First and foremost, I would like to Wish you an abundant, joyous and prosperous 2022!

As of this writing, the real estate boards haven’t released the monthly stats for the month of December yet, so I’ll have to write on a different topic as I have originally planned.

By the time you read this article in the Discovery Islander you have probably already received your BC Assessment report, so I’d like to give you some information about what this report is and how it’s compiled.  

BC Assessment is a Crown Corporation created as an independent impartial party to keep consistency and order. The corporation employs 650 full-time staff positions in 17 offices throughout the province. B.C. Assessment's annual budget is just over $77 million.

The value is determined based on property type and which method was used. There are several types of methods but the most common method for residential properties is the “Sales comparison method”. This method determines market value of properties based on most current data of sold units that are comparable in any given area. Land assessments are based on its most reasonable and optimal use which is both physically possible and financially feasible.

For example, vacant downtown land may be valued at its development potential rather than existing use. BC Assessment will consider many factors when determining highest and best use; including zoning, official community plans and recent development trends.

The assessed value of your home is broken down into 2 categories: Land, and Buildings. The report also includes comparable information on your previous year’s value.

Please note that the value assigned to your property is already outdated when you get it in your mail, because it’s based on data of sold units provided by the real estate boards as of July of last year. There are 5 more months of active market that are not included in that report.
 

How relevant is Assessed value during a real estate transaction? This is the second most common question I hear on regular basis from my clients. The answer is as usual: “It depends”.

As a Realtor my job as a listing agent is to sell it to a potential buyer, to their agent and most importantly to the bank that will provide financing to the buyer.

In a sellers market like we have seen over the last few years, the market can seem all over the place with prices. The bottom line is that the market will dictate what a property will sell for, provided that the bank is in agreement. For example, A buyer can be very excited about a property they’d like to purchase. They participate in a multiple offer situation where they have outbid all competing offers. What happens now? Depending if the buyer is a cash buyer or if financing is required, the bank will consider the BC assessment report as a factor in granting financing or in some cases, not.

If the offer is viewed as unreasonably high and not in line with how the market has behaved in the area, the banks can refuse to finance the mortgage for the buyers or assign conditions before financing can be finalized.

The truth is that the BC assessment report is used mostly for tax purposes. The market value of a property is determined by the economic forces of demand and supply. Our biggest issue in the real estate market is very low inventory and a very high demand for properties. There simply aren’t enough homes for sale to meet the demand. That’s what we are being told by the governments and it seems consistent with what we are seeing in the market place.

Is BC Assessment important in the purchase or sale of your home? Yes. It’s considered to determine what the property taxes will be for the current year, as well as qualifying for a mortgage.

In a strong sellers market, it is very common for properties to sell well above BC assessment values. When the market changes into a buyers market, and it will change one day, buyers and lenders alike will be paying much closer attention to what the BC Assessment numbers are.

The most accurate appraisal of your property can be obtained from a property appraisal company or your REALTOR®

If you haven't received your statement yet but you're curious, here's a link https://www.bcassessment.ca/

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

Every year around Christmas time I get all nostalgic as I remember that one special Christmas, and I would like to share this story with you.   

Most of you can guess based on my name that I must have come to Canada from elsewhere. I came to Canada when I was just a teenager. My parents decided to leave our country of origin just before the Iron Curtain came down. We left a country that was at a verge of collapse and we feared the unknown.

We were different type of immigrants. Not like today’s immigration with money to buy exotic cars and mega houses. We came with virtually the clothes on our backs and a suitcase each, containing mostly books.

We lived in a Co-op in a Vancouver suburb for the first few years. My dad was working with another Eastern European doing odd construction jobs, just to pay the bills.
The first couple years in Canada were very hard. We didn’t know how anything worked, we didn’t know the language at all and didn’t know where to get help. Prior to coming to Canada we spent 3 years in refugee camps in Germany, where things were decided for us. Neo Nazi attacks on our refugee camps were common and constant fear of the unknown motivated us to leave Europe. We were fortunate that our application through the red cross was accepted and we could come to the land of opportunities- Canada.

As a new immigrant, without any English language, my dad had to resign to taking any job he could get. He ended up working with some shady guys that wouldn’t pay him for months at a time. This one specific guy decided not to pay him for about 3-4 months of salary and fired him just before Christmas. My dad didn’t know where to go to deal with this, whom to call, how to feed his family.

Let me tell you, being a new immigrant as a teenager wasn’t all rosy.

Couple weeks, maybe days before Christmas in 1992 we had literally cancelled Christmas. I don’t know if any of you have ever experienced real hunger, real lack of food for days at a time, but that was our situation just before Christmas. My parents must have felt terrible for not being able to prepare our traditional Christian dinner, not to mention presents.   

It was a Saturday morning, the doorbell rang. Since I am the oldest out of the kids, it was my job to go open the door. I opened the door and to my amazement saw several large boxes full of food!!! This was truly a Christmas miracle! There was nobody there, no note, just lots of food. Most people won’t relate to this story, but every single time I share this story my eyes swell up with tears. This incident alone made a long term impact on who I am as a person. To this day we still don’t know who left all these boxes in front of our place. This was a Christmas miracle that I associated with the spirit of Canada.

I love Canada because of the people here; Because of these random acts of kindness! The compassion, the deliberate and conscious acceptance of our differences. Our family shares this story every Christmas dinner we have this time of the year, and these are the stories we need to share with our communities.  

As a new immigrant I have experienced first hand the kindness from regular people, from my teachers, neighbours and everyone I met. It made me more sensitive to certain aspects of our society.   

I love Canada because it allows people to be who they are. There’s no discrimination against your beliefs, your religion, or your ethnicity, everyone can travel as they please, and these rights are guaranteed in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms is the main reason why our family and many other immigrant families have chosen to come to this great country!

Immigrants feel safe here.

As a proud Canadian my heart breaks when I see how politicians have divided our country recently. Multicultural, and multi faceted, with varying degrees of opinions is a definition of our beloved Canada.

Yes, this country was born on injustice towards first nations and it’s important to learn from history and never to repeat it. Our laws are here to protect us and unite us as people with common values.

I’m not writing any of this to start any debates towards one side or the other. I’m not a conspiracy theorist, or an anti-vaxxer and I don’t feel I need to defend my views… because I am Canadian.

All I’m doing is using critical thinking and stating the obvious, that our country has drastically changed over the last couple years and I find it disturbing that communities across the country are very divided. Even some of our families are divided as well, including my own family.  

This Christmas my wish for Canada and my immediate community- Quadra Island is to come together, in kindness, compassion and mutual respect. The Canada I know, doesn’t discriminate against anybody.

This country is the best country in the world and we should stand on guard for thee. Merry Christmas!

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

November in Real Estate

I can’t believe that it’s already December! A good reminder was the dump of snow we had last night, power outages and cancellation of schools; wow what a day! I almost missed the deadline for submitting this article but I’m very grateful that the hard working people at BC Hydro brought back the power just in time.

It’s statistics time, just like every month, this time for the month of November.

If you have any suggestions for any future articles, please email, text or call me. Your opinion matters to me.

Campbell River

Active listings in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area continue to drop, with demand far outpacing supply. Inventory has hit consecutive historical lows for several months running.
According to the British Columbia Real Estate Association, the supply situation is especially critical in markets outside the Lower Mainland. One of the worst inventory situations is on Vancouver Island. Even if sales were to return to long-run average levels, total listings would need to nearly double to achieve a balanced market, and the road to doubling those listings lies in building more homes.

In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home hit $683,500 in November, up by 30 per cent from the previous year. Townhouse: $485,900.

Quadra Island
Quadra Island saw a busy November with 3 new listings, 3 sold (pending) and one expired.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up for free to

members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Cortes Island

Cortes Island saw only 1 new listing in November, a beautiful almost 10 acre property.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up for free to members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Calgary

Driven by growth in demand for all property types, there were 2,110 sales in November, just shy of the record for the month set in 2005. “Lending rates are expected to increase next year, which has created a sense of urgency among purchasers who want to get into the housing market before rates rise,” said CREB® Chief Economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “At the same time, supply levels have struggled to keep pace, causing tight conditions and additional price gains.”

 In November, the detached price reached $542,600 up over 10.6 per cent higher than levels reported last October.

The semi-detached benchmark price rose to $429,800 this month, 8.7% Y/Y.

Row Price: $299,100, Apartment $251,700.

Vancouver

As we near the end of 2021, home buyer demand remains well in excess of long-term averages and the supply of homes for sale continues to decline across Metro Vancouver’s housing market.

“The imbalance between supply and demand, coupled with some buyers wanting to use rate holds on lower rate fixed-term mortgages, is keeping upward pressure on home prices in this traditionally quieter time of year for the market,” Stewart said.

The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,870,000. This represents a 20.8 per cent increase from November 2020.

The benchmark price of an apartment home is $752,800. This represents an 11.4 per cent increase from November 2020.

The benchmark price of an attached home is $990,300. This represents a 20.2 per cent increase from November 2020.

Toronto

Home sales reached a new record for the month of November and the average selling price also reached a new all-time high. New listings were down substantially compared to last year for all market segments – further highlighting the inherent supply issue across all home types in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

“Governments at all levels must take coordinated action to increase supply in the immediate term to begin addressing the supply challenges of today, and to work towards satisfying growing demand in the future. The GTA remains the primary destination for new immigrants, and is at the centre of the Canadian economy”, said TRREB President Kevin Crigger.

The average price for a detached home in area (416) is $1,807,983.

The average price of a semi-detached home (416) is 1,431,988.

The average price of a townhouse (416) is $981,759.

The average price of a condo (416) is $745,951, as reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREBB).

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

In the beginning of November, the BC NDP government announced their plans to introduce a “cooling off period” in real estate transactions pertaining to resale market starting in spring 2022. Just to clarify, “resale” market is homes that have been previously owned as opposed to pre-sales or pre-construction which are brand new homes or just a “promise” of a home in a few years.  

The title of the news release is: “BC working to strengthen protection for home buyers”. As the title suggests, the legislation is aiming to protect home buyers from risk taken during a home buying process. It’s specifically aimed at risk assumed during multiple offer situations when a buyer faces limited time to make a decision if they will purchase a home or not. It often makes the buyer feel like they were rushed or pushed into the purchase without enough time allowed for the due diligence process.

Every transaction in real estate is driven by emotions and when you are in a very strong sellers market it can be very frustrating to be a buyer. Some buyers may feel the market is not fair towards them because a lot of their offers get rejected.

When your offer finally gets accepted, some buyers may feel buyer remorse. The proposed legislation would allow the buyer to simply walk away from the deal as it would give the buyer 7 days to rescind their offer.

 In theory this seems like a good idea but in practice this may be much more complicated. I would like to explain some of the issues this legislation may cause.

Under the current model, once the offer is accepted and deposit received, all parties are bound to the contract.

The hot sellers market we’ve been having is pushing a lot of desperate buyers to write subject free offers in order to secure a property. This can be seen as a risky move because it leaves very little time for due diligence, financing and inspection.

From the seller’s perspective, a subject free offer is seen as a guaranteed sale. When receiving multiple offers the seller needs to determine who is a serious buyer and who is not. 

The unintended consequences by this legislation could be potentially causing the following issues:

 1.     Buyers may end up writing offers much higher than the list price just to get an accepted offer. Then use the 7 day cool-off period to get financing and if that fails they could decide to walk away from the deal.

 
2.     Buyers may decide to write offers on more than one property at a time knowing they will be able to get out of any transaction. Frustrated buyers may decide to write on 5 different properties for example in the hopes of getting one accepted. What will happen when all 5 get accepted? The buyer will have to walk away from 4 and leaving the sellers with collapsed deals.

 
3.     Serious buyers will have a harder time differentiating their offers. Often sellers accept an offer that may not have the highest price but since it has no subjects it’s more appealing because it’s viewed as a guaranteed sale. With this legislation every offer could be a subject free offer and it will be much more difficult for a seller to pick an offer that will actually follow through with the purchase.

 
4.     In order for buyers to make their offer more appealing, some may decide to include more personal information. Some buyers do this already and disclose information such as bank statements, T4 slips, preapproval letters from banks, personalized letters with photos; all that just to make their offer stand out from the others. I see this as a potential threat of identity theft!

 
5.     This legislation will create more uncertainty for sellers. Knowing that even after price negotiations, inspection and all due diligence the buyer can still walk away, it will be a big problem if the seller needs to make another purchase.  

For example: The home you’re selling gets 2 offers. You accepted the subject free offer because the buyers seemed to be more serious. Now you are ready to write offers on your own purchase. Your offer on the new home gets accepted. Congratulations! Oh, not so fast! The buyer on your home just rescinded the offer they wrote on your home. Now your listing is back on the market and hopefully you have a backup offer. Let’s say the backup offer after a week also falls apart because the second couple decided to write on more properties and your home was not their first choice!

You might end up owning 2 homes for some period of time. This means you’ll need bridge financing. Extra stress, extra costs, extra headaches.

In my humble opinion this legislation will not protect buyers but will cause higher prices and more frustrations for buyers. I hope the government will change their stance on this.  

Contrary to the popular belief; when you have a competent agent that will guide you through every step, most of the time there’s plenty of time to do all of the due diligence you need, BEFORE you write an offer.

Ask me how.

***************************************************************

Here are some interesting numbers for you to digest:

According to Statscan website Canada welcomed 184,624 immigrants in 2020, down by almost half from 2019 and the lowest in any year since 1998. The pre-pandemic target for immigration set by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada was 341,000.

According to a 2020 survey conducted by Canadian Real Estate Association, 66% of international buyers in were recent immigrants or temporary visa holders. If 66% of all immigrants bought real estate, this translates to at least over 120,000 units.

According to a May report from Scotiabank, Canada has the lowest number of housing units per 1,000 residents than any G7 country, and "the number of housing units per 1,000 Canadians has been falling since 2016 owing to the sharp rise in population growth." Sept 9, 2021

The standalone monthly SAAR of housing starts for all areas in Canada was 282,070 units in June, a decrease of 1.5% from 286,296 units in May. The SAAR of urban starts decreased by 1.8% in June to 251,190 units.

Canada Has Over 1.3 Million Vacant Homes, About 6 Years Of Supply

Canada has one of the highest numbers of vacant homes in the world. The OECD’s latest data shows 1.34 million homes were vacant, or about 8.7% of the country’s 15.41 million homes in total. That works out to nearly 1 in 12 homes, or 6 years of housing supply at the average construction rate from 2016 to 2019. Canada has the fifth most vacant homes of the group of advanced economies.  

I don’t know about you, but I’m not a big fan of any government that treats their citizens like kids. Being a buyer in a market that just simply doesn’t have enough units for sale is very frustrating to say the least. I don’t think changing rules of how real estate is purchased or sold is going to make any difference. I think leaving the market to be free is always the best choice. Immigration numbers are putting a lot of strain on the housing market and this is not sustainable. No, I’m not blaming immigration on this crisis, I’m blaming the government for poor planning.

I propose putting a freeze on immigration for a few years to let the market catch up with the demand.

Choosing a good realtor is like choosing what to buy on Amazon. Way too many choices! How do you choose an amazon purchase? Look at reviews…. Realtors also have reviews online.

Here are mine.

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

The monthly statistics for the month of October just came out and I’d like to share some quotes from them with my favourite Discovery Islander readers.

I understand some people don’t like how these reports are written, based on feedback I have received, because it’s dry facts and numbers. I think there’s some room for that kind of information here because numbers typically don’t lie. Quite honestly I’m a little bored of them myself because we are being told for years now that inventory is historically low and the supply needs to come up. It seems like this is an issue all across the country, not just in our province.

Here are some quotes from the reports published by the real estate boards:

Campbell River

The predominant theme running through the housing market in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area is one of “different month, same issues.”

Buyers continue to face frustrating hurdles caused by historically low inventory, with little relief in sight. Active listings of single-family homes were 46 per cent lower last month than in October 2020 and dropped by 18 per cent from September- as per VIREB Report.

In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home hit $663,000 in October, up by 29 per cent from the previous year.

Quadra Island
Quadra Island saw 1 listing sold (pending completion) and 2 new listings.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up for free to the members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Cortes Island

Cortes Island also saw only 1 listing sold (pending completion) in October.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up for free to the members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Calgary

Calgary Real Estate Board recorded 2,186 sales in October, a record high for the month and over 35 per cent higher than longer-term averages. Year-to-date sales are on pace to hit new record highs and are currently 61 per cent higher than average activity recorded over the past five years and 42 per cent higher than 10-year averages.

“Moving into the fourth quarter, the pace of housing demand continues to exceed expectations in the city,” said CREB® chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. 

Thanks to gains in most districts, detached home sales improved by 17 per cent compared to last year. The strongest sales growth this month occurred in the North East and East districts, which are the most affordable districts in the city.

 In October, the detached price reached $540,900, up nearly one per cent compared with last month and over 10 per cent higher than levels reported last October.

The semi-detached benchmark price rose to $427,800 this month, nearly nine per cent higher than last year’s levels.

Vancouver

Home sale activity in Metro Vancouver* remained above historical averages in October while the overall supply of homes for sale dipped to levels not seen in three years. “Home sale activity continues to outpace what’s typical for this time of year and the pool of homes available for sale is in decline. This dynamic between supply and demand is causing home prices to continue to edge up across the region,” Keith Stewart, REBGV economist said.

The benchmark price for a detached home is $ $1,850,500. This represents a 20.5 per cent increase from October 2020.

The benchmark price of an apartment home is $746,400. This represents a 9.5 per cent increase from October 2020.

The benchmark price of an attached home is $975,000. This represents an 18.5 per cent increase from October 2020.

Toronto

Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) reached the second-highest level on record for the month of October. However, the inventory of homes for sale did not keep up with demand. The number of new listings was down by approximately one-third compared to October 2020. Market conditions tightened across all major home types compared to last year, and the annual rate of average price growth remained in the double digits, including for the resurgent condominium apartment segment.

The average price for a detached home in area (416) is $1,784,979.

The average price of a semi-detached home (416) is $1,322,229.

The average price of a townhouse (416) is $1,025,257.

The average price of a condo (416) is $739,647, as reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREBB)

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

September in Real Estate

The monthly statistics report just came out for the month of September and it’s been my ritual for a full year now to read all the reports and share a summary with the Discovery Islander readers. When I write these summaries I don’t use my opinions or my own spin on things, I directly quote snippets from the reports, so please don’t shoot the messenger.

I’m re-evaluating if my column is seen as valuable information for readers and am curious if people are actually finding it helpful at all.

I would greatly appreciate to receive some feedback. Please text me at 604-787-4594 or call me at home 250-285-2141. All feedback is greatly appreciated and confidential.

Campbell River
Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) reported for the month of September:

“The housing market in the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB) area finished summer the way it began, with historically low inventory and rising prices. Active listings of single-family homes were 47 per cent lower last month than in September 2020, while VIREB’s inventory of condo apartments and row/townhouses dropped by 57 per cent and 48 per cent, respectively, from one year ago.

In Campbell River, the benchmark price of a single-family home hit $653,700 in September, up by 29 per cent from the previous year. In the Comox Valley, the year-over-year benchmark price rose by 31 per cent to $771,300. The Cowichan Valley reported a benchmark price of $755,000, an increase of 34 per cent from September 2020. Nanaimo’s benchmark price rose by 28 per cent, hitting $745,400, while the Parksville-Qualicum area saw its benchmark price increase by 33 per cent to $869,000. The cost of a benchmark single-family home in Port Alberni reached $494,500, a 40 per cent year-over-year increase. The benchmark price for the North Island rose by 49 per cent, hitting $404,100 in September.”

Quadra Island
Quadra Island saw 4 listings sold (pending completion) and 2 new listings.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up for free to the members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Cortes Island

Cortes Island also saw 4 listings sold (pending completion) and 2 listings expired.

If you would like more details including “sold prices” go to my website and sign up for free to the members only area that will provide that information www.quadrarealty.ca

Calgary

 “While sales activity in the fall tends to be slower than in the spring months, the continued strong sales are likely being driven by consumers who were unable to transact earlier in the year when supply levels had not yet adjusted to demand,” said Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB®) chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie. “The market continues to favour the seller, but conditions are not as tight as they were earlier this year.”

Benchmark price of a detached home in the city of Calgary: $537,500 up 10% Year over Year.

Benchmark price of a semi-detached home in the city of Calgary: $424,900 up 8.4% Year over Year.

Benchmark price of a row-home in the city of Calgary: $299,600 up 7.2% Year over Year.

Benchmark price of an apartment in the city of Calgary: $253,200 up 1.2% Year over Year.”

Vancouver

“Home sale activity remains elevated across Metro Vancouver’s housing market while the pace of homes being listed for sale continues to follow long-term averages.

The summer trend of above-average home sales and historically typical new listings activity continued in Metro Vancouver last month. Although this is keeping the overall supply of homes for sale low, we’re not seeing the same upward intensity on home prices today as we did in the spring,” Keith Stewart, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) economist said.

The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,828,200. This represents a 20.4 per cent increase from September 2020.

The benchmark price of an apartment home is $738,600. This represents an 8.4 per cent increase from September 2020.

The benchmark price of an attached home is $963,800. This represents a 17.5 per cent increase from September 2020.

Toronto

“September marked the transition from the slower summer market to the busier fall market in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). Every year, we generally see an uptick in sales, average selling price and listings after Labour Day, and September 2021 was no different. Sales increased relative to August and were also at the third-highest mark on record for the month of September. The average selling price was up both month-over-month and year-over-year.

The average price for a detached home in area (416) is $1,778,928. This represents a 19.5 per cent increase from September 2020.

The average price of a semi-detached home (416) is $1,304,504. This represents a 13.9 per cent increase from September 2020.

The average price of a townhouse is $930,056. This represents a 7.2 per cent increase from September 2020.

The average price of a condo is $744,730. This represents a 8.5 per cent increase from September 2020”, as reported by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TREBB)

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

Are solar panels going to increase the value of my home?

Thank you My Friend for asking me this question the other day, because it inspired me to write about it in the Discovery Islander where I will share my findings with all the readers.

The usual answer I came up with right away is the usual in real estate: “it depends”. I have done some reading and even asked my fellow real estate agents if they had any experience with this.

The answer is not black and white, as expected.

I think it’s a wonderful technology and I am a big fan of trying new ideas. The three most obvious benefits of using this technology is reducing our carbon footprint, less reliance on the grid, and most importantly cheaper utility bills.

I can see an argument in favour of a solar panel system to supplement your power usage. Cost of energy is going up as we have all been noticing over the years. The way that BC Hydro calculates your power bill is a 2 step system, where you pay one rate up to certain level and then anything above that costs significantly more. In winter for example my hydro bill triples, and I think solar panels integrated into my home could potentially reduce that electric bill shock.

The main things to keep in mind:

Cost - Although cost of panels and all the components have come down in price lately, the cost will vary depending on performance, durability and warranty. Other factors such as installation, permits, inspections, and any modifications related to hook up to your existing grid may add up to the cost.

Maintenance- what are the maintenance costs over time. The efficiency of solar panels degrades over time so the older panels will be perceived as less valuable and less efficient, and also will need more maintenance costs.

Efficiency- How efficient is your system, is it really worth installing it if you live in an area like Quadra Island where sunshine is a rare commodity for six months out of the year? I wish we had “rain panels” on the west coast; Or winter grey sky panels!

Location- Do you have the south facing roof top for best exposure of the sun, does your property have enough sunshine? A lot of the houses in our area of Cortes Island, Campbell River and Quadra Island have a lot of trees around the houses. A lot of efficiency of solar panels depend on unobstructed view of the sun. The panels are supposed to be facing the sun at all times for maxium efficiency; not always possible.

Permits- What are the local guidelines and requirements? It’s always best to hire a local contractor that has experience and knows how to plan a successful installation.   

All things considered, is your property going to go up in value if you install a system?

Large installations on valuable homes tend to add more money to the value of the home than smaller and less valuable homes. Some studies indicate that some properties can benefit up to $6000 for every 1kW installed and working systems. Other sources suggest 2-4% increase in property value, but these numbers are based on hypothetical scenarios.

Most of the time however solar panels do not add significant value to most properties. Even off-grid properties may not increase the value because you’re trading the benefits for all the maintenance costs and unreliable service. For example, when temperatures drop down in the winter the panels don’t produce as much electricity.

The way I look at it is, if you can justify paying $30,000 for a system that will save you $100 in monthly electricity bill then go ahead, but don’t count on the value of the house to go up significantly. I think it’s a great idea of “free” electricity but just how free is it. The panels will provide most amount of electricity when your monthly bills are typically the lowest. In the winter when the panels are not quite as efficient unfortunately due to weather, is when you need to have a good source of supplemental power source.

From a numbers point of view if someone had $30,000 to increase the value of a property I would suggest redoing the kitchen first, then bathrooms, windows, insulation, but if all these options have already been covered then consider adding an additional dwelling on your property. Is there a way to build a rental suite?

The return on investment on the $30,000 invested in a rental suite that can be rented for $800 vs $100 saving on your electric bill is a no brainer in my opinion.

In conclusion, based on all factors the installation of solar panels is a fantastic way of reducing your cost of power and it’s an extra added feature for a property. Theoretically the more features a property includes the more attractive it could be to certain potential buyers. I remember when hot tubs were a great feature for buyers until that trend went away and now selling a house with a hot tub can be a bit tricky these days. As more information about solar panels become available more people will be able to make more educated decisions.

I personally, would definitely consider buying a brand new house with a renewable energy solution built in from the beginning because I can safely assume that all other systems in the house like insulation and windows have a high efficiency rating. As a buyer of an older home with only certain components that meet the efficiency level, I personally would not feel too thrilled.

The Canadian government is offering home owner grants that aim at helping home owners in saving energy costs. This could be a good first step in doing some research.

https://www.nrcan.gc.ca/energy-efficiency/homes/canada-greener-homes-grant/23441

As you read through that government website you will realize that the promised "up to $5000" grant given to home owners doesn't mean what we think. There are a lot of limitations and conditions that one has to meet in order to take advantage of any of these programs. 

Are you thinking of selling your home? Call me for a free home evaluation.

Roman Krzaczek REALTOR ®

Home number: 250-285-2141

Quadrarealty.ca

http://www.islandphonebooks.ca/