The question I get asked all the time is what neighborhood should I live in Victoria?

Should I live in Fairfield, Oak Bay, Saanich east or should I just get a newer home and live further out of Victoria?

The first thing I like to ask is... Do you have children going to a school in Victoria?

Next question I ask is, how old are your kids? 

Typically, I recommend to parents with smaller children, that being close to a recreation center can be easier when trying to juggle picking up kids from activities while rushing home to make dinner.

I recommend living in a good neighbourhood that falls in your price range for buying a home in Victoria while at the same time living close to a - grocery store, recreation center, library etc.... Making life easier of trying to juggle, running a home and raising children.

Now before I go on to talking about the different neighbourhoods, let me go through the other key questions I like to ask my buyers (if they don't have children) and they are deciding which neighbourhood to live in Victoria.

What is your budget?
What style of home do you like in Victoria? Do you like for e.g.  a modern contemporary home in Victoria? A traditional home in Victoria? A character home in Victoria?

Then based on the answers I get from my buyers, I can determine the best home that would be well suited for them to buy in.

As a professional realtor who has helped several buyers find their dream home, I have learnt that asking the questions up front ensures that you are guiding your home buyer to the right product/home that best suits them.

Now, to get back to answering the question of what neighbourhood in Victoria for 2018 should I live in?

If you have kids and have a home budget of under $700,000 I suggest Westhills community in Langford (when there is no traffic it is a 20 min drive to downtown Victoria). It is a great community for families. Did I say it is a great neighbourhood for families… I think I did !

If you are a young professional couple moving to Victoria, that does not have children and you have a budget of buying a home in Victoria of up to $ l, 500,000 I would recommend neighbourhoods closer to downtown like Fairfield, Oak Bay, Fernwood, Gordon Head... (note this list may change based on the answers to the different questions that I ask when we first meet.)

Now, I just gave an example, once we meet, I will show you an overview of all the neighbourhoods in Victoria. If you are unsure of where you want to live even after my overview, I encourage my buyers to do three things:

1. Rent in a particular neighbourhood before they decide to buy in Victoria.
2. Go to open houses when they can in Victoria (to find a list of open houses go to www.yyjopenhouse.ca)
3. Let me arrange a driving tour with showings off of different homes.

I understand that for most buyers, buying a home is one of the most important investment decisions they will make. I also understand, that you want your home not only to be the dream home but you also want it to be a good investment so you can sell it down the line for a good return. I will walk you through the different scenarios of buying a home in Victoria, educate you throughout the process (so it is fun and not stressful) and then you will be such an expert at home buying ( yes I may try to recruit you on my team by the end of it) , that you will know exactly what you are looking for and what you want to buy.

Now, I feel I can write on and on about this topic, so what I will do is an overview in more detail through different blog posts about the neighbourhoods in Victoria and the pros and cons of each of them. If you have any question in meantime, please feel free to e-mail me or facetime me for any additional info. If you don’t know me, one thing I am really passionate (even if you don’t end up buying a home) is that I love to help anyone I can. shirinpurewal@bchomegroup.ca +1.778. 678.5626

Looking forward to meeting you soon !

The STRESS TEST -  What are we talking about?

Normally when we talk about a Stress Test we are talking in medical terms about the stress on your heart during physical exercise, but the Government of Canada has implemented a financial Stress Test that will start on January 1, 2018 for the purchase and refinancing of homes.

What is a financial Stress Test?

You will hear much more about this test in the coming months but to bring you up to date the Stress Test is designed to insure that if interest rates do climb higher you will be able to handle modest increases in mortgage payments.

Do I have to undergo a Stress Test?

Yes, the mortgage professionals will be required to Stress Test your income if your down payment is at or above 20% of the purchase price.

Why is it being implemented?

In the USA in the 1990’s and 2000’s mortgages were granted with little hope of repayment if interest payments were to move higher. Many people in the US were forced to lose their homes because at some point they were unable to continue making the mortgage payments when interest rates rose.

How big is the Stress Test? An additional 2% would be added to your payment at your current, normal rate of interest to see how this would financially affect you.

Do I have to pay the extra 2%. No

Do I have to qualify for the extra 2%. Yes

From a practical standpoint how will this effect me getting a mortgage?

That will be based on your individual financial position. The Government of Canada wants to insure that you have some flexibility in your financial situation should interest rates change in the future.

In the second installment of the the Stress Test we will look at how to avoid the Stress Test, What it will mean in practical terms.

I am also happy to meet for a cup of tea or coffee to discuss your questions and concerns and how this may affect you.

This a question I get all the time !

"What do you think is going to happen in 2018 to the Victoria Real Estate Market ?"

No one can tell you the answer to this question and if they do, it is a really good guess on their part.

I always like to give my clients this analogy. Suppose, you go to your doctor and you ask him

"What do you think will happen to my health in 2018?"

The doctor will respond by asking to run some tests on you and see how your overall health is going, If needed, he will prescribe some medication to make sure for e.g. if you do have a cholestrol problem, you are at lower risk of getting a heart  attack.

Now, how does this relate to the real estate market. Well, the Bank of Canada (doctor) is checking the health of the Canadian Economy (patient) by running some tests and then based on those tests, it will prescribe different monetary policies to help keep it's health at optimum.

Will the stress test , cause it's health to crash. The plan is to help improve it's health not have a crash.

....to read more on this contact info@bchomegroup.ca