I just sold this Townhouse at 26 9983 151ST Street, North Surrey, British Columbia Guildford.

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I just sold this Townhouse at 44 13239 Old Yale Road, Surrey, BC Surrey Central.

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I just sold this House at 5865 BURNS Place, Burnaby South, British Columbia Upper Deer Lake.

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I just sold this House at 15079 108 Avenue, Surrey, BC Birdland.

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I just sold this House at 16162 86B Ave, Surrey, British Columbia Fleetwood Tynehead.

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I just finished uploading this House for sale, 19329 72ND Ave, Cloverdale, British Columbia

2 level + basement plus coach home with lots of extra detailing done by builder including crown mouldings, 10 ft ceilings, designer paint, granite counters, 7mm laminate floors and jetted tubs. Great location close to shopping, parks and schools. House is fully rented to excellent tenants so allow time for showings. Over garage suite of 500 sq ft included in basement measurements.

I just finished uploading this House for sale, 19263 72ND Ave, Cloverdale, British Columbia

2 level + basement plus coach home with lots of extra detailing done by builder including crown mouldings, 10 ft ceilings, designer paint, granite counters, 7mm laminate floors and jetted tubs. Great location close to shopping, parks and schools. House is fully rented to excellent tenants so allow time for showings. Square footage of 470 sq ft for above garage accomodation included in basement measurements.

I just finished uploading this House for sale, 12945 111TH Ave, North Surrey, British Columbia

Investor alert! 16,000+ sqft lot with future potential to subdivide. Large 2480 sq.ft, 6 bedroom basement home with $2355/month income for a turn key investment. New sun deck, approx 12 yr old roof, hardwood on main level floors, central location close to Skytrain, schools and shopping. HURRY!

I just finished uploading this House for sale, 2406 AUSTIN Ave, Coquitlam, British Columbia

Handyman special! Perfect home for smart investor or builder able to visualize potential. Has a newer roof but needs lots of TLC. Large level 66 x 120 lot ideally located close to Thrift Plaza, Mundy Park, schools and transit. Southern exp back yard with large 220 wired workshop. Property is sold "as is" and well priced below city assessment for quick sale. Easy to show...HURRY!

Mortgage Broker Napoleon Vallee of CBM sent me this article:


Getting the Best Mortgage Rate -  February 23, 2011

What’s the trick to a better mortgage rate?

That’s what folks at the Bank of Canada (BoC) wanted to know.

It led them to undertake an extensive study on mortgage discounting. A draft of that study was released this month and below are its conclusions.

All quotes that follow originate from the paper’s authors: Jason Allen, Robert Clark and Jean-François Houde.          According to their research, the Canadians who get the best mortgage rates are those who:

1. Bargain

• Research proves that bank profits “are significantly higher in haggle environments.” As a result, banks prefer not to put all of their cards on the table.
• This leads to “price discrimination” whereby banks give better deals to skilled negotiators and well-informed borrowers, and stick it to people who don’t watch out for themselves.

2. Have larger mortgages

• “…since few negotiate the renewal of their mortgage…(this) provides lenders with an incentive to attract consumers with larger loans who have large outstanding balances at the time of renewal.”

3. Use a broker

• The report states that brokers lower the “search costs” of getting multiple quotes. Multiple quotes (lower search costs) are strongly correlated with lower rates.
• “Over the full sample the average impact of a mortgage broker is to reduce rates by 17.5 basis points.”  That’s ~$1,670 of interest savings on a typical $200,000 mortgage over five years.
• Bank “mortgage specialists offer convenience to consumers, although they do not reduce search costs. This is because they work for one lender only.”

4. Do significant non-mortgage business with a lender.

• “Branch managers have an incentive to offer larger discounts to consumers…that are, or will be, more profitable to the bank.”

5. Have more equity

• Those who put the minimum down (e.g., 5%) “pay higher rates than other borrowers—about 12 basis points more” than those with LTVs below 85%.

6. Are new clients

• “…new clients receive larger discounts than existing clients, on the order of 10 basis points.”
• The authors state that research by Oxford professor, Paul Klemperer, suggests that “consumer switching costs” (i.e., the time, uncertainty and expense of changing lenders) provide banks with “market power” over existing customers.

  7. Use smaller lenders

• “We conclude that the larger a bank’s market share, the higher are the rates that it can charge to borrowers.”
• “…Borrowers who are new clients at one of the Big 8 banks receive less of a discount than borrowers who are new clients elsewhere.”

8. Are financially capable

• BoC: “…poorer borrowers may face greater levels of price discrimination when bargaining in person at the branch than they do when transacting through a broker.”

9. Have better credit

• “Financial institutions…offer better rates to high credit score consumers.”

There are, of course, other factors that impact one’s mortgage rate. Moreover, there are exceptions to the findings above. As one example, not all bank reps are uncompetitive. We know some excellent mortgage specialists that are highly competitive—meaning they’re within 10 basis points of the best industry rate most of the time. (Mind you, as this Bank of Canada report concludes, that is not typical.)

If you’d like to read more, here’s the full study: Discounting in Mortgage Markets. (The BoC has published it as research in progress to invite technical feedback before journal publication.)

Rob McLister, CMT

Posted at 12:25 AM in Bank of Canada, Mortgage Industry Reports, Mortgage Tips & Advice | Permalink

Recently your home for sale on MLS® didn't sell, now what?

1. The number one reason a listing doesn't sell is over pricing. Agents who willfully accept overpriced listings (or worse, “buys a listing” with a ridiculously unattainable pricing strategy) does no one any service, least of all you.

2. Hiring the wrong Realtor. You need a FULL TIME, experienced Realtor to be able to advise, negotiate and respond to changing market conditions.

3. Bad marketing. Did the Realtor you hired post 10 pictures on the MLS? Did they have more on their site? Does your Realtor actively market in the area where your property is located? Did your Realtor post your listing on Craigslist regularly?

4. Bad tenants/lack of access. Do you have a tenant who won't let you or your Realtor see the property?

5. Property is not Market Ready. In this market your property needs to be looking its best to get an offer. If your home is cluttered or messy most buyers (they can be finicky in this market!) will pass you by.

6. Low Commission. Realtors are motivated by financial incentives. If you are not offering a sufficient SELLING commission to buyers agents they may not prioritise your listing. This could lead to possible missed showings making it difficult to determine what is the cause of a poor response from the market.


How we can help!

Good clean homes priced right and given proper MLS® exposure will sell regardless of listing Broker commission.  Our listing fees start at $2,950 for homes up to $600,000 plus buyer’s agent fee and include: FULL MLS® exposure, FULL Realtor cooperation, MLS.ca® and multi picture tours. Switching to this Discount Realty business model in August 2005 (after 14 years with RE/MAX®) has allowed us to sell more homes then 99% of all FVREB Realtors in 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2009!  The results speak for themselves.  We also offer you 20+ years Real Estate experience in the Surrey/Langley areas, so you can be assured we will get the job done and look after your best interests - - at all times. 

Still skeptical? Heard otherwise? Call us today for the honest facts.  Add it up, the right price, commission rate and Realtor can make the difference.  Call or click here today for a free evaluation.

We are proud to announce that this Feb 20th, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 13239 Old Yale Road in FUSE in the Surrey Central neighborhood, Surrey. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent Townhouse for sale in beautiful Surrey Central.

Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Surrey Central Townhouse for sale.

As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604.595.2896 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.

Scott & Marcella Williams
Fair Realty