Real Estate News & Articles

Buy now! HST is on the way

2009-09-08

Ontario and B.C. homebuyers face a big tax hike Garry Marr Sun New home buyers face a major tax hit from the HST. Photograph by: Getty Images, Financial Post The new harmonized sales tax being proposed in British Columbia and Ontario may en…

How to avoid contract disaster

2009-09-06

surprise levy: Overbudget project is causing property values to plummet Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: A year ago, our strata council engaged a contractor to remove the landscaping and waterproof our parking deck and replant our …

Residential housing starts take hit in 2009

2009-09-04

CMHC predicts only 16,250 new homes in B.C. this year, but forecast is better for 2010 Derrick Penner Sun VANCOUVER SUN FILES British Columbia 's residential construction sector will end 2009 at a near-dismal low, but 2010 should be a littl…

Car gadgets: TomTom makes iPhone a GPS

2009-09-04

Lowell Conn Province In a bold move, the popular turnby-turn guide has embraced a partnership with Apple. HANDOUT PHOTO 1. Competitors to curse TomTom : In 1981 when IBM introduced the PC, a minor decision to let little-known Microsoft reta…

Mortgage-rate rush helps push up Lower Mainland prices

2009-09-03

Metro's average property prices climb to within 3 percentage points of their peak Derrick Penner Sun Real estate prices rose again in August and were approaching their levels of a year ago, numbers released Wednesday by the Greater Vancouve…

Heat but no light at Don Guacamole's

2009-09-03

Inconsistent, and often overly hot, food overcomes attempts at authenticity Mia Stainsby Sun Tacos al pastor and blended lime margarita from Don Guacamole on Robson Street. Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider, Vancouver Sun DON GUACAMOLE'S 133…

Los Cabos tourists hunker down

2009-09-02

Jason Lange Province A hotel worker tapes up a window in Cabo San Lucas as Hurricane Jimena approaches. Jimena, a Category 4 storm, headed toward Mexico's Baja California peninsula on Tuesday, forcing tourists to flee Los Cabos hotels and r…

Vancouver Real Estate after Olympics will not rise or fall

2009-09-02

Susan Lazaruk Province Next year's Olympics won't cause the real-estate market to dramatically rise or fall, but B.C. will see a gradual total increase in house sales of six per cent in 2010, according to one real-estate company. The recent…

Cellphone companies offer code of conduct

2009-09-02

Promised measures light on details, analysts say Jamie Sturgeon Sun Canada 's wireless phone companies will allow customers to refuse changes made partway through their contract's term or to get out of the contract at no additional cost. Th…

HST to hike management, service costs

2009-08-30

prepare for new tax: Owners to pay more for maintenance, landscaping, labour Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: Several of our owners have heard on a number of talk shows this week that strata owners are now going to have to pay the …

Living's easy in central Brentwood

2009-08-30

New Memento development offers affordable homeas in a great aslocation LENA SIN Province Memento's great location provides easy access to SkyTrain, the Lougheed Highway, TransCanada Highway, Brentwood Mall and local schools. Photograph by: …

Shangri-La GM Stephen Darling eyes directorships, charity and contract work

2009-08-29

City hotelier eases into part-time work Bruce Constantineau Sun Longtime city hotelier Stephen Darling won't have to frazzle himself by working at breakneck speed anymore. He leaves his position next week as general manager of the Shangri-L…

Honeybees create a rooftop buzz

2009-08-29

180,000 bees at the Fairmont Waterfront sweeten the menu at hotel's restaurant Mia Stainsby Sun John Gibeau (left), president of Honeybee Centre, and Graeme Evans, Fairmont Waterfront's director of housekeeping and resident beekeeper harves…

Future homebuyers will pay significantly more tax under HST

2009-08-29

Four levels of government have their hand in the buyer's wallet and the take is going to get larger next year unless something is done Peter Simpson Sun French economist Jean Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) opined that "the art of taxation con…

High hopes for B.C. housing market upswing in 2010

2009-08-28

Uptick in sales is 'brightest light' in otherwise dismal economic picture Province A better housing sales season is a bright spot in a gloomy economy, says the B.C. Real Estate Association's forecast for 2010. Photograph by: Ric Ernst file,…

B.C. real estate sales should continue to rise: economist

2009-08-28

Prices will remain below 2008 levels before edging up in 2010 Derrick Penner Sun Spurred by record-low mortgage rates, provincial real estate sales should continue to rise through the remainder of 2009 from last year's market fall, accordin…

Trio of chefs updates Hart House menu

2009-08-27

The three are working to make the venerable eatery's menu more 'West Coast' Linda Bates Sun Hart House chef Kris Kabush, with his colleagues Will Lucas and Breck Lemcke, is working to update the restaurant's menu. Kabush is pictured here wi…

Worst of housing downturn behind us: National Bank

2009-08-27

Derrick Penner, John Morrissy Sun Metro Vancouver saw house prices tick higher in June after 11 straight months of decline on one bank's index measure of property values. With three other major cities on the index measure also showing price…

Construction Update Aug 2009: Woodward's - 108-128 W Cordova, Ritz Carlton 58 storey dev going ahead in March 2009, Jameson House going ahead to be built by Robert Bosa, Cosmo by Concord at $600/ft sold out

2009-08-27

Malcolm Parry Sun NEW SPACE RACE: Recessionary chills are declining in numerous economic sectors. High among them is housing, on which the development community is throwing warm water again. With the $330-million Woodward's redevelopment cl…

Gateway North Shore -- Latest condos offer stunning design

2009-08-23

Reclaimed Stanley Park trees used in ceiling LENA SIN Province The kitchen features glossy two-tone cabinets in white and charcoal at the Gateway North Shore condo development, opposite Capilano Mall in North Vancouver. Photograph by: Wayne…

Cancelled loan program leaves owners in lurch

2009-08-23

Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: Our strata corporation voted to repair condo leaks on July 28. There was an expectation that those in financial hardship could apply to the Homeowner Protection Office for interest-free loans. On Ju…

Fairmont hotels get into green programs

2009-08-22

The Waterfront, among other hotels in the chain, is into beekeeping in a big way and is earning a sweet reward for its efforts Kim Davis Sun Like a passionate wine maker describing the bouquet of his latest cabernet, Graeme Evans of the Fai…

Condos with windows on four sides

2009-08-22

The Kettle Creek development near Victoria features detached homes at relatively low prices Suzanne Morphet Sun Homes in the Kettle Creek development are small but — at $249,000 to $329,000, including GST — they are also afforda…

Mexico: Where imagination and reality blend

2009-08-22

Oaxaca City celebrates life inspired by the landscape Yvonne Jeffery Sun Located a short drive from Oaxaca City, the ruins of Monte Alban once stood as the capital city of the Zapotec civilization. YVONNE JEFFERY/CNS Zeny Fuentes is wieldin…