The Olympic period increased home sales activity in Vancouver

Published on 03-09-2010 Comments(0) Full article

According to a news release sent on March 2nd by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, The Greater Vancouver housing market continued to experience strong demand from homebuyers and an increase in total property listings in a month where the eyes of the world were focused on the region.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,473 in February 2010, an increase of 67.1 per cent compared to February 2009 when 1,480 sales were recorded and a 28.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,923 sales recorded in January 2010.

Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 19.7 per cent to $581,911 from $486,054 in February 2009. This price is 2.4 per cent above the previous high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.

"We don't know at this point what long-term impact the Olympics will have on our housing market, but we do know that activity in our market remained steady through all of the excitement and distraction of the last few weeks," Scott Russell, REBGV president said.

"In February, for example, 110 sales were recorded on the MLS® in downtown Vancouver. That's higher than 2009 and slightly lower than the mid-2000s, which is consistent with data from the overall market. It's too soon to say whether that's an Olympic effect," Russell said.

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British Columbia: the leader in economic growth among Canadian provinces in 2010

Published on 02-22-2010 Comments(0) Full article

Olympic spinoffs and an improved outlook for forestry and manufacturing will make British Columbia the leader in economic growth among Canadian provinces in 2010, says the Conference Board of Canada.

B.C. will post growth of 3.7 per cent over the year, while renewed American auto demand will help Ontario surpass the national average for the first time in nearly a decade with growth of 3.5 per cent, the board said in its Provincial Outlook — Winter 2010, released Monday.

B.C. will also benefit from an estimated $770-million boost to the economy from the Winter Olympic Games.

"The recovery in Central and Western Canada began to take shape in the last few months and will continue to do so through 2010. In fact, all provinces are expected to post positive economic growth this year," said Marie-Christine Bernard, associate director, provincial forecasting.

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Olympic Line streetcar will debut on Thursday

Published on 01-18-2010 Comments(0) Full article

The new line will be functional starting Thursday and will run from Granville Island to West 2nd Avenue and Cambie Street, allowing passengers to connect to the Canada Line.

The company brought the two Flexity cars in from Brussels to contribute to transportation for the 2010 Winter Olympics but also to show off the first fully accessible, low-floor streetcars in North America as a marketing tool.

A total of $8.5 million was spent upgrading the tracks and overhead power lines for the Flexity cars.

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Judge overturns 38-per-cent rent hike for West End tenants

Published on 01-13-2010 Comments(0) Full article

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Linda Loo ordered Gordon Nelson Investments, which owns the Seafield building at 1436 Pendrell Street, to return the additional rent collected since April of last year.

She found the increase "patently unreasonable" and she has overtuned rent increases of up to 38 per cent for tenants.

The Seafield is a 14-unit heritage building, located four blocks from English Bay, where many of the tenants have lived for more than 30 years.

The landlord took ownership of the building on July 31, 2008. Six months later, the owner applied to increase the rent for 13 units by up to 73.3 per cent. The tenants opposed the rent increases because they said the statutory criteria for permitting additional rent increases above four per cent a year were not met.

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Vancouver's Airport will have body scanners

Published on 01-06-2010 Comments(1) Full article

The federal government yesterday announced full body scanners are being installed in airports across Canada.

Around 44 machines, which scan through clothing to produce a 3-D image of people’s bodies, will be installed in 11 airports from Vancouver to Halifax by spring, said Transportation Minister John Baird and Minister of State Rob Merrifield.

The machines allow a screening officer in another room to scan for weapons a metal detector may miss and will only be used for passengers singled out for secondary screening.

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