Stay up to date with the latest Real Estate News in Vancouver BC! We add new podcasts every week to our Newsroom. What is going to happen in Real Estate in Vancouver this year? Will the Vancouver real estate market home prices rise or fall? What are the best real estate investment goals for 2019?
Across the country, an entire swath of young Canadians are being consigned to a life of renting — their home ownership aspirations tempered in the wake of a series of policy failures by the Ottawa Liberals. The Liberal government rode…
The 2019 federal budget includes a tantalizing pitch for prospective first-time home buyers — one that could see Canada’s housing agency contribute up to 10 per cent of the purchase price of a home and bring down the mortgage load for borrowers.…
Because residential real estate prices have only dropped further since last summer and real-time information about recent transactions in March 2019 have revealed sharper declines, especially in more expensive areas, there are predictions the uptick in foreclosures could gather pace.…
The Bank of Canada will likely hold off raising interest rates through all of 2020, and could even cut rates later this year, according to TD Securities’ senior rates strategist for Canada. “Near-term risks skew decisively towards easing. If the…
Vancouver Real Estate News, Market Updates, Insider Tips, Stats, & Analysis
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For many of us, the idea of living in a detached home in Vancouver seems like an impossibility. In a city where a newly developed studio apartment could set you back a monthly $1,600, just being able to afford a…
Even before the Alaskan Way Viaduct finally comes down, the gold rush to cash in on soaring property values in the area is in full swing. On just one block near the waterfront: Prolific developer Martin Selig, known for building the Columbia…
For buyers looking for a new-build condo in Metro Vancouver, there’s good news – the number of available units has skyrocketed, according to a report released March 7. In its quarterly State of the Market report for the Urban Development Institute, real…
Canada’s construction sector generated $87 billion in residential projects in 2018 and $53 billion in commercial and industrial real estate in nearly 1,500 projects. Infrastructure to support new development and population growth tallied another $70 billion in 280 major projects.…
Major Canadian cities may be struggling with affordability issues, but the rate of homeownership is among the highest in the world, according to a recent report by RBC. The bank compared Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary to other global cities and found…
In the most recent Mortgage and Consumer Credit Trends Q3 2018, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) reports that the total number of delinquent mortgages in Vancouver have remained basically unchanged over the past 4 quarters. As it stands right…
A total of 1,484 home sales took place across the Metro Vancouver region in February, which is down 32.8% year-over-year and is 42.5% below the 10-year average for the month (see graph below), according to Real Estate Board of Greater…
The Metro Vancouver* housing market saw increased supply from home sellers and below average demand from home buyers in February. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,484…
Every year, the National Association of Home Builders presents its vision for the New American Home, showcasing trends in home design and construction. The association describes this effort as “America’s residential construction laboratory” and boasts that concepts first used in the New…
How did it come to pass that thousands of people who came to Metro Vancouver through a provincial immigration scheme bought pricey houses? A Statistics Canada report shows 2,370 people who recently arrived in B.C. through a provincial immigration program…
City of Vancouver staffers presented a robust presentation to City Council today, outlining a number of ways they think they could work to protect renters in Vancouver The document presents a whole lot o’ facts and ideas around how they…
As real estate goes, so goes the B.C. economy. The Conference Board of Canada is forecasting at least two more years of slowing growth ahead for the province amid a cooling real estate market. The Ottawa-based think tank’s latest provincial…
The B.C. government today launched Canada’s first online pre-sale register in an effort to thwart tax evasion and real estate speculation. Starting this year, developers are required to collect information on pre-sale condo assignments and submit that information quarterly to…
The government of British Columbia released 2019 budget on Tuesday, and Vancouverites will get a much welcomed round of good news. Those who were wary of new taxes will be relieved to know that this year’s budget does not introduce…
Canada’s once-roaring housing market has been tamed, according to the latest Reuters poll of analysts who predict house prices will rise nationally and in key urban hot spots they will not outstrip overall inflation over the next two years. While…
The intricacies of B.C.’s property assessments are meeting the realities of Metro Vancouver’s property market in a way that discourages the operation of long-term affordable rental housing in favour of the development of new condos, landlords say. In other words, the…
After reporting a record number of B.C. real estate audit assessments in 2018 – amounting to roughly $170 million – the Canada Revenue Agency is expected to receive a treasure trove of data from the B.C. government tying home ownership…
Metro Vancouver’s luxury detached homes will see a further median price decline of 7.1 per cent over the next year, according to a forecast issued February 21 by Royal LePage. The national real estate brokerage’s 2019 Royal LePage Luxury Properties Report,…
One of the biggest complaints Vancouver builders have had for years is the difficulty of obtaining housing permits. And for good reason too. Vancouver has the dubious distinction of having the slowest building permit issuing system of all major Canadian…
Vancouver property owners with vacant homes may have to pay more taxes. City hall is looking at the likelihood of increasing the empty homes tax. The tax is currently one percent of the property’s assessed value. According to a city…
If you’re looking to upgrade to a luxury house or condo in Metro Vancouver, a Canadian real estate company says it might be a good time to make the move. A newly released report by Royal LePage forecasts a 7.1-per-cent…
B.C.’s housing market is moderating and moving in the right direction, according to finance minister Carole James. “It’s what we are looking for. We are continuing to monitor it.” The correction in the market is not over, she said Tuesday.…
These buildings are in almost every U.S. city. They range from three to seven stories tall and can stretch for blocks. They’re usually full of rental apartments, but they can also house college dorms, condominiums, hotels, or assisted-living facilities. Close…
Property Manager, Robert Herman, sits down with Adam Scalena to discuss the rental market overall in Fort St John, the decreasing vacancy rate, the benefits of owning newer construction, how the ‘turn-key’ corporate rental program works, and why he is…
The $1.9-billion replacement project for Vancouver’s 124-year-old St. Paul’s Hospital should be open within seven years, Premier John Horgan said Feb. 15. ”By 2026, there will be a new St. Paul’s Hospital on Station Street,” Horgan said. “It will be…
Inside a beautiful craftsman house in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighborhood is a heartwarming story of family, support and housing affordability. “It starts with how do kids get to live in Vancouver with a piece of grass outside,” explained Vancouver real…
On where he sees the market right now: Looking forward to 2019, Richard is bullish on the market. Domus will be looking to aggressively make acquisitions. Domus is looking to refill their pipeline. The local economy is still strong,…
Local and international architects have been invited to take part in a special review for a proposed Vancouver high-rise. The Urban Design Panel has set a meeting on Tuesday (February 20) to evaluate the design of a 54-storey tower at…
The real estate market slowdown may feel like good news for many who are struggling to afford a home in our pricey province – but it’s certainly not good news for provincial coffers. The B.C. government has reported that it…
One of the most common complaints from developers, homeowners and local business owners in Vancouver is the amount of time it takes to get a project approved at city hall. Last April, I wrote a column about the impacts of…
If you’ve been keeping an eye on the news lately, or simply been skimming through headlines on real estate news sites, you’re probably running into articles about how Vancouver is now solidly in a “buyer’s market.” Seeing as how Vancouver’s…
As Metro Vancouver’s office vacancy rate plunges to near record-lows, a condo developer is adding thousands of square feet of gig-friendly work space to a four-tower complex in Central Surrey. Concord Pacific is currently pre-selling Park George 2, a 337-unit,…
Eitel Insights’ long-term forecast for the Condo market in Vancouver: Eitel Insights has recently released their analysis on the Condo Market in Greater Vancouver. At this time, the condo market has peaked and there will be no more price…
The number of Vancouver homes declared vacant has dropped 15 per cent since the implementation of the Empty Homes Tax, according to numbers released by the city Wednesday. There were 922 properties declared vacant by the Feb. 4 deadline, compared…
January real estate numbers show further softening of the Metro Vancouver real estate market, and nowhere is that effect more dramatic than on Vancouver’s West Side. One realtor says a lack of foreign buyers is why homeowners who bought in…
TORONTO, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Canada will consider changing the terms of a stress test designed to cut out risky mortgage lending if market conditions change, one of the country’s top banking regulators said on Tuesday. The Office of the…
There’s no shortage of homes available for sale these days in Vancouver, and those hoping for better bargains in one of the world’s least affordable housing markets may get their wish soon. The latest data from the Real Estate Board…
Georgetown One by Anthem is a new concrete condominium project that is steps from the King George and the Surrey Central SkyTrain stations as well as the SFU Surrey Campus and a host of restaurants & cafes. It is set to be…
Zombie attack! Zombies fleeing Vancouver want to eat your brain… drain… or something. A couple of weeks ago The Canadian Press reported a story asserting that young professionals were leaving Vancouver because of the high cost of housing. This fits in with a common zombie…
January 2018 REBGV Statistics Package: Home listings increase while buyers remain in holding pattern
Home listings continue to increase across all housing categories in the Metro Vancouver housing market while home buyer activity remains below historical averages. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region…
Consider somebody who owns property in Vancouver but does not use it, does not rent it and does not pay any income taxes in Canada. This person is clearly benefiting from our society because over time their property is gaining…
The federal statistics agency’s analysis of homeownership in the Vancouver and Toronto Census Metropolitan Areas found that immigrants to Canada between 2009 and 2016 own about five per cent of the region’s detached homes, valued at an average of $2,336,300…
Even though Metro Vancouver’s real estate market has seen a significant slowdown recently, the affordability of both houses and condos has eroded, according to a study by National Bank of Canada. The nationwide study found that a mortgage payment for a…
Economic growth in Canada from residential real estate investments will go negative in 2019, according to the Bank of Canada (BOC), which has conceded that stiff new mortgage regulations, local housing restrictions and rising interest rates have had a larger…
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it may be done raising interest rates. In a statement following a two-day meeting of its policymaking committee, the Fed said that economic growth remained “solid,” and that it expected growth to continue. But…
Vancouver’s office vacancy rate has dipped below 5 per cent for the first time since 2008. Metro Vancouver vacancy has dropped to 4.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2018, and as low as 3.4 per cent in the…
The owners of the Columbia Theatre are prepared to invest several hundred thousand dollars into a feasibility study to assess the possibility of building a hotel and residential tower above the heritage theatre. Tricor Pacific Land and Redic Developments have…
According to Loans Canada, the current mortgage stress test is “a way of testing how you and your finances might be affected by a sudden bout of financial turmoil, such as loss of employment.” It also carries the added benefit…
City staff are recommending the city start public consultations on the downtown bridge’s re-design Plans for a new greener, more pedestrian- and cyclist-friendly Granville Bridge are closer to fruition as a report on its purported redesign will be presented to Vancouver…
The NDP’s speculation and vacancy tax will do nothing to make homes more affordable. If you think about who can afford to leave homes empty, it is wealthy people, whether they be foreigners or Canadians. The multi-million-dollar homes are not…
How did your property value fair with the new BC Assessment values released earlier this month? How did your neighbour fair? What about that building on the corner of Thurlow and Comox or that 3rd house in off of Dunbar…
A recent proposal to the City of Vancouver aims to add colourful, modern townhouses to a site at the northwest corner of Columbia Street and 63rd Avenue in Marpole (a site that was formerly three single-family homes. The redevelopment application…
Want to live and work in Canada? That dream could become a reality now that the government has announced plans to accept more than a million immigrants in the next three years. In his 2018 Annual Report to Parliament on Immigration, the…
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How many more sub-million dollar single family detached homes appear on the market over the next year is truly anyone’s guess It’s back. After several years of continually rising prices for single-family detached homes in Vancouver, the sub-million dollar house…
The widely reported annual Demographia Housing Affordability Survey has been released January 21 – and despite Vancouver’s real estate market slowdown, the city has moved back up in the rankings of the world’s least-affordable housing markets. Having been ranked in…
Vancouver’s housing market is looking more fragile than Toronto a year after policy makers tightened mortgage lending to slow a boom. While the country’s two most expensive real estate markets have both been hit hard by higher interest rates and…
They had no crystal balls or tarot cards, but B.C. developers still predicted Thursday that people hoping for “the housing bubble to burst” in 2019 will be disappointed. During the Urban Development Institute’s 2019 real-estate forecast luncheon, attended by about…
U-Eight by Mission Group is an exciting new development in the growing university district of Kelowna. Situated immediately south of Kelowna’s UBC Okanagan campus, this impressive condo building, located on freehold land and within walking distance to the campus, will…
The Conference Board of Canada’s latest Travel Markets Outlook, released January 17, paints a rosy outlook for the Canadian and Vancouver tourism sectors. It projects that Canada will welcome 2% more overnight visitors from within Canada and international markets in…
The Speculation and Vacancy Tax has come into force for the 2018 tax year, and homeowners can expect to get declaration letters from tomorrow (January 18) until the end of February. All homeowners – not just owners of second or…
The B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA) says the mortgage stress test introduced by Ottawa one year ago is “largely to blame” for a 24.5% decline in home sales across the province last year. Data released January 15 reveals the Multiple…
It will be up to homeowners to apply for exemptions, with a deadline of March 31. VICTORIA — All homeowners in B.C.’s largest urban centres will need to apply for exemptions from the province’s new speculation tax or receive a…
Asking $369,900 1 BED | 1 BATH | 553 SQFT BREATHTAKING CITY, WATER & MOUNTAIN VIEWS from this BRIGHT & SPACIOUS CORNER HOME in the heart of the West End. Perfectly designed 1-bdrm feat. floor-to-ceiling windows & tons of…
Here’s a sentence you probably didn’t think you’d read in this space: Fertility rates in Metro Vancouver have shifted by large margins over the past 20 years. Here’s another one: Overall, fertility rates for younger women aged 15 to 30…
Many first-time buyers are taking a wait-and-see approach, in case home prices drop further – is that the best strategy? Recently I was asked to guest live on CityTV’s BT Vancouver morning news show to recap a range of industry…
Home buyers and those with mortgages coming up for renewal gave a sigh of relief this past week after the Bank of Canada decided to leave its overnight interest rates untouched at 1.75%. Since mid-2017, the BoC has raised its…
Homes prices in the City of Vancouver aren’t quite coming back to Earth, but their stratospheric heights lost some altitude in the fourth quarter of 2018. The aggregate home price in Vancouver decreased 0.6% year over year to $1,418,252, according…
A surge in the assessed values of rental buildings, coupled with new rules around rental rates, could translate into reduced investment in existing buildings and fewer new developments, says the head of LandlordBC. David Hutniak, chief executive of the organization…
REBGV President Phil Moore provides a summary of the December 2018 housing market statistics. For more information please visit: December 2018 REBGV Statistics Package: Metro Vancouver home sales decline below historical averages in 2018
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Vancouver’s residential real estate market is at standoff that doesn’t appear to have an end in sight. The city saw a 26 per cent drop in sales of all types (condos, attached and single family homes)…
Haider-Moranis Bulletin: A slowdown is the intended response to regulatory changes and must not be seen solely as a sign of market weakness As real estate market stats pour in from across Canada, it is becoming abundantly clear that property…
As many as 20 per cent of all residential property owners in the province should be appealing their property assessments, says the man who has literally written the book on the assessment appeals process. Peter Morris, a commercial real estate…
The Bank of Canada is keeping its key interest rate unchanged in the face of a new, grimmer forecast that shows Canada’s economy is slowing down fast. As it did in December, the central bank left its rate at 1.75…
Last August, respondents to an Insights West poll in August identified four “primary causes” affecting the real-estate market. They were, in order of responses, foreign homebuyers (84 percent), population growth (80 percent), shadow flipping (76 percent), and money laundering (73…
Vancouver is already widely-known as an expensive place for renters, and now, a newly-released report is predicting that the cost of putting a roof over one’s head in this city is only going to rise. The figures come courtesy of Rental.ca’s 2019…
The City of Richmond is considering introducing a second penalty option, which carries a smaller fine but speeds up the process of adjudicating disputes, for illegal short-term rentals. Currently, the city issues a $1,000 fine per offence to illegal short-term…
Metro Vancouver’s real estate market may no longer be “red hot,” but a price drop from $1,605,800 to $1,479,000 for a typical single-family home doesn’t offer much hope to those being squeezed by the unrelenting housing affordability crisis.In 2018, all…
The legalization of cannabis opens up new risks for homeowners and new opportunities for REALTORS® to add value as trusted advisors as consumers make the biggest financial decision of their lives. That’s why BCREA is launching a series of…
Statistics Canada released its third-quarter report on national wealth at the end of last year, and it showed that Canada’s total GDP is currently at over $2 trillion, and the national wealth is valued at around $11.415 trillion. Of that…
Canadians are finally getting a taste of what a world with rising interest rates will look like, and one thing is painfully clear: we’re not ready for what happens next. Kirk Marsh first noticed the mood start to turn in…
Notaries across British Columbia saw “an overall decrease in first-time buyers in most regions of the province” in 2018, according to the Society of Notaries Public of BC. What the province’s notaries collectively saw in 2018 was “an overall decrease…
Metro Vancouver’s sluggish residential real estate market continues to endure slow sales, with 2018 notching a mere 24,619 homes that transacted. There has not been that few homes that sold in the region during a calendar year since 2000, according…
Metro Vancouver home sales in 2018 were the lowest annual total in the region since 2000. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that sales of detached, attached and apartment properties reached 24,619 on the Multiple Listing…
By the time you read this, most property owners will know what the BC Assessment Authority thinks their property is worth – or was worth, as of the valuation date of July 1, 2018. However, interest rate hikes, government policies…
In a tumultuous year for B.C.’s real estate market, what were Glacier Media’s most-read real estate stories? 2018 has been a tumultuous year for B.C.’s real estate and rental markets, with a slew of new policies introduced at the federal,…
Sure, a single-family home anywhere in Metro Vancouver is pricey, but have you ever wondered just how your neighbourhood – or city – stacks up compared to others across the region? If so, then a new heat map from estateblock.com might be just what…
For full interview, see Vancouver Real Estate Podcast – Episode 149 | Vancouver Price Tags with Gordon Price About Gordon: Gordon is a fellow with Simon Fraser University’s Centre for Dialogue, and a former Vancouver city councillor (1986-2002). He…
In the end, Amazon disappointed everyone. A year ago the e-commerce giant said it would open a second headquarters, and solicited bids from cities keen on the 50,000 new jobs and $5bn in investment it would bring. The gambit might…
According to a lot of analysis when the Canadian housing boom was at a peak, people were so anxious to get into the market that any fall in prices couldn’t last long. I remember Carol Off at CBC Radio’s As It Happens grilling…
Canada’s a rich country with a gross domestic product of over $2 trillion and national wealth valued at over $11 trillion. But just how much of those riches are wrapped up in real estate? A sizable share, it turns out. Statistics Canada released…
Falling home sales in B.C. are set to drag national sales down to lows not seen in nearly a decade, according to projections released by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) on Monday. The association’s latest quarterly forecast projects B.C.’s…
Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart has sent a letter to Premier John Horgan asking the province to rescind a new tax on real estate even though Stewart supports the tax. The tax, called a school tax surcharge, was announced as part of the B.C. 2018 budget and…
We at Price Tags are having a great time with our new podcast, PriceTalks. So we appreciate the opportunity to be invited to other podcasts that are exploring our city and its issues – like that time on Cambie Reports with Sandy James, Gord Price and…
Greater Vancouver average home prices grew 2.3% annually in November, even as prices declined 1.9% for B.C. as a whole. Data released December 14 from the B.C. Real Estate Association (BCREA) reveals average home prices in Greater Vancouver climbed from…
According to data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the benchmark price for a detached home in Greater Vancouver dropped sharply in November by 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. To put it into direct numerical terms, the benchmark…
A tempting bright-red advertisement for a new condo development in a Vancouver suburb circulated online this fall, sparking excitement from first-time homebuyers and concern among long-standing real estate observers. The developers of The Landing, a 78-unit complex in Langley, were…
The real estate market in most parts of Metro Vancouver has softened over the last year and homeowners will see those changes reflected in their property assessments next spring. Outside Metro Vancouver, it’s a different picture. Home owners in the…
The Metro Vancouver housing market may look to many like it is heading for a major correction, but two separate brokerage forecasts, both published December 11, assert that this is not the case. The Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast predicted…
Canada’s housing market is “relatively insulated” from a US-style crash and Canadians might simply need to get used to high home prices, according to the chief economist at Chartered Professional Accountants (CPA). In his report The real story behind housing…
As the Vancouver real estate market softens, some are already making predictions on how quickly it will recover. A recent article published on Capital Economics by Stephen Brown argued that Vancouver’s housing market will recover much more slowly than Toronto’s…
Newport Beach Developments unveiled plans for its Oceanfront Park, making significant headway for what’s hoped to be the revitalization of the former Nexen Beach lands. Initial stages in getting the project running have taken years and included extensive public consultation. Newport’s…
Home buyer demand remains below long-term historical averages in the Metro Vancouver housing market. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales totalled 1,608 in the region in November 2018, a 42.5 per cent decrease…
Today Patrick Condon (a friend and colleague whose passion I admire) wrote a column in the Tyee. A media outlet I admire. He writes about a book by John Gray, a local writer I also admire. In his column, Patrick…
With the release of the latest Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s rental market report, residents of Metro Vancouver, and those looking to move into the city, will find some disappointing yet unsurprising news: there are simply next to no available…
Renters are paying more and more, a new survey shows, even though the supply of rental housing is increasing in Metro Vancouver and across B.C. According to the annual rental market report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC),…
Vacancy control would tie rent controls to a unit rather than the tenant. Currently, rental owners have the flexibility to adjust rents between tenants to account for building and unit upgrades and other increased costs like property taxes, insurance and…
Rental vacancy rates in Metro Vancouver and across the province have improved slightly over the past year, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The Crown corporation’s annual rental market survey, released November 28, reveals Metro Vancouver’s vacancy…
Bryan’s real estate investment advice: Bryan invests in residential and commercial real estate in Canada. His strategy is to buy and hold real estate. He is concerned that going forward, as real estate becomes more expensive, less and less people…
As busy people living in an increasingly complex world, we are drawn to simple explanations that answer complicated questions. We like to see things in black and white, with neat cause and effect correlations. We also love villains. Villains satisfy…
In this year of municipal elections in British Columbia, housing was consistently the top-ranked issue for residents of Metro Vancouver – with the exception of Surrey, where public safety was deemed more important. Many campaign platforms, from winning and losing…
Residential Investor Outlook 2019: Scout opportunities outside of the Lower Mainland for best returns on home buying and rental plays Metro Vancouver Despite a 35 per cent plunge in Lower Mainland housing sales this year, home prices remain the highest…
The stately $17-million mansion owned by a suspected fentanyl importer is at the end of a gated driveway on one of the priciest streets in Shaughnessy, Vancouver’s most exclusive neighbourhood. A block away is a $22-million gabled manor that police have linked…
The Bank of Canada (BoC) is caught between a rock (rising inflationary pressures) and a hard place (waning economic momentum). On the one hand, the Bank may believe that it needs to raise its policy rate pre-emptively to stay in…
It’s easy to see why so many economists, pundits, and investors are feeling so bearish about Vancouver’s real estate. If you type into Google the words “Vancouver real estate” you will immediately see a number of articles talking about how…
Small is beautiful. This was the theme of a recent conference organized by Small Housing BC (SHBC), a non-profit organization created to promote smaller homes throughout the province. SHBC defines “small housing” as just enough space to live in. Depending…
More than 12,000 new rental units under development would be at risk of cancellation if the oft-mooted “vacancy control” mechanism were to be implemented, according to a new Urban Development Institute (UDI) survey released November 21. Vacancy control is a…
Metro Vancouver’s turbocharged residential real estate market is showing signs of slowing, with sales plunging, prices edging down and a large swath of properties hitting the market. It is enough to temper the enthusiasm of some longtime boosters of the…
B.C. Premier John Horgan received a warm reception and standing ovation from delegates attending Canada’s largest affordable housing conference, which got underway in Vancouver today. “I’m very pleased with what we’ve been able to accomplish in the first 16 months,”…
Brendan Lacerda’s predictions for the Vancouver Real Estate Market: Regarding the previous run-up in prices, there was a perfect storm or confluence of events with strong global growth, the fall of the Canadian dollar, and extremely low interest rates…
The British Columbia government says it’s already seeing positive results from the policies it put in place to address the housing crisis, but one expert says there’s still a long way to go. Housing Minister Selina Robinson says the government…
The British Columbia Real Estate Association estimates that economic growth will remain strong enough to support a boost in sales next year after a substantial decline in 2018, according to its latest forecast. When the dust settles at the end…
A challenge so-called progressive cities aren’t meeting Shaw says the housing crisis has taken on a different tone over the last few years because its impact is so widespread. What’s changed in many cities is how the middle class is…
Home sale activity across Metro Vancouver remained below long-term historical averages in October, according to the latest figures. In its monthly report, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) said that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,966…
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Speculation by condominiums flipping is currently not a major factor in Vancouver and Toronto’s housing markets, according to a new report by Bloomberg. The publication gathered and analyzed data from Teranet Inc.’s land and housing registry and found that 3.4%…
It appears a city council motion to stop allowing duplexes in a huge swath of Vancouver is on the way to passing, even as the city battles an ongoing housing crisis. Between the five votes of the Non-Partisan Association, including…
It seems like nearly everyone you talk to these days is a landlord or is thinking of becoming one. While some of us may simply rent out our basement to bring in extra income to help cover the mortgage, others…
Thinking of selling detached Vancouver real estate? It might be a little rough right now. Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) numbers show sales fell in October. The decline in sales helped to push inventory levels higher, and prices…
There appears to be a resurgence in Mainland Chinese interest in buying real estate in Vancouver, almost exactly two years after the BC provincial government enacted its foreign buyers’ tax. According to recent data released by Juwai, a major international…
Tighter mortgage rules and higher interest rates have dented buying power, but health of the economy backs higher demand. The British Columbia Real Estate Association estimates that economic growth will remain strong enough to support a boost in sales next…
Coun. Colleen Hardwick wants to overturn the last major and one of the most contentious decision by the previous Vision Vancouver-dominated city council. It involved the mass rezoning of 99 percent of all 68,000 lots zoned as single-family properties to…
As the real estate market shifts, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is launching a new ad campaign. In a video to members, board president Phil Moore explains the $2-million campaign, which started this month on radio, will expand…
The City of Vancouver says it has collected $18 million from the first year of its empty homes tax and another $12 million could still flow into its coffers. The city says in a news release that it expects to…
The B.C. government has introduced legislation to ban mega-mansions on agricultural farmland by overriding local zoning in cities like Richmond. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham’s bill introduced Monday would restrict the maximum size of a home on agricultural land reserve property…
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Looking for bang for your home-buying buck? Detached home prices on the North Shore – even in West Vancouver – offer much better value than Vancouver’s West Side in terms of cost per square foot, a new national survey reveals.…
A pilot program to cut down the time to process building permits for single-family homes has yielded promising results, the City of Vancouver says. Builders and developers in the city’s Applicant Supported and Assisted Process (ASAP) pilot program have completed…
“Vancouver’s scariest pumpkin” isn’t the monster of the week for a Doctor Who episode, or even the title of SyFy Channel’s newest B-Movie. The pumpkin doesn’t hover ominously, nor does it move when you’re not looking at it. It’s far…
Many prominent Canadian analysts, pundits, and investors agree: Canada’s housing market — especially in large centres like Toronto and Vancouver — is in a massive bubble. These folks have some compelling evidence on their side. Record-low interest rates made large…
Let’s go back to that vote Sept. 19 at city hall that saw Mayor Gregor Robertson, his five Vision colleagues and Coun. Hector Bremner vote in favour of allowing duplexes in most single-family neighbourhoods. Remember how controversial that was? Well,…
On his last full day as mayor of Vancouver, Gregor Robertson announced what he called an historic framework agreement between the city, B.C. Housing and Concord Pacific to build up to 650 units of affordable, non-market housing in Yaletown. The units will…
September may have been dismal for Metro Vancouver real estate sales, but October showed a slight improvement, the latest statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reveal. There were 1,966 home sales in the region October 2018, according…
Kennedy Stewart has made it clear that housing is Priority 1 on his agenda when he is sworn in as Vancouver’s first independent mayor in more than 30 years on November 5. “That’s the overwhelming message from the electorate,” said…
Home sale activity across Metro Vancouver* remained below long-term historical averages in October. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region totalled 1,966 in October 2018, a 34.9 per cent decrease…
The promised condo-flipping registry, designed help crack down on tax evasion and create transparency in B.C.’s real estate market, was launched November 5 by the B.C. government. The new regulations will require developers selling presale condos and other strata units…
Prices for Metro Vancouver homes are starting to decline in the wake of sluggish sales and plenty of residences up for sale, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). “Home prices have edged down between 3% and…
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The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says home supply is rising and reaching levels not seen in roughly four years, even as the average price inches up year-over-year. The board says the composite benchmark price for all homes was…
The world’s most valuable publicly traded company has never had a corporate presence in Vancouver. But this week, many people thought that was about to change when a website declared that Apple has leased 60,000 square feet of office space in a…
While more than half of homeowners have given up their dreams of owning a single-family home, experts are urging the city to follow suit and make zoning easier for families to access higher-density homes. The finding confirms his study on…
Most young families in Vancouver’s property market remain confident their property values will do as well or better than other investments, despite a recent slowdown in the market, according to a new survey commissioned by a property firm. In total,…
The top two spots, according to BIV’s sister publication Western Investor, in B.C. for real estate investors in 2019 are in the northwest part of the province, which is ground zero for the biggest private investment in Canadian history. The third…
The pace of industrial real estate construction in the Calgary region is the second-highest in the city’s history as the robust market continues to see high demand. Although a significant amount of the current construction is on spec, millions of…
VANCOUVER—As the city’s new mayor prepares to take office on a promise to build 25,000 affordable housing units over the next decade, non-profit housing operators are warning that a fundamental disconnect inside city hall bureaucracy is eroding the number of…
In a move that surprised no one, the Bank of Canada (BoC) increased its overnight interest rate by 0.25%, to a total of 1.75%. This marks the fifth interest rate hike since mid-2017. Economists believe that this isn’t the last…
Construction and real estate add up to a hugely disproportionate share of the Cascadian province’s economy, Bloomberg Businessweek noted Saturday, as BC voters went to the polls in dozens of municipal elections whose overriding issue was housing. Those elections indicated that…
It wasn’t all that long ago that the prospect of buying a detached home in the City of Vancouver for under $1 million seemed like a dream from another era. The so-called “million dollar line” that used to divide Vancouver’s east…
The Metro Vancouver housing market is still exhibiting signs of overvaluation as home prices continue to outpace local income growth, according to a new Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) report released October 25. Although home price growth is moderating in…
Sitting down at a Yaletown coffee shop on Tuesday, the former NDP MP told StarMetro how he plans to make it all work, including getting started on an ambitious housing plan and securing funding to extend a planned subway extension…
In Vancouver, the tidal wave has wrought a dramatic economic, demographic, and physical transformation. Alberni Street, a formerly dowdy downtown thoroughfare, has in the past decade welcomed a two-level Prada boutique with a black marble facade, one of the largest…
If you’re looking for a new condo in Greater Vancouver, a whole lot of supply is kicking around. Greater Vancouver is seeing a lot of new pre-sale projects launch in October. MLA anticipates 2,086 new units expected to hit the…
The aggregate home price in Greater Vancouver rose 3.9 per cent in the third quarter to $1,270,675, compared to the same period last year. When broken out by housing type, the median price of a condominium increased 9.5 per cent…
The Bank of Canada has raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter point for the fifth time since last summer, pushing up the cost of borrowing for Canadians. The bank’s rate is now set at 1.75 per cent. That’s…
All signs point to the end of the residential land rush in the Lower Mainland – though Michael Ferreira of market research firm Urban Analytics Inc. didn’t use those exact words in his presentation last week to the Urban Development…
Following a steep drop-off in Metro Vancouver homes searches by potential buyers in China, interest spiked again in 2018’s third quarter, according to data mined for Glacier Media by China’s biggest international real estate website Juwai.com. The number of inquiries on Metro…
Among Kennedy Stewart’s plans on the file are immediately hiring a renters’ advocate and increasing supply by 85,000 new units, including 25,000 non-profit rentals, over 10 years. Following his victory, Kennedy told reporters he wants the conversation to move beyond…
British Columbia legislation introduced Tuesday would impose a tax of either 0.5 per cent, one per cent or two per cent on the assessed value of a vacant property in the 2019 taxation year and onwards. For the 2018 tax…
The B.C. Green Party, which has been vocally opposed to the NDP’s speculation tax, has reluctantly agreed to support the legislation after three changes are made, the parties announced October 18. The Ministry of Finance said it will support the…
Metro Vancouver’s current housing slump will last until 2021, but will be followed by dramatic doubling in single-family prices, predicts analyst A real estate analyst who accurately predicted Metro Vancouver’s housing crash a year ago says the current slump will…
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The average rental price for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver jumped 2.4 per cent last month to $2,100 per month, according to the latest Canadian rankings released by PadMapper. Toronto, with a median asking rental price of $2,230, is the most…
The vast majority (85 per cent) of first-time buyers are spending the maximum they can possibly afford on their first home purchase, reveals a Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation (CMHC) survey released October 18. That compares with 68 per cent…
With the new cannabis laws coming into force, would growing pot at home reduce your property’s value? What about smoking weed at home? Do you think a new cannabis store in the neighbourhood would help or hinder a home sale?…
The newly named “speculation and vacancy tax” will apply to those who own second and vacant homes in applicable areas of B.C. as of December 31, the provincial government announced October 16. Anyone who owns a home that is not…
A recently toughened stress test is making it more difficult for young people and newcomers to the country to buy homes, Canadian mortgage industry leaders say. The stress test requirement came into effect in January. Anyone taking out an uninsured…
VICTORIA — B.C.’s New Democratic government dug in its heels on the contentious real estate speculation tax Tuesday, moving forward to bring it into law despite the protests of local mayors and a development community that warned it could cause…
Three emerging factors are set to disrupt and transform the real estate market in the near future, according to a new report by Montréal-based real estate website Shupilov.com. Remote working and self-employment, disruptive technology such as autonomous vehicles and virtual…
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Peter Cox wants to vote for people in the Vancouver civic election who will tackle housing for people like him: a renter. The 41-year-old, who runs his own recycling business, is renting a one-bedroom condo in Fairview for a reasonable…
Canadian home sales declined for the first time in five months as activity in Vancouver and Toronto weakened. Sales in Vancouver fell by 1.5 per cent in September and benchmark prices declined 1.2 per cent, the Canadian Real Estate Association…
OTTAWA—Condo flipping was never pervasive in the Vancouver and Toronto housing booms and that sliver of the market has faded over time, suggesting tougher measures to curb speculators won’t make those cities more affordable. Just 3.4 per cent of Vancouver…
Despite B.C. home sales taking a nosedive in September, the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) stands by a previous assertion that the “downturn is largely behind us” and that market activity is expected to pick up. According to BCREA…
Canada’s housing market slowdown, which began with a drop in sales, is now spreading to home construction. Housing starts in Canada have fallen steeply in recent months as the country’s developers react to a slowdown sales brought on by rising…
What would be city’s fourth-tallest high-rise aims to echo under-construction Vancouver House opposite, to create new “Granville Gateway” A rezoning application, along with a fresh set of renderings, has been filed with the City of Vancouver for what would be…
“Finally, the market correction we’ve been waiting for!” I hear people saying recently. “Maybe now I’ll actually be able to buy my first home.” Well, cool your jets there, enthusiastic would-be buyer. I’m sorry to break it to you, but…
Labour market momentum intensifies in September B.C. employment surged in September, marking a fourth consecutive monthly increase and pointing to a fi rm rebound after a weak fi rst half. Estimated employment surged by 33,300 persons during the month, marking…
What if, in the midst of a housing and rental crisis the government implemented a 26 per cent tariff on all new homes. How would you react? Many of you would likely protest on social media, demonstrate, sign petitions and even…
Duplexes might not seem like the most revolutionary form of alternative housing. It’s just two homes on a lot, after all, instead of one – all still in one building. But they are a small step that a cluster of…
Surrey is the fastest-growing metro centre in B.C., and its young population – 22 per cent of B.C. births are now in Surrey – is gunning to claim the title of the province’s biggest city within a generation. The population…
VANCOUVER — The Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board says home sales across the region in September plunged more than 40 per cent compared with the same month last year. Statistics from the board show 1,595 homes changed hands in Metro…
More Supply And Less Demand Seen Across Metro Vancouver Housing Market The supply of homes for sale continued to increase across the Metro Vancouver* housing market in September while home buyer demand remained below typical levels for this time…
Minister Mike de Jong’s predictions for the Vancouver Real Estate Market: As we now know, the majority of that demand was domestic, and that’s a good thing. Unfortunately, we didn’t keep pace in terms of the supply of homes…
The B.C. government is launching its promised Phase 2 investigation into money laundering in the province, this time focusing primarily on real estate, as well as luxury cars and horse racing. The move follows the sweeping regulatory changes made in…
Housing affordability has fallen to “never-seen-before” levels in Vancouver, according to a new report from RBC Economic Research. Metro Vancouver residents on average would have to devote 88.4% of their income in the second quarter to cover the cost of…
VICTORIA — B.C. will conduct a second independent review into money laundering, this time focusing on whether illegal proceeds of crime have been used to buy real estate, to gamble at horse-racing tracks and to buy expensive luxury cars. Attorney…
Following a lacklustre summer performance, Metro Vancouver’s $1 million-plus real estate market is set to see even greater declines this fall, according to a Sotheby’s forecast released September 26. The luxury real estate brokerage said that the patterns in “top-tier”…
For the past three years, housing has consistently topped the charts as the most important issue facing most cities in Metro Vancouver. Aside from Surrey, where crime and public safety are regarded as a more pressing concern, all other municipalities…
Vancouver city council’s vote to allow duplexes in most parts of the city’s single-family home areas could be easily reversed after the Oct. 20 election. One independent mayoral candidate, Sean Cassidy, is already calling on city council candidates to reverse…
BC Home Sales May Be Turning A Corner August Canadian Real Estate Association data suggest sales in the Greater Vancouver area are stabilizing, though activity remains well below year-ago levels. This is occurring just as Labour Force Survey data show…
Annual rent increases for tenants in B.C. should be limited to the cost of living, a provincial government task force is urging. The recommendation by the B.C. Rental Housing Task Force would do away with the current calculation that allows…
The year of discontent persists for the housing sector as the confluence of federal mortgage stress-testing measures, higher interest rates, provincial policy measures and buyer skittishness continued to weigh on the market. Price levels are in retreat as sellers tone…
During B.C.’s municipal election campaigns, we are going to hear a lot about the so-called not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) attitude. Depending on which municipality you live in, the next five weeks will be dominated by political discussions that will inevitably involve what…
The Canadian real estate industry expects sales to slow further than previously thought. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) economists have revised their annual forecasts. The good news is the summer was better than expected, leading to an improved outlook for…
At one point on Sept. 18, the first day of a public hearing to determine whether duplexes should be permitted in most single-family neighbourhoods in Vancouver, Vision Coun. Andrea Reimer turned to a speaker and asked what she made of…
The Courier, Business in Vancouver and Vancouver is Awesome co-hosted the first mayoral debate of the election campaign Monday night. Here’s a summary of what six of the candidates had to say on housing issues. (Due to the format of…
It’s worth putting a highrise in Central Lonsdale to put $17 million in the city’s coffers. That was the consensus in City of North Vancouver chambers Monday night as council voted to approve an 18-storey, 162-unit strata building on East…
Shifting towards the right supply of housing to meet the needs of people who live and work in Vancouver is a key objective of the Housing Vancouver Strategy. To meet the right supply targets, we are looking at new opportunities…
With renters facing significant rent hikes, Premier John Horgan says he’s hopeful a new formula for setting limits on increases will arrive soon. The provincial government currently uses the B.C. Consumer Price Index to determine increases. It adds up to…
OTTAWA – Canada’s housing market rebound appears to be slowing amid diminishing increases in national home sales, says the Canadian Real Estate Association. The organization said on Monday that home sales saw their fourth consecutive increase in August, rising 0.9…
VANCOUVER—The fall of commercial real estate transactions continued into the second quarter of this year, with fewer transactions compared to recent years. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports there were 569 commercial real estate sales in the Lower…
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We all know that for most households earning a median income, buying a detached house in Metro Vancouver is highly unaffordable, unless they have already built up considerable equity or have another source of wealth. But exactly how much of…
REBGV President Phil Moore and President-Elect Ashley Smith provide a summary of the August 2018 housing market statistics.
The Province of British Columbia has announced the maximum allowable rent increase for 2019, and it’s the largest rent hike in more than a decade. Next year, landlords can raise rents by a maximum of 4.5%. This figure is partly…
As mayors and provincial leaders gather for the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities summit in Whistler this week, the union is taking the opportunity to renew calls for the province to do more on real estate speculation. In a document…
Western Canadian Properties Group has developed over 12,000 properties, primarily focused on appealing to investors with strict cash-flow goals throughout B.C., Alberta & the western United States. That’s a lot of doors and not always an easy offering! CEO Dave…
The historic shops and restaurants on No. 3 Road, across the street from Richmond Centre, will soon be all gone and replaced by nine new towers. The three newly proposed developments at the No. 3 and Cook roads intersection will…
VANCOUVER—From following Whistler’s lead and creating employee-specific housing, to hiring a chief economic officer to oversee land use decisions, some Vancouver mayoral candidates are starting to provide more details on how they would fix the city’s housing crisis. The lack…
Good news if you’re looking to buy a home in Metro Vancouver. “Both July and August we’ve seen slight decreases in the benchmark price,” Phil Moore, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, said. The board released monthly figures for…
In focusing on housing, Greater Vancouver residents and businesses believe municipal governments have missed the mark on transportation issues, and local politicians know it. Mustel Group and FleishmanHillard HighRoad, in partnership with the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT), published…
Following the federal and provincial government’s official announcement of full funding for the Broadway Subway, the City of Vancouver extends its thanks to residents, businesses, and government partners for their continued support of the project. The extension of rapid transit…
The Bank of Canada today maintained its target for the overnight rate at 1 ½ per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 ¾ per cent and the deposit rate is 1 ¼ per cent. CPI inflation moved up to…
Home Buyer Demand Stays Below Historical Averages In August The Metro Vancouver* housing market continues to experience reduced demand across all housing types. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the region…
Perhaps you’ve heard the story of the man who was in the hospital in a coma for several weeks. His wife was by his side the entire time. After waking up, his eyes filled with tears and he said to…
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) is considering calling in the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) to battle an increase in mortgage fraud. The campaign is either overkill or inevitable, according to mortgage industry sources. The focus of the oversight is…
For $1, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) can get back portions of the Arbutus rail corridor in Vancouver. These are lands on the east side of Fir Street between West 1stand West 5th avenues. Before the City of Vancouver bought the…
Metro Vancouver is home to some of the fastest-growing cities in Canada. Modern, efficient transit systems are needed more than ever to reduce traffic congestion, connect businesses and communities, and meet the needs of a rapidly growing population. The Prime…
With zoning reform a sexy election issue, an evolutionary leap could be coming. Who would’ve guessed the suggestion to rezone all of Vancouver would be taken seriously in an election? In the midst of a housing crisis, a number of…
Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are the world’s top cities for long-term real estate investment, a report by Grosvenor’s research said this week. Grosvernor, an international property development company based in the U.K., ranks 50 of the world’s cities on their…
Last week, for the first time in Canada, the general public could see exactly what any home sold for through the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), but that information remains a guarded secret in B.C.‘s Lower Mainland. The release of…
Although the widespread perception is that today’s young Canadians are increasingly giving up on the dream of homeownership and planning to rent long term, the results of a new Re/Max-commissioned poll suggests that this isn’t the case. The survey by…
Canada’s small cities seem to be catching FOMO. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) numbers show large cities are seeing price growth taper. Meanwhile, smaller real estate boards are seeing real estate price growth outpacing major cities. Yes, You Should Care…
The signs are subtle so far, but they may represent the first downdraft in Metro Vancouver’s multi-family apartment building market after years of record-snapping demand and prices. And yet, multi-family investment insiders remain confident of future performance. The warning signals…
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VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Rising prices and dropping sales have prompted more speculation about what’s in store for Greater Vancouver real estate. The BC Real Estate Association is predicting prices will climb nearly two per cent this year, but UBC…
The Vancouver housing market is in for a slow-down this year. An industry that’s still one of the province’s primary economic drivers — and sources for anxiety — is poised to see home sales fall 25.7% in 2017, according to…
B.C. ended a six-month slide in Multiple Listing Service (MLS) home sales in July but activity remained low as mortgage stress tests, higher interest rates and provincial policy continued to weigh. Total sales reached a seasonally adjusted 6,212 units, a 0.9%…
Metro Vancouver was rated one of the highest real estate bubble risks in the world by global financial services company UBS Switzerland last year, but most Metro residents say they don’t think prices in the region are ever going to…
Forget that multi-million-dollar condo on Vancouver’s waterfront. Invest in a warehouse instead. The Canadian city is the world’s hottest industrial real estate market with lease rates up 29 per cent in the first quarter year-on-year versus a global average of…
After I told people I was moving to Hong Kong for work, those who’d lived in the city before mentioned two certainties. One: The heat, where the humidity gets trapped in between the high-rise buildings, would be a difficult adjustment.…
The latest property transfer data from the B.C. Ministry of Finance, released at the end of July, indicates that foreign buyers have all but disappeared from the Lower Mainland. The numbers show that just one per cent of all real…
Metro Vancouver real estate is valued at 65 per cent higher than it should be, based on local incomes, according to a new global house price index by The Economist. The U.K.-based financial publication’s research team found that the region’s…
The effects of stricter mortgage qualification rules – known as B20 guidelines – that came into effect January 1 have driven housing demand down across B.C and are expected to push housing sales down further this year, according to a…
The cost to rent both one- and two-bedroom apartments remained flat in Vancouver year-over-year in August, according to new PadMapper data, which includes median rents for all homes that are currently available to rent or vacant and does not include…
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RT is Vancouver’s zoning for duplexes. Over time, various areas have been zoned to allow duplexes. Examples are Kits Point, much of Point Grey Road reaching up to Broadway, much of Granview-Woodlands, parts of Mount Pleasant and many other areas.…
Vancouver is no longer the world’s third most livable city or the most livable city in North America, according to a new report from The Economist. Vancouver has fallen to sixth place globally and is now behind Calgary in the…
A bold-looking mixed-use Oakridge Centre is rising in the city, on 28 acres, at the site of a Canada Line transit station. Henriquez Partners Architects have designed something that is billed as the largest development in Vancouver’s history. Completion date…
Whether it was the intended consequence or not, Canada’s tough new mortgage qualification rules have made it harder for many people to buy homes, which has led to a lull in activity in the country’s hottest real estate markets. In…
Total home sales fell 30% year-over-year in July after seen an almost 38% the previous month, according to British Columbia Real Estate Association data released August 13. A total of 2,108 units changed hands in the month, compared with 3,012…
On the current softening market and attempts to clamp down on demand, and whether Kush sees this shifting back: We’re in a bit of a lull. A couple of times in the past 10-12 years the market has pulled…
FOR the third consecutive year, Seattle has the most cranes in operation of any city in America—three times as many as New York. Long a placid, drizzly company town, the place is booming. Since 2010 Seattle has grown more quickly…
The federal government’s mortgage stress test was expanded in January in a bid to protect homeowners from becoming overextended, particularly in Vancouver, which has the highest average home prices in Canada. Yet the latest data on mortgage defaults shows that…
Will Vancouver home prices tank, surge ever higher or settle somewhere in between? With help from disgruntled residents, global investors and government intervention, here’s how the city’s real estate future could play out, for better or worse In the months…
Introducing a new standard of living on Vancouver’s Westside. Cambie Gardens encompasses a flawless harmony of stunning new homes, green space, and urban connectivity in one masterplanned community. Welcome to life in the new heart of the city. Contact…
Full Report: July 2018 REBGV Statistics Package: Housing supply up, demand down across Metro Vancouver
Ninety per cent of residents across Metro Vancouver agree the region is in the midst of a housing crisis, according to the results of an Insights West poll released August 2. This includes 64% who “strongly agree.” Agreement is consistently…
Got a million dollars to plow into real estate? Vancouver’s a great place to park it, thanks to a property-tax rate that’s the lowest in both Canada and the U.S. The owner of a $1 million home in the Pacific…
Cressey’s VP of Development, Jason Turcotte, has his finger on the pulse and a few predictions for the remainder of 2018. How’s the presale market? What’s impacting the market? What does the future of Vancouver Real Estate look like…
July’s residential housing sales in Metro Vancouver* reached their lowest levels for that month since the year 2000. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region totalled 2,070 in July 2018,…
Lower housing sales in Vancouver have yet to translate into bargain buys at the entry level, despite headlines in recent months on the city’s real estate market cooling down, industry experts say. Buying is no closer to being within reach…
f you’re looking for a mortgage on a home purchase — or to renew one on a home you already own — is a mortgage broker or a bank your best option? The main difference is a bank mortgage officer…
A proposal for a downtown Vancouver luxury condo tower that was scheduled to go to a public hearing next week has been abruptly cancelled by the owner. It’s a sign of what some see as a shift in Vancouver’s hot…
New numbers show prices are dropping in some areas of the Metro Vancouver housing market, but the dip is doing little to help affordability for people trying to take their first step into real estate. Homes are taking longer to…
Brad J. Lamb’s predictions for the Vancouver Real Estate Market: Brad suggests that the coalition government in B.C between the NDP and the Green party will be detrimental to real estate values in the province. He feels that Vancouver…
The province’s $12.5 million purchase of the Jubilee Rooms at 235 Main Street in June and the more recent purchase of Woodwynn Farms in Saanich are a change of course from before last year’s provincial election. BC Housing was shedding…
Swampy facts: the dark, broken, and ugly side of housing talk in Vancouver. Down south of the border, a politician who shall remain nameless campaigned on “draining the swamp” of Washington D.C., trafficked in countless conspiracies, and lied his way…
Roofs with gardens and greenery on top could become a lot more common in Vancouver if a motion is successfully passed at city hall Tuesday — but developers are concerned that they weren’t consulted first. Coun. Adriane Carr wants to make having…
A proposal for a 400-foot building near B.C. Place Stadium has some worried about the loss of some of Vancouver’s most exquisite views. On Tuesday (July 24), city council is expected to vote on a rezoning application by B.C. Pavilion…
B.C. Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson’s answer to the Lower Mainland’s affordability crisis: more supply, particularly condos and townhouses. To encourage more construction — and densification, which is the purview of municipalities — the province could reward municipalities that increase housing…
VANCOUVER—New data published this month crowning Vancouver as the North American city with the biggest gap between home prices and incomes highlights the city’s lack of corporate heavyweights that would drive up residents’ earnings. Andy Yan, an urban planner and…
In Metro Vancouver, where the gap between incomes and home values makes the region an unaffordable outlier in North America, buyers are especially prone to get hit with unintended consequences of so-called mortgage stress testing. The test was introduced earlier…
Learn more about: The “BC Speculation Tax” on the Ground with Randy Trapp B.C.’s proposed speculation tax for owners of resort properties is well intended but if it goes ahead in its current framework it could hurt tourist-reliant communities and…
For some, the real estate market is “out of its slump.” For others it is simply “stabilizing.” Others still see “no signs of cooling.” The varying pronouncements about Canada’s housing markets in mid-July suggest that there isn’t per se a…
With interest rates creeping up, Dustan Woodhouse joins Adam and Matt to discuss the state of the Vancouver Real Estate Market and Vancouver housing predictions for the balance of 2018. Full Episode: Will Vancouver House Prices Fall as Interest…
Pre-sales of new condominiums across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley dropped from 91% of offerings in January to 50% as of June as the action shifts from “hyperactive growth to a more balanced, more normal market,” according to Suzana…
Jason Turcotte on the market for the rest of 2018: Jason predicts the next three months (March, April, May) will be similar to what we saw in February. The market will still be active but not as hot as we’ve…
Trevor Street’s predictions for the 2018 market: Trevor believes affordability will continue to be degraded. As the American economy grows and our dollar weakens against theirs, our market will boom. Trevor concludes that we will not be able to police…
Jon Stovell on short term changes in the market: Jon reminds us there is healthy supply coming in but it will take years. He says it’s possible to see rents and prices ease up in certain areas of the city,…
It’s interesting to hear the shared, and often strong, opinions of many economics and real estate professionals (for instance, Tom Davidoff, Andrey Pavlov, Scott Brown, Jens von Bergmann, and others) that say Vancouver needs more supply-side policy – that we’re…
Stricter mortgage qualification legislation continues to play a part in the real estate market across Greater Vancouver and the province as a whole, according to new data from the British Columbia Real Estate Association. Total home sales in the city…
Vancouver, BC – July 13, 2018. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,884 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) across the province in June, a 32.5 per cent decrease…
VANCOUVER – The British Columbia Real Estate Association says tighter mortgage rules and lower demand are bringing the provincial housing market into balance. The association says 7,884 units were sold within the Multiple Listing Service across the province in June,…
VANCOUVER—Vancouver has the biggest gap between median home prices and incomes in North America, new data shows. Andy Yan, an urban planner who is the director of Simon Fraser University’s City Program, crunched the numbers for a host of North…
The average household in Vancouver earns the equivalent of US$61,036 a year — less than families in Nebraska, Missouri and rural Pennsylvania. Want to pay San Francisco housing prices on a Columbus, Ohio income? Move to Vancouver. While policymakers from…
Vancouver is a city with a world-wide reputation for rising mode share for transportation by bicycle and by walking. More people continue to realize that walking or taking a bike is the easiest and best choice for some of their…
Vancouver-based Anthem Properties has acquired the former headquarters of CBC/Radio-Canada Calgary for redevelopment into multi-family homes. The 2.43-acre site at 1724 Westmount Boulevard was purchased by Anthem for $12 million, following CBC’s move to 1000 Veterans Place last fall after…
New low-rise and mid-rise buildings in Vancouver’s Chinatown district will no longer be able to achieve taller heights, reversing a policy first approved in 2011 that was intended to help revitalize the area. Earlier this afternoon, Vancouver City Council approved…
As many Vancouver neighbourhoods demonstrate, the city is a true testament to the retention and preservation of beauty and history. This is captured in many heritage homes throughout neighbourhoods such as Southeast False Creek/Fairview, Strathcona, and Kitsilano, among others. As…
It’s a classic Kitsilano house from the early 20th century, one of a row of them on a quiet side street only three blocks from the water. Like all of the houses in the area, its value has shot into…
Despite real estate market activity slowing across Greater Vancouver, condo prices continue to skyrocket, according to an agent survey report released July 10. The Royal LePage House Price Survey, a report compiled from a national survey of Royal LePage agents,…
With Metro Vancouver creaking under the strain of sub-1 percent apartment vacancy rates and Canada’s highest rents, it’s eye-opening to look just south of the border at what’s happening in Seattle. The Emerald City – once itself struggling with low…
An increasing number of upscale San Francisco restaurants are trying something new: do-it-yourself dining. Patrons walk in the establishment’s front door and take a number. When their number comes up, they go scout out their own table, fill their own…
A Fraser Valley land rush that has driven prices up three fold in the last two years has helped make land the dominant real estate investment in the Lower Mainland. In the first quarter of this year, land accounted for…
What costs more than $20,000 in Vancouver and just $239 in Edmonton? The tax you pay when buying an average home. Residents of Toronto and Vancouver, already saddled with the highest housing costs in the country, also face the highest…
Government intervention in the housing market is based on confused economics. People sometimes argue that we need substantial housing subsidies in some very expensive cities because “the cost of building new housing is greater than what most people can afford.”…
Vancouver continues to be Canada’s least affordable major market, and became even less affordable in 2018’s first quarter, according to RBC data released this week. At today’s housing prices, owning a home in the city will cost 87.8% of the…
VANCOUVER – The supply of homes in Metro Vancouver’s real estate market hit a three-year high as sales dipped below historical averages last month. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports there were 2,425 home sales last month, a…
With home sale activity dipping below long-term historical averages, the supply of homes for sale in Metro Vancouver reached a three-year high in June. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential home sales in the…
Despite the challenges of Metro Vancouver’s real estate market, including a high barrier to entry, especially for first-time homeowners, there are some diamonds in the rough. Properties like River District Vancouver and SOLO District are bringing more density and amenities…
Kamloops, population 90,000 and growing, is B.C.’s largest city to be spared from the provincial speculation tax on secondary homes – but B.C.’s fifth-largest city outside of the Lower Mainland is more than a tax haven. A four-hour drive from…
On June 15, 2018, new real estate rules came into effect that change how REALTORS® and their clients can work together in different circumstances. These rules state that real estate licensees across our province can now only represent one party…
The tax upon tax upon tax that was implemented to make housing in B.C., and in Vancouver in particular, affordable is having the opposite effect. It all started with the City of Vancouver’s empty home tax which was designed to…
In the wake of former high-ranking Mountie Peter German’s damning independent report on money laundering in B.C. casinos, attention is now shifting to possible illegal flows of money in the real estate industry. The report highlighted potential money laundering links…
New ranking examines relative value and price-growth potential – and the results may surprise you Vancouver’s West End has been named the best place in the city to buy either a condo or a townhome, in a new report by…
There’s one part of Metro Vancouver where non-residents own more than one in 10 of the homes, according to data released by Statistics Canada on Tuesday. But just like the last time the agency released data on non-resident homeowners, a…
B.C. has the highest foreign-home buyer tax in the world and the number of “transnational” buyers is waning, but the majority of Metro Vancouver residents still see foreigners as the biggest driver of high home prices. Sixty-eight per cent of…
Foreign buyers might make up a small sliver of Canada’s biggest real estate markets, but homebuyers in Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal still believe they are heavily influencing housing activity. A study from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation released Wednesday…
The provincial and federal governments have struck an agreement to put nearly $1 billion into affordable housing in B.C. Jean-Yves Duclos, the federal minister responsible for the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, made the announcement alongside B.C. Housing Minister Selina Robinson.…
CMHC study also reveals 55% of homebuyers in Toronto and Vancouver were in bidding wars — and 48% spent over budget. Foreign buyers might make up a small sliver of Canada’s biggest real estate markets, but homebuyers in Toronto, Vancouver…
The province’s top two ski resorts are the areas with the highest proportion of non-Canadian-resident owners of residential real estate, with Vancouver lagging in third place, according to new data.