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Petti Fong

Vancouver
What used to be considered real estate extras are  standard  these days and  upgrades such as hardwood floors that used to cost desperate buyers thousands more on top of the purchase price  are now included.
With prices tumbling, Vancouver's real estate market is adjusting fast to  the scenario of just a year or two ago.  Then,  news coverage focused on the  queues in front of developers' hawking mere floor plans and the promises of condo units to come. Now  it's the sellers  looking a tad desperate.
In one townhouse development in Surrey, prices have dropped C$100,000 (HK$735,255).  A recent article   in the Vancouver Sun  by Larco Investments'  vice-president Jim Nesbitt showed that developers are talking up  reasons to buy.
There is no denying that homebuyers have recently become more cautious, Mr Nesbitt wrote.
The developer is guaranteeing the value of its condominiums - up to a point. Before buyers complete the purchase of their home, the developer will have an appraiser assess the value of the property.
If the value drops upon completion of the purchase, the developer will deduct the  difference up to a limit of 10 per cent.
'It's true that, as a developer, we have become creative with the kinds of incentive programmes we are offering to potential homebuyers,' Mr Nesbitt wrote.
Vancouver is one of the last places in Canada to feel  the price slump,  the city having so far deflected  the plunge seen  in Alberta.
But despite all the bravado,  the familiar puffing that Vancouver is different and immune to falling property values because of the  city's Asian connections, its proximity to the ocean and the  2010 Olympic Winter Games,  it appears likely that  prices will drop further.
The Canadian Real Estate Association said  the number of new listings of homes for sale on the Multiple Listing Service of all real estate boards across the country had set a new record in July.
The association's chief economist, Gregory Klump, says prices have softened and similar trends are expected to play out in the west, where prices posted sharp gains last year.
There is a general slowdown across property types  in Vancouver, but high-end real estate agent Grant Connell says there has not been much in the way of price reductions -   the properties are just taking longer to sell.
'Vancouver is feeling the effects of the American market but hasn't been hit as hard,' Mr Connell said. Stricter mortgage policies by Canadian lending institutions have limited the number of foreclosures in the local real estate market.
But  the high-end market is booming. There are more C$3.5 million to C$8 million homes  on the market these days, Mr Connell said.
He is  selling a C$25 million mansion in Burnaby that is owned by Ray Loewen, who turned his funeral home services business into one of the largest in North America.
Mr Connell says the  mansion, complete with  tennis courts and set on  half a hectare, is being sold  because the family finds it  too big now that the kids are grown. Buyers from  China and Switzerland have shown an interest, Mr Connell said.
The same kind of buyers will have many posh properties  to choose from, including a C$24 million mansion in Richmond set on  8 hectares, with an expansive  garden taking up about half of that space.
But that property has been on the market since at least May and as of this week is still unsold.
Tomorrow: New York



Homebuyers' heaven as house prices slump