Penthouse.on 55th floor.  What does $30M buy you? Location to begin with - at Bay & Yorkville.   9000sf with 680sf for your staff!

The master bedroom is 2,500sf. with a fireplace and its own terrace and 12ft ceilings. The design is haute Gluckstein. Let's not forget the wine cellar which holds 800 bottles.

The Four Seasons is selling for $3000 pr sq ft - compared to $1000psf five years ago. The developer expects the buyer to be local or someone who'll do the 6 and 6. We assume the 6 in Toronto will be during summer months!

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Welcome home to Coal Harbour's CIELO, steps to the waterfront and walking distance to work, shops, restaurants and Robson Street. Enjoy Urban Fare at your doorstep.

Spacious well appointed 787 SF one bedroom corner suite featuring a large 80  sq. ft. SW facing balcony. High end finishing includes granite countertops, gas stove, KitchenAid S/S appliances, walk-in frameless glass shower, air-conditioning, geothermal system and insuite storage.

Fabulous mountain & water views from roof-top patio with gas fireplace, jacuzzi, fitness centre & meeting room. Parking and locker included. Concierge. Quick possession possible. Call today and make an offer!  Asking $609,900.

The 2010 Winter Olympic Games Came, Saw and Conquered! So much fun!! Congrats to our athletes!

The Olympic Village is Vancouver's last waterfront community.  Vancouver real estate statistics for False Creek South (Olympic Village) saw Febuary sales up slightly and sales down slightly.. Average sold price up to over $370,000 and sale price to list price ratio 99% with average days on market 36, Overall a strong market.

420 units of the 1,100 total units on the site have been sold.   MilleniumWaterwill be pre-selling the remainder in May . The waterfront units will be over $1M. Hire me as your Buyer Agent! The Developer's agent works for the developer!

City Hall will shortly be making a decisionon whether the Olympic Village will or will not ontain social housing. Will they sell the units designated for social housing in order to increase the revenue to the City?

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The February graphs for Greater Vancouver real estate show the average price of Greater Vancouver homes, townhomes and condos are slightly above their last peak, having regained what they lost last year. Prices have been rising since March. The graph shows the houses on the top, townhomes (middle) and condos (bottom) average price from 1977 to present.  The Vancouver market peaked in 1981, 1989,1993 and 2008. Vancouver real estate didn't appreciate much between 1994 and 2002 but they did between 2002 and 2008. Then it dropped about 20-25% and has now surpassed the highs of 2008.

Following are the stats for Vancouver West Side -

February saw listings down and sales up compared to January. Now a better selection for buyers who are returning to the market after the Olympics.

New Listings -   Feb 907, Jan 1166, Dec 469, Nov 834,  October 1155,  Sept 1244, July 1069, Jun 1128.  There were 904 new listings in Feb'09.

Sales -  Feb 526, Jan 436, 592 in Dec 592, 688 in Nov, 807 in Oct, 733 in Sept, 795 in Aug, July 774, June 949.  Year to date sales 956 vs 559 same period last year . In Feb 2009 there were 382 sales

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Above are the Febuary Vancouver (west side) real estate graphs  for houses, townhouses and condos. Sales down and listings up, in all categories.

Condo listings increased to just over 1500 vs. nearly 2000 a year ago and are equal to May and Oct'09.  New Listings -  Feb 601, Jan 850,  Dec 349, Nov 621, Oct 833 , Sept 798. Sales Feb 342, Jan 298, Dec 397,  Nov 483, Oct 529  a Sept 477.  

For the year, the busiest price range is $350,000 to $400,000 (up from $300-350k in Jan). Year to Date sales over $1 Million - 27 sales. Total of 640 sales for the year vs 362 in 2009.

Townhouse listings 200 vs 400 a year ago.  New listings for Feb 86. Jan 30,  Dec 34 , 77 in Nov, 94 in Oct and 136 in Sept.  Sales were  for the month  54, Jan 30, Dec 62, 64 in Nov,  78 in Oct and 81 in Sept. Busiest price range is $700,000 to $800,000. 31 sales over $1M.  84 sales for the year vs 51 last year.

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CMHC's new rules come into effect April 19th. At that date real estate buyers will qualify for a lower mortgage if you require a CMHC insured mortgage.

Be sure to ask your financial institution which are the two amounts you qualify for,  pre and post April 19th, as this will impact your purchasing power.

Read my past post

For a pre-approval contact Alma Pasic , mortgage consultant

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West End real estate analysis saw January listings and sales up, compared to December, leaving the supply stable at less than 3 months. Listings and sales similar to Jan’09. The days on the market for condos that sold dropped from 41 to 28. The average selling price steady at $544,000. The sales under $500,000 up from 51% to 61% and the sales over $1M increased. The list price to sale price ratio is 98% . Listings - 162. 17 listed under $300,000 (including 1 under $200,000). 32 listed between $300,000 and $400,000. 30 listed between $400,000 and $500,000(up from 14 last month) ,39 listed between $500,000 and $1M. 28 listed between $1M & $2M. 13 listed over $2M (doubled from last month) Least expensive -$209,00 for a leasehold studio Most expensive - $5,780,000 for 4500 sq-ft in Shangri-la. View it Supply 2009(months) - Nov 2.6, Oct 2.6, Sept 2.6. Aug 2.7 months, Jul 2.1, Jun 2.2, May 5.2, Apr 3.2, Mar 4.5, Feb 8, Jan 9.7 Supply 2010 - Jan 2.8 2008 Listings - Jan 168, Feb 172 , Apr 232 , May 241 , June 235, July 235, Aug 246, Sept 257, Oct 268, Nov 281, Dec 242

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No, we're not talking the 2010 Winter Olympics, though the city is electric and the most exciting I've ever seen it! Awash in red and Oh Canada is being sung everywhere!

The Economist has again voted Vancouver the World's Most Liveable City! Canada does exceptionally well in The Economist's Intelligence Unit Ranking due to its perfect scores in health care and education and achieving 98 out of 100 points. On a sunny and balmy 12 degrees in February, the mountains and ocean are certainly breathtaking.

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