Maria Mak Realtor's Blog

The new MLS® Home Price Index: What’s new, what’s different?

Maria Mak — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 18:40:15 +0000

As announced in December, a new national home price index will launch in February. This index will replace the MLS®Link Housing Price Index, which has been used by Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley REALTORS® since the mid 1990s.

The new index was developed by five of Canada’s largest real estate boards – Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal – in partnership with the Canadian Real Estate Association and will be called the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI).

The six partners contracted with Altus Group to develop this new tool which, similar to the previous index, will allow housing price trends to be traced over time for different areas within participating board markets and for different property types. The MLS® HPI will also allow for comparisons between local and national markets.

Our current HPI – launched in 1995 in Fraser Valley and 1996 in Greater Vancouver – is widely recognized as providing the most accurate indication of housing price trends in our market, but it’s not usable outside of the Lower Mainland because no other market has comparable data.

“The MLS® HPI is a national collaboration intended to further position REALTORS® and the industry as the most credible and reliable source of real estate data in the country,” Rosario Setticasi, Board president said.
What will change?

The MLS® HPI will replace our existing MLS®Link Housing Price Index. MLS® HPI statistics should not be compared with previous MLS®Link HPI statistics. There will be a few notable changes to the index in the Greater Vancouver market.

Re-indexing

All indexes have a common base. The new MLS® HPI will be indexed to equal 100 in January 2005. The previous MLS®Link HPI was indexed to 2001. Sales prior to 2005 will not be considered in the MLS® HPI.

HPI values track relative price levels by comparing current prices to price levels in a base (reference) period. Because the base period is always 100, REALTORS® can quickly infer the extent to which prices have changed relative to the base period.

For example, if the MLS® HPI value for apartment units in September 2011 was 105.1, this indicates that apartment units in September 2011 had increased 5.1 per cent compared to 2005.

Property types

The MLS® HPI will provide benchmark price trend data for the three main property types: detached, attached, and apartment.

An expanded set of property categories will also be available to members, including one-storey and two-storey homes. A composite category has also been created to track residential activity across all property types in different areas within the region.

Areas

New property markets have been added to increase the scope of the HPI. Some HPI markets have also been redefined to produce more complete data.

Updating the “benchmark” home attributes

An HPI measures how home prices change over time and provides benchmark prices of homes with “typical” characteristics in a given area. It takes into consideration what averages and medians do not – items such as lot size, age, number of rooms, etc. The most commonly traded set of these attributes makes up the typical or ‘benchmark’ house. Prices paid for homes with these attributes determine benchmark home prices.

Similar to the MLS®Link HPI, MLS® HPI benchmark prices will represent the price of a typical property within a given area or sub-area. The typical or benchmark home attributes for the area and sub-areas within the Board have been updated and will be reflected in the MLS® HPI.

For all your premium real estate services, please contact Maria Mak and her team at Sutton Centre Realty @ 604-839-6368 or visit her website www.mariamak.com, You’ll be smiling too!

Listed vs Sold Listings in Burnaby from 2010 to 2011

Maria Mak — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:13:02 +0000

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s graphs let you compare homes listed to homes for sale in neighbourhoods throughout Greater Vancouver. The charts also show overall activity in the areas and trends.

Units listed is the number of homes listed for sale in that month.

Units sold is the number of homes sold in that month.

Active listings is the number of homes listed for sale in that month plus the number of homes previously listed that haven’t sold yet.

For all your premium real estate services, please contact Maria Mak and her team at Sutton Centre Realty @ 604-839-6368 or visit her website @ www.mariamak.com, You’ll be smiling too!

If you don’t agree with your 2012 Property Assessment, what would you do?

Maria Mak — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:58:02 +0000

Notice of Complaint (Appeal) Process

The first level of appeal of a property assessment is to the Property Assessment Review Panel (“PARP”). The deadline to file a 2012 notice of complaint (appeal) to the Property Assessment Review Panel is January 31.

PARP hearings take place between February 1 and March 15 each year. PARP members are members of the public appointed by the Minister responsible for BC Assessment, currently the Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development. At this level, the appeal is called a review or complaint. Any person is entitled to file a complaint about their own or another assessment on the grounds set out in s. 32 of the Assessment Act and to have that assessment reviewed by a PARP. The review process provides options to have your property assessment concerns addressed. If you have concerns about your property assessment, you may discuss them with BC Assessment prior to filing a complaint. If there is an agreement to make an amendment through this informal process, a recommendation can be presented to the Panel on your behalf and your attendance at the hearing is not required. For more information on Property Assessment Review Panels, click here. Please note that appointment availability may be limited as not all panels sit throughout the six week hearing timeframe (February 1 – March 15).

To file a notice of complaint (appeal) to the Property Assessment Review Panel, you can use the Online Notice of Complaint (Appeal) Form here.

Notice of complaint (appeal) must be filed with the assessor by January 31 at 11:59 p.m. PST. For more information, refer to our Property Assessment Review Process Fact Sheet and the links provided on the right.

If you pay taxes to a First Nation taxing authority, please check your assessment notice for information regarding assessment appeals as the provincial assessment appeal system and deadlines may not apply.

For all your premium real estate services, please contact Maria Mak and her team at Sutton Centre Realty @ 604-839-6368 or visit her website @ www.mariamak.com, You’ll be smiling too!

Any more questions, please visit http://www.bcassessment.bc.ca/Pages/default.aspx for more detailed information.

Maria Mak – 2012 New Year’s Resolution

Maria Mak — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 16:37:31 +0000

Happy New Year from Maria Mak

artsy Burnaby realtor @ Sutton Centre Realty

2012 New Year’s resolution – be a better person everyday!

Maria Mak – Sutton Centre Realty – Happy Holidays!

Maria Mak — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 07:12:03 +0000

Wishing all my clients and my friends

Happy Holidays!

Maria Mak – Artsy Realtor – Donate generously and make a difference today!

Maria Mak — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:06:33 +0000

In this festive holidays, please help those less fortunate and make a difference today!

Donate your helping heart is the best gift for this jolly happy holidays!

Maria Mak – Burnaby Real Estate Agent – Season’s Greetings

Maria Mak — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 20:36:41 +0000

Wishing all my friends and my clients

Happy Holidays

and all the best in 2012!

Maria Mak @ Sutton Centre Realty – Merry X’mas!!

Maria Mak — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 00:03:37 +0000

Drawing by Maria Mak

Wishing all my clients and my friends happy holidays,

keep on chasing your dreams like I do in 2012!

Maria Mak – Burnaby Realtor_The essential Real Estate Investment Team

Maria Mak — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 23:15:40 +0000

The Essential Real Estate Investment Team

We have all heard the phrase, “two heads are better than one.” When it comes to real estate investment, having the right team of professionals walk you through the myriad of steps involved is not only better than doing it alone – it is absolutely essential. Three key professionals who will enhance your real estate investment experience are your Realtor, Real Estate Lawyer and Real Estate Accountant.

Selecting a good realtor will provide an investor with smart, informed and objective guidance in the search for the ideal real estate investment. A knowledgeable realtor can help you strategize and answer important questions you might have. Beyond that, an experienced realtor may have valuable insight into reputations of builders, mortgage brokers and potential contacts with other important professionals to have on your investment team.

Real estate lawyers oversee the legal transfer of the property to ensure their client’s interests and rights are preserved. They review the purchase contract, conduct title searches and obtain registrations on title to spot potential red flags and complete other important aspects of due diligence required.

One of the primary concerns of any investor is to maximize profitability and minimize cost. A real estate accountant can help you maximize the potential in your real estate investment by offering advice and guidance to help you understand how your business decisions affect your income and tax obligations. Your accountant can guide you through the process of structuring your investment and operating your business in the most suitable manner.

The expertise of a real estate accountant will be key to setting up your investment in a tax efficient way so that your investment is able to generate the most income for you. Your accountant will help you keep track of important matters that are easily overlooked through bookkeeping that is tailored to your investment.

For some investors who need more specialized tax advice on overseas issues or sophisticated business holdings, a real estate accountant can help review tax cases, file complex tax returns, develop comprehensive tax plans to achieve business goals and help clients consider the pros and cons of various ways to hold properties, such as proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, or even family trusts.

The most important member of your team though, is you. As necessary as a realtor, lawyer and accountant are, in the end, they are only a support system. When choosing to invest in a property, you need to be asking the right questions. Start off by practicing due diligence and looking into the status and trends of the current market environment. For example, a region with positive job growth implies strong growth potential and low unemployment rates, making the location a good place to invest in. Another example would be risk assessment. Although risks cannot be eliminated, they certainly can be managed. Market fluctuations, vacant rental units, damage and disrepair are all part and parcel of property investment. Assessing risks through research before purchasing will help to mitigate foreseeable challenges.

Having a good realtor, lawyer and accountant on your side as part of your real estate investment team will ensure that you are making an informed investment that is in compliance with the law and ultimately, aimed at maximizing profitability. The caveat is that in order for your team to ensure success, you have to remember to do your part too.

Contact Maria Mak and her team for all your premium real estate services and creative financing at Sutton Centre Realty @604-839-6368 or visit her websites www.mariamak.com, You’ll be smiling too.

Maria Mak – Burnaby Realtor – a small smudge in front of my big TV

Maria Mak — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 06:40:32 +0000

a small smudge in front of my big TV,

i am able to scratch it out but too deep to forget,

so close yet so distant,

between the sound and the sight,

i find myself torn between the gene and the gender

do i have to make a choice?

Drawing and written by Maria Mak-

my tribute to Bob Dylan on his 70th Birthday!