Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Sheri Brown is one of 32 of the Most Popular Realtors giving Home Buying Tips!

I was excited to be chosen to participate in an Article on Home Buyer Nation entiled "32 Home Buying Tips from Some of the World’s Most Popular Realtors" by Scott Riley. This is an interesting article in which there are 32 unique and uncommon tips for the New Home Buyer. In addition to myself, there are three agents from the hit TV Show "Million Dollar Listing" as well who give their tips! Sheri Brown's tip is Tip #25! Check it out here!

Monday, September 9, 2013

Fraser Valley Real Estate getting busy!

Continued improvement in Fraser Valley’s housing market SURREY, BC – Buyers and sellers continued to show greater confidence in the market last month as home sales on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) edged closer to typical levels. The Board processed 1,258 sales in August, an increase of 17 per cent compared to the 1,073 sales in August of last year however, the volume remains 13 per cent below the 10-year average for the month. Ron Todson, President of the Board, explains, “The best way to describe our market currently is one of continued, modest improvement as buyers and sellers become more confident." “In the last month in the Fraser Valley, we’ve seen an increase in sellers willing to accept an offer subject to another sale, we’re seeing fewer deals collapse and we’re seeing more move-up buyers, either improving on the size or quality of their existing home. These are all indicators of a return to a more typical, stable market.” In terms of inventory, the Board received 2,353 new listings in August, a decrease of 2 per cent compared to the 2,406 new listings received during the same month last year – leaving the volume of active properties at 10,127 a decrease of 2 per cent compared to August 2012. Todson says, “An important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand is the number of months it would take to sell our existing inventory. We’re currently sitting at eight months’ supply in the Fraser Valley, indicating a balanced market, which is also being reflected in the stability of home prices. “Home prices generally remain unchanged or down slightly from a year ago; however, do check with your local REALTOR® if you’re in need of specific values because the range between property type and community can be sizeable.” In August, the benchmark price of single family detached homes in the Fraser Valley was $551,000, virtually on par with $551,400 during the same month last year. For townhouses, the benchmark price was $298,200, a decrease of 1.6 per cent compared to $303,000 in August 2012 and the benchmark price of apartments was $203,900, 1.3 per cent less than in August 2012 when it was $206,600. It's a good time to get out there and find your dream home!

New Listing!! 214-9682 134th Street only $188,000

Fantastic and bright corner end unit! Backing on to the back of the building overlooking a green area, very quiet and good location. Two large bedrooms and a bathroom. Newer appliances with ceramic top stove and tri-clean quiet dishwasher. Newer lighting, crown molding and updated paint! Tiled floor in the bathroom and kitchen area. Large and spacious floorplan at over 1011 sq ft. Walking distance to skytrain, hospital, shopping and schools! Call today for more info!!

Monday, August 12, 2013

Yikes!! City of Vancouver taxpayers facing upwards of $300-million loss on Olympic Village

From The Province Newspaper: VANCOUVER — In early 2009, Mayor Gregor Robertson warned Vancouver taxpayers that they were on the hook for “all of” the $1.1-billion Olympic Village project. After five years that dire statement is coming much closer to reality. The Province’s analysis shows that with marketing costs still mounting, and about 130 hard-to-sell village homes left, when the last unit is sold final taxpayer losses of over $300 million seem realistic. In 2010 a receiver, Ernst & Young, was tasked by the city to regain as much as possible of the $750 million owed to taxpayers, after developer Millennium defaulted. The $750-million loan didn’t include $171 million that the city was owed by Millennium for waterfront land that the village was built on. The city’s latest financial statements say that after writing off a $50-million loan loss, about $300 million remains to be paid. The problem is, real-estate experts say the remaining village homes generally have the worst layouts and views. According to The Province’s rough estimates, potential sales revenue might only come to about $100 million, after expenses. That means taxpayers seem likely to owe over $200 million and lose the value of the land. The city reviewed The Province’s analysis for this story and offered a response: “The financing for the village is a work in progress,” the city stated. “The city cannot predict the outcome of the village financing at this time.” In an interview, University of B.C. real-estate expert Tsur Somerville said: “I don’t think there is anything the city can do to mitigate the losses they will experience. “The best case was that the city got the loan paid off and got nothing for the land, and it doesn’t even seem to be looking at that anymore,” Somerville said. “The less-desirable units take longer to sell, but now they are trying to sell those units with a whole bunch of competing units coming on the market in that area.” But the village has bounced back since being labelled a “ghost town” in 2010. The latest reports show about 90-per-cent occupancy, plus thriving shops. But successful marketing and promotion efforts have come at a significant cost, and the bill continues to mount. The latest court-ordered marketing update from Ernst & Young shows that as of June, 339 units have been sold by the receiver, for proceeds of $331 million. The receiver gave the city $250 million. The rest of the money was gobbled up by real-estate-agent and marketing costs, strata fees, mounting legal fees, unexpected repair and maintenance bills and the receiver’s management fees of over $5 million. “The involvement by the receiver has exceeded its original estimates,” Ernst & Young’s June report reiterates, also noting that sales of a final 135 units will slow down “due to the remaining mix of inventory.” So the question is, when should city hall cut off the small army of real-estate agents, lawyers and accountants that have nursed the village back to life? Vision Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs, council’s expert on village finances, said he couldn’t comment. Meggs directed questions to the receiver, Craig Munro. “There are still too many variables to attempt an estimate of total final revenue,” Munro responded to The Province’s questions. NPA parks board commissioner John Coupar, meanwhile, said buying a condo in the village two years ago looks like a successful investment. “When we first moved down here it was pretty quiet and it was a bit of a leap of faith that it would work out,” Coupar said. “I’m not that familiar with the financial ins and outs, but from a residents’ point of view I think the place will come alive, and over time it will be seen as a real positive thing for the city.” scooper@theprovince.com twitter.com/scoopercooper

Sunday, August 11, 2013

A Fun moment with the Team!

Filming our latest video at the new listing in Surrey the team was busy filming and taking pics! It was another sunny day in Surrey!

New Exciting Listing in Surrey!

Sheri Brown Associates took a new listing over the weekend! 3 Bedrooms and a Den, with over 2100 sq Feet! Double car side x side garage, playground right there for the kids to play, gated complex all on a quiet street. You can't go wrong with four, yes that's right four sundecks! GOTO Sheri Brown & Associates for all the details!

Fraser Valley Real Estate is Heating up!

From the FVREB Press Release!! Buyers and sellers in the Fraser Valley took advantage of the record breaking hours of sunshine in July as both sales and listings on the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) experienced a noticeable lift. We had an increase of 5 per cent compared to the 1,393 sales in July of last year and 10 per cent more than were processed in June. By historical comparison, sales in July ranked sixth going back to 2004. For over a year, monthly sales in Fraser Valley have been trending at 10-year lows. “We’re likely experiencing some pent-up demand coming off some very slow winter months, tiny changes in mortgage rates are always incentive for many buyers, and let’s not underestimate our glorious weather. For our buyers and sellers, a return to a normal, balanced market is welcome news.” The Board received 2,777 new listings in July – 5 per cent fewer than received during the same month last year, but 6 per cent more than were received in June – leaving the volume of active properties at 10,428 a decrease of 4 per cent compared to July 2012. In July, the benchmark price of single family detached homes in the Fraser Valley was $551,000, virtually on par with $551,400 during the same month last year. For townhouses, the benchmark price was $297,800, a decrease of 1.8 per cent compared to $303,400 in July 2012 and the benchmark price of apartments was $202,000, 2 per cent less than in July 2012 when it was $206,200. If you are considering a move now would be a great time to explore the new listing out there!

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Lower inventory keeps home prices in check as ‘slow but steady’ market continues Says The FVREB

April, 03 2013 09:38:56 am, by FVREB Categories: Statistics In March, the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,128 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®), a 20 per cent decrease compared to the 1,412 sales during the same month last year, and a 24 per cent increase compared to February’s 913 sales. The Board also received 11 per cent fewer new listings in March compared to last year – 2,736 compared to 3,066 – keeping inventory in check. March finished with 9,503 active listings, 1.5 per cent fewer than March of last year and 3.5 per cent fewer than the 9,832 available during March of 2009; the highest volume of active listings for that month in the last decade. Ron Todson, President of the Board, explains, “Although we saw a typical spring uptick in activity from February to March, our sales remained at about 70 per cent of the norm for March and our new listings came in at 90 per cent of what the Board would typically receive. “Because inventory levels are in check, prices are staying in check.” In March, the benchmark price of single family detached homes in the Fraser Valley was $544,300, an increase of 0.6 per cent compared to $541,300 during the same month last year. For townhouses, the benchmark price was $298,200, a decrease of 1.7 per cent compared to $303,400 in March 2012 and the benchmark price of apartments was $204,200, an increase of 0.8 per cent compared to $202,500 in March 2012. Todson adds, “Inventory levels are not as high as they need to be to put significant downward pressure on prices of the benchmark, or ‘typical’ home. These are homes that have characteristics most common to houses in a given community. “In fact, we’re seeing the reverse happen. Benchmark prices for all three main property types in the Fraser Valley increased in value during the first quarter of 2013. Since January, detached homes are up by 1 per cent, townhomes by 0.6 per cent; and apartments by 2 per cent.”

Monday, February 11, 2013

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

7 Habits of Highly Effective Home Buyers

7 Habits of Highly Effective Home Buyers Effective Habit #1: Get pre-qualified (or pre-approved) for a loan You can’t effectively search for homes if you don’t know how much home you can afford. In today’s lending environment, it is crucial to know BEFORE you begin a home search what type of mortgage, and how much of a mortgage you can get. It is crucial to work with a good lender throughout the home buying process. If you don’t know a lender, ask your agent for a few recommendations. Interview a couple of lenders and pick one and stick with them. Few things add more stress and headache to a real estate sales transaction than changing lenders mid-stream. Find a lender that won’t just tell you the maximum amount of a mortgage you can get, rather find one that understands that qualifying for a certain amount and being able to make the payments are two different things. Effective Habit #2: Define your must haves, like to haves, and can not haves Determine what you MUST have in a home. Then determine what you would LIKE to have in a home. Talk to your agent about these things. Don’t forget to include what you CAN’T have in a home — that will often be more important than anything else. Don’t know exactly what you must/like/can’t have in a home? That’s OK, it happens ALL the time. Your agent can help you by showing you different homes with different features to help you get a better understanding of what you’d like in a home. But at some point you are going to have to make decisions and not wander aimlessly about, looking at any home that may possibly fit some undefined set of criteria. That would be a waste of your time, and the time of your agent, the home sellers, your lender and everyone else that is involved in a real estate transaction. Effective Habit #3: Be realistic Buying a short sale and expecting the owner to make a bunch of repairs (or any repairs)? Good luck with that. Buying a home and thinking if the home inspector finds anything wrong with it, i’m not buying the house? Well you might as well stop right now because I can assure your there aren’t any homes where the inspector finds nothing to report. Get your brand new built to your order home constructed and an inspector will find some items to address (and yes, you should get a new build home inspected — more than once). Effective Habit #4: Be flexible As a home buyer, it is important to be flexible. Unless you are having a home built to your exact specifications, it’s very unlikely that you will find the absolutely perfect home for you. Maybe you find a home that has everything except the perfect kind of flooring, colors, cabinets, whatever. If you have some flexibility built into your must haves and likes, you will find the entire process much less painful. Understand that in most cases there is a living breathing human being involved in the other side of your transaction. Home sellers are people too. Nit-picking them to death in negotiations and repairs isn’t likely to do much good and could quite possibly do harm. This isn’t to say you should cave to every demand the sellers make. You should stand firm on things that really matter and be flexible where you can be in order to move the transaction along. Effective Habit #5: Understand the home buying process You don’t need to understand every nuance of the home buying process — that is your agent’s job. But the more you do understand, the less stressful and mystifying the process will be. Trust me, buying a home is a stressful event. Anything you can do to reduce that stress will go a long way not just toward saving your sanity but in helping ensure the transaction moves to closing. One of the most important things to understand is your purchase contract. There are two parties to a real estate contract — you the buyer, and the seller. Regardless of exactly who/what owns the home you are buying, you are entering into a legally binding contract when you have your offer accepted, and there are obligations that contract binds you to do. There are timelines that must be complied with, and if they are not, you can suffer some pretty serious / expensive consequences. Your agent, your lawyer, your lender, your title company, the appraiser — all will work diligently to ensure a successful closing, but ultimately they are not parties to the contract. YOU need to (with advice from your agent and/or attorney) understand all the terms and conditions of your contract. It is also helpful to understand the escrow, appraisal and lending processes. The successful completion of each of these are fundamental to your closing on your new home. Do not be afraid to ask your agent questions. Lots of questions. Be advised that everyone in the process tends to toss about terms and acronyms that only those dealing with this stuf fon a daily basis understand. Sometimes we forget we’re speaking in a different language. Don’t be shy. If there’s a term you don’t understand, ask. Effective Habit #6: Be responsible As a home buyer, you are going to have to work with a lot of different people in order to make sure your transaction progresses and ultimately closes. Yes, your agent will take on the burden of most of this, but you are still ultimately responsible for your actions. You are (most likely) financing your new home. As such, it makes sense that you need to be responsible for maintaining your credit worthiness while your mortgage is being processed. Listen to your agent and lender and don’t go buying a car before your mortgage processing is done (yes, I’ve seen it happen). In fact, don’t buy anything on credit without speaking to your lender. And if you think you can quit your job a week before closing and still get that mortgage, think again (yep, seen that too). When you are looking at potential homes, be responsible and respectful that you are in someone else’s home. It’s OK to look in their closets, to flip light switches, to turn on the stove. But be responsible and leave the home in exactly the same condition you found it in. Much of this habit really boils down to two things: 1) use common sense; and 2) treat others how you expect to be treated. Effective Habit #7: Have fun! Take a look around at lists of “life’s most stressful events” and you’ll see things like taking on new debt, financial change, moving — that’s buying a house folks. You are about to enter into one of the singel largest financial transactions of your life. Stress is a given. But buying a home is also an exciting time! There isn’t a law that requires you to mope around, dreading every moment. There’s nothing wrong with having fun during the process. Hopefully you’ve selected an agent that you enjoy working with. Ditto for your lender. That doesn’t mean you all need to participate in group hugs or go camping together and join hands around the campfire singing Kum Ba Ya. But it’s OK to laugh, to enjoy yourself, to have a little fun in the process. Thompson, Jay. "7 Habits of Highly Effective Home Buyers." The Phoenix Real Estate Guy. N.p., 26 Oct. 2011. Web. 17 Jan. 2013.

Monday, January 14, 2013

Another New listing!

A new listing, 1 bedroom and 1 bathroom on the ground floor in beautiful South Slope Burnaby. For $5000 under assessed value at $220,000 this is a great buy. Close to Skytrain and shopping. The building backs onto a nice greenspace and close to walking trails. Ready for your new paint colours and to move in! Call today for your private viewing!

Monday, January 7, 2013

Good News for the New Year! 2013 will be another great year for Real Estate.

In todays paper an article came out saying "Single Family Homes are still winners in property price race!" Also, from last week "Buyers waiting for a housing bubble to burst could be waiting a long time." The market from all indications, as per the BC Real Estate Association says it's unlikly that the prices will drop dramatically and we will start to see stronger sales in the next few months. There is strong growth in full time jobs and interest rates still being at a historic low are said to remain that way for the time being. It's a great time to start thinking about listing your home or getting it ready for the Spring Market coming. If you would like more info please feel free to call Sheri Brown at 604-590-4888 or sheri@sheribassociates.ca