THIS SATURDAY MAY 12TH FROM 9AM TO 2PM WE WILL BE HOSTING OUR 3RD ANNUAL NEIGHBOURHOOD GARAGE SALE ...

OVER 75 HOMES WILL BE SELLING THEIR MISC WARES!

ALL SALES ARE IN BETWEEN 144TH ST AND 152ND ST / 56TH AVE AND 64TH AVE.

SIGNAGE AND ARROWS WILL BE HIGHLY VISIBLE. 

IN ADDITION, AREA MAPS SHOWING ALL PARTICIPATING HOMES WILL BE AT EACH SALE LOCATION FOR YOUR USE. 

RAIN OR SHINE SEE YOU OUT THERE AND NO EARLY BIRDS PLEASE! !

JENN & COLIN

Jenn and Colin,

" We have settled into our perfect home and we could not be happier:) Thank you very much for helping us during this process and thank you very much for the wine and glasses. We will be sharing the wine around the table tonight as we host our first family dinner.   We are looking forward to showing off our house to friends and family at our  house warming party.

You guys are awesome.

Thank you very kindly,"

Rebecca & Ryan

We love this time of year … getting ready for our annual neighbourhood garage sale - which this year has the largest enrollment yet - is a ton of fun.   If you live in Sullivan/Panorama and would like to register your home or just want to come to the neighbourhood and shop the sales you can learn more here: 

http://jennandcolin.com/blog.html/jenn-colin-real-estate-2012-sullivanpanorama-community-garage-sale-1759428

There are many different dynamics happening in the Real Estate markets right now and they all depend on location, property type and price point.  Some areas are seeing increased sales and decreased prices; while others are experiencing the reverse.  Overall modest sales combined with the seasonal increase in new listings is definitely keeping pricing in check as benchmark prices for all property types essentially remained unchanged from March of this year and townhomes and apartments are still on par with what they were last year.

Right now in the Sullivan / Panorama area we are experiencing a slight increase in new listings but not so in sales.  For the moment we wait for inventories to draw down.  Either way we are expecting a warmer weather rush in the next 30 days or so and that combined with the historically low mortgage rates (see attached dramatic graph!) we should see a steady and balanced spring market.  

Have a great day and hope to see you in the hood on the 12^th of May for the Jenn & Colin Neighbourhood Garage Sale!

Im sure right about now everyone is starting the big spring clean and getting out in their gardens – see you out there!

We may have jumped the gun in last months update when we noted an early start to the spring market was in swing.  Colin and I had an excellent month for sales in March (better than usual) however looking at the latest stats release from from the Fraser Valley Board it appears March was quieter than usual for

sales (-22%).

This will explain the ongoing grumblings amongst our colleagues!

Particularly down are the sales of detached homes priced at the higher end.  Last year detached home sales represented 63% of our residential market.  This March it dropped to 56% and FYI - the average sale price of detached homes in the Surrey/Cloverdale sub area for March was was $573,875. 

Also important to note for March, Fraser Valley Sales of detached homes greater than $500,000 decreased by 33% compared to last year explaining why average prices (which are skewed by high and low end sales) are showing decreases (-5.5%), while the benchmark prices (homes with typical characteristics for their neighbourhood) are showing increases (+6.8%) when compared to 2011.

For mortgage rates there is good news for both buyers and sellers!  Our broker Tonia Jacobson http://www.toniajacobsen.com/ gave us the scoop:

First off, The government decided not to change the mortgage rules at this time.  For months now the industry talk has been relentless that the government will act and tighten mortgage rules.  So for now at least, things will not become any more challenging.

Secondly, rates are on the rise this week.  Most of the  major banks have already increased the 4 and 5yr terms.  As of now the 2.99% 4yr rate and the 2.98% 5yr rate are still available at some lenders.  There are many pre-approvals happening right now as there is nothing like a little rate increase to help people see that these rates are INCREDIBLE and shouldn’t be missed.

Summary:

• Buyers if you haven’t already – better get pre-approved asap.  You can call Tonia at 604-618-2403 to make this happen.
• Sellers if you are thinking of a sale this year time to start the de-cluttering and gardening in hopes of exposing your home to the market this spring. 

Buying or selling, as I’m sure you know we would love to be the realtors you call first!

Dear clients, neighbours, friends and family,

Over the last month Colin and I have been enjoying a surge in home sales and new listings coming onto the market and are hopeful for a stable and steady 2012 housing market.

Here are some finer points for all of us to consider moving forward -

The Fraser Valley (MLS Service) recorded a 59% increase in sales in Feb compared to Jan of this year -  closer to home the Surrey/Cloverdale sub- area experienced a 62% increase in sales.  These seasonal increases are typical for February however; these increases are not as robust as they have been in years past. Ie: Feb sales for the Fraser Valley finished at 4% fewer than the 10yr average for that month.

New Listings for the Fraser Valley are up 3% compared to January and up 4% compared to Feb 2011.  But, although the market has picked up its still favoring buyers.  We also expect the “HST transition rules” and the newly introduced “first time buyer / new home refundable tax credit bonus of up to 10,000” (till March 31, 2013) to help prop up buyer activity moving into 2013. (Please call us for detailed info on these incentives).

The BC economy is expected to continue to face head-winds in 2012-2013 with the Euro debt crisis, the hurting US economy and China’s ongoing growing pains.  In addition, any modest growth in BC may only put a small dent in the unemployment rate expected to average at approx 7.4% over 2012.

In summary and according to the BCREA chief economist regional housing markets are expected to further narrow, moderate gains in buyer demand will help reduce the supply of new homes outside of the lower mainland and the recreational markets will continue to struggle back from the 2008 recession.  Furthermore, supply conditions will remain tilted in favor of buyers and expect home prices to remain flat and even decline in some of the more oversupplied regions.

Locally we have a couple community events we hope you will consider participating in: 

• Eat, Shop, Love for Moms is a one-day event where local businesses, restaurants and retailers can help support women in our community by donating a portion of sales to Pacific Post Partum Support Society. As individuals, you can support this event by shopping at participating retailers.  Visit facebook to learn more about a very important cause – very in need of our help.  http://www.facebook.com/EatShopLoveForMoms?sk=wall&fb_source=message

• Jenn & Colin Sullivan / Panorama Community Garage Sale Saturday May 12^th – woot! This event has been a huge success in our community for the past 2 years.  If you live in the area we would love to see you participate, if not we would love to see you, your family and friends visit the sale on the day of the event.  You can register on our facebook page http://www.facebook.com/events/297031690364617/ or visit our website to learn more http://jennandcolin.com/blog.html/jenn-colin-real-estate-2012-sullivanpanorama-community-garage-sale-1759428

Have a fantastic month of March and don’t forget the most important compliment that we can receive is the referral of your neighbours, friends and loved ones. xo