FREE Legal Fees and Home Inspection Costs One Stop Shopping with The Neal Estate Team* Use Our Preferred Contacts for Financing, Lawyers, and Property Inspectors and we will pay for those services on your behalf! Here’s what our clients are saying... ” I purchased an amazing home with the Neal Estate Team and I am not only thrilled with the professional and top notch service, my appraisal for the financing, Property Inspection, and a my legal fees were taken care of. Ron’s one stop shop program saved the day. I’m so Happy! Thank you Ron & your team! This made a huge difference with a tight budget and I can’t wait to move in”  - DB **With qualifying purchase with The Neal Estate Team as your Exclusive Buyers Agents. Together with your fixed term

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Ron’s Market Report Video Sales continued to gain momentum with a 30% jump in February over January with 542 homes sold. New listings continue to trickle in at a slower pace with the increase in sales bringing the net number of listings for sale at the end of February in Greater Victoria up to just 3,480 which is still lower than this time last year. The important ratio of sales to listings for our overall market in February was just 6.4 or a 6 ½ month supply. We are presently in a balanced market overall with some areas, property types and price ranges leaning more towards a seller’s market for the first time in several years! As predicted last month, the net effect for us of reduced oil prices, interest rates and our Canadian dollar us here in Victoria

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Last month 1,027 new listings were listed on MLS, down slightly from 1,090 in January 2014. In the same period 351 properties were sold, up marginally from 342 in January of last year. As predicted, the overall number of listings available for sale increased to 3,283 at the end of January, but remains down from 3,489 at the end of January 2014. All in all this equates to an overall 10 month supply which is a relatively balanced market. There are exceptions and emerging trends with higher demand in some areas, price ranges and property types tipping towards more of a seller’s market. Together with lower interest rates, higher US dollar, lower oil prices and increasing demand from immigrant buyers and investors indications are that we’re in for stability

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Snowbirds – Is it okay for Canadians to stay in USA 120 days annually, or is the limit 6 months less a day?  While it may be okay to spend 6 months less a day south of the border in the USA, be careful about the impact that may have on your tax liability. In a recent article which appeared on CBC News' British Columbia website, it was suggested that Canadian citizens are only allowed to spend 120 days in the United States each year. For clarification purposes, the Canadian Snowbird Association reminded travelers to the U.S. that this information is incorrect. Under current policy, eligible Canadian citizens may spend up to six months less a day, in the United States, in any 12 month period. From a tax perspective, long-term visitors who typically spend…

"You are the designer of your destiny; you are the author of your story." Like many people you probably have New Year's Resolutions. Have you converted your hopes, wishes and dreams to achievable goals with deadlines and shared them with those who support you? You will improve your chances for success dramatically when you do so! Aim high, stay in alignment with your core values and believe in yourself, you can do anything you choose! Best wishes for a happy, healthy and prosperous 2015. Want some help getting focused and on track to achieve your true potential? Further to several requests, on a limited basis, I am offering personal life coaching in addition to specific Real Estate and Marketing Consulting. Please send all inquiries here.

The trend continued through to our year end with a steady decline in the number of listings to 3,210 at the end of 2014 compared to 3,554 the same time a year ago together with an increase in the number of residential sales to 346 this December 2014 compared to 319 a year ago. That’s about 1 in every 8 listings sold last month. To put some perspective on it, in December 2013 that ratio was more like 1 in 10 and in December 2012 it was about 1 in 12! As we head into our new year now we can fully expect the number of listings available for sale to steadily increase until likely peaking in May. If consumer confidence remains as high as it has been and mortgage rates low, we will likely see strong sales and some price appreciation in the higher demand areas,

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Sales for the Victoria Real Estate Board decreased 22.5% in November compared to October but were still 12.9% higher than November of last year. The important ratio of supply and demand between listings available for sale and listings sold became more balanced with the continuing dip in listing inventory down to 3,631 at the end of November. With the available listings down nearly 10% from a year ago and sales up over 10% from a year ago our market is reasonably balanced overall with just under an 8 month supply. We can expect to see the listing supply to continue lower following normal seasonal trend through December. With listing inventory dropping to the lowest level we’ve seen in years, now through January and early in the new year will be an

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[caption id="attachment_1241" align="alignright" width="170"] Ken Neal, Chief Petty Office 1st Class[/caption] This year Remembrance Day hits hard at home with the very recent deaths of two Canadian Soldiers last month on our own soil. Our thoughts and prayers are with their families. Closer to my own home, we lost my grandfather earlier this year, a long serving veteran of two wars who raised my father after his brother, who was my natural grandfather, died as a POW in the second world war. I’ve had the great fortune to travel much of the world and have developed a great appreciation for our amazing country and the freedoms we enjoy. We must always remember those who served before, and those who serve today, to protect our quality of life and freedom.…

While our weather cooled our real estate market certainly didn’t! The number of listings has been slowly declining over the past year relative to the previous year and the inventory of actively available listings for sale dropped suddenly and sharply by almost 10% between the end of September and about the middle of October from nearly 4,400 listings to less than 4,000. Sales increased from the previous month and were also up over the same month last year. Overall conditions are trending again to a balanced market with the ratio of listings to sales for the month now equaling a 6.5 month supply. Of course there are different trends and markets being experienced in different areas, property types and price ranges. For information specific to your own

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As a RE/MAX Agent I have been blessed with many opportunities. I’ve made it a significant part of my business to network and get to know associates all over BC, Canada, the USA and the rest of the RE/MAX World in 95 countries. After many years and conferences, seminars, sales rallies, speaking engagements, hockey tournaments, iron chef competitions, ski days and other social events I’ve gotten to know formed friendships with colleagues, many of the most successful in the business, who we mutually trust to assist our relocating clients. There is rarely a week that goes by without my receiving a call or an email introducing me and asking me to help a colleague’s client from outside of our area who needs a Realtor’s assistance in Victoria. The reverse is also…