North Van…Sellers or Buyers market?

(April 14, 2018)

Podcast Notes/Overview:

Intro (Marko): (00:00-11:01)

• “North Shore” = City of North Vancouver + District of North Vancouver + West Vancouver
• North Vancouver Population (city), 52,898
• North Vancouver Population (district), 86,602
• West Vancouver Population, 40,923
• 3 entry points to the North Shore: 2nd Narrows Bridge (from Highway 1), Lions Gate Bridge (from downtown), or Seabus (from Downtown)
• diminishing pricing gap between single family and condo
• single family detached is moving in to balanced market territory (~20%).  Meanwhile, condos (~90%) and apartments (~50%) continue along in sellers market.
• expect rising interest rates to become the dominating factor for real estate prices
• City of North Vancouver has the 6th highest population density in Canada…4,465 people per square kilometre
• As of March 2018, Detached Home ($1.7 M benchmark), Condos ($1 M benchmark), and Apartments ($600,000 benchmark)

Guest (Lisa Gordon, Macdonald Realty): (11:01 – 33:25)

• about 57,000 dwellings in North Vancouver (~60% single family homes : 40% condos)
• more and more units are coming through and many expect the ratio to decrease to 50% condos, and some think even 60%
• 2010 was a crucial year in North Vancouver…this is when detached homes hit the $1M mark
• buyers need to look outside the box to address the affordability crisis.  Parents are becoming more involved in their children’s real estate transaction (down payment)
• ~800 new dwellings slated in Lynn Valley (new condos and apartments), $900-$1000/ sq ft
• listen to the podcast for more details on North Vancouver real estate supply as Lisa discusses new village type developments (Ravenwoods, 2nd Narrows bridge area, and more)

The Mortgage Minute (podcast transcript): (33:39 – 35:00)

Marko Gelo:

Owning a business can be a rewarding experience, and in Canada, the trend of newly formed business (both small and large) continues to grow and become a way of life for many.  Especially, after the first 2 or 3 years…this is the minimum tenure that lenders require for your self employed income eligibility.

In other words, if you are about to start a business…make sure you qualify for a mortgage before you leave your salaried employment.  Because in the lenders eyes, you are basically ineligible to qualify during the first two years of self employment.  My advice to anyone about to embark into self employment…before doing so, make sure you fully exploit your pre-self-employment salary to qualify for as much credit as you possibly can…preferably mortgages or home equity lines of credit.  And failing that (or additionally),  rack up as high a limit as you can possibly get for a personal line of credit.  Trust me, I’ve witnessed it with many clients in the past…its good to have these untapped accounts at your disposal when the business takes a bump or experiences some unexpected growing pains. 

Equally important, while you’re working through your 2 year self employed tenure be aware of the following points in preparation for an optimal outcome, that is if you are intending to qualify for a mortgage once your reach your 2 year self employment anniversary:

*stay up to date and in the black with your taxes

*pay your bills on time and avoid any confrontation with your creditors, and finally

*discuss your tax planning strategies with your mortgage broker as your declared income to CCRA doesn’t necessarily translate to qualifying income for mortgages

I’ll leave you with this quote from an unknown source, “Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t so you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.”

(Music Credit: Intro/Outro track, “the cut”, performed and produced by Marko Gelo)