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Change of BC’s Workforce Underway

I just read that the BC government is spending an additional $1.6 million for English language support and bridging programs being delivered free to immigrants.  This is one of the many immigrant-friendly ways BC is helping businesses attract, integrate, and retain immigrants and international talent.

The face of BC’s workforce is changing, and as “Baby Boomers” retire we will experience a shortage of professionals if more isn’t done quickly.

Communication has prevented many skilled immigrant candidates from receiving adequate consideration in the hiring process in the past, so this boost to English as a Second Language and other programs is a small step to help.

What we’ve been learning in BC is that employing immigrants from different parts of the world improves a company’s diversity of thought and experience, and adds to the overall creativity and ultimate strength of an organization with potential for bottom line improvement.

When will the housing market “bottom-out”?

Potential buyers often say they’ll wait for the market to “bottom-out”.

So is that at the precise point:

- prices start to rise?
- supply brings about a “buyers market”?
- interest rates start to increase?

Well even the world’s best economists are only able to pinpoint the “bottom-out” coordinates in retrospect, and at that time the opportunity has already passed by.

In my opinion, the important part of the buying decision at the present time is to understand the value of the low interest rates, and to take advantage while you can.

The value of a point off a mortgage interest rate over 5 years will be more significant than a 1% difference in the purchase price.

Of the three bullet-points above, prices are currently stable, supply (with best choices steadily depleting) is dwindling towards the return of a balanced market, and favourable interest rates are still available.

So we’re just leaving an over-supplied market that offers buyers:

- the best selection of homes available,
- no pressure whatsoever to rush due diligence,
- an opportunity to make lower offers, and,
- a good chance buying at below assessed value, and perhaps beyond their expectations

While I don’t have a crystal ball I’d say to Buyers, we’re as close to the “bottom-out” as we’ll get for a while.

How’s the market?

Since all real estate is hyper local then allow me to review your market area or the area you are interested in.

5 Favourite things about Vancouver

In addition of course to the people who live here and visit us in Vancouver, British Columbia, here are my favourite 5 things about the area:

NATURAL BEAUTY: No matter where you go in Metro Vancouver you can experience and enjoy the natural beauty from the sea to the forests to the mountains and beyond.

ATTRACTIONS: The unlimited attractions such as, Stanley Park, Canada Place, Grouse Mountain, Granville Island, Gastown, Robson Street shopping, Chinatown (the largest in Canada), Vancouver Aquarium, museums, galleries, theatre, VanDusen Botanical Gardens, offer something for everyone.

PLACES TO EAT AND DRINK: The affordability, quality and choices of places to eat and drink, are always a pleasant surprise for visitors; just ask anyone who came to the Olympics.

ACTIVE LIFESTYLE: The people of Metro Vancouver live an active lifestyle with an unbelievable selection of beaches, mountains, parks, rivers, trails and other venues to experience an equally impressive choice of outdoor activities.

SURROUNDING SUBURBS: Any of the surrounding suburbs within a half hour transit ride or drive, also have an amazingly wide selection of attractions for explorers, fishermen, hikers, lovers, shoppers, sportsmen, tourists, wildlife enthusiasts, or families.

If you’re considering a move to this area of British Columbia, Canada, or know someone else who is, you’ve come to the right place; see Relocation Canada

Zero Homeowner Protection

After more than a decade the result of the Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) 2-5-10 equation has been solved: 2 – 5 – 10 = 0. We now know definitively that the value of warranty insurance to homeowners is zero.

A homeowner can perform as much due diligence as they can to help themselves but it amounts to 0 protection. The HPO 2-5-10 warranty insurance program has done nothing but give homeowners in BC a false sense of security.

The typical North American builder today consistently delivers poor quality throughout (uneven floors & ceilings, out-of-plumb walls and door frames, cheap paint and most other materials, etc.): Warranty for Homeowners is Worthless.

The diminishment of builder responsibility and liability is in direct correlation to diminished levels of housing construction quality and consumer protection.

Meaningful quality standards are almost non-existent in the residential construction industry because only blatant defects count, that is the inability to meet the minimum standards of the building code, which happens a lot according to this CBC TV News report: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/11/15/bc-homewarranty.html#

The builders credo seems to be, “Save all expense above the minimum standard required”, which also accounts for all substitutions, and other representations that never materialize because of weasel word purchase contracts and warranties.

Unfortunately, the HPO has still not developed or adopted a reasonable more modern measure of housing quality, and neither have they committed to undertake to develop or adopt a measure of housing quality towards fulfilling their primary protection role as outlined in the Homeowner Protection Act.

In the interim consumers desperately need qualified professional sign-offs at all the key stages of the construction process.

Who is appointed to look after homeowners (consumers) at the HPO board?

That’s another post. Meanwhile, “Buyer Beware”!

Trick or Treat in the Tri-cities…

If you have children under the age of 12 I’m inviting you to trick-or-treat with them (dressed up of course) indoors this coming Sunday afternoon between 4 & 5.

My colleague Grace and I will be trick-or-treating at the Prudential Realty kiosk inside the Coquitlam Centre, east of the Zeller’s entrance and beside the stairs.

On October 31^st in Canada, children dress up and trick-or-treat in their neighbourhood, and many hold parties to celebrate.

My favourite community website, theV3H.com is once again promoting events throughout the Tri-cities, this time Halloween. Check it out.

Halloween marks the single night in the year when, according to old Celtic beliefs, spirits and the dead can cross over into the world of the living.

Black cats, bats and spiders, and figures, such as ghosts, skeletons, witches and wizards, are all associated with Halloween. Pumpkins, graveyards, cobwebs, haunted houses and the colors green, orange, grey and black are also symbols of the night celebrations.

Click for more information about Trick-or-Treat Coquitlam Centre

Are you making out with small?

In Port Moody where I live there is a marked difference between a condo built in the 90’s to one built in the past 10 years.

If you hadn’t noticed, most new multi-family housing today is getting smaller, and there is less single-family homes being built.

A theory being floated is that although “competitive consumption” (aka, “keeping up with the Joneses”) is still practiced by some, there is a minimalist move afoot towards, “competitive non-consumption”.

Competitive non-consumption also manifests itself in changing consumer expectations, for function over form, efficiency over excess, quality versus quantity, etc.

These newer demands reflect the values of our younger generations who are more frugal, less materialistic and more oriented to a greener lifestyle than their parents were.

In BC we have the grandparents paring down (downsizing) from single detached family homes, but in Port Moody and according to Statistics Canada, the +65 population is a meager 7.8% compared to the provincial average of 14.9%.

This confirms what I already knew from my professional real estate experience that Port Moody is a magnet for young couples starting out together, and eager to live a simple lifestyle in the right neighbourhood.

If you’re living in a smaller space than you have in the past, how are you making out with small?

Need some help making the transition? Here’s some great ideas to get you started: Declutter-Simplify Life

Let me assist you with a recommendation from my extensive resource network covering the Tri-cities of Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and the surrounding areas of Metro Vancouver. Call me now: 778-878-0778, or email.