Mount Pleasant Places First In Heritage Society Poll
Heritage Vancouver Society (HVS), a non-profit organization, had recently ranked “The Heart of Mount Pleasant” as the number one heritage site on 2019’s Top 10 Watch List.
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Published June 9, 2017. Prices, rates and rules quoted here reflect the market at the time.Ask Chris for today’s picture.
Greater Vancouver’s detached housing market has increased steadily, and again it has raised the question about the affordability of homes; especially since the uncertainty surrounding the recent British Columbia elections.
The average price for a detached home sold in Greater Vancouver has reached a record $1,830,956 in May which is up 5 per cent from May 2016, and surpassed the previous high in January 2016.
A study commissioned by Vancity looked at housing prices compared to income. They found between February 2016 and February 2017 affordability for Vancouver fell 2.9 per cent. The hardest hit area was the suburbs. In the District of North Vancouver, affordability fell by 38 per cent, by 31 per cent in Delta and by 23 per cent in Maple Ridge.
This is because of what is known as the ripple effect.The ripple effect occurs when high housing prices in Vancouver, West Vancouver, and North Vancouver push both first-time buyers and buyers looking to sell and move to something with more space have to look farther east. The Vancouver region’s housing market was a central issue in the campaign in the election, with both the New Democrats and Greens putting forward detailed platform designed to settle down the market and keep housing affordable.
The 10-page agreement between the NDP and Green lays out more than two dozen policies on other issues, but contained just one bullet point on the housing market, causing concern across the Lower Mainland. According to the policy, the NDP would create 11,400 new units of affordable housing each year for 10 years, while the Green Party had promised $750-million a year for government-subsidized affordable housing. An NDP government supported by the Greens would act quickly to cool British Columbia’s hot real estate market by creating more affordable housing and cracking down on speculators and tax evaders. The party’s platform also called on the province to work with the federal government to eliminate money laundering and international property speculation.
The NDP just recently formed a political alliance with the Green Party to vote down the BC Liberals once Premier Christy Clark opens Parliament. With John Horgan poised to become BC’s next leader later this month, construction companies, real estate agents, and home owners are bracing for what will happen next in Greater Vancouver, one of the world’s most desired cities to live in. During the campaign, the New Democrats proposed a 2-per-cent speculation tax on properties in the Vancouver region if their owners pay little or no taxes in B.C. The party also said it would review the province’s current 15-per-cent tax on purchases in the Vancouver area involving foreign buyers.
In August, 2016, the BC Liberal government under Christy Clark imposed a 15-per-cent tax on foreign home buyers in the Vancouver region. During the recent election campaign, the Greens proposed raising the tax on foreign purchasers to 30 per cent and expand it province-wide. If you’re looking at buying or selling a home contact us at 604-805-1804 or by clicking this link HERE
