Oakwyn Realty

At Oakwyn, we want to make sure we are continuing to provide value and insight within the Real Estate Industry. This includes sharing our knowledge and experience with our community.

For this month Oakwyn Managing Broker, Michelle Adams is here to shed light on new and revised regulatory amendments from the Financial Transactions & Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC).

Read on for Michelle’s advice and get in the know, with Oakwyn.

Previously, REALTORS® would enter into a business relationship after 2 transactions, however now, a business relationship is created the first time an agent verifies a client’s ID. This means agents need to fill out a new Individual FINTRAC form for every transaction, plus you must fill out Part D (most agents have been filling out Part D anyways). Please also DO NOT use abbreviations for anything- use full names, full occupation titles, and full identification types (eg. write “Driver’s License” instead of “DL”).

When working with a Corporation/Entity, you now must obtain beneficial ownership information when confirming the existence of an entity and take steps to verify its accuracy. Beneficial owners are individuals who directly or indirectly own or control 25% or more of a corporation or trust.

Ensure you are providing corporate registry documents, completing the corporate FINTRAC, completing the Beneficial Records, providing Source Information, and confirming the signing Authority.

To search for Beneficial Ownership, you can go to the “Land Owner Transparency Registry” on MyLtsa. If your search comes back without any results, take a screenshot of the “no results found” page and save it to your Skyslope file, so that the office has a record that you took measures to search it. You will need the names and addresses of all directors and beneficial owners. In order to verify the accuracy of this information, you will need to request and submit documents to the office such as the Certificate of Incorporation, Notice of Articles, and any document found in number 4 of the “Beneficial Ownership Record” Form.

Agents must determine and declare if they are working with a PEP or an HIO. A Domestic PEP can be anyone who has held a political position in the last 5 years: such as a Mayor, Judge, or MP etc. A Foreign PEP could have been a Head of State or Government Member. An example of a HIO would be the head of the UN or the World Health Organization. There is a new form to fill out and should you find yourself in this situation, please reach out to a Managing Broker.

REALTORS® must report virtual currency transactions of $10,000 or more to FINTRAC when the funds are received in one or more transactions within a 24 hour period. Oakwyn does not accept transactions done with virtual currency at this time, however, new rules are in place to deal with it.

Previously, REALTORS® were required to keep records of only certain reports sent to FINTRAC but now REALTORS® are required to keep every report sent to FINTRAC.

We are in this together to improve the real estate industry! Let’s stay on top of what we need to do to continue to lead the way in providing professional, ethical, and excellent service to those we serve.

For more information check out our website, or contact us!

At Oakwyn we’re always wanting to present the facts in an engaging way. Every month, one of our agents will unpick current market statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver to help you understand what’s going on in the real estate market and what you should be looking out for.

For May 2021 statistics, we have Oakwyn agent Adam Chahl here for his statistics report.

As May 2021 statistics show, we saw 4,268 sales during the month of May. This is actually 13% less than we saw in April, the month prior. We’re no longer setting records!

For the past few months, we’ve been seeing recording-setting figures. See March and April reports for reference. We’re no longer in that territory anymore, so that’s really interesting when we look at the market.

May 2021 statistics show that in Vancouver, if we look at the average house price for all property types, last month it was 1,172,000. That’s still 14% up, year on year, and 1.5% up from the previous month of April.

However, the number of active listings is also up at almost at 11,000. Last month we had 10,970 on the market which is 7% increase from April. This is translating into buyers having a little bit more choice than they had in the previous few months. We’re not saying that the market is returning to a balance or a buyer’s market but it’s teetering back from that peak of a seller’s market that we’ve been seeing for the past few months.

What we’re seeing in the market that’s not really reflected in the statistics yet is fewer multiple offers and fewer subject-free offers. It could be a sign that if buyers have a little more choice, there’s a little less pressure, which means a little less stress on the market. Adam expects we may see things return from the peak that we’ve had for the last few months.

Work with your Oakwyn agent, work with your trusted real estate advisor, and come up with a plan that makes sense for you in 2021 if you’re thinking about making a move.

To keep up with the latest market statistics and join the conversation, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and visit our website.

At Oakwyn we’re always wanting to present the facts in an engaging way. Every month, one of our agents will unpick current market statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver to help you understand what’s going on in the real estate market and what you should be looking out for.

For April 2021 statistics, we have Oakwyn agent Jeff Appelbe here for his statistics report.

As April 2021 statistics show, we continue to see remarkable figures month on month. Sales in April of 2021 were 342% higher than sales in April of 2020.

What actually happened in the month? We saw 3.2% increase in detached home sales. That’s a staggering number for the month, but we did see inventory levels jump about 15%, and we saw the sales to active ratios come down.

On the condo side, we saw a bump in inventory, and sales to active ratios came down but we also saw a 1.9% increase in condo prices.

For townhomes, the sales to active ratios did continue to climb in most areas. We also saw a 3.2% gain in prices over the month.

April 2021 statistics show that the sales to active ratio is starting to come down. This means we might be seeing a little bit more of a leveling in prices, or at least slowing of price growth. The numbers are suggesting we might see 6 to 8% growth in the next 12 months as opposed to 18 to 20% growth.

The multiple offer madness is slowing and seems to have peaked likely in the last couple of months. We’re now seeing people getting accepted offers still at quite high prices but maybe they are now only competing with 2 people instead of 6 or 7.

Work with your Oakwyn agent, work with your trusted real estate advisor, and come up with a plan that makes sense for you in 2021 if you’re thinking about making a move. If you want to know anything about specific areas or specific property types, as always, reach out to Jeff!

To keep up with the latest market statistics and join the conversation, be sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter, and visit our website.