Built Green BC awards: inside ›› p.8
The Brookland: new, affordable ›› p.12
Living a Brentwood lifestyle is easier and more affordable than ever, at Bosa Development’s Affinity. With its spectacular panoramic views and central location, the Burnaby project is attracting homebuyers every day. ›› p.6
September 23, 2010
Home sales edge up in August: CREA
and not forgetting about the annual trip to Provence. These days, many Metro Vancouver homebuyers are getting back to basics, according to those involved in the real estate industry. Young people used to save up a down payment and buy an affordable condo, build up some equity, then maybe purchase a townhouse, build up some more equity and then, buy a single-family home.
National resale housing activity improved in August, reports the Canadian Real Estate Association. Seasonally adjusted national homes sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service systems of Canadian real estate boards in August rose by 4.1 per cent from the previous month. Activity was up the most in British Columbia and Ontario, the CREA says, with the monthly gains in these two provinces accounting for “most of the improvement in national sales activity” in August. Seasonally adjusted sales activity either increased or remained stable in more than half of all local markets across Canada, while Cameron Muir year-to-date transactions are up by 2.2 per cent compared to the first eight months of last year. “Activity rose sharply over the second half of 2009 and reached levels that are unlikely to be matched in the final Gregory Klump four months of 2010,” the CREA notes. In B.C. alone, residential sales declined in August compared to the same month last year, but on a seasonally adjusted basis, MLS residential sales in the province increased by seven per cent in August from July 2010, reports the British Columbia Real Estate Association. The average MLS residential price climbed by four per cent to $487,804 last month compared to August 2009, however.
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Vancouver ‘condo king’ Bob Rennie says there are many affordable homes available in Vancouver, including brandnew homes. Home types vary, but having $1 million is not necessary. Martin Knowles photo
Back to basics: affordability Metro Vancouver offers a variety of new, affordable homes MAGGIE CALLOWAY Unless you have $1 million to spend, you are locked out of the housing market. This is a common misconception heard often in Vancouver, but it is not necessarily true. Housing, especially in Vancouver, can be
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expensive. But unlike many other parts of Canada, what makes Vancouver so spectacular – the sea and the mountains – makes available land finite. As the saying goes, “Buy land. They aren’t making any more.” The other argument commonly heard or read is that young people are locked out of the market; that there is no way a young couple can expect to live in downtown. That could be right if the homebuyer is expecting to buy a single-family home with a yard, furnishing it to a high standard, !
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