The sales pace at the Encore (at Bayview Place, Saghalie Road) has been dramatically different than that of the Promontory.

Ideally you want to be buying a pre-sale unit at a discount compared to an equivalent completed unit in a similar building and in a similar location.

The answer is transient zoning.

The three major condo projects downtown Victoria are nearly sold out.

During the rough in stage installing a Nema 14-50 in your garage won’t cost you much.

Just look at REALTOR® advertising.

As of July 4th, 2016 owner-builders in B.C. have to write, and pass, an exam for their application to be approved. The dumbest thing I’ve ever heard off.

Market value of condos in Victoria, B.C., has gone up drastically in the last 12 months; however, rents haven’t gone up the same extent which means returns are dropping. Does it make sense to sell and re-invest the profits? Maybe not when you factor in transaction costs and capital gains taxes.

H&M T-Shirt pricing actually makes sense, real estate commissions not so much.

Despite the red hot market alternative commission models are not making any strides in terms of market share.

Advice for sellers would be only sell if you have a plan in place moving forward and unfortunately for buyers the only advice to secure an attractive property in the core is to be an irrational buyer.

What does the future hold?

If you are going to post your home selling or buying activities on Facebook, Instagram or other social media make sure the settings are set to private; otherwise, the other party maybe able to leverage what you’ve divulged in negations.

Should you let the amount of offers being presented influence the top number you are willing to pay?

70% of my listings with open fireplaces the sellers have not used the fireplace in years….just isn’t really practical!

It is the one type of heating system I regularly see working in original condition in 30-40 year old homes. Will modern gas fireplaces full of electronics last 30-40 years? Maybe, maybe not.

6 years later amidst a heated market in Victoria, B.C., I am left scratching my head.

Unfortunately a lot of consumers associate a luxury car with success/competency. From personal experience, driving a nice car helps, but it is not something I would look for in a professional personally.

In Europe for decades a single family home in the core of a desirable city has typically been out of reach for the average earning family.

In my 5 years of ownership the condo has appreciated from $198,900 to approximately $230,000 – $235,000 and the mortgage principal has dropped from $158,900 (initial down payment of $40,000 on the $198,900 purchase price) to approximately $139,000. During this time the condo has been cash flow positive every single month.

The savings are a little difficult to calculate as owner-building will take time away from your actual career/business. I would owner-build again but only if I was semi-retired or completely retired.

I can, but only if you as the consumer are willing to embrace a fee for service model.

Not only do you want to buy into a building where rentals are unrestricted, but ideally you buy into an unrestricted building where the ratio of rented units to owner-occupiers is low.

The most expensive areas, such as Oak Bay, are probably the worst places to be in terms of a large earth quake.

Real estate transactions do not need to be stressful. Stay calm.

In relation to the re-sale market we saw better value in the pre-sale market from 2009 to 2014.

Currently in Victoria, B.C., with a seller’s market in place a lot of sellers are delaying offers for two to four days to set up multiple bid situations. There is an approach you can take to increase your chances of having the winning bid.