604homesblog

Will You Be Socializing For Social Change On Thursday?

Matt Collinge — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:14:00 GMT

Thursday is the Socializing For Social Change Vancouver (#S4SCYVR) event at Pink Elephant Thai (1152 Alberni Street, Vancouver). The event is a fundraiser for Keep A Breast Canada, a non-profit group dedicated to educating young Canadians about preventing and detecting breast cancer, as well as how to support those you know who have breast cancer. Early detection is so important to successful breast cancer treatment so this is a great cause.

Come on down to Alberni St. on Thursday. There will be great prizes, and awesome food, not to mention all the great people:

Gift Baskets
Small appetizers and Drink Specials
Great Raffle Items
Swag Bags and more!!

This is a fundraiser so it is a paid event, but you can't go wrong at $10 + HST (dang HST!). Please RSVP here on Eventbrite

See you there!

Government announces new HST/PST housing transitional rules

Matt Collinge — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:20:00 GMT

Government announces new HST/PST housing transitional rules

The government today announced the HST/PST transitional rules on new homes.

As the province transitions back to the PST, which will replace the HST effective April 1, 2013, measures to ease the HST burden on new home buyers include:

The BC New Housing Rebate threshold will increase to $850,000 from $525,000, so that more than 90% of newly built homes will now be eligible for a provincial HST rebate effective April 1, 2012.
The maximum rebate will increase to $42,500 from $26,250 effective April 1, 2012.
Buyers of new secondary vacation or recreational homes outside the Greater Vancouver and Capital Regional Districts priced up to $850,000 will now be eligible to claim a provincial grant of up to $42,500 effective April 1, 2012.
For newly built homes where construction begins before April 1, 2013, but ownership and possession occur after, purchasers will not pay the 7% provincial portion of the HST. Instead, purchasers will pay a temporary, transitional provincial tax of 2% on the full house price.

HST/PST transition rules will help ensure that whenever purchasers buy a new home they will all pay a consistent and equitable amount of tax, whether the home is built:

entirely under the HST;
entirely under the PST; or
partly under HST and partly under the PST.

The temporary housing transition measures will be in place until March 31, 2015. The tax only applies to homes where construction begins before the transition date and ownership and possession occur after.

Metro Vancouver real estate agents successfully advocated for the following:

An increase in the threshold value of homes to be covered by the rebate;
An increase in the rebate amount;
An announcement of the transition rules for new homes as early as possible

Montreal's Original Dunn's Famous Opens in Vancouver

Matt Collinge — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 21:37:00 GMT

A Montreal institution Dunn's Famous opened in Vancouver on Tuesday night with a very successful grand opening event at their new location on Seymour St, just south of Robson, on the ground floor of the new Capital Residences condo building.

Dunn's Famous is one of Montreal's renowned Montreal smoked meat establishments and has been in business since 1927.

I was in Montreal last year and I have to say I missed Dunn's, but I was sure happy to get some smoked meat goodness on Tuesday night right here in Vancouver.

I was able to sample their smoked meat sandwich with mustard which was excellent. The meat was juicy and flavourful and the bread was not dry at all.

I also tried a couple of their sliders. The buns were great, the friend onions were tasty, but the meat was a little dry.

The last savoury item I got my hands on was the coveted poutine and it did not let me down at all. Good fries with a good quality cheese and, of course, gravy.

In the back room (this space would be great for a private function by the way, they had some deserts. Having of done in it on the meet and cheese, I only tried one, the carrot cake. It was moist, sweet and delicious.

The main room at Dunn's Famous features high ceilings and lots of big semi-circular booths along one, faux-brick, wall.

So head on down to 827 Seymour Street and check out an Quebec tradition at Dunn's Famous.

You can find them on the web here: http://www.dunnsfamousbc.com/restaurant/ and on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunns-Famous-BC/111933945543343

Introducing Royal LePage Mobile

Matt Collinge — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 17:54:00 GMT

Take your neighbourhood expert with you. Anywhere

Picture this... you find the perfect home. The curb appeal is sensational. You walk through the property and every room is just right: that quartz counter-top you’ve always wanted; a marvelous kitchen that makes you feel like Iron Chef; a luxurious tub in the en suite, and; plenty of closet space. You picture yourself living there and begin to wonder about a few things –

How far is the nearest school?

Where would I buy groceries?

Which banks can I walk to?

What types of restaurants are in the area?

Although your Realtor® is a fountain of knowledge and can answer your questions, he/she may not be right there when you think of the question. And, although we’d all like to carry our agents around in our pockets at all times, it isn’t always practical. Or is it?

Royal LePage has just made it possible to take your real estate services with you anywhere. Now you can get comprehensive answers to all of those questions, complete with maps, on your smart phone through Royal LePage’s mobile website. This easy-to-use mobile website uses your phone’s GPS to find everything you’ need to know about your neighbourhood including amenities and the ‘walkability’ rating. Use the Royal LePage powered search engine to find listings with multiple pictures, property details, features and agent contact information, anywhere in Canada. You can even share listings with friends and family straight from your mobile device.

Now suppose you have this ”perfect home” experience several times in the course of one house hunting weekend. That can be a little confusing. But with Royal LePage’s new mobile website you can add to favourites, make and save notes on any listing to jog your memory when you’re

reviewing your options later.

Royal LePage is taking real estate services to a whole new level with 24/7 access to all of these conveniences and information at your fingertips. And you deserve it. After all you’re not buying a pair of shoes, you’re making one of the biggest purchases of your life.

Contact me to learn more.

Bank of Canada Holds Interest Rates Again

Matt Collinge — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 16:06:00 GMT

Here is the release from BCREA Economics Now:

Bank of Canada Interest Rate Announcement - October 25, 2011

As was universally anticipated, the Bank of Canada opted to hold its target overnight rate at 1 per cent this morning. Ongoing uncertainty in the Euro-zone continues to weigh heavily on the Bank's outlook. In its statement accompanying the interest rate decision, it was noted that the bank is now projecting a contained Euro-crisis, but also a brief recession in the Euro-area due to ongoing deleveraging and fiscal austerity. The Bank also expects continued weakness, but no recession, in the United States through the first half of 2012 before a resumption of stronger growth. Given various challenges in the global economy, the Bank of Canada trimmed its outlook for Canadian economic growth to 2.1 per cent in 2011, 1.9 per cent in 2012 and 2.9 per cent in 2013 which is in line with our own forecast. On inflation, the Bank now expects slack in the economy to persist longer than originally forecast, leading to a closing of the output gap at the end of 2013. This implies softer than expected inflation in coming quarters, with consumer price growth moderating before returning to the Bank's 2 per cent target by the end of 2013.

Overall, this morning's statement shows a very cautious Bank of Canada that is unlikely to make any significant movements on interest rates over the next two to three quarters. Further monetary tightening will be highly contingent on a brighter growth outlook in the United States and a credible solution to the Euro sovereign debt crisis. Therefore we expect the Bank of Canada to remain on the sidelines through the end of 2011 and the first half of 2012.

Zoocasa Launches Zillow-esque Zoopraisals in Canada

Matt Collinge — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:42:00 GMT

Canadian real estate search and information site Zoocasa launched a new feature last week called Zoopraisal. What is a Zoopraisal you may be wondering?

A Zoopraisal is a computer generated estimate of the value of a property. In the United State Zillow has been offering their Zestimates for many years now and I had almost given up on anything similar coming to Canada.

The system is easy to use. Just enter the property address, the property type, and some details about the property, and hit the Get Your Zoopraisal button.

Your Zoopraisal will now appear. It will name a specific price as well as a (quite broad) price range. I have tried it with a few properties and found the accuracy very mixed. One was close, another off my $100,000's.

It is important to read the Frequently Asked Questions to learn more about how these Zoopraisals are created.

You will see that the data comes from Centract, which is real estate data and analytics company owned by Brookfield, the same corporation that owns Royal LePage.

It is especially important to read the section under "The Zoopraisal estimate seems wrong". Unfortunately computers are not very good a evaluating the value of a home.

Once you have your Zoopraisal you will be offered the opportunity to get "Get Your Free Home Valuation and Area Demographics PDF Report". You will have to give them your email address and you have to untick the box to opt-out to them contacting you. I imagine they will be looking to sell these email addresses of people who opt-in to real estate agents, but I am just guessing.

Go try a Zoopraisal on your place and let me know how it goes. Leave a comment below. If you want a human report on the value of you home contact me today right here >>> http://www.604homes.com/Contact_Me/page_236488.html

Real Estate Weekly Goes Online and Re-brands As rew.ca

Matt Collinge — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 16:54:00 GMT

The Real Estate Weekly, that Metro Vancouver real estate newspaper you get in with your free local paper, has just re-branded itself for the 21st century as rew.ca.

Tuesday night was the launch party at the Four Seasons and they put on a great event, although I have to admit I missed the first half as I had a last minute home inspection in Port Moody. Many of my favourite Vancouver bloggers were there as well as the team for rew.ca and Rudy Nielsen of Landcor, who gave, what I was told, was an excellent speach on the real estate market and the importance of of good data and statistics.

The new site looks great. There are three search options along the top of the site; real estate for sale (re-sale homes), new homes, and find as realtor, along with a mortgage information button and a real estate news button. Right smack dab in the middle of the site there is big and easy to use real estate search box. All Metro Vancouver real estate brokerages that agree will have their listings appearing on the site and I don't understand why they would say no, but many realtors and brokers are still very concerned with controlling the listing data.

You can also register with the site to have new properties emailed to you, save your favourite homes, and. get the latest news. The interface to slick and clean, but remember this is not all the listings from the MLS yet, although they are working on that.

There is also a mobile version which I am happy to say worked pretty well on my two year old Blackberry Tour although there was some formatting issues with text running over listing photos on individual listings.

Thanks for the invite rew.ca and I look forward to speding some more time on the site soon.

Matt Collinge, Vancouver Real Estate Consultant

Search for Vancouver homes for sale here: http://www.homefinder.604homes.com

Call me at 604-916-4663

What I Learned About Vancouver Real Estate at Disneyland - Part 2

Matt Collinge — Sun, 02 Oct 2011 18:48:00 GMT

This is nothing new, but the point was driven home to me during our stay at the Howard Johnson By Disneyland Park back in May. The location and walk-ability was great.

This saved us valuable time, allowed us to avoid taking shuttles to Disneyland, or having to drive our rental car (Yes, we did have a rental car because it was cheaper than the airport shuttle for my family of 5, and it allowed us to explore the LA area as well) to the Park and paying for parking. We were able to walk to the park gates in 5-10 minutes and that not only saved us time, but also saved the legs of the kids for the long hours ahead. This close vicinity also allowed us to easily return to the hotel for a mid afternoon siesta (more like a swim in the pool or a splash in the water park for the kids).

How does all this relate to choosing a neighbourhood and a home to buy in that neighbourhood. I feel that the bottom line is that the more walkable the neighbourhood you choose is, the better your quality of life will be. You will drive less and walk more. This will save you money on gas and car repairs, and also make you healthier.

If you are lucky enough to be able to live and work in a walkable neighbourhood you may even be able to get rid of one of your cars. The alone could help you save enough for a tropical vacation once a year. Then again, you will likely feel less stressed, more connected to your neighbours and healthier; and therefore may not feel you need that vacation after all. In that case, you could pay down your mortgage, or start saving for an investment property.

Whenever you search for homes for sale in Metro Vancouver on my website you can find the Walk Score under the Map | Walkscore tab at the top of the listing.

Apartment For Sale in Kitsilano Vancouver West

Matt Collinge — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 17:36:00 GMT

North of 4th in Kitsilano

• 846 sq. ft., 4 bath, 2 bdrm apartment - MLS® $473,000 CAD - Huge patio!

Kitsilano Vancouver West, Vancouver

Property information

What I Learned About Vancouver Real Estate at Disneyland - Part 1

Matt Collinge — Tue, 31 May 2011 17:32:00 GMT

I am thinking this is going to be a series. I have no idea how log a series it will be. Last week my wife and I took our 3 kids (11,7, and 5) to Disneyland for the first time. We were also travelling with my sister-in-law, her husband and their daughter (5). I think there are several parallels between our experiences planning and executing this trip, and buying or selling a home in Vancouver.

Part 1 - Research and Planning Ahead

Disneyland is a big and very popular place to visit. Vancouver is a big and very popular place to live. They are both quite expensive as well. My sister-in-law and I did a lot of research before leaving on this trip and it allowed us to save money and save time, although it didn't save me from getting some very tired feet.

Our pre-trip research allowed us to learn that certain rides (Star Tours) would be closed, but Splash Mountain was going to re-open while we were there. We also learned about Disney's Fastpass system. This system allows you to pick up a ticket for certain popular rides that can have very long rides and return later and wait in a much shorter line. This worked well for us. We also learned about where the best of the crappy Disney food could be found. I really enjoyed the corn dogs from the Little Red Cart.

Well, there is no Fastpss for Vancouver real estate, but doing your research can help you learn that certain time of the year are less busy than others on the real estate market (Winter and Summer are the quietest). Also some areas are extremely popular, but another sub-area (or neighbourhood) just across the street may be offer lower prices, but most of the same benefits.

Your research about Vancouver real estate might also help you find neighbourhoods you didn't know about or dispel mis-information or outdated ideas about certain areas.

Do you see any other parallels between Disneyland and Vancouver real estate? Leave a comment below.

Vancouver Neighbourhoods: Marche St. George Neighbourhood Grocery in Main St - Mountain View

Matt Collinge — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 22:38:00 GMT

Established in 2010 on the the NW corner of East 28th Ave and St. George St. Marche St. George is located in an old coner store within a small wood-frame apartment building (where the owners live). I came across this neat little shop while I had a condo listed nearby on Fraser St. It feels, as the name indicates, like a small French market.

There are some amazing fresh pastries from a shop in Kitsilano, fresh breads, local milk and even some local meats in the cooler. On the shelves you will find some staples for your pantry, and some tasty treats for your next dinner party.

They also serve coffee and team and have a couple or small tables so you can eat in if you like. On my last visit there was a mom and baby group meeting there. They have even been profiled in House and Home magazine.

Next time you are in the area and you want to get off the busy Main St strip head down to this cozy little Vancouver treasure.

Townhouse For Sale in Victoria Dr, East Vancouver

Matt Collinge — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 03:10:00 GMT

Great Neighbourhood!

• 1,279 sq. ft., 3 bath, 3 bdrm townhouse "But like a half duplex" - MLS®$592,000 CAD - Like a Half Duplex

Victoria Dr, Vancouver - Welcome home to this lovely 3 bedroom townhouse (more like a ½ duplex) in a small friendly strata in a quiet corner of a fantastic neighbourhood. The main floor features an open plan, high ceilings and south facing windows. The kitchen features dark stained cabinets, granite counters and stainless steel appliances. Heading up stairs you find three bedrooms, soaring ceilings, skylights in 2 four piece bathrooms and a mountain view from your top floor master. There is also has incredible storage with a crawl space under the entire great room and you own private garage. The location? Perfect! Close to Commercial Dr, King Edward Village and the easy transit connections. Open House Sat 3-5+ Sun 2-4.

Property information

Lunch in Vancouver: Bier Craft (Commercial Drive)

Matt Collinge — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 00:59:00 GMT

Looking for a place to meet a visiting realtor from Calgary last week I put the question out to my twitter (follow me @604homesguy) followers and received a number of great suggestions. I decided on Bier Craft Tap and Tapas on Commercial Dr. THe location was conviceince for both of us and I have drive past the Cambie St location numerous times.

If you haven't heard of Bier Craft this is the new name for Stella's. There was some legal issure (apparently it had nothing to do with Stella Artois) and they had to change their name. Honestly I do not like the new name, but they didn't ask me and probably don't care what I think. This place has an amazing multi page beer list, but they also do darn good food.

After finally making a decision about a beverage we took a look a the lunch menu. There was a fair selection of choices and I settled on the Philly Cheesesteak sandwhich with salad (fried or half fried half salad was also an option, but I am trying to watch the fat intake). My colleague had the Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich and was warned that the meat here is sliced a little thicker than usual.

Our server was very helpful and seemed to know the beer menu well (no judgemet here) which was goo because the options were bewildering and most of the beers I had never heard of. They are mostly from Belgium an include many interesting varieties of beer each poured in the appropriate type of glass.

The place was not very busy and our food arrived in good time. I really enjoyed my sandwich and beverage. My colleageue though somewhat regretted his choice with the thick cut meat. The taste was good he said but the chewing was a bit challenging.

Overall I enjoyed Bier Craft in Commercial Dr and hope to make it back here, or to the Cambie St location soon. Have you been to Bier Craft? What did you think? Please leave a comment below.

Lunch in Vancouver: Juno Bistro Sushi

Matt Collinge — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 01:09:00 GMT

I was meeting for lunch with a Penticton REALTOR who was in town yesterday and she wanted sushi. So I headed over to Yelp and found a few options, but the 1st one I picked is not open for lunch. In the end I decided on Juno Bistro. I was pleased to see that they are not into bulk sushi a super cheap prices and they they care about where their fish and meat come from.

We arrived just after 2pm and they actually close at 2:30 for break before dinner. We were the only ones in the place, but that should not colour your feelings about the place. I orderd the lunch special which was a breaded beef cultet with side salad and three pieces of sushi (salmon, tuna and prawn), plus a bowl of miso soup.

The beef was from Pemberton and was delicious. The sushi was tasty and the soup was much better than usual.

The service was excellent they were very gracious about us being there till nearly 3pm.

Juno Bistro is located at 572 Seymour St at Davie, right beside the infamous (although I've never been there) Elbow Room Cafe. You can find them on the web here.

TD Canada Trust to offer more flexible mortgage payment options to Vancouver home owners

Matt Collinge — Tue, 25 Jan 2011 00:14:00 GMT

Beginning January 24, 2011, TD Canada Trust will offer more flexible payment options to eligible mortgage customers.

These new features allow customers to take advantage of amounts they have paid ahead when the unexpected happens. For example, customers will have the ability to pay a little less for a while or, if they want to, take a payment vacation for a period of time to accommodate a care leave or other purpose.

The flexible mortgage payment options are as follows:

· Skip a payment

· Payment Reduction

· Payment Vacation

For more information contact our in-house TD Mortgage Team at Royal LePage Westside at 604-261-9311 or contact me for an introduction.