Coal Harbour condos, Vancouver condos

Are you visiting Vancouver for the Olympics and have you decided to join the many other international part-time residents who have a holiday home here already? Then consider the following great homes and phone (604 926 3936) or email (christinelouw@shaw.ca) me for a showing.
*** in Coal Harbour:
- The Ritz; 602-1211 Melville Street - 1 bedroom plus den, 680 sq ft. High ceilings, air conditioning, corner unit. CAD 495,000.
- Orca Place; 2605-1166 Melville Street - 1,014 sq ft 2 bed, 2 bath condo with high ceilings and air conditioning. CAD 639,000
- West Pender Place; 405-1477 W Pender Street - assignment, completion early 2011. 816 sq ft One bedroom and den with high ceilings and airconditioning. Live/work zoning, luxurious finishes. CAD 645,000.
- Two Harbour Green; 1139 W Cordova - 3,600sq ft high floor condo with 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and the most fantastic NW view. The ultimate in luxury. CAD 6.6 mil.
*** and in Downtown Vancouver
- The Hudson; 626-610 Granville Street - 962 sq ft loft near Pacific Centre Shopping Mall and skytrain. So conveniently located! CAD 499,000.

Enjoy your stay in Vancouver and thank you for visiting us!

Vancouver real estate values have recovered!

Time flies. The Olympics are about to start and our real estate market is likely to benefit from this huge exposure of Vancouver to the world.

In the last twelve months the benchmark price of residential properties in Greater Vancouver has increased by 17.2% to a level 0.8% higher than the previous high point of May 2008. Who would have expected this quick recovery one year ago!

"The Mark" was launched in Yaletown and so was "Pacific Spirit" at UBC and sales were fast.

Impressive "Fairmont Pacific Rim Estates" at 1011 W Cordova in Coal Harbour will complete soon - some of the luxurious condos are still available.

Vancouver real estate prices/values

The Real estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported on 2 December in their monthly publication that the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver is now only 1.9 per cent lower than the most recent high point of May 2008.
And Sellers know it! It is harder to negotiate offers - Sellers are confident that prices will continue to increase and hold out for higher prices in negotiations or take their property off the market now with the intention of re-listing in the near future.
The downturn will cost property owners likely a little more than 1 1/2 years of value growth and has given others the opportunity to buy the real estate they could not afford before May 08.

New developments

"The Mark" by Onni in Yaletown was launched on Saturday 28 November and in the first two days 76% of the condos were sold.
"Pacific Spirit" at UBC was sold out on 27 November within a few weeks of the launch.

The final decision on the introduction of the 12% HST in BC will be made this week but the uncertainty does not seem to affect the interest of condo Buyers.
Will the Olympics influence the Vancouver real estate values? And if so, will the prices be higher or lower after February 2010?

Activity in the market

So much activity with sales, listings and launches of new developments that one almost forgets the bad months of end 2008 and early 2009. The monthly statistics of the Greater Vancouver Real Estate Board remain very positive about the number of sales and increase in values, well priced properties sell in a short time period and often in multiple offer situations and the first "after 2008" new development in the Downtown peninsula "The Mark" by Onni cnr Pacific/Seymour will be available for purchase on 28 November. Please contact me if you like to receive more information about "The Mark".

I have some great new listings:
- impressive 3,600 sq ft high floor NW condo with stunning water and mountain views in Aspec's flag ship building Two Harbour Green at 1139 W Cordova Street, Coal Harbour priced at CAD 6.6 mil
- beautiful 2 bed/2 bath condo with water and marina view, in Palladio at 1228 W Hastings, Coal Harbour. Well priced at CAD 619,500
- brand-new 2 bed/2 bath high floor condo with panoramic water/mountain/city views in well known Woodwards W43 at 128 W Cordova Street, Downtown priced at CAD 720,000 (GST paid)
- 5,250 sq ft beautiful view home in Lower Chartwell, West Vancouver. Close to good schools, easy access to shops and highway. Priced at CAD 2,198,000
- more new listings coming shortly
All very easy to show. Please contact me if you like to view these great condos.

Olympic Village in Vancouver

Construction of the Olympic Village is almost completed and it looks impressive. One would expect the buildings to be in the same or similar style since they are built quite close to each other but instead there are many different styles of construction.

Some of the water front buildings were designed by legendary Arthur Erickson and must be among his last creations before his death - these buildings have an irregular exterior with different floor plans on each floor and have aluminum sheets on the exterior which resemble fish scales.

Construction is at Platinum LEED standard so very environmentally friendly. There is a large open area - a plaza - in a central location, the village adjoins the seawall and an island has been created in False Creek on the SW side of the Village.

Some units at the Village will only be sold at a later stage.

www.vancouver-condos.net,www.christinelouw.com

Wesbrook at UBC, Vancouver

Impressive Wesbrook by ASPEC was relaunched on Wednesday 14 October and is now ready for move in. The building is near the intersection of Wesbrook Mall and 16th Ave which is close to the new shopping centre which is under construction and the planned community centre. The condos vary in size between 1,480 sq ft and 4,660 sq ft (the penthouse on the 17th and 18th floor) and have 2 to 4 bedrooms. The 3 bedroom townhomes are 2,400 sq ft. The luxury finishes include a gourmet Snaidero kitchen from Italy, Miele appliances, Kohler fittings and beautiful bathrooms.
The building has a guest suite, gym and billiard room. The unusual and welcome amenity is a car for use by residents.

ASPEC is the developer of many of the water front buildings in Coal Harbour: Avila, Bauhinia, Cascina, Denia, One Harbour Green and Two Harbour Green. Condos in Three Harbour Green are currently for sale.

The location of new condos in Vancouver can be seen on the map with new developments on my sites www.christinelouw.com or www.vancouver-condos.net

Mortage interest rates

Mortgage rates continue to go down. Best rates I have seen this week: variable open mortgages at prime (2.25%) plus 0.6, variable closed mortgages at prime and 5 year fixed rate at 3.69%. When investigating what mortgage conditions institutions offer you also enquire after what acceleration of payments is permitted without penalty, ask about costs in case of early paying off of the mortgage and conversion costs in case of a variable mortgage. I personally discovered recently that there is a big difference in costs between banks.
Australia increased its prime rate by .25% this week and was the first country to do so since the economic downturn. The US dollar is depreciating against the Canadian dollar - it is reported that it may be necessay to increase the prime rate in Canada if this trend continues.
I am a Realtor, not a mortgage expert and the information above is just a personal observation. For expert advice contact a mortgage broker or consultant. Several mortgage experts are listed under "mortgage" on my website www.christinelouw.com.

Developers have renewed confidence in the Vancouver real estate market

Six new condo buildings have been launched recently or will be launched in the near future: V6A, District Southmain, Sage, Maynards, Social and The Mark. Several of the developments are in what in Vancouver is regarded as the more affordable price range.
V6A (at Union and Main), Social and The Mark are developments by Onni. The Mark at the corner of Seymour and Pacific is advertized by its developer as the highest building in Yaletown and many of the condos should have great views.
District Southmain is an Amacon development. Sales of both District Southmain and V6A condos started last week. Building 1 of District Southmain is already sold out and building 2 will be launched this weekend ahead of schedule.
Sales of condos in Maynards (by Aquilini) in SE False Creek (at 1st and Wylie) will start on 17 October.
Sage by Kenstone Properties is located in Wesbrook Place at UBC near the intersection of W16th and Wesbrook Mall - sales started on 3 October. The Wesbrook is located next to Sage and will be re-launched next week.
Please contact Christine Louw at 604 926 3936 or at christinelouw@shaw.ca if you like to receive information about new condos or townhomes. www.christinelouw.com or www.vancouver-condos.net

Average Vancouver real estate values have recovered

According to the stats of the Vancouver Real Estate Board values have almost recovered to the level of 12 months ago after an average increase in prices of 11.4% since January 09! The GVREB also reported that the number of properties sold in August 09 was 119.5% higher than in August 08 and 1.7% higher than in August 07 when the market was very active.
Let's hope that real estate values and the economy in general continue to improve.