With Vancouver's transportation referendum now taking place I wanted to explore the proposal and get some facts to help me make a decision. In this video I share my findings with you, as well as how Transportation impacts real estate.

I hope you enjoy,

Rasam

British Columbia is starting to become a magnet again for people from other provinces, a trend that bodes well for Vancouver housing prices.

In the first half of this year, B.C. had a net gain of 3,270 people from other provinces. It marks a reversal of fortune for B.C., which saw a net loss in interprovincial migration of 4,596 residents for the full 12 months of 2012 and another net loss of 832 people last year.

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The Harper government's drive toward a free-trade deal with the European Union appears to be entering the final stages, with the announcement Tuesday that negotiators have concluded a text of the agreement.   The final wording comes after months of negotiation and disagreements over a wide range of issues that included investor protection from lawsuits as well as dairy quotas.

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The number of homes sold in Canada’s most expensive market topped 3,000 in July, marking a fourth straight month sales have hit that level.   The Vancouver sales market has not been this strong in three years, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver 

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Another healthy jump in real estate sales across the Lower Mainland in June is putting some areas “on the cusp” of a seller’s market where demand outstrips supply and pushes prices higher, according to reports released Thursday by the region’s major real estate boards.

The most recent sales results fit with Central 1 Credit Union’s latest housing forecast, which estimates that the surprise cut in mortgage rates earlier this year will produce a modest, steady rise in housing demand even as interest rates move higher in coming years.

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The housing market in British Columbia will post stronger sales and increasing prices over the next few years, according to Central 1 Credit Union’s B.C. Housing Forecast, released July 3, and this will be driven in large part by the Lower Mainland.

An improving labour market and a dip in mortgage rates will lead a rebound from the weak climate seen in 2013, and the median home price across all housing types is expected to hit $595,000 by 2017.


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According to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's (CMHC) spring Rental Market Survey(1), the British Columbia apartment vacancy rate declined to 2.4 per cent in April 2014 from 3.5 per cent in April 2013.

"In spring 2014, the downward pressure on vacancy rates came from a combination of increased rental demand which outpaced additions to rental supply," noted Carol Frketich, CMHC's BC Regional Economist. "This spring the rental market was significantly tighter than last spring as apartment vacancy rates moved lower in all but six of the province's 27 centres surveyed in April".


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A rebound in Metro Vancouver prices in the first quarter of 2014 has pushed single-family homes back into the upper reaches of unaffordability on RBC’s regular housing-affordability index.
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Not surprising, Bank of Canada has kept it's key lending rate unchanged. BOC sited Global instability as a major reason.

“Volatility in global financial markets has increased somewhat, reflecting buoyant market conditions in most advanced economies and increased risk differentiation among emerging markets,”

BOC is not expected to increase rates until at least middle of Next Year.


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Here is some interesting analysis he Calum Ross on why paying off your mortgage may be a bad idea.
The Article has some math but it's easy to follow. He challenges the default thoughts that don't always hold true.



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