Real Estate News & Articles

Homeowner grant limit up to $1.05 million

2008-01-12

Rise in property assessments prompts $100,000 hike in grant eligibility Michael Kane Sun Live in a $1-million home? You can still get government help to pay your property taxes. The province is raising the homeowner grant threshold for the …

Gadgets for the skier, homeowner, TV watcher

2008-01-12

Sun Flaik, Wireless-G Internet Home Monitoring Camera with Audio Flaik , $6 per day rental Take to the snow like an Olympic athlete with this real-time GPS tracking device that lets you clock your snowboarding or skiing speed, distance and …

Vancouver house prices can't keep rising forever

2008-01-12

Bob Ransford Sun I always try to avoid answering the obvious question: "So, how long is this current real estate boom going to continue?" Predicting when the bubble will burst can be dangerous, if for no other reason than I might live to re…

A 'wow' in Whistler: $1.9 million townhouses

2008-01-12

Fitzsimmons Walk broker says price a pre-Games bargain Sun The Cressey development company calls the Fitzsimmons Walk architectural style “ Westcoast Alpine Contemporary.” At Fitzsimmons Walk, sales agent John Ryan reports, the …

Value of metro building permits drops by one third

2008-01-11

November decline driven by slowdown in multi-family housing Derrick Penner Sun The value of Metro Vancouver building permits dropped by a third in November, driven mostly by a big drop in applications for multi-family housing projects, Stat…

Condos lead housing starts

2008-01-10

About 80 per cent of new construction is multifamily, says CMHC Paul Luke Province Condos, like this development at the King George SkyTrain station in Surrey, led a jump in multifamily construction in the Lower Mainland. Photograph by : Le…

High-tech toys push buttons

2008-01-10

The latest thing, at least for today Steve Makris Province Mathieu Michael, president of Toronto-based Interactive Toy Concepts, demonstrates Turbo Remote Control Cooler. LAS VEGAS -- If you just bought a cutting-edge high-definition TV, I …

Feet firmly planted in foie gras

2008-01-10

Foodies will flock to this simple Cambie Street venue Mark Laba Province Tony Peneff serves classic French-bistro fare at Pied-a-Terre. PIED-A-TERRE Where: 3369 Cambie St. , Vancouver Payment/reservations: Major credit cards, 604-873-3131 D…

New detached houses become scarcer

2008-01-10

Derrick Penner Sun The new detached house became a rarer commodity in 2007 than ever in Metro Vancouver. Multi-family units accounted for 80 per cent of all new homes started during the year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. N…

You'll be pleasantly surprised at the new Yew

2008-01-10

Goodbye Chartwell and Garden Terrace; Hello Yew, which can now be anointed as officially cool and swanky Mia Stainsby Sun Executive Chef Rafael Gonzalez displays hamachi tuna nicoise at the Yew restaurant in the Four Seasons Hotel. Photogra…

Exotic soda siphon makes comeback in home bars

2008-01-10

The device produces instant bubbly water that's crisp, cool and nose-tickling effervescent Joanne Sasvari Sun The soda siphon, big in the heavy-drinking 1950s, makes a comeback. Photograph by : Glenn Baglo, Vancouver Sun I recently bought a…

Restaurant Listings For January 2008

2008-01-10

Mia Stainsby Sun A list of restaurants recommended and anonymously visited by Sun restaurant critic Mia Stainsby . Prices are per couple for three courses, with a glass of wine each, before tip and taxes. $ means $50 or less $$ means $50 to…

Restaurant Listings For January 2008

2008-01-10

Mia Stainsby Sun A list of restaurants recommended and anonymously visited by Sun restaurant critic Mia Stainsby . Prices are per couple for three courses, with a glass of wine each, before tip and taxes. $ means $50 or less $$ means $50 to…

City's bright job market drives housing prices to double-digit increases

2008-01-09

Paul Luke Province Home buyers lured by Vancouver 's bright employment outlook plunged into the regional housing market in the fourth quarter of 2007, driving prices to double-digit gains, Royal LePage Real Estate Services said yesterday. A…

InterNet to get 10 times faster

2008-01-09

Province Comcast Corp. CEO Brian Roberts introduces high-speed DOCsis 3.0, which allows a movie to be downloaded in less than four minutes. Photograph by : Getty Images LAS VEGAS -- Imagine being able to download a movie in four minutes. Th…

Strong job market keeps house prices high

2008-01-09

Derrick Penner Sun VANCOUVER - Real estate prices rose between 11 and 12.4 per cent year-over-year, with an average detached bungalow reaching $795,250 in the fourth-quarter of 2007, realty firm Royal LePage reported Tuesday. The national r…

Openings delayed for two high-end hotels

2008-01-09

Construction issues keep Loden, Shangri-La from meeting scheduled deadlines Bruce Constantineau Sun Two new high-end downtown Vancouver hotel projects have delayed their opening dates because of construction issues and other factors. The 77…

Four-minute movie downloads now possible

2008-01-09

Comcast plans to roll out 160 megabits per second service to Americans this year Vito Pilieci Sun Sanyo’s Xacti E1 ( above), the world’s first waterproof camcorder and digital still camera, is shown at the Consumer Electronics S…

Real estate: Experts field your questions on sales, refis, more

2008-01-09

When's the time to refinance? Play it safe, experts say Tony avelar USA Today Passerby John Malone reads about one of many homes for sale on a San Jose, Calif., street USA TODAY last week invited readers who are thinking of buying, selling,…

Housing not so affordable any more

2008-01-08

Price increases hurt buyers looking outside Metro Brian Lewis Province The fact that the Fraser Valley continues as one of Canada 's fastest-growing regions is reflected each January when year-end real-estate-sales statistics are released. …

Panasonic unveils giant TV

2008-01-08

Japanese firm aims to link all home gadgets Vito Pilieci Province Toshihiro Sakamoto, president of Panasonic AVC Networks, unveils 150-inch plasma TV at Las Vegas electronics show. Photograph by : Getty Images LAS VEGAS -- Panasonic AVC Net…

Ritz-Carlton penthouse carries $28-million price tag

2008-01-08

Yet-to-be built downtown condo smashes lofty price barrier Bruce Constantineau Sun Artist’s rendering of the $ 500- million Ritz- Carlton project on Georgia Street between Thurlow and Bute. Construction is slated to begin in March, wi…

Microsoft homes in on iPod with the Zune MP3

2008-01-08

Bill Gates makes his final appearance at the Consumer Electronics Show Vito P Sun Microsoft’s Zune MP3 player is expected be sold in Canada this spring LAS VEGAS - Microsoft Corp. is taking a big swing at Apple Inc. and its popular iP…

Don't skimp on fixing problems

2008-01-06

Tony Gioventu Province Dear Condo Smarts: In March, one of our fourth-floor units had a common water leak from a broken pipe. Contrary to my encouragement, our council voted not to file an insurance claim and to fix the damage ourselves. Th…