All BC residents should be familiar with the governments tax fiasco – the HST. Voters repealed the unpopular tax in an historic referendum in 2011 and the HST is slated to be repealed by April 2013. This is great news for the New Home Industry which saw a 7% tax increase, not to mention the additional 7% increase in real estate commissions, legal fees…even a cup of coffee. The Provincial government has enacted 2 new programs designed to offset the effect of the HST on New Home Sales until the return to the Provincial Sales Tax (PST) system.

The first important announcement was a move to increase the upper tax-rebate limit from an ineffectual $525,000 to $850,000 – great news for a market with an average single family home price of over $579,000.

The other important announcement, and the one which will probably have the greatest influence in the current market is the announcement of a $10,000 Tax Bonus for first-time homebuyers that purchase a newly constructed home; a huge boon in a market with a large availability of new condominiums, and where wise developers are capitalizing on the marketing advantages of constructing single-family homes under $425,000 to appeal to savvy first-time buyers looking to escape the much criticized Provincial Property Transfer Tax. Many industry professionals agree that the entry-level homes will continue to drive the Greater Victoria and Vancouver Island housing market through 2012.

Check out this informative video spelling out all the requirements and benefits:

Well contrary to popular belief, sales do not necessarily wind down as we approach the end of the year. Ask anyone, and they will tell you that it’s common knowledge more homes sell in the spring than in the fall. This is more of a rule-of-thumb however, as last month’s real estate statistics show with October outpacing September in number of sales reported by the Victoria Real Estate Board.

There were 483 homes and other properties sold in October 2011, up from the 458 sales in September (and bettering October 2010′s result of 467 sales).

Average prices declined in all 3 categories (houses, condominiums, and townhomes) from September to October, although October’s average house price of $595,836 is still higher than July of 2011. While average prices can vary widely from month to month (September saw 14 houses over $1 million sell, skewing the average price to over $622,000), the general trend has been a stabilizing of the market and an overall pricing plateau.

Across the board there is a 44% sell/list ratio, meaning that out of every 100 properties listed, only 44 are selling. As many For Sale By Owners are finding out, the value in working with full-commision trained agents becomes very apparent in market conditions like these.

If you are one of those homeowners that have tried to sell and were unable to fulfill your goals, remember that you are not alone. Many people like you have benefitted from taking the Home Marketing Analysis in order to better prepare their home and themselves before re-entering the market. If you would like to receive your free Marketing Analysis simply email shamusbaier@gmail.com or call 250-858-3025.