Doing the Math With interest rates up (slightly) and cap rates fairly low, why would investors keep buying properties? The answer, or a very big part of it, is in the magic of leveraging. It’s something that should always be at the forefront of your mind when considering the returns you’ll earn on an investment in real estate. Here’s why. When purchasing a home to live in, bu...Read More

The Higher the Value, the Harder to Price Not far from my home there are some very big homes indeed. One of those homes is often cited as the most expensive property in all of British Columbia. This has always given me pause, first of all because this property would never be my first choice if I had all the money in the world and intended to spend a vast sum on my primary residence in Vancouver. ...Read More

The Other Shoe Drops A minor change in the housing market trajectory is bound to happen from time to time, and a major change will occur with less frequency but is still going to happen if you just wait long enough. Those major shifts are destabilizing for everyone, but if your plan can’t withstand some minor downturn then you need a new plan. If your property taxes increase from $10K to $...Read More

Begin Again When people get started with their property searches, there is often a period where buyers need to compare relative values in different area. That’s because, while some individuals are firmly committed to a very specific area for the purchase of their home or investment property, most are willing to consider a few different options as far as neighbourhoods go, depending on how m...Read More

When you’re actively looking at real estate prices on a daily or weekly basis, either because this is part of your job or you happen to be in the middle of buying or selling a property and you want to keep a close watch on things, it can paradoxically become harder to notice big shifts in the market.   Why is this so?   Changes in real estate values for whole markets are usually de...Read More