A Market Shift=a shift in expectations

Market conditions have shifted. After five years of blockbuster activity and double-digit price growth, market conditions have slowed, and now favour buyers in many areas of the province. Residential sales have declined 22 per cent in the first six months of this year, while available resale inventory has grown by 54 per cent to 57,000 active listings in June. In the Greater Vancouver board area, where longer-term data is available, inventory is at the highest level since 1998. Home price appreciation observed from 2004 to 2007 is less attainable in today’s market, and sellers’ expectations for such gains should be tempered. More generally, in a market favouring buyers, prices generally increase at or below the level of inflation. While the average residential home price in BC increased at a healthy 6 per cent per year since 1981, large gains are often followed by periods of price stagnation. Over-optimistic pricing by sellers will only inhibit the timely sale of properties, adding to inventory levels. Buyers have more homes to choose from now than in previous years, resulting in greater freedom to compare the attributes and prices of similar properties in the market before making purchase decisions. Despite current buyers' market conditions fuelled by housing affordability constraints and economic uncertainty, the economic and demographic backdrop in support of housing demand remains strong in BC. BC's unemployment rate remains near record lows, while the labour force participation rate hovers near historical highs. Meanwhile, the province remains a favoured destination for new migrants, reflected in the third-highest population growth among provinces during the first quarter of 2008. However, challenges continue in the forestry sector, and eroded consumer confidence may also be playing a role in a pull back of consumer spending.




Putting title fraud in perspective

Title Fraud - made its way into the media headlines earlier this summer, creating an unhealthy climate of fear that unnecessarily worried land owners. REALTORS® felt the heat too, as their buyers and sellers asked whether they and their properties were safe from fraud.
The facts are that BC’s land title system is one of the safest in the world, there is no pattern of increased title fraud and the Assurance Fund is available to compensate owners in the very unlikely case that they are financially affected by a title registration error.
There are more than 1.9 million active titles in BC. In the past 18 years, the land title system processed 15 million transactions—yet only two claims related to land ownership fraud and only 14 fraud claims related to lesser interests in land, such as discharges of mortgage, were paid out from the Assurance Fund.
The Land Title and Survey Authority is continually looking for ways to enhance the security of the system. If you want added protection, I suggest these simple steps:
- Owners, via a lawyer or notary, may use the Activity Advisory Service provided by BC OnLine. It notifies the legal professional when an application affecting the owner’s title is made to the Land Title Office (LTO).
- Registry Agents can conduct title searches for homeowners wishing to check the status of their titles, and some agents may provide access to the Activity Advisory Service.
- An owner who doesn’t have a mortgage or agreement for sale registered on their title can apply for a Duplicate Certificate of Title through their lawyer or notary, or at an LTO. No sale, transfer, mortgage or agreement for sale may be registered while the owner holds that Duplicate Certificate (the Duplicate must be stored in a secure location, such as a safety deposit box, to avoid the considerable time and cost associated with replacing it).