Burnaby home sales have reached a new high watermark this past year. 2014 home sales were the strongest they have ever been in the Vancouver-adjacent city. Home sellers are excited to fetch a premium price on their properties, and homebuyers are more eager than ever to snatch up Burnaby real estate because of its premium status.

Numbers That Tell a Story 

The entire Metro Vancouver area has experienced a tremendous amount of growth in the past several years. Real estate sales have been posting monthly records, with the numbers in October of 2014 being 17 percent higher than the year before.

In Burnaby, the median sales price of detached homes was above a million for the first nine consecutive months of 2014. That price reflects a 10 percent increase compared to 2013. Even smaller, more modest homes have been selling at remarkable prices. A 1,114 sq. ft. bungalow sold in summer of 2014 for $1,055,000.

These sales statistics come from the home price index (HPI), which means that the really expensive home sales are considered outliers and removed from the data. In effect, the housing market in Burnaby is even stronger than the million-dollar mark indicates.

Fueled by Scarcity 

One of the main reasons that the housing market is doing so well in Burnaby is simple economics. New employees with white-collar jobs are constantly moving to Vancouver, and they are on the hunt for comfortable homes that lie within a quick commute of the downtown area.

Burnaby’s prime location just east of the city makes it an ideal location for people who want to be close to the action of Metro Vancouver without being in the thick of it. Burnaby also boasts some of the most beautiful homes this close to the city.

This high demand is countered by a relatively scarce supply. Owners of detached homes in Burnaby are prone to stay, and developers are keener to construct multifamily complexes, such as condominiums or townhomes.

As a result, detached luxury homes in Burnaby are becoming harder and harder to find. This makes the market hungry for property at any price, especially high quality homes with luxury amenities.

A Bright Future

Burnaby’s real estate success seems like it will only grow in 2015. Many of the more affordable suburbs of Vancouver are investing heavily in public transit systems, leaving the more close by real estate of Burnaby free to remain a city filled with predominantly luxury properties.

Job growth also is anticipated to continue in the city, which already hosts such notable companies as Electronic Arts, Chevron, Nokia and Mercedes Benz.

If you were thinking of selling your detached luxury home, now would be one of the best times. While prices are only predicted to go higher, the current insatiable demand makes home selling relatively effortless. To get your home sold at an unprecedented price, take a look at our seller’s page.

Insurance is usually the last thing on a buyer’s mind, but this should not be the case. Even though title insurance does not cost much, it could be one of the wisest purchases a homeowner could make. A simple document can help prevent a lot of headache and heartache down the road.

Why Protecting Your Title Matters

Buying a home essentially means that you are “taking title” of the property, establishing legally binding ownership. Before you can do this, you must perform a title search to ensure that there are no contesting registrations for the title. This process is a standard part of the closing procedure.

A clean title search now does not mean that there will not be disputes in the future. Legal paperwork can take a long time to process; some of it gets buried for years at a time. At any point a third party can come forward to contest full or partial ownership of the title. Reasons they can legally dispute your claim include:

• Arguments over inheritance arising from an unclear will — heirs to a property could surface and argue a case for ownership

• Home liens — either from unpaid property taxes or unpaid contracting labor

• Clerical errors — a single typo or incorrectly phrased statement can send the legal status of a property claim into limbo

• Illicit claims — some people are capable of fraud or forgery, contesting the validity of a property transfer based on falsified documents

While all of these problems seem like they would not take much to resolve, any one of them might tie your title up in the legal system. You could be forced to defend your claim in an expensive and drawn out civil dispute process. Title insurance will pay for most or all of the legal costs needed to set the record straight and keep you in your home.

The Difference between Lender and Owner Title Insurance

Buying a home through a lender usually means that title insurance will be a requirement for buying the property. This stipulation may seem like enough to protect you, but in reality the insurance you buy will only protect the lender. Should the lender run out of money or decide to give up the fight, the onus is now on you to mount a defense.

Owner title insurance serves as buffer should this instance occur. It can also be enhanced to cover aspects like mineral rights claims or boundary disputes. Always look closely at the title insurance document to see exactly what it covers.

For more advice on home buying, take a look at our dedicated buying page.

The surest way to increase the odds of a smooth, painless sale is to set an appropriate price for your home. Despite this fact, many home owners become a little too ambitious with their listing price.

Always perform some market research and work with an agent to set a reasonable listing price. Doing so will help you avoid these common problems:

Lingering Listing

 Home buyers will tend to steer towards listings they see as a good value. If your home is priced higher than other comparable properties, they may pass on viewing or buying it for cheaper listings. The more often this reaction happens, the more likely your home is to sit on the market.

Even if a quick sale is not your chief concern, a prolonged listing period can harm your ability to sell at all. Buyers and the representing real estate agents may question if there is something wrong with your house. They may judge any defects they do find more harshly as a result.

Others may play the waiting game to see if you become desperate enough to chip away at your asking price. In either scenario, any interested parties will expect more and want to pay less.

There is also the danger that you are pricing your home out of many buyers’ search criteria. People looking online will often place a cap on their home listing price. Your home may be just out of their budget. This can consequently get your home screened out of their search results.

Incessant Immaculacy

 Having a clean home is absolutely vital when showing the property. You must keep the lawn and interior maintained. You will also have to put away a majority of your personal belongings to keep the property from looking cluttered or disorganized.

Putting on appearances for a couple of days a month can be fine for a while. Constantly having to tidy up for months on end can get old fast. Eventually, your stress levels will elevate after having to repeat the same tasks over and over again.

Anemic Appraisal

 If your buyer is going to secure financing in order to purchase your home, they must first get an appraisal. Should their appraisal fall well short of your asking price, they will be unable to pay for the property in full and must find a way to close the gap.

This sudden realization will delay a sale significantly. Many times, they are simply unable to purchase the home in this situation, and you must start back from square one with another buyer.

All of these factors are why it is important to set a reasonable price from the beginning. Work closely with an experienced real estate agent to determine a fair price for your home given the current market and comparable listings. To find out more about reliable home selling techniques, take a look at our selling page.

As society and technology progresses, so do our homes. Gone are features like overhead fluorescent lighting and wood paneling. In their place are energy efficiency, neutral colors and open floor plans.

The most luxurious homes usually boast the cutting edge of these trends. Some design choices will find their way down to more moderate homes. Other features will be truly reserved for only the most opulent Burnaby real estate properties.

With this in mind, here are some of the most notable amenities that luxury home buyers have begun seeking.

Automated Subterranean Parking

The wealthy tend to curate a collection of beautiful and exotic cars. These vehicles make a profound statement both for onlookers and upon the person lucky enough to be in the driver’s seat.

Unfortunately, large garages that hold four or more cars tend to swallow up a great deal of a property’s square footage. A huge garage can also blemish an otherwise elegant front elevation view of the home.

To solve this problem, some luxury home owners are turning to sophisticated underground parking garages. These systems allow you to park your vehicle in a dock where it is automatically arranged and stored. You can retrieve the car you want later with the simple push of a button. This type of system is not only convenient, but it also feels slick and futuristic.

Entertaining Wine Cellars

A wine cellar that looks and feels like a cave is no longer acceptable. Home owners want to know that they can get some extra utility out of their investment.

Instead of letting their wine cellars remain a gloomy and uncomfortable lair, they have begun to add furniture and fixtures. Dining rooms arrangements are especially popular since they offer an excellent thematic venue to entertain guests. Decorative accents make this already dramatic setting even more striking. All of these amenities can be bolstered by adjustable temperatures, humidity and ambient lighting.

Highly Advanced Purification Systems

Not every luxury home addition has to be merely aesthetic. Luxury home owners are becoming more interested in protecting themselves from health problems that can come from impure air and water entering the home.

For example, central HVAC systems are being paired with sophisticated multi-zone air purification systems. UV lights and HEPA filters all filter out allergens, carcinogens and other impurities that lead to poor indoor air quality.

Installation of large, industrial-strength water filters and purifiers are on the rise. These systems filter water coming into the house, and they are often coupled with charcoal or cartridge filters at drinking water dispensers.

These three luxury amenities are just a taste of what modern luxury homes can offer. To find out more about homes with lavish amenities in the Burnaby area, take a look at our listings.