TREVOR BARNETT

DownSizing or Rightsizing.. Richmond has the alternative life style homes for you. Is this the year for you to consider a smaller, easier to manage home in an Adult Only community? If so, Trevor Barnett has some options that are sure to please you. Trevor has been assisting many home owners throughout his 16 year carreer to make that most important move. Downsizing to a smaller home brings many emotional challenges. How much space will we really need? We certainly don't want to deal with stairs and it must have plenty of storage. Additionally, it must be close to transportation, shopping and medical facililities. All these are very important considerations

With over 15% of BC's population at 65 or older, many are seeking an alternative lifestyle, trying to decide what type of smaller home would best suit their needs and where? Many seek areas outside of the lower mainland with milder climates such as the Okanagan and Vancouver Island. Parksville was tied with Elliot Lake, Ontario for the highest ratio of seniors in the country. About one-third of Parksville residents were aged 65 or older last year. One in ten was 80 or older! This is just the tip of the iceberg. By the time we reach the year 2031, BC's population will mirror what Parksville is today. So what will best suit your needs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: ORIGIN GROUP - one of Canada's fastest growing mortgage advisory groups has teamed up with Macdonald Realty Westmar of Richmond BC to offer Macdonald clients the most comprehensive and innovative services available today. Macdonald Sales Associates are very excited to be able to offer their clients leading edge products, extremely competitive rates and just as importantly, top notch service.  "Origin has really taken Western Canada by storm. When I recommend a service to my clients, they had better deliver full value and Origin does that in spades. It's not just about low rates, it's about first rate customer service

What's it worth? Property Assessment Notices and What they mean. Hello & thank you for dropping by this new Blog. Throughout BC, property owners have been asking lots of questions regarding their 2007 property assessment notices that they recently recieved. "WOW, HOW MUCH, CAN'T BE, SEE I TOLD YOU, HOW DO I/WE APPEAL THIS?" Often there is a difference between the property value on the assessment notice and the value determined by a Realtor. There are two reasons. The first has to do with when. The second has to do with how. When: The assessment notice is BCA's estimate of the property's market value as of July 1, 20006. In comparison, a Realtor's

Looking To Buy A New Home in Richmond BC? You are not alone! Many home buyers are looking at the convenience of living in Richmond, a mere 30 minute drive to downtown Vancouver. On my web site you will find plenty of information on why we think Richmond is the ideal place to live and bring up your family, as well as "Live Search Engine" option. With plenty of re-sale and new homes to choose from, finding the best affordable location, price/ammenties/schools etc; can be a challenge. Prices for new Single Family homes range from $600,000 and up. Remember, new home construction will incur both GST (6%) as well as the BC PTT (Property Transfer

The latest report from CMHC (Canada Housing & Mortgage Corporation) suggests that the HOT Vancouver housing market is in a typical summer slowdown. While prices in some areas of the lower mainland have softened, CMHC is clear to point out that it would take two consecutive quarters of decline before they might declare that the 'bubble' has burst. In fact, there are differing professional opinions as to whether we are indeed in a so called 'bubble'.

Inventory levels for re-sale homes in most lower mainland communities remains low. Today, the Royal Bank of Canada announced a series of mortgage rate reductions, once again signalling

Fundamentals Remain StrongFigures published by the Real Estate Board Of Greater Vancouver, show July sales statistics have slowed when compared to July '05. (see attached Adobe Stats Pkg.) Last year was somewhat abnormal when compared to previous years, however, with interest rates continuing to remain attractive and low inventory levels, demand will continue to drive sales. Affordabilty is always a concern, as recently stated by Cameron Muir, Senior Economist with CMHC.

Richmond BC continues to be a favourite for many of todays first time buyers and young families, eager to snap up their first new Condominium or Town Home. With the new Canada Line

More consumers ready to buy Latest buyer intention survey released by CMHC More than 380,000 households in Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver indicated they are ready to buy a home this year, according to a survey released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). This represents an average of eight per cent of all households in those major centres.

“Consumer intentions across the five major markets surveyed remain strong, with eight per cent of households thinking seriously about buying a home this year", said Bob Dugan, Chief Economist at CMHC, who noted that another five per cent of consumers in those markets

Greater Vancouver's superb quality of life - it's scenic beauty, moderate climate and high level of services - make it the third best place to live in the world and the best place in Canada.

That's according to a new quality of life survey by Mercer Human Resource consulting, which measured 39 indicators including health, education, climate and availability and quality of houses in 215 cities. Only Zurich and Geneva ranked higher.

A shortage of buildable land and product, coupled with demand has lead to higher home price appreciation.

Is this making Vancouver unaffordable? Right now, the benchmark price of detached home in Greater

Re-Published from The Province Newspaper

Ashley Ford, The Province

Published: Tuesday, April 11, 2006 Another month and another blazing housing-start performance across the Lower Mainland.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.'s latest numbers show Fraser Valley starts jumping an astonishing 71 per cent from March a year ago to 833 starts from 485.

Vancouver's performance was also impressive with a 30-per-cent increase over a year ago to 2,016 units.

The performance from all urban areas in B.C. was also impressive with starts increasing 27 per cent to 7,934 units.

"Despite a limited supply of land and skilled trades, home builders