By the end of this year, BC home inspectors will have to meet a set of universal standards to be licenced in British Columbia. In the past, home inspectors where governed by four different associations, all with different standards and qualifications. It had been challenging for many home buyers to navigate through diverse credentials and establish true expertise.  Consumer Protection BC has set the education and training requirements and is responsible for testing and licensing home inspectors.

Home buying is one of the biggest purchases a person or family can make and having a licensed home inspector is critical in helping buyers make a sound decision. With a more stringent licensing policy, Consumer Protection BC can reassure home buyers that they are dealing with professional inspectors who have met training and education requirements.

The new home inspector licensing requirements are expected to improve inspection consistency, consumer certainty, and industry transparency.  Currently B.C. and Alberta are the only two provinces that regulate home inspectors in Canada.

Before hiring a home inspector, obtain references, check that he/she is in fact licensed and acquaint yourself with the individual’s inspection standards, as they do vary. Remember that a home inspection is a visual inspection only and there are limitations as to what an inspector is physically able to see. If possible go along with the inspector during the actual inspection to get a clear picture of the condition of the home and make sure you fully understand everything that is discovered and written up in the report.

Find a licensed home inspector: http://www.consumerprotectionbc.ca/consumers-home-inspections/confirm-an-inspectors-license

With Overall Gross Sales up and Active Listings down, home buyers showed no signs of slowing down in October as the market keeps moving up.

“Home sales are more than one-third above what’s typical for this time of year yet the supply of homes for sale is the lowest we’ve seen in five years,” Darcy McLeod, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president said. “This activity has created favourable market conditions for anyone considering selling their home today.
 
With an increase of 102%, West Vancouver took the lead in Gross Sales increases from $190,502,000 in October, 2014 to $386,359,862 in October, 2015. North Vancouver was close behind with a 92% increase in Gross sales and Vancouver West was up by 34% in a market that just keeps soaring.

With fewer Active Listings on the market, Gross Sales in North Vancouver increased from $106,036,095 to $203,718,738 in a one year span. While the Average Price per unit increased 34% from $1,165,231 in October, 2014 to $1,567,067 the Active Listings again shrank by 45%.  In the past month alone Active Listings were down from 214 to 156 (27% decrease).  The HPI Price Index climbed 18.7% in the past year in North Vancouver and the Benchmark Price rose from $1,040,100 to $1,231,200.

West Vancouver had a 63% increase in Units Sold from the previous year, from 71 to 116, and a vigorous increase of 24% of Average Price per Unit from $2,683,126 to $3,330,688. In just one month, from September, 2015 to October, 2015, Gross Sales rose 89% while Units Listed for the same one month period shrank 24% from 202 to 153. Benchmark Price and Price Index were up 21.3% from the previous year and remained virtually unchanged from a month ago.

Similar to market trends, Vancouver West saw a drop of 22% in Active Listings from one year ago with the Average Price per Unit rising by 28% from $2,645,202 to $3,390,260. With a 10% increase in Sold Year to Date values, from 1567 to 1733, Vancouver West is holding its confidence in a strong market with a continued increase of 20.1% for both the Price Index and Benchmark Price.

To read what the National Posts stance on the market is click here.