Kathleen Thomas
Macdonald Realty, 2429 152 #100 V4P1N4 Surrey, BC, Canada

Loving my new listing at Enclave in South Surrey. This townhouse has exactly what buyers would want in their new home - corner unit, yard off of the kitchen on the main level, beautiful south facing yard with an enlarged patio area, three bedrooms, three baths including a powder on the main floor, and a well managed complex. There is also a clubhouse and children's playground and it is in the desired Grandview Corners neighbourhood. What's not to love! 81 2979 156, R2561731, $699,000.

The newest stats have just been released for the Fraser Valley. It is no surprise that records have continued to be set in terms of sales, new listings, and prices. We are starting to see some buyer fatigue setting in. Coupled with a - hopeful - increase in inventory as sellers list in what has always been the busy spring market, we may see a calming in the market. Click below for more information. http://fvreb.bc.ca/statistics/Package202103.pdf

My clients have been trying to buy a house since late fall. While we saw a few that they liked, this competitive multiple offer world was not working in their favour. And then we saw 1888 Harmony in South Surrey and they fell in love. What a gem! Completely renovated, cul de sac location, lane access, and an in-law suite! We submitted a competitive offer and they were the successful bidders. I am over the moon for them. Jason & Sharon Deveau were wonderful to work with across the table. A win all around!

We definitely need a better system for multiple offers! I am very careful when submitting offers for my clients in a multiple offer situation working hard to ensure there really are other offers on the table. But at the end of the day, we are relying on the seller's agent regarding the number of bids submitted. And when multiple offers come in it is much more likely that there will be an outlier who submits an offer way over asking to ensure they get the deal. This can then skew the market for future sales in the neighbouring area.

A fellow colleague saw this and shared to our BC Realtor page. Interesting graph about the increase in Canadian real estate housing prices.

Another happy seller! My lovely seller has a beautiful unit in the Embassy and buyers fell in love with it. This is a great location near uptown White Rock and the Hospital. The buyer loves that she will be able to walk to work. My seller is looking forward to returning to his home town roots. A win all around. 107 1575 Best Street.

What a thrill to successfully negotiate an accepted offer for my buyers on this beautiful home in this very challenging market. This was truly a team effort! The buyers had their mortgage material all up to date and Marci at Ask Marci pulled her strings to get financing preapproved; a pre-inspection with Stinger Inspections told us all we needed to know about the house; lots of communication between all of the involved realtors so that the sellers knew the buyers were serious and able; a bankdraft ready to go; and the ability to put in a subject free offer brought it altogether. So thrilled for them!

http://www.macrealtymarketupdate.com/kathleen_thomas

This year we are experiencing a market very similar to the one we saw in 2016/2017. The difference is that that market was fueled by off-shore investors whereas this one is very much headed up by local buyers. With low interest rates, a lack of inventory, and a large buyer group still wanting to buy in the Lower Mainland, there is likely to be a continued push on prices. However, if prices go up too much buyers may have to step back which could slow down the feverish pace we are currently experiencing. And if we start to see more inventory come on the market as we enter the traditional spring season, this too could help calm things down.

Another multiple offer on a condo! My seller had a bachelor unit in the Miramar that has lovely views to the North. We had a lot of interest in the unit, multiple offers last night, and a very happy buyer and seller today. Congrats to all!

Yes, across the board from condos to houses we are seeing activity. My seller's condo sold in multiple offers above asking. He is thrilled and so is the successful buyer. A win-win.

Yes, it is that time of year again where you need to submit your speculation and vacancy tax information to the provincial government. All residential property owners in the taxable regions must complete a declaration and will receive a letter from the government outlining the process to be followed. The speculation and vacancy tax applies based on ownership in BC as of December 31 for the preceding year. *** Even if you have sold your property this year, 2021, and will be mo...ving out prior to March 31, 2021 you must complete the declaration as it applies to last year when you were still the resident owner. If you purchased your new home in 2020, then you will likely qualify for an exemption. As per the website gov.bc.ca/spectax: "Owners are exempt in the year they bought or legally inherited the property. A newly bought property is exempt if you paid the property transfer tax or didn't have to pay the property transfer tax for one of the following reasons: First-time home buyers’ exemption Newly built homes exemption Reversion, escheated or forfeited land exemption Transfers to or from a trustee in bankruptcy Transfer of land by Public Guardian and Trustee Transfer to a veteran or veteran's spouse". You will be receiving a letter in the mail from the provincial government outlining the website address and information needed to access your file. You must do this prior to March 31, 2021. If you have any questions about the above or any other related matter, call them at 1 833 554 2323.

2020 you were completely unpredictable and one for the history books. At the beginning of the year it looked like we were going to settle back into a normal market with buyers indicating a desire to buy a home and sellers looking forward to either downsizing or trading up. Then Covid entered the scene and with the restrictions that came into place mid-March many thought that 2020 was going to be a very quiet and challenging year in real estate. Who knew! Who knew that 2020 w...ould see significant demand on the part of buyers to purchase a property and a general reluctance on the part of sellers to place their home on the market. This demand vs supply imbalance created, and continues to create, a very strong seller's market. Thank you to all of my clients for placing your trust in me to help you move forward in this market. Helping my buyers find a home has been challenging to say the least. It has been very rewarding every time we have successfully completed on a property. Helping my sellers to understand the market and how to manage the selling and buying process has also been a challenge and one that we have carefully navigated. I am honoured to be recognized with a sales achievement reward from Macdonald Realty for 2020 for all of these efforts.

OFFICIALLY SOLD! I am so happy for my buyers who have just purchased this beauty in White Rock. We have been looking for a while and this home ticked all of their boxes. They are now looking forward to spending Christmas in their new home. Congratulations Evan and Megan!

And it is SOLD. This lovely two bedroom, two bathroom condo centrally located in South Surrey was well loved by its owners and I was happy to help the family sell it. The market has been very active and buyers are snapping up properties. This was no exception! If you are thinking about listing your property for sale, now is a good time. Give me a call if you have questions.

Well thanks! I am not sure who nominated me to the real estate agent category but I really appreciate it. It is so rewarding to know your clients value what you do. Kudos to all of the businesses nominated.

SOLD! This sale feels great! The feeling you get when you know you have found the right home for your buyers and helped make their dream literally happen. I have been looking with our buyers for quite some time. They had a very clear sense of where they wanted to live and the style of home they wanted to live in. But we were just not finding the perfect property for them. When we walked into this home we all knew this was the one. The inspector loved inspecting the home because it was clearly so well built. And in talking to the sellers we could see that it had been much loved and had really good vibes. Just a win all around. Thanks to @Stefanie_realtor with the Dave Robles group. A pleasure to work with her. Congratulations Emily and Chris! I am so happy for you.

Oftentimes I hear of a seller excitedly telling their friends that they are sold and eagerly starting to pack up their home in anticipation of moving only to be told a week later by their realtor that the deal fell apart. What happened! It is very important to understand the difference between an accepted offer IN SUBJECT and a firm contract with all subjects removed. In the first situation, you have a conditional offer. You have negotiated with the buyers the main terms - p...rice, dates, deposit - and the buyer has put certain conditions - subjects - on the offer so as to allow them to do their due diligence. They have seen the home once, maybe two or three times. They now need to be sure they can in fact proceed on the purchase. They may need to check such things as their financing, that there is nothing of concern on the title and property disclosure statement, that an inspection does not highlight any concerns and so forth. If they do not remove subjects then the deal will collapse. Only after the buyer has satisfied him or herself with regard to all of the subjects in the contract, has then removed them with an addendum, and paid the deposit do you have a firm and binding contract about which you can get excited. If you are not sure if you are in subject or have a firm deal, you need to ask your realtor to carefully review the contract with you. Remember too that you do not want to disclose any details of a contract in subject. Should the deal fall apart you may not want other prospective buyers to know what you were willing to accept.

Ponderosa Station is a beautiful gated townhouse complex in South Surrey that is located near Highway 99, shopping, and recreation. It is well run, has a lovely clubhouse, and features masters on the main townhouses. This end unit is centrally located in the complex, has a great outdoor space, overheight ceilings, and lots of windows. Well taken care of, it is move in ready! Call for a showing. 24 14909 32 $875,000 R2485244

It is hard to find a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo in South Surrey/White Rock for under $400,000 that has as much to offer as this one located in Semiahmoo Court. A well run complex, lovely amenity room and outdoor garden, spacious condo, and perfectly located near shops, services and transit. Call for a private showing! 204 2229 152nd $379,000 R2485244

The news release for the Fraser Valley July statistics has just come out. It is no surprise to me that this has been a record setting month. Normally July is one of the slowest months of the year but Covid delayed the market. Once restrictions started to ease, buyers got back out to look. Click below for more details and give me a call if you have questions!

A late spring market has been the story for the month of June. Click on the link below to read more.

I love this commercial. Strata living can be great ... or not. It is important that you know what to expect when buying into a strata property. Have questions about strata? Give me a call.

Grateful to live in a country that is not dominated by an us against them mentality; whether it be religion, politics, race, you name it. Where the rights of th...e individual are also balanced against the needs of the community. Are we perfect? Absolutely not! But I truly believe in our ability to make our world a better place when we work together and don’t allow ourselves to be divided and controlled by partisan rhetoric. #iamcanadian #itstartsathome See more

Last week was busy with two completions and a subject removal! My seller at 14707 Mcdonald Ave is so excited to see her home sold. She is looking forward to a new home near her grandbabies. A lovely lady and I could not be happier for her!

And it is sold ... my townhouse at 15876 McBeth is sold and my sellers are very happy. Lots of changes in their house world and new digs on the way. Very exciting!

Check out my new listing at 14707 Mcdonald Avenue. This fantastic ocean view home is located on the hillside in White Rock overlooking Semiahmoo Bay and the Gulf Islands. Listed at $1,279,000. More information at kathleenthomas.ca.