Maria Mak. Burnaby Realtor - @ Tofino

Maria Mak. Burnaby Realtor @ Duffin Cove Resort, Tofino.

Maria Mak. Buranby Realtor - Three Canadian cities — Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary — have been named as some of the best places to live in the world, according to a report by The Economist.

Three Canadian cities — Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary — have been named as some of the best places to live in the world, according to a report by The Economist.

In the annual poll, the magazine’s Intelligence Unit ranked Vancouver as the third most livable city in the world; followed by Toronto at number four, and Calgary tied for fifth place with Adelaide, Australia.

Melbourne, Australia topped the list of 140 cities for the fourth year in a row, with Vienna, Austria coming in second overall.

The Economist ranks the cities on 30 factors across various categories, including stability, health care, culture, environment, education and infrastructure.

Rounding out the top 10 were Sydney, Australia, Helsinki, Finland, Perth, Australia, and Auckland, New Zealand.

The report noted the world’s most livable cities were often mid-sized cities in wealthier countries with low population density.

“This can foster a range of recreational activities without leading to high crime levels or overburdened infrastructure,” said the report. “Eight of the top 10 scoring cities are in Australia and Canada, with population densities of 2.88 and 3.40 people per square kilometres respectively.”

It also pointed out that although crime rates may be on the rise in some of the top-tier cities, it wasn’t in the case in all the top 10 cities. Vancouver was an example where crime has been steadily decreasing after the city hit a decade-long record for homicide rates in 2012.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, human rights violations and conflict were responsible for many of the reasons for the bottom 10 cities on the list.

Damascus, Syria was ranked the least livable city in the world, preceded by Dhaka, Bangladesh, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, Lagos, Nigeria and Karachi, Pakistan.

“Conflict is responsible for many of the lowest scores. This is not only because stability indicators have the highest single scores, but also because factors defining stability spread to have an adverse effect on other categories,” said the report.

“For example, conflict will not just cause disruption in its own right, it will also damage infrastructure, overburden hospitals, and undermine the availability of goods,services and recreational activities.”

Top 10 Most Liveable Cities

1. Melbourne, Australia

2. Vienna, Austria

3. Vancouver, Canada

4. Toronto, Canada

5. Adelaide, Australia

6. Calgary, Canada

7. Sydney, Australia

8. Helsinki, Finland

9. Perth, Australia

10. Auckland, New Zealand

The Bottom 10

131. Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire

132. Tripoli, Libya

133. Douala, Cameroon

134. Harare, Zimbabwe

135. Algiers, Algeria

136. Karachi, Pakistan

137. Lagos, Nigeria

138. Port Moreby, Papua New Guinea

139. Dhaka, Bangladesh

140. Damascus, Syria

© Copyright (c) THE CANADIAN PRESS

Photography by 

Maria Mak. Burnaby Realtor 

www.mariamak.com

Maria Mak.Burnaby Realtor - 50 ways to green your home

You can search the 50 ways to green your home by category or scrolling down the list.  

Location		Office
Home improvement		Yard improvement
Water		Green and clean
Lighting		Living green
Kitchen		Financing
Bathroom		Resources

 

Location

1. Green neighbourhoods

Buy a home in a neighbourhood close to work, transit, shopping, community centres and other services.

2. Transit-oriented density

New, compact, complete green neighbourhoods are being built with transit as their focus. Instead of owning a car, join a car share cooperative, take transit, cycle or walk.

3. Score your location

Walkable neighbourhoods offer health, environmental, financial and community benefits. Enter your address or the address of a home you want to buy at www.walkscore.com. This tool calculates a walkability score based on the home’s proximity to transit, grocery stores, schools and other amenities.

4. Lower-cost luxury

If it’s features such as a gym or pool you want, buy a strata unit with these amenities and share costs.

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Home improvement

5. You choose, you save

BC Hydro and FortisBC offer a variety of incentive and rebate programs for home upgrades and rebates.

6. Install a high-efficiency heating system

Make sure it’s ENERGY STAR rated.

7. Weatherize your home

From windows to doors to insulation and weather stripping. Don’t forget to seal your ducts.

8. Insulate your pipes

It will prevent costly heat loss. Here’s how.

9. Insulate your hot water heater

Buy a pre-cut jacket or blanket for $10–$20. You’ll save up to 10% on heating costs. Learn more.

10. Install a programmable thermostat

Set it lower at night and during the day when you’re away. Lower the temperature. Each degree below 20C saves you 3-5% on heating costs.

11. Replace your furnace filter

This optimizes performance, as clogged filters reduce airflow, forcing your furnace to work harder.

12. Get the most from your fireplace

Here's how to make it efficient.

13. Use curtains

In the daytime during summer, close to help cool your home. Learn more.

14. Use an electric fan

Skip the air conditioning. On hot summer days, place a bowl of ice in front of a fan to cool down.

15. Install ceilings fans

The energy it takes to run a fan is less than an air conditioner. In summer, make sure the fan’s blades are rotating anti-clockwise for a cooling effect. In winter, the fan should be running clockwise, pushing the warm air down. Learn more.

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Water

16. Fix leaks, fix leaking taps

One drop per second equals 7,000 litres of water wasted per year. Learn more.

17. Install a filter

Stop buying costly bottled water which adds to the landfill.

Lighting

18. Change your light bulbs

Lighting accounts for 15% of your energy bill. Replace old bulbs with ENERGY STAR rated bulbs.

19. Motion detector lights

Turn lights off outside when not in use.

20. Keep it dark

Light pollution is an increasing problem. Turn off outdoor lights to save energy and encourage night life such as bats and frogs. A single bat can eat tens of thousands of mosquitoes nightly. If you have safety concerns, use motion detector lights – which come on, only as needed.

21. Holiday lights

Use LED lights.

Kitchen

22. Replace your fridge

An old energy guzzling fridge costs you about $90 a year  to operate. Replace it with an ENERGY STAR fridge. BC Hydro will also not only come and pick up your old fridge free of charge, they’ll give you $30.

23. Replace your freezer

Buy an ENERGY STAR freezer and save money with lower operating costs.

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Bathroom

24. Low flow shower

Hot water accounts for 25% of your energy costs. Showers can be the largest single contributor to overall hot water use in a home, accounting for 15% of total household energy use. Save with a low-flow showerhead.

25. High efficiency of dual flush toilets

These are now required in new homes because of water savings.

Office

26. Use smart strips

Also known as power bars, this lets you power off all equipment at the same time.

27. Buy energy smart electronics

Buy energy smart electronics and save.

28. Recycle your old electronics

Here's how.

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Yard improvement

29. Conserve water

Fresh water comprises just 3% the world’s total water supply, so conserve. Get a rain barrel and harvest water you can use in your garden. Local governments such as Coquitlam and Richmond will subsidize the cost.

30. Less lawn and low-maintenance lawns

Lawns waste water. Instead, conserve and beautify using indigenous plants such as ferns, tiger lilies and hostas. Or try a low-maintenance lawn that is made up of a diverse mix of hardy, drought-tolerant, slow-growing turf grasses, that require less mowing, fertilizing and watering than conventional lawn species.

31. Elbow grease

Don’t power wash your driveway. Sweep it or use a scrub brush and pail.

32. Drip irrigation

It saves water compared to sprinklers.

33. Grow your own

How much more will you spend on food this year? Even a few miniature fruit trees and a small vegetable garden in a raised bed or in containers on your deck will help keep you healthy and save you dollars. Lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, cucumbers, strawberries and blueberries thrive in our climate. Learn more.

34. Preserve your poduce

Invest in home canning jars and equipment and a small freezer and enjoy your produce year round – at considerable savings. Here’s how.

35. Bee friendly

We need bees to pollinate, so plant a few bee-friendly annuals such as asters, marigolds, sunflowers, zinnias; or perennials such as clematis, foxgloves, hollyhocks, roses or shrubs such as Buddleia. Consider becoming an urban bee keeper, some municipalities like Vancouver allow bee keeping in your backyard.

36. Go chemical-free

“Get rid of weeds without using chemicals that harm us and our pets,” advises REALTOR® and Richmond City counselor, Derek Dang, who led the way to a bylaw banning cosmetic pesticides. His suggestion, “Use dish detergent or weed by hand.”

37. Plant fruit trees

They’ll give you shade and fruit. Growing guide.

38. Compost

It will make your garden grow and divert waste from the landfill.

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Green and clean

39. Clean green

Vinegar, baking soda and lemons clean as well as expensive, chemical-filled cleaning supplies for a fraction of the cost.

40. Upgrade your washing machine

Replace your old washing machine with an ENERGY STAR washer that gets clothes clean using cold water. Wait until you have a full load instead of washing clothes as you need them. Clean the lint trap of your dryer after every use.

41. Green laundry detergent

Use phosphate-free, biodegradable detergent.

42. Install a clothesline

Dryers use a large amount of energy.

43. Get a rack

If your neighbourhood or strata prohibits clotheslines, buy a small drying rack.

Living Green

44. Recycle

Recycling keeps materials that can be recovered (paper, glass, metals, plastics, food etc) out of the landfills; and in the case of organics like paper, food, yard waste, it significantly reduces greenhouse gases from landfills. Learn more.

45. Buy local

Buy local, organic and fair trade food. Your food doesn’t travel long distances, you support local farmers and the local economy and you consume less pesticides.

46. Don't use paper or plastic

Use cloth bags when you shop or reuse your plastic bags

47. Backyard chickens and bees

Become involved in your own food production, raise chickens for their eggs or bees for their honey in your backyard.

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Financing

48. Borrow green

Most financial institutions offer “green” mortgages, including: • BMO Eco Smart Mortgage offers home buyers preferred interest rates on qualifying green properties. • RBC Energy Saver™ Mortgage gives home buyers a $300 rebate for a home energy audit and preferred interest rates. • Vancity offers a Bright Ideas Home Renovation Loan at prime +1% to home buyers and owners making green renovations. • CMHC offers a 10% Mortgage Loan Premium refund and possible extended amortization for buyers purchasing an energy-efficient mortgage or making energy saving renovations.

49. Loan programs

Pay-as-you-Save (PAYS) loan program will help home owners and businesses finance energy efficiency improvements through a loan from BC Hydro or FortisBC. Pilot programs starting in November 2012 in certain BC locations.

Resources

50. Green Tool Kit

BC Real Estate Association’s Green Tool Kit provides information, references and links. It also provides comprehensive information on rebates and incentives.

Maria Mak. Burnaby Realtor - Home buyers continue to slightly outpace sellers, but not by much

The Greater Vancouver housing market continues to see slightly elevated demand from home buyers, steady levels of supply from home sellers and incremental gains in home values depending on the area and property type. 

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 3,061 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in July 2014. This represents a 3.9 per cent increase compared to the 2,946 sales recorded in July 2013, and a 10.1 per cent decline compared to the 3,406 sales in June 2014.

“This is the fourth consecutive month that the Greater Vancouver market has exceeded 3,000 sales,” Darcy McLeod, REBGV president-elect said. “Prior to this, our market had not surpassed the 3,000 sale mark since June of 2011.”

Last month’s sales were 3.8 per cent above the 10-year sales average for July of 2,948.

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver* is currently $628,600. This represents a 4.4 per cent increase compared to July 2013. 
 
“Today’s activity continues to put Metro Vancouver in the upper reaches of a balanced real estate market,” McLeod said.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio currently sits at 19.6 per cent in Metro Vancouver. This ratio has ranged between 18 and 20 per cent over the last four months.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Metro Vancouver totalled 4,925 in July. This represents a 1.5 per cent increase compared to the 4,854 new listings in July 2013 and a 7.8 per cent decline from the 5,339 new listings in June.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale on the MLS® system in Metro Vancouver is 15,617, a six per cent decline compared to July 2013 and a 2.5 per cent decrease compared to June 2014.

Sales of detached properties in July 2014 reached 1,322, an increase of 5.8 per cent from the 1,249 detached sales recorded in July 2013, and a 68 per cent increase from the 787 units sold in July 2012. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 6.5 per cent from July 2013 to $980,500.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,212 in July 2014, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the 1,210 sales in July 2013, and a 30.7 per cent increase compared to the 927 sales in July 2012. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.2 per cent from July 2013 to $376,500.

Attached property sales in July 2014 totalled 527, an 8.2 per cent increase compared to the 487 sales in July 2013, and a 37.2 per cent increase over the 384 attached properties sold in July 2012. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 3.4 per cent between July 2013 and 2014 to $472,400.

* Areas covered by Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver include: Whistler, Sunshine Coast, Squamish, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Richmond, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, New Westminster, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, and South Delta.

The real estate industry is a key economic driver in British Columbia. In 2013, 28,524 homes changed ownership in the Board’s area, generating $1.84 billion in economic spin-off activity and 13,977 jobs. The total dollar value of residential sales transacted through the MLS® system in Greater Vancouver totalled $22 billion in 2013.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver is an association representing more than 11,000 REALTORS® and their companies. The Board provides a variety of member services, including the Multiple Listing Service®. For more information on real estate, statistics, and buying or selling a home, contact a local REALTOR® or visit www.rebgv.org.