Oz Buzz

“If the facts are contrary to any predictions, then the hypothesis is wrong no matter how appealing.”  

–David Douglass

Major Point: Podcasts and OzBuzz blog now can be listened together or separately.

Hot Properties (details below):

  • Surreyinvestment property: Side x Side duplex, 2 separate titles. Reduced to $1,300,000
  • Surrey. 638 sq. ft, one bdrm/den, granite counters. $330,000
  • Langford: least expensive half duplex in greater Victoria, Price: $424,900
  • Kitsilano: 3-bedroom 2-bath townhome, 1 block from beach. Reduced by another $100,000 – now $1,225,000!
  • Richmond: $1,090,000, 5 BR, 3 bath home.1890 sq. ft, Ironwood area, south facing deck
  • Hemlock Valley: 1-bedroom condo $179,900
  • Langley: $495,000 3 bed/2 bath townhome in Langley
  • Surrey: $379,999 2 BR, 2 bath condo, 821 sq. ft, 20% down. 8 years old. Builder warranty

Podcast interviews with 
Oz Buzz Podcast – Jeff Fawcett: Insurance: Balance+Personal Passions and Business
Oz Buzz Podcast – David Siebenga: Inventing Opportunities and What is a Security?
Oz Buzz Podcast – Rick Dubord: Real Estate and Technology
See ozbuzz.ca or the iTunes store

Today’s issue:

  • Hot Properties
  • The Numbers- Vancouver
  • Real Estate – New Assignment registry
  • Real Estate – Vacant home tax a dud
  • Eyebrow Raiser –
  • Questions I ask , why do we let them?
  • New podcasts launched
  • Ozzie on YouTube
  • Wanna know the traffic?
  • Live Life Lage – card – Grow into your future best self

QUESTION & ANSWER

Pushback on my HELOC piece. Many of you felt that the government did the right thing: Saving people from themselves. I do get that point and thanks for sharing (6)! But here is my point: In order to manage markets in Toronto and Vancouver they bring in stress tests on mortgage rates first and now on Helocs. That has knocked out thousands of deals in Edmonton and Calgary (where prices are half of Vancouver) and in Kelowna and other small towns throughout BC and the rest of Canada, where price are a third.) That $200,000 HELOC that has now been capped (stress test) in the2 big cities…may have needed it. The generally much smaller Helocs in small towns did not and will make it unnecessarily hard to buy a home in even the most affordable markets…It also will kill the recreational markets.

QUESTION & ANSWER – postponed

There were quite a few more…we will do a special edition on all “The Numbers” (Vancouver today) next week and we will add the Qs and as there.

EYEBROW RAISERS

  • Harvard Professor David Keith says wind power warms the planet! In fact, wind takes a lot more land to generate the needed power than was ever expected. The large footprint disturbs the landscape, kills birds, etc. Maybe 100 years from now we’ll figure it out, but right now wind power (while good eventually) actually warms the planet, affects animals and people that live nearby!
  • The wonderfully eclectic Ian Gillespie is launching his largest project ever. It will be the largest in Canada and the second largest in North America. Where is it? On top of what is now the Oakridge Shopping Centre. Construction has started, and the 3,500 condos are slated to be finished in 6 years. The innovative visionary talks of a10,000 sq. ft kitchen, balcony’s that are sanctuaries and the importance of human minds nesting.
  • Facebook lost 37% of its stock since July, GE has lost 50% since January!
  • Stats Canada wants to have access to your private information at banks, trust companies, etc. This is fundamentally flawed. We never should give our private information to anyone, no matter how much they say they won’t be hacked. Tell your MLA now!

WORDS/SAYINGS THAT ARE ANNOYING – OVERUSED

  1. There is a lot of stuff one could say about: “nice guys finish last”. First, it’s mostly totally untrue, second in what context does it really apply? Dating? Business? And what about girls?
  2. “It’s always in the last place you look”. Of course, it is! Why would you keep looking after you found it? Oh, here is my phone, better keep looking just in case!
  3. “The ATM machine.” Really? ‘M’ stands for machine, so what you are saying is the Automated Teller ‘Machine’ ‘Machine’.

QUESTIONS I ASK?

  1. Why don’t we sit down and think of something unique to say in our business? Why not take the time to state research/test something memorable… unique? Why use words like:
  2. The word nice is overused and often used in a silly way. Everything is nice. Ask a Canadian what Canadian people are like and he likely will say: “Canadians are nice”. Really, that is what it means? Italians and British are not nice? That’s our only claim to fame?
  3. We give good service here. Really? That’s your unique selling proposition? Say something about your service that means something.

REAL ESTATE

THE NUMBERS, THE NUMBERS – VANCOUVER

We were able to get Vancouver RE Board numbers early, no one else is reportingyet. The Vancouver REBGV reported sales of 1,595 – a 42% decrease from last year. Also, last month’s sales were 38% below the 10-year November average. Please look at the numbers, they tell the story.

Vancouver East condo listings still up 93%! Vancouver East condo prices down by 8% to $583,400. Vancouver West condo listings are up 62%! Vancouver West prices are up by 3% to $1,020,000.

All total Vancouver active condo listings up still 62%.

Westside house prices are down by 5%, Vancouver East detached house prices are down by 4%

The decline in sales and the increase in listings are across the board. It also depends what you measure this month against. The average condo price in August 2018 was $712,500.

Major Point: Again: This downturn will continue… Markets become the stories people tell about them … and they are all negative now. As a buyer: Rejoice … realtors have time, multiple offers are dead, and owners look at offers! As the owner: Forget the 39% downturn! 61% of all houses are selling! Act to get your sale into the 61%! How? ‘Look at 21 ways to make your home sell faster’. Free at www.jurock.com

STRATA ASSIGNMENT INTEGRITY REPORT IS IN EFFECT IN 30 DAYS

The new Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register will come into effective January 1, 2019, developers who pre-sell condos must provide the terms of the assignment and the name and social insurance number or business information of the parties to the assignment and report it all to the online register, which forwards the information to the Canada Revenue Agency.

Major Point: It always was and still is illegal not to report a profit in your income…always! This is nothing  new. But the fraudsters will find it now more difficult to benefit. It was also crazy to blame these fraudsters on Realtors or developers. If an individual chooses not to report his profit on assignments HE or SHE is breaking the law…NO way the real estate industry is involved.

CITY EXPECTED $38 MILLION IN VACANT HOME TAX ON A POTENTIAL OF 24,485 VACANT HOMES- FOUND ONLY 2,538 that were vacant!

The City of Vancouver has found 2,538 vacant homes in its first Empty Homes Tax Annual Report, not 24,000, which is approximately one-tenth of the homes the city said were vacant when it first promoted its Empty Homes Tax, which has so far cost $10 million to implement. Two years ago, a city report written by Gil Kelley, the city’s general manager of planning, urban design and sustainability, stated there were 24,495 vacant homes in the city, which the report said was a near 100 per cent increase from 2001.

“If the facts are contrary to any predictions, then the hypothesis is wrong no matter how appealing.”  David Douglass

Based on these findings, Vancouver city council approved the empty homes tax and the vacancy tax bylaw on November 6, 2017. But the first report since the tax was introduced found that of 186,043 homes, only 1.3 per cent were vacant.

The City estimates it will receive $38 millionin total revenue under the tax and approximately $21 million had been collected as of November 2018 under its Empty Home Tax.

It cost the city $7.5 million to implement the tax and its first-year operating costs were $2.5 million.

The city has allocated the first $8 million in revenue to specific affordable housing initiatives, or enough to create perhaps a dozen rental units, based on current subsidies.

US HOUSING MARKETS

The national association of Realtors reports that international buyers in the United States are pulling back and that in general home buyers seem to be waiting. Interest rates are having an impact. The weakness is in the Northeast, with prices coming down and inventory is increasing.

Hot Properties

  • Surrey investment property: Side by Side duplex in surrey. 2 separate titles. potential rental income of $5,000 per month. 3 bedrooms up, 2 bedrooms suite down on each side. reduced to $1,300,000.
  • Surrey: 638 sq. ft, one bdrm/den, investor friendly,1 common wall neighbour, upgraded hardwood flooring, stainless steel appliances, granite counters
  • Langford: least expensive half duplex in greater Victoria, 3 bdrms, 2 bthrms. Building sits on a large 13,504 sq. ft lot! Tenanted at $1,350/mo. price: $424,900
  • Kitsilano: 3-bedroom 2 bathroom up and down townhome in the best location. -1 block from the beach. Further reduced by another $100,000 – now $1,225,000!
  • Richmond: $1,090,000 5 bed, 3 bath home.1890 sq. ft, Ironwood area, south facing deck
  • Hemlock valley: condo price for a 1-bedroom condo that could sleep up to 6 people
  • $179,900. 542 square feet, ski in and ski out right to the slopes, hot tub, sauna. Easy cashflow.
  • Langley: $495,000 3 bed/2 bath townhome in Langley, 1313 sq. ft, built in 2004. Cashflows with 20% down, near future SkyTrain to Langley city center
  • Surrey: $379,900 2 BR, 2 bath condo, 821 sq. ft, cashflows with 20% down, only 8 years old. Still under builder warranty.

WHY DO WE LET THEM DO THIS? BECAUSE WE LET THEM!

Some time ago we bemoaned the fact that TV Stations play commercials 1/3 louder than regular programming. It is annoying…particularly when they  deny it! Now, even more annoying is that they float little blocks of text or photos right into the middle of what you are watching promoting some other show. How can they get away with that? Because we let them!

PODCASTS

Here, we feature interesting people: Their journey from rags to riches, their specific advice, their success their failures. Go to ozbuzz.ca– sign your email and get the new podcasts sent to you from us. Already on another podcast subscribed? Click on any of our podcasts. Then look for the 3 dots on the far right…click…you can choose from 5 podcast sites – including iTunes! Yep, we are approved by Apple!

AUDIOBOOK

Too busy to read? Want to listen to Ozzie’s book for free? Sign-up for a free trial at Audible by clicking HERE and get Real Estate Action 2.0 FREE!

WANT TO PARTICIPATE?

Go to FREE www.realestatetalks.com– Some 2,500 members (47,009 posts) talk real estate. Ozzie created this bulletin board in 1998! This November we had 36,892 visitors!
If you are in business in a real estate related industry of any sort (realtor, appraiser, lawyer, home inspector, etc.) list yourself in Ozzie’s FREE British Columbia Real Estate Directory at www.bcred.ca.

OZZIE’S YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Look at Ozzie’s YouTube videos – Watch his new video on the Legalization of Pot here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUxpL6_4nOU and you can subscribe to his channel and see all his videos, including selected bits of the fabulous Michael Campbell show and the “Blast of the Pasts” – watch what Ozzie said in 2010 on BCTV and more.

RADIO

Ozzie is on air with Michael Campbell every Saturdaysometime between 8:30AM – 10 AM. The Hot Property that we discuss there, is available by subscribing to the Ozzie Dispatch at Jurock.com.

HOUSEKEEPING

  • Again, thank you for taking the time and sending us back the Survey. Over 300 suggestions/comments. 96% liked Hot Properties, 99% liked The Numbers, Qs and As clocked in at 89%, 81% wanted more podcasts. All other items were rated in the above 70 percentile…
  •  We have implemented many suggestions and are working on implementing more.
  1. Have the same locations in the same spot each issue
  2. Hot Property one-liners on top
  3. Suggestions on separating podcast and blog.
  4. Put podcast also on other podcast sites. (Good idea! Now approved at iTunes!)

All the above have been implemented in this issue – more to follow…thanks for caring! 

LIVE LIFE LARGE

Motion begets emotion

I get into motion
I exercise 40 minutes every day
I eat 3 kinds of vegetables every day
I balance work and play
I ask daily: “What will I do today
That will get me closer to my goal?”

I will grow into my future best!

Look up all of the “Grow into your future best” cards at: www.commitperformmeasure.com

  • I will grow into my future best and live life large!Look up and buy(!) all of Ozzie’s “Grow into your future best” cards at: www.commitperformmeasure.com
  • ACT NOW!We have 68 sets left– if you want to own these fabulously designed by famous German Artist Roland Schicht, you have to act now.
  • Live Life Large

Oz Buzz Podcast

Disclaimer

Please note that any response to any email or any invitation to any meeting is accepted on the understanding that “Jurock Real Estate Insider (JREI)”, “OzBuzz (OB)”, “JCIR (JC)” as the case may be, are not responsible for any result or results of any action or actions taken in reliance upon any information contained in this posting or meeting, nor for any errors contained therein or presented thereat or omissions in relation thereto. It is further understood that the said OB or JREI, or JCIR as the case may be, do not, pursuant to this posting, purport to render legal, accounting, tax, financial, planning, or other professional advice. The said OB and JREI and JCIR may or may not own properties discussed at meetings or receive or not receive referral fees at any meeting you may attend as a result of this posting or invitation. The said OB and JREI and JCIR, as the case may be, hereby disclaim all and any, liability to any person, whether a purchaser of any offering, a reader of any offering, or, otherwise, arising in respect of this postings and of the consequences of anything done or purported to be done by any such person in reliance, whether whole or partial, upon the whole or any part of the contents of these postings. If you respond to any posting OB or JREI and JCIR or attend any meeting from and by said companies, we fully expect that you get independent legal/tax/investment/mortgage advice as the case may be.

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