Great Vancouver Neighbourhoods - Mountain View Mountain ViewVancouver is a city of neighbourhoods they say. I am not sure who "they" are, but "they" are right. One of the nicest and most under appreciated is the Mountain View neighbourhood. Mountain View is a loosely defined area either side of Fraser St from about King Edward Ave. up to E. 41st. The name Mountain View is most closely associated with the City of Vancouver's cemetary (I see you can now search for where someone is buried using the Mountain View cemetary application on VanMap) and the area does boast some amazing mountain views.Community SpiritThe community spirit in this area is quite remarkable and the neighbourhood assoication has their own blog and Facebook group. Recent events have included Mountain View's Keep Vancou... 07/22/2008

these graphs go back to 1980 and they show the average on an annual basis since that year. they also show the last twelve months number of listings per month, number of sales per month and average price per month, for houses, townhouses and condos. in addtion, the graphs show the number of sales in each price category for each type of property. it is a great visual. view the graphs here 07/22/2008

07/21/2008

07/21/2008

It's Canada's Birthday! When the British North American Act came into being on July l, 1867 Canada was born. We're living in Vancouver, which is voted the 4th Best City In The World! We're also living in British Columbia, which the BC Government tells us is the Best Place on Earth! Here's what's happening in Vancouver over the next four days. Lots of fun outdoors. Read the rest of this post 07/21/2008

What is the best way to sell and buy another Vancouver condo?  It's a first time sellers dilemma. When you left the rental market and bought your first condo it was easy. Now you must figure out how to get your equity out of one condo so that you can purchase another one.  A recent client experienced this situation, so I thought it would make a good blog post. Buy first then sell? Sell first then buy? It is a question I am often asked by first time sellers. Read the rest of this post 07/21/2008

Choosing the length of your amortization period, which means the number of years you will need to pay off your mortgage, is an important decision for Vancouver home buyers that can affect how much interest you pay over the life of your mortgage. Historically, the standard amortization period has been 25 years. However, shorter (10 or 15years) and longer (up to 40 years) time frames are also available. A shorter amortization saves you money as you will pay less in interest costs over the life of your mortgage. Your regular mortgage payment amount would be higher than if you had selected a longer amortization, as more of your payment goes towards paying down your principal balance. However, the benefits are that you build the equity in your home faster and are mortgage free sooner. Read t... 07/21/2008

One of my favourite Vancouver events - HSBC's celebration of light at English Bay. Watch the fireworks! July 23, 26, 30 and August 2nd at 10pm . A wonderful half hour of entertainment. Apparently 1.5 million Vancouver residents show up for the four nights of this spectacular event, presented by the Vancouver Fireworks Festival Society. It is an annual competition that brings out pyro-technicians from Canada, the US and China this year. Read the rest of this post 07/21/2008

The REBGV reports that residential attached, detached and apartment property sales in the Greater Vancouver area totalled 2,425 in June 2008, a decline of 42.9% from June 2007 and down from 2,999 in May 2008 New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties climbed 18% over a year ago, to 6546. Although housing prices, on a year over year comparison continue to show single digit percentage increases, we are beginning to see more price reductions in properties listed on the market today. Homes priced at a competitive level continue to sell quickly, but it is important for people to accurately identify their home's value when putting it on the market. Sales of  detached properties declined 43.4% to 918 from 1,623 units compared to the same period in 2007 and down from 1,203 in ... 07/21/2008

Vancouver's Kitsilano condo neighbourhood saw sales for the month of June drop from 45 to 35 and listings increase from 145 to 157. Listings 157 - of those 57 have had price reductions. 92 are listed under $500,000. 57 listed under $1 million, 5 listed between $1 and 2 million and 1 over $3 million. Sales 35 - 13 had price reductions. 29 sold under $500,000 (only 3 months supply) and 6 sold between $500,000 and $680,000 (9 months supply). There were no sales above $680,000. 4 sold at list price and 2 sold over list price (last month 15 sold at or above list price). The inventory in Kitsilano is now 4 and a half months, which is up from 3 months in May. The lease expensive 2 bedroom sold at $433,000. Read the rest of this post 07/21/2008

Vancouver's Coal Harbour statistics for June show listings up from 175 in May, sales flat, days on market up and average price down slightly. Listings 192 - 36 under $500,000. 34 listed between $500,000 and $1 million,  51 listed between $1 and 2 million, 28 listed between $2 and $5 million and 10 listed over $5 million. Most expensive is the Shaw Tower penthouse $16,800,000. Contact me if you wish to sell your Coal Harbour condo. Sales  16 -  7 under $500,000, 5 between $500-$1 million, 3 between $1 and 2 million and 1 over $2 million. Contact me if you wish to buy in Coal Harbour 2008 Sales - Jan 14, Feb 33, Mar 22, Apr 26  May 16, June 16 Read the rest of this post. 07/21/2008

Vancouver's False Creek North neighbourhood saw listings and sales flat.  The average $ pr sq ft and average price were down in June compared to May. The days on the market was up slightly. Listings 210 - (202 in May) 18 listed under $500,000. 126 listed between $500,000 and $1 million. 49 listed between $1 and $2 million. 11 listed between $2 and $3 million. 4 listed over $3 million and 1 listed at $18,200 (The 1000 Beach Penthouse). There were 69 list price reductions and 1 price increase. The least expensive is $329,000 for a 400 sq.ft. studio at 907 Beach. Sales 17 (same as May). 7 sold under $500,000. 7 sold between $500,000 and $1 million and 3 sold over $1 million in False Creek North. Read the rest of this post 07/21/2008

Vancouver's West End neighbourhood saw a drop in listings and sales in June compared to May but the days on the market increased. The average $ pr sq ft increased. The average price was down slightly. Market levelling? Listings -235 (241 in May) 76 had price reductions and one had a price increase. 138 West End condos are listed under $500,000. 65 listed between $500,000 and $1 million. 24 listed between $1 and 2 million. 7 listed between $2 and $5 million and 1 listed over $5 million. The least expensive is $155,000 for a studio in a 99 year leasehold building at 1100 Harwood - rentable.  The least expensive 2 bedroom is a co-op at 1972 Robson for $389,000. 2008 Listings - Jan  168, Feb 172 ,  Apr 232 , May  241  , June 235 Sales -29 (36 in May) 10 had list price reduced. Read the rest... 07/21/2008

I didn't understand the meaning of the term "expired listing" when i first became a Vancouver realtor in 1981. "Had the listing died" I asked myself. Then I discovered that it hadn't died, it just didn't sell and the listing contract terminated! Prior to the hot sellers market in Vancouver, that started to gain momentum in 2002 (B.C. had a positive change of Government in 2001, which brought big investment money back to the Province, after the left wing government that rules the Province in the '90s brought in policies that scared that big investment money away), when I did a market evaluation for a seller, I would always include the "expired listings" because that was evidence of properties that were priced above the current market which did not sell. In a hot seller's market, we estab... 07/21/2008

Vancouver's Downtown market in June saw an increase in sales and listings compared to May. The days on market was the same and so was the average price. 75% of the sales were under $500,000. Listings - 740 (vs 669 in May). 430 listed under $500,000. 264 listed between $500,000 and $1 million.  40 listed between $1 and $2 million. 6 listed over $2 million. There is a 5 1/2 month supply under $500,000, a one year supply between $500,000 and $1 million and a two year supply over $1 million. 2008 Listings Jan 420 , Feb 457  ,Mar 529 , Apr 630, May 669 , June 740 Sales - 102 (vs 86 in May). 77 sold under $500,000 and 23 sold between $500,000 and $1 million. One sold between $1 and $3 million and one sold over $3 million. There were 38 list price reductions and one increase. Read the rest of ... 07/21/2008

You don't need to be all that old to remember when the Marine Building and Hotel Vancouver nominated the Vancouver city skyline. Now you need sharp eyes to find them as they're buried behnd the sea of hirise towers that have gone up in the Vancouver Downtown core The largest and tallest of them all is nearing completion. Ledcor Construction managers will oversee the completion touches on the Shangri-la Vancouver this October. Read the rest of this post 07/21/2008

predicting average Canadian home prices will be up 3.5% in 2008, including the Vancouver market. In Vancouver, a spike in inventory during the second quarter simmered the heat in the long-standing hot market, resulting in single-digit average house prices increases for most areas examined, when compared to this time past year. Despite the increase in listing volumes, buyer's interest remained strong and it is anticipated that much of the inventory will be absorbed over the next few quarters, leading to low single digit price appreciations through to the year's end. Canada's real estate market is poised to maintain the momentum gained from a solid second quarter through to the end of 2008, with Regina set to experience the greatest rise in house prices.  While home prices are expected to... 07/21/2008

Hi All,   Here is a short video of the Lobby and Concierge Desk at 1082 Seymour Street, The Freesia. I am big fan of this building. It was built by the Magellan 20/20 Group in 2006 and they as a smaller developer were trying to prove themselves by building a quality product. Their success can be seen in the sale in one day of every single suite at their subsequent project L'Atelier.   Mike StewartCentury 21 In Town Realty421 Pacific StreetVancouver, BCOffice: 604-763-3136Cell: 604-763-3136All Greater Vancouver MLS Listings Updated Hourly at www.mikestewart.caMike Stewart's Yaletown, Downtown Vancouver, Coal Harbour, Gastown and The West End Real Estate Marketing Website1033 Marinaside Crescent Building Website1067 Marinaside Crescent Building WebsiteRaffles on Robson 821 Cambie Streetht... 07/19/2008

Hi All, I am a Downtown Vancouver Realtor and I do about 40% of my business on Marinaside Crescent in Yaletown and would consider myself a Marinaside Crescent real estate specialist. I don't mean to sound negative, but I would like to share a frustration of mine with you. Namely, realtors from other areas of greater Vancouver marketing properties on Marinaside Crescent. A few months back when the market here in Yaletown was still quite hot, I wanted to show several sets of clients a listing in one for the buildings I do alot of deals in. It was listed with a realtor in a suburb a 45 minute drive away. Lockboxes are not allowed to be used with most buildings in Downtown Vancouver (Thank god!) and this realtor could only show the property once a week at a time of day when most buyers were... 07/19/2008

Along with the many hours and days we spend preparing, shopping, staging, quoting and de-staging we also spend a great deal of our time at Celebrate keeping in contact with our current clients as to how the sale of their property is going. In most cases we find out if the property has sold by us contacting them and not the other way around, strange I know! With having so many jobs on the go this past June we had one job in particular that I wasn't able to get in contact with until almost one week before their second month term was due. I sent an email to the homeowner, it was quite late after a day of staging and I didn't want to call too late so email was the best route, asking if they had any offers in the works and did they want to go for a second month of staging. I quoted the price... 07/18/2008