Here’s a video introducing you to Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor. Sebastian discusses the geographic areas of Vancouver that he specialises in, as well as how he approaches working with his clients.

More Information on Vancouver Real Estate

Should you want to learn more about the Vancouver real estate market generally you can check out this page.

You can also review all of the statistics for Vancouver East and Vancouver West broken down for you here:

• Vancouver Monthly real estate statistics
• Vancouver Weekly real estate statistics

Enjoy Vancouver real estate statistics? You can find all of the latest stats by area right here:

• Coal Harbour real estate
• Downtown Vancouver real estate
• Fairview Vancouver real estate
• Grandview Vancouver real estate
• Kitsilano real estate
• Mount Pleasant Vancouver real estate
• West End Vancouver real estate

If you are thinking of buying or selling, or just have questions, contact me here or send me a quick email.

Copyright © 2008 by  Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside ”Meet Vancouver Realtor Sebastian Albrecht”

I still can’t quite believe that this is real (read the original news story here). I came across this story recently, and was suprised (pleasantly) that news of this event hadn’t reached me yet.

 A realtor in Florida attempted to sell her home by advertising on Craigslist and Ebay. Now, for the twist. She’s not just selling her own home, she’s putting herself up as part of the package. The Ebay auction began at $0.99 with a $500,000 delivery charge.

Unfortunately, the ad on Craigslist has expired, and the auction on Ebay was pulled. However, I did find the original text of the Craigslist ad:

<Marry a Princess Lost in America

Create the Magic with this Fairy Tale Princess

Traveling Lady in immediate need of her Prince Charming, someone who wants to share & create magical moments, imaginations & fantasies for LIFE!!!

If you want to live the never ending dream and experience the real love, life and the romance you have always felt was a fairytale then this is the vibrant outstanding woman of your dreams!
To sweep this European Loving Lady off her feet send in your application right now

PROPERTY INFORMATION

Gated 24 hour manned community,Lush landscaping throughout the community & a newly updated clubhouse that offers swimming pools, hot tub, 4 tennis courts, 2 racket ball courts, sand volleyball court,children’s playground and a fitness center with brand new equipment,& more! It’s like living in a five star resort. This Dakotah model has a great room with vaulted ceilings and many windows that bring the outside in. This well maintained , impeccably clean home has neutral colors, Berber carpet, and upgraded tile. The 1ST floor master suite has a double entry door & a master bath with double sinks, a soaking tub & an over sized shower stall. There is also a 1st floor Powder room. The second floor loft/media room overlooks the great room and leads to the 3 full size bedrooms, full bathroom. An extended terrace overlooks the garden. This is a fantastic buy, in a great location.

I know! Can you believe it?

I’ve tried to find an update on this story that broke in late June 2008, but have drawn a blank. I’m suprised that there hasn’t been any follow-up on this to date. I’d like to know whether the sale was a success or not, and there are just so many questions that are raised.

I know that the market in Florida has been one of those hardest hit in the US housing bubble. Will other realtors take similarly drastic actions to help promote sales? If the market in Vancouver continues to slow, I might be one of those realtors selling more than just a property.

Any wealthy women out there looking for a trophy husband?

Copyright © 2008 by Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside “Modern Real Estate Sales Techniques - House with Wife Included″

The annual Best of Vancouver issue of the Georgia Straight was released last week. This is one of the most interesting issues of the weekly newspaper and for many people, it’s a must read. If you haven’t already picked up a copy, you should before they disappear from newsstands (or save paper and check it out online by visiting www.straight.com).

The Best of Vancouver edition of the Georgia Straight is interesting and insightful. It can help you see your city from different points of view, and if nothing else will likely make you aware of aspects of Vancouver that you never knew existed.

This year’s edition included a category for “Best Real Agency”. In the number three spot was Royal LePage.

http://www.straight.com/article-161994/realestate-agency

Yes, it’s always wonderful to get some public recognition. However, it’s also important for you to know. 

Why? Well, when you are working with an agent you aren’t just hiring the individual but you are also hiring the company behind them. The reputation and standing in the community of both the agent, and their company are components of your success. 

Copyright © 2008 by  Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside ”Royal LePage Voted Best of Vancouver”

What exactly IS an expired listing? Just as it sounds, it’s a listing which is dead. Every listing is given a lifespan when a seller and realtor put together a listing contract. The listing goes live on the date that the contract is signed (this is the effective date). The date at which the listing contract terminates (or dies) is the expiry date. 

With a buyers market in Vancouver, we are seeing the return of the much feared Vancouver expired listing. Many of us haven’t seen the prominence of the expired listing for years. In the seller’s market that dominated the market for much of the last seven years, the expired listing was a rare breed.

• 2008 - 2247 (first 8 months)
• 2007 - 2267
• 2006 - 2233
• 2005 - 1748

So far, in the first eight months of 2008 we’ve already had 2247 listings expire. I expect that we will easily see another 50% increase on this number by the end of the year and thus end up surpassing the totals for the last three years.

When your listing expires, you feel a little angry, a little embarrased and quite a bit of frustration. Even the best homes don’t sell sometimes. It’s not time to give up. There are plenty of buyers out there willing to pay full market value for your home.

There can be numerous reasons for an expired listing. To properly understand what went wrong, a real estate agent needs to ask the right questions and listen carefully. As a real estate agent specializing in selling expired listings I know how to help you correct some of those issues and ensure that you meet your goals and make that sale.

If you’d like to ask me a few questions - no pressure, no hassle, no obligation - just a friendly conversation about your plans, please give me a call or send me an email.

Copyright © 2008 by Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside ”What Does Vancouver Expired Listing Mean?”

This is just a quick Vancouver real estate blog today. I’ve been hard at work these last few weeks, putting in a lot of hours to ramp up for the busy fall real estate season. The past few weeks have been quite slow (as you’ve no doubt noticed if you’ve been reading my recent posts on weekly and monthly real estate statistics).

Real estate is a seasonal business, as well as cyclical. It’s important to stay on top of what’s happening in the market. Being in touch with a real estate professional allows you to know exactly what’s happening in the market today. Following my real estate blog will keep you informed and knowledgeable and ready to act in the Vancouver real estate market when the moment is right for you.

Feel free to contact me if you have any specific questions, or if you are ready to buy or sell.

Copyright © 2008 by Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside ”Vancouver Real Estate Blog”

I’m a bit late in referring to this, but I thought that it was better late than never. Last week, the Federal government announced that they were putting a halt to guaranteeing the 40-year and zero-down mortgages. They hope to avoid the type of housing crisis that we’ve seen in the US that’s been caused by their sub-prime mortgages.

Any of you that have ever spoken to me about mortgages knows that I don’t believe our two systems are comparable (US vs Canada).  In the US, their mortgage lending practices were far, far more liberal than our own. Even with the 40-year and zero-down mortgages that were introduced in recent years, our lending practices were by far more conservative.

Yes, increasing the amortization of mortgages and reducing the amount of equity a new owner must put down to own a property is not without risk. What these moves did was allow potential homeowners to stretch themselves a little further to purchase a little bit better home. I believe that most Canadians that used these products were doing so in order to take advantage of the flexibility that they allowed for, not as a means to enter into the market in the first place.

The new rules mean  that government backed mortgages will require a minimum down payment of five percent (no longer 0%), and will be restricted to a maximum amortization period of 35 years (no longer 40). The changes will take affect on October 15, 2008 so you have lots of time to still take advantage of the old ones for now.

The difference to the homeowner, with a $400,000 mortgage is that on a 35 year amortization they will be paying $81 more per month in mortgage payments than if it was a 40 year amortization.

With a cooling housing market across the country, this might not be the optimum time to make these changes. One could question the governments timing on the policy change. I don’t believe that these are significant changes that would price many people out of the market. However, the market can be fickle and who knows how this might affect market psychology.

Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside

On June 10th, the Vancouver city council officially (and unanimously) passed the EcoDensity Charter. This unanimous vote took place despite the opposition by more than twenty local community groups.

 Most of what is contained in the charter has a long way to go before we see it put into affect. These include such actions as: new types of arterial mid-rise buildings, more options for rental secondary suites, and developing options for back-yard and laneway housing. While the city has indicated that they want to see these in principle, the details still need to be made clear.

 That being said, two items from the charter were put immediately into action. This included the rezoning policies for greener buildings, as well as “greener larger sites”. According to the EcoDensity website, this means that applications for rezoning buildings will have to meet a minimum LEED standard. Also, when applying rezoning for tracts of land of 2 acres or more, sustainability measures will be required.

 Our city is now committed, through the charter, to make environmental sustainability a primary goal in all city planning decisions while keeping in mind affordability and livability.

 Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside

On Tuesday, June 10th 2008 the Bank of Canada announced it’s decision to leave its target for the overnight lending rate at 3% and the bank lending rate at 3.25%. The Bank surprised most observers by leaving rates unchanged and cited concerns about rising inflation for this change in it’s policy (find the full press release here).

An article in the Globe and Mail (read the article here) today discussed the issue. Not only are mortgage interest rates expected to rise due to the shift in the Bank of Canada policy, but also because of the predicted rise in inflation. However, mortgage brokers interviewed in the article foresee only “modest” rises in the mortgage rates offered by banks to consumers.

CBC is reporting that on June 11th, 2008  banks are already making the move to raise interest rates (read the article here). Rates increased by as much as 0.5% for a posted five year rate.

Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside

Ozzie Jurock (local real estate investment educator) recently wrote a piece featured in the Vancouver Sun (”Why I will always buy real estate“). It’s an interesting read, and worth considering in light of our “rebalancing” market.

You can read the article for yourself right here, but here are a couple of expercpts for you:

If you place a good portion of your assets into real estate today, you won’t have to worry about tomorrow. It doesn’t matter how wild or turbulent the economy or the marketplace. It’s like riding a horse with one spur - if half the horse goes, the other half has to go along with it. No matter how deep or tempestuous the water, you’re going to be floating on top of it.

Home ownership (the most common form of real estate holding) has been the single largest factor in the accumulation of wealth for the average North American, firstly because of straight appreciation due to inflation, secondly, due to the leverage involved and thirdly real estate has a use and therefore always a value.

Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside

On May 22nd, Vancouver city council voted to approve moving forward with the redesign of downtown’s Granville Street. The makeover will cost the city (and it’s taxpayers) $20-million and will include a redesigned civic plaza (at Granville and West Georgia), custom made street furniture, a walk of fame and new pavement design.

 There has been an ongoing battle over Granville Street for decades. Charles Gauthier, of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association says, “In the last 5 - 10 years we’ve seen huge changes on the street. This is just going to spur more of it on. It’s amazing how the design has won a lot of approval.”

 Originally, one of Vancouver’s exclusive streets it was known for it’s colour and night life. Underground malls pulled businesses off the street (and customers) in the 1970s. A decision by the city in 1974 to convert the street to a pedestrian mall failed to halt the decline. More recently, the city has attempted to revitalize the area.

It has allowed limited car traffic back onto the street, and has also designated a three block portion of the street as the Granville Entertainment Zone for a concentration of bars and nightclubs. Major businesses have been moving back onto the street such as Holt Renfrew, Winners and Future Shop.

Meanwhile, the infrastructure in the area has remained out of date. This decision by the city appears to be an effort to reverse that disparity. 

 Sebastian Albrecht, Vancouver Realtor with Royal LePage Westside