Real Estate News & Articles

Four things for you to consider before you remodel

2010-08-29

Christine Dugas USA Today To get more space without moving, Carol and Mark Durgin built a basement with a family room, a bathroom and a laundry area. By Josh T. Reynolds for USA TODAY Home remodeling is on the rise. And no wonder. Owners ha…

Mortgage brokers are becoming a vanishing breed

2010-08-29

Jeff Swiatek, The Indianapolis Star USA Today Realtor Joe Bell poses outside one of his properties in St. Petersburg, Fla. Mortgage rates have sunk to levels not seen in more than a half-century but brokers and lenders report not a flood bu…

Figuring out fair access to parking

2010-08-29

Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: We bought into a 10-unit condo building in May. There are 10 parking spaces, and we assumed that each unit was granted the use of one parking space. Now we have found out that the top floor unit has…

STEVESTON VIEWS, Steveston, Richmond

2010-08-29

A colourful addition to a colourful community Province Rooftop patios at Steveston Views have gas hookups, and cedars will define each home’s space. Corner-unit patios are a spacious 500 square feet, reports the project’s Tussy …

365 Waterfront - Victoria apartments from Concert rise on former industrial property on the Gorge waterway

2010-08-28

On the waterfront 365 days of the year Suzanne Morphet Sun ‘ It is a special village near the city, but far enough away from the noises of downtown,’ says 365 Waterfront resident Alan Newberry. The goal for the interiors at 365 …

Iron and Whyte - 10th and Trimble - apartments a 24-household addition to West Point Grey's 'High Street'

2010-08-28

'Village' exteriors enclose big-city interiors Claudia Kwan Sun As an addition to the West 10th streetscape, Iron and Whyte will be distinguished by a cladding of white, painted brick, with black wroughtiron accents on Juliet balconies and …

Resale prices rise 13.6% nationally

2010-08-28

Sun Prices for Canadian homes sold and bought in June were 13.6-per-cent higher than prices in the previous June, a national survey of real estate transactions reports. The advance was strongly influenced by the Vancouver number, of 16.3 pe…

One in 10 with a mortgage face foreclosure

2010-08-26

Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer USA Today Michelle Frisse, 6, sits with her doll during a foreclosure rally in Oakland in July. The Frisse family lost their house in Antioch, Calif., to foreclosure. By Paul Sakuma, AP WASHINGTON — O…

Staying true to his father's vision - the Old Surrey Restaurant

2010-08-26

Philip Aguirre keeps his French roots while serving a loyal clientele Tracey Tufnail Sun Philip Aguirre has run the Old Surrey Restaurant -- opened by his father Valentine in 1974 -- since 2007. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver S…

Government concessions needed to sell the HST

2010-08-26

I have asked the companies involved about prices possibly being reduced -- as the government has outlined -- I have got quizzical looks and laughter rather than commitments. Barbara Yaffe Sun The British Columbia and federal governments nee…

Rennie Monthly Market Review for July 2010

2010-08-25

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Search for stability lifts B.C. commercial real estate sales to $1b in first half of 2010

2010-08-25

Derrick Penner Sun A post-recession appetite for investments more stable than stock markets helped drive British Columbia to a record $1 billion in significant commercial real estate sales in the first half of 2010, commercial realtor Aviso…

Home sales plunge 27%, to lowest rate on record

2010-08-24

Stephanie Armour USA Today A home for sale in Springfield, Ill., Monday, Aug. 23, 2010 By Seth Perlman, AP Home sales plunged in July to record lows as buyer demand withered after the expiration of a federal home buyer tax credit — a …

Governments add to house prices through taxes and zoning rules

2010-08-24

Even allowing 'mortgage helper' suites drives up costs Don Cayo Sun With taxes, levies, fees and restrictive rules adding nearly $80,000 to the cost of an average new home in Metro Vancouver, it's easy to finger governments as the bad guys …

Legal case could expose Harper government to HST backlash

2010-08-24

As parties contemplate an election, federal responsibility for the controversial tax could hurt the Conservatives in British Columbia Barbara Yaffe Sun B.C.'s populist fight against the harmonized sales tax took an unexpected twist last wee…

Be afraid, Liberals -The Zalm is back, and he's smiling

2010-08-23

Ian Mulgrew Sun Former Social Credit premier William Vander Zalm cut a figure like a young Fred Astaire. Without her once-trademark headband, his wife Lillian looked every inch a vivacious Zsa Zsa Gabor in movie-star sunglasses, Hillary Cli…

Real estate speculators, immigrants and crooks: Are they just scapegoats?

2010-08-23

Much debate results from a lack of data on how the underground economy and other factors influence housing prices Don Cayo Sun What drives Vancouver’s house prices so relentlessly to levels four times higher than Winnipeg’s, and…

Mortgage aid program still washes out lots of borrowers

2010-08-22

Stephanie Armour USA Today Cancellations in the program are growing because of insufficient documentation from borrowers, missed payments, or because borrowers are found to earn too much to qualify, according to Treasury. By Rick Bowmer, AP…

Recession hits smartphone makers in the chips

2010-08-22

Peter Svensson, Associated Press USA Today The Droid Incredible cellphone by HTC is displayed in San Francisco. One of the few product categories that kept selling strongly through the recession was smartphones. Eric Risberg, AP NEW YORK &m…

Shaughnessy blazes trail in PoCo, while Oasis joins scene in Coquitlam

2010-08-22

Homes that rise above the rest Province A model of Oasis, which will be 37-storeys and the tallest highrise in Coquitlam. Onni's Shaughnessy on Lions Park, at 26-storeys, will be the first highrise in Port Coquitlam. Onni's two new developm…

It's a hot topic that calls for cool heads

2010-08-22

Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata is a unique design in that we have a central courtyard, into which all 82 units face. In the cool periods and winter it is a warm, quiet safe area for our residents to spend time, but dur…

Criminals want hacker-for-hire online black market

2010-08-22

Crime organizations seek to contract out illegal activities that require specialized technical expertise Giuseppe Valiante Province Organized crime is increasingly using social networking services such as Facebook and Twitter to unlock acce…

Pacifica residency expands the definition of commuting locally

2010-08-21

Nanaimo waterfront lures Vancouver buyers Chantal Eustace Sun The appeal of lower prices and waterfront living at Pacifica in Nanaimo is a powerful lure for out-oftown buyers and those who commute by seaplane to downtown Vancouver. Scenic v…

Three homes commanding the prominent Vancouver intersection of 33rd and Cambie

2010-08-21

The late Art Cowie championed a three-residence addition to a well-travelled intersection Claudia Kwan Sun The rowhouses are located at the northwest corner of Cambie and 33rd --and at the intersection of regulator caution and developer ent…