1108BCBC Average house prices to drop most in B.C.
B.C. will see the nation`s steepest 2009 drop in the average residential home sales price, the Canadian Real Estate Association predicted Monday in its updated housing market forecast.
The association predicted a 7.8-per- cent decline next year in the average residential sales price in B.C., compared to a 2.1-per-cent decrease across Canada.
1108VANC Metro housing starts, prices edge downward
Housing starts and new home prices in Metro Vancouver are beginning to head south at a time when speculative activity in the market is declining significantly, according to a local housing analyst and two surveys released Monday.
Preliminary figures from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Canada`s national housing agency, indicate that housing starts in Metro Vancouver stood at 1,846 homes in October, a slight decline compared to September.
1108BCBC Pot grower begs court to let her keep her home
Judy Ann Craig, a former real-estate agent with a golden touch for gardening, will try to persuade the Supreme Court of Canada today that being forced to forfeit her North Vancouver home for running a marijuana grow-op is extreme punishment for her crime.
Craig is one of three Canadians -- two from B.C. and one from Quebec -- challenging the seizure of homes in which they grew pot, a penalty that is increasingly levied following changes six years ago to federal drug laws.
EDMONTON -- Realtors have now joined hotels, professors, lawyers and books with their own website where customers can praise, or criticize, their performance.
What-Customers-Say.com is a site where clients can rate the real estate agent who worked on their deal.
It was created during intervals of spare time as an experiment by four Edmontonians, who work day jobs at Intuit, but believed there was a need for a place to review realtors online.
1108BCBC Explanation is needed for high cost of documents
Dear Condo Smarts: My wife and I just closed the sale of our retirement condo in Kelowna and were appalled to be hit with more than $450 in fees for documents from the strata corporation.
I used a local real estate agent and lawyer that advertise as condo specialists for purchases and sales, and never expected such a high fee.
Can you please tell me how the strata corporation and their manager are permitted to charge such fees in B.C.?
1108BCBC South-of-Fraser communities push for light rail transit
A campaign to bring light rail transit to the Fraser Valley has gained momentum during civic election campaigns in the region.
Many mayoral and council candidates have spoken in favour of a light-rail system south of the Fraser River.
The issue has been pushed onto the electoral agenda by citizens` groups such as Rail For The Valley, which proposes a light rail network along the old Interurban passenger rail route, which ran between Vancouver and Chilliwack in the first half of the last century.
1108VANC Depreciation of city condos expected to exceed that of suburban houses
Condo owners in downtown Vancouver are at greater risk for price depreciation than single-family homeowners in the suburbs, a BMO Capital Markets economic analyst said Tuesday.
"Condo prices could drop faster because of overbuilding," Robert Kavcic said in an interview. "When you have excess in the market, that pushes prices down."
A BMO survey released Tuesday suggested B.C.`s housing starts have to fall by about 25 per cent from current levels to return the market to sustainable numbers.
1108BCBC B. C. vows competitive natural gas royalties
B. C. will continue to offer incentives and low royalties for its burgeoning gas sector and may even sweeten the pot to offset consequences of sinking commodity prices, its energy minister told an audience in Calgary on Wednesday.
"The NDP (in a previous B. C. government) thought that if you charged lots of tax, tax everybody at a higher rate . . . that you get more money," Richard Neufeld said in a speechatasuppliersconferenceorganizedbytheCanadian Energy Pipeline Association.
VANCOUVER -- A new market into China for British Columbia lumber has been threatened before it`s fully opened by a surprise move yesterday by Russia.
At the same time B.C. Forests Minister Pat Bell was leaving Vancouver for China to sell B.C. wood, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that implementation of an onerous log export tax is to be delayed.
The tax, to be imposed Jan. 1, 2009, was expected to shut down 70 per cent of China`s timber imports, opening the door for B.C. lumber.
1108BCBC Enbridge Gateway pipeline back on track in B.C.
Enbridge Inc. is shrugging off the effects of a sagging world economy to restart its dormant Northern Gateway pipelines project in British Columbia and Alberta.
Northern Gateway Pipelines communications director Neil Sweeney said in an interview that the project, which bore a $4.5-billion price tag when it was suspended in 2006, is likely to be submitted to the National Energy Board in 2009.
1108BCBC Municipalities urged to `cap the gap` in B.C. property taxes
B.C.`s property tax gulf between residential properties and small businesses is rising and needs to be reversed, according to a report released Wednesday by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
"Because they [municipalities] have to balance their budgets, they increase taxes," Brian Bonney, CFIB`s director of provincial affairs, B.C., said in an interview. "But they sock it to businesses way more than residents. They`re not accountable to businesses, because there`s no business vote."
1108BCBC Businesses asked to mandate time off during 2010 Games
VANCOUVER -- Vancouver 2010 Olympics CEO John Furlong is calling on businesses to consider "mandated" vacations, forcing some staff to work from home and reducing vehicle traffic during the Games.
Furlong gave the Vancouver Board of Trade a list of 10 things business owners and managers can do to help Olympics organizers in a presentation yesterday.
A delegation of Canadian aboriginal leaders and businessmen wrapped up a two-week trade mission to China yesterday with tentative deals that could lead to Chinese investments of several hundred million dollars in the coming years.
"This could unleash significant wealth creation for aboriginal communities," delegation chairman Calvin Helin said from Beijing.
There`s an absence of drama in several Metro Vancouver mayoral races, with incumbents such as Surrey`s Dianne Watts, Burnaby`s Derek Corrigan and Port Moody`s Joe Trasolini expected to easily win re-election.
On the North Shore, two mayors -- Richard Walton of the District of North Vancouver and Darrell Mussatto of the City of North Vancouver -- are not even being challenged.
1108BCBC Sluggish growth predicted for B.C. over next year
British Columbia`s economy is expected to experience sluggish growth over the next year, the Conference Board of Canada predicts.
In its report Provincial Outlook - Autumn 2008, released Thursday, the board predicts B.C.`s economy will grow by just 1.2 per cent in 2008, and 1.8 per cent in 2009. The report attributed the lethargic growth to declines in the forestry and manufacturing sectors and the collapse of the U.S. housing market, which has reduced demand for Canadian exports.
1108BCBC Province fixes the big flaw in assessments
Property assessment notices next January will have two numbers -- the value as of July 1, 2007, and as of July 1, 2008 -- and taxpayers can choose whichever is most advantageous as the basis for their 2009 property tax bill.
This option, outlined by Revenue Minister Kevin Krueger in a chat with me Thursday, is a huge step towards making B.C.`s assessment freeze fairer to homeowners and to stave off a potential tsunami of appeals.
Forests Minister Pat Bell arrived in China on Thursday to learn the Russians had shot the wheels off the B.C. trade delegation he is leading.
But Bell said the lumber trade mission is still on, despite Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin`s decision to delay implementing a steep export tax on Russian logs. The threat of the tax, which was to be imposed Jan. 1, 2009, had manufacturers in Europe and Asia scrambling to find alternative lumber supplies.
Building height and the community`s small-town atmosphere have emerged as election issues between Sidney`s three mayoralty candidates.
In a town where the mayor and all six members of council were acclaimed in 2005, it`s unusual to see an election-season dust-up. Although perhaps controversy should be expected this year, since voters will be bringing in a new mayor and least two new members of council.
The volume of home sales in B.C. has likely hit bottom after the dollar volume of sales on the multiple listings service plummeted 54 per cent last month compared to last year, according to the B.C. Real Estate Association.
The BCREA reported yesterday the residential sales dollar volume -- calculated by multiplying the total number of sales by the average sale price --declined to $1.69 billion in October, compared to $3.67 billion in October 2007.
Small-business owners in Vancouver who`ve been expecting a bit of a break on property taxes in 2009 should forget about it.
Any benefit from city council`s significant and overdue business-to-residential tax shift earlier this year is almost certain to be negated by more recent developments. These include:
- Unintended fallout from provincial tinkering with assessments.
