We do live in the North, and that means Vancouver homeowners need to take a few steps to ensure their dwellings are secure for winter. Weatherproofing isn’t just for areas laden with snow, the cold weather alone and incessant rain that hails with the winter months can wreak havoc on your home. Whether you’re gearing up to sell your house, or just purchased a property in Vancouver, here are a few things that will help a clean home inspection and keep you cozy all winter long.

Protect Your Patio & Potted Plants

Start by storing patio cushioning, and either cover furniture well to prevent rust and weathering, or move it inside -- along with your potted plants. Keep your greens as close to warmer outside temperatures as possible at first to prevent them from going into shock.

Waterways

It’s good to blow out your outdoor pipes and turn off the water for winter months to prevent ice from forming and potential bursting. Insulating your pipes and hot water tank as an added layer of protection can also save you on energy bills. Drain hoses and store them indoors as well to keep them in pristine condition. Remove all debris from gutters to prevent water build-up and keep melting snow on the move. When it does snow, watch out for ice dams on the roof that can cause water back-ups, which can then leak behind siding and cause serious damage to your walls.

Don’t Crack Under Pressure

Either hire a professional or do a walk-through of your property to ensure all windows, doors, and roof openings such as skylights have weather stripping that’s intact. Break out the caulking or invest in new stripping and insulation so no crack in the foundation or walls is left untended; this can lead to heat loss and high energy bills. Windows especially can be a huge source of heat loss. Simple window coverings can do the trick, or consider a low-emissivity coating to reflect UV rays and save energy.

Fireplace & Furnace Maintenance

If you’ve got a traditional wood-burning fireplace, check to ensure your wood rack isn’t warped, which can prevent oxygen from getting underneath. Have a professional check your fireplace every year, whether it’s old school or gas. Clean chimneys help prevent smoke from circulating inside your home instead of out, and it’s always a safe bet to keep gas in check.

Pinterest Your Way to Cozy

Keep the inevitable slush, dirt and debris at bay with a boot tray at the entrance filled with polished river rock for pretty yet effective drainage. And don’t underestimate the power of a few rugs over hardwood and additional throws on the couch for both added heat, and pops of colour on dreary winter days.

Got any more winterizing ideas for your Vancouver home? Share with us on Facebook!

Tickets booked, bags packed, house… cleaned? Sometimes, it’s the most obvious things that are the most effective in keeping your home safe while you’re away. There are a few simple things you can put into motion before heading out of town that will act as an intruder deterrent, starting with:

Clean It Up!

Now we know you haven’t even left yet, but imagine arriving home to clean floors, tidy rooms and fresh sheets. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Just a bonus to cleaning up inside and out before you leave. The real reason to mow the lawn and clean up yard tools and stray kids’ toys is because nothing tells strangers “nobody’s home” like yard debris that hasn’t moved in days and an unkempt lawn. Not to mention you’ll immediately notice if anything is amiss when you return if things are in order before you go.

Windows & Doors

You’d think this one would be obvious, but locking doors and windows isn’t something everyone remembers; especially if you’re in a ‘safe’ neighbourhood. Consider placing a blocker in the sliding door track to prevent forced entries, and deadbolts on the doors are always a good idea as extra protection.

Perimeter Check

A well-lit entryway isn’t a thief’s best friend, but it is yours. Whether on timer or not, perimeter lighting tends to make intruders shy away. Checking out the the view of your home from the street or yard is worth the extra five minutes. Can you see expensive electronics and artwork? Consider securing your most valuable belongings out of sight. Another trick is to unplug the power to your automatic garage to prevent thieves from using a universal remote and gaining access that way, and always lock the door into the garage from your home.

Make It Appear That You’re Home

Resist the urge to share those all-important vacation details on social media! Same goes for outgoing answering machine messages broadcasting no one’s home. They’re a virtual “welcome” sign to criminals to break in. Alert neighbourhood watch by entrusting a neighbour you know to keep your stoop clear of newspapers and pick up the mail. If your trip happens to coincide with trash day, have them put out and pick up the containers again; left out too long, and it’s a dead giveaway no one is home. You can also install timers for indoor lights, radios, and televisions.

Whether a few days or a few weeks, the same rules apply. The more you can prep beforehand to make it seem like someone’s home, the better chances you have of returning to your home the same way you left it. Safety first!

In today’s hot Vancouver real estate market, you need to do everything you can to keep on top of the game, and that includes getting into the spirit of the holidays. In this case: All Hallow’s Eve. Come Monday, October 31st, there will most likely be a line-up of pint-sized characters on your stoop, and the adults with them might just be home buyers in disguise.

Why Decorate?

Keeping your home neat and tidy, inside and out, is just one part of making it market ready. Going the extra step to stage the inside and manicure the outside will be the key factor in getting the asking price of your dreams, and in some case, way beyond them. Staging your home like a professional haunted house may not be necessary, but adding a few tasteful details that scream Halloween to your welcoming front stoop and yard could make a difference. It shows you care for your home, and it will make others want to do the same. Potentially hundreds of people will be walking by your home on Halloween, why not give it the best curb appeal you possibly can?

Ideas for Decorating

Check out our post on Fall Decor Ideas, then hit up Pinterest for tasteful takes on Halloween decorating! Another good place to source ideas is the talented people at HGTV Canada. Search their Decorating database for a number of elegantly spooky ways to make your home just the right amount of festive for walkthroughs and curb appeal. If you’re selling, keep in mind to keep it simple! You don’t want to be dealing with decorations if it came down to a quick sell.

Host an Open (Haunted) House

You’re going to have trick-or-treaters and their guardians knocking on the door anyway, why not invite them in for a walkthrough that includes free candy and an ‘in’ to the conversation? Make your take-away pieces halloween-themed and they’ll stand out from the pile for sure. And remember: don’t skimp on the treats.

What’s your top tip for keeping Halloween decor classy? Share with us on Facebook and have a Happy Halloween!

Image Credit: Better Homes and Gardens

For those of us who own Vancouver real estate, there’s no doubt we have seen a huge increase in our equity in the past number of years. Home prices have sky rocketed and with that our net worth too.

If you are like many, our principal residence makes up a substantial portion of our net worth. Gains on our principal residence are tax-free making the gains even more compelling.

Depending on your age to retirement this may be an opportunity to lock in these tax free gains by selling your principal residence and downsizing to eliminate debt and park your capital elsewhere and/or better diversify.

If you are a firm believer that our real estate market is cooling and prices are potentially going lower, then keep in mind you are potentially losing equity in after-tax dollars. If your home goes down by $200,000 then in order to re-earn this $200,000 back you need to earn and save close to $400,000 pre-tax.

When the market peaked back in June only about 1% of homes sold in Vancouver actually sold at the top. Many sold on the way up and now homeowners are selling on the way down as prices soften. Overall if the market has corrected by 10% since the peak you are still way ahead of where you were 1 year ago!

No one knows which way the market will go but with all this new government mortgage regulation, vacancy tax & non-residence tax most of the speculators and non-resident buyers have left the market. The large drop in demand combined with building supply should cause homes prices to soften but I feel the true impact will not be seen until we enter into 2017.

If you are nearing retirement and counting on your home’s equity to fund a large portion of your retirement then you may want to consider selling now and locking in your tax-free gains.

If you are wondering what the value of your home is worth today you can call upon us anytime. We are always here to help and provide honest expert advice.

Sincerely,

Andrew & Jill Hasman

The latest numbers for the September 2016 market are available from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Below are snapshots of the Vancouver East and Vancouver West real estate market statistics. The full reports are available in PDF form for download.

Download the full reports:

Vancouver East

Vancouver West

As we get into the full swing of fall, the Vancouver real estate market is starting to show some effects of the recently implemented Foreign Buyer’s Tax and the impending proposed Vacancy Tax. September’s sales were 9.6% below the 10-year sales average for the month.

“Changing market conditions are easing upward pressure on home prices in our region,” REBGV president Dan Morrison said. “There’s uncertainty in the market at the moment and home buyers and sellers are having difficulty establishing price as a result. To help you understand the factors affecting prices, it’s important to talk with a realtor.”

Vancouver’s top realtor is pleased to assist potential home sellers in determining their home’s market value. Especially in the condo and townhome market, which is seeing a higher demand these days. Home sales of all types reached 2,253 last month, a 32.6% decrease from September 2015 and a 9.5% decrease from August 2016.

The September Vancouver Real Estate Market Stats:

New Listings (detached, attached, and apartment): 4,799
1% decrease from September 2015
11.8% increase from August 2016

Total Active listings on MLS®: 9,354
13.4% decrease from September 2015
10% increase from August 2016

Sales-to-Active-Listings ratio: 24.1%
Lowest since February 2015

Benchmark price for all residential properties: $931,900
28.9% increase from September 2015
0.1% decrease from August 2016

Benchmark price for a detached property is $1,579,400
33.7% increase from September 2015
0.1% increase from August 2016

Detached property sales totaled 666

47.6% decrease from September 2015

Benchmark price for an apartment property is $511,800

23.5% increase from September 2015
0.5% decrease from August 2016

Apartment property sales totaled 1,218
20.3% decrease from September 2015

Benchmark price for an attached unit is $677,000
29.1% increase from September 2015
0.1% decrease from August 2016

Attached property sales totaled 369
32.2% decrease from September 2015

For a complete comparison, visit rebgv.org. Want to sell, buy, or require a consultation? Contact me today.

*REBGV Editor’s Note:  Areas covered by Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.