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?
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…
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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…
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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. A study released June 25 by Statistics Canada says that…
New data released by Statistics Canada shows where B.C.’s biggest hubs of “transnational” real estate marketplaces are located, with the resort municipalities of Sun Peaks and Whistler and the University of British Columbia Endowment Lands showing the highest rates of…
B.C.’s New Democrat government ended the spring session of the legislature thinking the worst was over when it came to the painful launch and scrambled retooling of its speculation tax. But a new flare-up of anger has opened up battles…
VANCOUVER—As the city continues to struggle with housing affordability, the latest report on urban development says that more density — if done right — could lead to greater returns on investment for developers. But one real estate expert from the…
When it comes to technology, the choice is between disrupting and being disrupted. Real estate brokerages are no exception. Adapting to the times and technology is the key not only to success but to survival. Earlier this week, TheRedPin, a…
A total of 438 single-family and two-family properties in an East Vancouver neighbourhood are up for rezoning. The rezoning was initiated by the City of Vancouver as part of the Grandview-Woodland community plan approved by council in 2016. The measure…
How has this spring’s market stacked up to previous years? Check out this comparison of May stats to find out. METRIC May 2016 May 2017 May 2018 Total residential property sales in the Greater Vancouver region Increase/decrease from previous year…
Over the second half of last year, a surprising development occurred – the net inflow of people moving to B.C. from other provinces fell sharply. The drop showed up in the third quarter and persisted through the final months of…
The hot Vancouver real-estate market in recent years has created a unique situation for separating couples who own property during the relationship and must now divide their property. People are often surprised when they seek legal advice and learn how…
It’s too early to say if it will allow more people to enter the local housing market, but a new public registry identifying property owners has support from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Board President Phil Moore, who…
When the Bank of Canada (BoC) governor woke up this morning, there’s a good chance he was disappointed when he set his eyes on the most recent round of Canadian economic data. “There is no denying that the narrative on…
In the most talked about real estate market in Canada, housing is always the hottest news story. From front-page headlines, to call-in radio shows and breathless television news coverage, the debate over housing rages on. Add in the public opinion…
The three houses on East Sixth Avenue in Vancouver would have likely lasted for years: two of them appear fairly modern, but the value of the land beneath them combined with higher-density zoning doomed them. Assembled into a 14,000-square-foot land…
According to the City of Vancouver, “community amenity contributions (CACs) are in-kind or cash contributions provided by property developers when city council grants development rights through rezoning.” CACs are simple to explain, an easy sell for the city: the property…
Senior staff have proposed aggressive measures to curb land speculation over a large area around around the proposed Millennium Line Broadway Extension—including development contributions designed to fatten city coffers. The Broadway subway will be built from VCC-Clark Station to Arbutus…
VANCOUVER—In an effort to crack down on tax avoidance, the B.C. government will create a public registry to show who owns real estate in the province. B.C.’s finance minister says the province has gotten a reputation for being a place…
With all the recent concern over the speculation tax damaging recreational home prices, there are some properties that are not likely to see any such problem – those in ski resorts. All British Columbia ski resorts are exempt from the…
Both the total dollar volume of home sales and the number of units changing hands in Greater Vancouver fell around 35% in May, according to new data from the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA). According to the BCREA, the…
A housing development on Vancouver’s east side that would have included dozens of units for people with mental illness was cancelled on Tuesday, with the developer and a non-profit agency walking away after the city demanded millions of dollars in…
Learn more about The Georgia and 10 great reasons to call The Georgia your new home Promotion extended until 4pm this Sunday at The Georgia in Langley! NO STRATA FEES FOR A YEAR! Final week only at The Georgia… Purchase a new home at…
It’s déjà vu all over again. I’m sure I wasn’t the only Vancouver architect and planner who thought of this when the City of Vancouver announced the “Making Room” program last week. To quote from the city’s announcement: “The goal…
The competitive atmosphere on the real estate market requires you to do everything you can to style up your property in order to appeal to top-tier buyers. Otherwise, you may find yourself trying to sell your home for months or…
That income or vacation home may be closer than you think If you’ve been sitting on the fence, mulling over whether to take the plunge and invest in a second home – perhaps for rental or vacation purposes – this…
B.C. real estate association reports nearly 30 per cent decrease in residential sales from last year
The British Columbia Real Estate Association says there’s been a substantial decrease in the total number of residential unit sales in the province compared to last year. The newest numbers from the association show there were 8,837 sales this month…
It may not seem like it in Metro Vancouver, but the housing market across British Columbia is cooling down considerably, according to the latest numbers from the B.C. Real Estate Association. Unit sales in May were down 38 percent compared…
A disruptive new real estate regulation came into force this week that British Columbia real estate agents say will take away consumer rights on who they can hire to buy or sell a home. Changes to the B.C. Real Estate…
The City of Vancouver is presenting a plan of spending for the next four years and tucked into the fine print of a draft is a sharp increase in how much the public budget is tied to funds charged to…
About 100 people came out Wednesday night in West Kelowna to hear more about the fight against the speculation tax proposed by the provincial government. Organizers wanted “to create awareness around the issue of the speculation tax and really help…
The City of Vancouver will next week present a policy report to the Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities that outlines the forthcoming Broadway Planning Program. The planning initiative seeks to develop a comprehensive land use policy plan for the…
Vancouver is set to adopt a dramatically revised housing plan that will change the make-up of single-family neighbourhoods, promote dense new clusters of residences in designated areas and create a $2-billion affordable-housing fund. The new initiative will allow duplexes automatically…
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Vancouver was $2,090 in June, according to new data from PadMapper, making the city once again the most expensive in Canada for that home type. PadMapper data takes into account median rents…
Several reports in the last week point to investors seeking breathing room, which means a break, if not a brake, for the market. On the commercial side, Altus Group reported that 2018’s first quarter ranked among the top 10 in…
Garish wealth. Scarce rental housing. A government that sees the middle class as stinking rich. No wonder Vancouverites are at each other’s throats. Across the street from a run-of-the-mill Starbucks in the Kitsilano neighborhood of Vancouver is a two-storey Ferrari…
VICTORIA — Former NDP premier Mike Harcourt has some provocative advice for the current crop of New Democrats as they deal with what many regard as a “housing crisis” here in B.C. “It is not a crisis, it is a permanent…
Home sales in May across Greater Vancouver dropped by 35.1 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the latest figures from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. While sales have dropped, the number of homes…
Metro Vancouver’s municipalities need to reduce costs and processing times for building homes while increasing the variety of “missing middle” housing that’s so clearly lacking in today’s housing market. That was the message from Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver…
In the ongoing debate over Metro Vancouver’s housing challenges, the Vancouver Sun’s populist columnist, Douglas Todd, has once again played the nationalism card. In his latest commentary, Todd warns that Canadian sovereignty is under threat from a lawsuit filed by some foreigners…
Bravo on Broadway is a townhouse development nestled in Vancouver’s vibrant community of Fraserhood. This newly built development is move-in ready and boasts striking New England-style architecture that uniquely complements the natural surroundings. Each residence has been meticulously planned to…
Although there may be no single or easy way to cool off the red hot real estate markets of BC, the province already has a couple of measures in place to help. A foreign buyers’ tax of 20 percent applies…
An oxymoron is a combination of contradictory words. Their use is in the English language is long and storied. Examples include giant shrimp, working vacation and job security. Not to be outdone, B.C.’s NDP government is adding to the legacy…
The Vancouver migration from the Westside to the Eastside has been underway for years now, spurred on by an enormous price gap in single family homes across the east/west divide. An entire generation of aspiring homeowners have focussed on East…
A widely quoted national report claiming British Columbia’s recreational real estate market will see the biggest price slump east of the Atlantic is challenged by local realtors and the latest sales statistics. The annual Royal LePage Canada Recreational Property Report…
The B.C. Ministry of Housing of Municipal Affairs has backed down on a controversial amendment to the Residential Tenancy Act regarding fixed-term rentals. The amended Act came into effect May 17. The changes include the outlawing of fixed-term rental agreements,…
We are quick to criticize government decisions that go awry, so it’s only fair to offer plaudits when elected officials and policymakers get it right on key files. Like, for instance, the cost of housing. Several indicators suggest Canada’s insane…
The Minister of National Revenue filed two applications in the Federal Court of Canada on May 17. In the first application, the minister wants Wall Centre (Point Grey) Developments LP, Wall Centre (Point Grey) GP Ltd. and Wall Centre (Point…
B.C. Ministry of Finance property transfer data for the 16 months through April 2018 indicate that foreign buyers favour Richmond, Burnaby and Port Moody, with foreign nationals active in at least 4% of real estate transactions in the three municipalities.…
A lead analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) made a startling admission to a developer-packed conference in Vancouver May 25 regarding the impact of foreign capital on the Metro residential market. “We don’t know,” Eric Bond, CMHC market…
TORONTO — British Columbia’s new speculation tax on out-of-province buyers will likely convince a wave of owners to sell their vacation properties, pushing down home prices, said a forecast from Royal LePage. By the end of September, the real estate…
Sales have tumbled in Canada’s two most expensive housing markets as buyers and sellers sit on the sidelines waiting to see whether each region is heading toward stability or continuing volatility. Residential sales volume last month fell 22 per cent…
While there may be more signs of cooling in Metro Vancouver’s housing market, experts say significant relief is unlikely for shoppers at the market’s lower end. Sales are well below the 10-year average, according to figures released this morning by…
Learn more about Passive House Design in Vancouver with Bryn Davidson One of the issues cities across North America are grappling with (at least those that are not yet moving on progressive housing legislation, such as California’s SB 828) is…
Home buyer demand continues to decline across the Metro Vancouver* housing market. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in the region totalled 2,833 in May 2018, a 35.1 per cent decrease from…
It’s no secret that Vancouver and other Lower Mainland residents have been moving away over the years, as the real estate market has heated up. With extremely high prices and low supply, places like the Okanagan Valley and Vancouver Island…
Home sales across the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver region – including Sea-to-Sky and Sunshine Coast – may be soft so far this year, but that won’t be enough to reduce average prices, according to the British Columbia Real…
Many believe that new taxes recently announced by the BC NDPgovernment are designed to make housing more affordable in Greater Vancouver. But it is much more likely these measures will only kill jobs, further hollow out the middle class to the…
Tax-based policies intended to ease British Columbia’s housing crisis will generate significant new revenue for the provincial government while having little effect on home prices, according to a new report that says B.C. should instead address regulatory barriers to creating…
As BC’s economy slows down over the next two years, its housing market will also ease and will be marked by declining home sales into 2020. This year, residential sales across the province are set to drop nine per cent…
Cutting through red tape and allowing greater density will do more to create affordable housing in Metro Vancouver than taxing speculators and foreigners, according to a new study. “I’m not suggesting that the tax has no part to play, but…
The arguments in favour of higher mortgage rates include a couple of old chestnuts: one, that higher rates will cool house prices by making borrowing costs higher and cooling demand, and two, higher borrowing costs will encourage people to retrench…
A new pilot project announced Tuesday aims to fast track home construction in Vancouver. The City of Vancouver is launching a new pilot program for experienced homebuilder teams that will significantly reduce permit processing times from 28 to 38 weeks…
The design said to be inspired by the poised form of a “strong female figure” — designed to counter the masculine “broad shoulders” of Vancouver House. … Together, the two towers will form a gateway to downtown Vancouver, although the…