It’s Georgie time: the 19th annual Georgie Awards are revving up to recognize excellence in B.C. builders and renovators ›› p.2
December 2, 2010
Housing affordability improves
Canadian Homebuilders’ Association of British Columbia CEO MJ Whitemarsh, left, and CHBA BC president Vicki Gerrits prepare to hand out a coveted Georgie Award. Martin Knowles photo
Georgies: going for gold Excellence in the industry recognized with awards TRICIA LESLIE Putting your work forward for extremely close inspection and judging by industry peers can be a daunting prospect. Yet that’s exactly what many B.C. homebuilders, renovators, developers, designers
and marketers have done, in order to enter this year’s Georgie Awards, the province’s premier housing event. Named after Captain George Vancouver, the Georgies were started by a group of industry professionals in 1992 as a way to provide value to the residential construction industry and communities throughout British Columbia. “It was a way to showcase and celebrate the excellent work that local people do in our industry,” says Scott Whitemarsh, executive
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producer of the Georgie Awards. Owned by the Canadian Homebuilders’ Association of B.C., the awards aim to highlight the commitment and dedication to the high standards that CHBA BC member companies strive to hold. Whitemarsh says that quality is obvious when one sees the finalists – from a French country manor in Anmore to an eco-rainforest retreat in Tofino to a West Coast zen CONTINUED ON P.2
For the first time in more than a year, housing affordability improved in Canada in the third quarter of 2010, according to a report released Monday by RBC Economics. The Housing Trends and Affordability report says a drop in mortgage rates and some softening in home prices made it easier for Canadian buyers to purchase their homes in recent months, after four consecutive quarters of rising home ownership costs. “The improvement in affordability during the third quarter has relieved some of the stress that had been mounting in Canada’s housing market over the past year,” says RBC senior economist Robert Hogue. The report notes that, at the national level, the third-quarter improvement in affordability reversed almost two-thirds of the cumulative deterioration that took place over the previous four quarters. RBC’s Housing Affordability Measure calculates how much pre-tax income is required to cover all the costs associated with owning a home. All provinces saw improvements in housing affordability in the third quarter, especially British Columbia, but the cost of home ownership in B.C. remains high by historical standards, the report notes. “Higher mortgage rates will be the dominant factor raising home ownership costs beyond the short-term, although increasing household income – as the job situation continues to strengthen in in Canada – will provide some positive offset,” Hogue says. “We expect housing demand and supply to remain mostly in balance overall, setting the course for very modest home price increases.” For the full report, visit www.rbc.com/ economics/
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