Decorating Tips

In the sea of media out there about decorating and re-decorating, designing, construction and destruction, everyone in a household has their own opinion. Here’s how to avoid trouble:
Stick with your redecorating vision
If you have a clear concept, bolt the door to outside opinions
Lynda Reeves, Times Colonist
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Design by committee never works. You [...]

More On The Origin of Real Estate

Hello all,
I recently had a visitor to my blog comment on a recent Real Estate 101 post. The visitor chatted with me through the Meebo chat widget to your right and mentioned that my definition was a little narrow.
For a broader definition and more information on the term, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_property or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_estate
Thanks for the [...]

Real Estate 101

Hello everyone!
This is a new section of the blog I like to call Real Estate 101. In these blog posts, I will answer common questions I get from buyers and sellers, for all to learn from. As your local Sooke and West Shore real estate expert, I am happy to answer any questions you [...]

Housing Sales Forecast Skyrockets

Good news home owners! More evidence of Canada’s continuing insulation from the housing troubles in the USA comes in today’s Times Colonist newspaper. Our booming economy, strong dollar, and exploding job market are all combining to propel our housing market to new highs, despite the challenges faced by our cousins to the south. – Tim [...]

Chat Live With Tim Ayres

Hi all,
I hope you’ve been enjoying the content I’ve been posting almost daily to this blog. Did you know you can subscribe to my blog using any RSS reader? You can also subscribe via e-mail, getting all my latest posts delivered directly to your inbox. Just use the subscribe tools in the sidebar.
I just [...]

July 2007 Sets Record For BC Home Sales

Vancouver, BC – August 16, 2007. British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that residential sales volume on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC climbed 44 per cent to $4.66 billion in July, compared to the same month last year. Residential unit sales increased 25 per cent to 10,447 units during the same [...]

Bank Of Canada Likely To Cut Interest Rates

Central bank tries to stabilize markets
EDIT: FOR A MORE RECENT ARTICLE ON INTEREST RATES, CLICK HERE. 
Failure of cash infusion to stop decline means bank will likely cut interest rates
Eric Beauchesne
CanWest News Service
Thursday, August 16, 2007
OTTAWA — The Bank of Canada, in a new bid to reassure panicky investors, yesterday accelerated its efforts to pump more [...]

Buyer Preferences Changing…

For 2015, it’s inside the house that counts

Homes to grow in luxury, not size, study predicts
BY NANCY TREJOS

The Washington Post
Tvice-president for research at the builders association. Another generation, those born from 1965 to 1977, are now in their prime home-buying years. And they’re just as demanding, Ahluwalia said. “They also want everything.”
In [...]

Interest Rates may decrease; at least hold.

Why might the recent turmoil in the financial markets be good for home owners and buyers? See below:
 From http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/Business/2007/08/11/4409763-sun.html

TORONTO — The global financial turmoil that has rocked world financial markets may have a bright side for Canadians —    it could end up keeping interest rates lower despite rising inflation, economists say.

With stocks under siege [...]

Victoria Real Estate Board Unveils New Web Page

I am pleased to announce the launch of the newly revamped VREB website, www.vreb.org.
The new site offers easier access to key information and guides on buying, selling, leasing, MLS® statistics, commercial real estate and community involvement.
Also: Open house information for all open houses being held on the upcoming weekend. Open house listings include [...]