Author: James Chung

Condo

News

House price increases slow in July

The slowdown in the Canadian resale housing market was “dramatic” last month, but the sector got a boost Tuesday from statistics that show new home construction is not falling as fast as anticipated.

In fact, Ottawa, which often goes against the trend in economic indicators, saw housing starts increase by 42 per cent in July as builders stepped up apartment projects. CMHC said July was Ottawa’s busiest construction month so far this year.

Adrienne Warren, an economist with the Bank of Nova Scotia, said residential real estate began to slow globally in the second quarter after demand and pricing recovered in the first quarter.

Olympic Village

News

Vancouver city hall and B.C. Housing pass buck on Olympic Village delay

Four months after the organizing committee for the 2010 Winter Games returned the Olympic Village to the city, and nearly four months after city council determined half of the 252 social housing units would be subsidized and half would be market rental, all 252 of these units remain empty.

The city and B.C. Housing have yet to release a request for proposals for a non-profit operator or operators. Non-profits can apply to manage the social housing, the rental housing, or both.

Equilibrium

Lifestyle / News

Kamloops green dream home no energy hog

It may not have been cheap to build, but a “green dream” demonstration house in Kamloops will be cheap to maintain.

The 3,000-square-foot home located in the Sun Rivers development is so loaded with energy-efficiency features that the estimated net cost for a year’s worth of electricity will be zero.

A rooftop array of solar photovoltaic panels generate enough power to warrant installation of a dual-purpose electricity meter that tracks the amount of energy consumed as well as surplus power dispatched onto the grid when the home doesn’t need it.

Global Real Estate Trends

News

Global Real Estate Trends

Global real estate markets entered 2010 with a renewed sense of optimism, piggybacking on the broader economic recovery underway. Housing demand and pricing improved in the first quarter of the year in the majority of the advanced nations we track, benefitting from ultra-low interest rates, improved affordability, and in some cases, government purchase incentives

LG Optimus One

Lifestyle

Taking on iPhone could be too much for LG, Nokia

Dethroning Apple’s iPhone could prove to be too big a bite for some of the old leaders of the cellphone industry, including LG Electronics, who are only now scrambling to catch up with their phones and services.

Nokia, Samsung and LG control 70 per cent of the total handset market but their failure to stop Apple’s roaring march in the smart phone market has hit their profits and is now raising questions about whether it is a fight they will want to continue.

Apple, which entered the handset industry only three years ago, makes one iPhone for every 13 phones Nokia sells, but it generates larger total profit from these fewer phones.

7 Tips For Saving Energy With Home Lighting

Uncategorized

7 Tips For Saving Energy With Home Lighting

Lighting is one of the biggest energy gobblers in your house, eating up between 10% and 20% of your total electric bill. But it’s also one area of the home where a minimal effort can yield major returns. Simply replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents can lower operating costs by as much as 75% per bulb. And in places where you can’t-or don’t want to-switch to CFLs, you can use higher-efficiency incandescents and even make your existing conventional lighting cheaper to operate. When new federal legislation takes effect in 2012, all light bulbs will have to meet tougher energy-efficiency standards. But with a few small changes, you can start saving money right now.

Uncategorized

#509 – 6068 No. 3 Road, Richmond

Welcome home to ‘Paloma’, built by Regent International located in Richmond City Centre. This luxurious condo features centralized air conditioning, open kitchen, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, real hardwood floorings, fireplace and floor to ceiling windows. This spacious 956 square foot, 2 bedroom and 2 bathroom unit is steps away from Richmond Centre, shopping, restaurants, schools, parks and Canada Line Brighouse SkyTrain Station.

Homebuyers and sellers less active in July

News

Homebuyers and sellers less active in July

Home sales activity in Greater Vancouver was quieter last month than most Julys over the past decade, with residential sales, prices, and the number of homes listed for sale trending downward in recent months.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that the number of residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 2,255 in July 2010. This represents a 45.2 per cent decline from the 4,114 sales in July 2009, the highest selling July ever recorded, and a 24.1 per cent decline compared to June 2010.

‘Busiest weekend of the summer’ arrives

Events / Lifestyle

‘Busiest weekend of the summer’ arrives

Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to celebrate in the West End streets during what police call “the busiest weekend of the summer.”

With tonight’s fireworks grand finale and Vancouver’s Pride festival on in full force, hoards of excited revellers are expected to flock to the neighbourhood to join the festivities.