We include cycle maps in all our suite listings, and support the Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition. Here’s a photo of Nic taken on the street in his full safety gear -

BE CAREFUL, wear your helmet and gloves and BE SEEN: wear bright clothing

Are you cycling to and from work? Or do you cycle recreationally? There are so many great ways to get around the city by bike, and beautiful bike paths are easily accessed from all the locations of our Downtown Suites.

The President of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver gives his overview of the statistics for last month

Cycling is an active, affordable and easy way to get around downtown Vancouver. The Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition has been working hard to bring you separated bike lanes to make cycling downtown comfortable and convenient. The VACC offers memberships as well as Streetwise Cycling Courses and Workplace Cycling Education to show people cyclist rules of the road, ways to stay warm and dry in the winter, and more.

Making bicycling better not only helps with our personal and environmental health, it is great for livability and the real estate  value in bike-friendly areas. When you want to sell not just a house or office, you’re selling a community. Studies have shown that a house within a half mile of a bicycle trail would sell for an average of 11% more than one further away and that a bikeway added US$5,000 to the prices of homes beside it. A study in Vancouver indicated that 65% of realtors would use the bikeway as a selling feature of a home. The VACC believes biking is good for livability and for business. We offer Discover Downtown by Bike maps, Bike-able Building Assessments and Organizational Memberships (Downtown Suites is our newest member!).

After improving cycling conditions in Metro Vancouver for 14 years, the VACC is about to announce their new brand at the Year of the Bike Launch Event April 28. For more information on all things city cycling, visit www.vacc.bc.ca

Nicholas Meyer, President of Downtown Suites Ltd. gives an overview of the current market in Vancouver for real estate investors and renters.

Concord Pacific Azura Building with stunning views overlooking the beautiful park and False Creek.  Steps to the seawall, Aqua Bus to Granville Island, parks, restaurants, bistros, Urban Fare grocery store, transit too!

• Views, views, views!
• 2 bedroom, 2 bathrooms
• Sunny solarium (perfect for office)
• Outdoor balcony – spacious

Now Leased.

If you’re looking for the ultimate urban one bedroom oasis then look no further!

East exposure, QUIET! away from the street noise.
Located in fashionable South Granville, steps from all the wonderful shopping, including Meinhardt’s gourmet foods, and just a short trolley ride to downtown.
Wonderful open atrium like lobby with each suite having its own front door opening out on to a breezeway.

Address: #310-1477 West 15th Avenue Vancouver
Square Footage: 550
Bedrooms: 1
Bathrooms: 1
Available: March 12, 2012

Link to VIEW OR REQUEST more information for this suite

Selection broadens and demand eases to kick off 2012 in the Greater Vancouver housing market

Monday, February 6, 2012

VANCOUVER, BC – Greater Vancouver home sellers were more active than buyers in January and overall home prices, according to the new MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), continued to experience more stability and less fluctuation compared to the beginning of 2011.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 1,577 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in January 2012. This represents a 4.9 per cent decrease compared to the 1,658 sales recorded in December 2011, a decrease of 13.3 per cent compared to the 1,819 sales in January 2011 and an 18 per cent decline from the 1,923 home sales in January 2010.

January sales in Greater Vancouver were the second lowest January total in the region since 2002, though only 146 sales below the 10-year average.

“We’re seeing trends emerge in our market that favour buyers, such as increased selection and more stability in pricing compared to this time last year,”  Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “Last month’s activity tells us that competition amongst home buyers was reduced in January, which means that individuals looking to purchase a home had more time to do their homework, consult with their REALTOR®, and make a decision.”

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,756 in January. This represents a 19.9 per cent increase compared to the 4,801 new listings reported in January 2011, and a 253.3 per cent increase compared to the 1,629 new listings reported in December 2011.

Last month’s new listing count was the highest January total in Greater Vancouver since 1995.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the Greater Vancouver MLS® is 12,544, a 12.5 per cent increase compared to December 2011 and an increase of 20.2 per cent compared to January 2011.

New MLS® Home Price Index launches in Canada

Today marks the launch of the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), the best and purest way of determining price trends in the housing market. The MLS® HPI was pioneered by six founding partners: the real estate boards of Calgary, Fraser Valley, Greater Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Toronto and the Canadian Real Estate Association. The partners contracted with Altus Group to develop the MLS® HPI which measures home price trends in the five major markets serviced by those boards.

The new index replaces the MLSLink Housing Price Index, which had been used by Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley REALTORS® since the mid 1990s. MLS® HPI statistics should not be compared with previous MLSLink HPI statistics.¹

“The MLS® HPI is a national collaboration intended to give the public a more reliable and comprehensive tool to understand home price trends across the country,” Setticasi said.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver currently sits at $660,600, up 5.7 per cent compared to January 2011 and down 0.1 per cent compared to December 2011. The MLS® HPI also tracks home prices across the Lower Mainland.² The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower Mainland is $593,300, an increase of 5 per cent compared to January 2011.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in January 2012 reached 659, a decline of 16.9 per cent from the 793 detached sales recorded in January 2011, and a 6.5 per cent decrease from the 705 units sold in January 2010. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 11.3 per cent from January 2011 to $1,034,700.

Sales of apartment properties reached 657 in January 2012, a decline of 7.9 per cent compared to the 713 sales in January 2011, and a decrease of 26.3 per cent compared to the 891 sales in January 2010.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.4 per cent from January 2011 to $371,500.

Attached property sales in January 2012 totalled 261, a decline of 16.6 per cent compared to the 313 sales in January 2011, and a 20.2 per cent decrease from the 327 attached properties sold in January 2010. The benchmark price of a townhome³ unit declined 0.5 per cent between January 2011 and 2012 to $468,000.

Our Downtown Suites News site has moved over to this location to become part of this Downtown Suites Rental Management website.

With nearly 500 posts that have accumulated over  7 years of active blogging, making the transfer gave us an opportunity to see the extent and range of the postings over that period of time.

From photos like this image of upscale Coal Harbour, to Evergreen resources for owners, we really have covered a wide variety of Vancouver rental property management issues. Early posts go from the old Wordless Wednesday photos of places in and around Vancouver to our own original early videoblogs.

Now from this new location, we’re looking to expand the articles and info to keep our owners and tenants updated.

So take the time to dip into our archives – Articles from the past 7 years – listed by month at the sidebar to the right.

On another note: We’ve been updating the website for the past few weeks, and want to thank all of you for bearing with us during our testing and changes.

Still at the busiest time of the month, with many new suites now available, we are happy to say we’re managing to keep everything on an even keel in the office.

Home Sales Increase Last Year

Vancouver, BC – January 13, 2012. The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that the dollar volume of homes sold through Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in BC climbed 14.3 per cent to $43.1 billion in 2011. A total of 76,817 homes were sold in BC in 2011, up 2.9 per cent from 2010. The average annual MLS® residential price climbed 11.1 per cent to $561,026 over the same period.

“Low mortgage interest rates and gradually improving economic conditions contributed to a moderate increase in consumer demand last year,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “BC home sales came in about on par with their 15-year average, but fell well below their ten-year average of over 88,000 units.”

Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and the North experienced the largest percentage increase in unit sales last year, while consumer demand edged lower in Victoria and on Vancouver Island.

BC residential unit sales in December dipped 1.7 per cent to 4,186 units, while the average MLS® residential price was 2.8 per cent lower than in December 2010.