CASH Goes National

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Randy Ryalls

Posted in Consumers, Real Estate, REALTORS®

CASH Goes National

For more than a decade Consumer Advocacy and Support for Homeowners (CASH) Society has acted as a housing consumer watchdog and public educator, the only volunteer organization of its type in BC.

What started out as an informal organization focused on the leaky condo disaster, quickly turned into an incorporated society dealing with the large number of homeowner issues, issues that continue to be reported throughout BC. British Columbian homeowners have been visiting the CASH Society website www.cashsociety.net looking for answers and help.
For ten years, the website had a minimum of 10,000+ hits per month. The website traffic demonstrated the public need for information - emails, comments and inquiries demonstrated the tremendous need for true homeowner protection and changes in the residential construction industry.

Since participating with a national housing organization, CPBH (more later), CASH directors have recognized BC homeowners required a bigger, more consolidated effort to better achieve its goals.

On March 31, 2011, the CASH Society Board of Directors unanimously passed a motion for dissolution and that the assets be transferred to Canadians for Properly Built Homes. http://canadiansforproperlybuilthomes.com

CPBH is a Canadian not-for-profit, national consumer protection organization that operates with a volunteer Board of Directors, supported by a volunteer Advisory Council including industry experts. CASH Society’s Past President, John Grasty, a REALTOR® with Prudential Sterling Realty, will continue to sit as a CPBH advisory council member, a position he has held since 2007. CASH Society has been represented on the CPBH advisory council since 2005.

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A Return to Balance in our Market

Posted on October 5, 2010 by Randy Ryalls

Posted in real estate

September Stats are out from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. They support the notion that we have returned to what we used to call a "normal" market where there was some give and take by both buyers and sellers. This is in stark contrast to the conditions that have characterized Vancouver's market for the several years leading up to the correction we experienced in 2008 and the subsequent rebound in 2009. Our market now shows a healthy amount of activity where competitively priced homes are being sold within reasonable time frames. Mortgage rates are at historical lows. Simply put it's a great time to sell and move up or to buy! Here's a copy of the press release from REBGV...

Housing market factors indicate stability in recent months

September home sales in Greater Vancouver were consistent with activity experienced in the preceding two months across most categories.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,220 in September 2010. This represents a 0.8 per cent increase compared to August 2010 and 37.6 per cent decline from the 3,559 sales in September 2009.

In comparison, last month’s residential sales represent a 40.1 per cent increase over the 1,585 residential sales in September 2008, a 20 per cent decline compared to September 2007’s 2,776 sales, and an 11.9 per cent decline compared to September 2006’s 2,519 sales.

“We’ve seen fewer properties coming on to the market over the last three months. This trend, combined with the continued attraction of low interest rates, is likely having the effect of less downward pressure on home prices,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.

Since spring, housing prices in the region have trended slightly downward, with a decrease of 2.7 per cent compared to the all-time high reached in April when the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) residential benchmark price was $593,419. The overall benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5.5 per cent to $577,174 in September 2010 from $547,092 in September 2009. The current price remains consistent with last month, rising just 0.1 per cent between August and September 2010.

Total active property listings posted on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver currently sit at 15,401, basically unchanged compared to last month and a 22 per cent increase from September 2009. Over the last three months, active listings in the region have declined12.3 per cent.

New residential property listings posted in September declined 17.6 per cent to 4,731 compared to September 2009 when 5,746 new units were listed.

“We saw signs of more stability in our marketplace last month than we have seen since spring based on a variety of indicators that we look at each month,” Moldowan said. “At 56 days, it took, on average, three days less to sell a home in our region compared to August. This is the first month-over-month decline we’ve seen in this category since April.”

Sales of detached properties in September 2010 reached 866, a decrease of 39.1 per cent from the 1,423 detached sales recorded in September 2009, and a 58.6 per cent increase from the 546 units sold in September 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.7 per cent from September 2009 to $790,992.

Sales of apartment properties reached 971 in September 2010, a decline of 34.7 per cent compared to the 1,489 sales in September 2009, and an increase of 27.1 per cent compared to the 764 sales in September 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.7 per cent from September 2009 to $388,373.

Attached property sales in September 2010 totalled 383, a decline of 40.1 per cent compared to the 647 sales in September 2009, and a 39.3 per cent increase from the 275 attached properties sold in September 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 5.2 per cent between September 2009 and 2010 to $490,385.

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Prudential Sterling Agent John Grasty Among Recipients of Realtors Care Award

Posted on April 1, 2010 by Randy Ryalls

Posted in properties, real estate, REALTORS®

REALTOR® Volunteers recognized for compassion, advocacy

VANCOUVER, B.C., March 29, 2010 -- Four REALTORS® have been recognized for their deep commitment to various charitable and advocacy causes in their communities in 2009

Allan DeGenova, John Grasty, Arnold Shuchat and Marianne Wilson were each recipients of 2009 REALTORS Care® Awards during the President’s Recognition Dinner hosted by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The REALTORS® Care Award is presented annually to REALTORS® in Greater Vancouver who work and advocate for their communities through fundraising or volunteer activities.

DeGenova, of Sutton Group West Coast Realty, served as the 2009 president of the Honour House Society, which will provide temporary housing for families of wounded military personnel and local first responders. Honour House will open on Remembrance Day. He’s also a director of the Vancouver Resource Society, which secures housing for people with disabilities.

John Grasty, of Prudential Sterling Realty, is a tireless homeowner advocate who served as the 2009 president for the Consumer Advocacy and Support for Homeowners Society. He also serves on the national advisory council for Canadians for Properly Built Homes.

Shuchat, of Multiple Realty Ltd., helped raise $42,000 for the Richmond Jewish Day School and the Louis Brier Foundation for the Aged by organizing a hugely successful second edition of last year’s ‘Battle of the Bands’ fundraiser.

Wilson, of Royal LePage Black Tusk Realty, is a founding director and the 2009 president of the Squamish Community Foundation. She has created REALTOR®-funded local initiatives such as a shelter fund and a program that collects weekly donations from REALTORS® for the local food bank.

“These four individuals are true difference makers in their communities, they give tirelessly and their efforts improve the lives of people in need,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said.

Each year, REALTORS® donate time, enthusiasm and money to numerous charitable and volunteer causes. In 2008, REALTORS® donated $2.6 million to charity.

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