Blair Smith, Vancouver Realtor. "...The.BS.Report..."

Open House in Yaletown on Saturday Under $415K

Yaletown, Vancouver  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at #1007-888 Hamilton Street on February 11 from 1-3:00 PM.

Leashed dogs welcome.

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$414,800 1+ Condo, larger dogs allowed, rental friendly, all Downtown Vancouver. You can even BBQ on your balcony.

Yaletown meets Robson, Vancouver  -  #1007-888 Hamilton Street, a  renovated 655 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm + flex space. Insuite laundry, parking and external storage all included.  Now MLS® $414,800 - .

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Helping YOU Make ALL the RIGHT Moves.

604-313-8732 voice/text or homes(at)blairsmith.ca for personal attentive service.

Vancouver West performance better than others. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver REBGV releases January 2012 Statistics

*New Listing *Open House. King Sized 1 Bed+ Downtown Vancouver Condo For Sale $418,000

Yaletown meets Robson, Vancouver  -  We invite everyone to visit our first open house at #1007-888 Hamilton Street, Friday  January 13/2012.  10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Leashed dogs welcome!

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New Listing Open Saturday Jan 14. 655ft 1bd +den + balcony +parking +locker = $418,800

Yaletown meets Robson, Condo for Sale, Downtown Vancouver  - 
We invite everyone to visit our open house at #1007-888 Hamilton Street on Sat. Jan. 14 from 1 to 3 PM.
Leashed Dogs Welcome at Rosedale Garden. See you all soon.

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Coming Soon. Rare North Burnaby Bachelor by Bosa

...and it is brand new, with storage locker and parking! And rentable.
Hint: Affinity with a Mt. Baker view.
Let me know if you would like more information when it becomes available early in 2012.

-Blair 604-313-8732

Social media great for a rainy day!

Vancouver, North Vancouver, Burnaby. December 28, 2011.

As I huddle by the fire with my laptop, I am catching up with friends, family and clients- all through social media.

While I prefer face time to Facebook, and a real chat versus Twitter, these toys/tools serve their purpose. They are what you make of them. I use Hootsuite ( a Vancouver company ) to coordinate them all, including LinkedIn and a charity that I manage their Twitter profile.

I increasingly enjoy getting my news snippets electronically, and thank my networks for posting things of interest. Politics, business, real estate, philanthropy and upcoming events. I just watched Meryl Streep's "Kennedy Centre Honors" (US spelling) thanks to a friend who posted the YouTube clip. I had forgotten to PVR it, and it is a year end indulgence. Worth a watch.

So, if you are expanding your horizons, playing with some new techno toys, and you want to interact or just be a voyeur:

Follow me: www.twitter.com/agentblair

Link up: http://www.linkedin.com/in/blairsmithrealtor

Friend me: https://www.facebook.com/agentblair

I have resisted many other social platforms, so if you invite me to one of those- I may respectfully decline. As I said, it is a personal decision how social media does or doesn't work for you.

With my clients, I always ask how they best chooses to interact. Some prefer email, some want texts to "call me when you are free", and others actually like getting succinct voicemails if they cannot answer when I call.

A final bit of advice: DON'T talk online about your real estate negotiations, motivations, anxieties over an inspection etcetera.
People like me Google the competition looking for any leg up for my clients.

Cheers, and all the best for 2012!

 or just call me: 604-313-8732. Helping YOU Make All The RIGHT Moves.

Crosstown Price Change

Vancouver Downtown West 

November Special, New Price on $469,900. Call or Text me 604-313-8732 almost anytime!

http://www.blairsmith.ca/Listing/VirtualTour.aspx?ListingID=45474698

October 2011 REBGV Real Estate STATISTICS, Greater Vancouver

Greetings,
As always I am of the opinion that statistics are tools to tell us what HAS happened, and to help us understand what MAY happen in the future. There is a wealth of information in the attached file for your perusal.
If you would like more "drilled down" stats that pertain to your specific needs, such as neighbourhood, condo building etc, please just ask, - I am happy to do that and help interpret the information for you to make informed decisions to meet your goals. -Blair

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Greater Vancouver at lower end of balanced housing market

VANCOUVER, B.C. – November 2, 2011

– With a sales-to-active property listings ratio of 15 per cent, the Greater

Vancouver housing market continues to hover at the lower end of a balanced market and has been trending in that

direction over the past five months.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached

and apartment properties on the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) system reached 2,317 in October, a 1

per cent decrease compared to the 2,337 sales in October 2010 and a 3.2 per cent increase compared to the previous

month. Those sales rank as the second lowest total for October over the last 10 years.

“Right now, prospective home buyers have a good selection of properties to choose from and more time to make

decisions,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “Home sellers should be mindful of local market conditions to

ensure they are pricing their properties competitively.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 4,374 in October, which

is on par with the 10-year average. This represents an 18.3 per cent increase compared to October 2010, when 3,698

properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, and a 23 per cent decrease compared to the 5,680 new listings reported

in September 2011.

The total number of properties listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® system currently sits at 15,377,

which is 9.3 per cent higher than the 14,075 properties listed for sale during the same period last year. October was the

first month that the total number of property listings showed a decrease this year.

The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over

the last 12 months has increased 7.5 per cent to $622,955 in October 2011 from $579,349 in October 2010. However,

since reaching a peak in June of $630,921, the benchmark price for all residential properties in the region has declined

1.3 per cent.

Sales of detached properties in October reached 974, which represents virtually no change from the 976 detached

sales recorded in October 2010, and a 34.5 per cent decrease from the 1,487 units sold in October 2009. The benchmark

price for detached properties increased 11 per cent from October 2010 to $884,778, but decreased 1.3 per cent

compared to the previous month.

Sales of apartment properties reached 958 in October, a 2.6 per cent decrease compared to the 984 sales in October

2010, and a decrease of 40.4 per cent compared to the 1,607 sales in October 2009. The benchmark price of an

apartment property increased 3.2 per cent from October 2010 to $402,702, but decreased 0.7 per cent compared to the

previous month.

Attached property sales in October totalled 382, a 1.3 per cent increase compared to the 377 sales in October 2010,

and a 37.4 per cent decrease from the 610 attached properties sold in October 2009. The benchmark price of an attached

unit increased 6.5 per cent between October 2010 and 2011 to $519,455, and increased half a per cent compared

to the previous month.

End of quoted article.

Please see the end of this post for the whole Statistics package including charts and graphs!

Best regards,     -Blair

  Helping You Make All The Right Moves. 604-313-8732

Open House in Downtown West on Sunday. Crosstown 2 bedroom +++.

Downtown West, Crosstown  -  We invite everyone to visit our open house at 706-111 West Georgia on October 23 from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. Or call for your private appointment to view beforehand.

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Just Listed, Only OPEN House Friday 14th 10-12. $225K

Downtown West, Vancouver  -  We invite everyone to visit our only open house at #106-1333 Hornby on October 14 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. Perfect investment condo, office, pied-a-terre.

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New Listing, Corner 2 Bedroom Suite with everything you ask for.

Pride of ownership shows throughout.

• 815 sq. ft., 2 bedroom plus Flex "Quiet NW Corner" - MLS® $488,800

Downtown West, Vancouver  -  Here's your new home featuring 2 bedrooms and an office space at the centre of it all in downtown Vancouver. Mere blocks from the seawall, transit, fine dining and funky shopping.

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Labour Day Long Weekend

Please take the time to be safe on the roads this weekend, wherever you are.

Whether you are hanging around home, heading to Jazz Fest at Whistler, wine country in the Okanagan, or ferrying to Victoria - I sincerely hope that you have a great time, and don't encounter or become a statistic.

Be courteous to fault, drive - bike - walk defensively, and have fun.
Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you soon,

I am here in Vancouver and available for you, cheers.

_

Links to Updated Info for First Time Home Buyers in BC.

Vancouver and all of BC.

Keep up to date on Government Policies and Procedures. 
This information was received from the Provincial Government recently, August 11, 2011

This is notification of a document revision.

Document: The First Time Home Buyers' Program

Source: Property Taxation Branch

URL: http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/brochures/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.pdf

The First Time Home Buyers' Program publications linked below have been updated to clarify when the penalty provision applies. In addition, First Time Home Buyers' Program - Example Calculations, is a new document containing the examples that were previously in the Guide. Minor wording and organizational changes have also been made to the publications for consistency and clarity.

Bulletin PTT 004, First Time Home Buyers' Program http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/bulletins/ptt_004.pdf

Property Transfer Tax and the First Time Home Buyers' Program brochure http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/brochures/FirstTimeHomeBuyer.pdf

Guide to the First Time Home Buyers' Program http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/forms/0269.pdf

First Time Home Buyers' Program - Example Calculations http://www.sbr.gov.bc.ca/documents_library/forms/0269examples.pdf

* end of quote:

Of course I am always available to review these types of things with exisitng and new clients, just ask!

Blair Smith

604-313-8732

............

Kits Point 1 bedroom condo Priced To Sell. $325,000

Kits Point, Kitsilano Vancouver West  -  Announcing a price reduction on 202-1450 Laburnum, a 563 sq. ft., 1 bath, 1 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $325,000 - New price August 11th.

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