Real Estate News & Articles

Seattle's backyard cottages make a dent in housing need

2010-05-26

Judy Keen USA Today John Stoeck sweeps the 437-square-foot cottage he's building behind his home in Seattle. The city changed zoning rules to allow cottages in single-family neighborhoods. By Rob Sumner, Red Box Pictures, for USA TODAY SEAT…

Tallest tower outside downtown core is proposed for Canada Line site

2010-05-26

Derrick Penner Sun Artist’s renderings ( above and below) of developer PCI Group’s proposed Marine Gateway project, a mixed-use development the company wants to build at the southeast corner of Cambie Street and Marine Drive in …

Housing prices set to fall: CIBC

2010-05-26

.C. and Alberta the most overpriced Garry Marr Sun A new report from one of the country's major banks says house prices in Canada are sitting 14 per cent over their "fair" value. The report from Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce says the a…

Be careful when buying property for adult children

2010-05-26

Their partner may end up owning 50% of it Garry Marr Sun More Canadians are considering buying condos for their children. There are options to avoid financial problems. Photograph by: BIll KEAy, CAnwEsT NEws SERVICE, Financial Post It's one…

1,006 units to aid homeless

2010-05-26

Province, city to combine with foundation on $225-million plan Gery Bellet Sun A computer rendering envisions the new building at 590 Alexander St. that will provide 139 new apartments for the homeless. Premier Gordon Campbell has announced…

City and province team with private sector on social housing

2010-05-26

Miro Cernetig Sun If you have the sneaking suspicion the world might work a little better if our politicians just set aside partisan politics and got down to the business of governing, look no further for vindication. The City of Vancouver …

About 50 people have applied for first dibs on Olympic Village suites

2010-05-26

Police officers, nurses, teachers apply to rent affordable housing units Mike Howell Sun The affordable housing component of the Olympic Village comprises 252 units located in three buildings at the Southeast False Creek site. Photograph by…

Housing for 1,000 homeless OK’d

2010-05-26

Cheryl Chan Province Mark Townsend, of the PHS Community Services Society, stands on the site of a future social-housing project at 590 Alexander St. in Vancouver on Tuesday. Ric Ernst — PNG More than 1,000 new homes for Vancouver&rsq…

Home ownership taking bigger bite out of our wallets

2010-05-26

Province Home-ownership costs in Canada rose for the third-straight quarter in early 2010 and will get higher as interest rates rise this year, says a housing report released Tuesday by RBC Economics Research. The RBC Housing Affordability …

Tax credit pushes April home sales up 7.6% from March

2010-05-25

Stephanie Armour USA Today Previously owned home sales jumped in the Northeast, Midwest and South. Only the West saw a decline. By Bill Sikes, AP Existing home sales jumped in April as buyers rushed to take advantage of home buyers tax cred…

Home prices drop 0.5% in March, S&P says

2010-05-25

USA Today Economists don't expect home sales to remain as strong now that the government incentive program has ended. By Amy Sancetta, AP NEW YORK (AP) — The Standard & Poor's/Case- Shiller 20-city home price index released Tuesda…

Inspect before buying

2010-05-25

Hire a professional inspector to give house the once-over Province House hunters ready to buy are advised to hire a professional inspector because, depending on what they find, it may impact the purchase price and affect your homeowners&#82…

Nine of Vancouver's top interior designers are opening the doors to their work at the Millennium Water development

2010-05-23

Claudia Kwan Province The huge windows offer a stunning view over the water. The CHIL Design Group created a show suite with the theme 'Global Living.' which has two bedrooms and a flex space and measures more than 1,400 square feet. Photog…

Phased strata issues are tricky

2010-05-23

Open to all sorts of problems Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: We are the first strata council of a new development in the Kootenays that will eventually be nine phases. Our first meeting was in October of 2009. The annual budget w…

Accountability can be a recurring problem among condo owners, as enforcement of the Strata Property Act of B.C. is left up to them

2010-05-22

Who ya gonna call? Suzanne Morphet Sun If there's something strange in your neighbourhood Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters! That little ol ' tune popped into my head while researching this column, perhaps because strata property owners often…

April dip a sign of balance in Metro market, analyst says

2010-05-22

Derrick Penner Sun April saw a slight dip within the rise of Metro Vancouver housing prices -- another sign the market is easing into a balanced state. The Conference Board of Canada noted that Metro Vancouver's average home price dipped 2.…

Your bank may have you in 'headlock' with new mortgages

2010-05-22

Shopping around for better rate brings hurdles Garry Marr Sun A headlock would be the wrestling term to describe the hold Canadian banks will have on some consumers because of new, stricter mortgage rules. We are already seeing the impact o…

Meet the designers behind Millennium Water’s Avenues of the World

2010-05-22

Claudia Kwan Sun CHIL Design Group CHIL Design Group has worked on some high-profi le projects in Vancouver, including the opulent Shangri-La and Fairmont Pacifi c Rim hotels. Now it’s setting its sights on enticing buyers to sign on …

Housing sales back off from heady days of late 2009

2010-05-20

Global economy, effect of HST prompt buyers to bide their time Derrick Penner Sun British Columbia real estate sales dropped by more than one quarter in the three months of 2010 from the last quarter of 2009 in both the number of transactio…

Demand expected to fall as first-time buyers bow out

2010-05-20

Derrick Penner Sun Metro Vancouver real estate sales will drop in 2010 compared to last year and flatten out in 2011 because new buyers who would have been in the market were enticed to buy in 2009, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said We…

Jade Seafood a gastronomic gem

2010-05-20

Great food, excellent service keeps award-winning restaurant at the top of the pack Mia Stainsby Sun Jade Seafood Restaurant chef Tony Luk shows off three of his famous dishes. From left: Grandpa's Smoked Chicken, Mushroom dumplings and Cla…

The rebirth of Chinatown

2010-05-20

Urban renaissance combines modern sensibility with Asian heritage, in a balancing act that whispers 'everything is going to be alright' Doug Ward Sun Owner Tannis Ling, a former bartender, helps Patrick Francis as he mixes a Chino Margarita…

Pace of Canadian home sales falls back in April

2010-05-18

John Morrissy Sun The Canadian housing market is cooling, but the decline will be moderate, thanks to the rebound in the labour market, economists say. Canadian home sales fell 2.6 per cent in April from the previous month, with residential…

High Street 2950 King George Boulevard, Surrey at South Point project in south Surrey

2010-05-16

South Surrey neighbourhood mimics Whistler streetscape Province The High Street at South Point project in south Surrey is comprised of eight townhomes and 80 apartments in two four-storey buildings. The interiors of the High Street at South…