Truth In Advertising

As REALTORS®, we are tasked with both the sales and marketing aspects of moving properties. Members of the public at large are protected by legislation and professional ethics codes designed to keep our advertising truthful and accurate. We are not allowed to misrepresent a property we have listed for sale.
I was reading the Ubertor [...]

Another Reason To Install Heated Floors

When I updated my bathroom, I installed an in-floor heating system. It was really easy and not at all expensive to install. Basically, you roll out the electric heating mat underneath your floor covering (in my case, slate tile), and have an electrician wire it to your power source. Simple!
It’s been my favourite feature by [...]

Bank Of Canada Cuts Interest Rate – Jan 22, 2008

As expected, Bank of Canada cuts the key lending rate by 1/4 per cent.
The Bank of Canada this morning announced its expected 1/4% cut in Canada’s mortgage-rate setting overnight lending rate. The anticipated move is made to ensure that the Canadian economy continues to grow, despite continuing struggles in the world economy dealing with the [...]

First-Time Home Buyer’s Seminar

West Shore Professionals Hosting Free Event
Tuesday, January 29th, 2008 at 6:00 P.M.
Exclusive first-time buyer’s seminar. Hosted by three of the West Shore’s best and brightest professionals, this informative presentation will enlighten you on the process of buying your first home, and lay out options to make your home ownership dreams a reality!

Your Hosts:

Jeremy Kimm, Certified [...]

Price vs Quality – How Much Does Marketing Influence You?

Wine and Real Estate – Is There A Difference?
A recent study that was reported in the Times Colonist this morning suggests that people are highly influenced on their perceptions of quality by the price, which suggests that by simply pricing a particular product higher could influence its target market into perceiving it as higher quality [...]

Provincial Transportation Spending Plan Announced

Victoria area to get New RapidBus BC service from Douglas Street Corridor to Langford.
The Provincial Government announced its new $14 Billion transit plan for British Columbia, some of which has been previously announced or funded. The announcement can be found here.
Of particular note for Victoria and Langford/West Shore residents was the plan for new “RapidBusBC” [...]

BC Increases Home Owner Threshold

Grant now available to properties over $1M
The Government of British Columbia announced today that it was increasing the threshold for the Home Owner Grant program from $950,000 to $1,050,000, in accordance with its goal to ensure that 95% of homeowners in British Columbia qualify for the basic grant.
British Columbia’s 2008 assessment roll, released January 1st, [...]

BC Home Sales top $45 Billion in 2007 – A New Record

2007 surprised us all as an exceptionally strong year for home sales in the provincial real estate market. I think if you had asked me at the end of 2006 if I thought that 2007 would break any records for home sales, I would have told you (politely) that you were crazy. Below is the [...]

Microsoft Surface: Imagine the Possibilities

I’ve been meaning to blog about Microsoft’s Surface technology for a while now, but a video from TechCrunch this morning (below) has reminded me how utterly cool this is. The concept was conceived in 2001 and the first prototype was in 2003, so it’s nothing new, but we have yet to see any sort [...]

2007: A Surprising Year for Victoria and Sooke Real Estate

Year-end and December 2007 Statistics Released
The Victoria Real Estate Board has released the December 2007 and year-end statistics:

Real Estate Records Broken in 2007

The value of all property transactions through the Victoria Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) hit a new record of over $4.1 billion in 2007, up from $3.3 billion in 2006. [...]