REAL ESTATE

REAL ESTATE West Side homes can retain value even with slower sales

by Carlito Pablo

The median price of detached homes on the East Side of Vancouver has started to soften amid declining sales. The number of sales is also falling on the wealthier West Side of the city, but the median price is not only holding up, it is going up.

While the median price of East Side detached homes dipped 1.4 percent in April 2022 compared to March this year, the same measure for a single-family residence on the West Side rose 7.6 percent.

In April this year, the median price of a West Side home increased to $3,768,000 from the previous monthly level of $3.5 million. Median price is the middle point in a list of prices. Rising median prices indicate that property prices are on the rise. If the median price is moving up, that’s a sign that a market is hot.

Vancouver realtor David Hutchinson is currently looking for a West Side home for a client. Last year, Hutchinson sold that client’s home in West Vancouver for $3,150,000; the seller wants to eventually settle in a new place in Kitsilano.

“The West Vancouver property was very spacious, and it has amazing ocean and sunset views, but Kitsilano is more central for his lifestyle,” Hutchinson told the Straight.

It’s often said that real estate is all about location. For Hutchinson, that explains the durability of the housing market on the West Side.

“The West Side of Vancouver is a very resilient market due to its convenience, proximity to beaches, shopping, good schools, and it’s also close to downtown Vancouver and local ski hills,” Hutchinson said.

The Sutton Group–West Coast Realty agent noted that the West Side has “long been a unique and desirable neighbourhood. It’s a very popular location for buyers, including those from various other countries.

“The large, distinctive homes attract a wide variety of buyers seeking the privacy and exclusivity of West Side neighbourhoods such as West Point Grey and Shaughnessy,” he continued. “West Side homes really hold their value.”

It’s typical in many real estate markets for prices to go up and down in a cycle, but that, generally, does not apply to Vancouver real estate on the West Side. “The West Side is a relatively sheltered market,” Hutchinson said.

With the arrival of the Broadway subway, those locations will become even more desirable, the realtor noted. The number of detached homes sold on the West Side of Vancouver fell from 124 in March 2022 to 93 in April, marking a 25 percent drop. g

Rennie & Associates listed this West 11th house for $3,698,000. It sold for $3,850,000 on May 3.

Report suggests summer might bring balanced market

by Carlito Pablo

There may be more to this summer than the usual sun, sea, and sand.

For prospective buyers of homes in Metro Vancouver, it could mean the arrival of a balanced housing market.

A recent report by real-estate marketing firm rennie suggests it’s possible.

“Maybe—just maybe—we’ll find ourselves with balanced market conditions just in time for summer,” states the rennie review that came out May 11.

A balanced market means that sellers and buyers are on equal footing.

This means a sales-to-listings ratio of between 12 percent and 20 percent. To explain, a ratio lower than 12 indicates that there aren’t many buyers. A figure above 20 suggests that a lot of purchasers are competing for properties and sellers are in control.

A balanced market may not come this summer, but there are signs that should give some hope for potential buyers.

“The early returns for May are showing moderate sales counts, similar to those in April, as inventory continues to expand,” the rennie report stated.

How did April 2022 look in the markets covered by the real-estate boards of Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley?

The rennie review said that sales from both regions last month totalled 4,826, a 30 percent drop from March, and 38 percent below April 2021.

“Having noted this, we’d be remiss if we didn’t also point out that both March 2022 and April 2021 posted atypically-high sales totals; indeed, compared to the pastdecade April average, last month’s sales only came in 1% lower.”

Meanwhile, new home listings are rising.

“It was the fourth consecutive monthly increase in supply, though inventory remains relatively constrained overall: the 13,475 homes for sale at the end of April are still 14% below April 2021’s level, and 25% below the past 10-year April average.”

As well, the sales-to-listings ratio dropped to 36 percent in April from 59 percent in March.

This means that the “market is still tilted in favour of sellers”.

However, “conditions have markedly improved for buyers insofar as having a greater range of housing options to choose from”.

“It can be said, then, that market conditions have shifted—moderated, more pointedly,” the rennie review stated. g

This home at 3289 West 36th was listed for $4,800,00. It sold the next day for $4,380,000.

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ENVIRONMENT Green living is really good for you—and the planet

by David Suzuki

Taking personal action is an excellent way to embark on the road to a sustainable future and a good way to begin is by planting a pollinator garden. Photo by Kopph/Wikimedia Commons.

David Suzuki is a scientist, broadcaster, author, and cofounder of the David Suzuki Foundation. Written with contributions from foundation senior writer and editor Ian Hanington. Learn more at davidsuzuki.org.

It’s hard not to despair over the state of the world, but one well-known, proven antidote is action. And though what you do every day to avoid environmental damage may seem small and ineffectual—especially if you feel no one else is doing anything—know you’re not alone. Green living is coming onstream faster than ever before, and many people taking many actions add up to a world of difference.

Of course, confronting major issues like climate disruption, pollution, and species extinction requires top-down actions from governments, industry, and societal institutions, but each of us can contribute to the tidal wave of change the planet needs. After all, humanity’s utter interdependence with nature means that how we treat our surroundings affects us all.

Personal action is a great entry point into making the world a better place. With good information, anyone can make informed choices and adopt sustainable practices. Mindfully considering your habits and their effects on nature can also help you develop a deeper understanding of complex challenges our species faces.

Linking environmental issues to everyday activities makes environmentalism easy, accessible, and tangible. And simple steps like walking, cycling, or taking transit instead of driving—or growing your own food and making your own home cleaners and personal-care products—can save money and improve your health and quality of life.

Get out of your car. Plant gardens for butterflies and bees. Take part in climate strikes. All are ways to connect with others, build relationships, and ignite hope—important for mental health. Learning about and practising sustainable habits will also help you more confidently participate in conversations on topics you care about.

It can be a challenge to live sustainably, though. That’s because many of our systems are deliberately designed to promote excessive consumption and waste for the sake of profit and economic growth. Making changes in your life can catalyze deeper involvement in activism—in your community and beyond—to improve those systems.

With so much going on in our lives, it can be difficult to know where to start, or find ways to step up our efforts. Joining a local organization is one option, but lots of online resources can also steer you in the right direction.

For almost two decades, the David Suzuki Foundation’s Queen of Green program inspired thousands to adopt Earthfriendly habits. Recognizing the need to remove barriers from participating in sustainable lifestyles and to seek input from diverse segments of society to identify solutions, the Foundation recently launched a renewed Living Green program.

Growing awareness of social and justice consciousness has brought problems in the eco-lifestyle community to light. It hasn’t always accurately reflected the true cross-section of society and, historically, could be considered sexist, classist, colonial and gendered.

Marginalized people and those living in remote or rural communities often face greater barriers to adopting green lifestyles—including lack of safe and sustainable transportation infrastructure, food insecurity, precarious work or housing, income insecurity, affordability of everyday goods, access to green spaces, and environmental racism.

Disproportionately shouldering the role of nurturer in households and communities—including workplaces—women are also more likely to champion environmental causes and support sustainable lifestyles. Studies show some men won’t adopt green behaviours such as carrying reusable tote bags because they could be perceived as “too feminine”.

It doesn’t have to be that way.

Diverse communities in all socioeconomic circumstances have long traditions of practising sustainable lifestyles for economic, cultural and survival reasons. And to overcome environmental crises, we all have to contribute. We can learn from each other, and the beauty and strength diversity brings is not just theoretical; it’s proven by science. As humans, we must embrace diversity—in our families, organizations, and communities.

It’s important to push for changes to the institutional and societal structures and beliefs fuelling the climate, biodiversity, pollution, and other environmental crises, and the changes we make in our individual lives signify support for those large-scale shifts needed to protect nature’s diversity and the well-being of all life. They can also get us to question our values, an important step in a world where wealth and unbridled consumerism are often prioritized. Live green. You’ll feel better for it. Let’s all be part of the solution! g

HEALTH Group complaint alleges COVID-19 disinformation

by Charlie Smith

Afair number of well-educated social-media users have repeatedly condemned members of the B.C. press gallery for allegedly shielding the NDP government from criticism over its COVID-19 policies. It happened again last weekend after CityNews reporter Liza Yuzda blocked a former UBC postdoctoral fellow seeking coverage of her group human-rights complaint.

Lena Patsa filed her complaint to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal on behalf of a “class of individuals who have been identified as higher-risk for severe COVID-19 based on a variety of factors”. These include age, comorbidities, underlying conditions, current/prior medical history, and eligibility for vaccination.

Patsa’s complaint alleges that discrimination has occurred on the basis of physical disability in services and employment, which are prohibited under sections 8 and 13 of the Human Rights Code.

She named the Office of the Provincial Health Office, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, the Provincial Health Services Authority, Vancouver Coastal Health, Fraser Health, B.C. Children’s Hospital, Providence Healthcare, and the Ministry of Health as respondents.

In her complaint, Patsa states that it was filed in response to public messaging, guidance, and policies that contradict federal guidance and the established scientific consensus that SARS-CoV-2 virus is transmitted via the air. She maintains that this constitutes “disinformation that directly and/or indirectly enables and/or is used to justify/enact policies and decisions that are discriminatory towards Members of the Class defined herein”.

For each respondent, she lists specific instances of alleged disinformation.

For the Provincial Health Office, for example, she cites a Dr. Bonnie Henry comment at a briefing about the inability of the virus to be suspended in the air and travel long distances.

Patsa also mentions one of Henry’s comments that “there’s no evidence that having a child wear a mask all day long will make a difference in terms of transmission.”

In addition, Patsa cites Henry’s comment at a 2021 lecture that “children are not amplifiers in schools”.

As a result, Patsa alleges, the respondents are directly endangering the lives and health of high-risk individuals who are members of the group.

Moreover, she claims that this makes managing daily life and the risk of infection extremely difficult, if not impossible, for those without means.

This is why she alleges that the respondents’ actions “indirectly enable discrimination” by serving as a basis for denying accommodations under the B.C. Human Rights Code. As one example, she cites a ban on the use of N95 respirators in long-term care facilities.

None of Patsa’s allegations have been proven before the tribunal.

Over Twitter, Patsa expressed befuddlement over the media’s failure to cover her complaint, which was filed in late March.

This came after Human Rights Commissioner Kasari Govender wrote a March 16 letter to Henry maintaining that the decision to lift a provincewide mask mandate discriminated against the immunocompromised.

Later in the same thread, Patsa accused the “4th Estate” of happily reiterating the “science-denying gaslighting spewed by the PHO+gang”.

On Twitter, Yuzda responded that she had presumed Patsa’s original tweet was by “another troll threatening her with the Nuremberg bs over COVID-19 vaccines”. “The reason I mute or block quickly is the nastiness is crushing,” Yuzda declared. g

Dr. Bonnie Henry’s public statements are at the centre of a B.C. human-rights complaint.

The reason I…block quickly is the nastiness is crushing.

– CityNews reporter Liza Yuzda

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OUTSIDE Six super-fun hikes for kids close to Vancouver

by Stephen Hui

Take a hike, kids! Doesn’t visiting beaver lodges, hollow trees, suspension bridges, tide pools, and waterfalls sound like fun?

My new book, Best Hikes and Nature Walks With Kids In and Around Southwestern British Columbia (Greystone Books) is designed to help families explore the great outdoors.

Best Hikes and Nature Walks With Kids describes 55 hiking trails near Vancouver. These hikes are ideal for children aged 4 to 11—but they’re not just for kids. Beginner hikers, seniors, nature lovers, and anyone seeking short hikes will enjoy these trails.

Here are six delightfully fun B.C. hikes featured in my new book.

Important reminders for hikers: check current conditions; take the essentials; leave a trip plan with a responsible person; and make sure to leave no trace.

CHEAKAMUS CANYON Make a splash at Starvation Lake. Chase trains in the dramatic setting of Cheakamus Canyon. Take a hike on the Sea to Sky Trail and peer down at railway tunnels and bridges and whitewater. If the kids are acrophobic, you’ll find out.

KILLARNEY LAKE Take the ferry to Bowen Island. Visit a fish ladder and waterfall. Spot a beaver dam and lodge. Look out for hollow trees and horseback riders. The hike to Killarney Lake offers plenty of interest to young ones.

LOST LAKE Four lakes, one hike—it’s a sweet deal on Hollyburn Mountain. Enjoy the novelty of strolling through the cross-country-ski area (for free) in the off-season, take a dip in a lake or two, and hunt for slime moulds in the forest. You’ll even go by a cabin called The Doghouse.

JUG ISLAND BEACH Jug Island Beach is an enchanting destination in temtemixwten/Belcarra Regional Park. The shoreline hosts barnacles, crabs, limpets, sea stars, and dramatically fractured, multicoloured rock. Comb the beach for interesting stones and shells but remember the fourth principle of Leave No Trace: “Leave what you find.”

MOUNT THOM Mount Thom is an enjoyable hike in any season, including the fall, when the brilliant foliage shines yellow, orange, and red. Climb the mountain from Chilliwack’s Promontory neighbourhood. On the summit, marvel at ravens soaring and diving overhead.

FLASH LAKE A jewel in E.C. Manning Provincial Park, Lightning Lake holds rainbow trout, and its chilly bluish-green water makes for invigorating swimming. Another reason to visit is the rodents, namely the squirrels, chipmunks, and beavers. Leave the crowd behind by setting out for Flash Lake. g

Author Stephen Hui’s newest book, Best Hikes and Nature Walks With Kids In and Around Southwestern British Columbia, has a section on Flash Lake (above). Photo by Stephen Hui.

Stephen Hui is the author of Best Hikes and Nature Walks With Kids In and Around Southwestern British Columbia, a new guide to 55 hiking trails in B.C. and Washington. His first two books, 105 Hikes and Destination Hikes, were #1 B.C. bestsellers. Learn more: 105hikes.com.

Check out the Georgia Straight’s upcoming issue on MAY 26, 2022 and discover our readers favourite places to eat, drink and hang out. Ballot has now closed for the Golden Plates contest

Thank you to all our participating sponsors this year: Terra Breads, Rocky Mountain Flatbread, La Belle Patate Vancouver, Water St. Cafe, West Coast Poké, España, Pacific Poke, Cartems Donuts, Pallet Coffee

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LIQUOR / FOOD Tattoos and cocktails come together in Gastown by Mike Usinger

For those whose all-time idols include Norman Keith Collins, Sailor Jerry, and the ghost of Norman “Sailor Jerry” Collins, Drinks will reflect the work that night of four Le Papillon Studio tattooists: Gale, Marine, Shae, and Louis Tibo. Cohosting the night is Cocktail Connoisit sounds like the world’s greatest dream come true. Inked hands and rum bottles up if you couldn’t be more excited about an evening that features drinks and live tattooing in Vancouver’s historic Gastown.

Tattoos Meet Cocktails will see mixologists and tattooists set up at Le Papillon Studio at 369 Carrall Street. Kicking off with a short documentary on the night’s ink artists, the event is to feature four stations where attendees can sip forwardthinking cocktails while watching folks get tattooed in front of them. seur, the Vancouver-based “ghost bar” that’s building a reputation for outsidethe-box pop-up events. Mixologists Jean Laven and Kam Tabarraee will create four molecular cocktails inspired by the stories and stylistic approaches of each of the artists. Le Papillon bills itself as a space designed to provide a “platform that supports our family of creatives in their path and showing the community around us our perspective on tattooing and art in general.” Tattoos Meet Cocktails will have two

Tattoos Meet Cocktails will give drink connoisseurs and ink aficionados the chance to combine two of their passions as artists like Giles work on-site at Le Papillon in historic Gastown. May 21 sessions, one of them at 5 p.m. and the other at 8 p.m.

Be forewarned that it’s highly unlikely that any tattoos will end up bringing to the mind the work of Norman Keith Collins. And that it’s equally improbable that the cocktails in question will be built around Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum. g

F

oodie TOURS RETURN

d THE PANDEMIC hasn’t only taken a toll on restaurants. It has also been brutal on companies that offer food and beverage tours in the Lower Mainland.

One such example is Vancouver Foodie Tours, which was founded by Michelle Ng in 2010. In 2017, it made a Forbes magazine list of the top nine food tours in the world. But for two years, Vancouver Foodie Tours went on hiatus due to COVID-19.

This month, however, the company has relaunched with two offerings: a Granville Island Market tour and an Authentic Asian Eats tour, which shows the delights of Richmond’s food scene.

“Richmond is home to world-class Asian food establishments,” Ng says. “Our food tour experiences help ease language and cultural barriers, providing guests with an easy and inviting way to explore authentic Asian cuisine, history, and culture.”

On Granville Island, tourgoers get a chance to check out everything from Lee’s Donuts to Benton Brothers Fine Cheese and Oyama Sausage Co. There are several other stops along the way, all with “VIP” access, in this local culinary hot spot. g by Charlie Smith