Vancouver Real Estate Blog

Top 8/10 Reasons why I love to live in kitsilano. - People

The people that live in Kits seem to me like they have a relaxed outward going attitude with a very active lifestyle. Age is not the factor here, but it's the attitude that comes with those that live near the beach. Whether you are in your teens or pushing 70 the common element that exists here is everyones love of life. It is very common to see some of the local residence having an early morning swim. The oldest person I had the pleasure of swimming with was a local resident living in Kits Point(grandmother to many) who swam just in front of the Watermark Restaurant most days.

One of my favorite images of living in kitsilano was on a beautiful day in July a couple of years ago a man came down the beach wearing his suite and tie and as he approached the water, he took off his shoes and rolled up his pants, threw his tie into the sand  and walked into the water and stood there. I introduced myself to him and asked him what he was doing after he came back up to the beach. His reply was simple. "After a long and hard day... The quickest way for me to relax is to cool my feet and day dream for awhile before heading home". I couldn't have said it better myself. 

Top 7/10 Reasons why I love to live in kitsilano. - Shopping

With over 300 stores, shops, restaurants, to choose from, the 4th Ave location in Kits, is where it happens. It's a mix of contemporary living meeting the confident, laid back personalities of the West Coast. I am choosing Capers Community Markets to represent the "North of Fourth" shopping area. And it's a shop that you will find me in many times a week. The food is always fresh, the experience is always rewarding and the staff know their foods. Did I mention Organic too.. This is a big draw on me, as I eat a lot of organic foods.

Top 6/10 Reasons why I love to live in Kitsilano - Restaurants

From the Watermark Restaurant the food is served to you, with a style that encompasses the west coast. This particular item is know as the Shrimp Tower. It is as good as it looks. All the other items on the menu are as appetizing as this one.

After a long day or a family get together the Watermark is great to walk down to from our home in Kits.

The sunsets, the beach, the Pacific ocean are just below. Vancouver Island to the west, to the north is Stanley Park and the North Shore Mountains all within your view.

One of my favorite things to do is to arrange with my wife to meet for a drink after work. Once there, we usually order appetizers and sometimes it turns into a full dinner. It's just a nice place with great food and an amazing view that all can enjoy.

If you have never been before, try it out.....You'll love it.

PS. It is also a great place to take client!!!

British Columbia's Economic and Fundamental Business Indicators -part 4/4

Out of all the indicators out there, one that remains rather robust and less understood is Housing Starts. The biggest problem with the section is that Housing starts always "Lags Behind" what the market is doing. Simply because builders do not want to build unless their is a demand. Once there is a demand, they then have to have land ready to build on, or more precisely buy the land, then start the application process for their project, lets say a high rise in down town Vancouver. Start, draw and submit architectural drawings, meet with the board of variance to get the project approved, investigate any environmental concerns,etc. to get it to the point of getting a housing permit.

In the meantime, the British Columbia market place is thirsty for inventory and the only thing out there is re-sale homes. Buyers have no choice, so they must buy these homes as no new one are out there on the market. So housing starts next year in 2010 are expected to increase 46% compared to 2009. If what I am seeing in the market place is any indication, I think that we will see housing starts to rise sharply to keep up with demand.

British Columbia's Economic and Fundamental Business Indicators -part 2/4

How did we get here? Everyone seems to want to know. From March of 2008 we saw a downward trend. In other countries and other parts of the world, we saw massive declines in housing prices-namely the the United States for example. We all saw and witnessed the collapse of the Financial Institutions and Wall Street.

But how did we survive so well? That answer put simply is in how our economy works with the rest of the world and frankly how it works independently at the same time. British Columbia unlike the rest of Canada and the USA has a different and flexible market place. Where there are the mega corporations and an inflexible corporate structure and a philosophy of "same old same old". BC has a very young and on the most part, a very small corporate structure, where flexibility is everything. This in turn allows these smaller companies to adjust in a moments notice causing less people to be tossed out of work, as these people are represented by families and are not just numbers to a big corporation. The entrepreneurship is alive and well here in British Columbia.

So, as the unemployment rate rose around the world dramatically. BC while experiencing some of that, was never  hit as hard as everyone else. That being said, we also had an influx of migration over the year of approximately 60,000 people expected for the 2009 year end, historically low interest rates, inventory levels of homes starting to falling, pent-up demand from buyers, a massive new housing start decline all added to produce a demand that out paced supply on re-sale properties. That's economics 101.

So where do I see price levels reaching? Let me take you back 14 years ago when I wrote an article to the home owners of Dunbar. Back then prices for a standard lot sold for about $450,000.  I predicted home prices surpassing the $1 million dollar mark. Yes I got a lot of calls telling me that would never happen and even some saying "It Would Not Happen In A Million Years". Well as time went on the market told the real story. So predicting the future home prices, I would say given our geographical location, lack of usable land, the natural beauty, the mountains to the north, the mildest climate in canada, the Baby Boomer's, economic ties to China, Japan and other Asian Pacific country's, population growth, employment opportunities and life style. I would say that in 10-20 years from now what we are saying are extreme prices for homes in the area, will be a drop in the bucket in years to come. Do not forget the power that the media has and over the 2010 Olympics their will be billions of advertising messages going out to the world about Vancouver and British Columbia as a whole. Do you remember what Vancouver was like before Expo?? Now think of how far we have come from those days. This is just the beginning. Like everyone says.... Hold onto Real Estate. Because if you are not in, then you are out.....

Top 4/10 Reasons why I love to live in Kitsilano - Watching Storms

Kitsilano has a rather interesting geographical position when it come to watching storms. At times one can stand on the beach or by the pool as these shots show and enjoy Mother Nature at her best.
These pictures were taken during the Fire Works show this summer in August 2009. These pictures are rare, as Vancouver does not see many thunder storms especially lightning.
Most of the lightning occurs up in the mountains. But when we do see it, it is fast and usually furious. These picture were taken standing along side of the Kitsilano Pool 1  hour before the Vancouver Fireworks show 2009.

Top 3/10 Reasons why I love to live in Kitsilano - Sunsets

Sunsets at, beside or on Kitsilano Beach are spectacular. You have so many things that occur at once. First you have the mountains that dazzle your senses. Second you have the splendor of the Pacific Ocean. Third, you have the reflection of the Kitsilano Pool. Fourth, you have a natural environment. Fifth you have the small yet quaint Kitsilano Yacht Club that can give some pictures a focus point. Six, you have the sail boats, yachts and freighter that are always changing, like that of the sunset.

Top 10 reasons why Kitsilano is the best place to live on earth - #1Kits Pool

 #1 - the Kitsilano Pool. The Kitsilano Pool is simply amazing for swimmers. It's 137 metres long - almost three times longer than an Olympic pool. It's the largest pool in Canada and the only heated salt water pool in Vancouver.