Heritage house questions and answers.

Q: What is a Heritage Building?

There are no hard and fast rules, no binding legal definitions, that determine what is, and what is not, a heritage building. Of course, everyone thinks of heritage as old. "Heritage", however, is best understood when joined to another word, such as conservation. The term "heritage conservation" was coined in Canada to describe the movement that advocated an alternative to the thoughtless development and urban renewal that was destroying irreplaceable vintage buildings. In this sense, heritage is clearly understood to mean something worth keeping, preserving, and protecting.

Heritage conservation has in fact been largely concerned with "old" buildings (a very relative term), for

A new report says while the slump in oil is stifling house prices in provinces driven by energy markets, other sectors have picked up the slack and taken home values to new levels nationally.

The report from Royal LePage, which provides a composite price based on values in 53 of the country’s largest housing markets, finds the average home sold for $502,643 during the third quarter of 2015 — an eight per cent increase from a year earlier.

“Economic slowdowns in energy-dependent markets, most notably in western Canada, have in part been offset by both renewed industrial activity in other parts of the country and the Bank of Canada’s recent interest rate cuts,” said Phil Soper, chief executive of Royal LePage, in a statement.

Soper said that, as in

Despite lack of choice, home sales across province rise 12 per cent year-over-year in September as buyers snap up what's on offer, according to new figures.

Unrelenting demand for real estate across BC is pulling home listings inventory to an eight-year low, according to British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) figures released October 14.

There were just 39,977 units available for sale in the province in September – a low that hasn’t been seen since early 2008.

“Strong consumer demand has pulled down the inventory of homes for sale to its lowest level in eight years,” confirmed Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist.

“Market conditions are favouring home sellers in some board areas, while contributing to relative balance between

Stability in real estate market provides safe haven for savers facing volatile capital markets

Sector remains a federal election priority for major parties and voters

TORONTO, October 14, 2015 – In the third quarter of 2015, home prices showed moderate to strong year-over-year increases in most markets in Canada, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey¹ released today.  While the effects of the crude oil shock are still filtering through the economy, the country’s non-energy sectors are beginning to regain momentum as a lower Canadian dollar stimulates sharply higher exports, particularly to the U.S., supporting overall consumer confidence and the strength of Canada’s real estate markets.

According to the report and newly introduced

The B.C. Real Estate Association will be making a fresh appeal next Tuesday for the provincial government to lower the Property Transfer Tax.

The association, representing the province’s 18,500 realtors, will make its case during pre-budget consultations by a government committee.

This will be the fifth consecutive time the BCREA is making such a plea. And it appears this may be the year the advice is heeded.

The push for a lower PTT comes amid rising frustration in Vancouver over prohibitive house prices and mounting evidence of tax avoidance and evasion by foreign property buyers.

Locals have every reason to be apoplectic at the high taxes they are asked to pay in relation to home ownership when it is so obvious that a sizable and

Real estate agents say anecdotal resurgence of American buyers

American buyers enticed by the low Canadian dollar are scooping up B.C. properties, according to several luxury market real estate agents. 

Jonathan Cooper, vice-president of operations for the Macdonald   Realty Group, says he has anecdotally seen a resurgence of Americans interested in Vancouver homes. 

"There was activity from all nationalities around the Olympics, but especially because of our proximity to Washington state, a lot of Americans were here at that time... talked to agents, went to open houses," he says. 

"They're high net-worth families who have heard about Vancouver, love how beautiful it is ... and yeah, it's a second home for vacation purposes."

And now

Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales in the province are expected to reach 100,000 units in 2015 for only the third time on record. This will also be the first time since 2007 that BC home sales surpass the ten year average. The surge in housing demand is broad-based across most BC regions, with nine of 11 boards expecting an increase in unit sales ranging from 10 to 26 per cent over 2014 levels. A record 106,300 homes traded hands on the BC MLS® during 2005.

The housing market is being underpinned by strong economic growth, improving labour markets, population growth and persistently low mortgage interest rates. British Columbia can boast the best performing economy in the country this year. Real GDP growth of 2.5 per cent this year and

A common problem many soon-to-be home-buyers have is that they have the will to buy, but not the means. If you’re looking to buy but don’t have enough saved up for a down payment, try these bits of advice that are sure to help grow your bank account.

Cut back on your spending: While it’s one thing to scale down on some of your everyday luxuries, it’s another thing to completely cut off your spending. Like many things in life, there is a fine balance when it comes to this. If you try to give it all up at once, it’s likely you’ll snap and go back to your old ways before you know it. Be sure to make a conscious effort to spend less, but don’t forget to enjoy yourself along the way.

Eat out less: Whether you’re the kind of person that eats out a couple

Based on value, momentum, economic strength and rental income potential...

Anyone who’s been to or lived in Edmonton will tell you: the big West Ed Mall isn’t the city’s main attraction. “There’s so much more to Edmonton,” explains Mark Slobodan, realtor with RE/MAX Excellence. Considered the blue collar city of Alberta’s oil patch, much of the wealth comes from tradespeople who work in the oil sands. But locals also know that the city has the distinction of being Alberta’s cultural, governmental and educational centre. The University of Alberta (UofA) makes its home here, and the city’s famous nickname—“Canada’s Festival City”—is due, in part, to the vast number of festivals that are part of the city’s thriving arts scene, most of which is centred

Ever wondered where’s the best place to live in Canada? MoneySense knows.

After months of sifting through reports from Environics Analytics, Statistics Canada and other data providers, MoneySense released their annual report on the best places to live in Canada in 2015.

“In a country that measures 6,521km across, with massively different economic regions and seven distinct climate zones, you can imagine it’s a ton to digest,” writes Mark Brown, the Reports and Rankings Editor at MoneySense. “We carefully weigh dozens of factors to geta  big picture of the overall health of 209 communities across the county.”

Considering 34 different factors, MoneySense believes that there’s a strong correlation between the economics of a city and the type of life