Here at REW.ca, we bring you the latest Lower Mainland housing market news on a daily basis – and what a market it is! Never a dull moment in Vancouver real estate… Here are our five most-read Market section stories of 2014.
1. This Week’s Top Five Most-Viewed Homes
Always the most popular of our Market category stories is our weekly update on REW.ca’s most viewed property listings of the past seven days. Wildly varying in location, size and price, the article is a regular education on what’s hot on the market and what makes house hunters click, as well as being a voyeuristic Friday treat. Take a look at this week’s edition.
And now REW.ca has launched its Top Homes feature, taking home listing voyeurism to new heights! Search for the most expensive, most affordable, largest, smallest, most viewed and most recently listed properties in any given neighbourhood, and your top 10 results will be ranked with a gorgeous display of photos.
2. Immigrant Investor Program Scrapped in Federal Budget
The federal budget February 11 announced the demise of Canada's controversial investor visa scheme, which real estate insiders said would have an immediate effect on Vancouver's high-end housing market, reported REW in what turned out to be our most-read market news story of the year.
The program had allowed waves of wealthy immigrants into Canada – mostly to Vancouver – since 1986. Tens of thousands of Chinese millionaires in the queue had their applications scrapped and their fees returned.
3. The Immigrant Influence in 2014
On the subject of immigrants and their effect on Vancouver real estate, January saw a very popular story which real estate lawyer Richard Bell predicting what the influence of incoming residents would be on the local market.
Have a read of the story and ask yourself – did he get it right?
4. Greater Vancouver Real Estate Market: May 2014
"This is the most active marketplace we've seen since the spring of 2011," said Ray Harris, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, in response to the May numbers released in early June.
"Our MLS® statistics tell us that there's more home buyer demand today than at any point over the last three years."
This story was our fourth-most read market article of the year, as reader interest matched the frenzy of the real estate market as it heated up in the spring.
5. Benchmark, Average, Median Home Price: What’s the Difference?
Anyone who knows anything about real estate knows that you have to listen closely when people are throwing around stats about Metro Vancouver home prices. First thing to ask is, which kind of price are they talking about? Benchmark, average and median are all different measures. REW.ca created a hugely popular video that makes the definitions and differences clear.
