peter townsend's vancouver real estate blog

Today I'm loving....Eames Lounge Chair Manufacturing in the Vitra Atelier

 

The Eames chair: A true design classic.... I could sit in mine all day!

Today I'm loving....Philippe Starck

Play With Dedon Chairs by Starck & Quitllet from mocoloco on Vimeo.

 

 

Having met Philippe Starck in Paris many years ago, I love love this video. He is a genius, his work is marvelous and his accent is fabuleux! Having met Philippe Starck in Paris many years ago, I love love this video. He is a genius, his work is marvelous and his accent is fabuleux!

Do you receive International Architecture & Design magazine free?

  

The Spring edition of International Architecture and Design magazine is now out. This edition's featured  articles include; Arthur Erickson's stunningly restored "Glass house" in Comox, the complete contemporary revival of an outdated Vancouver post and beam bungalow, and a photo essay on a "James Bond" house  located in California's Santa Rosa mountains.

If would like to receive your free subscription for a year and you live in or around Vancouver, Whistler or the Islands simply visit my pro Facebook page @ facebook.com/Peter.Townsend.Vancouver ,  when you get there just click the "Like" button and send me an email with your mailing address.

Scottie's renovating West Vancouver #2

Just a quick update on interior designer, Scott Steacy's current project on Gallagher Place, West Vancouver. Last time I passed by the entire downstairs had been stripped back to the studs, walls removed and new walls and partition framework were being put in. Parallel to that operation, the basic plumbing and electricity was being set out and  installed. However the top floor still remained a relative "safe haven", hermetically sealed off by numerous walls of plastic dust sheets and tape. Life on the top floor could continue reasonably normally....Until work on the top floor started....

3265 Dickinson Crescent: new price $3,980,000

In designing this unique home, celebrated Architect Vlad Vit (www.vladvit.com) spared no expense and the result is one of the most dramatic properties in West Vancouver. Set against a beautiful rock outcropping, Mr. Vit has taken full advantage of the unique 12,787sq ft. view laden location to create an open plan work of art with 5,200 sq. ft. of living space. Engineered to the highest possible standards, the 2 x 6 wood frame construction beautifully compliments the structured steel frame as well as the engineered floor and roof joists.

Home buyers and sellers enter Vancouver housing market at near record pace in March

REBGV reports March house sales stats:

Vancouver, BC - Activity in the Greater Vancouver housing market continued to strengthen in March with both the number of homes sold and added to the region’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) reaching near record levels.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 4,080 in March 2011. This represents a 31.7 per cent increase compared to the 3,097 sales recorded in February 2011, an increase of 30.1 per cent compared to the 3,137 sales in March 2010 and an 80.1 per cent increase from the 2,265 home sales in March 2009. The all-time sales record for March occurred in 2004 when 4,371 transactions were recorded. full report If you would like to know how this affects your particular area please give me a call on 604 218 2903.

British Columbia Housing Sales forecast to rise up to 15% by 2013

According to an article recently published residential home sales in British Columbia are forecast to increase by about 7% in 2011 with additional increases in the following two years according to a new report from Credit 1. read full article here

When is a renovation not a renovation?

Several of my selling clients from last year are now enduring the process of substantial renovations on "older" properties they purchased, and a few are bravely confronting the process of building from scratch. All of them chose their options after not really finding houses offering that "modern contemporary" feel that many builders sadly seem to be missing here on the north shore.

Naturally many of the questions regarding building versus renovating we dealt with during the purchase proceadure. However, plans can evolve and renos can grow! So it's important to know just exactly when does a reno essentially become a new build in the eyes of planning and more importantly the tax man...the implications are huge!

The following article from BuyRIC.com is extremely helpful.

"New homes built from the foundation up to the final finishing stages are not the only homes that are considered “new” in British Columbia. A “new home” can also be a newly reconstructed building, or more specifically – “substantially reconstructed” – according to the Homeowner Protection Act of BC." Full article here