Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market Results: December

Downtown Vancouver by PoYang

Our market remained in a balanced state for most of the year, although higher levels of demand for detached properties in the region’s largest communities caused prices in certain areas to rise higher than others. For example, the benchmark price of a single-family detached home experienced double-digit increases in nine areas within the region over the last 12 months.

New Year’s Eve Events in Vancouver

Vancouver Fireworks by Jon Rawlinson

New Year’s Eve is just around the corner. Another year, another reason to celebrate. Seems like we’ve barely finished with Christmas gifts and we’re stuck trying to figure out what to do on the craziest night of the year. This NYE’s events offer a surprisingly diverse mixture of parties, fireworks, traditional sleepovers, great food, and fabulous drinks. Whether you want to dress to the nines and head out to the last glamourous party of this year or you want to spend the night with your family, you have plenty of options to choose from. This article brings you a list of the most interesting events and venues to go to on this NYE.

Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market Results: November

Vancouver by Maya-Anais Yataghine

November is behind us, and as the year 2011 slowly comes to an end, we bring you a short review of this year’s 11th Real Estate Market Results report, issued by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. November 2011 didn’t experience any major diversions from this part of the year’s usual home sale and listing activity.

U.S. Rentals on the Rise

Front of House by Chanel Wheeler

An October 2011 economic outlook report by Freddie Mac reveals an increasing trend in choosing rental housing over homeownership, hinting at positive economic developments in the multifamily sector in the U.S. market.

Chinese Real Estate Bubble – About to Burst or Just Slowly Deflating?

Chinese House by John Heaven

The question many economists have been analyzing lately relates to one of the biggest real estate markets in the world: China. It is clear that there is a housing market bubble, and nobody disagrees that its impact could be considerable. The real question is: how big is it really going to be?

The Most Expensive House in Vancouver

2190 Camelot Avenue, West Vancouver, BC V7S 2M2
Price: $39,900,000

Camelot Estate
by Charpac Properties Ltd.

The most expensive house in Vancouver is also the most expensive house in the whole of Canada. The name of the avenue on which this house can be found is quite significant. The three-building estate you’ll get for the listing price is more like a modern castle than a normal house. The property is located in West Vancouver with a view of the Lower Mainland, downtown, the U.S., and Vancouver Island.

IMF Points Our Debt, Flaherty Says No Mortgage Tightening

IMF by Javier Ignacio Acua Ditzel

The International Monetary Fund points to rising household debt and recommends government action soon. Finance minister Jim Flaherty says no further mortgage tightening is needed now.

IMF warns in its latest regional outlook for the Western Hemisphere that Canadian household debt reached 147 per cent in Q2 and is heading towards 151 per cent in 2013. The report considers an appropriate ratio to be between 138 and 142 per cent.

Recreational Property Purchases Hit Canada

Vacation Home by Olivier Bruchez

Since May 2011, Canada has been experiencing a rapid outburst of recreational property purchases. Most big real-estate companies believe that this trend is going to continue throughout next year as well, barely dropping at all. According to a nationwide survey of Canadian attitudes toward recreational property ownership commissioned by Royal LePage Real Estate Services and run on the Angus Reid Forum, most Canadians believe that the purchase of a vacation home is a good long-term investment.

Expansion of Canadian Investments In U.S. Real Estate Markets

1 US Dollar by Miran Rijavec

The current down-turning trend of home prices in the U.S. has been encouraging for foreign investors. The decreasing value of the U.S. dollar on currency markets played a major role in the increase of foreign investment activity on U.S. real estate market.

Pushing the Client over the Edge

Plate of money by Gavin Schaefer

Many clients think that Realtors® are there only to make a sale. Akin to the car salesperson paradigm, people often think that real estate agents’ only goal is to sell-sell-sell no matter what house or to whom. Sadly, many agents actually fuel this misconception by acting irresponsibly and neglecting their due diligence when interacting with their clients.

Vancouver’s Greatest Architects

Vancouver Architecture by Mark Kortum

Canada’s architecture can be traced way back to the First Nations, and it continued to develop for hundreds of years, leaving many amazing buildings behind. The Vancouver area played an important role in the development of styles typical for Canadian architecture in 19th and 20th century, the era of great railway hotels. Nowadays, the architecture in Vancouver and Greater Vancouver area is no less amazing; just take a walk through the city with your head up and enjoy the breathtaking enormity of talent that our architects have.

Greater Vancouver Market Results: September

Vancouver Stanley Park
by cakeordeath

The Greater Vancouver Area market activity achieved excellent numbers this past summer. As predicted, home sale activity was below the ten-year average in August as well as June and July. However, increases in property listings and fewer home sales have helped move the housing market into the upper end of a buyers’ market.

California Homeowners Sue Builders For Value Decline

Empty Neighbourhood
by Tim Sheerman Chase

The unprecedented decline of property values in the United States, which has lasted for four years now, led to many investigations and accusations of who is responsible for what. While the government, banks, and real estate professionals have been routinely targeted by media and the broad public, there has been hardly any legal action — until now.

West Vancouver Housing Market Analysis

West Vancouver by Kyle Pearce

The housing market in the Metro Vancouver region has been in a good, balanced shape in recent months. Sales have been weaker, however, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, as the number of transactions has been below the ten-year average the whole summer. On the contrary, listings activity has been quite high, with an almost 25 per cent increase year-over-year in August 2011. This resulted in a market with a wider supply and better conditions for buyers. It’s important to note that the market conditions are different in each of the Metro Vancouver municipalities, so everyone thinking of buying or selling should always exert due diligence. To help buyers and sellers in the beautiful waterfront community of West Vancouver, we’ve prepared a short analysis of the West Vancouver real estate market.

Pitt Meadows Real Estate Market Statistics

Pitt Meadows Marshes by Pete

Metro Vancouver incorporates a number of municipalities and districts that all have different real estate markets. This diversity can confuse not only the first-time home buyer, but also people who have experience in real estate transactions through the Greater Vancouver MLS. Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president, says, “It’s important for people entering the market to understand that activity can differ significantly depending on the area and property type.” The total sales for the Greater Vancouver Area reached a mediocre 2,378 in August 2011 — the third lowest in the last ten years, but new listings reached a 16-year record, which resulted in a balanced market last month. Now let’s take a closer look at one of the municipalities in the Metro Vancouver Area: let’s analyze the Pitt Meadows real estate market.