Susan Boyce ,Western Investor, June 2006
Known in the Haida Language as Haida Gwaii,…the Queen Charlotte Islands is comprised of two large land masses- Graham Island and Moresby Island- plus more than 150 smaller, surrounding islands. It boasts a surprisingly temperate climate, world-class sport fishing, miles of pristine sandy beaches and a rich cultural heritage. Some 5,000 people scattered throughout several communities call this natural wonderland home.
According to Rudy Nielsen,
Frank O’Brien ,Western Investor, June 2006
There are now apparently two truisms in Western Canadian real estate: Waterfront prices are too high. They will be higher next year.
“Waterfront is, and always will be, the very best real estate investment,” said uber Vancouver realtor Bob Rennie, president of Rennie Marketing Systems, who has been swamped with buyers trying to get into the Waterstone Pier condo development he is selling on the Fraser River near Richmond.
Peter Mitham ,Western Investor, June 2006
By the time you read this, the 29 lakefront lots LandQuest Realty Corp. was marketing this spring east of Big Lake will probably have sold.
Small wonder too: More than half the lots boast 200 feet of south-facing waterfront, as well as plenty of land- three to 20 acres apiece. Nine lots on the 284 acre tract sold even before the properties officially hit the market.
Derrick Penner , The Vancouver Sun, June 1, 2006
British Columbians dreaming of owning a waterfront cabin should prepare to go rustic, or be willing to pay $1 million.
Royal LePage’s 2006 recreational property report says the average lakefront property in B.C. is touching $996,000, the highest in Canada. The next highest is in Alberta, where lakefront property will set buyers back an average of $900,000. The national average is $380,507.
Gary Lamphier , The Edmonton Journal, May 30, 2006
West Coast developers regularly target Alberta real estate buyers through splashy newspaper and TV ads as well as glitzy brochures.
There’s no mystery why. Thousands of Albertans dream of retiring one day to the mild climes of places like Victoria, Kelowna or Parksville. And with Alberta’s economy booming, many have the bucks to do so.
In particular areas of B.C.
Cottage Magazine, May/June 2006
It’s a cornerstone of economics, really: when demand outstrips supply, prices go up and up. And up. This maxim is particularly true of recreational property, where demand is driven by a generation with unprecedented affluence. According to Landcor, a subsidiary of the Niho group of companies, whose business it is to analyze the real estate market in British Columbia, only six per cent of the province’s land area is privately titled.
Derrick Penner, National Post, May 17, 2006
Oil-rich Albertans love British Columbia’s waterfront cabins, ski chalets and resort condominiums.
Albertans were the biggest out-of-province buyers of B.C. real estate in 2005, snapping up 2.4% of all properties sold and helping push up property values in prime locations.
Data compiled by the research firm Landcor Data Corporation show that Albertans bought 4,320 properties, including 1.329 single-family homes,
Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, May 17, 2006
Albertans love British Columbia’s waterfront cabins, ski chalets and resort condominiums.
And with oil wealth filling their coffers, our neighbours went on a real estate shopping spree in 2005, snapping up 4,320 B.C. properties worth almost $1.2 billion, making them the biggest out-of-province influence on many markets.
The real estate research firm Landcor compiled the data on who is buying in B.C.,
Derrick Penner, Vancouver Sun, January 5, 2006
When you can afford to buy a house along the waterfront in West Vancouver, or in the tonier parts of Vancouver’s Shaughnessy, or Whistler, you are rich.
Some of the people who already live in these areas are a little richer now, on paper at least, as the assessed value of their homes climbed by between 6.84 per cent and as much as 32.27 per cent during 2005.
Chad Skeleton, Vancouver Sun, January 4, 2006
Whistler homeowners saw the average value of their homes drop last year — making it one of the few places in the province to see property values decline in 2005, according to figures released by BC Assessment Tuesday.
An analysis of assessment figures by Landcor Data Corp. indicates the average single-family home in B.C. increased in value by 18.8 per cent over the past year,