September is an exciting time. While it marks the end of the lazy days of summer, it’s also a time of fresh starts. There’s a new social season ahead, new programs to participate in, and if you’ve got kids, a new year of classes. While slower sales have dominated the news lately, a less-frenzied market […]
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The media loves a headline. While those of us who deal in real estate try to attract buyers, editors and writers try to attract attention. One recent headline certainly caught my eyes: “Metro Vancouver home sales plunge.” The story looked at the latest statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. The report pointed […]
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“Canada Starts Here” – that’s one way the provincial government describes British Columbia, Canada’s doorstep to Asia. When the province hosted Expo 86 and the 2010 Winter Olympics, we welcomed the world with open arms and sent people home wanting to come back. But the province’s recent move to charge foreign nationals a property transfer […]
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My love affair with Vancouver probably began the night I stopped in Michael Thompson’s old bookshop on West 10th Avenue in Point Grey. I was in the city for a conference and was staying in the Gage residence at UBC. But besides other conference participants, the residence lobby would fill each night with musicians toting […]
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Rising property values should be good news for homeowners, who allegedly made more money from the appreciation of their properties in 2015 than by doing an honest day’s work. But the angst among those not yet in the housing market is frequently matched by the cries of homeowners, who say a fevered market is raising […]
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A unique feature of Vancouver is its several distinct neighbourhoods, knit together by cycling routes and transit. Indeed, transit services were fundamental to the development of many of the retail “villages” that have grown up at key intersections. These include West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano, the three key nodes of Dunbar Village, or Point Grey […]
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The real estate industry hasn’t received the best rap of late. Amid controversies over housing affordability and the practice of shadow flipping, and one prospective licensee sending an imposter to write his exam, real estate agents command about as much respect as a used car salesman. A recent survey by Insights West found that British […]
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It’s tough to imagine Vancouver as it once was. Towers jut above the forests of Point Grey, and the trees give way all too quickly to the grid of streets and houses above Spanish Banks. Pacific Spirit Regional Park offers an antidote to urban life just minutes from prime Westside real estate, but it’s easy […]
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