British Columbia

The residential market is shifting towards rental demand, according to Remco Daal, president and CEO of Bentall Kennedy. And while Daal was referring to the United States, condominium developers say the same trend is becoming apparent in B.C.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) that deal in rental apartments are buying up property on Vancouver Island. Recently, Northern Property REIT, which normally focuses on northern B.C. and Alberta, bought two Nanaimo rental buildings.

Changes coming to federal Fisheries regulations could mean that some property owners will be able to expand or build close to water that does not support aquatic life.

High ferry costs are a key reason why two Lower Mainland markets have slumping house prices, according to realtor and former Gibson city councillor Kenan MacKenzie.

The scarcity of industrial parcels in the Lower Mainland means that First Nations and the Port of Vancouver hold most of the land needed to meet future demand for warehouses and distribution centres, according to survey by Avison Young.

For less than $1 million – about the price of a tear down house on the West Side of Vancouver – you can buy a private island with a nice cottage and dock in the southern Gulf Islands.

Powell River residents and current and pensioned mill employees are waiting to hear the fate of the town's largest employer as Catalyst Paper Corp. seeks a $395 million restructuring plan.

The proposed and long-debated $1 billion Jumbo Alpine Ski Resort development 57 kilometres west of Invermere in the West Kootenays has won approval from the province, confirms Steve Thompson, minister of forests, lands and natural resource operations

Interest rates may be low, cash readily available and buyers lined up, but owners of Victoria rental apartment buildings are not eager to sell in a city with a tight 2 per cent vacancy rate.

Forty-six per cent of consumers in the Lower Mainland think this spring is a good time to buy a home, according to a recent REW.ca consumer confidence survey done by Mustel Research Group.