Vancouver City Council is expected to approve Laneway Housing this week.  This will allow the construction of a laneway house in the back yard of a single detatched lot with a minimum width of 33 feet. An area of 16 feet between the back of the existing house and the laneway house will be required to maintain a backyard open space.  There are also parking spot requirements.

 

The purpose...

According to a report by the CBC, there may be a future mould problem festering in the condos being built at the Olympic Village.  The issue has been raised by the International Association of Heat and Frost Insulators and Allied Workers who claim that some construction shortcuts will lead to mould and mildew behind the drywall where pipes are not being insulated properly.  The City of Vancouver...

If you aren't convinced that Vancouver Real Estate has become more affordable over the past year, you may be part of a minority opinion.  A new report released by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation today shows that there is an increase in confidence among Canadian homeowners these days.  The report which polled recent Canadian homebuyers reveals that 90% of these home owners believe...

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has just released the statistics package for May 2009 and it looks like the Spring market in 2009 is much busier than it was in 2008.  Total Real Estate sales transactions in Vancouver were up 17% from a year ago and total inventory of homes for sale is down 16%.  This means more demand and less supply which explains the competition that we've been...

The British Columbia Real Estate Association released their Spring 2009 Housing Forecast today and the news is good for Vancouver Real Estate! 

 

“The majority of the decline in home prices has already occurred,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Balanced markets are emerging in Victoria, Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. There’s now little downward pressure on home prices in these...

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. is now forecasting that in 2009 Greater Vancouver will see a 44% drop in the inventory of new home construction compared with 2008 levels.  CMHC also sees average resale home prices dropping 13% this year and another 2.3% for 2010.  Contrast this with the actual data that shows rising sales over the past few months and it becomes clear to me that the...

Spring came in like a lion!  April real estate sales in Canadian cities like Vancouver showed the highest monthly jump since 2004.  Low interest rates and low prices signaled a return to affordability and Canadian buyers reacted by writing offers.  The market has been so strong that the Canadian Real Estate Association has revised its sales and price forcasts for 2009 upward.  Don't...

Developers in the Greater Vancouver area have dropped their prices on a variety of new construction real estate.  This translates into great buying opportunites for buyers looking for new homes.  However, don't think the deals are sitting around getting dusty.  Many new developments are selling quickliy as the market reacts to lower prices for new homes in Vancouver.  Feel free to...

Scotiabank has released a report on the Canadian Housing Market that indicates there are signs that the real estate market may be stregthening as demand is up and listing inventory is down.  The recovery may be moderate and slow but the signs are positive.  Here's a link to a CBC News article about the report:  http://www.cbc.ca/consumer/story/2009/05/05/housing-market.html

 ...