If you’ve ever bought or sold a home in Canada, you’re probably aware that title to your property provides legal proof that you are the owner and lists any current encumbrances, such as mortgages, easements and liens. In other words, it tells sellers exactly what they have and buyers exactly what they are getting.
BC (where the government is the keeper of the master record of all land and owners)has perhaps the most efficient land title system in the world. Here, the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) administers the land title system, which provides the foundation for all real property business and ownership in the province.
Title and mortgage fraud cases are rare. In the last two decades, out of 16 million real estate transactions processed, only 17 fraud claims have been submitted to the Land Title Office for resolution.
Source: SHK Law Corporation
The Next Generation of Homebuyers
For a recent survey, Mortgage Professionals of Canada interviewed people under 40 years old who were interested in being homeowners. Here’s some of what they said:
- 72% agree that mortgages are good debt, and 76% agree real estate is a good long-term investment. 58% are optimistic about the economy in the next 12 months (survey released in June).
- The decision to buy is often influenced by key life events: start a family (33%), getting a promotion/raise (30%), getting married (29%), inheritance (8%).
- Primary down payment sources are personal savings (73%), gift/loan from a family member (36%), TFSA (33%) and RRSP (29%).
Average Home Values Growing Faster Than Mortgages
From March 2007 until spring of this year, average Canadian home prices surged 70% to $508,567, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Over the same period, the size of the average mortgage jumped 71% to $181,000, according to comparative data from RBC (2007) and Manulife (2016).
However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that banks are financing all of the growth in house prices. Between 2007 and 2016, the average mortgage amount has risen $75,443, while the mean home value has surged $209,190 – nearly three times as much.
Source: Canadianmortgagesinc.ca
Population : Construction
Population growth compared to building permits
A comparison of the growth in Greater Vancouver’s population over the past few years and the number of residential building permits shows that the rate of growth of our population is trending lower, while the number of units constructed is trending up.
If these trends continue, the housing and rental crunch should begin to ease.
Source: BC Stats
Greater Vancouver Market Trends
Benchmark price of a “typical” home
The number of homes sold in all categories – attached, detached and apartments – is lower than for the same month a year ago, but the difference is greatest for detached home sales.
Benchmark Prices, which rose significantly over the course of the year, may be softening slightly but are still much higher than a year ago.
The total number of listings for sale is 21.9% fewer than a year ago; the ratio of sales to total active listings in August was 29.3%, still strongly indicative of a seller’s market.
Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver