British Columbia

Vancouver commercial real estate posted one of the strongest performances in Canada last year, with an average 13.7 per cent return on investment, according to the REALpac/IPD Canada annual property index.

Pavlis said a lot of farmers have set up second businesses in spite of the commission's rules. "Everybody's doing it," he said.

CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) managing director Mark Renzoni described January as the busiest month for sales of Metro Vancouver industrial properties in several years while setting the stage for panellists at the recent breakfast of commercial real estate

Mortgage lenders in B.C. are seeing an uptick in applications as residential buyers attempt to get loan approvals before new mortgage rules coming into effect March 18, according to Canadian mortgage professionals.

Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. has completed its purchase of Terrane Metals Corp. in a cash and stock purchase deal valued at approximately $700 million.

U.S. and U.K.

More businesses are looking to buy, not lease, new industrial space in Metro Vancouver and the lure is as much about potential appreciation as securing property in a tight market.

Tiny oceanfront cottages that can be bought for around $150,000 are signs of a changing B.C. recreational market once defined as luxurious and elite.

The City of Langley has proposed to more than double its development cost charges (DCCs) for residential developers.

Metro Vancouver's condominiums are a key sector of the housing market - and a longtime investor target - but a leading consultant forecasts that sales will tumble and prices could slumber in 2011.