Vancouver Real Estate Blog

Home Sales Drop in British Columbia

According to the British Columbia Real Estate Association, in British Columbia the volume of residential real estate sales dropped 67% to $1.07 billion in November 2008, compared with November 2007. Sales of homes dropped 62% to 2,707 homes in the month while prices for homes dropped 12.5%. Year-to-date residential sales volume in British Columbia also declined 30% to $30.3 billion compared with the same period last year.

Vancouver Area Condo Pre-sales Halted

The British Columbia provincial government today announced it is stepping in to help home buyers in Coquitlam whose pre-sale contracts were canceled by a developer.

The Superintendent of Real Estate issued a Cease Order to C.B. Development 2000, Ltd. after the company canceled pre-sale contracts with dozens of purchasers at its Riverbend project and refunded their deposits. The developer said that raising construction costs, unanticipated cost overruns and construction delays led to financial challenges that necessitated project refinancing and resulted in the developer being unable to complete the home sales at the original contract price. The provincial government investigated after several purchasers complained.

The Superintendent of Real Estate investigated complaints against the developer and, in its Cease Order dated May 14, 2007, found that CB Development 2000 Ltd. had:

• amended the legal description of the development but had failed to file a revised Disclosure Statement advising the Superintendent and the public of the change;
• changed the legal owner of the property and had failed to file a revised Disclosure Statement to reflect the change in ownership;
• made a change in its directors and failed to amend its Disclosure Statement to reflect that change;
• failed to file a budget approved by the strata corporation beyond its approved 2004 budget;
• failed to file an amendment to its Disclosure Statement to disclose the existence of contingent liabilities and/or liabilities. The Superintendent found that there were certificates of pending litigation filed against the project lands that should have been disclosed;
• failed to amend its Disclosure Statement to disclose encumbrances on title. The Superintendent found that there were several undisclosed mortgages on title;
• was not in compliance with the Real Estate Development Marketing Act; and
• there was substantial likelihood that it would re-market the development to potential purchasers without providing adequate disclosure.

Several of the prospective purchasers whose contracts of purchase and sale were canceled by the developer have started legal action against the developer. The issues in the lawsuit may not be resolved for several more years.