CREA Homebuyers’ Road Map

The CREA Homebuyers’ Road Map was written by your Realtor and the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada is a checklist of items to go through when purchasing a Whistler property including:

  1. Assess Your Financial Readiness: What do lenders require? Have you been pre-approved for a mortgage? Do you know your credit rating? And other tips.
  2. Consider Your Mortgage Options: What type of mortgage is best for you? What mortgage features are best for you? How often can you make your payments? What types of mortgages charges might you have to pay? How much do you need for your down payment?
  3. Do you need Mortgage Default Insurance? (eg CMHC mortgages?)
  4. Research Government Programs: First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit? Home…

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Where are Whistler Buyers From?


Every day I hear the question.

With the US dollar being so strong, the buyers from the United States must be snapping up our properties?

Actually, no.

Vancouver and the Lower Mainland area have always been the main area that our buyers come from. And then Whistler and the rest of Canada. NO – you say. Yes!

The strong US dollar has made Canadians more wealthy as our US cousins are spending their 132% dollar in our country, which means Canadians have more money to spend on real estate in Canada. And Canadians are keeping their money in Canada. Make sense! Take a look at the stats!

  1. Greater Vancouver buyers purchased 45% of Whistler real estate in 2015.
  2. Whistler buyers purchased 27% of Whistler real…

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The market is hot and you’ve decided to sell- now what do you need to consider before putting your home on the market? Selling your home in a HOT seller’s market has obvious benefits. Chances are your home will sell quickly and for close to or over asking price (if priced correctly); when inventory levels are low, and there are plenty of buyers around (such as the case for Whistler at the moment), sellers can expect a high volume of interest in their property. This heightened activity does not mean sellers can be unrealistic or complacent when putting their home on the market. Here are 6 Tips for Selling Your Home in a HOT Seller’s Market.

  1. Have your exit strategy in place

Don’t be surprised if you list your home for sale and it receives…

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So you’re thinking about selling your Whistler home!

Ready to cash in on Whistler’s four season popularity and, by all accounts, a booming seller’s market, you’re a mere phone call or email away from putting up a For Sale sign. You’re eager to get started… but you’re not exactly sure how to get started.

The first step is easy: contact a knowledgeable professional local REALTOR® who is well versed in the Whistler market. While you wait for paperwork to be processed and photos to be taken, here’s what else you can do to prepare for the sale of your Whistler property.

Cull the Clutter

When your house sells – and it may happen more quickly than you think – you’re going to need to pack up all of your personal possessions, so why not get a head…

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So you’re thinking about selling your Whistler home!

Ready to cash in on Whistler’s four season popularity and, by all accounts, a booming seller’s market, you’re a mere phone call or email away from putting up a For Sale sign. You’re eager to get started… but you’re not exactly sure how to get started.

The first step is easy: contact a knowledgeable professional local REALTOR® who is well versed in the Whistler market. While you wait for paperwork to be processed and photos to be taken, here’s what else you can do to prepare for the sale of your Whistler property.

Cull the Clutter

When your house sells – and it may happen more quickly than you think – you’re going to need to pack up all of your personal possessions, so why not get a head…

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Selling your property is not always an easy decision. It’s rarely a black-and-white matter; typically, there are several factors at play and it’s not always easy to sort through them all.

Whistler is currently experiencing a seller’s market, which means that if you own a property in town, conditions are in your favour. With high demand for Whistler real estate and a low level of inventory, odds are good that there are plenty of people out there seeking a place just like the one you own – and many who may be willing to put forth an attractive offer.

Properties today are moving quickly and at price points that are higher than we’ve seen in many years. But how do you know whether or not now is the time to make a move and list your Whistler property for…

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Whistler is a unique real estate market, to say the least.

Aside from understanding the characteristics of our various neighbourhoods and property types, there is an entire vocabulary that is specific to the Whistler market. Local agents are fluent in terms such as “Phase I” and “Phase II”, “Tourism Whistler Fees”, “GST applicable”, and the like. (This is why it pays to have an experienced local expert on your side!)

This post is all about the Tourism Whistler fee. Some – but not all – Whistler property owners may have to pay this annual fee, but many do so without knowing exactly what it is. Prospective buyers might see it pop up in listing details as “TW Fees”, but may not be certain of what it entails.

Nobody likes paying extra fees, so lets…

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If you’ve been following the Whistler real estate market lately, you’ve probably heard the term “inventory” used extensively.

Inventory may be the buzzword of the moment – but what, exactly, does it mean?

When most people think of inventory, they think of the product that a company has in stock. The same concept applies to inventory in a real estate context: the products are the properties listed for sale in a given market.

T-Shirts and Two Bedrooms

Think of a retail store that sells t-shirts. If inventory is high, that means that there are plenty of t-shirts in stock. If you’re coming in to get a blue t-shirt in XL, odds are pretty good that they will have plenty of these shirts in stock.

Similarly, when inventory levels are high in…

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“Most individuals who sell real estate are aware that a sale of a principal residence does not attract income tax.”

The Income Tax Act requires the individuals to file a prescribed form with their income tax return for the year in which the principal residence is sold. In practice, however, the vast majority of individuals who sell their principal residence will merely ignore the requirement to file the proper forms under the assumption that the sale is not taxable.

In order for a property to qualify as a principal residence during any particular year it must:

  1. be a housing unit, a leasehold interest therein, or a share of stock of the co-operative housing corporation. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) interprets the term housing unit as being a…

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