Real Estate News & Articles

Federal Budget 2009 – Help for Home Buyers

2009-01-29

Bell Alliance Other INTRODUCTION The 2009 Budget seems to have a little something for everyone. For people thinking about buying a home there are two important announcements. There is a increase in the amount buyers can withdraw from their …

Do the renos now & get $1350 Tax Credit from The Federal Government - catch - you must do them in the next 12 months

2009-01-29

Other THIS IS THE YEAR TO DO THOSE RENOVATIONS YOU HAVE WANTED TO DO!!!!! INTEREST RATES ARE AGAIN AT 1958 YEAR LOWS, AND TAX CREDITS MAKE IT MORE AFFORDABLE THAN EVER!   As part of the 2009 budget you may qualify for the Home Renovati…

Metro Vancouver housing costs among the highest in the world: survey

2009-01-28

Derrick Penner Sun Metro Vancouver sits fourth on Demographia’s 2009 list of least affordable cities, with a median house price at 8.4 times the median income. Photograph by: Reuters, files Metro Vancouver is one of the five least aff…

Tax credit for home reno a boost for building sector

2009-01-28

Budget provision also expected to help forestry by spurring demand for wood Derrick Penner, With Files From Jeff Lee Sun A tax credit for home renovations worth up to $1,350 included in Tuesday's federal budget is expected to be a boost to …

Digging out of recession's grip

2009-01-27

Worldwide infrastructure spending heralded John Morrissy Province Global infrastructure spending could hit between $25 and $30 trillion over the next two decades as governments seek to dig their way out of a worldwide recession and put peop…

Faint flicker of optimism

2009-01-27

Canadians in better mood and U.S. housing sales edge up Eric Beauchesne Province On the eve of what might be the biggest-ever injection of fiscal stimulus into the Canadian economy, and amid projections of trillions of dollars worth of furt…

Home values post 18.2% annual drop in Nov., S&P says

2009-01-27

USA Today NEW YORK (Reuters) — Prices of U.S. single-family homes were down a record 18.2% in November from a year earlier, indicative of a U.S. housing market that is still in the throes of a deep recession, according to the Standard…

Free Geek rebuilds e-waste into working commputers, recycles the rest

2009-01-27

Marke Andrews Sun Ifny Lachance (left), holding a sound card, and volunteer Sean Haines look over computer equipment at the Free Geek Community Technology Centre. In the background, build co-ordinator Stephen Samuel leads other volunteers i…

Current property decline won't last long: Rennie

2009-01-25

'Now is time to buy undervalued property as financial blowout will be done by next September' John Bermingham Province The city's most famous realtor is predicting that the current property slowdown in home sales won't last long, and that n…

If it's a lawsuit, owners must be told

2009-01-25

Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: I own a unit in a highrise development in Vancouver . Someone has anonymously put a note under everyone's door in the building, advising that the strata corporation was sued in September and what ar…

It promises to be the year of the netbook

2009-01-24

Gillian Shaw Sun S121, ASUS MINI 2140, HP From a standing start in 2007 to projected sales of 50 million mini-notebook computers this year, the " netbook " is taking over as the new must-have tech toy for 2009. And while it's small enough t…

Developer sues condo buyers trying to back out

2009-01-23

Amacon seeks damages, deposit Derrick Penner Sun One Metro Vancouver developer is suing pre-sale buyers for trying to back out of their deals, in what a property law expert says could be the start of a trend as buyers grapple with falling p…

Wall scraps False Creek project to build rentals

2009-01-23

120 buyers will get deposits back in troubled times Derrick Penner Sun With condominium sales skidding to a halt, Wall Financial Corp. has decided to scrap its 414-unit Wall Centre False Creek condominium project in favour of building renta…

Were you burned by the assessment 'freeze'?

2009-01-23

Our data will make it easy to determine if you should consider appealing Don Cayo Sun Exclusive data allow owners to determine if the assessment on their home or business is fair and whether they should appeal. Photograph by: Glenn Baglo, V…

Were you burned by the assessment 'freeze'?

2009-01-23

Our data will make it easy to determine if you should consider appealing Don Cayo Sun Exclusive data allow owners to determine if the assessment on their home or business is fair and whether they should appeal. Photograph by: Glenn Baglo, V…

Tempted by tandoori ‘roo

2009-01-22

SUPERB SALAM: But there were so many earthly delights

Opulent tower, Shangri-La at Georgia and Thurlow, is city's tallest building, soaring far above its neighbours

2009-01-22

A view from the top John Mackie Sun Tour of the Shangri-La hotel and condominium complex offers a high-level view of a foggy Vancouver. Only six of the building's 300 condos remain unsold, with the top price a rumoured $16 million. Photogra…

Generation Next of Vietnamese food

2009-01-22

Mia Stainsby Sun Maria Huynh, owner of Chau Kitchen and Bar with dishes from the restaurant and a photo from the 1970s of her mother Chau Thi Ho Huynh and her Chau Cafe. Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun CHAU KITCHEN AND BAR 1500 Ro…

Lumiere undergoes a spectacular rebirth

2009-01-22

Until February, reduced prix fixe menu lets you sample at a much lower cost Mia Stainsby Sun Chef Dale Mackay of the newly renovated Lumiere restaurant, with the Mosaic of Venison with Juniper Celery Root, Sweet and Sour Chesnuts and Black …

BC Building code to allow 6 storey wood frame condos

2009-01-19

Changes to B.C. Building Code raising hackles of industry-watchers Frank Luba Province Raising the roof on residential wood-frame buildings in B.C. from four to six storeys is raising the ire of some industry watchers. With the forestry sec…

Wall Financial Corp.’s four-tower Wall Centre False Creek will likely be delayed

2009-01-19

Wall project joins condo turbulence STUART HUNTER Province The Wall Centre False Creek condo complex next to the 2010 athletes’ village may be delayed by market conditions. The future of another False Creek condominium project is in l…

Olympic Village - City set to tackle new financing deal

2009-01-19

MAYOR:

Layoffs: Managers may need training

2009-01-19

ADVICE: There

Get legal advice on cancelling pre-sale

2009-01-18

Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: Is a pre-sale agreement a finalized agreement for sale and purchase? A group of investors that I am involved with from Alberta have decided that under the current market conditions we will not proce…