You can't listen to talk radio or watch the local news without some Vancouver city councillor bemoaning the fact that housing in this city is unaffordable and the need to build more affordable housing. Well I have a great idea for you! Stop imposing huge fees on developers (some of the highest in N. America) because NEWS FLASH all they do is pass it onto the home buyer. Here's a shocking statistic for you - to build an 800 sq ft condo in Vancouver, City Hall adds close to $75,000 in development costs, environmental requirements and other fees that it charges the developer before he even puts a shovel in the ground. So please stop with the rhetoric, if you really wanted to help people get a toe-hold into the housing ...

Remember; just because a building is under scaffolding and a green tarp dose not always mean it's a leaky condo. Sometimes the building is simply undergoing major remedial work. All building components have a life expectancy and when that time expires they need to be replaced. Many times these condominium complexes that are undergoing this type of work can become an excellent buying opportunities due to the fact that once the work is all done and paid for they are still selling for the same price as the 40 year old building down the street that has not had the work done yet.

One of the best ways to get you on the road to financial success is to pay off your mortgage quicker. It's really quite easy and painless. One of the best ways is to simply move to an accelerated payment plan.  For example if you took a $300,000 mortgage at 3.5% amortized over 25 years and switched your mortgage payments from monthly to bi-weekly accelerated you would save $23,852.87 over the life of your mortgage and pay it off 3 years earlier.  Talk to your bank or mortgage broker about the various options. Interest rates are not going to stay this low much longer. Why not pay it down now while the getting is good!

I just sold this Condo at 205 8760 NO 1 Road, Richmond, British Columbia Boyd Park.View this recently sold Condo or see all my home sales

Market activity and sales volume have increased a fair bit since my last quarterly update. That's to be expected, the Spring and early Summer months have always been the most active in the Lower Mainland. Older town homes priced under $450K and  condos priced under $200K, if they are priced correctly, show well and are in good condition are getting offers within weeks. I'm starting to see 1st time buyers who have been renting and staying on the sidelines the past 2 to 3 years starting to lock in these low interest rates and take advantage of the reduced prices that are out there. I still think the current market in Vancouver and Richmond favors buyers slightly however we are moving into a balanced market and might be close to balan ...

We are proud to announce that this Jul 13th, 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM we will be hosting an Open House at 3451 SPRINGFIELD Drive in the Steveston North neighborhood, Richmond. This is an opportunity to visit this excellent Condo for sale in beautiful Steveston North.Please come with any questions you may have. In the meantime you can take a virtual tour of this Steveston North Condo for sale.As always please do not hesitate to give me a call at 604 889-1118 if I can answer any questions before the open house, or if you would like to book a private showing.Owen BiglandMacdonald Westmar

I just finished uploading this Condo for sale, 2404 1111 ALBERNI Street, Vancouver West, British Columbia"Living Shangri-La" is located in the heart of the Downtown Vancouver. Bright and spacious north-east facing 1 bedroom unit, 1 bath, 677sf, 1 parking and 1 storage locker. Functional layout with no waste of space, open concept kitchen & living space. Miele & Subzero appliances, granite counters, hardwood flooring, geothermal system, air-conditioning. Great facilities, 24 hr. concierge.

You can't listen to talk radio or watch the local news without some Vancouver city councillor bemoaning the fact that housing in this city is unaffordable and the need to build more affordable housing. Well I have a great idea for you! Stop imposing huge fees on developers (some of the highest in N. America) because NEWS FLASH all they do is pass it onto the home buyer. Here's a shocking statistic for you - to build an 800 sq ft condo in Vancouver, City Hall adds close to $75,000 in development costs, environmental requirements and other fees that it charges the developer before he even puts a shovel in the ground. So please stop with the rhetoric, if you really wanted to help people get a toe-hold into the housing market you would ...

People might be surprised at how affordable an older condo is right now. With rock bottom interest rates it's possible to get into a 2 bedroom renovated condo with 5% down and payments of under $800 month. I would think that's more than what most people are paying for rent right now. Sometimes I wonder if the people who are posting all the negative comments about Vancouver real estate (hoping and calling for the market to crash) on sites like the Globe&Mail.com  realize that buying your first home is in reach for most people right now. As a matter of fact it's cheaper now than it was 5 or 6 years ago. Interest rates are not going to stay at these rock bottom levels forever... so what on earth are you waiting for? If you can ...