Jason Luke
RE/MAX Advantage Realty
#102 - 321 Sixth Street, New Westminster, B.C.
P: 604-526-2888 F: 604-526-0723
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Welcome to my Coquitlam Real Estate Report!

In this section of my website I put together plenty of useful resources that I’m sure you will find useful.

Monday August 23rd, 2010 - Free TransLink Passes for Employees, Spouses and Retirees Raises Questions

It is a common occurrence for transit companies across Canada to offer free passes to their employees and in some cases their spouses. Some even provide passes for those that retire. TransLink, the Transit Police and Coast Mountain Bus Co. in the Metro Vancouver area offer this perk. So does SkyTrain and West Coast Express. Why does this make them any different than the Toronto Transit Commission in Toronto?

In theory it doesn’t. But local taxpayers are arguing that the fund strapped TransLink that is looking for ways to cut costs should view these free passes as an opportunity to save money. Ken Hardie, a spokesperson for TransLink advises that this is part of a union negotiated compensated package agreed to when BC Transit was in charge of the system. He also notes that the free passes don’t cost TransLink any money to issue and that since the employees must pay taxes on them as a source of income, they are not truly free.

That argument is not convincing Maureen Bader from the Canadian Taxpayers Federation. She is convinced that TransLink would make several million dollars a year if these free pass holders actually paid to ride. Offering employees a discount on passes, but not issuing them totally free, would make smarter business sense.

TransLink has been cutting costs by restructuring their executive set up and has in fact eliminated several vice-president positions. Cutting back on perks for union employees is just not possible, at least until the contracts are up for negotiation. TransLink is large enough to challenge the unions, but whether it will is anyone’s guess.

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Tuesday August 17th, 2010 - British Columbia’s Housing Market Showing Dramatic Decrease in Sales

Throughout a booming real estate climb in the latter half of 2009, the province of British Columbia was doing quite well. This was mostly due to the hot sales in Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley. All three super hot markets made the entire province look good. Now that the market has cooled, the slower markets in these three areas are having the opposite effect. Since British Columbia’s economic rebound was led by the housing market, it is not sure how this will effect the provinces overall outlook.

2009 proved to be a hot year partially because consumers were enticed to get into the market by lower real estate prices and record low mortgage rates. People just saw an opportunity and even though had no plans to buy for a year or more down the road, just jumped into the housing market.

Now many of these people are probably thanking their lucky stars as they look at the rising mortgage rates and the tighter mortgage lending rules, not to mention the implementation of the Harmonized Sales Tax (HRT) that started on July 1st of this year. All of these factors no doubt are contributing to what is now very much a buyer’s market. Housing starts have slowed down as well.

Metro Vancouver saw sales dip 45 percent comparing July of 2010 to the same month in 2009. The Fraser Valley’s sales numbers fell by 48 percent. Victoria and the Kelowna-Okanagan area both saw sales decrease over 30 percent. July 2010 home prices, at an average of $491,832 were up six percent from July of 2009, but they have started to fall. July’s numbers are down 1.6 percent from the housing average in June of this year.

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Monday August 9th, 2010 - British Columbia’s Real Estate Market Hits Expected Slowdown

British Columbia’s hot real estate market is slowing down, and at a faster rate than expected in some areas. Forecasters have been predicting it all along, citing the Bank of Canada’s increase in mortgage rates and tougher lending rules. It is the rate of the slow down, and faster than expected decrease in home values that raised real estate industry eyebrows.

Metro Vancouver is feeling the pinch, registering only 2,255 sales this past July. This is 45 percent less than July of 2009 and the third lowest July in the last decade. The Fraser Valley saw a 47 percent decrease with only 1,101 sales listed, making this their slowest July in the last ten years.

As far as price, in Metro Vancouver, the average home price fell to $793,193, a 0.2 percent decrease. The Fraser Valley saw a decrease of 1.5 percent in the detached-home market, with average prices being $510,470. What was a sellers market is now turning into a more balanced scenario with a slight advantage going to the buyer.

Some brokers, such as Chris LeMay in Vancouver are doing more refinancing work than closing new mortgage deals. His office has noted an increase in people that are looking at the current economy with a more critical eye. The uncertainty is with how much more the mortgage rates will go up and how much further property values will fall.

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Thursday July 29th, 2010 - Coquitlam Skating Club Hosts Korean Skaters For Summer Training

Korean figure skating hopefuls traveled from their native country to Coquitlam this summer to take advantage of the ice at the Coquitlam Skating Club. The rink, dubbed Planet Ice, is living up to its name since it is attracting skaters from as far away as Finland. This is the second consecutive summer for the Korean group with skaters as young as nine. Last year five Koreans made the journey, this year eight.

The Korean skaters have to share their practice ice at home with speed skaters, who practice their craft on the outer edges while the figure skaters take over the center. The experience of having a rink to themselves and a seven week stint with coaches that are themselves accomplished skaters is much appreciated. Two of the coaches are Ronald Lam and Bella Papp who both placed well at the junior world’s championships this year. Lam was 20th and Papp came 24th.

Though Planet Ice is a no-pressure training environment, the skaters take full advantage of the opportunity, putting in six hour days on the ice and an additional three hours of conditioning off. It is possible that the Koreans will return next summer for another round of practice, but that won’t be known until later. They, along with others around the globe, will be welcome.

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