Sooke Community and Real Estate Blog 642Blog.ca

Sooke 2010 Booth Under Construction

With just 10 days to go until the 2010 Olympic Winter Games open in Vancouver, the excitement is growing and reports from Vancouver indicate the atmosphere on the streets is electric as athletes, supporters, and visitors are already arriving in town.

Sooke is one of several British Columbia communities taking part in the B.C. Street exhibition, which is taking place throughout the Games at the Richmond O-Zone, just minutes away from the speed skating oval and a short ride from the airport or downtown on the Canada Line.

A team of artists, designers, visionaries and builders have been hard at work in the Sooke Fire Hall building what is sure to be an amazing display of the Sooke to Port Renfrew region.  The display is about 40 feet long and is designed around the theme “Wild by Nature.” It will feature an “ocean” and “beach”, trees, and boardwalk, overlooking a 40×8 foot panoramic photo of Sooke Harbour. A killer whale is captured in sculpture, breaching the water, and the familiar site of Sheringham Point Lighthouse is also present.

Local graphic designer, photographer and videographer Jason van der Valk of Inktvis Creative shot the panoramic photo and produced the Sooke 2010 website and video, shown below. The work he put in was extensive and the results definitely show. If you’re looking for somebody with creative vision and skill for your next project, Jason is your man!

For those of us that live here, the video reconfirms that we live in an amazing place – perhaps Vancouver Island’s best-kept secret. For everyone else, perhaps it’s time to have a look at the video, and find out what you’ve been missing.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2010 | BC | display | inktvis | o-zone | olympics | ozone | richmond | Sooke | street | tourism | Vancouver | Video

Sooke Fire Department image credit: Mike Byrne, ClocktowerImages.com

I’m not sure how this escaped my Sooke Internet Radar™, as I’m usually up to speed on just about anybody doing anything online in our town, but did you know that the Sooke Volunteer Fire Department has a blog?

I discovered it yesterday via a Twitter search for Sooke. It appears to be mainly a forum for keeping the department’s many volunteers up to date on what’s been happening lately, but makes an interesting read for observers who’d like to know what all the sirens are about.

The blog is regularly updated, with the latest post being from January 18th, its tenth post so far of the year. There are a few pictures and lots of insight as to what it’s like being the first on the scene.

I highly recommend you check it out, and follow along the daily activities of those volunteers who help keep us safe in Sooke. Make sure you check out the sidebar near the bottom, which shows the most recent 30 incident responses.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: blog | fire department | incident | News | rescue | safety | Sooke | volunteer

I was driving around downtown Victoria yesterday, where I saw several VANOC staff and vehicles in various parking lots, a huge stage being erected on the lawn of the legislature, portable lights, temporary NO PARKING signs, and other signs of the imminent arrival of the Olympic Torch. Lit a few days ago in Greece, it’s due to arrive in Victoria tomorrow – the first stop of its 45,000 km journey across this vast nation, touching over 1000 communities in every province and territory before arriving back in Vancouver to light the Olympic flame in February.

After its arrival and the celebrations (and protests) in Victoria, early risers in Sooke will be treated to a ceremony at Sooke Muncipal Hall, and a relay down to the T’Sou-ke Nation and a breakfast at Edward Milne Community School.

It will be a short visit – the torch is on an understandably tight schedule – before it’s whisked away to Metchosin and other points along its journey.

Set your alarms! At 7:00 am, Mayor Janet Evans will present a short speech at the municipal hall and a short video clip of Ed Johnson’s record breaking 27 second climb up a 100-foot pole at All Sooke Days in 1984 will be shown to give a sense of Sooke’s community heritage. The torch will then travel down the hill and across the Sooke River Bridge to Derbend Road, leading to a ceremony at the T’Sou-ke Nation.  The send off ceremony will include a concert and breakfast at Edward Milne School at 8:00 am.

With any luck, the current forecast will hold – partly cloudy with a chance of showers. I plan to attend, shoot a few photos and some video – check back after the event to see what I managed to capture.

Hope to see you there!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2010 | BC | flame | location | olympics | place | relay | schedule | Sooke | time | torch | Victoria

As I watched the sun rising over the back fence and into my home office, I was reminded why I love this season so much.  The crisp, cool air, a bright blue sky, and the golden hue of the morning sun on the colourful autumn leaves prompted me to bundle up and shoot a few photos on a walk along the spectacular Sooke Harbour boardwalk.

Parking the car at the lot on Murray Road, I walked up Murray towards Sooke Road to capture some of the leaves in the trees. I had noticed this the last sunny day we had and had meant to get back there to capture it. Unfortunately the wind over the past few days has pretty much stripped the trees, but they still look pretty on the ground.

Walking down the hill towards the Rotary Pier/boardwalk access, I snapped a few photos of the sun shining through the leaves, and reflecting off the harbour.

I love looking at this house whenever I head out on the boardwalk.

The pier and boardwalk are framed perfectly by the trees

Just because it isn’t summer doesn’t mean you can’t toss a trap in the water for crab. It was deserted on the often-busy pier, save for this couple.

There were lots of leaves left on the trees along the water. The harbour was so still, it was like a mirror, reflecting the trees. Gorgeous!

The harbour boardwalk is a real gem, we’re lucky to have it. It goes from the bottom of Murray Road all the way to Ed Macgregor Park, where it switch-backs gently across the slope offering easy access to and from the water.

I hope you enjoyed the photos! If you’d like to see the whole set, you can view it on Flickr.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: autumn | BC | boardwalk | ed macgregor park | Fall | harbour | leaves | park | photo walk | photos | Sooke

Check out this video I shot the other day of a drive through Sun River Estates in Sooke. It’s a little shakey at times – sorry – but will give you a good idea of what the neighbourhood looks like, and I also provide some information about the various amenities in Sunriver, the prices, sizes, and features of the homes and lots.

If you’re reading this through a feed reader or via e-mail subscription, you may need to click the title of this post to view the video.

As always, if you have any questions about selling or buying a home (new or resale) in Sun River Estates, please give me a call at 250-885-0512, email me, or fill in my contact form – I will help you promptly.

Click for information about Sun River Estates and other neighbourhoods in Sooke.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: BC | Development | features | homes | houses | neighbourhoods | new | resale | Sooke | Sun River Estates | Sunriver | tour | Video

If you’re reading this in a feed reader, you may have to click through to the post to view the video below:

I was out for a run the other day in a 15-or-20 year old subdivision in Sooke. Running up Henlyn Road in the John Muir neighbourhood of Sooke which has amazing, sweeping views of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, it occurred to me that as the landscaping around the subdivision has grown up over the years, some of the commanding views that the property owners have enjoyed are now partially or completely obscured by trees and other vegetation. This is an important consideration, as it directly affects your property value.

When shopping for view homes in Sooke or Victoria, keep this in mind – look for stands of trees in the distance that could block your view, or trees on neighbouring properties that could become a bone of contention between you and the other property owner. Most people aren’t so keen to cut down trees to improve another’s view.

If you have any questions or comments about Sooke or Victoria, BC real estate, or suggestions for future posts, please call me at 250-885-0512, email Tim@TimAyres.ca or fill in my contact form. Thanks for reading/watching!

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: advice | BC | homes | juan de fuca | lots | ocean | olympic mountains | properties | Real Estate | Sooke | tips | trees | Victoria | view

What a difference a good council can make. Since being elected last November, the new Sooke Municipal Council has been busy. They’ve arranged for several provincial government grants for public projects, installed nearly three kilometres of new sidewalks, pushed ahead with plans for downtown revitalization, and now, finally, Sooke is going to get its hotel.

Sooke has long been known for its fabulous bed and breakfast facilities, and the Sooke Harbour House, a world-famous high-end seaside inn, but has always lacked a modern, middle-of-the-road hotel for everyday tourists. That’s all going to change.

Last year, three waterfront parcels along West Coast Road just before Whiffen Spit were put up for sale. The District of Sooke bought one, and the other two were acquired by Prestige Hotels. The District and Prestige have proposed an agreement to build a 122-room hotel, with a 400-person convention centre, full service marina, gym, spa, pool, lounge and restaurant and two ‘bistro-style’ eateries. Construction could start as early as this fall. The District will agree to build a public boat launch and pier on their property, and will pay Prestige $300,000 for five years, which will entitle the District to 12 rent-free days per month in the convention centre, for a total of nearly two years of free usage for the District.

A similar deal was reached in the community of Salmon Arm. District representatives traveled there last year to meet with Prestige representatives and talk to local politicians. While the idea of paying the hotel company was controversial at the time, it has worked out very well for Salmon Arm. Conventions and tourists are coming to town, and the building of the hotel attracted another new hotel to build in the area, and caused another one to undertake a major renovation.

As I see it it, there is no downside to this. A major commercial operation like this hotel will generate a lot of revenue for the District in property taxes, not to mention the ability to host conferences and conventions, weddings, tournaments, and all other events that will generate spending in our town. It takes a lot of people to build a hotel – the jobs will be welcome as residential construction has slowed in the past year. After the hotel is built, there will be jobs for people to work there. Finally, there will be a publicly-owned boat launch in the centre of Sooke and another marina right next to the mouth of the harbour. The fitness facility will be open to public membership, and the convention centre will be available free of charge to community and non-profit groups.

More details can be found in this article from the  Sooke News Mirror. Sooke’s council has accomplished much in their first ten months. They should be applauded for taking the initiative to attract this deal rather than waiting around for some hotel company to eventually find their way out the winding Sooke Road.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: convention centre | deal | district | economy | hotel | jobs | marina | new | places to stay | prestige | Sooke | waterfront

Think the end of summer marks the end of community events? Think again! Lots will be happening in Sooke on the weekend after Labour Day, September 12th and 13th.

The Sooke Fall Fair, started in 1913, is widely recognized as one of the finest small town fairs in British Columbia, and the 96th edition of that fair this year will be no exception. A celebration of agriculture and rural life, the Fall Fair has something for everyone. Dozens of exhibitors in wide-ranging categories will be displaying their best in areas like produce, poultry, kitchencraft (canning, baking, preserves, etc), art, photography, literature, and more. There are categories for juniors and preschoolers as well. Browse the exhibitor tables at the Sooke Community Hall and the Sooke Legion and enjoy all that our town has to show off. There is a pancake breakfast on Sunday morning as well.The full event program/schedule can be found here.

The Sooke Lions Club will be holding their third annual Sooke Chili Challenge for Charity on Saturday, September 12th. Bring the family out to 6639 Sooke Road (the parking lot between Village Foods and Odyssey Fitness) and watch the teams compete for spicy stew glory. Of course, the best part is eating the chili, so you’ll want to make sure you are there to help judge the competition. The crowd is the only judge, and by purchasing your bowl and spoon, you are helping out local charity and trying out chili from 16 different teams, with entries from local restaurateurs, businesses, and community groups. There will be live entertainment on stage, including Kin Basket, The Cronies, In Need Of A Name, and Git’r Done And The Metal Head Rednecks (uh, wow).

Beach Art by Bendystraw on Flickr

I was out for a run yesterday along Whiffen Spit, when I saw a strange craft being towed past the beach. It appeared to be a boat or barge of some sort, with some kind of rocking-horse as a figure head and SEPT 12 spraypainted in various spots (if only I’d had a camera). It made me so curious that I stopped to read the rest of the spraypainted messages. ART ON THE BEACH. WHIFFEN SPIT. SEPT 12. So, there is an art on the beach event on Saturday, September 12th, at Whiffen Spit Park. I saw a promotional poster at the entrance to the spit, but was unable to pull up any more information online. All I know is that the Sooke Community Arts Council is putting it on, and their website has the wrong date on it. If anyone knows any details (time, what to expect), please contact me.

UPDATE: I ran past the poster again today and noted that the event is a competition of sorts. Get a team together and build an art piece using only found items (driftwood, etc) from the beach. Registration is at 12:30, with the competition starting at 1:00 until 3:00. Judging and prizes (!) are from 3:00-4:00.

So, get out and enjoy the late summer weather – with the dry summer we’ve had, we can probably expect sunshine until late October. There is always lots to see and do no matter the season in Sooke.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: agriculture | art | BC | beach | challenge | chili cookoff | driftwood | events | festival | lions | Sooke | Sooke Fall Fair | whiffen spit

This isn’t really news, the 778 area code has been province-wide since July 4, 2007, but I don’t get the impression that it was well publicized when the numbers actually started to appear earlier this year.

Most Sooke residents will recognize that this blog is named after the long-time three-digit telephone exchange for Sooke, 642. That got slightly more complicated when ten-digit dialing came in last year, requiring everyone to dial 250- before the seven digit local number. When I moved to the Island four years ago, only having to dial seven digits was such a novelty – ten-digit dialing had been in effect on the Lower Mainland for quite a few years.

The 778 area code, which was previously only in the greater Vancouver area, is now split across the whole province as mentioned above, but it seems that they’ve only run out of 250- numbers this year. So, it’s entirely possible that a local business or residence (including mine) might get a 778 number when installing new services or getting an additional line. In my case, I got the 778 number when I switched to Shaw Digital Phone.

I’ve seen at least one new business (EdGe Restaurant) which has a 778 as well. Obviously, local 778 calls are not long distance. You’ll be able to tell if the call is long distance if, after dialing the number, you’re prompted to hang up and dial a 1 before trying again, much the same as dialing a long-distance 250 number to up-island or interior of BC locations.

So, don’t be afraid to call those 778 numbers, or pick up the phone when you see them on your caller-ID.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 778 | area code | BC | british Columbia | call | is it long distance | long distance | phone | phone number | Sooke | Victoria

I’ve been working with quite a few first-time buyers in Victoria lately. It’s become somewhat an exercise in frustration, as the homes that are available in their price ranges (typically under $400,000 without a rental suite/apartment, or under $500,000 with one) have been mostly disappointing, sometimes very much so. In one case, in a beat up currently rented place near Mayfair Mall, the smell in the basement was so unbearable, we left through the side door.

You’ll find the odd gem, but then you’ll often be competing with other buyers when it comes time to make an offer. This is very stressful for first time buyers, and often it pushes the price beyond where they’re comfortable.

My solution: move to Sooke. It’s not that far, yet prices are much friendlier, and the selection of homes is greater. Of course it won’t work for everyone – the couple I was out with this evening both work in Victoria, and she’ll be going back to school to UVic, and he often bikes to work, which are both a bit of a trek from Sooke. Plus they really enjoy the in-town lifestyle, so it just won’t work for them to buy in Sooke. Not that they aren’t tempted!

And for good reason. Let’s compare a couple of houses currently on the market:

House for Sale in Victoria

$385,000 – Built in 1948, 3 beds, 1 bath, 950 sqft, 6800 sqft lot in Saanich West. Hard to tell from the pictures, but it looks OK, needing a few updates, and probably a roof too.

House for Sale in Sooke

$379,900 – Built in 2007, 3 beds, 2 baths, 1660 sqft, 7300 sqft lot in Sunriver Estates. Essentially a brand-new home, with garage, warranty, gas fireplace, and all sorts of other modern features, in a new subdivision in Sooke.

Searching Sooke, there are 46 other single family homes on the market under $400,000 – ranging from older homes with suites, to brand new homes yet to be built, to rural acreages. This compares with 20 for sale under $400,000 in Victoria (6) Saanich East (7) and Saanich West (7) – which in total is a larger and more dense geographical area than Sooke.

If you don’t mind the drive to work, or if you happen to be self-employed, you really should check out the value for your dollar in Sooke.

That being said, there are still good houses in the first-time buyer price ranges in Victoria proper, and I know I’m going to find this couple the right home. It just so happens that there are more options in Sooke.

If you’re looking for an experienced, dedicated agent to help you buy or sell a home in Sooke, Langford, Colwood, or Victoria, I’d love an interview! Call me any time at 250-885-0512, email Tim@TimAyres.ca or fill in my contact form.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: BC | comparison | for sale | home | house | prices | Real Estate | Sooke | Victoria