OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, March 8th, 1:00-3:00pm
Sunday, March 9th, 1:00-3:00pm

#306-2080 Maple Street
Vancouver West -Kitsilano
List Price $524,800
2 bdrm, 2 bthrm
1039 sq. ft.

OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, March 8th, 1:00-3:00pm
Sunday, March 9th, 1:00-3:00pm

#102-1330 Graveley Street
East Vancouver - Grandview / Commercial Drive
List Price $224,800
1bdrm, 1 bthrm
582 sq. ft.

OPEN HOUSE
Saturday, March 8th, 3:30-5:00pm

#310 - 345 West 10th Avenue
Vancouver West- Mount Pleasant / Cambie
List Price $474,900
2 bdrm, 2 bthrm
1020 sq. ft.

OPEN HOUSE
Sunday, March 9th, 3:30-5:00pm

3446 Nairn Avenue
East Vancouver - Champlain Heights
List Price $384,800
3 bdrm, 2 bthrm
1349 sq. ft. - Townhouse

SHOWING BY APPOINTMENT

2125 East Pender
East Vancouver - Hastings Sunrise
List Price $775,000
6 bdrm, 4 bthrm
Lot Size 30 x 122 = 3600 sq ft, RT-5 zoning
Interior: 2550 sq. ft.

Real Estate & Beyond Newsletter...

Each month we will update you with lots of great information including: the latest Real Estate Board statistics; graphs showing what is happening with the Vancouver real estate market; our ever popular monthly feature of the most expensive & least expensive Vancouver properties sold each month;our current listings and recent sales; plus many other interesting articles including how to green your home, renovation tips & much more! Sign-up today & get "in the know".

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Click on Graph for Full 30 Year Historic Trend

Steady trends continue in the Greater Vancouver housing market

VANCOUVER, B.C. – February 4 2014. The first month of 2014 saw home sale and listing totals outpace historical averages in the Greater Vancouver housing market.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,760 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2014. This represents a 30.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,351 sales recorded in January 2013, and a 9.9 per cent decline compared to the 1,953 sales in December 2013.

Last month's sales were 7.2 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month.

"The Greater Vancouver housing market has been in a balanced market for nearly a year. This has meant steady home sale and listing activity accompanied by stable home prices," Sandra Wyant, REBGV president said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,345 in January. This represents a 4.2 per cent increase compared to the 5,128 new listings reported in January 2013.

Last month's new listing count was 17.7 per cent higher than the region's 10-year new listing average for the month.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® is 12,602, a 4.9 per cent decline compared to January 2013 and a nine per cent increase compared to December 2013.
The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $606,800. This represents a 3.2 per cent increase compared to January 2013.

With the sales-to-active-listings ratio at 14 per cent, the region remains in balanced market territory.

"If you're looking to sell your home in a balanced market, it's critical that your list price is reflective of current market conditions," Wyant said.

Sales of detached properties in January 2014 reached 728, an increase of 34.3 per cent from the 542 detached sales recorded in January 2013, and a 10.5 per cent increase from the 659 units sold in January 2012. The benchmark price for a detached property in Greater Vancouver increased 3.2 per cent from January 2013 to $929,700.

Sales of apartment properties reached 753 in January 2014, an increase of 30.7 per cent compared to the 576 sales in January 2013, and an increase of 14.6 per cent compared to the 657 sales in January 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 3.7 per cent from January 2013 to $371,500.

Attached property sales in January 2014 totalled 279, an increase of 19.7 per cent compared to the 233 sales in January 2013, and a 6.9 per cent increase from the 261 attached properties sold in January 2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 1.7 per cent between January 2013 and 2014 to $457,700.

The real estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2013, 28,524 homes changed ownership in the Board's area, generating $1.84 billion in spin-off activity and 13,977 jobs. The total dollar value of residential sales transacted through the MLS® system in Greater Vancouver totalled $22 billion in 2013. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 11,000 REALTORS® and their companies. The Board provides a variety of member services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit  www.rebgv.org.

Information provided with permission by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV)

A laneway house is a smaller, detached home located where the garage would normally go on a single-family lot (RS zones). Laneway houses contribute to the overall sustainability of the city. They give people more opportunities to live close to where they work, shop, and play, and they make the city's urban lanes more green, livable, and safe. Laneway housing also contributes to the amount of affordable rental housing available in the city. Laneway houses cannot be sold independently of the main house on the lot, there is no separate title for a laneway house, nor is it part of a strata lot (i.e. 1/2 duplexes, townhouse, or coach houses). a property is not subdivided when a laneway house is built.

Laneway housing in a snap shot - the history and current status  

City Of Vancouver Laneway Housing - City of Vancouver Main Page

City of Vancouver Laneway Housing - Fact Sheet     

City of Vancouver Laneway Housing - Guidelines

Laneway Housing Regulations - See Section 11.24 - Bylaw Regulations  

Laneway Housing Monitoring - Update March 2010               Update October 2010

Detailed checklist of application submission requirements - Construction of of Laneway House   

Laneway Housing Update - June 2013 Full Report - from City of Vancouver website:

This report concludes the review of the laneway housing (LWH) program in single family areas, as directed by Council, by providing an update on the LWH initiative and recommending amendments to the LWH regulations and guidelines to address key issues that have been identified though the monitoring of LWH development. The proposed amendments address impacts on neighbouring properties, provision of parking, livability of the units and length of the permitting process. They aim to improve the fit of LWH into neighbourhoods by:
• encouraging the development of more one storey LWH which have fewer impacts in terms of height and massing on neighbouring sites, are less expensive to build, and would provide improved access for those with mobility challenges;
• requiring one external permeable parking space to support the provision of on-site parking;
• providing more floor area for living and storage space; and
• streamlining the permitting process by allowing an outright review process for one storey LWH.
Additionally, this report recommends expansion of the LWH program to the remaining RS zones to equalize opportunity for LWH across all single family areas.

November 2010 - City of Vancouver Update on Laneway housing: Full report from the City of Vancouver Key Findings - Vancouver's First 100 Laneway Houses

• 39 of the first 100 laneway houses were added onto sites while retaining the existing main house; 61 were part of total site redevelopment (a new laneway house and a new main house). Overall, for approximately every 8 new single family homes developed, 1 has included a new laneway house.
• Of the first 100 laneway houses:
  - 67% are 1 bedroom units; 28% are 2 bedroom units; 5% are studio units.
  - 59% provide the minimum 1 onsite parking space; 41% provide 2 or more spaces.
  - Rental rates range between $1000 - $2100 for 1 – 2 bedroom laneway houses in varying locations, with varying quality of finishes. These rates are consistent with CMHC rent levels for recent, purpose-built rental housing projects.
  

July 28th, 2009 - City of Vancouver Council, approved unanimously, the plan to allow laneway housing. This will affect almost 70,000 single-family properties in Vancouver that are now potentially eligible to add a small house in their backyard. This has been a much debated about possible solution Vancouver's extremely low vacancy rate of .3%.

Concerns about livability, parking, density all come to a forefront with this hot topic. Is this the solution to Vancouver's problem of affordable housing? Read on.... Full story from Vancouver Sun & Vancouver Province.