keep them in their comfort zone will help.

US or European buyers won’t be affected by the presence of these languages on the site. It’ll actually reinforce the value of these properties if buyers and European and US investors know they’re competing with Chinese and Arabic buyers. It’s an international bidding war.

Here’s 10 tips for your Foreign optimized website:

Use an experienced SEO with copywriting skills who has worked on real estate websites (not a technical SEO)
Write content that reinforces the value of real estate investment in Canada.
Write tweets, facebook posts, and pinterest pins on specific properties
Use aerial views of the home (use a drone with GoPro camera to show a full view of the property because it’s more emotionally engaging and
Use classy videos of you presenting a property because they want to see and hear the salesperson.
Write authoritative blogs on topics that show your realtor expertise — it’s more important to build your brand than talk about small topics.
Write blogs on investment, currency, and how Canadian properties are a better bet than any properties elsewhere
Write blog posts that will expand their view of real estate, which helps them overcome any limited or naive perspective they might have
Write posts that reflect Canadian culture and preferences and the buyers who will be buying the properties off of them (remember, someone’s going to buy that property from them, so remind them that you’ll be finding great buyers for them too)
Use lots of pictures, because they can overcome the limitations of language and interpretation.

Appealing to this new stream of wealthy buyers from the Middle East, China and US simultaneously won’t be easy. Build your brand of trustworthiness, knowledge, and always promote your significant, personalized, unique value proposition. Good luck with your new content strategy. ترجمة- قاموس 祝好运.

Gord Collins has been an expert San Francisco real estate SEO, Vancouver real estate SEO, Boston real estate SEO, and Toronto real estate SEO consultant for 18 years. Check out his posts on prospecting tips, how to get people to sell their home, real estate agent importance, and tips for luxury real estate agents. Gord will help you master social media, Google, PPC advertising and persuasive content development. And for link building, there’s no one better to launch your outreach campaign.

September 11, 2016

Aurora Luxury Homes – Fine Homes for Sale in Aurora Ontario

Demand for Luxury Homes in Aurora

Aurora Ontario Canada is one of those special small cities or towns that’s blessed with a great location, warm community, and a special character. It’s more than a place of expensive homes and luxury cars however. If you’ve never heard about Aurora ON, you’ll discover here and in the Aurora Newmarket Real Estate Outlook page that it’s a wonderful place to live whether in one of the gated communities or open neighbourhoods. There are townhomes, houses and mega-sized million dollar estate homes being built.

Here’s the first of 3 photo galleries of Aurora homes. Click here for Aurora Gallery 2 and Aurora Gallery 3.

As you’ll see below, there’s a plentiful number of potential resale luxury homes for sale. The availability of new homes for sale in Aurora or nearby Newmarket is constrained. This is why the prices of property and homes in Aurora are jumping at the rates you can see in the TREB stats below.

[bctt tweet=”New homes in Aurora now average $2 million and resales homes at $1.2 million. Read more about Aurora” username=”@gord_collins”]

Although Vaughan and central Toronto have higher average prices, it’s the scarcity of stock in this community that will drive prices much higher. The influx of new residents and residential services and improvements to highway 404 and local roads is drawing more attention to the area, making the Aurora and Newmarket housing forecast very bright for buyers and sellers.

Although the Ontario government is attempting to suppress growth, this train is in motion. Local schools such as St Andrews Academy and Pickering College are drawing foreign buyers who are hoping to have their kids educated here and where they can live themselves. There’s probably no where in Southern Ontario that offers the amenities and lifestyle you’ll find here.

Realtors! Share this informative post on Aurora with your prospects on Facebook – and let current Aurora homeowners know more about the demand for their homes. [bctt tweet=”Aurora ON is an amazing place to live – modern, clean, good neighbourhoods and schools and access to jobs and recreation. #homesforsale” username=”@gord_collins”]

Great Location and Fresh Air

The town of Aurora (population 60,000) is fortunate to be close enough to Toronto, Markham and Richmond Hill to allow residents to work in the city, while being far enough to enjoy the wonderful small town life close to rural recreation areas. It’s the character of the community and people that make it even more special. It’s one of the most affluent communities in the North Toronto region with an Average household income of $146,160 and more than 1/4 of households in Aurora have income above $150,000.

It’s about the lifestyle: The Aurora Library and the neighbouring Aurora Arts and Culture Centre are a great way to view the works of talented Aurora area artists. Eva Folks has a very unique style and subject for her artwork as seen below. And there’s more in the arts to celebrate here in Aurora.

It’s the convenience and character of Aurora has made it very attractive to residents of Toronto who are eager to sell their home for premium prices and move north to one of Ontario’s finest communities. Available land in Aurora is at a premium which is why the average price of a home sold here is above $1,200,000. Regardless of the fast rising prices, wealthy home buyers and their families want to live in Aurora and there are still plenty of older properties which can be developed. Some of the luxury homes and mansions being built are spectacular as you’ll see in the Gallery of Aurora Homes below.

In September 2016, the average selling price of a detached home reached $1,270,582. Currently, there are 64 active listings but with average DOM at 10 days, they won’t last long. Homes sell themselves here. Only the city of Oshawa has a comparable low DOM.

Why Buy a Luxury Home in Aurora?

Why Aurora? It’s simple, the lifestyle is great. There are plenty of places to shop and eat, lots of convenient grocery stores, plenty of parkland and trails, and there is access to best features of York Region, Durham Region, and south Simcoe County. The area just east of Aurora is the trail and bicycle riding capital of Canada. Only half an hour to the east is prime mountain biking terrain in the Durham Forest (Olympic training park) and Lake Simcoe and Cooks Bay are 20 minutes north with plenty of boating, fishing, and beaches.

And 5 minutes south, residents can be at Lake Wilcox with its leisure and boating opportunities. It’s the home of the Richmond Hill Rowing Club and has recently been the site of a complete waterfront development upgrade.

Aurora offers plenty of sports and recreation facilities with 3 major complexes housing hockey arenas, bmx biking park, baseball fields, indoor soccer and tennis domes, and miles of amazing hiking and biking trails. If you’re active person, you’ll love the opportunity of a fitness lifestyle with or without fitness centres. You’ll be surrounded with optimistic, highly educated people amidst a town with endless activities. Your kids will love it here.

kidsatdurham — Sprock Kids at Durham Mountain Biking Park

auroratennis — Aurora Community Tennis Club is one of the favourites of the region

auroralibrary — Image Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons – Aurora Public Library – One of the very best and most modern

Those of you who love to play golf will be overjoyed with the number of high quality Aurora Golf courses nearby including the St Andrews Valley course. The Aurora Highlands and the Glenway Golf Clubs have recently been converted to luxury home developments and has contributed to availability and the fast rising rate of average selling prices here.

uppercanada — Picture courtesy of Delcorp and Upper Canada Mall

uppercanadafoodcourt2 — Upper Canada is a leading regional fashion mall in Newmarket with 200 retail stores on two levels.

Doing Business in Aurora

Aurora and the nearby cities of Newmarket and Bradford are accelerating new business opportunities for newcomers and entrepreneurs. Since more business is done online, new companies are seriously considering setting up businesses in the Aurora area, which is already home to the billion dollar Magna auto parts manufacturing company (Magna’s move to King is postponed to 2020). The region is young and vibrant and nearby city of Newmarket is drawing new tech companies to the area. It’s still a bedroom community of North Toronto, however with the huge housing developments in the area, the potential for new business basing itself here is strong.

Huge detached housing developments being constructed on the west side of Newmarket and Bradford along with the east side of Aurora and Newmarket are drawing in hundreds of new families, many of whom are reasonably wealthy. Typical starting prices are in the $700,000 range. The growing number of Asian newcomers shows the area is gaining considerable visibility to Toronto Asian buyers as well as foreign Chinese buyers who may be avoiding the Vancouver region and its 15% foreign buyers tax.

Here’s some eye opening stats on how single detached home prices and listings have changed in the last 12 months in the Aurora/Newmarket/Markham/Richmond Hill area.

	York Region Detached Home Sales Comparison September 2015 to 2016
City	Average Selling Price September 2015	Avg Selling Price September 2016	YOY Price Growth	Avg DOM 09/2015	Avg DOM 09/2016	New Listings	Active Listings	Avg Selling Price / Listing Price
Aurora	$908,640	$1,270,582	39.80%	22	10	130	64	105%
Bradford E Gwillumbury	$650,324	$914,095	40.60%	30	26	58	60	101%
King	$1,183,743	$1,406,712	18.80%	59	28	159	125	100%
Markham	$1,114,035	$1,402,462	25.90%	15	13	70	118	100%
Newmarket	$734,830	$916,541	24.70%	18	11	194	104	105%
Richmond Hill	$1,169,054	$1,568,093	34.10%	15	14	371	243	105%
Whitchurch-Stouffville	$876,188	$1,197,326	36.60%	29	15	107	87	104%

Aurora has some of the most prestigious homes in the North Toronto area and the region just East of Aurora is home to mega million dollar type homes and beautiful landscapes and scenery. Have a good look at some of Aurora’s finest custom luxury homes to date. These homes are within the town boundaries. Most are located on or near Kennedy St, Treegrove Circle, and Woodland Hills Blvd, and the south end on Van Dorf Sideroad. This $10 million dollar home was sold recently. It was the subject of a Vancouver Sun article.

I walked and jogged by this home daily on Treegrove Circle and this was a major renovation. The results as you will see were spectacular. Quite a contrast in styles and colour and it’s nestled in Aurora’s finest neighbourhood.

A Gallery of Beautiful Luxury Homes in Aurora, ON Canada

aurora-luxury-home17 — Georgeous Aurora Mansion on Kennedy St

[bctt tweet=”This 4 + 1 Bedroom luxury, 7 bathroom, 6700 sq ft home is for sale at $2.7 million — 78 Kennedy St, Aurora” username=”@gord_collins”]

aurora-luxury-home15 — Aurora Custom Built Home For Sale – This 4 + 1 Bedroom luxury, 7 bathroom, 6700 square foot home is currently for sale at $2.7 million — 78 Kennedy St, Aurora

aurora-luxury-home13 — Aurora Custom Bungalow

aurora-luxury-home7 — Aurora Custom Built Home Landscaping

aurora-luxury-home2 — Custom Built Luxury Bungalow in Aurora

aurora-luxury-home10 — This luxury home for sale (as of Oct 15)

Aurora Real Estate For Sale

aurora-pandg — 35 Adena Meadows Way is listed at $4,800,000. See more at . Screen Capture courtesy of Realestatefinehomes.com.

Discover more about Aurora:

http://city-data.com/canada/Aurora-Town.html

https://aurora.ca/Pages/Town-Of-Aurora.aspx

See even more beautiful Aurora Luxury Homes.

Finding the right real estate marketing professional isn’t easy. Given the need for expertise in web design, content strategy, content design, SEO, conversion optimization and social media engagement, how can an marketing agency or freelance consultant possibly deliver on all fronts?