Northvanhomesales

Interesting things coming to Ambleside! https://www.nsnews.com//heres-the-vibrant-vision-for-west-

THE REAL ESTATE THAT SEEMS EXPENSIVE NOW, SEEMED EXPENSIVE THEN. I’m no psychologist, but so many cognitive biases seem to crop up when it comes to buying, owni...ng and selling real estate over timeespecially our own home. When a young friend of mine bought an apartment condo in Squamish five years ago for $309,000 some people thought he was crazy. Until someone crazier bought it off him two years later for $557,000. And instead of seeking therapy, he turned around and moved up the ladder, to a townhouse. Time will tell how crazy my young friend is. Sure, it’s been a crazy few years for real estate in Squamish. In the Sea-to-Sky Corridor. In Greater Vancouver. In the Lower Mainland. In BC. But you can zoom out the price graph, toofive, ten, fifteen years and more. Yes, there were dips, and there will be more dips to come. But by and large, the line on that graph has been inching up for a long, long time even now, in the most inexplicable context of COVID. Fifteen years ago, you could buy a house in West Vancouver for $557,000. Not just an apartment in Squamish, but perhaps an entire apartment building? And fifteen years seems more recent to some than others. Why the mind games? Because unless you’re speculating or until it’s time to move, a home is just where life goes by. Our home is not a ticker symbol that we bookmark in our browser and check every weekday afternoon. There’s no monthly account statement in the mail, no quarterly call from an advisor, that’s constantly reminding us precisely what our home is worth. Instead there’s maybe a mortgage payment, a rent cheque from the tenant downstairs, an annual Assessment, and taxes after Canada Day. There's a lawn sign down the block, there’s gossiping with the neighbours. Door-knocks and newsletters from our local Realtors. And there’s the news: changes in prices, changes in sales, and the larger forces of the time that are acting on them both. Periodic, not constant, reminders of the financial aspect of homeownership. And in between, there’s life. Laundry, a leaky faucet, and friends coming for drinks on Friday. It’s an asset we live in. Sleep and exercise in. Celebrate and worry in. Record the tops of our kids’ heads with higher and higher pencil-marks on the wall. Time just passes sometimes a lot of it until it’s time to sell and buy again. Then, the value of our home transforms from anecdotal, to real. That’s when some of us tend to remember when, and shake our heads. The real estate we thought was so expensive at the time, seems like a bargain now. And the real estate within in our budget today, seems like a rip-off. If it’s any consolation, many of us tend to conveniently forget that real estate always seems expensive at the time, no matter when the time. Just ask your parents, your older relatives and friends. Your father and I knew this place would make us millionaires. We would’ve bought five houses but couldn’t scrape together the money...said how many parents, ever? Instead, we hear: back then, we could’ve bought a cabin in Whistler for less than a Volkswagen, but your FATHER said Noooo. I once asked the question: If you could go back in time, bump into your 20-year-old self and say ONE THING...what would it be? And a Realtor I’ve known since we were kids replied, show fewer housesbuy more. Perfectly put. 20/20 in fact. So many of us suffer from it. I still catch myself doing the math on properties I thought I sold well at the time, when I could have done much better bydoing nothing. Just letting life go by. But it’s never that simple. Sure, time passes and graphs go up; but we know it's actually life itself that brings those forks in the road. Sothis is not a war-cry to buy and hold real estate, even though history has certainly been on the side of that decision. It’s more of a reminder to myself if nobody else not to take for granted the effect that TIME has had on the value of our SPACE. And what a beautiful space it is.

**LYNN VALLEY**. It’s a great day for a possession!!! Congratulations to my sellers! The market for single family homes is absolutely insane!! Multiples on everything. If you’re selling, now is the time.

#pinkshirtday is coming up so my foundation, #northvancares created this cool shirt to help blanket the #northshore in pink on Feb 24th. All of the proceeds will go to #youthinbc @youthinbc to help kids who need it! Deadline to order is Feb 10. (https://northvancouvercares.com/pink-shirt-day/)

How’s the Market? Ummmm....it’s still insane!! This is a map of the #northshore and current #northvanvcouverrealestate market. Everyone will say I can help you buy or sell but I’m saying I will help you understand what’s going on and how you can maximize your opportunities. Call, text or whatever suits you. You’ll speak to me, not an assistant.

There are still some people that think a Realtor’s job is easy money. Here’s how easy it is https://www.floridarealtors.org//184-ways-realtors-are-wor

Great fun today speaking with Lora about incorporating philanthropy into your business. #givingback #corporatesocialresponsibility #northvancares

Most of you know about my not-for-profit but I'm excited that we were featured in the North Shore News today! https://www.nsnews.com//north-vancouver-not-for-profit-pla

New Listing! https://bcres.paragonrels.com/publink/default.aspx