Blog entries

Thetis Island Oceanfront; The Perfect Island Getaway

Sharleen

exposure to enjoy those late summer sunsets.

According to listing agents, Joe Squire and Deb Wilson, the home is the complete package with all of the features waterfront buyers are looking for. "In my opinion this is the perfect island getaway....sought by everyone and rarely found, " says Deb. She continues, "With such limited supply where all the wish list boxes [...]

Qualicum Landing Show Homes Shine

Sharleen

e land to the framing and exterior finishing, we have been impressed by the thought put into this community and the classic style of the homes.

Needless to say, we were waiting with anticipation to see inside the gates and we (or at least I-my husband was watching our little one) finally got to see the show homes last Saturday and meet the team responsible for creating such a fine place. Being in the real estate business, I have had the chance to see many developments and thi [...]

Vancouver Island Waterfront for Sale Below Replacement Cost

Sharleen

onth's property is a custom-built lakefront home on Cowichan Lake. According to our member agent and area specialist Norm DeWit, the home, listed at $654, 000, represents the best waterfront value currently available in the Cowichan Lake market.

Located on Cowichan Lake, about 1 hour north of Victoria and 1 hour south of Nanaimo, this 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom open-plan home boast [...]

2010 - An Exciting Year Ahead for Waterfront West

Sharleen

g BC luxury real estate, which will be launched early this Spring!

Below are some of the highlights to come for Waterfront West in 2010:

We will be upgrading and redesigning Waterfront West to make the user experience more seamless and bring new technology to the site including new search capabilities, a video community and an "Ask an Expert" section.

We will be launching our new site which will be [...]

Positive Long Term Outlook for BC Real Estate

Sharleen

Ozzie Jurock's Insider newsletter, cites a study written by the Urban Land Institute based in Washington, D.C.: Global Demographics 2009: Shaping Real Estate’s Future. The study looks at the effects of population, urbanization and aging on real estate. According to the study, the echo baby boom generation (born early to mid-80's) will be getting into the property game in the next two decades. This generation is as large (or larger) a segment of the population than the baby boomers [...]

Bidding Wars Again?! BC Real Estate Picks Up

Sharleen

ticed an increased number of inquiries going through the site. Now this is fairly normal for February, but this time, the inquiries seemed to be more serious than the ones from last Spring. Now that the stats are coming out, we are starting to see the sales as these serious buyers make deals.

In Oak Bay, one of the most prestigious areas in Victoria, 50% of the listings are selling, while in some other popular areas (Fairfield, Maplewood, Glanford, etc..) well over 50% [...]

Vancouver Island Oceanfront Developer First to Offer "Anti-Recession" Guarantee

Sharleen

ustment if the real estate market continues to soften: The developer will carry up to 20% of the price as a first or second mortgage, part or all of which will be forgiven if government property assessments over a three-year term show a drop in land value. On a $500,000 lot, the price protection could be as much as $100,000.

“There can be good news in a recession.” says Michael Thornton, Silver Spray developer. “We would have priced these lots 30% h [...]

2008 Real Estate Sales Statistics Don't Tell the Whole Story

Sharleen

sales price increased 10% over 2007. This sounds hard to believe amidst all the negative media out there, but is most likely due to the sales in the 1st and 2nd quarters weighing heavily on the stats. The price drops we have seen in recent months are often not reflected in statistics until a later date so I would expect them to show up in next years' stats.

Other highlights of the report are detailed here:

* Detached homes and vacant land had t [...]

Interest in BC Real Estate is Picking Up

Sharleen

that went through the site; however, in mid-January we saw a sudden increase in serious inquiries. This month, we are forecasting more unique visitors than we had last February (when the market was still hot). With interest rates at extreme lows (5 year mortgages available for 4.02) and average house prices starting to fall, it is beginning to make sense to jump into the market again.

While interest has picked up and I believe there is some pent up demand, the buyers ou [...]

Recession Buster Rates

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Deals Popping up in BC's Recreational Market

Sharleen

the current market. Our last newsletter featured some properties that were recently reduced, whose sellers are motivated and even a high-end foreclosure near Kelowna. Click here to sign-up.

It seems as though others in the business are starting to see (and write about) some deals as well. In last weeks Facts by Email, Ozzie Jurock pointed out some developments that may be facing issues in the coming months. Among them are:

Whiskey Landing in Ucluelet: Developer having pr [...]

Asbestos Class Action Suit to Help Canadians

Sharleen

">Mesothelioma. Appartently, the asbestos is safe so long as it is left untouched and undisturbed; (which at this point it is) however, this is putting a huge wrench in our plans as we hoped to add a 3rd floor to our house this spring. In order to get the asbestos out safely, we have to hire an asbestos abatement firm to come with their big suits and all. Of course, this comes with a hefty price tag. We have been quoted anywhere from $15,000-$18,000 to have this done. Plus we have to move out of [...]

New Year Favours Buyers - Waterfront Appraisals Down, Prices Down, Mortgage Rates Low

Sharleen

aisals in some areas are down and sales are stalling combined with increased media hype about the poor economy will likely result in further price adjustments across BC in 2009. Depending on how long this "recession" continues, this could potentially be a great year for buyers to get in there and make some good buys on prime waterfront property.

All of the "bad" real estate news coming out right now is welcome news for buyers as it has made sellers more aware of th [...]

US and German Visitors on the Increase

Sharleen

20% for this time period, the visitors’ locations are showing a slight change from the norm.

Since we started the site, Canadians generally comprised approximately 75-78% of our traffic. While the number of Canadian visitors to our site is actually higher than last year, the percent of Canadian visitors as a total has decreased to about 67%. Meanwhile, traffic from other countries, namely the US and Germany has increased slightly. The increase in US traffic may b [...]

Cowichan Valley: Land of Plenty

Sandys

f fruit and grape wines and an ever expanding choice of back yard Bistro’s. As we tend to change everything around us, baby boomers have made an art form out of good clean wholesome food, be gone saturated fats and trans fats and plastic additives that our bodies don’t know what to do with so it stores them in unsightly bulges. We have some of the best and most plentiful water on the planet as well as the warmest average temperatures in Canada, not a bad start to growing [...]

Cowichan Real Estate a Good Bet in Tumultuous Times

Sandys

see people coming down a
further 10% once a contract is put in front of them. Even the most dire
predictions are only a 30% drop in house prices in some inflated
markets, so why not try your luck, it could well be the best possible
time to buy real estate in Southern Vancouver Island.

As more people are holding greatly devalued stock I believe that they
will now turn to real estate as the best possible investment vehicle.
You can use if for your get [...]

"Hot Properties" Newsletter to Highlight Properties of Exceptional Value

Sharleen

specially good opportunity to get into the market. That is why we have decided to create our "Hot Properties" newsletter to single out some of these properties on our site.

Beginning in January 2009, Waterfront West will be sending out a new newsletter. This newsletter will feature our "Hot Properties" which will be hand selected from our site as representing exceptional value in the market. If you are already on this email list, you will receive the letter early i [...]

B.C's Luxury Neighbourhoods

Sharleen

r />In Victoria, we have added information about the established luxury neighbourhood of Oak Bay (including the Uplands). Characterized by grand Art & Crafts and Tudor Mansions and with a distinctly English flavour, many of the homes in Oak Bay are over the $1, 000, 000 price mark. With miles of curving craggy shoreline, proximity to some of the best private schools in the city and all of the conveniences of city living in "The Village," Oak Bay has long been one of the most prest [...]

Google "Luxury Homes BC" Searches Spike

Sharleen

ealtor in New York was extremely busy with wealthy buyers looking to get good deals on New York luxury properties. While doing some research this week myself, this was confirmed by a spike in searches on Google for terms such as "luxury homes BC" and "Vancouver luxury homes." Moreover, one of our member Realtors has reported that she just sold her "Big waterfront" and was closing on two more luxury properties in the next month or so.

All of these [...]

B.C. Listings Starting to Slow

Sharleen

years. As I mentioned in July, we were experiencing a "listings frenzy, " so it was natural the pace couldn't keep up. This is welcome news for home sellers, particularly those who have to sell. Although there are still a high number of active listings, this may be an indicator that sellers are realizing that the boom is over and those who can afford to wait have decided to hold on to their real estate until the picture changes.

In the meantime, it appears Edmonton is a [...]