British Columbia

Noted Vancouver housing analyst Frank Schliewinsky is predicting a near collapse in MLS condominium sales across most of Metro Vancouver this year, with sales falling by as much as 50 per cent from a depressed 2012.

British Columbia is expected to benefit from improved economic conditions in key trading nations in the coming year, according to the latest forecasts from the country's leading economists.

Nanaimo experienced a record number of large commercial real estate sales in 2012, according to Colliers International. A total of approximately $337 million in commercial real estate sold in 2012 in just 11 properties in the area.

The massive Site C dam project in B.C. Peace region has taken a step forward as B.C.

Mining activity in Canada's north could double in the next decade, says a Conference Board of Canada report, but the forecast appears to undervalue current production and is sprinkled with what ifs and maybes.

Vancouver-based Platform Properties plans to build an 110,000-square-foot shopping centre along Highway 16 West in Prince George.

A decline in ferry traffic is partly to blame for a dismal 2012 for Victoria's hotel industry, which saw the average hotel room occupancy rate fall to 62 per cent, down 1 per cent from a year earlier, according to Victoria-based Chemistry Consulting.

Commercial mortgage back securities make a $500 million comeback By Sam Brown Canadian commercial property owners have relatively few sources of term financing compared to their US counterparts.

Many Metro Vancouver homebuyers aren't buying a home simply as a principal residence: they are investing in the property as a partial or full time rental property.

About 70 per cent of industrial real estate in Metro Vancouver is bought, not leased, according to a NAIOP panel of industrial experts, which estimated that at least 20 per cent of the space is bought by investors, not owner-occupiers.