Wondering How Much That Flat Sold For in England?

There is a new service in the UK called NetHousePrices that offers a free public service that provides access to UK house prices in England, Scotland and Wales, as recorded by the Land Registry (since April 2000) and the Registers of Scotland (since May 2000). I am not aware of any service like this in the U.S. or Canada, but I think it would be a useful too

You can go to Sold Prices, enter a postal code and then refine your search from there. If you need a postal code you can use SW5 0BE . I don’t know exactly where it is, but it will give you results.

Income Required to Buy a Home in Greater Vancouver

It never ceases to amaze me how hot the real estate market is in Vancouver. To put it into perspective for people trying to buy a home following are some sobering statistics using benchmark prices from May 2007:

Property Type - Single detached
Benchmark Price – $ 653,616
Annual Income Required – $ 172,299

Property Type – Townhouse
Benchmark Price – $ 406,676
Annual Income Required – $ 108,005

Property Type – Apartment
Benchmark Price – $ 331,519
Annual Income Required – $ 88,016

Occupation Average Annual Income

Early Childhood Educator $ 32,760
Firefighter $ 57,540
Nurse (Registered) $ 55,237
BC MLA $ 75,400
Police Officer $ 54,639
REALTOR® $ 50,000
School Teacher (Elem) $ 53,222

So unless an elementary school teacher marries both a politician and a Police Officer there is not much chance of him/her buying a single family home in Vancouver.

Canadians Underestimate Mortgage Interest Costs

In a news report by the CBC on July 19, 2007, Toronto-based TransUnion conducted a survey asking consumers how much total interest they’ll pay over a 25-year mortgage and only 20 per cent of Canadians polled gave the right answer.

TransUnion, a credit and information management company, commissioned GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media to conduct the survey in late June, when it polled 1,000 Canadian adults across the country.

The question they were asked was “Homeowners usually pay off considerably more money than the original value of their mortgage loan because of the rate of interest on that loan. On average, what percentage of the original loan amount do you think a Canadian homeowner with a 25-year mortgage would end up paying?”

Only one-fifth of respondents got the right answer; 151 to 200 per cent of the original loan amount is the mortgage cost amortized over 25 years.

“By the end of a 25-year term, if you a have a traditional fixed-rate mortgage at 6.43 per cent, you’ll actually pay close to $200,000 on top of your $200,000 mortgage, just in interest,” said Tom Reid, director of consumer solutions, TransUnion.ca, in a release put out Wednesday.

Women and men were equal in giving the correct response, as were Canadians who owned their homes versus those who rented.

Of those polled, Canadians with more education answered correctly more often.

In total about 45 per cent of those interviewed underestimated the cost of interest over the mortgage’s lifetime.

There are ways to save on interest costs. For example, on a $200,000 mortgage, at an interest rate of 6.43 per cent, amortized over 25 years, Canadians opting for weekly payments (instead of monthly payments) would save $40,000 in total interest charges over the course of mortgage.

Or take that same monthly mortgage and amortize it over 20 years, which would increase monthly payments by about $150, and slash more than $40,000 in total interest costs.

Most Expensive House Sold In West Vancouver in 2007

Based on MLS data the most expensive house sold in 2007 in West Vancouver (as of July 25,2007) was for $ 10.5 million.

The house is located at 3430 Ross Crescent was on the market for 46 days and was listed by Jason Soprovich.