British Columbia

The first half of 2012 was a very busy time for concrete condominium developers in Metro Vancouver, according to Jeff Hancock of MPC Intelligence, which tracks Metro’s new strata market.

Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs has warned of a court fight and possibly blockades to stop the proposed Northern Gateway oil pipeline. Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.

There is a hefty premium for Metro Vancouver office rents close to Canada Line or Skytrain stations: nearly 23 per cent, according to a study by Jones Lang Lasalle, a financial and professional services firm specializing in real estate.

The City of Richmond has attracted $4 billion worth of planned projects, partly because its community plans are more detailed than other Metro Vancouver cities, according to Brian Jackson, Richmond’s director of development.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.’s (CMHC) spring Rental Market Survey reports the British Columbia average apartment vacancy rate was 3.4 per cent in April, up about 1 per cent from a year earlier.

It is possible to buy an investment condo for less money – and with better returns – in New York City than in Vancouver, according an expat New Yorker now living here.

China’s multi-trillion-dollar retail scene has terrific potential but holds risk for Canadians, says Hong Kong-born Anthea Wong, a China retail analyst with Pricewaterhouse Coopers. Wong presented a seminar on China retail recently in Vancouver.

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Across Metro Vancouver, the typical house price is $937,000, or about eight times higher than the lowest priced cities in Canada.

Thousands of construction workers may be seeing more work this year in northwest British Columbia, as a consortium of resource giants, including Shell Canada, are planning a $12 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility at Kitimat.