What to expect when you want to buy a home in East Van
The current Vancouver Real Estate Market is interesting to say the least. It’s not quite a hot market, but there is a lot of movement when it comes to certain types of homes. In East Van, the listings that, right now, are getting the most interest include:
Detached Homes near Main St in Vancouver:
Whether newly built, renovated while maintaining some charm, or a builder’s lot (i.e. at least 33′ x 122′ and zoned to build a large house or duplex) are all seeing a lot of interest from prospective Buyers. Specifically in the Mount Pleasant East, Cedar Cottage, Main, Fraser and Riley Park Neighbourhood. If a home for sale in these areas had good bones or something special (i.e. mountain views, unique features) and is priced right, you can bet that it’ll be sold in the first week or two. Search for Homes near Main Street in Vancouver.
Mid Sized East Van Townhomes:
For families who have outgrown a condo and can’t quite afford a detached house, townhomes are the perfect option, typically having 3 bedrooms, multiple levels, a private entrance and some outdoor space. You’ll notice in East Van the plethora of new build townhomes coming on the market. Many of these new developments sell out quite quickly. Search for Townhomes for Sale in East Van.
The O2: This New East Van Townhome Complex Sold Out
Unique Entry Level Condos:
One of the good things about being a first time buyer is having the luxury of patience. You can wait until the (almost) perfect property comes on the market, the one with great sunny outdoor space, unbeatable views, vaulted ceilings, wood beams, a well run strata, etc. Condos with these and other cool details see a lot of Prospective Buyers and can get a lot of interest right away.
Many of these homes are getting multiple offers, meaning you have to fight other prospective Buyers to have your offer accepted. Multiple Offer Situations can often get emotional, leading Buyers to want to go over their budget in order to secure the “perfect” home, when instead they should have made compromises on what to expect given the budget and neighbourhood they’re interested in.
What to look for when looking for an East Van home
The Vancouver Real Estate Market doesn’t have a ton of great product worthy enough to be called “the perfect home” right now. Given the number of our clients who are waiting until January to list, we expect that to change in the New Year. For Buyers who are looking to get into the market, make smart compromises, look at the big picture, and trust us, your Realtors, when it comes to our advice. Buying a home is both an emotional process and an analytical process, so you need to understand your expectations of needs and wants, and what you can expect in typical East Van houses for sale.
When viewing homes, keep in mind the types of things that can change fairly easily and with a small budget: flooring, paint, furniture and lighting. Also consider home features that require money and time to fix, including: floor plans, kitchens, and basements. Unless you’re moving plumbing around, bathrooms aren’t typically as expensive to revamp as you may expect. If the home doesn’t have a front loading washer and dryer? Don’t worry about it. If the home doesn’t have laundry hook-ups? You might want to reconsider if it’s the home for you.
Every house has something that isn’t so ideal, especially given the number of older homes found in East Van. What matters is how big the problems are and how many issues you would have to address. As a Realtor, I’ve been through many home inspections and there is ALWAYS something in the home that could be better. Often the problems are easy (i.e. more caulking, the toilet is loose, etc), whereas sometimes the problems can be large i.e. the house is sinking. There is a bog in East Vancouver, and some houses have the unfortunate luck of sitting in the bog, which can lead to sinking houses. We won’t let you buy one of those. Don’t expect to have to know every detail of what makes a good and bad home – thats what we’re here to help with, and that’s what the inspectors are looking for during the house inspection.
Even if the home does need major repairs, we’ll work that into the price you pay for the home. Say the roof needs replacing and the kitchen is terribly outdated, you’ll pay less for the home in order to fund the renovation, all the while adding value to the property.
Buying your “Perfect” home
When you’re interested in buying an East Van Home, think about setting aside some extra money for repairs and personal preference updates and renovations so that slightly imperfect home can reach your expectations. We’ve had a lot of experience with personal renovations ad helping clients get started on their own home renovation. We can tell you what to expect when renovating your home, give you approximate costs and refer you to some great companies to do the work.
Otherwise, I suggest that you stay on top of the market using our Custom Client Emails. Your “Perfect Home” is probably someone else’s, so it’ll sell a lot quicker and you need to be ready to move (literally!). Let us know what you’re looking for and we’ll let you know as soon as it comes up for sale.
