No signs of slowing in red hot real estate market!

No signs of slowing in red-hot real estate market CTV Vancouver: Real estate bidding wars are back CTV Vancouver: Real estate bidding wars are back With detached home sales above the ten-year average and less homes than ever on the market, prices are skyrocketing as buyers try to outbid. Share: 24 Text: Share on print (5) CTV Vancouver Published Tuesday, February 3, 2015 3:47PM PST Last Updated Tuesday, February 3, 2015 7:29PM PST The New Year started out with a bang for Metro Vancouver real estate, with a big jump in the price of detached homes. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver released new figures Tuesday that showed the typical detached property in the area increased 8.4 per cent from January 2014 to $1,010,000. The benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is $641,600. It also showed the number of home sales in Greater Vancouver was higher last month than the average over the past decade. While the number of sales increased nearly 15 per cent for the month of January, there are fewer homes for sale. RELATED STORIES All-time high: Price of Vancouver detached home hits $1 million Five things to know about the Bank of Canada's interest rate cut PHOTOS Houses The typical detached property in Metro Vancouver increased 8.4 per cent from January 2014 to $1,010,000. (CTV) “While demand remains steady, we’re seeing fewer homes for sale at the moment,” said Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board president Ray Harris in a release. "This is creating greater competition amongst buyers, particularly in the detached home market. The number of detached homes listed for sale today is the second lowest we’ve seen in four years.” The Bank of Canada lowered the benchmark interest rate from one per cent to 0.75 per cent on Jan. 21 to lessen the blow of dropping oil prices. This rate cut by the central bank likely means lower interest rates for variable rate mortgages, lines of credit and other loans based on the prime rate, and will likely boost consumer spending. “A reduced rate could allow you to pay down your mortgage a little faster, save some money on your monthly payments, or change the amount you qualify for,” Harris said. “It’s important that you do your homework and understand how these announcements impact your situation.” Apartment property sales in January went up 7.4 per cent from the same month last year, and jumped 40.5 per cent from January 2013. The Real Estate Board defines the benchmark price as one designed to represent a typical residential property in a particular housing market. Read more: http://bc.ctvnews.ca/no-signs-of-slowing-in-red-hot-real-estate-market-1.2219286#ixzz3RvcDcUhZ

Thrilled to share the new budget increase in Property Transfer Tax Exemption for First Time Home Buyers!

On February 18, 2014, Finance Minister Mike de Jong presented the BC government's Balanced Budget 2014. It announced, effective February 19, 2014, under the Property Transfer Tax (PTT) First Time Home Buyers' program, qualifying first time buyers can buy a home worth up to $475,000 while being exempt from the PTT.

The previous limit was $425,000. Full savings amount to $7,500. Yet, the partial exemption continues and will apply to homes valued between $475,000 and $500,000. (refer to PDF chart here)

With this change, the government estimates 1,700 additional first-time buyers will annually be eligible to save up to $7,500 in PTT when they buy their first home.

For more information, please visit: First Time Home Buyers' Program. Feel free to reach out to me if you or anybody you know has any questions about this.

 http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/topic.page?id=BBD16E2D7C1841A7BBD420E3AC5380F1

Strongest January Residential Sales Since 2010 Muted Impact Expected From Cancelled Investor Immigrant Program Vancouver, BC – February 14, 2014. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 4,244 residential sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January, up 24.5 per cent from January 2013. Total sales dollar volume was $2.4 billion, an increase of 36.8 per cent compared to a year ago. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $565,036, up 9.9 per cent from the same period last year. "Residential sales activity in the province posted the strongest January since 2010,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “Consumer demand has recovered from last year’s lower levels and is now trending at the long-term average.” The ten-year average for January is 4,276 unit sales. "Stronger economic conditions are expected to underpin a modest uptick in home sales later this year,” added Muir. The demise of the federal Immigrant Investor Program is expected to have little impact on the Metro Vancouver housing market. “The only impact we foresee is less pressure on the inventory of detached homes in Vancouver’s West Side, Richmond and West Vancouver,” said Muir. The number of investor immigrant landings peaked at 5,876 in 2008 before declining to just 2,644 in 2012, with a similar number expected for 2013. These numbers include spouses and dependents. The total number of added households is estimated to be between 900 and 1,000 per year since 2011. -30- For more information, please contact: Cameron Muir Damian Stathonikos Chief Economist Director of Communications and Public Affairs Direct: 604.742.2780 Direct: 604.742.2793 Mobile: 778.229.1884 Mobile: 778.990.1320 Email: cmuir@bcrea.bc.ca Email: dstathonikos@bcrea.bc.ca BCREA represents 11 member real estate boards and their approximately 18,500 REALTORS® on all provincial issues, providing an extensive communications network, standard forms, economic research and analysis, government relations, applied practice courses and continuing professional education. To demonstrate the profession's commitment to improving Quality of Life in BC communities, BCREA supports policies that help ensure economic vitality, provide housing opportunities, preserve the environment, protect property owners and build better communities with good schools and safe neighbourhoods. For detailed statistical information, contact your local real estate board. MLS® is a cooperative marketing system used only by Canada's real estate boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale. To subscribe to receive BCREA publications such as this one, or to update your email address or current subscriptions, click here.

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Dine Out Vancouver Event - The Ultimate Raw Canvas Experience

Dine Out Vancouver Event - The Ultimate Raw Canvas Experience

Jan 27 06:00PM Cost $49 Inclusions (taxes and gratuity not included):

-Choice of a 5 oz. BC VQA wine

- Choice of a tasting plate from a pre-selected menu - 12” x 12” canvas including all painting supplies

- Live music with Rob Fillo

Description: On Monday, January 27th join us for the ultimate Raw Canvas experience. Sip on some wine while you nibble on perfectly curated tasting plates with artisanal cheeses and charcuterie from Granville Island. Our cheeses are handmade by people who are passionate about their trade and our charcuteries are lovingly crafted from family recipes passed down through the centuries. Unlike other dining experiences, your night doesn't end when the food and drink are done. Head down to our painting studio, put on a smock and paint up a storm on your own custom 12” x 12” canvas. All the painting supplies will be provided and a resident artist will assist you turn your inspiration into reality.

Your evening will be set to live music, making it the perfect soundtrack to a perfect night.

Booking method: Email only reservations@rawcanvas.com

More info: http://www.dineoutvancouver.com/events/ultimate-raw-canvas/ ⇐ back to calendar ideology | contact | reservations | team building | art rentals | youtube | vimeo | opentable yelp | dinehere | urbanspoon | tripadvisor | google places

Source: www.rawcanvas.com/calendar

Visit Raw Canvas Website at www.rawcanvas.com

Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2014 Tuesday, January 7th, 2014 | Posted in: Coming Soon, News Dine Out

Vancouver Festival 2014 JAN 17 – FEB 2, 2014 Dine Out Vancouver returns this year from January 17th until February 2nd! This annual event invites you to try new restaurants and new menu items throughout the city by offering set menus at fixed prices of $18, $28 and $38.

The list of participating restaurants and menus have been revealed, and this year’s Dine Out Vancouver Festival brings a record-setting 263 restaurants to the table. Go to dineoutvancouver.com and make your reservations today.

Want to dine out for a year? Bring your smartphone with you to dinner and enter the Dine Out For a Year contest. Submit pictures and videos of your Dine Out experiences with Instagram, Twitter or Facebook and every day of the festival, one entrant chosen by a panel of judges will win a gift certificate to a participating restaurant. At the end of the Dine Out Vancouver Festival, a Grand Prize winner will be selected among all submitted entries to take home 52 gift certificates to some of the city’s top restaurants.

Participating restaurants and menus are now online at www.dineoutvancouver.com

Find your dining experience in Yaletown at one of these participating restaurants:

Bistro Sakana | (604) 633-1280

Brix Restaurant and Wine Bar | (604) 915-9463

Caché Bistro and Lounge | (604) 558-1269

Cactus Club Cafe Yaletown | (604) 685-8070

George Lounge | (604) 628-5555

Glowbal Grill Steaks and Satay | (604) 602-0835

Hamilton Street Grill | (604) 331-1511

Hapa Izakaya Yaletown | (604) 681-4272

Hub Restaurant Yaletown | (604) 696-0400

Hurricane Grill Yaletown | (604) 488-0555

The Keg Steakhouse and Bar Yaletown | (604) 633-2534

La Pentola della Quercia | (604) 642-0557

La Terrazza | (604) 899-4449

Minami Restaurant | (604) 685-8080

The New Oxford | (604) 609-0901

Paulies Kitchen and Distillery Bar | (604) 669-2255

Provence Marinaside | (604) 681-4144

Raw Canvas | (604) 687-1729

Romer’s Burger Bar Yaletown | (604) 559-7210

Society Dining Lounge | (604) 629-8800

Urban Thai Bistro | (604) 408-7788

Yaletown Brewing Company | (604) 681-2739

Yaletown L’Antipasto | (604) 558-1174

About Dine Out Vancouver Festival:

Produced by Tourism Vancouver and presented by American Express, Dine Out Vancouver Festival is a city-wide celebration of eating out, attracting tens of thousands of local and visiting foodies to Vancouver’s exceptionally diverse collection of restaurants for 17 days. Now in its 12th year, Canada’s largest restaurant festival allows diners to sample menus from hundreds of restaurants around the city, all for a prix fixe cost (price points are $18, $28 and $38 per person) and many with suggested BC VQA pairings (available at an additional cost). Dine Out also features special hotel room rates and packages, plus a full menu of unique food-themed events, seminars and activities. Dine Out Vancouver Festival 2014 runs from January 17 to February 2. Wines of British Columbia is a festival partner, and supplier partners include All You Need is Cheese and OneCoffee. dineoutvancouver.com

Tourism Vancouver’s focus is on building exceptional customer relationships with meeting planners, travel influencers, travel media and independent tourists. The organization’s brand essence is about “exceeding expectations”

Source:www.yaletowninfo.com

Vancouver Board of Trade 2013 Real Estate Panel

RE: Urban Development in British Columbia

The following information includes some valuable facts regarding Urban Development in BC. I wanted to share it with you as I think you’ll find it quite informative;

The keynote Speaker was Diane Watts, Mayor of Surrey. She spoke about BC’s next metropolitan centre which is costing 2.8 billion in construction investment. Did you know that Surrey has the largest school district and has been voted as the best place in BC to invest for the 3 years in a row, and the 4^th best place in Canada to invest!!  This is one of the largest development projects occurring!  (Who would have thought?!)

Another speaker on the panel included Peeter Wesik, President of Wesgroup.  His predictions for Real Estate in 2013 are:

• He doesn’t foresee a crash coming…in order to have a crash you need to have a major economical shock…which isn’t going to happen in Vancouver!  (Even the instability of 2008/2009 didn’t influence our market as bad as we had predicted).
• There are generally 2 conditions that can affect the market, such as what happened in the U.S.
  •  1) over building & under supply, &
  •  2) a big spike in interest rates. Neither of these are occurring here as BC has very solid   jobs and Canada has a solid banking system.

He also mentioned that the West Side is an anomaly and should be disregarded when looking at stats…only .7 percent of people earn 250K a year and up!

Peeter believes that we are moving into a balanced market and the 2^nd half of 2013 will show normalization, which means that if the market is slow for the first half of the year then it is the right time to buy!

Speaker Richard Wozny, Principal of Site Economics Ltd, said that in terms of employment it depends on industrial development.  We are starting to run out of land therefore annual absorption is increasing.   

Andrew Grant, President and Founder Partner PCL Group, shared his comments regarding Marine Gateway, a massive project in South Vancouver at Marine and Cambie. 

• A 4.8 acre site consisting of the Canada Line, Bus Exchange, Infrastructure, Development, and Housing for 2000 jobs and 740 residents; 
• 73% of these buyers came from the city of Vancouver, 50% of which were from the neighbourhood and only 2% were not local. ..What this tells us is that our economy is not being fueled or flooded with foreign buyers at this point in time.

In Summary, the panelists gave their thoughts collaboratively on upcoming trends for the year which included:

• They feel that the trend of growing multi-family homes will continue to increase due to affordability;
• Yaletown will continue to grow as a community…there is currently only one elementary school in Yaletown which was full the first day due to the growing number of families;
• Vancouver’s average household income is 66K a year (lowest in Canada) versus Ottawa’s which is 96K (highest in Canada);
• We need to densify transit and ridership…and relate it to new development…the key issue is close proximity to transit...Metro Vancouver is the 2^nd most congested city in North America!  Transit is going to be the game changer and whoever has transit is an economic winner! 

“We need to make sure that whatever we are doing at a provincial level is fostering confidence.”

- Andrew Grant

In conclusion;

My personal take and opinion on the upcoming Real Estate market is that we need to think ahead of the curve and jump into buying or selling when the time is right, which for each individual varies depending on their situation and the product that they are buying or selling.  Certain properties that have been sitting on the market for some time are now getting offers as buyers are getting off the fence…and sellers are still not coming down as much as consumers thought they would!  This is causing some multiple offer situations which prove to be moving us towards the balanced and stable market that I believe is just around the corner.

When talking about Metro Vancouver the stats are very general, one should get more specific stats and personalized market updates tailored specifically for them…that’s where you need your local trusted realtor to guide you in the right direction!

If you have any questions about any of this or Real Estate or the market here in Vancouver please do not hesitate to contact me.  My direct number is (604) 209-4504 or you can email me at aleya@aleyabhaloo.com.  I look forward to your comments and feedback.

YALETOWN LAUNCHES CANDYTOWN--A FREE OUTDOOR CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL NOVEMBER 23-24.

 It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Everywhere you go. But let’s focus on Yaletown. Yaletown launches Candytown – its first ever Christmas festival – Nov. 23-24. Candytown also happens to be the only free, outdoor Christmas festival in downtown Vancouver. So get involved.

Candytown will transform Vancouver’s former-warehouse-district-turned-trendster-hood into winter wonderland: twinkling lights, lamp posts re-imagined as giant candy canes, Christmas characters greeting you as you stroll Mainland, and more.

The nice thing about Candytown is that it was organized with all ages in mind. There’s something for everyone at the festival. Families can get excited about Santa, live reindeer at Santa’s reindeer barn, and horse-drawn carriage rides. I’m already aflutter about the free Scotiabank Ice Rink at Bill Curtis Square. Hockey fans have the chance to meet Trevor Linden; the NHL legend will visit the ice rink for skating and signatures. Adult revellers can look into the Candytown Cocktail Tour – a boozey trail of candy-themed drinks at participating Yaletown restaurants.

It is Christmas, which does tend to mean gifts. Of course there will also be an All I Want for Christmas Street Market for holiday gift shopping as well as purchasing seasonal treats to eat as you browse.

Find details on where and when the festivities go down after the jump.

Friday, November 23: 3pm – 9pm

•Scotiabank Yaletown Ice Rink 3pm – 9pm

•All I Want for Christmas Street Market 3pm – 9pm

•Horse-drawn carriage rides 3pm – 9pm

•CandyTown Cocktail tour 6pm – 9pm

Saturday, November 24: 12pm – 9pm

•Scotiabank Yaletown Ice Rink 12 noon – 9pm

•Appearance by NHL alumnus Trevor Linden 12 noon – 3pm

•All I Want for Christmas Street Market 12 noon – 9pm

•Horse-drawn carriage rides 12 noon – 9pm

•Visits with Santa (bring your own camera!) 1pm – 5pm

•Reindeer barn 1pm – 5pm

•CandyTown Cocktail tour 6pm – 9pm

Candytown, Yaletown’s first Christmas festival, is free and open to the public. The festivities take place on Mainland Street between Davie Street and Nelson Street.