Real Estate News & Articles

BC property values soar

2005-01-05

Assessments rose by 17%, the largest increase since 1992 Michael McCullough and Joel Baglole Sun The value of real estate soared by 17 per cent across B.C. last year -- the largest annual increase in more than a decade. The B.C. Assessment …

BC to boost threshold on homeowner grants

2005-01-05

Sun VICTORIA -- The B.C. government is proposing to increase the homeowner grant threshold. Finance Minister Colin Hansen says legislation to be introduced during the February budget is in response to a significant increase in assessed prop…

Construction industry had a spectacular 2004

2004-12-30

Tradesmen were in short supply as the building boom took off last year Gillian Shaw Sun CREDIT: Peter Battistoni, Vancouver Sun Steve Lornie, of Fairmile Construction, helped drive the initiative to create a program fast-tracking a training…

Earthquake changed rotation of the Earth

2004-12-30

Roger Highfield Sun LONDON -- The earthquake that spawned such destruction around the Indian Ocean also made the Earth wobble on its axis by an inch or so, altered regional geography by a few metres and cut the length of the day by a few mi…

Pomaria sells 50 units before dispaly centre and sales office opens

2004-12-29

The project's Granville Slopes location may be key to the buyer frenzy Marke Andrews Sun A downtown Vancouver townhouse development that won't open for occupancy until March 2007 and has yet to open its display centre and sales office has a…

Downtown condo project sells 50 units before sales centre opens

2004-12-28

Buyers and sellers rang up $26 billion in 11 months this year Derrick Penner Sun British Columbians bought and sold more real estate in 2004 than ever before, ringing up an incredible $26 billion in transactions during the year's first 11 m…

2004: Year of Condomania

2004-12-27

Many buyers couldn't wait until projects were finished Derrick Penner Sun The first sale day for Yaletown Park , on Feb. 28, perhaps best illustrated just how frenzied 2004's condominium market was, a frenzy that likely will not be repeated…

Canadian home prices average record $232,935 in November

2004-12-24

Eric Beauchesne Sun Home prices in Canada shattered all previous records last month as sales hit an all-time high for November. The average selling price of a home was a record $232,935, 6.8 per cent higher than a year earlier, the real est…

Construction boom to soar in '05

2004-12-23

Non-residential construction in B.C. expected to reach a record $9.7 billion, Credit Union Central says Derrick Penner Sun Non-residential construction in British Columbia will hit a record $9.7 billion in 2005, outpacing the province's ove…

Vancouver residential vancancy rates are near 8%

2004-12-22

Analysts say new arrivals to the province are keeping vacancies low Derrick Penner Sun Vancouver 's apartment vacancy rate plunged to a mere 0.6 per cent in 2004, a steep decline that runs contrary to a national trend. Vancouver 's tightene…

Vancouver's house prices expected to remain high

2004-12-21

Prices likely to rise an average 4.5 per cent across Canada in 2005: real estate firm Eric Beauchesne Sun OTTAWA -- The three most expensive cities in which to buy a home next year will be Vancouver, Toronto, and Ottawa while the three most…

Price rises 'modest'

2004-12-21

But our homes still most expensive Ashley Ford Province First the good news. Greater Vancouver homes will only see a modest three-per-cent price increase next year, less than the national average of 4.5 per cent, as the hot housing market c…

Boxwood Green opens - new townhome complex

2004-12-19

NEW HOMES: Townhomes that fit the city life perfectly -- and with space to entertain Jeani Read Province       Fairview Slopes is the new ‘in’ place with the arrival of Boxwood Green townhomes . GERRY KAHRMANN &md…

Every home sold generates $28,000 in related spending

2004-12-17

Study says every home sold generates $28,000 in related spending Ashley Ford Province The province's buoyant home sale market has become a major multi billion-dollar dynamo in the provincial economy, the British Columbia Real Estate Associa…

Vancouver Real Estate Market Cooling

2004-12-16

While the average price of a city home hit $383,000, there are signs the market may cool Eric Beauchesne, with files from Derrick Penner Sun OTTAWA -- The average selling price of a home in Vancouver shot up to $383,000 in November confirmi…

B.C. businesses see a rosy future in province

2004-12-16

Factors include balanced budget, tax cuts and 2010 Olympics Brian Morton Sun B.C. businesses continue to be among the most optimistic in the country, according to a survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business. "For the sixth c…

Digital cameras hot sellers while DVD players flatten

2004-12-14

With digital cameras cheaper and better, many people are on their second, A&B Sound says Marke Andrews Sun CREDIT: Mark van Manen, Vancouver Sun Scott Chalmers (left) gets advice from Laura Barzelai on the digital cameras sold at A&B So…

Industry pushed out: It's economic suicide, says one real estate expert

2004-12-14

Joel Baglole Sun VANCOUVER - The amount of industrial land in Vancouver has been reduced by 37.8 per cent over the past 44 years as city council has rezoned property for residential use. But the steady erosion of the city's industrial base …

New UBC Development - Folio

2004-12-11

Michael Sasges Sun   The ‘clean rectilinear lines’ of the Folio building (below) are repeated by design in the presentation centre A ‘green’ bathroom (like this one in the Folio presentation centre) conserves wa…

There's renewed optimism among younger buyers

2004-12-11

Home builders' association survey shows that young people, singles and couples are eager to purchase their first home Peter Simpson Sun   CREDIT: Associated Press Files Young people in the Lower Mainland are showing more readiness to t…

Home buyers getting younger all the time

2004-12-11

Peter Simpson Sun   CREDIT: Associated Press Files Young people in the Lower Mainland are showing more readiness to take the home-ownership plunge, a survey suggests.   If you want to find out about the needs and expectations of f…

Housing starts up markedly - CMHC Figures

2004-12-10

Sun   PRINCE GEORGE - Housing starts are up markedly in Prince George compared to last year, according to Canada and Mortgage Housing Corp. statistics released on Wednesday. During the first 11 months of 2004, there were 165 starts on …

South False Creek development to have more cheap housing

2004-12-09

FRANCES BULA Sun REVAMPED I The Vancouver neighbourhood that embodies the city’s new 21st-century vision for utopian urban living has just undergone its most recent transformation.    The plan for southeast False Creek …

Greater Vancouver housing starts best performance in a decade

2004-12-09

Vancouver seen entering a new market phase going into 2005 Ashley Ford Province Greater Vancouver housing starts are firmly on track for their best performance in a decade. Latest numbers from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC),…