British Columbia

Surrey condominium developers are offering some sweet incentives to pre-sell new condos to investors who now account for a huge share of sales.

A proposal by the private Sea to Sky Gondola to build a $20 million gondola up Mount Habrich next to Squamish's Stawamus Chief rock face is expected to be approved and built according to Sea to Sky Gondola principal Trevor Dunn.

Most analysts expect industrial lease rates, vacancy rates and sales volume to be fairly flat this year in Burnaby in comparison with 2010 and 2011. Offices on spec The office sector should provide some thrills over the next few years, however.

The Tobiano golf course near Kamloops, once hailed as the best new golf course in Canada, is on the open market after the Business Development Bank of Canada won court approval for the sale.

Developer and realtor Rod McLeod is leading a $40 million gamble in Prince George, but he believes in the potential payoff in his hometown.

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.

Many Canadians would cut back on discretionary spending, buy with friends or buy a lakefront lot and build later – anything to get their own vacation cottage, according to a survey this spring by Royal LePage Real Estate Services.

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

U.S.-based imited Brands Inc., owner of the Victoria's Secret retail chain, is the only major retailer currently negotiating to lease the 30,000-square-foot former HMV location on Robson Street, according to several sources.

Capitalization rates for commercial real estate in Metro Vancouver have plunged to all-time lows, spooking investors. A capitalization (cap) rate is the ratio between an asset's net operating income and its original price.