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Vancouver may keep some of the social housing units at Millennium Water for market rentals

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:17:45 GMT

Half of Vancouver Olympic Village social housing may go to market-rate rentals

By Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun April 20, 2010

Photograph by: Ian Lindsay, Vancouver Sun

The City of Vancouver unveiled a plan Tuesday that would see taxpayers shell out an additional $32 million for affordable housing at the Olympic village and encourage key public service workers to rent there.

The city said it would stick to its original plans for affordable housing at the site, splitting it between low-income and those able to pay market-rate rents.

According to a staff report released Tuesday and endorsed by Mayor Gregor Robertson, the city would encourage police officers, firefighters, nurses and other public service employees to move into the market-rate units, which would cost $1,600 to $2,400 per month.

Those rents, along with the new $32-million subsidy from city coffers, would pay for the low-income units.

Many details of the proposal, which goes to city council for a decision Thursday, have not yet been worked out, including how people would be chosen for the market-rate units.

The plan arose as the city struggled to meet its promise to build 252 units of affordable housing in the Olympic village in the wake of massive cost increases as the project was being built.

Without the proposal, the city wouldn't have been able to stick to its promise of providing 20 per cent affordable housing in the 1,108-unit neighbourhood.

The city even considered selling the units at market rates and using the money to build social housing elsewhere.

Housing activists charged the plan is a betrayal of a promise to the International Olympic Committee that all of the units would be used for "non-market housing."

Laura Stannard, a spokeswoman for Citywide Affordable Housing, said allowing half the units to be rented at full market rental rates of up to $2,398 per month doesn't constitute affordable housing.

She expected that all 252 units would go to housing people who have no prospect of paying market rents.

"The definition of non-market housing is that it requires a subsidy. If you are renting out units at market rates, that's not a subsidy and that isn't non-market," she said.

Robertson, however, said the city has always endorsed a mixed-income program for affordable housing across the city and that it had never considered devoting all the units to "core need" housing for the poor.

That view was backed up by city staff who said council policies dictate that affordable housing units are to be a mixture of market rental, low-income and core-need housing with rents at below market rates.

Robertson also said a staff recommendation to give the market-rate rentals to police, fire and health and local employees is "intriguing." He said many are forced to live outside the city because they can't find affordable housing.

Some councillors said they wanted more social housing.

Councillor Ellen Woodsworth said she always believed all of the units should be used for housing the needy. "We are in the midst of the worst homelessness crisis in the city's history and we should be using these units to help solve that," she said.

But Councillor Kerry Jang said he supports the idea of targeting the higher-end units toward public safety employees.

Recent figures suggest just 10 per cent of the city's firefighters and police can afford to live within city boundaries. By offering them preferred rental housing, more will be available in the case of disaster response, he said.

The social housing units are part of the financially troubled Millennium Water development on the south shore of False Creek, of which the vast majority are strata-title condominiums. A total of 737 are private for-sale units. Millennium is also providing 129 rental units, although these are separate from the city's proposed 126 market rent apartments.

The city is also the financial backer of the Millennium project and is owed about $969 million. It expects to get that money back, with interest, as Millennium sells its condominiums for a profit.

The entire project was hit by a combination of problems, including a hot construction market, an expedited time frame for the Olympics and the worldwide economic collapse in 2008.

The proposal going to council suggests taking $32.1 million from various city sources to help bridge a $78-million gap between the $110-million cost of the affordable housing program and the $32-million it has in hand from the Vancouver Organizing Committee and special levies.

The additional funds would allow the city to take out a $45.9-million mortgage, which would be paid down through the market-rate rents.

The city hopes to negotiate a funding agreement with the B.C. Housing Ministry for the low-income renters.

Council will debate the proposal on Thursday.

In a report issued at a background briefing Tuesday, staff said they are recommending the option that would see market rental rates of between $1,601 for a one-bedroom unit and $2,368 for a four-bedroom unit per month. At the other end of the spectrum, core-needy rents would be $612 to $962 per month. The market rents would be structured to cover a $45.9 million mortgage.

The proposed deal is similar to other mixed-income housing initiatives the city has elsewhere, including the south side of False Creek between the Cambie and Granville bridges.

The city says the cash injection in the city's equity in the social housing component would be taken from a number of existing city sources, including just under half from savings found in current and future capital plan budgets.

jefflee@vancouversun.com

Vancouver Real Estate Stats for March 2010

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 05:19:43 GMT

The stats can be found here , attached as a PDF file.

Open House. Open House on Saturday, April 10, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Sat, 10 Apr 2010 09:31:03 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 2245 154A ST in Surrey.

See details here

Open House on Saturday, April 10, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Centrally located on a quiet street, this home has a lot to offer. Great yard, open plan, and totally renovated. Come see this open Cape Cod floor plan. The home is perfect for a young family or retired couples. Shows like a 10!

New property listed in False Creek, Vancouver West

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:03:59 GMT

I have listed a new property at 206 1680 4TH AVE W in Vancouver.

See details here

MANTRA - Cressey's latest work. Ideally located steps to shopping and restaurants along W. 4th Ave, South Granville and Granville Island. The views face south with a HUGE 700 SF sundrenched patio. Boasting a spacious kitchen with KitchenAid Architectural Series appliances incl GAS cooking and wine fridge along with glass tile backsplash, stone counters and a huge pantry storage. This geothermal/air conditioned and concrete home has the perfect floor plan with large living and dining areas, insuite laundry & storage rooms, built in entertainment niche. and designer bathrooms. Great common area, gym and huge patio. Open Sat & Sun 1-4.

New property listed in False Creek, Vancouver West

Fri, 09 Apr 2010 10:03:59 GMT

I have listed a new property at 503 1680 4TH AVE W in Vancouver.

See details here

MANTRA - Cressey's latest work. Ideally located steps to shopping and restaurants along W. 4th Ave. South Granville and Granville Island. The views face south with trees and sun. Boasting a spacious kitchen with Kitchen Aid ArchitecturalSeries including GAS cooking and wine fridge along with glass tile backsplash, stone counters and a huge pantry storage. This geothermal/air conditioned and concrete home has the perfect floor plan with large living and dining areas, insuite laundry and storage rooms, built in entertainment niche, and designer bathrooms. Great common area, gym and huge patio. Open Sat & Sunday 1-4.

Average prices rise in Vancouver Real Estate

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 21:50:14 GMT

Average price of Metro Vancouver home now almost $663,000, above pre-recession levels

By Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun April 1, 2010

Metro Vancouver's cheap-mortgage-fuelled real estate market has overshot its previous peak for prices with indications it will keep going, albeit more slowly, before cooling with the rise in interest rates.

February saw the average property price hit $662,741 in the area of Metro Vancouver within the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. (The board does not cover Surrey, Langley or White Rock.)

That is well above the previous $624,639 peak price, which the region saw in May 2008.

Now, the Teranet-National Bank housing price index, a more complicated measure of property prices that analyses data from the repeat sales of homes, also indicates that all the deflation of home prices that occurred during the recession had been regained by January, and will keep going, but more slowly.

The Teranet-National Bank index, which runs a couple of months behind the reports of real estate boards, found January was the ninth month in a row that the national price index increased, though it did so by the smallest margin in the past nine months.

"Even in Vancouver, we've gained back everything we lost," Simon Cote, an analyst at the National Bank of Canada said in an interview. "The pace might be slowing a bit, but they are still going up."

Metro Vancouver prices, on the Teranet-National Bank index, reached their recession trough in May 2009, but rose 11.7 per cent between May and January.

Metro Vancouver prices rose .9 per cent between December and January, the biggest gain among the six major markets included in the Teranet-National Bank index.

National Bank analyst Marc Pinsonneault, in a note to clients, said the January price increases can still be considered "vigorous, especially in Vancouver and Toronto," but that developments in most markets back up National Bank's view that increases will slow down.

Pinsonneault said that after eight months of briskly rising prices, Metro Vancouver's market has "shifted from a favourable-to-sellers market to a balanced market."

Cote added the bank is "expecting that the increase in supply, both of new construction and more homes coming to the [resale] market, will bring the market back into equilibrium."

Mortgage rates will also be a factor. Canada's major banks raised their posted rates on five-year fixed mortgages .6 of a percentage point on Monday and Tuesday to 5.85 per cent, which will squeeze some buyers out of the market, according to Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Board.

"What it means for purchasers is that it erodes their purchasing power" by reducing the size of mortgages buyers are capable of carrying, he said.

For a family with a household income of $70,000, Muir said, this week's bump in five-year rates for buyers seeking five-year terms reduces the final amount they can pay for a home by $35,000.

The increase, he added, "is a fairly hefty lift."

depenner@vancouversun.com

HST will be a factor, even in resale homes. Vancouver Real Estate

Tue, 30 Mar 2010 22:45:39 GMT

HST a factor in price paid for resale homes

Costs will increase for realtors' fees, inspections, experts say

By Brian Morton, Vancouver SunMarch 30, 2010

While the harmonized sales tax (HST) doesn't directly apply to the selling price of a resale home as it does with new homes, that doesn't mean buyers of resale homes are completely off the hook for the new tax.

According to industry and tax experts, the homebuyer and seller still face a slightly higher bill because the HST will apply to such things as real estate fees, home inspections, appraisals and the costs of clearing title.

However, it won't affect other services associated with real estate transactions including bank fees -- which are not subject to the GST and won't be subject to the HST -- and notary public and lawyers' fees, which are already subject to the GST and the provincial sales tax, which add up to the same additional cost as the HST.

As well, buyers of resale homes would be subject to the new tax for such things as renovations, maintenance, upgrades, environmental consultants and moving expenses.

"It can add up, but it's nowhere near the same degree as you'd pay in HST on a new home," Michael Welters, a tax lawyer with Bull, Housser and Tupper, said in an interview. "I don't think the HST will be significant. I think it will be a minor addition in the overall cost.

"But it can still [increase costs]. You can easily pay $2,000 for a small move in the Lower Mainland."

Neil Davie, real property section chair, Canadian Bar Association, B.C. branch, agreed that the new tax will have an impact on transactions. He said, for example, an environmental consultant may have to be hired by the buyer of an older house to investigate an underground storage tank. That cost would increase with the HST, he added.

Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, said in an interview that there's an added cost for resale homes, but that the real impact will be with new homes.

"It [the HST] will add to closing costs for resale homes," said Muir. "It will take a bite, but not dramatic enough to have a significant impact on the marketplace."

So how does this all reflect on the bottom line of buying a resale home?

If someone buys a $450,000 resale home, there will be about $16,500 in closing costs for such things as appraisals, inspections, survey fees and realtors' fees.

With the HST, the buyer will pay more than $1,100 more due to the new tax.

bmorton@vancouversun.com

Open House. Open House on Saturday, March 27, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Sat, 27 Mar 2010 09:32:47 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 203 921 THURLOW ST in Vancouver.

See details here

Open House on Saturday, March 27, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Beautifully renovated, well laid out 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condo in Vancouver's West End. Bright corner suite with lots of windows and light. Ventless insuite laundry installed. Quiet side of building. Pets and rentals allowed.Suite features brand new kitchen, bathrooms and more! Must be seen to be appreciated, it is ready for you to move in. First showing is the public open house on Saturday, March 27th from 2-4pm, please come by and join us. Offers, if any, will be presented on Monday, March 29th at 7pm.

Open House. Open House on Sunday, March 28, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 09:29:07 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 2245 154A ST in Surrey.

See details here

Open House on Sunday, March 28, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

New property listed in West End VW, Vancouver West

Thu, 25 Mar 2010 09:25:43 GMT

I have listed a new property at 203 921 THURLOW ST in Vancouver.

See details here

Open House. Open House on Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Sat, 13 Mar 2010 10:27:21 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 2245 154A ST in Surrey.

See details here

Open House on Saturday, March 13, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

New Home Buyers Seminar coming up

Fri, 05 Mar 2010 21:07:52 GMT

By Black Press - Surrey North Delta Leader

Published: March 05, 2010 7:00 AM

With so many diverse factors to take into consideration when buying a new home, it is no surprise that first-time home buyers need a little help de-mystifying the process.

What location is preferable? What type of home is best matched to current needs and financial resources? What are the mortgage options? Will interest rates rise by summer? How about legal considerations and closing costs? How will the federal government’s new mortgage qualifying rules and upcoming Harmonized Sales Tax affect buyers? What is involved with buying a pre-sale condo? What are the benefits of builder licensing and mandatory home warranties?

These and other key questions will be answered by a panel of housing experts at the 16th annual Seminar for First-time Home Buyers, presented by the Greater Vancouver Home Builders' Association (GVHBA) on Tuesday, March 23 from 7-9 p.m. in the Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, 15269 104 Ave.

Admission to the popular seminar is free thanks to the generosity of this year’s presenting sponsor, the provincial Homeowner Protection Office, and corporate sponsors Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Genworth Financial Canada, TD Canada Trust, Travelers Guarantee, Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel, Shaw Cablesystems, CKNW, Rock 101, AM 730 and 99.3 the FOX.

Speakers are Robyn Adamache, senior market analyst, Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation; Bob Maling, chief operating officer, Homeowner Protection Office; Narrinder Dhanoya-Bhangu, vice-president, Pacific region, Genworth Financial Canada; Harsha Galgewela, manager, mobile mortgage specialist division, TD Canada Trust; Dave Watt, past president, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver; Howard Friedman, national vice president of residential real estate products, Travelers Guarantee; and Adnan Habib, lawyer, Baker Newby LLP.

"Our experts will help first-time buyers complete their homework by investigating all available options and issues before they take that crucial first step onto the property ladder," said Peter Simpson, CEO of the GVHBA.

"More than 900 people registered for last year’s seminar and, because real estate is still a hot topic, we expect a similar attendance this year. Doors open at 6 p.m., allowing attendees ample time to view displays of new homes and other housing-related products and services," he said.

Pre-registration is required. Register online at www.gvhba.org or call 778-565-4288 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday. Registrations will also be accepted via voice mail during off hours. The hotel has waived parking fees for this event, and public transit is right at the door.

Although the seminar is free, attendees are asked to bring a food item for the Surrey Food Bank.

Open House. Open House on Saturday, February 27, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Sat, 27 Feb 2010 10:23:42 GMT

Please visit our Open House at 2245 154A ST in Surrey.

See details here

Open House on Saturday, February 27, 2010 2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

New property listed in False Creek, Vancouver West

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 10:23:43 GMT

I have listed a new property at # 202 1680 W 4TH AV in Vancouver.

See details here

MANTRA is centrally located steps from shopping & restaurants on W4th Ave, South Granville & Granville Island. A GEOTHERMAL, concrete residence by CRESSEY. This 1 bedroom & den home comes complete with KitchenAid Architect II seriesappliances that include a gas cook top, built in wine fridge, built in oven & dishwasher. It also has a large walk-in closet, hardwood flooring & a built-in entertainment niche. Geothermal heating & cooling for convenience, cost savings & comfort. HUGE PATIO TERRACE approx 500 sq ft. A MUST SEE!

TAC Real Estate plans to hand out 2010 red umbrellas in Yaletown Tues Feb 16th at 11am

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 21:30:52 GMT

From the Georgia Straight...

Cameron McNeill and TAC Real Estate plans to hand out 2,010 red umbrellas in city core

Staff

Vancouver real-estate marketer Cameron McNeill has ordered up 2,010 red umbrellas, which he and his staff will be handing out in downtown Vancouver on Tuesday (February 16). The giveaways will take place between the Yaletown Canada Line station and David Lam Park.

McNeill, founder of TAC Real Estate Corp., says these umbrellas will go to people who might have "forgotten" to wear red to express support for Canada's Olympic athletes.

"I think downtown will be a sea of read and if TAC can be a small part of that, we are proud to help," McNeill stated.

Anyone needing shelter from the rain can pick up a free TAC umbrella at 11 a.m. on Tuesday at the corner of Homer Street and Pacific Avenue.

It's a timely gesture. Today, Vanoc announced that heavy rains forced the cancellation of standing-room general admission tickets at Cypress Mountain snowboard ski cross events on Monday (February 15) and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, organizers of today's Chinese New Year Parade in Vancouver's Chinatown asked teams of marchers to wear red to express their support for Canada's Olympic athletes--which created an even redder-than-usual procession along Pender, Gore, and Keefer streets.

Happy Chinese New Year - It is the year of the Tiger

Fri, 12 Feb 2010 07:15:56 GMT

February 11, 2010

Chinese fortunes for the Year of the Tiger

By Sherman Tai

What does the Year of the Tiger hold for us? Sherman Tai, a local fortuneteller and feng shui consultant, offers his predictions on the economy, politics, and people.

The year 2010 is the Year of the Tiger, a very special year, especially for Vancouver and Canada. Not only does it mark the beginning of a new decade, it is also the year we host the 21st Winter Olympics. Economic benefits? Perhaps not, but it will definitely help increase the exposure of Vancouver and Canada, something we all need during these stressful economic times.

Because the Canadian economy is strongly tied to the American economy, how the U.S. will do this year deserves some attention before we turn to Canada. The importance of the U.S. as a major economic force will slowly start to decline in 2010. Not only will there not be any significant improvement in the economy before the fall, we can expect to see a major scandal globally or within the U.S. The effects of this scandal shouldn’t be too serious and will be related to banking, lending, or credit cards. However, it will lead to a minor second coming of the global recession in the spring or summer. Though it won’t be as serious as what we have experienced, it will certainly shatter the optimism and confidence people have gained. Intervention by the American government can help reduce its impact through efforts such as maintaining low interest rates, printing more currency, and subsidizing industries to encourage consumer spending; however, I don’t foresee any significant improvement in the economy related to these strategies.

The U.S. unemployment rate will range from 8.5 percent to as high as 11 percent. Real estate, finance and banking, stocks, and currency continue to be unstable in 2010. The financial markets will experience large fluctuations. The value of gold will climb to US$1,200 per ounce and crude oil will range from US$70 to US$90 per barrel. The recovery of the economy will be slow, but by the end of the fall there should be more stability.

History was made with Barack Obama becoming the first African-American president. With regards to the global recession, hopes were high from the American people, but though he may have talent he does not have much to work with. As a result, due to unpopular policies, Obama’s popularity will continue to decline this year. Expect him to make an error in judgment that further exacerbates his already declining popularity. Illness, accident, or injury may also befall the U.S. president this year. A continuing challenge will be an increase in terrorist activities from Afghanistan, Pakistan, or the Middle East. As a result of terrorist threats, military spending will increase, further burdening the economy. The Year of the Tiger is a year when many things will be happening in the U.S., with fears of terrorism and instability of stocks creating an atmosphere in which consumer confidence will not easily be restored.

With more auspicious stars positioned over Canada—and the eastern provinces in particular—we will do comparably better than the U.S. Canada is more protected due to our abundant resources, such as crude oil and precious metals. Though our economy will inevitably be weakened, we will not see a drastic decline, nor will there be much visible growth either, partly due to our close ties with the U.S. and the limitations of a minority government lacking clear goals and good economic policies. In the past, Canada has relied too heavily on the U.S.; however, what the Stephen Harper government will do this year is create even stronger ties with Asia—China in particular, as well as India and Japan—which will encourage exports to these countries.

The economy will continue to be slow in the spring, though in the summer there will be some improvement in the retail, construction, and distribution industries. The unemployment rate will range from 8.5 percent to as high as 9 percent, but toward the fall it will decline to about 6.7 or 6.8 percent. The Canadian dollar will remain strong in 2010, at approximately CAN$1 to 94 to 97 cents US. Interest rates will continue to be low, with a slight increase of not greater than half a percent in the fall. Crude oil, telecommunications, precious metals, and mining products will do well this year, but wood products, automobiles, and machinery will be stagnant. With a weak minority government, there will again be another federal election attempt; this time, the Conservatives have a high chance of forming a majority government, which will be beneficial to Canadian politics and the economy.

Real estate will continue to be stable, particularly in B.C. and Ontario, where there will be a good market with increasing values at the beginning of the year, but with a tendency to fluctuate. Therefore, I do not recommend investing in real estate this year, especially in B.C. The Olympics will not have a major effect on real-estate values in Greater Vancouver. I anticipate that after May or June and into the fall, there will be a large correction, especially on the west side of Vancouver and in Richmond, areas with many Chinese residents. On the other hand, Saskatchewan and Alberta—Calgary and Edmonton in particular—will see a slight increase in real-estate values. In the East, real estate will be fairly stable in areas like Montreal and Ottawa, but Toronto will experience greater fluctuations, where there will be an initial increase followed by a slight decrease.

As for stocks, there will be a slight increase, but the TSX can be expected to reach no higher than 12,000 points. Those who have extra money to invest may consider buying stocks in mining, retail, or banking, but with caution and in small amounts. Vancouver hosting the Winter Olympics will not have solid or lasting benefits for the economy; rather, this will result in an increased tax burden on top of the new HST, which is definitely here to stay despite opposition. I can only say that it will have negative effects ultimately leading to a decreased standard of living for the people of B.C.

Natural disasters and destructive human activities continue to be serious. Because the fire element is strong in the Year of the Tiger, forest fires will be more severe than we have seen in the past. Home fire safety, particularly around Halloween, should be taken seriously. We will see harsher weather this year, with heavy winds and snow, as well as extremes in temperature. Gang shootings, especially in Greater Vancouver, will continue to be a serious problem, along with rising youth violence and home invasions. Though the Canada Line has improved access to Richmond, it will unfortunately also bring more crime to the city.

Luck changes yearly with the position of the stars, and overall we see a better year in the Year of the Tiger compared to the past year, the Year of the Ox. With the Winter Olympics taking place in Vancouver this year, it is a unique opportunity for us to celebrate the excellence of athletic achievement. How will we do? I predict that this will be one of the best years for Canada in the Winter Olympics.

For extensive individual Chinese-zodiac predictions, visit Sherman’s Web site.He can be reached at 604-278-8381 or sherman@shermantai.com

How will the Vancouver 2010 games influence Real Estate, from a Calgary point of view

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 23:56:20 GMT

The historical push to buy property in Vancouver has neither been limited just to residences nor to the Hong Kong market.

Photograph by: David Hecker / AFP / Getty, Vancouver Sun

Will the Winter Games help or hinder the metropolitan Vancouver real estate market, or hardly have any affect? Opinion, of course, is divided. Who can know the future?

The past, however, suggests Vancouver real estate is simultaneously exceptional and unexceptional.

Advances and retreats in value, and supply and demand, occur here just as they do in any other metropolis.

But whatever occurs here occurs in a physically singular and culturally diverse geography and occurs because the living here is better than there, not cheaper, but better.

The first private sale of Canadian Pacific Railway land, in 1886, is illustrative of the course of the better-life attraction of Vancouver residency.

The buyer was Walter Graveley, a small-town Ontario native who had done well by real estate in Manitoba. When values there retreated, he came to British Columbia and never left.

He was a co-founder of the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club and lived long enough to be among those inaugural Vancouver voters who gathered at the old Fairmont Hotel Vancouver in 1936 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the city's incorporation.

In 1886, Vancouver was already an ethnically diverse place.

In the 1881 census, Vancouver residents reported 20 different ethnic or national attachments; in 1891, even more.

Strathcona particularly emerged as a neighbourhood of working class residents, from China and Japan and Italy, followed by South Vancouver.

By the Great War, there was a genuine downtown skyline to the west of Strathcona, capped by the claims of first the Dominion Building, at Hastings and Cambie, and then the World Building, at Pender and Beatty, now better known as the Sun Tower, as tallest buildings in the British Empire.

The municipalities of Point Grey, South Vancouver, and Vancouver would amalgamate as the Great Depression was beginning in 1929. Even during that period the demand for housing continued, with apartment buildings appearing along Oak and Granville Streets and in Kitsilano.

Renting rather than home ownership became the norm in the late '60s as affordability soared beyond the reach of many and a snapshot of the cityscape at the time reveals both low and highrise residential buildings in many areas. The shift to attached residency was noticeable by the middle '70s with the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver issuing guides on what the Strata Property Act meant for consumers.

Political unrest through the '50s, '60s, and '70s in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East sent people to Canada, and a swell of immigration from South Asia began in the late 1970s.

But it was the influx of Hong Kong money leading up to 1997, and the end of Crown colony status there, that really demarcated a hugely visible influx of overseas investment.

"People flight and capital flight," says George Wong of Magnum Projects, a veteran organizer of local real estate sales and marketing campaigns. "There are two reasons why people look for a safe haven for their families and their money, free from political instability."

George Wong's mother left China's Hunan province in 1949, frightened by how her "bourgeois" family might be treated under Communist rule.

The family settled in Hong Kong, but tumultuous protests there against the Cultural Revolution had her feeling unsettled again. In 1973, the family began looking overseas, well in advance of Hong Kong's handover date to China in 1997.

"Some Hong Kong families were very forward thinking, they took the long view," says Wong. "Vancouver was very attractive because it's like the Switzerland of North America."

Safe, stable, with an excellent quality of life and the advantage of being one direct flight away from Asia, Vancouver interested many. Generous rules around an ''investor'' category smoothed the way for individual families to immigrate in the late '20s and early '90s, but also led to criticism that Hong Kong Chinese were ''buying'' Canadian citizenship.

There were also rumbles of discontent over the perception the Hong Kong buyers had artificially inflated prices with their sudden influx of demand for residential property, or that they were absentee landlords, detrimental to the social fabric of individual buildings.

"The resentment, I think, came from the conspicuousness of the wave of spending," says Wong.

Many immigrants from Hong Kong at the time chose to start fresh with their Canadian households, picking up an expensive car or two, furnishing sizable empty homes from top to bottom, or even tearing down existing houses to build new ones.

"It was obvious change that was too much, too fast," Wong points out gently. "I don't think Canadians are prejudiced, but it's human nature to see a new element as an outsider. This is true even within sub-groups of the Chinese community."

There could hardly have been a more conspicuous purchase by a Hong Kong presence than Li Ka-shing's acquisition of the former Expo 86 lands on the north shore of False Creek, for $320 million.

Matt Meehan worked for the world fair and on the sale of the site to Li Ka-shing. Now a senior vice-president with Concord Pacific -- the company developing the massive parcel of land -- he remembers how people working on Expo knew it would be huge, even though the fair didn't seem to register on public consciousness in the Lower Mainland until it was halfway over.

"You have to remember, back then, people were handing around cassette tapes. Unless you'd been to an exposition, people didn't know," Meehan says. "It's not like the electronic age now where if you want to look at anything you can just go to the Internet."

He believes the purchase and development of the Expo lands as one cohesive parcel was the catalyst for what has been dubbed Vancouverism: high-rises developed to complement natural landscapes and community-building amenities like parks and public space.

"If the Expo lands had been chopped up into five or six parcels, we never would have seen the number of parks we have in Downtown South," Meehan says. "I remember when the Urban Fare [grocery store] went in at Davie and Marinaside, people really got a sense that there's a neighbourhood here."

He also remembers the concept of pre-sales -- putting down a deposit on a condo not yet built -- as being something in which Vancouver led the way for the rest of Canada.

"It was something quite familiar to Hong Kong buyers, but pretty foreign for others," Meehan says. "It was quite a new thing to commit to buying a place just by looking at a floor plan, and then waiting a couple of years."

The historical push to buy property in Vancouver has neither been limited just to residences nor to the Hong Kong market. Commercial real estate investment and development analyst Clare Stevens, now with the firm DTZ Barnicke, recalls a boom in selling fully tenanted office buildings in 1978.

"Companies needed space to house the baby-boomer workers," says Stevens. "There was more European investment at that time, and purchases from large financial interests like SunLife and Great West Life Insurance."

The 1982 North American recession put a severe damper on commercial real estate development, but it roared back by the late '80s. However, Stevens says a change in tax policy in the early '90s under the NDP scared away many international investors. The Asian financial collapse of 1997 also virtually eliminated investment from Japan.

In recent days, there have been nibbles from abroad, but "nothing solid," Stevens says. He's not expecting a boom in commercial real estate investment after the 2010 Winter Games, because he simply doesn't see the demand for it in Vancouver.

George Wong of Magnum Projects says healthy residential real estate investment continued in the 1990s from the Taiwanese, and into 2003-2004 from mainland China. He says super ultra-high net worth individuals (i. e., the rich) from all over the world are continuing to buy Vancouver homes to serve as vacation properties. Some of that spending has in turn led to business-related investment, as the newcomers establish a feeling of connection to their playground.

"I think we're an international city that's incredibly livable, and that we've become a world resort destination," Wong says with a smile.

Concord Pacific's Matt Meehan takes it a little bit further, saying Vancouver's success with livable neighbourhoods downtown is being studied with interest by many international cities.

"Expo 86 was a chance for the world to discover us," he says. "Maybe the Olympics are a means for us to show the way."

Broadcaster and reporter Claudia Kwan is a regular contributor to Westcoast Homes. She reads correspondence at twitter.com/thatclaudiakwan.

homes@vancouversun.com

Vancouver Real Estate sales surge

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 21:00:16 GMT

Vancouver Real Estate Sales Surge Ahead Of Winter Olympics

Canadian real estate sales have picked up in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the help of strong demand from international buyers from Asia. Local experts say the upcoming Olympics has little to do with the surge, but world wide television coverage of the region's spectacular views should pique the interest of many investors. See the following article from International Property Journal for more on this.

Vancouver, Canada

When the Olympic flame enters BC Place Stadium on Feb. 12, the world’s spotlight will fall on one of North America’s hottest property markets.

In November more than 7,721 properties were sold in British Columbia, the highest volume for the month since 2005, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association. And it wasn’t spurred by foreclosures and short sales; the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s housing price index for the area jumped 16.2 percent to $562,463, from a year earlier.

“We’ve seen a dramatic rebound in home sales,” said Cameron Muir, chief economist for the BCREA. Home prices have been on an uptrend for several months, “scratching record levels,” Muir says.

A few weeks ago, in a throwback to the old days, 20 buyers camped out over night in the cold to buy units in a Vancouver development called the Mark, a tower in the trendy neighborhood of Yaletown. In one day 163 of the 214 available condos sold, with units ranging from 460- to 730-square-feet priced between $320,900 and $660,900. (All figures in Canadian dollars; the current exchange rate is $1USD=$1.03CAD.)

International buyers are playing a “very significant” role in the upturn, according to Ross McCredie, president of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. “Over half of the homes sold over $5 million in Vancouver sold to mainland Chinese,” he said. In West Vancouver, known as Vancouver’s most expensive neighborhood, there has been consistent activity from Middle Eastern and U.K. buyers, he says.

The bulk of the international buyers are making a lifestyle purchase more than a simple investment, taking advantage of Vancouver’s reputation as one of the world’s most livable cities, McCredie says. “They are not necessarily retirees, they’re just looking for a change,” McCredie said.

A few years ago 25 percent of condo buyers in Metro Vancouver were considered investors, according to tracking data by LandCor. Last year the number was closer to 8 percent.

“Speculators have never understood this market,” McCredie said.

The upcoming Olympic Games, local experts agree, has little to do with the recent surge. Low interest rates and pent up demand fueled sales, they say. Vancouver’s natural shortage of developable space also serves to artificially inflate prices, keeping Vancouver among Canada’s most expensive cities, even in down times.

Last year, prospective buyers held off buying, but jumped backed in as soon as the market started stabilizing, creating the recent flurry of activity, said Robyn Adamache, senior market analyst, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Even for Vancouver, recovery in the property market has been much quicker than in past cycles, Adamache says. The regional unemployment rate is still relatively high at 7 percent, she notes. “It’s not the economy that has picked up so quickly,” she says.

But Vancouver’s property market is not dependent on locals. The region attracts a net migration of new residents of about 40,000 people a year—most of them from outside Canada, according to Canadian Mortgage and Housing data. China, Taiwan and India are the largest contributors, data shows.

In contrast, the number of U.S. buyers has slowed in the last year. Californians, in particular, are still struggling with the ripple effects of the housing crisis, industry executives say. But a pickup in buyers from Asia has more than compensated for the U.S. drop-off, Vancouver executives say.

Some compare the surge in Chinese buyers to the huge flow of money from Hong Kong in the ‘90s.

“We’ve seen a huge influx of buyers from mainland China,” said Dave Watt, a Realtor with Royal LePage and past president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Most are doing business in the area or sending their children to school, and they’re buying in the $1 million to $3 million range, he says. In December, the Chinese government gave Canada “approved destination” status, which should increase the connection, Watt notes.

Outside Vancouver, British Columbia is a patchwork of different markets. Victoria is known as a retirement community, with a sunnier climate and year-round golf. Kelowna is a region of lakes, mountains and picturesque vineyards. Whistler is a classic upscale ski resort, known around the world.

In the last few months, the second home markets, in particular, have seen a jump in activity, analysts say, after a long slow period.

“The recession hit us worse than everybody else,” said Ursula Morel of Sea to Sky Premier Properties in Whistler and the 2010 president of the Canadian chapter of FIABCI, the International Real Estate Federation. “The higher the prices, the more you go down.” Most of the activity in the first half of 2009 involved fractionals, she says.

However, in the second half of 2009, Whistler sales picked up again, with 11 sales between $2 million and $3 million. “It’s not Olympics driven, but there is definitely more hype in the air,” said Morel, who puts “Home of the 2010 Olympics” in the subject line of all her e-mails.

Foreign buyers in Canada are typically required to put 25 percent down, which has helped provide a level of stability to many markets, with few debt-to-equity problems and little urgency to sell, Morel said.

Clearly buyers believe there are no more steep drops in the Vancouver area’s near future. In Vancouver a property recently sold for more than $10 million and two in Victoria sold for more than $6 million.

Vancouver is expected to see price increases of four to seven percent, according to local analysts. Royal LePage predicts a 7.2 percent jump in the next year.

“Everything is pretty hot right now,” said Pete Shpak, managing broker for Sea and Sky Properties’ West Vancouver office. “I’ve been in a few multiple offer situations, which wasn’t happening a year ago.”

But there is still an air of caution. Many believe the recent surge only reflects the pent up demand and once that dissipates sales volumes could slow. A jump in interest rates could also put a wrench in the recovery.

“The high end is still softer than it has been in past years, and that is largely the result of the economy crawling slowly out of recession,” said Muir of the BCREA.

But then there’s the wild card—the Olympics, sure to supply a non-stop, two-week stream of soaring images of Vancouver’s spectacular coastline and picturesque mountains. In many ways, it will be one long advertisement for the region.

“I think it’s going to be pretty amazing how many new eyes see us,” Watt said.

Colourist wants you to add colour to your Vancouver Real Estate

Mon, 08 Feb 2010 16:39:53 GMT

Colourist wants you to live dangerously

Banish those safe greys and beiges from your interiors

The Province

February 7, 2010

Kora Sevier has spent a lifetime studying and celebrating colour -- and that's evident when you step into her home.

The walls of the living room are green. The sofa is purple; the drapes, fuchsia and orange.

A Vancouver colour consultant, Sevier is passionate about paint and colour, and it shows.

"I love bringing colour into people's lives," says Sevier, who has her own company, kcolour. "It's all I do."

As a colourist, Sevier's goal is to breathe colour into some of the drearier palettes seen in some West Coast homes.

Sevier believes the Vancouver weather, and the grey, rainy winter days, can affect our attitudes about colour. In fact, she suggests, some people will be affected by that grey environment to the point that it will be reflected in the colours they choose for their homes.

"It can seep into your being," says Sevier, who suggests that in Montreal, people embrace colour to a greater degree.

"You don't have the grey that you have here. From the dramatic fall colours, to the intense quality of light in the winter, where the sun reflects off the snow and makes colours vibrate, you tend to see more colour there."

Sevier says there's something else that can affect our choice of colours: the active local real estate market.

"Because Vancouverites are so real-estate driven, they are afraid to stray from what I call masking-tape beige," she says.

Often, Sevier says, we tend to be caught up in the "I might sell my home soon [and therefore it must be beige] trap."

But she says we don't fall into that trap because potential buyers are necessarily interested in beige or grey. Rather, a fear of making a "colour mistake" can keep us from taking a chance.

With many of Sevier's clients, the initial reaction to climbing out of the beige rut can be a bit of a shock.

"I tell them that's natural, they are leaving their comfort zone. I suggest they live with the colour for a while and get used to it.

"Once they do, they never go back to beige."

Sevier was raised in Montreal and began her career in commercial photography. She pursued studies in fine art, and in set and lighting design, before starting a colour consultation and painting business.

Sevier then spent time in the United Arab Emirates, where she taught art and design and worked as an artist and colour consultant. When she returned to Vancouver, she joined Kerrisdale Heritage Paint and Paper as its in-house colour consultant, specializing in Farrow and Ball paints.

Sevier says the secret to creating a vibrant and colourful home is to consider the tonality of colours, since colour is all about relationships. Colours that may initially seem incongruous can blend beautifully if they have the same tones.

Her living room, which is anything but beige, is a good example.

"I tell my clients, if you were to photograph this room in black and white, all of the colours would appear to be a very similar shade of grey," she says.

"Naturally, as a colour consultant, I attempt to make people's surroundings esthetically pleasing. A beautiful room exudes a feeling of harmony, peace and comfort. Who doesn't need that in their life?"

Those who are preparing their homes for sale would do well to forget about beige and grey, Sevier says.

"Gorgeous trumps everything. Just make your home beautiful."

For more information, visit www.kcolour.com.

More on Vancouver's new "micro lofts"

Sat, 06 Feb 2010 22:19:41 GMT

It was interesting hearing people on talk radio (most of whom lived in the burbs in 3000+ sq ft homes) who simply couldn't believe that anyone could live in such a spot.

Turns out, as noted in the article below, that small living spaces are pretty normal throughout the world and perhaps Vancouver, as unaffordable as it can be, needs to adapt.

Size does indeed matter. Just ask the Surrey homeowners troubled by the 4,000-plus-square-foot home overshadowing their rancher. Or the folks who can't wait to move into a 270-square-foot rental in East Vancouver.

The former is viewed by municipalities, proponents and opponents as a rather prickly issue that is not easily resolved. The latter has generated much to-and-fro discussion ever since a developer issued a news release heralding his 30 micro-suites as "the smallest self-contained rental apartments in Vancouver."

The new boys on the Burns Block in the Downtown Eastside are anything but newbies.

The developer, Reliance Properties, is a privately owned Vancouver company with more than 50 years experience in Vancouver's real estate market. In the past decade, Reliance has built about 300 rental lofts in Gastown and the Downtown Eastside, and has won several heritage awards.

Reliance's project partner, ITC Construction Group, is the largest residential construction company in Western Canada and has completed 115 projects in B.C. and Alberta. ITC has been selected as one of Canada's best-managed companies for six straight years, and is committed to corporate social responsibility.

Not a bad partnership handling the makeover of a 100-year-old, five-storey, 18,000-square-foot building. As a former board member of the Vancouver Heritage Foundation, I can tell you the once-abandoned structure promises to be a polished heritage jewel when work is completed next year.

The suites will offer a space-saving wall bed with built-in, flip-down dining table. The kitchen will include a bar-size fridge, two-burner cooktop, sink, convection microwave, countertop and cabinets. The bathroom will have a shower, sink and wall-hung toilet. A computer work area will have space for a wall-mounted TV. A large window will take up almost the entire space on the exterior wall.

Monthly rents will be as low as $675, reasonable in a city just pegged by a public-policy research group as the most unaffordable in the world. (The group's assumptions and conclusions are considered somewhat flawed by some industry watchers, but that's a story for another day.)

Despite the need for more affordable housing in this region, the project has its detractors. As soon as media outlets posted the story on their websites, comments from the public quickly followed.

One fellow wrote that living in such a small apartment would be akin to occupying a prison cell. Perhaps he has claustrophobia issues but, for the record, the average prison cell built today is a cosy 70 square feet. Another guy said he wouldn't last more than a few months in a 270-squarefoot apartment.

Here's the thing. The Burns Block concept is not new, far from it. So all this naysayer chattering about some newfangled housing form coming soon to Lotus Land-by-the-Sea is a tad bothersome.

Tiny homes exist all over the world, and the folks who live in them are quite happy and content.

Take, for example, Californian Jay Shafer, who for more than 10 years has lived in a 96-square-foot home complete with galley kitchen, bathroom with shower, seating, desk, bookshelves, closets and fireplace. The home is easy to heat and cool, and meets California's strict energy-efficiency standards. I don't know Shafer's significant-other status, but his sleeping loft accommodates a double bed.

New York is home to the Prokops and their two cats. Compared to Shafer's home, the Prokops' Manhattan coop apartment is mansion-like at 175 square feet. They have given new meaning to the term "downsizing", starting out with a 1,600-square-foot apartment, then 900, now 175. The married couple plan to renovate their home this year, a process that likely won't break the bank or take much time.

Worldwide, the story is the same. Los Angeles is home to a growing number of small-unit condos and apartments, including the Rosslyn Lofts in the historic downtown. The 297 rental apartments range in size from 200 to 325 square feet. The homes add to the variety of mixed-income housing, which helps to attract a diverse group of tenants, enhancing the vitality and diversity of the downtown area.

Small is also big in Santa Monica, where space-efficient 375-square-foot apartments in a central location close to amenities are popular with renters. And in Edinburgh, Scotland, renters are flocking to 350-square-foot contemporary concrete-and-steel apartments, complete with balconies overlooking green space.

In Toronto, the city's smallest detached home, built in 1912, is only 330 square feet. It even has a backyard.

In 1990, Gordon Price lived for a month in a 290-squarefoot apartment at Drake and Seymour in downtown Vancouver because he wanted to see if such a small space was livable. Turns out it was.

"The apartment was absolutely livable for me. If the space is designed and proportioned to both day and night uses, it will be perfectly fine for all functions. In my case, the apartment's Murphy bed tilted up in the morning, replaced by a dining room table for the rest of the day," said Price, a former Vancouver city councillor and now the director of the Simon Fraser University City Program.

"It is important the apartment remains uncluttered, and the furniture is appropriately designed for the space. And you need lots of natural light, preferably from a floor-to-ceiling window," said Price.

"People who live in small spaces typically spend more time in the public realm -making use of parks and other amenities, eating in restaurants, that sort of thing. Because they spend so much time away from their apartments, it is important that their neighbourhood is clean, green and safe," said Price.

Tom Durning of the Tenant Resource and Advisory Centre is always happy to see an increase in the production of affordable rental units, particularly in Vancouver, where supply is tight and costs high.

Durning was quoted recently in this paper as saying, "Any rental housing is good housing these days."

Many groups -- including housing advocates, developers and governments -- will be watching to see how the Burns Block project fleshes out. So far, I believe all can agree it's not a bad experiment.

E-mail peter@gvhba.org.