The Vancouver Life Real Estate Podcast

This week we hopped on the Pod with Vancouver Life Team Member & Whistler Specialist Auley Serfas to explore what it’s like living and working in one of the most sought after resort towns in the world. With properties ranging $300,000 up to $30+ million dollars, Whistler has proven to be one of the most interesting and dynamic real estate markets that we have seen.Before Auley became a Realtor, she spent more than 20 years as a Property Assessor with BC Assessment Authority and was responsible for creating thousands of valuations for many different property types. In the conversation we discuss the relevancy of BC Assessments, how they are used and how they are often applied to real estate transactions. Furthermore, we explore what is currently taking place in the local Whistler market, what is happening at different price points and how important it is to know the distinction between Phase 1 and Phase 2 investment properties. With the introduction of the new Foreign Buyers Ban coming into affect in 2023 you’ll want to know how that may or may not affect Whistler - especially if you’ve been considering a permanent move or vacation property investment.    _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Inflation was the name of the game in this weeks update and while inflation numbers remained unchanged from the month before, sitting around 6.9% - that did beat expectations as they were predicted to rise. As of last months report, Canada now has the second lowest inflation rate of any G7 nation! However, seeing that inflation pressures didn’t ease last month, it paves the way for another rate hike come December 7th with most analysts predicting somewhere between a 0.25% rise to a 0.50% basis point rate hike. The good news is that comments out of the BoC are also indicating that we are nearing the end of the recent rate hike cycle. This weeks Podcast episode references the Bank of Montreal’s chief economist, Doug Porter and his economic outlook for Q1 2023. We look at the current state of Canada’s GDP along with BC’s GDP and what direction that will take in the new year. We also have an average inflation rate prediction from BMO for 2023 which was a little surprising but none the less fairly good news. Looking across the nation, we check in with several major metros from West Coast to East Coast to see what the Housing Price Index is for the average home in those respective cities along with how far prices have deviated throughout Covid from their long term pricing trend. This was very useful in descending just how out of whack pricing got in some regions. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Quantitative tightening is still very much at the forefront of monetary policy as we saw mortgage rates on the rise again this week. With variable rates now above 5 year fixed rates for the first time since 2019, sitting on average around 5.5%! Fixed rates for comparison sake are sitting at 5.1%.This week we explore what's happening nationally and how Vancouver stacks up against other major metros. For context and as we look across the nation, this is the most rapid rise in interest rates in the last 30 years combined with the lowest level of sales in over 20 years.. and yet, single family homes across the GTA for example are only at 2.3 months of inventory. Balanced marketplaces typically like to see upwards of 5 months of inventory.Check out this week's episode as we take a look across the nation and how a lack of inventory is still the major theme. Surprising growth numbers continue to come out of Alberta and financial markets rose this week on the news that inflation printed lower than expected.  _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

If you live anywhere else in Canada, it’s pretty clear in today’s market that without demand, the supply of homes will rise creating a decline in sales volume and that effectively helps to lower prices along with very low consumer confidence. With credit having been restricted through quantitative tightening at the most aggressive pace in recent history - affordability has reached heights we've never seen before and everyone is feeling the squeeze.  Toronto saw new home sales fall 96% last month - just 45 new homes sold in October, and only 250 new condos - in a region where 6 million people live this isn’t good news for the market. So why is it that in Vancouver, under the same set of financial conditions, hasn’t experienced the rise in inventory needed to bring prices down? In this episode we discuss the unique case of Vancouver’s inventory, why it performs so much stronger than the rest of the market and how existing re-sale inventory will be a formidable problem for the market to tackle in the years to come. Is it any surprise that new home builders are getting hurt the most? With new layoffs announced in both Canada and the US, it’s a sealer sign there’s more pain to come. And let’s not forget we need these very same people to help solve our housing crisis by building more inventory. They are now paying interest on their inventory they can no longer afford to pay. As this problem persists, expect to see these properties begin to sell as Builders are forced to bring their prices down to reduce their debt load in the short run. But at the same time, Developers will freeze projects or push them out until prices are restored and the environment improves. Looking at the longer term metrics, it’s without a doubt that it will - Canada recently announced it is gearing up its ultra aggressive immigration policy. With more than 500,000 new Immigrants per year by 2025 - and the majority of those people will be technically skilled individuals immigrating to Canada to add to the workforce. As these people accumulate and new home builders freeze out the inventory and existing inventory not coming to market because home owners have locked in ultra low rates, we are poised for another housing boom on the other side. However in the short run, Buyers who can capitalize on this softening trend will thank themselves in the years to come. #vancouverrealestate #vancouverrealtor #vancouverrealestateagent  _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

This week we got the opportunity to meet the head honcho launching eXp’s commercial division in Canada, Mr. James Huang, President of eXp Commercial. Breaking into that market will be transformative for those both looking to buy, invest, or sell commercial real estate with the exciting tech suites and professional teams available to service you. Moreover, if you’re a business owner or a professional yourself, you will love this weeks podcast as Dan and I got to learn the incredible 20 year professional story that James has lived. From leaving med school in University, to working on Wall Street as a portfolio manager, to then getting into commercial real estate and establishing a boutique company in L.A. some years later with over 184 brokers working for him! Now he sits as the President of eXp Commercial; it’s a fascinating story with great insight into the commercial landscape and some great insights into what it takes to make a successful company culture. For More Information:https://expcommercial.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-huang-3772839/ _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Another 50 basis point jump was on the table today as the BoC continued down the path of hiking rates at an unprecedented rate. For some context, variable rate mortgage holders were getting rates as low as 1.29% in January and on a $1mil mortgage, payments averaged about $3,350 a month. Fast forward to today’s rate hike and that same mortgage is now up over $5,700 or an increase of 71% in just 8 months. In even simpler terms, in January you could have expected to pay $40,000 a year for a home at prevailing rates - that same mortgage today going to cost $28,000 a year more or $68,000 - for those on fixed income, this is becoming harder and harder to manage.The BoC also expects GDP growth to half from 3.25% down to 1.5% in a short period of time grinding economic activity to a stall before easing and allowing GDP to return to 2%. That’s their plan - whether that’s actually how it plays out remains to be seen. The BoC has made many projections over the last 2.5 years and none of them have really been accurate so take what they say with a grain of salt. Given that inflation appears to be pervasive throughout the general economy with businesses still reporting a very tight labour market, inflation will likely stay elevated for some time as energy consumption throughout the winter time continues to rise. The cost of goods and services will likely stay elevated into the winter months as demand destruction is the name of the game. With that said, our guest Mychal Ferrera with BMO is reporting more pre-approvals for mortgages than he’s seen in a long time as more and more Buyers pile up on the sidelines waiting to strike - and with such limited inventory - it’s anyone’s guess as to when Vancouverites will begin to put their properties back on the market - however, it looks as though inventory will remain low for the foreseeable future as economic activity continues to slow down.Contact Mychal Ferreirahttps://www.linkedin.com/in/mychalferreirahttps://www.instagram.com/mychalferreira/ _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

What a week for BC's Provincial and Municipal governments as both David Eby and Mayor elect Ken Sim are set to take over. With a huge push to change up the status quo of housing in the province and specifically in Vancouver, many local residents have spoken that they want, in fact they are demanding change with Ken Sim winning by a landslide. In this weeks Podcast episode we take a look at the housing platforms that both the New Mayor of Vancouver and the Premiere of BC intend to introduce. While we aren’t convinced by any politician's promises, we are interested to see specifically what Ken Sim will bring to the table, His new policy around the time it takes to get a permit for renovations, new single family permits and multifamily permit construction will be of the upmost importance and could have a significant effect on housing if implemented effectively.. Seeing as David Eby was already the housing minister for the Province - we are a little disappointed that some of the items he’s tabling haven’t been dealt with to date.. we’ll let you be the judge of that.We also break down where we think interest rates are headed not only for next week but also by the end of the year. We question why the media outlets are asking everyone to pay attention to CORE Inflation, a measuring stick that removes the most volatile commodities from the CPI Index but those very same commodities - food and energy - are the ones we use the most and are daily expenses we all encounter - so why aren’t we measuring their impact on Inflation? Understanding why that matters and so much more can be found on this weeks podcast.  _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Inflation continues to be a pesky foe that won’t go quietly into the night. This week we take a look at the North American market and how the inflation story has moved away from its transitory narrative as local demand within the economy has yet to cool off to a point that no longer concerns central banks. The war in Europe continues to put price pressure on a volatile energy market while simultaneously the manufacturing and shipping industry from China continues to come back online it’s becoming more and more clear that North American Central Banks left policy rates too low for too long as inflation proves to be sticker than initially thought.With that being said both Sellers and Buyers in the Real Estate Market no longer the prices that either of them have to face and Sellers are pulling their listings from the market as they can no longer achieve the sales prices from earlier in the year. Buyers remain largely on the sidelines as well as both sides wait each other out to see how the story unfolds over the next 8 to 16 months. With inflation hanging around, it’s almost certain at this point that fixed rates will be in the 6% range and variable rates could increase by 50-75 basis points on October 26th.The good news is that Canada continues to smash its immigration numbers achieving 700,000 new permanent residents year over year and 280,000 in the last quarter alone. BC was the beneficiary of 120,000 new permanent residents in the last year at the end of this last quarter. Without a doubt housing continues to look strong in the long run, but expect more pressure in the rental markets as Buyers look to safer havens until interest rates begin to flatten out. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Making sense of what is happening inside our current Real Estate market is tough in today’s environment. Sweeping comments in conversation or news articles that suggest “The Market” isn’t doing well or that “Housing is Down” is no longer an accurate way of describing the housing sector - at least not in Vancouver. Take this little stat as an example: Vancouver currently has less inventory than it did this time last year; inventory actually dropped by 3% compared to September 2021 and is the third straight month of inventory declines in the GVRD. By comparison, Ontario’s inventory count is up by a whopping 89%.In this week’s podcast episode, we review the bizarre case that is Vancouver Real Estate and how it measures up to its historical performance in down markets. While HPI prices are generally down across the board by about 9.5% and the median price of a home is down by 12%, we’ve seen that slow dramatically. Prices have only adjusted down by 2% over the last 3 months showing signs of an early stabilization or at the very least less downward pressure than we initially saw some months ago. However, this is where the head scratching begins as the average price of a home in Vancouver actually rose by about $44,000 last month! Sounds like some good old supply and demand economics at play again. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the Fraser Valley where median prices have fallen by 25% or an average price loss of (-$455,000). North Vancouver is down significantly by a similar amount (-$470,000 albeit in a more expensive market) and West Van detached is down on average by (-$627,000) per home. It’s definitely no surprise that we are down -46% in sales volume year over year - largely driven by the cost of borrowing and unstable prices but like we’ve seen in the past, Vancouver is a resilient market and if you’re thinking of buying a home in the foreseeable future here - take advantage of this time because if inventory continues to remain this low and the economy begins to correct - we know what kind of a market we’ll be heading into.  _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation:Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA604.809.0834dan@thevancouverlife.comRyan Dash PREC778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com

Housing unaffordability is truly the worst it's ever been. In this weeks episode we explore how home ownership cost (as a percentage of median household income) hit 60% this year, an all-time high. Considering the price of inflation, the cost of increasing interest rates and relatively stagnant wage growth by comparison, the cost of living has risen significantly.The affordability Gap in Canada - the difference between what a home costs and what a person can afford to pay for a home has widened by 67%!Following this bearish trend, the DOW had its worst month since the lockdown, in March 2020 and this was the worst quarter for the S&P 500 since 2009Canadian Household debt to disposable income continues to climb, hitting a new all-time highs in August. It's now at 182%! And by comparison, our friends down south in the USA are at 100% respectively.A recession could still largely be avoided if the bank of Canada pivots in due course but inflation data suggests that won't happen - it's still too high which ironically increases the odds of a recession with every interest rate hike from here. Sounds bad, and while it is - there's hope as some important metrics are beginning to show signs of stabilization here in BC and Canada continues its very aggressive immigration policy adding well over 280,000 new permanent residents in Q2 alone. _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation:Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA604.809.0834dan@thevancouverlife.comRyan Dash PREC778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com _________________________________ Contact Us To Book Your Private Consultation: 📆 https://calendly.com/thevancouverlife Dan Wurtele, PREC, REIA 604.809.0834 dan@thevancouverlife.com Ryan Dash PREC 778.898.0089 ryan@thevancouverlife.com www.thevancouverlife.com