Al0 - Sunday, December 41 1983 - North Shore News inquiring reporter by Ellsworth Dickson THE NORTH Shore real estate market is con- stantly changing. Many people would be in- terested in some up to date information on buying or selling a home. Today’s question is: ‘What is currently happening in the real estate market?’’ Jeremy Leevers Mitten Realty Right now, there are about 5,000 listings on the Lower Mainland which means it is neither a buyer’s nor. seller’s market. Interest rates are about 10%. It is predicted they will decrease slightly in the new year. House prices wil) rise with inflation, but nothing drastic. Craig Clark Mitten Realty Listings have dropped Slightly, possibly due to the holidays. Prices dropped in August and are slowly creeping up. There is lots of good mortgage money available, especially short term. Five year mortgages are running about 12%. The government second mortgage is useful for buying condos and apartments Sharon Melvin Susser Realty In my experience, | teel itis a buyer’s market On December &, our computer showed 800 bistings in North Vancouver alone, and 400 in West Vancouver, and that tncludes Condos and apartments Since Mortgages are running around 10's%o. itis casice to quality than when rates were higher Sadru Mitha Sussern Realty I specialize io strata title peoperhies and right there are some good buys Apartment atid start at $80 000 so almost anyone how eandas can qualify Phere us lots of mortgage moncy avatlable Beso ause of Chem lower pres the BC KOSCERIBEHE second meottgage applies ote condos and aparctients whieh maakes it cee cussed for the Crest Cree teases Jack Hamer Jackson Sutton Group Vtas Wratket ous peonetalty stabbe Phas cans buyers wont pet oii trowbbe wath Shot Retin Gabe rest tates et orapad les abuation of ttyens pstopedty 1 think rarterost cates have bevelled otf Nise tbe rctatiedd tie market has Weoviyal was a Bicat time te tury laterest CALCS ste thw around VO 6 Me where de in tbe SANTI as b8OU Jeveds Assessment | effects not known yet PROPERTY ASSESSORS and municipal treasurers are keeping their eyes on the courts and Victoria this week, as they wait for word on whether or not part of the assessment base on which municipal taxes are computed will be lost next year. By NEWS STAFF The B.C. Assessment Authority, which was told by the courts two months ago that it can no longer set a value for incomplete struc- tures, expects word on its ap- plication to appeal the ruling around the middle of this week. And provincial finance minister Hugh Curtis has also said he’ll announce, sometime this week, a solu- tion to the problem that has municipal officials fearing they'll lose out on tax dollars. Until the court ruling earlier this year, the Assess- ment Authority was fixing the value of uncompleted buildings by projecting their final value and then taking a portion of that. A half- finished $100,000 home, for instance, would be assessed at $50,000. The courts ruled, however, that assessments can only be made when the building is completed to the degree that can be occupied. In the case of buildings under construc- tion, property Owners would only be assessed for the value of the land involved and any completed existing buildings on it. The assessments are impor- tant. The total assessment figure for a mumeipality, combined with the number of dollars that need to be raised through direct taxation, determines the mall rate In turn, the mill rate is ap phed to a portion of in dividual property assessments to determine what the individual taxpayer owes Once a mill rate is set, lower assessed values lower tax payments At the same time, however, any doss in the overall assess ment total for a municipality means a higher mall rate The situation on the North Shore, up hight of the court ruling, is not the Assessment and to omuninipal mean severe accor ding to Authority {reasurers Calvin Smythe, atica that while he doesn't have any speciltos on the properties ASSOSSOE, Says that are af MICROWAVE OVENS THE LEADING BRANDS AT LOW WAREHOUSE PRICES NEIDE NCE} BpuY W yw" CO ' so visit OUR NEW SHOWROOM COLONY HOME FPURNISTIENGS Warehouse/Distributian ( entire OPEN TO THE PUB. tc 1076 Roosevelt Cres (behind the Avaton) open Mon Gar trom am to > 0 pm CAPILANO TRAILER PARK TIME of Day FREE Call 24 hours 669-2555 Under Lions Gate Bridge offers: @ reasonable winter rates (starting Oct 1) @ winter storage for R V's (supervised) ® propane tor R.V's 987-4722 CRASH PAD fected, it is not a ‘‘terribly substantial’? number. D.A. Moulding, treasurer for North Vancouver City, says there could be some im- pact, particularly with con- struction in the Lonsdale Quay area, but there have not been a large number of con- struction projects over the past several years. He fears, however, that if the court’s ruling stands, the municipality could be = af- fected as the economy im- proves. ‘For the taxpayer,’’ adds West Vancouver treasurer Leonard Ormiston, ‘‘it’s not NEVWS Vol. IINo. 41 Sunday, 11 December, 1983 by Len Macht More Than going to mean that much Word of difference. “We {the municipality) Mouth will suffer a loss of revenue, but it depends on how many projects there are.”’ Ormiston says, however, that one effect of the ruling will be that there will be cases where people take occupancy of buildings that were not completed at the time of assessment and thereby wind up ‘‘sending their kids to school and using municipal! services without paying for them.”’ Word of mouth made advertising history by being the first form of advertising. Back in one million B.C., Ed- mund Og mentioned to a friend that he knew a par- ticularly good place for woolly mammoth ribs, and the word has been going out ever since. And ‘t's still the best. No one believes it more than when they hear it from a friend. That’s why I'm down here, desperately trying to make friends with everybody on the North Shore. | guess word of mouth from my mouth is the next best thing to being there. Unnamed Source, Dept. Down at Crash Pad, we do what they say you are supposed to do in all the marketing textbooks. We ask We asked people how it was that they came to be in our body shop. A lot of them say a friend told them, and that’s what we call ‘referrals’ — the magic of word of mouth at work A goodly lot say they came in because they assumed me to be such a witty. chatty and well informed person, just from reading this column every week | never have the heart to tell thern the truth about that part. However, it does amount to accelerated word of mouth, and in this market, along with quality repairs, that's the only way to survive Two From One, Dept. { figure if | can get every one person who walks away happy from Crash Pad (and that’s everybody), to tell two other people, pretty soon Til get this marvellous chain reaction going, a find of pyramid of good will | want you to have your own, personal body shop, even if you don't need one What could be cheaper than that ? FRY’S Custom Teak Lie oe Art Fry Tene used ugt? Have you bosed yourseit in? Cho you need protean sional help? Soec als zig a custom footers med Complete toatl Sypsiytinygy vit tes Pre snort assistance Competitive ales A will yiacdty give tree estimates tory 15 yours Ihre Naor tin Shore Feputaligna USTORE ES With Dress Dusinens uF y herver Dull oa arom ry Bhatia! cuadhity Cstve (tne aie ahs lo loca Vor Prerainygy tecaes FRY’S CUSTOM TEAK 985-2737 ws rw un wehiese yim, coat y 7 1315 Cotton Drive {% 4%. —- 980-4581 Amy ‘eave oa mionbage and will cal you, back an mame a per e KITCHEN CERAMIC TILE SALE [Loo UW yourself tastroctorn lrosteatoatieon Ask Qbout our other in store: spoec icils Fashion Tile & Wallpaper Ltd. 108 W 2nd Street. er Neue bts North Van. ayn 985-3820