Welcome to the blog section. In this blog I’ll be posting about what is happening around my neighbourhood (Yaletown & False Creek North), Vancouver luxury real estate, real estate and related issues. If you have any suggestions, please let me know, have fun.
Keep on the lookout for rate alerts tomorrow as key lending rates may change – to be possibly the first increase since July 2007.
Stats Canada has released theirs first quarter report and the economy is hot as its findings say. Real GDP has grown 6.1% the biggest increase in a decade. Residential investment continued to increase for the fourth quarter in a row.
In an effort to slow inflation, Bloomberg has surveyed and 25 of 27 economists say the Bank of Canada will raise the lending rate by a quarter percent. The markets (predicted by the Over night Index Swap) are slightly less sure at 70-80% chance of a rate boost.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
RISMEDIA, May 29, 2010—Most houses have at least one small room. While small and cozy works for some, others prefer larger, airier rooms to allow things to look more spacious. Designers get paid thousands of dollars to help clients ‘transform’ rooms, but if you are looking to do-it-yourself, the following tips can help you easily create more room within a small space.
Use similar colors and textures – Using colors on opposite ends of the color wheel breaks up a room and makes each of the pieces seem smaller than one continuous color. As windows often become a focal point, it’s important to use a blind that doesn’t distract from the openness the window provides. Neutral colors are the best bet, blending into wall colors.
Mirrors give the allusion of space – Placing one large mirror on the wall reflects light which makes rooms look larger. A single mirror will also create the illusion of doubling the room. While ceiling to floor mirrors have fallen out of fashion for most, they do expand a room.
Use window treatments to frame a scenic photo or piece of art – Bringing the outdoors in is a popular expression for designers. Using a scenic image that is well lighted, framed with blinds lets people feel they are closer to the outdoors and helps expand a small room. Try to stay away from several small pieces of art as they tend to break up the room and make it feel smaller.
Use window blinds to control light – Windows are one of the best ways to make a small room feel big. Using the proper window blinds can allow light in during sunny times and conserve energy when it’s cooler out or vice versa. If the window looks out onto another building, use window blinds to create privacy but not block out light entirely. The brighter a room the more spacious it feels. Translucent cellular shades or sheer roller shades permit light to pass through but diffuse it so that people on the opposite side are not clearly visible. The shades offer a diffused glow, adding the illusion of warmth.
Think clean – One of the biggest distractions in a room is clutter. The more there is in a room, the smaller it will feel. Create a focal point, whether it’s the window, bed, a sofa or painting and work around that. Keep only what is essential for the room to function. The rest can go.
“There can be a lot of challenges when decorating a room without a designer. It can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be with the right information,” says Chris Stanley of Blinds Chalet.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
Tired of your cell phone company provider, well Wind Mobile will be moving soon to Vancouver and it will have a store in Yaletown. The shop will be located where Cito Cafe used to be 116 Davie St.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
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Automatically locate yourself via GPS and see all available listings of properties for sale, in up to 1km radius around you, in Vancouver, British Columbia.
See full details of each individual listing, including all photos.
Manually override your current location by entering the address of your choice.
Email listings to family and friends.
Inquire about the listing with the Realtor.
Have the application "follow" you by updating your position and nearby listings as you walk or drive.
Drag the map to pan around and see the nearby listings automatically searched for you.
Make a phone call and/or send a SMS message directly from the contact forms.
On Sunday, June 20th, 2010 from 11:00am to 3:30pm, Nicole Marie Events and Follow Me Foodie will be hosting Vancouver’s 1st Cupcake Challenge at The Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown. There will be vendor tables in the Roundhouse Room B for competition and promotional purposes. Exhibitors are invited to decorate their tables as they wish and showcase their edible creations, services, products, photo albums and other promotional material. We invite you to promote your company, present material and have your cupcakes available for sale at your table.
This event is exclusive to local cupcake owners (whether chain or independent) in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland. There will be a pre-arranged panel of judges to nominate the best exhibitor cupcake as well as a People’s Choice Award for the best cupcake. There will be 2 separate categories for chain and non-chain cupcake entries.
What: Vancouver’s 1st Cupcake Challenge Who: Various cupcakes bakers and businesses in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland Where: Roundhouse Community Centre 181 Roundhouse Mews, Vancouver (Corner of Davie & Pacific) Date: June 20th, 2010 Time: 11:00am to 3:30pm. Cost: $50 for vendors table before June 4th ($75 following June 4th, 2010). Payment can be made by cash or cheque. This guarantees your space at the event and is non-refundable unless the event is cancelled.
Tickets for Public: Free Admission
Transit/Parking: The Yaletown Roundhouse is easily accessible by public transit and there is underground paid parking for $1.50/hour.
Vendor Requirements • Must have operating business and license; • Must provide cupcake samples for public to taste
Vancouver ranked fourth in Mercer's 2010 Quality of Living Survey, making it the top-rated city in North America.
Vancouver placed fourth overall for the second consecutive year, tying with Auckland, New Zealand. Only Vienna, Austria, Zurich, Switzerland and Geneva, Switzerland ranked higher in the survey that measures quality of life.
The survey, conducted by business analysts Mercer, ranks cities based on 39 criteria, including political and economic environment, health care, education, recreational activities, housing and natural environment.
Other Canadian cities in the top 25 are Ottawa ranked 14th, Toronto 16th and Montreal 21st. Calgary ranked 28 on the overall quality of living ranking.
The Iraqi capital of Baghdad ranked at the bottom of the list.
This year, Mercer created a new "eco-city" list that ranks cities according to water quality, waste removal, sewage, air pollution and traffic congestion.
Vancouver ranked 13th on Mercer's eco-city list, tied with Montreal, Nurnberg, Germany. Calgary took top spot on the list while Ottawa ranked fourth.
Here are the top 25 cities according to Mercer's 2010 Quality of Living Survey:
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) released a new report today indicating that home prices will stabilize, and will remain stable for some time. This means that Canadian homeowners are unlikely to experience a U.S.-style decline in the value of their homes.
“The relationship between average price and income has recently been cited as portending a U.S.-style correction in Canadian home prices,” said Gregory Klump, Chief Economist, CREA. “However, such warnings ignore the longer-term relationship between prices and income, and disregard typical Canadian housing market cycle dynamics.”
Home prices tend to rise in cycles, characterized by periods of sharp growth and periods of stability. By contrast, income generally follows an orderly upward trend over time. For home prices to keep pace with incomes, they must rise faster during housing booms to make up for periods of little or no price growth. Canadian home prices were stagnant throughout most of the 1990s, while incomes continued rising, making housing more affordable. Over the past decade, home prices have climbed sharply as mortgage interest rates declined.
Klump adds: “The Canadian housing market is now widely thought to be at, or very near, the top of a cycle, and the ratio of home prices to incomes is currently high. This ratio will revert to its long-term average as it always does as part of a normal housing market cycle. History suggests, however, that it will not do so by means of a significant correction in home prices. The more likely scenario is that home prices will stabilize, giving incomes a chance to catch up again.”
The correction in U.S. home prices has sparked fears that Canadian home prices may share a similar fate.However, according to Klump, “warnings to this effect ignore solid Canadian mortgage market trends.”
Conservative lending practices in the mortgage industry combined with prudent borrowing and accelerated payments among Canadian mortgage holders have been seen throughout the recent housing market cycle. Accelerated accumulation of home equity will provide options for the small proportion of homeowners who may face financial difficulty when their mortgage is renewed at a higher interest rate. These trends are expected to help Canada avoid a U.S.-style housing crisis.
The correction in U.S. home prices is set against a massive oversupply of homes due to distress sales, combined with a drop in housing demand due to unemployment. The unwinding of the housing boom in Canada will be more orderly, characterized by softening sales activity and stable prices.
To view the full report please visit: Housing Report or click on the image.
About The Canadian Real Estate Association
The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) is one of Canada’s largest single-industry trade associations, representing more than 99,000 real estate Brokers/agents and salespeople working through more than 100 real estate Boards and Associations. Article courtesy of Alyson Fair 613-237-7111 or 613-884-1460 Email: afair@crea.ca
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
*Includes only MLS data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and is a cumulative comparison of the above noted companies located in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond & Coquitlam, excluding minifranchises. Major Market Areas are based on Greater Vancouver’s 2007 Census. Period covered from 01/01/10 - 04/01/10 • Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
*Includes only MLS data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and is a cumulative comparison of the above noted companies located in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond & Coquitlam, excluding minifranchises. Major Market Areas are based on Greater Vancouver’s 2007 Census. Period covered from 01/01/10 - 04/01/10 • Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
*Includes only MLS data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver and is a cumulative comparison of the above noted companies located in Vancouver, Burnaby, Richmond & Coquitlam, excluding minifranchises. Major Market Areas are based on Greater Vancouver’s 2007 Census. Period covered from 01/01/10 - 04/01/10 • Source: Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver
.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
The Report Card on British Columbia's Elementary Schools: 2010 Edition collects a variety of relevant, objective indicators of school performance into one, easily accessible public document so that anyone can analyze and compare the performance of individual schools. By doing so, the Report Card assists parents when they choose a school for their children and encourages and assists all those seeking to improve their schools. Click in the picture to access the report.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
If you are thinking about buying a preconstruction Condo or new home, then better have a read at this Cross Reference List elaborated by the British Columbia Real Estate Association, Canadian Home Builders Association and The Urban Development Institute. The brochure outlines some of the key considerations you need to think about before signing the doted line. Just click on the image.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
You can stop by the new Sweeney’s which will be opening their doors this coming Tuesday, May 25 from 8 am to 9 pm. Sweeney’s is located at 1091 Hamilton St. (beside Blue Water).
Their menu includes Sandwiches, soups, beer and wine. They will be offering a counter service style open-all-day restaurant, breakfast, lunch, dinner, eat in or take out.
Then visit our new neighbours Vancouver Luxury Rentals, you can either visit their web site or you can drop by their office, they are very friendly and will be able to help you whether you want to rent your furnish or unfurnished condo or you are looking to rent one.
Every Sunday, join us in Elixir Bistro for jazz brunch featuring two celebrated Vancouver artists Jillian Lebeck and Adam Thomas while savouring Executive Chef Don Letendre’s classic French fare made from the freshest regional and seasonal ingredients.
For more information or to make a reservation call 604.642.0557
In the last five years, an average of more than 80,000 homes per year changed hands in the Greater Toronto Area. While our reasons for changing the scenery are as diverse as the city itself, there’s no doubt that a different space or lifestyle can offer new inspiration and more importantly, an opportunity for a fresh start financially.
The key to ensuring that you begin your next chapter with a solid financial footing is careful budgeting of all costs associated with the transaction.
While many homebuyers plan for the most apparent expenses such as the deposit and down payment, mortgage insurance costs, appraisal and inspection fees, land transfer taxes and legal costs, there are a number of less obvious expenses that should also be taken into account.
Transporting your belongings is one such expense. Professional moving costs can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars, so it’s best to be sure you’re comfortable with the company you’ve chosen by seeking referrals from family and friends. Even if you only plan to rent a truck, be sure that you fully understand the agreement and account for extra gas and mileage costs. Include packing supplies like tape and bubble wrap in your budget as well.
When it comes to moving, expect the unexpected. Since delays can happen at either end, budgeting for accommodations, storage facilities and additional rental fees is a must. Given that settling in doesn’t happen overnight, you should also expect the additional costs of eating take-out food for a few days.
Anticipate a higher than normal grocery bill at the outset as well, as you restock staples that may have been discarded prior to your move and replenish much-needed cleaning supplies.
To make your new house a home, you’ll want to set aside some funds for furniture, window treatments, light fixtures and area rugs. Even minor assorted hardware items can add up. Utility, phone, television and Internet service providers typically charge to establish a connection. As well, to provide for better security, plan to have your locks re-keyed or replace the entire lockset yourself.
As a condition of your mortgage, you will need to obtain home insurance. Since premiums can vary widely, be sure to get a number of quotes. Remember as well, that if the seller has prepaid utility bills and taxes beyond closing, you will be required to reimburse them. If you’re moving into a larger space, higher ongoing utility costs should also be considered. Account for the fact that property taxes could also increase significantly if you’re a move-up buyer.
While the preparation might seem a little daunting, the benefits of your new investment far outweigh the inconveniences of moving. A home after all, is not only the sole type of investment in which you can live while it appreciates; it’s also a place to build memories that last a lifetime.
Article courtesy of Tom Lebour, president of the Toronto Real Estate Board.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
We invite you to join the Yaletown BIA and Johnsen Archer Chartered Accountants LLP, who will be offering a brief presentation on the new HST rules, followed by a Q&A session lasting approximately 1 hour. Effective July 1, 2010, the government of British Columbia will be harmonizing the Provincial Sales Tax with the federal Goods and Services Tax to create the Harmonized Sales Tax (HST). Learn how the HST will affect you and your business. Date: June 3, 2010 (Thursday) Time: 9:30am-10:30am Location: V at Earls - 1095 Mainland Street, Vancouver BC Please RSVP to festival@yaletowninfo.com as seats are limited.
TORONTO — Canada's biggest banks are lowering the rates for their five-year mortgages, the second reduction this month.
RBC Royal Bank and TD Canada Trust say their posted rate for five-year mortgages will be reduced by 11 basis points to 5.99 per cent, effective Friday.
The other Canadian banks will likely make similar announcements.
The posted rate for five-year mortgages at Canada's major banks started the month at 6.25 per cent but was lowered by 15 basis points on May 11 along with a range of other rate cuts.
Prior to this month, Canadian mortgage rates had been on the rise.
The enclosed information while deemed to be correct is not guaranteed.
Search for listings on your own Virtual Office Website (VOW), sign up for a FREE subscription and receive listings before mls.ca, in Full Public Printout. search by address, MLS#, street, view walkscore or using your iPhone, Android or iPad.
Keep up to date with Vancouver’s changing real estate market, subscribe via RSS or email
When you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Manny Riebeling
Ticket price is $35.00 per person, plus applicable tax and gratuity.
Join us for High Spirit Wednesday led by Jack Daniels ambassador Chase Stampe – A stylish spirit tasting showcasing Jack Daniels Whiskey, Gentleman Jack Whiskey and Single Barrel Whiskey will be held in Elixir’s plush Velvet Room. Novices and aficionados will explore the world renowned brand with delicious tasting plates crafted by the very talented Elixir Bistro team to highlight the unique characteristics.
Reservations are required by contacting: Jessica Dunn at jdunn@opushotel.com or 604.694.2137.
Great location, North of 4th, steps to beach, Tennis & Yacht Clubs at Jericho Beach & 4th Avenue shops & restaurants. High ceiling, granite countertops,...
