Archive for December, 2008
Wordless Wednesdays
December 31st, 2008 Categories: Wordless Wednesdays
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Polar Bear Swim
December 26th, 2008 Categories: Vancouver
The Vancouver Polar Bear Swim Club is one of the oldest Polar Bear Clubs in the world!
Its first swim was in 1920.
Free registration takes place in front of the English Bay bathhouse from 12.30pm. The swims starts at 2.30pm. You receive a commemorative button after you take the plunge.
Venue is English Bay Beach on New Year’s Day
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Merry Christmas!
December 25th, 2008 Categories: Vancouver
MERRY XMAS TO YOU AND YOURS!
This from Wikipedia
Christmas (IPA: /krɪsməs/), also referred to as Christmas Day or Christmastide, is an annual holiday celebrated on December 25 that marks and honors the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. His birth, which is the basis for the anno domini system of dating, has been determined by modern historians as having occurred between 7 and 2 BC. The date of celebration is not thought to be Jesus’ actual date of birth. It may have been chosen to coincide with the winter solstice, which the ancient Romans celebrated on December 25.
Modern customs of the holiday include gift-giving, church celebrations, and the display of various decorations—including the Christmas tree, lights, mistletoe, nativity scenes and holly. Santa Claus (also referred to as Father Christmas, although the two figures have different origins) is a popular mythological figure often associated with bringing gifts at Christmas. Santa is generally believed to be the result of a syncretization between St. Nicholas of Myra and elements from pagan Nordic and Christian mythology, and his modern appearance is believed to have originated in 19th century media.
Christmas is celebrated throughout the Christian population, but is also celebrated by many non-Christians as a secular, cultural festival. The holiday is widely celebrated around the world, including in the United States, where it is celebrated by 96% of the population. Because gift-giving and several other aspects of the holiday involve heightened economic activity among both Christians and non-Christians, Christmas has become a major event for many retailers.
See what’s happening in Vancouver for Christmas.
View my other Vancouver Events.
Have a Xmas story you’d like to share or some joy or a favourite Christmas carol?
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Wordless Wednesdays
December 24th, 2008 Categories: Wordless Wednesdays
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Smoke Detectors Save Lives
December 23rd, 2008 Categories: Real Estate
Smoke detectors save lives – the risk of dying in a home fire is cut in HALF when operating smoke detectors are in place.
Replace the batteries at least once a year or use 100V detectors that do not use batteries. Clean smoke detectors at least twice a year and test them at least annually. There should be one smoke detector on every level of your home. If you sleep with the bedroom door closed, install one in the bedroom as well . Generally detectors last for 10 years.
Visit this website for more information
when you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Maggie, an experienced realtor marketing Vancouver homes since 1981
this site is updated regularly, subscribe via RSS or email for free. the above information is deemed to be correct but should not be relied upon
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Canada Real Estate Roundup
December 22nd, 2008 Categories: Real Estate
Montreal, Newfoundland and Halifax are experiencing rising prices, all other metro areas in Canada are doing the reverse.
Canadian home sales will stabilize in 2009 after a double-digit drop this year, while prices will edge down slightly following this year’s single-digit decline, according to a national real estate firm.
This from Canada.com “Nationally, 440,000 homes are expected to change hands in 2008, down 15 per cent from record 2007 levels,” Re/Max forecast Wednesday. “Canadian housing values are expected to hover at $300,000, a nominal three per cent decline from last year’s historic peak.”Sales are expected to drop further in the early part of 2009 before recovering by the end of the year at the 440,000 level, Re/Max said. However, the average price is expected to slip by two per cent to an average of $293,000, it said.The outlook is for “somewhat static” activity in the first six to nine months of 2009, given continued volatility in financial markets and the threat of recession. However, as stability returns to the financial sector, housing markets are expected to recover. Read the rest of this entry »
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Festival of Trees
December 19th, 2008 Categories: Vancouver
For the past 21 years the festival of trees has transformed the lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel and upper level of the Pacific Centre into a forest of lavishly decorated trees, to raise funds for BC Children’s Hospital.
You are invited to browse through the display and cast your ballot for your favourite tree.
On display November 19-January 1st at 791 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, BC
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BC Homeownership is 70%
December 18th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp says home-ownership in British Columbia is approximately 70%. CMHC estimate that 45% of Vancouver Downtown condos are investor owned (adding to a tight rental market) versus 23% of condos across metropolitan Vancouver.
Stats Canada match CMHC figures, stating that 69.7% of households in BC own their own home, leaving 30% of the province renting a home. However in Metropolitan Vancouver 35% of households rent and in Vancouver itself 51% of households rent.
With the rental vacancy rate below 1% it does not bode well for newcomers to the City or tenants facing displacement, such as what’s taking place in the West End.
For more info on Vancouver real estate, view my website
when you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Maggie, an experienced realtor marketing Vancouver homes since 1981.
this site is updated regularly, subscribe via RSS or email for free.
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Wordless Wednesdays
December 17th, 2008 Categories: Wordless Wednesdays
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Vancouver Real Estate Price Graph Nov 2008
December 16th, 2008 Categories: Real Estate
The above graph shows the average price of properties sold throught the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s MLS from 1971 to present.
The top line is houses, the middle is townhomes and the bottom line is condos.
It is interesting to observe that the average price gap between houses and condos was quite narrow in the ’70’s and ’80s and is now substantially wider. The houses went nearly vertical in 2002 and has now decreased more than the townhomes and condos.
Between 2003 and 2008, the HPI benchmark price of a detached home in Greater Vancouver increased nearly 70 per cent to $761,000 from $449,000. Condominiums over the same period increased 82 per cent to $387,000 from $213,000. Left unchecked at this rate, by 2013 the benchmark price of a detached home would top $1.2 million and condos more than $700,000.
View my website for more info on Vancouver real estate.
when you’re ready to buy or sell Vancouver real estate, contact Maggie, an experienced realtor, marketing Vancouver homes since 1981.
this site is updated regularly, subscribe for free via RSS or email. the above information is courtesy REBGV but should not be relied upon.
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