Vancouver MLS® Report - Wednesday March 3rd/2010 - Vancouver Poised to Benefit from Positive Olympic World Exposure

What does Vancouver do now that the Olympics are over?  Cash in.  Make the most of that precious two weeks in the world’s spotlight and highlight what is best about the area, why it is a great place to live, work and play. There is no reason why British Columbia’s largest city can’t do as well in the financial department as Calgary and Sydney after their respective Olympic debuts.

So what can Vancouver expect?  Increased employment, attraction of more high tech, media rich industries and more tourists to come spend their money to see where it all happened.  Vancouver is expected to be an especially big draw for China which just finalized a trade agreement with Canada.

The city of Vancouver is stressing the fact that though cost of living in the area is on the high side, that the city, as well as British Columbia and Canada in general,  has one of the lowest rates of taxation in the world. Since many visitors to Vancouver for the Olympics live in parts of the world with even higher living and housing costs, city fathers do not see living costs as an issue.

Vancouver is not expected to have Olympic debt, as occurred after the Montreal games. Most venues were completed on time and were under budget, and have been designed to have an alternative use after the games. One example is the condos built for the athletes’ villages, which are expected to be sold to recoup the cost of construction, if not a profit.

It is still too soon to reasonably predict exactly how Vancouver will benefit from the world exposure that only an Olympic venue can bring.  The city and the country put on its best face and one can only imagine that the effort will be positively rewarded.

Vancouver MLS® Report - Friday February 12th/2010 - Metro Vancouver Real Estate Market Holding Steady and Is Nicely Balanced

Metro Vancouver’s real estate market ended the year nice and toasty.  Home sales in December of 2009 were almost three times higher than in January of 2008. It was also a fairly balanced market, with enough new listings coming in to give buyers a good choice but not enough to tip the advantage in the buyer’s direction.

The market is expected to hold steady throughout 2010 according to a report issued by the Conference Board of Canada.  The board also expects Metro Vancouver, along with the Fraser Valley, Victoria, Regina, Calgary, Halifax and Ottawa to see their property price points rise from around 5 percent to almost 7 percent before year end.

Farther east, Montreal, Saskatoon and Edmonton are expected to see the highest increase in housing costs, ending at over 7 percent by the end of 2010.  Hamilton, Toronto and Winnipeg are more likely to see moderate increases of between 3 percent and 5 percent. Nationwide, no price decreases are expected.

Prices in December of 2009 show an increase of 11.9 percent from December of 2008, averaging $655,234 per home. It also showed a sales ratio of 72 percent between the number of buyers looking for homes and sellers listing properties, making this a balanced market.

Vancouver MLS® Report - Friday February 5th/2010 - Waterfront Business Hopes to See Increased Trade During The Olympic Games

The Olympics coming to Vancouver is being viewed as a huge business opportunity by some and a major inconvenience by others.  Some, such as Moe Summers who owns a Pita Express eatery in the heart of Olympic central, are taking a wait and see attitude.

Summers was excited when Vancouver was awarded the Olympic Games, envisioning enough of an increase in business that he was contemplating a cushy retirement. Now that VANOC has virtually taken over the waterfront and extended the security perimeter around his business, and others, he is not quite so sure about that early life of leisure.

Construction workers putting up the various Olympic structures have kept him busy. The problem will be during the games, when VANOC is asking businesses to keep their employees out of the security zone.  No employees, no customers. His regular clientele is not likely to wander in for the duration of the games.  

There will also be competition from an Olympic sponsored food court that is adjacent to his restaurant.  Food giant McDonald’s will have a mega store in that very same food court and they are a tough competitor.

But so is Summers.  He plans to weather the games by offering a revamped menu including not only his typical Greek fare, but local seafood, including B.C. salmon. His other ace in the hole is a winning personality, a big smile and a hearty “Welcome to Canada” to all that pay him a visit.

Vancouver MLS® Report - Wednesday January 27th/2010 - Will Olympic Games Boost Vancouver Real Estate Prices?

President of research firm Landcor Data Corp., Rudy Nielsen, thinks that with the 2010 Winter Olympic Games around the corner, the boost in real estate values the area has experienced can be contributed to the 'Olympic effect' of the 2010 games in Vancouver.

Over the last decade, prices for property in the ski town of Whistler have doubled due to the area's participation in the event.  Some of the skiing competitions will be held in Whistler.  There has also been a huge increase in international interest for property in Vancouver, Whistler, and B.C.

These games are going to show the world that Vancouver and British Colombia are world-class places, says Nielsen.  Over the past decade, Whistler has seen over 8,990 of the 13,134 residential properties exchange ownership.  Property values gained over 100% across the board in the small resort town.

Detached homes saw an average increase of over 140%.  One realtor in Whistler, Lisa Bjornson, the manager of the Whistler Real Estate Co., says that although it is hard to tell if the games are going to have a profound impact on land and property values, the assumption has already been made by many that the Olympic Games in increase property values.

While modest gains have been seen across the board in the region over the past few years, real estate expert Tsur Somerville, who works for the University of B.C. contributes the rise in demand to the improved Sea to Sky Highway.

Return To My Homepage - Vancouver Homes For Sale