Fall 2020
12 GREAT COMMUNITIES
FOR WORKING REMOTELY BUILDING YOUR DREAM HOME: DEVELOPMENT OPTIONS
Cool Spots in the
FRASER VALLEY
The New Mortgage Math l Storage Solutions l Winery Dining
WEST HARBOUR IS KELOWNA’S FAVOURITE LAKESIDE RESORT COMMUNIT Y, LOCATED 5 MINUTES FROM DOWNTOWN KELOWNA BY EITHER CAR OR BY BOAT. CHOOSE FROM OUR MODERN–TUSCAN HOME DESIGNS THAT ARE JUST STEPS FROM OUR VERY PRIVATE BEACH, MARINA , POOL/HOT TUB AND OUR HARBOUR CLUB. NO GST, PTT OR SPECULATION TAX .
RESORT-STYLE AMENITIES West Harbour brings people together, whether it’s a picnic on the beach, a friendly match on the multi-use sports courts, or serenely soaking up some sun by the pool. Enjoy a day on the water with a boat slip in the private marina just steps away from your door. Located in the heart of the Okanagan, West Harbour offers something for everyone. Visit one of the area’s many internationally renowned vineyards, sample the abundantly delicious local produce and dining scene, and perfect your swing at any one of over a dozen world class golf courses nearby.
TRUE OKANAGAN LIVING West Harbour offers an affordable piece of premium lakeside luxury in the beautiful Okanagan Valley. Minutes away from both pristine nature and Kelowna’s bustling downtown, West Harbour is one of the region’s most comfortable communities, complete with a pool, sport courts, fitness amenities, and a private beach and marina. West Harbour is not just a place, it’s a community of likeminded families.
WE S T H AR B O U R . WE LOV E I T H ER E .
CONTACT US FOR MORE INFORMATION Property Specialist | (250) 878-5592 | westharboursales@troikagroup.ca
Live.
Invest.
Work.
Grow.
...in all four seasons. www.EcDevOsoyoos.com
Building a Better Future Integrating unique building technologies, such as Timber Frame, Log Homes, and efficient wall Panel construction, the Discovery Dream Homes team has perfected the balance between sustainability and affordability. Whether your vision is mountain modern, contemporary craftsman, or a prairie ranch style, our dedication is reflected within the attention to detail on every project.
Re sid e nt i al Multiple award-winning Designs Not only are we know for our high level of service and attention to providing quality products, Discovery has been recognized by its peers in the industry as an innovative and imaginative designer. This is evident within the numerous awards received for the projects we have had the pleasure of being involved with over the years, and most importantly our client satisfaction. Raymond King President/CEO Discovery Dream Homes
Discovery Dream Homes.com
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Deve l o p me nt s
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1.866.395.5647
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WHAT’S INSIDE Fall 2020
6
Right Sizing
Fall 2020
Up Front
Departments
8 Publisher’s Letter
22 Eat & Drink: Winery Restaurants
10 Our Contributors
25 Re-Learning Mortgage Math
13 Dispatches
26 The New Home Office
18 Where to Buy Rustic Luxury
30 Minding the Storage 64 What Right Sizing Looks Like, Right Now
Features
66 Hidden Jewel: Naramata
32 Coolhunting in the Fraser Valley 40 A Brand New Home: 4 Paths to Custom Satisfaction 50 In Business: 12 Great Places in B.C. for Working Remotely
Okanagan Lake, BC. Photo: Destinati/on BC/ Š Robb Thompson
Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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Publisher, Founder Editor Head Designer Online Design Proofreader Digital Media Manager Video Production Writers
I
t seems that for many, some enforced time off earlier this year has given us the time to reflect on our lives, to embrace our family and friends, to rethink our business models and perhaps to consider what’s most important in our lives. As part of that shift, many more people were asked to work from home. So many companies are now continuing this trend, the bottom line is that if you can work from home, today’s technology will allow you to work from almost anywhere. Working remotely from a small community is now more possible than ever. According to the wide network of realtors and developers that we are in touch with while preparing each issue, home sales in many smaller B.C. communities in these past several months have been much more robust than anyone could ever have imagined! So, in this issue, we assist you in researching the right community for you among B.C.’s smaller cities and special towns. Size matters, but so does space, access, the natural surroundings and of course the community’s competitive and long-term advantages. See our cover story on page 50 for more information on places with great work-fromhome potential. The dream of living in a new home—whether it’s built by a developer, custom builder or purchased as a packaged home—is alive and well (see page 40), and we are seeing hundreds of new homes being built in almost every corner of B.C. I’ve personally always had a dream of living in a rustic-set dwelling, like a modern log home or timberframe house, with luxurious amenities. These homes can be found in some of the coolest communities anywhere, all right here in B.C.—some with no luxury (or expense!) spared, others eminently affordable. Our team also consulted experts to research modern lifestyle concerns such as “doing the math” on a new or existing mortgage, solving storage challenges and, of course, living in close proximity to a winery, an option that has never seemed more decadent or possible than it does right now, with all the residential opportunities in B.C.’s burgeoning wine regions. The downtime during this past spring and summer also gave us the opportunity to revisit our own publishing business model. We enhanced our Web site to include a very engaging video platform, where we host dozens of immersive community and developer videos, allowing you to take a one-stop tour of the province from your own home screen. I recently enlisted my son, a recent film school graduate, to create a mash-up of all these videos as a teaser for this engaging new platform, and we’re pretty impressed with his work (says the proud Dad....)! See RightSizingmedia.com/video to check it out. We also decided to enhance our print distribution to not only subscribers of The Globe and Mail in primarily Vancouver and Calgary, but also the National Post in Vancouver. The cohort of urban-dwellers and homeowners looking to re-envision their lives in highly livable communities within Canada’s most beautiful province is bigger and stronger than ever. Right Sizing trends are only growing and developing, as you’ll see in this issue. Enjoy! Steve Dietrich Publisher
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Steve Dietrich Charlene Rooke Amélie Légaré John Magill Lisa Manfield Charity Robertson Chris Dietrich
Right Sizing
Catherine Dunwoody, Michelle Hopkins, Gail Johnson, Lisa Manfield, Matt O’Grady, Kate Robertson, Steve Threndyle, Michael White, Barb Wild Advertising Sales 604-787-4603
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Head Office 187 Rondoval Crescent, North Vancouver, BC, V7N 2W6. 604-787-4603 Accounting Inquiries
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Letters to the editor
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Letters may be edited for length and clarity. Subscriptions rightsizingmedia.com/magazine/subscribe Distribution To The Globe and Mail and National Post subscribers within Vancouver, the Lower Mainland, Victoria, Kelowna and Calgary, Air Canada Lounges, select realtor and brokerage offices, select newsstands and events. To distribute Right Sizing magazine in larger quantities within your location please call 604-787-4603. Printer tc – Transcontinental, Canada.
Right Sizing magazine, established 2018. The magazine will be published four times per year by Publimedia Communications Inc., established 1996. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher, or the staff. All editorial is deemed reliable, but not guaranteed. The publisher is not responsible for any liability associated with any editorial or products and services offered by any advertiser. Editorial submissions will be considered, please send them to the publisher. Copyright© 2020 Publimedia Communications Inc. Reproduction without permission is prohibited. The publisher and printer will not be responsible for any typographical errors, mistakes, misprints, spot colouring or any misinformation provided by advertisers. Website
www.RightSizingMedia.com
Cover Image Aerial of Bear Mountain Resort Community, in Victoria, BC.
PRINTED IN CANADA Fall 2020
Canadian Home Builders’ Association
NATIONAL
AWARDS for
HOUSING EXCELLENCE
community development - 2020
Just imagine coming home to the Lake… Every day! That’s the beauty of Lakestone. The Lakestone Masterplan is unparalleled in the Okanagan and is truly the hidden gem of Lake Country. No other community combines such a stunning landscape with a wealth of desirable amenities. You will love the privacy and breathtaking scenery Lakestone’s location offers, with the convenience of being just minutes away from downtown Kelowna and the Kelowna International Airport. A variety of home sites have been incorporated into the approved Masterplan including lakefront and lake view home sites with a wide selection of building options such as walk-up and walk-out homes. At Lakestone, a beautiful community is budding, while still maintaining over half of the site in its natural state. Enjoy 28.8 km of trails leading from the lake front to the summit, weaving through 250 acres of preserved natural open space. Homesites Starting from $225,000*
VISIT OUR Show Homes & Information Centre Open 12-4 pm Tues-Sun 9678 Benchland Dr., Lake Country, BC www.lakestoneliving.com Local 250.766.1213 Toll-Free 1.877.766.1213
EXCLUSIVELY MARKETED BY
*This is not an offering for sale. Prospective purchasers are entitled to receive the Developer’s Disclosure Statement and all amendments thereto prior to making an offer or purchase. Disclosure Statement and amendments may be obtained from Macdonald Communities Limited by emailing info@lakestoneliving.com. The Developer reserves the right to make changes without notice. Prices quoted are for new purchases only exclusive of GST, subject to availability at time of visit and/or to change without prior notice. Exclusively Marketed by The Property Source Group RE/MAX Kelowna. E.&O.E.
Lisa Manfield is a Coquitlam-based writer, editor and content strategist. Currently a senior editor and writer at Forge & Spark Media, she was also the founding editor of BCLiving, and has written for magazines such as BCBusiness, Real Weddings, Enterprise, Boulevard and Bijou.
lisa manfield
OUR
Barb Wild, the Good Wine Gal (goodwinegal.blogspot.com) inspires wine lovers to dig a little deeper, explore a little more and find good wine. Her favourite B.C. town at the moment has to be Yarrow, “home to Whispering Horse Winery. If you blink you might miss it, but don’t!”
CONTRIBUTORS kate robertson Kate Robertson is a journalist who contributes to many media outlets, like Canadian Traveller, Inspired and Family Fun Canada. She’s happy to call British Columbia’s beautiful Kootenays region home, and when she’s not writing, she likes to hang out in her favourite B.C. mountain town, Nelson, “where the cool vibes and endless selection of restaurants, coffee shops and micro-breweries never gets old.”
gail johnson
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Right Sizing
Fall 2020
michael white
Michael White has held senior positions at Vancouver, FASHION and Glow magazines, and is author of the award-winning music biography Popkiss. White notes in his profile of Naramata (page 66) that it contains more than 40 wineries within a 20-minute drive; for this reason, it is his favourite small community in B.C.
michelle hopkins Michelle Hopkins is a freelance writer for publications including BCBusiness, Women in Business, Business Traveler, Vancouver Living and OnTrak. Her favourite small-town B.C. spot is Gibsons Landing. “This picturesque community has it all, like charming shops, great restaurants and stunning oceanfront vistas,” she says.
Matt O’Grady has held senior regional and national media positions, including as former editor-in-chief of BCBusiness, which he led to several National Magazine Awards and a Jack Webster Award. O’Grady says, “My favourite small B.C. town is Powell River... a pretty coastal community with affordable real estate.”
catherine dunwoody Gail Johnson is a print, digital and broadcast journalist who writes regularly for the Georgia Straight and The Globe and Mail, among other publications, and has a regular food spot on CBC Radio in Vancouver. Her favourite B.C. town is Tofino, which she visits “every winter with my family to surf and eat.”
barb wild
matt o’grady Catherine Dunwoody’s work has appeared in Canadian Traveller, The Globe and Mail, Montecristo and the Vancouver Sun, Fashion, Lou Lou and Real Weddings. Having recently moved from Vancouver to Burke Mountain in Coquitlam, she’s getting practised in the art of the commute. She says Osoyoos brings back childhood memories of fruit stands and the beach, and today she enjoys the wineries and golf there, too.
Exchange your backyard for a fabulous rooftop patio with Lakeviews. Enjoy beautiful summers in wine country with your friends and family. Private elevator, 3 car garages and much more you only could dream of. Or escape the crowded office and enjoy working from home in one of the corner units with extra office space, private entrance and zoned for a home-based busine business. The lifestyle you only can find here at the beach!
OKANAGAN LIVING AT ITS BEST
SINGLE FAMILY HOMES & LOTS
unrise ointe
SEMI-DETACHED HOMES
DETACHED HOMES SINGLE FAMILY HOMES & LOTS
SEMI-DETACHED HOMES
This is not an offering for sale. Prices are plus GST, no PTT under $750,000 and are subject to change without notice. E&OE.
Dispatches By Steve Threndyle
A Covid-fuelled Real Estate Boom?
>>
Real Estate Guru Asks “Will Your Home Be Taxed?”
This past spring, realtors from the Fraser Valley to the Okanagan to Vancouver Island were deluged with inquiries from prospective buyers looking for more space to spread out their pandemicchallenged families and home offices. Single-family home prices have remained remarkably resilient, especially in communities within an hour’s drive of a larger hub. In Greater Victoria, benchmark single-family home prices reached an all-time high of $1.03 million. In Vancouver, multiple offers and quick sale are still the norm. In the Central Okanagan, there were almost 50 per cent more sales of single-family homes in July 2020 than there had been a year earlier.
Thanks to the principal-residence exception, generations of Canadians have enjoyed tax-free capital gains when selling their homes. However, housing and investment gurus have noted that a pandemic-indebted government may consider taxing profits on the sale of principal residences. Housing guru Ozzie Jurock points to a Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation study into making homeownership more affordable for the socalled Generation Squeeze of younger Canadians as one red-flag indicator. He muses, “In the last seven years we have seen a lot of gains [in housing]. If you are sitting on $500,000, a million or two—think about how long it would take you to earn this tax-free?”
>>
Packaged Homes: Building Trends
Families hoping to escape the city for a new work-at-home-friendly locale can get settled quickly with packaged homes, which utilize prefabricated construction. Builders like Discovery Dream Homes, Pan-Abode and Linwood homes have long offered buyers pre-sized kit homes or customized dwellings, in any size. Owners can save money on economies of scale, reduced building times, on-budget delivery and the convenience of sourcing dozens of construction components from a single supplier. Advanced building material lists, staged delivery and virtual 3D-graphic design previews are some additional advantages. discoverydreamhomes.com
Good things come in packages, like the pre-fabricated elements in this home. Photo: Discovery Dream Homes
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Fort St. John: Welcoming >> a Festival Plaza We’re more aware than ever how much community matters, and how important it is to have public spaces like town squares, parks, and libraries. As soon as Summer 2021, residents of Fort St. John will enjoy a new downtown Festival Plaza on the site of the former Visitors InfoCentre, created by Environmental Design Solutions with input from the city’s residents. It will be a place where people can socialize, attend cultural events and, during the summer months, purchase locally grown produce at the farmer’s market. fortstjohn.ca
Buy here
Average assessed value of a single-family home in Fort St. John was $314,000 in 2019 (down 2%).
A vision of the future Festival Plaza.
Looking at Lantzville
>>
On the Old Island Highway between Nanaimo and Parksville, relatively undiscovered Lantzville (population 4,000) is joining the ranks of most-desirable Vancouver Island small communities, thanks in part to easy BC Ferries access to Vancouver. As part of The Foothills (a 900+-acre, master-planned community zoned for 730 homes and a mixed-use village) development, Lone Tree Properties donated 900 acres of space and parkland for all locals to enjoy. Large view-friendly lots, hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing ... Lantzville checks a lot of boxes! lantzville.ca, thefoothillslifestyle.com
Buy here
Average assessed value of a single-family home in Lantzville was $610,000 in 2019 (down 2%).
A view from The Foothills in Lantzville.
Harrison: Greener Pastures (and Homes) in the Fraser Valley >> We’ve all heard of Energy Star branded appliances, but The Odessa Group (developer of the Harrison Highlands master-planned Fraser Valley community) is selling Energy Star high-performance homes. Triple-pane windows, optional rooftop solar panels and high-efficiency heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems will save tens of thousands of dollars in long-term energy costs. There are even roughed-in areas to accommodate electric vehicle charging stations. harrisonhighlands.com
Buy here
Average assessed value of a single-family home in Harrison Hot Springs was $577,000 in 2019 (down 5%).
An Energy Star high-efficiency home at Harrison Highlands.
Typical assessed home-value data from BC Assessment 2020 Property Assessments (assessed values as of July 1, 2019).
Fall 2020
Right Sizing
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E-bikes are currently cruising to mass appeal.
>>
Bicycles are Rolling in Popularity
With the need for second vehicles and transit use waning in recent months, families dusted off bicycles and discovered bike paths and trails across the province. From high-alpine single track trails to flat waterfront paths, bikeways connect parks to suburbs, beaches to shopping districts, schools and universities to urban cores, and even BC Ferries terminals with downtown Nanaimo or Victoria. During a time when most consumer goods retail sales have stalled, demand for bikes—including new e-bikes—has skyrocketed. Not just good for your health, cycling is also good for the long-term benefit of the planet.
Photo courtesy of Wilden
Kelowna: Fire Mitigation for Safe and Sound Communities One of the challenges of living in some of the beautiful, heavily treed areas of B.C. is the annual risk of fires. Responsible developers of communities like Wilden, located on a forested slope in Kelowna, are keeping the ecosystem healthy—and residents safe, and their investments protected—through forest-management strategies. Fire mitigation techniques like thinning trees, removing potential fire fuel from vulnerable areas and strategies like wood-chipping or controlled burning help maintain a resilient and healthy natural forest.
New members get an orientation including Covid-19 protocols. Photo: Tom Poole
Revelstoke: Mountain CoLab Offers a Haven for Self-Employed Sometimes, even telecommuters have to get away from their screens and meet face-to-face. In smaller towns, meeting-space options rarely extend beyond coffee shops. But in downtown Revelstoke, the Mountain CoLab is more than just a space to plug in a laptop and recharge a phone—it’s a place to recharge your enthusiasm, trade ideas and network with other members. Physically distanced hot desks, sanitized meeting rooms and kitchen space plus chic glass, wood, and concrete décor are other perks. Open 24/7 and featuring the fastest internet connection in the region, CoLab memberships plans start as low as $65 per month. mountaincolab.com
Buy here
16
Right Sizing
Average assessed value of a single-family home in Revelstoke was $509,000 (up 10%).
Fall 2020
Experience the ultimate home base at Crown Isle.
GREYSTONE E S T A T E S
A LUXURY SUBDIVISION IN THE HEART OF CROWN ISLE. New home building lots are available from $315,000 CROWN ISLE HOMES SHOW HOME 2020
With close proximity to the Resort Clubhouse and Restaurants, you are mere steps from a warm coffee in the morning or dinner and a beer with friends on the deck of the Timber Room, or perhaps a little guidance from one of the Professional Staff at the Academy. Many of the Lots will benefit from the green park-like setting of the Crown Isle’s championship golf course.
Much more than just an enticing Golf Resort, Crown Isle is a vibrant living community. Zoned for over 2,800 residential units, the 1,250 units completed to date represent just a third of the total vision. From condominiums and patio homes to single family ranchers and fairway estate homes, our community strives to meet the needs of Crown Isle’s diverse residents. The craftsman west-coast building scheme keeps the neighborhood pleasing to the eye and sets a consistent standard that is admired by all.
Enjoy the lifestyle of the Island Resort Community and everyday conveniences that go along with all that Crown Isle has become.
The Comox Valley region offers activities and amenities to complement any lifestyle. Mountainside, seaside, and seemingly endless forest deliver outdoor living options for residents of all ages and tastes. Galleries, festivals, and exhibits are part of the year-round calendar of the Valley’s arts and culture community. Crown Isle is anything but a typical lifestyle resort; it is a place to build a life.
Bert Jaeger
Jason Andrew
REALTOR®
FOR MORE INFO:
Director of Real Estate
Sandy Bain REALTOR®
Melissa Berrigan REALTOR®
RealEstate@CrownIsle.com | 250-703-5056
CrownIsle.com
Sun Peaks A four-and-a-half hour drive from Vancouver, or easily accessible via Kelowna or Kamloops airports, Sun Peaks Resort is ideal for summer and winter activities (it’s Canada’s second-largest ski area). Recent listing: This massive six-bedroom, five-bathroom custom timberframe chalet, situated on one of the community’s largest residential lots, features extensive natural rock, lofty ceilings, radiant-heat flooring and wrap-around outdoor decks with incredible views. $2,930,000.
Peachland Located midway between Kelowna and Penticton on 11 kilometres of Okanagan Lake lakefront, Peachland puts its residents in reach of more than 200 estate wineries and microbreweries, plus hiking, biking, cross-country skiing and snowmobiling trails. Recent listing: The recently rejuvenated Headwaters Family Resort is a business opportunity in waiting: 10 rustic guest cabins and 14 RV campsites (most with views of the lake), a lodge/store and 1,200 sq ft of waterfront, plus all the equipment to run it. $1,095,000.
Sicamous Situated halfway between Calgary and Vancouver, Sicamous derives its name from a Secwepemic First Nations word meaning “in the middle.” Visitors and locals enjoy canoeing, camping, hiking, snowmobiling and houseboating. Recent listing: A unique opportunity to own a self-sufficient 28-acre waterfront property on Shuswap Lake offers tree houses, rainforest trails and hand-built cabins, with off-the-grid power, waterfall energy and a greenhouse for sustenance. $1,999,000.
Princeton Situated in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains in the Similkameen Region, this town is known for forestry, mining, agriculture, ranching and the Kettle Valley Rail Trail. It’s a family-friendly community with familyfriendly home prices. Recent listing: This custom built six-bedroom, three-bathroom 3,520-sq-ft log home is situated on a private lot within 17 kilometres of Manning Park and Lightening Lake, close to hiking trails. It has a separate-access two-bedroom suite, which has rentalincome potential. $429,900.
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Osoyoos This town with a population of 5,085 is the hub of Canada’s only semi-arid desert region. Hike the tranquil Okanagan River and climb Mount Kabou, e-bike cruise along Black Sage Road and indulge at local wineries. Recent listing: A custom-built West Coast timberframe, with five-bedrooms and five-bathrooms, is perched above Lake Osoyoos with panoramic views of the lake, town and mountains. It includes a guest suite, wine cellar, theatre room and a separate suite above a triple garage. $1,299,900.
Golden A rugged Kootenay town tucked between the peaks of the Columbia and Rocky Mountains, Golden lays claim to some of the best hiking, kayaking and mountain biking in the province. Recent listing: This stunning four-bedroom, four-bathroom timberframe mountain property features an open concept main level with timber staircase, a gourmet kitchen, two master suites with views of the ski hill and a boot room with dryers and racks to handle all your gear. $1,399,000.
If your dream has been to find a rustic log cabin or a mountain-modern timberframe home, here are some B.C. gems to which you could make a rural escape. By Right Sizing Staff For direct links to all listings, go to rightsizingmedia.com/rustic
Fernie Tucked away in a sub-range of the Rocky Mountains called the Elk Range, Fernie is known for its lovingly restored storefronts, high-paying mining jobs and the wild bowls of Fernie Alpine Resort. Recent listing: This spectacular custom built three-bedroom, four-bathroom timberframe situated in Black Rock Estates features 26-foot Douglas Fir-lined ceilings, curved trusses, hickory hardwood flooring and a floor-to-ceiling fireplace, plus a heated three-car garage. $1,295,000.
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Whistler Whistler is not only a popular snow-season recreation destination, but also attracts more visitors from Victoria Day through Labour Day than it does during the winter, making it an ideal year-round investment or residence. Recent listing: This luxurious custom built four-bedroom, four-bathroom log cabin is situated on the Valley Trail, minutes from Creekside Village, and features a two-story stone fireplace, open floor plan, vaulted ceilings and a master with a walk-in closet plus walk-in shower with steam room. $2,899,000.
Courtenay On the east coast of central Vancouver Island and considered the urban hub of the Comox Valley, Courtenay offers culturally rich diversity, year-round recreation, beaches and natural beauty. Recent listing: This West Coast chalet, perched high above Beaufort Heights on Mt. Washington, features six bedrooms and six bathrooms that have been divided into four separate suites, all with en suite baths, plus a sauna, eating bar and two entertainment rooms, perfect for hosting family and friends. $899,000.
Gabriola Island This beautiful island is located 5 kilometres from downtown Nanaimo, accessible via BC Ferries. It has the highest percentage of working artists per capita in Canada and is known as the “Isle of the Arts.” Recent listing: A timeless West Coast Pan-Abode log home located on the waterfront, with incredible ocean views, has four bedrooms and three bathrooms, open-concept living space, a newer kitchen with stainless appliances and a large recreation room downstairs, ideal for hobbyists. $774,000.
Sooke Located on the southwestern tip of Vancouver Island, a one-hour drive from Victoria, Sooke is in temperate rainforest, creating one of the mildest climates in Canada. It’s ideal for outdoor recreation such as fishing, hiking, sailing and whale watching. Recent listing: Escape to this four-bedroom, three-bedroom, double A-frame home on 4.4 acres of land 40 minutes from Victoria. It has stunning wood craftsmanship, a 21-foot ceiling, custom wrought-iron railings and a separate, tenanted suite above large workshop. $998,000.
Map from Google Maps
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ABBOTSFORD
WHERE YOUR NEXT SUCCESS TAKES PLACE
$1.8 BILLION in annual agricultural acitivity
current population of
151,923
CITY OF ABBOTSFORD ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT caed.abbotsford.ca | abbotsford.ca @AbbotsfordEcDev
/CAED.Abbotsford
1 MILLION passengers boarded Canada’s fastest growing airport, YXX
90 PERCENT of the population has access
to a fibre optic network
WINE
AND
DINE
Feed and water your B.C. staycation this autumn with sustenance stops at great winery eateries. By Gail Johnson
With vineyards dotting the map from the Gulf Islands all the way to the Purcell Mountains, wine touring is a wonderful way to explore B.C. Several wineries have exceptional restaurants right on-site, making this kind of local discovery all the more tantalizing. Verify safe-dining policies and changes to operations via restaurant websites and on-premise signage.
Chef de cuisine Andrea Callan at Red Fox Club at Indigenous World Winery.
Red Fox Club at Indigenous World Winery, West Kelowna
The Bistro at Northern Lights Estate Winery, Prince George
Long before grapes ever started growing in B.C., there were Indigenous people caring for and living off the land. The Syilx people call the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys home, and Indigenous World Winery offers a taste of First Nations culture. At its on-site restaurant, the Red Fox Club, traditional ingredients star in modern dishes. Seared trout with salsa verde and wilted greens, grilled-elk flank stir-fry, puffed wild rice with sticky maple-glazed pork belly bites and bison tenderloin carpaccio adorned with pickled Saskatoon berries are examples of food from the land with colourful, contemporary flare. redfoxclub.ca
B.C.’s most Northern winery specializes in wines made of fruits grown on-site, such as haskap, gooseberry, raspberry, blueberry, cherry, apple, rhubarb and more. Its restaurant rests on the banks of the Nechako River, on the t erritory of the Lheidli T’enneh F irst Nation. Mezze platters, cheese and charcuterie boards, and naan flatbread pizza are ideal for sharing with people in your bubble. Brunch is a draw too, with dishes like peach-and-pecan French toast and Neptune eggs Benny with crab and roasted asparagus among the highlights. northernlightswinery.ca/bistro
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The Kitchen at Fort Berens Estate Winery, Lillooet What do Lillooet and the Okanagan have in common? Hot, long, and dry summers that yield fantastic wine. The ancestral territory of the St’át’imc First Nations, located at the southern tip of the Cariboo Chilcotin, Lillooet is also home to Fort Berens Estate Winery. With sweeping views of the vineyards and the Coast Mountains, the Kitchen features internationally inspired dishes showcasing ingredients from nearby farms: Spray Creek Ranch chicken cacciatore and Moroccan-spiced Three Raven Farmstead lamb wrapped in phyllo pastry, for example. Hyperlocal fruit and vegetables are often handpicked the same day they appear on the field-to-fork menu. fortberens.ca/The-Kitchen-at-Fort-Berens
Unsworth Restaurant at Unsworth Vineyards, Cowichan Valley Newly designated by the provincial government as a sub-geographical indication of B.C.’s wine regions, the bucolic Cowichan Valley (derived from the Coast Salish term Quw’utsun’ or “land warmed by the sun”) has come into its own as a premier grape-growing part of Vancouver Island. Unsworth Restaurant, set in a restored early 1900s farmhouse, has several charming small rooms and a patio that overlooks the winery’s 12 acres, a walnut and apple orchard and a vegetable garden. The menu changes with the seasons—from the pizza and pasta to the cheesecake and gelato selections—but always features fresh, local, sustainable ingredients. unsworthvineyards.com/unsworth-restaurant ABOVE The Kitchen at Fort Berens Estate Winery. BELOW Nk’Mip Cellars’ patio.
The Patio Restaurant at Nk’Mip Cellars, Osoyoos The terrace adjoining Nk’Mip Cellars, North America’s first Indigenous winery, is a special place. Surrounded by First Nations culture and history, the view is sloping vineyards, with Osoyoos Lake as the picture-perfect backdrop. Steps away is the Nk’Mip Desert Cultural Centre, where you can learn about the Syilx people and their connection to the Earth. That interconnectedness carries over to the restaurant, which focuses on Indigenous-inspired farm-to-table innovations like salmon-and-fry-bread crisps, lentil-and-cauliflower tacos and sponge toffee with Saskatoon-berry gelato. Pair with a glass of Nk’mip’s Qwam Qwmt (meaning “achieving excellence”) wines, estate bottlings produced in limited quantities. nkmipcellars.com/The-Winery
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SHOW ES HOMW O N N OPE
Chilliwack’s newest townhome community Base 10 is Chilliwack’s newest master-planned townhome community conveniently located on Thomas Road just south of Promontory Road. With distinctive modern architecture on the outside and bright spacious layouts on the inside expertly finished in your choice of our designer colour scheme you’ll want to make Base 10 your home. Our Phase 1 Show Homes are now open.
If being located close to shopping, schools and recreation is important, you’ve found it!
YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD. YOUR LIFE. YOUR HOME BASE.
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VEDDER RD.
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PROMONTORY RD.
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RE-LEARNING MORTGAGE MATH The new equations and factors to consider when right sizing into your smaller-city dream home. By Michelle Hopkins
= Michael Huber left city life behind for the different pace that the Okanagan offered. “I left Regina because of the many advantages that living in Kelowna presents,” says Huber. “There’s less traffic, easier access to the ski hills and beaches, and best of all, homes are cheaper.” As licensed mortgage broker of his own firm, Huber Mortgage, Huber meets clients who, like him, were lured by everything that smaller-community living features. Best of all, it is much more affordable than a city—in many towns, you can get a sprawling family home for the same price as a condo in the Yaletown neighbourhood of Vancouver. According to Huber, if you were to purchase a single-family home in Metro Vancouver for $1,456,700, a comparable house in the Okanagan will cost you $685,900.
Playing by new, stricter rules However, the global pandemic has made buying that forever dream home a little more difficult for some. In response to the current economic conditions, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) slashed prospective homebuyers’ purchasing abilities as of July 1, 2020. That’s when the Crown Corporation changed its new debt-ratio formula that applies to insured mortgages for those with less than 20 per cent down payment, resulting in a reduction in homebuying power for some consumers. CMHC’s changes effectively reduce homebuyers’ purchasing power by up to 11 per cent, according to a report from RateSpy.com. That is the equivalent of increasing the so-called mortgage stresstest (which queries your ability to withstand a rise in rates) from 4.9 to 6.3 per cent. Prior to July 1, 2020, a household earning $120,000 would qualify for a mortgage of around $565,000 plus insurance. With CMHC’s new tougher rules, that same household now qualify for a mortgage of approximately $502,000 plus insurance costs. There is still hope, says Huber, for those unable to qualify because of CMHC’s new rules. “Canada’s two other mortgage
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+ insurers, Genworth Canada and Canada Guaranty (which are 90 per cent backed by the Federal Government), have not adopted CMHC’s new mortgage rules,” says Huber. “Because not all banks and credit unions follow CMHC, I suggest people ask their bank to switch insurers or talk to a mortgage broker.”
The right-sizing scenario For those not affected by CMHC’s new rules (such as anyone making a down payment of more than 20 per cent and therefore not requiring federal insurance), Sven Stein, partner at Gyro Beach Townhomes Kelowna, offers an enticing scenario. Say you sold your Langley home for $1.89 million. You have an existing $825,000 mortgage, and when you factor in realtor and moving fees, it still leaves you approximately $1 million. Consider if you bought a new Lakeside Gyro Beach Townhome for around that amount. You could take out a new mortgage for just 65 per cent of the purchase price (or $650,000), putting approximately $400,000 toward a substantial down payment plus fees and transactional and legal expenses. At the same time, your monthly expenses (including interest, amortization, maintenance, strata fees and so on) will drop, in this scenario, from $5,250 to $4,000. That would leave you with approximately $600,000 in proceeds from the original sale. With that, you could buy lifestyle amenities (such as a boat, RV or vehicle) or invest in the market (at 5 per cent annual returns, that investment would generate $30,000 each year). You could direct those proceeds to travel or seasonally relocate, as many B.C. residents do, during winter. Or, you could even purchase a winter home in a community like Palm Springs, California, using perhaps $400,000 of your original real estate proceeds. Speaking with your financial planner, a mortgage broker or property developers can inspire you to think about creative ways to right-size your life. New rules don’t have to limit your ability to play. Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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THE NEW HOME OFFICE As long as working from home remains part of the new normal, innovative solutions to creating a home office—inside and outside your home—are here to stay. By Kate Robertson
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For workers who never dreamed of working at home, the pandemic has changed everything. We’re mastering virtual meetings, coordinating with other family members and finding the best spots to turn into home office space. As the months have passed, more people are investing in custom-designed work spaces with longterm potential. “One of the biggest benefits [of working at home] is less time spent commuting, which also opens up new opportunities for housing further from the city,” says Ken Toews, founder of Hewing Haus and Rockridge Fine Homes, based in Vancouver. Popular office locations within the home include just off the main entrance, to accommodate visitors, or at the back, where it’s quieter, perhaps with access to powder room or en suite. “Look for under-utilized spaces like bay windows, room corners, walk-in closets and under stairs. Also consider natural lighting with skylights/windows and plan for... shadows cast by other buildings and trees,” says Kelly Marciniw, vice-president of Surrey-based Pan-Abode International, a designer and manufacturer of customized Western red-cedar home packages. An addition or stand-alone accessory building in your laneway or backyard can become fresh office space. Building systems like Pan-Abode’s are generally accessible for DIYers, or quick jobs for contractors. “Check for any setbacks from the main home and your neighbours’ homes, to know where you can build. Then mark out the structure location and consider how it impacts your views and use of your yard,” says Marciniw.
An addition or stand-alone accessory building on your property can become fresh home office space.
Hewing Haus design. Photo: Ben Prescott
While you should always design your home for living, keeping future resale in mind is prudent. When a stand-alone building is no longer required as office, it can become a studio or a rental and guest suite. “These units can be relocated to another property if the owners sell and purchase a new home in the future,” says Toews. Hewing Haus is currently designing a 9 by 12 foot backyard office space that in most municipalities will require no permit. (Always check local regulations before building.) Fortunately, the same set-up (private entrance, bathroom access) that works for a home office also works for short-term rental suites. “Many home offices don’t need a closet, but if it is later converted into a bedroom, then a closet is useful. Also, if creating built-in bookshelves, consider leaving wall space where a future bed could go,” says Marciniw. Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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ABOVE Pan-Abode Design. Photo: Reactive Design. BELOW An efficient stand-alone office plan by Pan-Abode
How to Create a Home Office Space Kelly Marciniw, vice-president of Pan-Abode International, offers the following pro tips. • • • •
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Provide storage and enough work space to spread projects out and display work materials. Plan for zones within the office layout so you can move from working at a desk to a table. Get an ergonomic office chair and plan for additional seating for clients or other team members. Allow for enough additional outlets to plug in required electronics. Incorporate a connection to nature, whether through natural building materials such as wood or by adding plants or other elements.
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A home office also needs to be a quiet and an inspiring place to work, free from distractions. “All of our [stand-alone] units are exterior-insulated for energy efficiency as well as for soundproofing,” says Toews, adding that large windows make the structures appear spacious. Even pre-pandemic, with semi-retiring boomers, companies looking to cut office-space costs and more self-employed entrepreneurs, working from home was a growing trend. It looks like the home office is here to stay.
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Storing possessions is an essential consideration when right-sizing your life. Entrepreneurs and developers are making it easier with innovative storage solutions that are built right in. By Michelle Hopkins
When Dr. Don MacRae sold his 5,800-square-foot home to move closer to family in Kelowna, he wasn’t ready to part with all his belongings accumulated over 26 years. “We moved into a 1,500-square-foot condo in downtown Kelowna,” says MacRae. “My wife, Kim, and I knew that the condo’s small storage unit, which is only good for 10 boxes maximum, was not enough.” Storage became a selling point in easing the house-to-condo transition. The couple discovered Spacious Storage on Ellis, the first-ever self-storage facility built in downtown Kelowna, just a few minutes from their new home. “It is perfectly located—it is like an extension to our home,” says MacRae, adding the facility is clean and safe, with contactless access through a smartphone app. “We love living the lock-and-go lifestyle, but the lack of storage was definitely our biggest issue.”
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It’s a common lament. As people right-size their lives, condos are becoming more efficiently sized. According to Statistics Canada data published on the real estate blog BetterDwelling.com, the median size of a Metro Vancouver condo built from 2016 to 2017 was just 769 square feet, down 3.5 per cent from those built from 2011 to 2015, and 16 per cent smaller than the median of condo sizes built between 1971 and 1990. (Toronto condos have shrunk almost 40 per cent since 1990.) While condo dwellers can make smaller homes more functional with tricks like multi-purpose furniture, space is always at a premium. Gerard Sauvé, his wife, Penny, and their three-year-old son, Luc, live in a 900-square-foot condo with a storage locker that they use for seasonal camping gear, bikes and holiday decorations. However, “We have pieces [of furniture] that we don’t want to part with so we had to rent a storage locker,” says Sauvé.
Sam Brovender, partner with Kelowna’s West Point Projects, the developer of Spacious Storage and a developer best known for residential construction, says he and his partners realized they needed to offer solutions for multi-family dwelling owners, who were increasingly frustrated with not only the lack of storage space but break-ins to unmonitored storage areas as well. “In Kelowna, we have seen a growing shift towards a European lifestyle; one of living in smaller spaces,” says Brovender. “There are many people... who are not living with their kids anymore, they want to live downtown, they want to walk places, they want to have everything at their fingertips, but don’t want to part with all of their stuff.” Flexible locker sizes from 20 to 400 square feet give plenty of options. “We recognised that with all the urbanization happening downtown, people needed a place to store their stuff,” says Brovender. With high density living coming to many of B.C.’s most livable cities, look for convenient urban self-storage facilities to be the preferred solution for many rightsizers.
find All Copies Online Property Search tool + videos
• • •
• • •
Choose plastic bins with tight-fitting lids over morevulnerable cardboard boxes. Take pictures of items before storing them, for insurance purposes. Organize documents and photos, undisplayed collections and memoribilia, and other can’t-part-with items into labelled bins. Cover furniture with drop sheets or in plastic for protection. Keep seasonal items (Christmas decorations, camping and biking gear) accessible, near the front. Have a transition zone for old clothing and other items you’ve decluttered but can’t quite part with yet; revisit and pare it down regularly.
winter 2019/2020
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Where the jobs are in B.C.
RELOCATING
FEARLESS AT ANY AGE
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B.C.’s best
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Great sports cities
must-see condo and town home projects
Own a private island
HOCKEY HOTSPOTS
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How to make a storage unit work for you.
july/august 2018
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Photo: Spacious Storage on Ellis
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What $600k buys
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SMALL-TOWN MAYORS MAKING A DIFFERENCE ACROSS B.C.
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NORTHERN B.C. Hot New-Home Features l Calculate Your Commute l How to Buy a Business
COOLHUNTING IN THE FRASER VALLEY There’s a new crop in the fertile Fraser Valley region: hip eateries, watering holes and shops. If you haven’t visited the Valley for a while, here’s where to go now, and why.
By Catherine Dunwoody
Think twice before you discount the Fraser Valley for lacking in sophistication or big-city feel. These hot spots are the natural progression of proud rural roots meeting modern day tastes, and are often owned by locals who grew up here, sometimes leaving then returning to their hometowns to start businesses. Here, you’ll find hip experiences in destinations that don’t have that trying-too-hard citified edge.
Abottsford The newest destination for a local sipper is Taves Estate Cidery, a spinoff of the family farm that’s been in the area since the 1930s; try the gooseberry or red currant flavours. Maan Farms is the poster child for those sought-after goat yoga classes, and Seaside Pearl winery’s tasting room is located in a pretty little chapel, also delighting Instagrammers with every visit. Field House Brewing offers microbrews aplenty, especially paired with onsite Canteen Eats for memorable pizza and more, in a Portland-of-the-North setting. Owner and local entrepreneur Josh Vanderheide proudly champions “Abby,” and grows his brewery’s barley at a nearby farm.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Goat yoga at Maan Farms. Field House Brewing. Seaside Pearl.
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CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Amble Coffee by Alexandrah Pahl/Tourism Chilliwack. Local Harvest Market by Robyn Bessenger/Tourism Chilliwack. Aerial of Chilliwack. Vedder Mountain biking trails by BC Enduro Series.
Chilliwack Proving food trucks are still a thing, Amble Coffee parks itself next to the Vedder River, and caffeinators flock to sip local brands like New Moon tea and cult-fave 49th Parallel coffee. While you’re there, hit the Vedder Mountain biking trails for a cycle or a run, and grab some super fresh produce and artisan breads made with local Anita’s Organic Mill flours at Local Harvest Market. Whispering Horse Winery was first established as the J-Bar Ranch back in the 1960s, and then moved into winemaking about a decade ago. Take home a bottle of its sparkling Pinot Gris.
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Mission Not many breweries boast a kids play area, but Mission Springs Brewing Company keeps the little ones occupied while parents choose from three different patios to grab gourmet fries (like sweet chili chicken flavour) and burgers, plus sample a seasonal beer or other beverage from the year-round list. If hipster décor is defined by Edison bulbs and macramé, find it at The Penny, along with espresso drinks and avo toast. Hotties Food Emporio has visitors from across B.C. driving miles for their Panzerotti, a deepfried calzone. For calorie-burning and blood-pumping exercise, Bear Mountain Loop Trail is popular with hikers and mountain bikers, with nearly 9 kilometres of moderate trails.
ABOVE LEFT TO RIGHT The Penny. Mission Springs Brewing Company.
Maple Ridge Taking craft beer flights to the next level, Sky Helicopters offers a 20-minute flight from nearby Pitt Meadows airport to the Coast Mountains, touching down in the scenic backcountry for a sampling of West Coast craft beers. Newly renovated Maple Ridge Leisure Centre recently had a $12-million facelift and is open for safe swimming, sauna and steam baths. We always love a family-run restaurant, and if friends are indeed the family you choose, then we extra-love Humble Roots Café and Deli: this collective of chefs, servers and farmers suggest you try the pulled barbecue jackfruit (think vegetarian pulled pork) flatbread, which is legendary. Sky Helicopters.
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Escape the big city Safely connect with others again with a move to The Residence at Orchards Walk - Kamloops’ premier 55+ retirement community. Our condominium-style suites are complete with modern ďŹ nishings, in-suite laundry, new appliances, open concept natural light and quality services. Enjoy on-site amenities including hair salon, wine bar, ďŹ tness centre, theatre, and hobby workshop. Small pets also welcome!
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Langley Truly one of the chicest flower shops around, Floralista is a treasure in the Fort Langley village shopping area. The oldest winery in the Fraser Valley, Chaberton Winery, also has an exceptional duck confit and other classic French cuisine at adjoining Bacchus Bistro. Roots & Wings Distillery has a tasting room bar worth hanging at, using its range of spirits made with local ingredients, including potatoes from the adjacent farm. (The Renegade horseradish vodka is born to make great Caesars!). Brand new in the ‘hood is Haven, with a menu featuring a modern Asian vibe. For a standout lunch or dinner visit Saba Café and Bistro, where live jazz plays on weekends and a husband-and-wife team offer up beautiful food that nods to the Middle East.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Saba Café and Bistro. Floralista. Haven. Roots & Wings Distillery.
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A PERFECT HOME FOR EVERY BUYER
SINGLE FAMILY HOMES
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3 & 4 Bedrooms with Legal Basement Suite Options
3 Bedrooms No Strata Fees
Upper $900’s
Upper $700’s
At Latimer Heights we have a home to fit every budget and lifestyle! Never before have there been so many home styles to choose from in one community. With added incentives, Latimer Heights offers the best value in the Willoughby neighbourhood. There has never been a better time to purchase. For more information visit
LATIMERHEIGHTS.COM | 604.371.1669 SALES CENTRE & SHOWHOMES 20265 82 Avenue, LANGLEY
83 AVE
202B ST
200 ST
202 ST
Open Daily 12 PM - 84 5 PM AVE Closed Thursday & Friday
LATIMER HEIGHTS SALES CENTRE
82 AVE 81 AVE
N
Prices and incentives are subject to change without notice. Rendering are an artists conception and are intended as a general resource only. E.&O.E.
TERRACED TOWNHOMES
VILLAGE CONDOS
2 & 3 Bedrooms Modern Interiors
2 & 3 Bedrooms Bright Open Concept Living
Mid $500’s
Low $400’s
DIFFERENT PATHS, SAME OUTCOME:
A BRAND NEW HOME
Bear Mountain. Photo: Discovery Dream Homes
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Whether you buy new, build within a master-planned community or freestyle your new build, the options for getting a pristine new right-sized home are plentiful. By Lisa Manfield
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When Julia Abraham first moved into her Bear Mountain Resort condo in 2007, she was looking for a location close to nature. “I was driven by the lifestyle and having the outdoors at my doorstep,” she says. But it’s not just the spectacular surroundings that have kept her there through meeting and marrying her husband, raising three kids and moving from a condo to a town home then a custom home there. “Having the golf course and resort amenities is amazing,” she says. “But having a real sense of community for our kids was a driving force behind why we have stayed at Bear Mountain.” Two and a half years ago, Abraham and her husband decided on a custom Bear Mountain home. “That opportunity was there through Ecoasis [Bear Mountain’s developer]. We were able to secure a lot in the perfect neighbourhood at the end of a cul de sac.” Like many master-planned communities throughout B.C., Bear Mountain offers new-build options from single-family residential lots to gated villas, town homes and condos. It sells lots to both home buyers and approved builders. “The approved builders have committed to building quality, custom homes for end users or will build homes to high-end specifications and put
ABOVE AND BELOW The Bear Mountain Resort Community upholds high design standards with building guidelines and an Approved Builders Program.
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their finished product on the market,” says Ruthanne Doyle of Ecoasis. The Approved Builders Program combined with the design guidelines ensures neighbourhood quality and consistency, she says. “Of course, homeowners are free to customize their interiors to their family’s needs,” Doyle says. A home that adheres to Bear Mountain’s design guidelines was “a big peace of mind in securing our investment,” Abraham says. “It is a very traditional home with fine
Many B.C. master-planned
Wilden is Kelowna’s largest master-planned community, with four of the finest Okanagan homebuilders in its portfolio of preferred partners.
communities offer lots and/or new-build options, including homes by approved builders.
craftsmanship throughout, and great functional spaces for our kids.” But they were also able to bring some creativity to the mix. “We vaulted our great room to enhance the views of both the greenspace and golf course from the kitchen, living and dining area. It has a real seamless indoor-outdoor feel.”
Choose Your Build A range of communities with a variety of new-home building options from which to choose.
The Developer/Builders In these planned communities, the developer builds your home
The Building Lots Buy here and choose from developer-referred builders or bring your own
• The Cottages on Osoyoos Lake, Osoyoos • Dilworth Homes, Kelowna • Everton Ridge, Vernon • Diverse Properties, Abbotsford • Orchards Walk, Kamloops • Predator Ridge, Vernon • GableCraft in Royal Bay, Victoria • Skaha Hills, Penticton • West Harbour, Troika, West Kelowna • Westhills, Langford
• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •
Developers with Preferred Builders These developers select a handful preferred building partners • • • • •
Lakestone, Lake Country Kettle Valley, Kelowna New Dawn, Cranbrook The Ridge, Penticton Wilden, Kelowna
Bear Mountain, Victoria Bowen Island Properties, Bowen Island Crown Isle, Courtenay Fairmont Hot Springs Estate, Columbia Valley Fawn Run, Kelowna The Foothills, Nanaimo Green Emerald Estates, Salmon Arm Hunters Hill, Summerland New Dawn, Cranbrook North Clifton, Kelowna Redstone, Rossland Kirschner Mountain, Kelowna Montane, Fernie Shuswap Lake Estates, Blind Bay Tobiano, Kamloops
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No photos
Customized builds, such as this open-concept home by Discovery, offer more personalized features.
Going solo On the other end of the new-build spectrum are those who prefer to do their own thing. And there are plenty of opportunities throughout B.C. to purchase a lot and do a custom build with fewer constraints. In the Okanagan, realtor Patrick Murphy is working with clients ranging from “the lowest-priced lot in the South Okanagan” to “one of the most expensive lots in the Okanagan.” Murphy, a native to the area, helps his clients understand the ins and outs of land preparation for building a house. “A buyer might see a lot listed on MLS for $350,000, but they wouldn’t know that they’ll need to install a $60,000 septic system or bring in engineered fill so there are no drainage problems,” he says. An experienced realtor can help evaluate a potential lot. Murphy adds, “The onus is on the realtor to ensure those bits of information are forthcoming.”
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The process of readying a lot for building can be long, he warns. For example, his low-cost buyer is awaiting a lot subdivision, plus electricity, water and sewer installation at the lot line, before she can apply for a building permit, which Murphy estimates could be six to eight months away. Murphy, who also works as a land developer and partner at Hunter’s Hill, a master-planned community in Summerland, says the upside of building within a regulated community vs. an independent lot comes down to security of your investment. “The consumer really does have the protection of [a] development group ensuring their views and investment are protected. If they buy... somewhere else, someone can build right in front of them and they have no control.” But going it on your own has its advantages too: you have full control over your location, the designer and builder you choose, and ultimately, the final product is yours alone.
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Building Original Memories Since 1948
Building fast and furious If a fast build is what you’re looking for, then working with a land-development company might prevail. For example, at Crown Isle, a master-planned community in Courtenay, B.C., picking a lot, designing a home and completing construction is a seven- to 10-month process, says Jason Andrew, director of real estate and a 20-year veteran resident of the community. Andrew works with clients to help them understand their budget, their needs and whether the community has any existing stock that might fit. If they’re looking to build new, an introduction is made to in-house builder Jayson Welsh and Crown Isle Homes, as well as partner building companies. “Right now we have 31 single-family homes on the market and 14 are new builds,” he says. “If someone is happy with the location and the scheme [of a new build], they
Crown Isle Homes helps clients design their perfect home on a lot of your choosing, in your preferred location.
are ready to move in today. If they have the time, they can meet with a builder and design their own home. My recommendation is to find the location first, and then design the house to fit that location,” he adds, considering nuances like natural light at all
times of day. “The beauty here is that we have our realtor, Crown Isle Realty, as well as builders so we can give an idea of the cost to renovate an existing home, or look at the cost to do a custom build.”
A bird’s eye view of Crown Isle Resort and Golf Community, , in Courtenay on Vancouver Island.
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ABOVE AND LEFT Each of Lakestone’s preferred builders showcases their craftsmanship in dedicated showhomes. BELOW Diverse Properties offers unique and innovative new home designs.
Buying New Stock For some, buying new housing stock rather than building new might be the best solution, and in that case, B.C. is a great place to be, with innovative new products and designs making it more exciting than ever for buyers. “That’s why we build presentation centres,” says Greg Lowe, sales and marketing manager at Diverse Properties. “So people can come in, see the finishings, review the floor plans and work through it with someone trained to help them make the decision on what to buy.” In Vancouver’s Fraser Valley, where growth in housing starts has doubled and tripled in areas like Abbotsford and Chilliwack over the past decade, sales of new town homes in particular have been on the uptick, Lowe says. Diverse has been building out Abbotsford’s Cinema District, with larger than average town homes that appeal both to young families and downsizers. “These are 2,200- to 2,300-square-foot town homes,” he says. “Every one has a roof deck; some even have rental suites. It’s a very progressive product in terms of forward thinking for real estate.” Whether you buy new, build new within a master-planned community or DIY your new build, the sky’s the limit on opportunities for getting the right space for your needs.
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Ready. Set. Build.
778.475.0422
Visit our showhome in Turtle Visit our showhome inMountain Turtle Mountain Open Daily 11-4, closed Thursdays. Turtle Pond Place, Vernon Open Daily 11-5: 5052 Turtle5052 Pond Place, Vernon
evertonridge.ca
In Business: 12 Great Places in B.C. for Working Remotely
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In the new world order, a bit of breathing space isn’t just nice to have—it’s a must-have. A dozen communities, ranging from a couple thousand to a couple hundred thousand residents, each offer the home-office space, affordability, business supports and a variety of amenities that make them ideally suited for workers and entrepreneurs at any stage of a career. By Matt O’Grady
A hiker on Giant’s Head Mountain with a view of Okanagan Lake. Destination BC/Kari Medig
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Abbotsford
It has 150,000 residents and all the big-city attractions of Vancouver—without the big-city traffic and prices.
70 kilometres southeast of Vancouver. Connections: Adjacent to the U.S. border, with easy east-west access to Vancouver and the Okanagan from Highway 1. Abbotsford International Airport provides global connectivity and a more relaxed hub for getting to top Western Canadian destinations.
Home to 20,000 people at the heart of southeastern B.C., it has easy access to the Rocky Mountains and Columbia Valley.
840 kilometres east of Vancouver; 388 kilometres south west of Calgary. Connections: Canadian Rockies International Airport offers regular flights to Vancouver, Calgary and destinations beyond. Located on Highway 3, Cranbrook is a critical stop on the CP Rail line, as well as a hub for business and tourism in the East Kootenay. Community: Cranbrook is the administrative hub for the East Kootenay, so the city is well positioned with public amenities, including schools and hospitals. Leveraging its history as a resource town, with many nearby mining and forestry operations, Cranbrook has worked hard to build out its transportation and industrial infrastructure for light-industrial operations.
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Community: The hub of the Fraser Valley agricultural community, Abbotsford also has a vibrant aviation sector tied to the airport, plus a niche manufacturing sector. The Valley is also a popular location for TV and movie shoots. Competitive Advantage: Recent investments by Telus have expanded high-speed broadband service to more than 90 per cent of Abbotsford’s population. According to Abbotsford economic development specialist Vern May, that’s made a home office there “as efficient an option as ever before.” For those who can’t work from home, and don’t want to brave a rush-hour commute into Vancouver, May points to a new co-working space from Backbone Offices. Coming Soon: The Abbotsford Tech District (still in the visioning stages) is expected to play a major role in the future of the tech sector in the Fraser Valley.
Cranbrook
Competitive Advantage: As part of an ongoing effort to restore Cranbrook’s historic downtown (a completed Downtown Revitalization Master Plan is expected at Council in early 2021), the city offers a Downtown Revitalization Tax Exemption to applicants who undertake improvements, “including façades or developing a mixed commercial/residential use project.” Coming Soon: The city sees digital infrastructure as key to its ability to attract future businesses, and is actively exploring opportunities for more free public WiFi and, down the road, 5G coverage.
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Fort St. John (Move up! you’ll love living here)
OPPORTUNITY
Low tax rates for business and attractive economic incentives for development mean Fort St. John is ‘Open for Business.’
#1
304
Highest household income in BC, and fifth in Canada
Sunny days per year (same as Kelowna)
31.4
$367,000
Median age
Average price of a single-family home in 2018
(11 years younger than BC’s median age)
Our natural resource industries create 2.27 million Canadian jobs.
Real people. Real jobs. Real life.
Hey Canada!
If you are in favour of a strong economy, jobs, and clean energy – SPEAK UP!
fortstjohn.ca We have 200 years of natural resource experience.
Opponents to industry are 3x more likely to speak out than supporters.
It’s part of Capital Region District, but in lifestyle amenities and affordability measures for its 17,000 residents, it’s a world apart.
4 kilometres east of Victoria. Connections: A quick 10-minute drive from downtown Victoria (or short walk along the scenic West Bay Walkway), the township is also about half an hour’s drive from Victoria Airport and the Swartz Bay ferry terminal. Community: Located on the southeast coast of Vancouver Island, the marine economy is foundational here: it’s home to Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt, the community’s largest employer, as well as the Esquimalt Graving Dock, the largest non-military site for ship repair on the West Coast. With more than 600 licensed businesses and services, Esquimalt is an
increasingly attractive place to set up shop for smaller enterprises, as well.
Esquimalt
Competitive Advantage: Esquimalt sells itself on its outdoor amenities: close to a major economic centre, but with 40-plus parks and acclaimed golf courses nearby. The township’s Revitalization Tax Exemption bylaw is also driving businesses to help beautify the downtown core. Coming Soon: Two big revitalization efforts in the works include a $7-million Japanesestyle recreation building at Esquimalt Gorge Park on the waterfront, and a new Esquimalt Town Centre (a large mixed-use project with residential and commercial space) downtown. Esquimalt – waterfront town.
This city of 100,000 is evolving beyond its working-class roots to become an outdoor rec and right-sizing mecca.
350 kilometres northeast of Vancouver; 167 kilometres northwest of Kelowna.
Kamloops
Connections: Kamloops Airport provides regular service to Vancouver and Calgary, though both cities are comfortably reached via the Trans-Canada Highway. Community: While the resource economy is still critical to the region, the knowledge economy has taken off in recent years, with the expansion of Thompson Rivers University. According to Jim Anderson of Venture Kamloops, building permit values in 2020 “are on pace to continue a three-year trend of consecutive record values.” Competitive Advantage: Anderson says Kamloops has the advantage of being well-situated (“even more important as supply chains come under increased pressure”), affordable and ripe for recreation (they don’t call it the Tournament Capital of Canada for nothing). Coming Soon: July marked the groundbreaking for The Hive, a new three-building retail-and-office complex along Lansdowne Street—the first new commercial building downtown in Kamloops since 2007.
Rendering of The Hive in Kamloops. Courtesy Invictus Properties.
Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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Kelowna/Central Okanagan
Downtown Kelowna. Photo: Destination BC/Kari Medig
The Central Okanagan, with Kelowna as its economic heart, offers a bit of country, a bit of city, and lots of culture to 200,000 residents.
communities (from Lake Country to Peachland) provide a smalltown business vibe with easy access to acclaimed wineries and farmland.
Connections: Kelowna International Airport has daily flights across the West, as well as service to Toronto and the North and seasonal flights to Mexico. Highway 97 services the Okanagan and all points beyond.
Competitive Advantage: While the area is a tourism hotspot, local amenities are a boon to those moving to the area as well. It’s also an increasingly young population, with Kelowna’s under-35 set growing at twice the Canadian average. KPMG has ranked Kelowna the No.1 lowest-cost city for business in the Pacific Region of Canada/U.S.
Community: The Central Okanagan region represents a wide range of economic interests, with Kelowna the hub for education (UBC Okanagan or UBCO), animation and aviation, while surrounding
Coming Soon: A new UBCO campus was announced for downtown Kelowna in June, which promises to add even more life to a bustling stretch of the city core.
400 kilometres east of Vancouver.
Merritt
The self-proclaimed Country Music Capital of Canada, Merritt (population 7,000) blends the country and city lifestyles seamlessly.
270 kilometres northeast of Vancouver; 130 kilometres northwest of Kelowna. Connections: Easy access to Kamloops and the Lower Mainland via the Coquihalla Highway and to Kelowna/the Okanagan via Highway 97C. Community: While ranching, farming and forestry have been staples of the economy for decades, Merritt’s advantageous location has made it increasingly popular with small businesses, for which transportation and logistics are key. The town’s young labour pool (30 per cent under the age of 25) is another big draw.
Kekuli Cafe Coffee & Bannock, Merritt. Photo: @miraecampbell
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Competitive Advantage: Sitting at the crossroads of Kelowna, Kamloops and the Lower Mainland is a big plus for many businesses that relocate to Merritt; so, too, is a new revitalization tax exemption regime, which allows property owners within designated areas who make improvements to their site to mitigate municipal property taxes. Coming Soon: Merritt has established a six-pronged strategy for revitalization post-pandemic, including a buy local campaign, a new downtown pedestrian zone and city beautification projects (including commissioned downtown murals).
The heart of Canada’s only desert, Osoyoos (population 5,000) is popular with those seeking the Okanagan lifestyle but without the steeper prices of its more northerly neighbours.
Osoyoos
120 kilometres south of Kelowna. Connections: On the Canada/U.S. border and at the junction of Highways 97 and 3, Osoyoos is easily accessible from all directions. It’s also only 45 minutes from the Penticton Regional Airport. Community: Agriculture, viticulture, tourism and hospitality are the economic cornerstones of the region, but in recent years Osoyoos has been leveraging its existing strengths to build out an ecotourism and all-season recreation niche. The Osoyoos Indian Band operates various enterprises in the area, from wineries to resorts, while the value-added wood sector is an emergent industry. Competitive Advantage: While the climate (over 2,000 hours of sunshine a year) and recreation opportunities are big draws for those looking to make the move, so too are the many services accessible
Patio of The Bear, The Fish, The Root & The Berry at Spirit Ridge Resort. Photo: David McIlvride
to business owners, including from the Community Futures Development Corp. and Accelerate Okanagan. Recent “business-friendly” bylaw changes have lowered the requirement for parking spaces for area businesses.
Coming Soon: In June, Osoyoos council signed off on the second phase of a threestage housing development, part of the Meadowlark Plan that promises to add 23 single-family homes and four duplexes to the housing-strapped community.
Parksville & District
its surrounding businesses are to servicing local fishing and forestry enterprises. The oceanfront is also a popular film locale for many national and international shoots.
Boardwalk in Parksville.
A mecca for visitors and right-sizers both, the town of Parksville (population 12,000) is about much more than just its stunning Vancouver Island beachfront.
capital, Parksville is also just 30 minutes from the Nanaimo ferry terminal and less than an hour from the Comox Valley Airport, with connections to Vancouver, Alberta and beyond.
150 kilometres northwest of Victoria. Connections: A two-hour drive from the 58
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Fall 2020
Community: The retail sector is vital in Parksville to serve local residents, just as
Competitive Advantage: Lifestyle amenities are key to Parksville’s draw, but for many entrepreneurs or workers considering the move, so too is the Parksville Civic and Technology Centre. The 41,000-squarefoot centre is home to the Parksville campus of Vancouver Island University, the Parksville branch of the Vancouver Island Regional Library and City of Parksville offices, among others. Just next door is the Parksville Community and Conference Centre, with an auditorium/theatre, boardroom and meeting rooms. Coming Soon: In November 2019, Parksville and surrounding business groups formed a coalition to promote business and tourism in the Oceanside region— showing increasing strength in numbers.
More than just a gateway to Canada’s West Coast, Port Alberni (population 18,000) is making headway as a welcoming base for the knowledge economy.
200 kilometres northwest of Victoria.
Port Alberni
Connections: Highway 4 connects Tofino to the west and Parksville to the east. Community: Forestry and the fisheries have been cornerstones of the local economy for decades. As eco-tourist interests on the West Coast have boomed, a service economy has also started to flourish in Port Alberni—the largest community en route to Tofino and Ucluelet. Competitive Advantage: According to Sara Darling at the city of Port Alberni, the community is “actively working to encourage tourism-related developments and infrastructure in Port Alberni.” She highlights the “Connect the Quays” project as one such example: a multi-modal waterfront pathway that links Victoria Quay and Kitsuksis Dyke with Harbour Quay.
Aerial view of Port Alberni harbour. Photo: Kevstan/Wikimedia Commons
Coming Soon: Port Alberni is expanding its regional airport to service what it hopes to be a burgeoning tech scene. The city is an
Princeton (population 3,000) is at the heart of one of B.C.’s fastest growing eco-tourist destinations, the Similkameen Valley.
280 kilometres east of Vancouver; 160 kilometres southwest of Kelowna.
active part of TechIsland: a joint initiative, launched by eight coastal communities on Vancouver Island, to encourage investment in the tech sector.
Princeton
Connections: Princeton sits at the junction of Highways 3 and 5A, taking travellers to the Lower Mainland and all points throughout the Okanagan, Nicola and Similkameen valleys. Community: With a Weyerhaeuser sawmill and the Copper Mountain mine employing hundreds in the region, Princeton has long had a reputation as a resource town. But a medical cannabis outfit, BC Green Pharmaceutical, just got permitting this year, promising to add hundreds more jobs in one of B.C.’s fastest-growing sectors. Competitive Advantage: Princeton is one of the most affordable communities within a three-hour drive of Vancouver, with a typical three- to four-bedroom home going for $350,000 to $450,000. And commutes are non-existent, as director of economic
Princeton has a new gateway to welcome all passers-by.
development Gary Schatz points out: “I came from Ontario three years ago. I used to commute an hour-plus each way. Now I’m 600 metres from my office.”
downtown revitalization effort, adding a series of bronze statues to the landscape and looking for ways to make the downtown strip more pedestrian friendly.
Coming Soon: Despite the pandemic, town council is full-speed ahead on a Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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There’s undeniable attraction in the sunny name, but this town of 12,000 offers appealing year-round access to Okanagan recreation and culture. 46 kilometres southwest of Kelowna.
Summerland
Connections: The rest of the Okanagan is easily accessible via Highway 97, and all points beyond. It’s less than an hour’s drive from Kelowna’s international airport, and less than 20 minutes from the regional airport in Penticton. Community: Building on its agrarian roots, Summerland has extended its agri-food expertise with the world-class Pacific Agricultural Research Centre. Competitive Advantage: While lifestyle considerations (including 14 local wineries) are paramount, Summerland also touts plentiful industrial land, fast internet and “mobile business licensing options” to prospective new businesses. That plus access to acclaimed educational opportunities in the region, including UBC Okanagan and Okanagan College. Coming Soon: Leveraging its abundant sunshine, Summerland is in the midst of rolling out an Integrated Solar Project for sustainable energy management in the business community.
West Kelowna
Vineyards along Okanagan Lake from Sage Hills Estate Winery and Vineyards in Summerland. Photo: @lukelelee
This city of 35,000 on the west shore of Okanagan Lake is fast growing and fast moving, providing unique opportunities for businesses hoping to get an Okanagan foothold.
Fruit stands abound on the Westside Farm Loop. Photo: Destination BC/Andrew Strain
8 kilometres (across the William R. Bennett Bridge) west of downtown Kelowna. Connections: Right on Highway 97 and less than 25 minutes from Kelowna International Airport, this business-friendly community is easily accessible from points near and far.
Community: While retail and construction have historically been two of the biggest economic drivers, the city, with the help of West Bank First Nation and its 400 businesses, is reshaping the region as a hub for retail, manufacturing and professional services. Competitive Advantage: Through a joint Visit Westside initiative, the City of West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation have
helped promote and grow various tourism and outdoor experiences in recent years. The Westside Wine Trail and Westside Farm Loop have also helped boost the profile of many area agribusinesses. Coming Soon: The city launched a visioning process in June, #OURWK, to get public input in advance of updating West Kelowna’s Official Community Plan. Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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AFFORDABILITY AT A GLANCE Though assessed values of residential and other property don’t necessarily reflect selling prices, they’re a good barometer of local market conditions, and whether home values are rising, falling or remaining relatively flat. By Right Sizing Staff This year there are more than 2 million properties on the BC Assessment rolls—residential single-family homes and strata units, plus industrial and commercial properties—a number that grew one per cent last year. With $27 billion in new construction, B.C.’s total real estate value of almost $2 trillion was relatively flat, with a two-and-a-half per cent decline province wide. This BC Assessment 2020 data reflects assessed home values as of July 1, 2019, when many right-sized cities and towns were already showing stable or slightly lower values, making 2020 an excellent time to make your move.
KOOTENAY COLUMBIA Single Family Homes by Community
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN 2019 Typical Assessed Value as of July 1, 2018
2020 Typical Assessed Value as of July 1, 2019
Single Family Homes by Community
% Change
2019 Typical Assessed Value as of July 1, 2018
2020 Typical Assessed Value as of July 1, 2019
% Change
City of Castlegar
$307,000
$320,000
+4.%
City of Kelowna
$643,000
$629,000
-2%
City of Cranbrook
$283,000
$307,000
+9%
West Kelowna
$614,000
$607,000
-1%
City of Fernie
$509,000
$553,000
+9%
Lake Country
$619,000
$627,000
+1%
City of Grand Forks
$250,000
$253,000
+1%
Penticton
$481,000
$469,000
-3%
City of Greenwood
$133,000
$134,000
+1%
Summerland
$517,000
$526,000
+2%
City of Kimberley
$284,000
$303,000
+7%
Keremeos
$270,000
$275,000
+2%
City of Nelson
$461,000
$471,000
+2%
Oliver
$381,000
$389,000
+2%
City of Revelstoke
$462,000
$509,000
+10%
Osoyoos
$413,000
$430,000
+4%
City of Rossland
$335,000
$362,000
+8%
Princeton
$197,000
$215,000
+9%
City of Trail
$196,000
$205,000
+5%
Peachland
$582,000
$574,000
-1%
District of Elkford
$246,000
$248,000
+1%
Armstrong
$384,000
$400,000
+4%
District of Invermere
$397,000
$409,000
+3%
Enderby
$300,000
$304,000
+1%
District of Sparwood
$255,000
$267,000
+5%
Vernon
$447,000
$463,000
+4%
Town of Creston
$238,000
$263,000
+11%
Coldstream
$590,000
$581,000
-2%
Town of Golden
$332,000
$353,000
+6%
Salmon Arm
$401,000
$413,000
+3%
Village of Canal Flats
$175,000
$188,000
+7%
Spallumcheen
$364,000
$345,000
-5%
Village of Fruitvale
$276,000
$288,000
+5%
Sicamous
$294,000
$298,000
+1%
Village of Kaslo
$252,000
$268,000
+6%
Lumby
$323,000
$340,000
+5%
Village of Midway
$212,000
$196,000
-7%
City of Kamloops
$431,000
$461,000
+7%
Village of Montrose
$271,000
$279,000
+3%
Barriere
$221,000
$246,000
+11%
Village of Nakusp
$235,000
$237,000
+1%
Clearwater
$230,000
$243,000
+5%
Village of New Denver
$202,000
$207,000
+3%
Merritt
$266,000
$289,000
+9%
Village of Radium Hot Springs
$264,000
$285,000
+8%
Ashcroft
$222,000
$261,000
+17%
Village of Salmo
$188,000
$225,000
+20%
Cache Creek
$163,000
$181,000
+11%
Village of Silverton
$247,000
$246,000
0%
Chase
$286,000
$305,000
+7%
Village of Slocan
$166,000
$165,000
-1%
Clinton
$120,000
$150,000
+25%
Village of Warfield
$221,000
$256,000
+16%
Logan Lake
$230,000
$245,000
+7%
Lillooet
$215,000
$257,000
+20%
Lytton
$138,000
$160,000
+17%
Sun Peaks
$847,000
$829,000
-2%
BC Assessment’s website at bcassessment.ca includes more details about 2020 assessments, property information and trends such as lists of 2020’s top valued residential properties across the province.
Typical assessed home-value data from BC Assessment 2020 Property Assessments (assessed values as of July 1, 2019).
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VANCOUVER ISLAND Single Family Homes by Community
2019 Typical Assessed 2020 Typical Assessed Value Value % Change as of July 1, 2018 as of July 1, 2019
Greater Victoria City of Colwood
$637,000
$631,000
-1%
City of Victoria
$842,000
$821,000
-3%
District of Central Saanich
$738,000
$739,000
0%
Township of Esquimalt
$710,000
$702,000
-1%
District of Saanich (SD#61)*
$810,000
$785,000
-3%
District of Saanich (SD#63)*
$1,013,000
$979,000
-3%
District of Oak Bay
$1,222,000
$1,144,000
-6%
City of Langford
$612,000
$623,000
+2%
District of North Saanich
$924,000
$897,000
-3%
District of Metchosin
$791,000
$777,000
-2%
District of Sooke
$501,000
$517,000
+3%
District of Highlands
$812,000
$812,000
0%
Town of View Royal
$741,000
$746,000
+1%
Town of Sidney
$698,000
$691,000
-1%
Gulf Islands
$523,000
$548,000
+5%
Town of Ladysmith
$426,000
$445,000
+5%
Town of Lake Cowichan
$327,000
$340,000
+4%
City of Duncan
$349,000
$369,000
+6%
District of North Cowichan
$430,000
$460,000
+7%
District of Lantzville
$623,000
$610,000
-2%
City of Nanaimo
$490,000
$504,000
+3%
Nanaimo Rural
$434,000
$461,000
+6%
Town of Qualicum Beach
$615,000
$596,000
-3%
City of Parksville
$481,000
$485,000
+1%
District of Tofino
$767,000
$883,500
+15%
Town of Ucluelet
$403,000
$445,000
+11%
City of Port Alberni
$278,000
$299,000
+8%
Central Island
North Island City of Courtenay
$449,000
$456,000
+2%
Town of Comox
$517,000
$526,000
+2%
Village of Cumberland
$459,000
$493,000
+7%
City of Campbell River
$399,000
$442,000
+11%
Campbell River Rural
$370,000
$403,000
+9%
District of Port Hardy
$182,000
$194,000
+7%
Village of Port Alice
$131,000
$136,000
+4%
Town of Port McNeil
$218,000
$230,000
+6%
Village of Gold River
$166,000
$181,000
+9%
Village of Tahsis
$100,000
$100,000
0%
Village of Alert Bay
$129,000
$148,000
+15%
Village of Sayward
$205,000
$234,000
+14%
Village of Zeballos
$64,000
$58,000
-9%
Port Hardy
$182,000
$194,000
+7%
Powell River
View of Kimberley, BC in the fall. Photo: Destination BC
NORTHERN B.C. Single Family Homes by Community
2019 Typical Assessed Value as of July 1, 2018
2020 Typical Assessed Value as of July 1, 2019
% Change
100 Mile House
$238,000
$236,000
Burns Lake
$149,000
$148,000
-1% -1%
Chetwynd
$222,000
$215,000
-3%
Dawson Creek
$253,000
$241,000
-5%
Fort St James
$160,000
$158,000
-1%
Fort St John
$319,000
$314,000
-2%
Fraser Lake
$133,000
$126,000
-5%
Granisle
$55,000
$61,000
+11%
Hazelton
$114,000
$139,000
+2%
Houston
$151,000
$152,000
+1%
Hudson’s Hope
$164,000
$166,000
+1%
Kitimat
$235,000
$332,000
+41%
Mackenzie
$156,000
$155,000
-1%
Masset
$98,000
$102,000
+4%
McBride
$125,000
$132,000
+6%
New Hazelton
$110,000
$118,000
+6%
Northern Rockies RM
$105,000
$103,000
-2%
Port Clements
$69,000
$73,000
+6%
Port Edward
$197,000
$187,000
-5%
Pouce Coupe
$201,000
$188,000
-6%
Prince George
$296,000
$310,000
+5%
Prince Rupert
$268,000
$276,000
+3%
Queen Charlotte
$167,000
$219,000
+31%
Quesnel
$188,000
$212,000
+13%
Smithers
$286,000
$316,000
+11%
Stewart
$110,000
$107,000
-3%
Taylor
$224,000
$218,000
-3%
Telkwa
$258,000
$294,000
+14%
Terrace
$312,000
$373,000
+20%
Tumbler Ridge
$128,000
$135,000
+5%
Valemount
$223,000
$233,000
+5%
Vanderhoof
$226,000
$231,000
+2%
Powell River Regional District Rural Areas
$257,000
$277,000
+8%
Wells
$80,000
$87,000
+9%
City of Powell River
$327,000
$337,000
+3%
Williams Lake
$234,000
$249,000
+7%
*SD = School District
Fall 2020 Right Sizing
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WHAT RIGHT SIZING LOOKS LIKE, RIGHT NOW While the global pandemic seems like a perfect storm, it can become a lightning rod illuminating new opportunities, and silver linings, for anyone open to exploring them. Here’s one woman’s right-sizing story. By Barb Wild
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About 18 months ago—long before the global pandemic caused many to consider leaving crowded cities and suburbs—I sold my North Burnaby condo after 20 years. My daughters were launched and living alone was, well, lonely. It was time to move on to my next chapter: with eight years of wine training, the Okanagan was an obvious relocation choice. As an interim step, though, I decided to move in with my mother, who was finding life a little more isolating and hard to navigate as she approached 80. It was an opportunity to assess her situation, and her North Surrey condo had lots of space. Like many modern enterprises, my wine-consulting business can be established anywhere that I, my cellphone and laptop can park. The arrangement is economical, and allowed me to take work trips to France, Spain and Hungary around conducting tastings, events and consulting gigs. A home office has provided advantages for most of my working life, including the flexibility to raise two kids on my own. When my home wasn’t my office, my vehicle was. As a food marketing consultant, I visited customers and clients all over B.C., with lots of calls and emails filling the gaps. When I first transitioned into wine, it was to a brick-and-mortar retail location and an obligation to punch a clock. The self-motivated work-at-home culture I loved was supplanted by a highly social environment, overlapping into happy hours, weekend barbecues and staff parties that fed my extroverted nature. Previously, when I’d craved colleagues and a social outlet, I had joined the B.C. chapter of a Canadian non-profit, the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs (FWE), which provides resources, training and mentorship to help women succeed in a rapidly changing world. I was happy to be a mentor and share my marketing experience then, much like I do now with wine. Mom and I hatched a plan: in the spring of 2020 she would make a long-dreamed-of move to more-social group retirement living in White Rock. I planned an Okanagan move, to be a winery educator. We would both right-size our lives and relocate. Our well-constructed plans had us saying good bye on March 29th 2020... That didn’t happen. The new normal has us embracing the potential of every inch of my mom’s condo. The garden is our new social gathering hub where neighbours come for a safely distanced happy hour and family occasionally stops by with treats. We’ve registered for home grocery delivery, tested several meal services and completed virtual medical appointments. Somehow, in the middle of it, I started a new business. With everyone embracing the work-at-home ethos and the potential for learning online, the technology was ready and the opportunity was now. From my modest home-office digs, I started hosting Good Wine Gal online gatherings to share wine, cheese, spirits and stories. Soon I partnered with other educators, and by the summer we had already delivered more than 20 online sessions. As B.C. wineries gradually reopened, my Okanagan dreams didn’t die. While I’m not yet chilling at Kelowna’s Gyro Beach or leading a Chardonnay tasting in a vineyard, I’m pivoting with broader cultural changes. If given a career “do over,” I would still work for myself. I’m inspired, and I’m inspiring others. I don’t think I ever felt that much excitement working for someone else.
View of Sicamous, Shuswap Lake and Mara Lake from Sicamous Lookout. Darren Robinson/Shuswap Tourism
Small Communities and Developer Videos find Over 40 one or two minute videos on one platform: RightSizingMedia.com/Video For video development services call 604-787-4603 scan me using your phone’s camera!
TOP Sunset over Marichel Vineyard. Photo: Destination BC/Andrew Strain.
INSET Ned Bell, chef and co-owner of the Naramata Inn. Photo: John Hollands.
HIDDEN JEWEL: NARAMATA This wine- and food-centric Okanagan gem community has a new lease on life, thanks to the recent revitalization of the historic seat of the community. By Michael White
Moving his family to Naramata is a homecoming of sorts for Ned Bell. The acclaimed chef, cookbook author and environmental advocate cultivated his reputation in Vancouver but he was born and raised in nearby Penticton, and has returned to the region frequently throughout his adult life. Together with a team that includes his wife, public-relations specialist Kate Colley, Bell refurbished and reopened the storied Naramata Inn, which has stood for more than a century at the foot of the town’s main road. By way of explaining the welcoming nature of his neighbours, Bell says, “My son, who’s 10, has made more friends here in the last couple of months than he made in eight years in Vancouver.” Many towns pay lip service to the notion of community, but Naramata puts it into practice—and it technically is a community, owing to its small population. (The most recent census, in 2016, tallied barely more than 1,000.) Located on the eastern shore of Okanagan Lake, it was founded in 1907 by prospector John Moore Robinson, whose family home later became the Naramata Inn. Since then, Naramata has maintained a reputation as an agricultural wonderland, where the trees in its sweeping orchards bear apples, cherries, peaches and more. And because Naramata is a part of the Okanagan, it’s also chock-full of 66
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Fall 2020
vineyards: the Naramata Bench itself (the lands between Penticton Creek and Okanagan Mountain Park) is home to more than 40 wineries within a 20-minute drive. Thanks to the increasing popularity of the Okanagan Valley, real estate prices have risen, although here they remain a relative steal; a 1,356-square-foot two-bedroom rancher with lake views was recently listed for $559,000. “It’s definitely busier now, especially in the summer,” says resident Dawn Lennie. While long-time locals are loath to see the community grow too much, Lennie says “there really isn’t space for it. The charm and appeal of the Naramata Bench is that it’s largely a farming community—mostly fiveacres-plus parcels along the bench and then just a little village.” Lennie, who owns and operates Legend Distilling with her husband, Doug, and has lived in Naramata since 2005, says, “We absolutely love it here. We wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Echoing Lennie’s enthusiasm, chef Bell says, “We’re surrounded by vineyards, by orchards, by farms and farmers, by artisans.” At his revitalized The Restaurant at the Naramata Inn, he’s creating seasonal and sustainable hyper-local dining options for locals. “It’s magical in its placement,” he says of the community he now calls home.
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