By Neil Mangan Imagine the following scenario. You search the city looking for your dream home. You find it. You fall in love. It is a beautiful condo in your favourite neighbourhood. You were pre-approved for a mortgage and, just your luck, your dream home is just within your budget. Your offer to purchase is accepted, you send the details to your lender and start planning your move....[ read more ]
Vancouver housing market springs back to life. After a prolonged slide in sales and prices, the Vancouver housing market has swung from “buyers” status to “balanced”, according to a new report from BMO Economics on Canada’s major housing markets. The report titled “Canadian Housing Update: Tale of Four Cities” examines the state of the housing markets in Canada’s four largest cities: Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal...[ read more ]
By Calum Ross Year over year, perhaps the most contested issue in the mortgage market is the age-old decision of choosing between a fixed and variable rate mortgage. Hundreds of thousands of dollars of personal financial research dollars has been poured into making the case and giving the final decisive pearl of wisdom to consumers. Here is some wisdom that will work in any...[ read more ]
By Susan M Boyce It’s the New Year, a time when it’s tradition to plan, dream and predict. This year, as industry watchers and insiders throughout the Lower Mainland spend some time gazing into the proverbial crystal ball, an underlying theme of gentle but solid stability and growth for our local real estate market is emerging — more of the same but a little bit...[ read more ]
By Susan Boyce “EXCELLENT… THIS KITCHEN IS EXCELLENT. Look at the fridge — it’s huge. And the living room is so wide — just like a house.” The woman in Modello’s just opened display home is positively glowing. She flashes me a broad smile. “I love it, don’t you?” Her enthusiasm is contagious, and in no time it feels like we’re old friends. Spontaneously we both give...[ read more ]
By Cameron McNeill, MAC Marketing Solutions Purchasing a home prior to its construction has many benefits including selecting a colour scheme, customizations, spreading out deposits and much more. However, you also need to wait for your home to be built and only see it for the first time when you are invited for your inspection – sometimes called a Deficiency Walkthrough or Pre-Delivery Inspection. Therefore, I wanted to provide a...[ read more ]
There’s nothing the Bo ffo team loves more than a creative challenge, and the opportunity to create something truly unique in the Lower Mainland’s residential landscape. They set the bar of quality and innovation high, and for 40 years, they’ve been delivering homes that not only live up to those self-imposed standards but surpass them. Bo ffo’s list of accolades is substantial — including recognition at the municipal, provincial and national levels....[ read more ]
By Hellen Buttigieg, Owner of We Organize U Live in the moment. We have become a society of multi-taskers, but in an effort to be more efficient, we have robbed ourselves of the pure pleasure that comes from performing simple tasks. Next time you wash dishes, fold laundry or set the table, focus only on the task at hand. Engage your senses. Notice the...[ read more ]
By Susan M Boyce Consistently ranked among the world’s favourite places to live, Metro Vancouver is a metropolitan centre many aspire to emulate. Blessed with a temperate climate, trend-setting architecture, and abundant outdoor recreation, Vancouver just keeps getting better. “As a city, we’re becoming ever more refined — ‘shinier’ and more truly a cosmopolitan city of the world,” says Tracie McTavish, president of Rennie Marketing Systems....[ read more ]
Four out of 10 Canadians planning to enter the housing market over the next two years will be first-time homebuyers, according to the 20th annual RBC Home Ownership Poll. The poll found that the majority of Canadians are taking a wait-and-see approach to home purchases, with 15 per cent likely to buy in the next two years, down from 27 per cent in 2012. “The more...[ read more ]
