Sooke Community and Real Estate Blog 642Blog.ca

The Johnson Street Bridge, Victoria. Photo credit: Sylpherware on Flickr

The latest data from our Member Market Survey has just been released by the Victoria Real Estate Board. Each month, agents who’ve completed a transaction while acting for a buyer are polled on various questions about their buyers. The goal is to get a snapshot of the situation on the street directly from agents who are actively involved serving their clients.

Highlights from this month’s data:

• First-time buyers represent the largest segment of the buying population, with 36.5% identified as such
• Interestingly, the number of people moving from a single family home to a condo or townhouse was nearly the same as those moving from one property to a similar one.
• Single females bought more houses last month than single males.
• Only one buyer came from outside of Canada last month.

Check out the full details of this month’s survey here.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2010 | buyers | data | February | housing | Market | Statistics | stats | survey | Victoria | VREB

A beautiful home at Sunriver Estates in Sooke, BC

…And answers to other frequently asked questions about Sunriver Estates in Sooke – one of the most popular new neighbourhoods in the greater Victoria, BC area.

Because I write a lot about Sooke, I get plenty of questions about living here, working here, and of course, about the neighbourhoods. Sunriver Estates is a huge master-planned community on the banks of the Sooke River, sloping up the Sooke Hills with various creeks and other natural features. It’s a very nice looking development, so it’s no surprise that it’s very popular. Also, the lots are larger than most other new developments in our area, so you can have a real back yard instead of a postage stamp. People move out here for the natural beauty, recreational options, quiet lifestyle, and of course the value. It amazes people when they visit Sooke what you get for your money, and how much more a similar house would cost (usually on a tiny lot) in Victoria, or even Langford, just 20-25 minutes’ drive away. Below are some answers to some frequently-asked questions about Sunriver Estates in Sooke.

Q. Is Sunriver Estates a strata development?

A. No, all homes in Sunriver are freehold, fee simple titles (except for the townhouses). Read details in this post.

Q. How many homes have been built at Sunriver?

A. There have been 371 houses built at Sunriver since it broke ground in 2004.

Q. How many homes are planned?

A. There will be 715 houses at Sunriver when construction is completed.

Q. How many more years will construction be taking place at Sunriver until it’s built-out?

A. At the current pace of construction, all homes will be sold and construction complete in approximately 5 years.

Q. What about the building scheme? I’ve heard that boats and RVs, etc are not allowed? Who enforces it?

A. The building scheme at Sunriver allows boats and RVs, etc, but stipulates that they must be behind a fence, lattice, or other sort of screening so that they don’t clutter up the character of the neighbourhood. The developer has sent out letters to offending properties asking them to comply. To date no one has been fined or needed action beyond the letter.

Q. Are any condominiums planned for Sunriver?

A. No, condos are not being built at Sunriver Estates. There are some very nice townhouses at The Pointe, and there may be a few more built.

Q. Will there be any commercial space built at Sunriver? Neighbourhood shops, cafes, etc?

A. When construction is completed, the sales centre will be sold off as commercial space. It will be up to the buyer (and Sooke zoning and business bylaws) what goes in there. Anything is possible – cafe, restaurant, pub? Who knows!

If you have any more questions about Sunriver Estates or other areas in Sooke or would like information about homes for sale in Sunriver Estates and Sooke, give me a call at 250-885-0512, email Tim@TimAyres.ca or fill in my contact form!

Do you live in Sunriver? What’s your favourite thing about living there?

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: condos | Development | estates | FAQ | homes | how many homes | new | Sooke | Sun river | Sunriver | tim ayres | townhouses | Victoria

Image Credit: Jeffery Simpson on Flickr (Click for profile)

I was one of those people before. I had no interest in taking the ferry to Vancouver and braving the crowds, lines and security to hang out downtown. What’s the big deal?

I was wrong. I returned from Vancouver yesterday totally energized and excited about the Games. The city is simply buzzing with activity 24 hours a day. Yes it’s busy, yes it’s crowded, but that’s half the fun. If you’re complaining that the Olympics are a 2-week party for the rich, you’re dead wrong. I didn’t have a ticket to any events, nor a plan or a list of attractions I wanted to see. I spent next to nothing, but felt like I took in everything.

And it couldn’t be easier for us in the greater Victoria area. BC Ferries has added an early morning (6:00am) and late evening (midnight) sailing for your convenience. Bus to or park at Swartz Bay terminal, walk on the ferry. Take one of the many buses outside the Tsawwassen terminal and get on the Canada Line downtown. Quick and easy. There might be a lineup, but with trains coming every 3 minutes or so, you won’t be waiting long. I never had to wait for more than one train before being able to get on. Wander around, explore. Take in some of the free entertainment at the various pavilions. See the Olympic flame burning outside the convention centre. Feel the vibe and enjoy the spirit!

Watch the events unfold from numerous outdoor high-definition screens. There really is nothing like it – standing on the street, cheering on our athletes with 1000 of your closest friends. Everyone is smiling, waving flags and having a great time.

The Richmond O-Zone is great too. Just steps from the Richmond-Brighouse Canada Line station, this 60-acre site includes a large mainstage with free concerts all Games long, beer gardens, restaurants, arts and culture displays, the ever-popular Holland Heineken House, and BC Street, where you’ll find displays from all over our glorious province, enticing the world to come and visit. Sooke’s booth has really stolen the show, people absolutely love it.

Try out the Olympic line – an electric streetcar (with comfy leather seats!) on loan from Brussels, Belgium – and you thought sprouts were the attraction from Brussels. It runs from Olympic Village Canada Line station to Granville Island, where you can take in even more Olympic fun, including House of Switzerland, and Atlantic Canada House.

I had an awesome, exciting weekend and didn’t spend a lot of money. Transit is cheap and reliable, and with so much free stuff to do, you’d be remiss not to take it all in.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2010 | bc ferries | Bus | canada line | free | free events | free stuff | fun | olympics | transit | translink | Vancouver | Victoria

Lindsay Buziak: Still No Arrests In Murder Case

As long as I write this blog, I’m certain to never forget that two years ago today, February 2nd, is the day that Lindsay Buziak, a 24 year old real estate agent from Victoria, was murdered in the house she was showing to prospective buyers.

In the month or so before the anniversary of her death, searches for “Lindsay Buziak” and related keywords surrounding the case show up with increasing frequency on my blog stats because of what I wrote the days after the murder and on the one-year anniversary in 2009.

It’s only natural I guess – people scouring the Internet for information on the case: clues, speculation or rumours. I’d like to think that some of the traffic is law enforcement, hoping that somebody somewhere has posted a new tip or clue about the case.

Because it’s ridiculous that the police have next to nothing to go on. She was killed in the early evening in a residential neighbourhood where people would be getting home from work. Somebody saw something. Somebody knows something that will lead to an arrest. Saanich Police concede that she was intentionally targeted and that the murder was planned many weeks in advance. You can’t plan something like that and have no one know about it.

“Lindsay was intentionally targeted, she was intentionally lured to the home and she was intentionally killed.” – Saanich Police spokeswoman Sgt. Julie Fast.

Lindsay’s family has announced a reward of $100,000 for information leading to an arrest. The Victoria Real Estate Board and the Canadian Real Estate Association have each contributed $25,000 to the reward pool, in a show of support. What happened to Lindsay, while not a direct result of her profession, could happen to any of us in real estate. All too often we get complacent in the chase for another deal. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t do it – listen to your instincts.

I really hope I never have to write another Lindsay Day post on this blog. Please, if you know anything about this case, no matter how small it may seem, call the Saanich Police tip line at 250-475-4356.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: case | CREA | crime | lindsay buziak | murder | real estate agent | realtor | reward | rumours | Saanich | tips | unsolved | Victoria | VREB

House for Sale in Sooke

Is 2010 the year you decide to stop paying rent and invest in your future in the form of your very own home? How much do you need and how can you save for a down payment? What’s the best type of mortgage for you? What homes are available and what sorts of programs are out there to help a first-time buyer?

All these questions and more will be answered at a fun, free, interactive seminar I’m putting on next month with two other professionals.

A Certified Financial Planner will talk about how to save for that ever-important down payment, and government programs to assist home buyers. Find out the details of how to borrow from your RRSP tax-free to help you buy a house, and other tricks of the trade.

Robert Boyd, Mortgage Expert with Dominion Lending will present on the various types of mortgages that are available, how to apply, and how to get the best rate possible to save you money. Learn about mortgages and rates, amortization and prepayment and take the mystery out of mortgages

Tim Ayres (that’s me!), REALTOR® with Royal LePage Coast Capital Realty will walk you through the home-buying process – how we search for a home together, showings, offers, negotiation and finally, getting the keys to your new home. Find out what to look for, how to ensure you get what you need, and how having an experienced REALTOR® on your side can help.

When: February 9th, 2010, 7PM.

Where: Investors Group Westshore office, 201 – 630 Goldstream [map] – [street view]

The seminar is free, but we have limited space, so please phone me at 250-885-0512, fill in the form below or visit TimAyres.ca/seminars for more information.

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-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: BC | buyer | down payment | first time | free | home | house | information | Langford | mortgage | Real Estate | rrsp | seminar | Sooke | Victoria

An initiative we started late last year at the Victoria Real Estate Board is giving us some excellent data on market trends in the Victoria BC real estate market. As a director and chair of a Communications Task Force, I helped devise a market survey that is sent out via email at the end of the month to each Victoria-area REALTOR® who sold a house to a buyer that month.

The data that comes in is an invaluable snapshot of the situation for the average agent ‘on the street’ as to where the buyers are coming from, what they’re buying, and other interesting data.

I just received this past month’s results this morning. Some interesting facts:

• 31% of buyers last month were first-time buyers
• 51% of buyers purchased with a conventional (ie, more than 25% downpayment) mortgage.
• 15% of buyers were single females, a trend that has been noticeably increasing in recent years
• Nearly three-quarters of buyers were moving within the Greater Victoria area, and 3.5% were from outside of Canada.
• 82% of buyers found the property through information provided by a REALTOR® (client portal, PCS, phone call, etc.), or through REALTOR.ca

I’ll continue to post this information on a monthly basis, as it is a “real world” snapshot of activity in our marketplace. You can read the full survey results here.

If you have any questions about buying or selling real estate, I am always available to chat. Call me any time, directly,  at 250-885-0512, email Tim@TimAyres.ca, or find me on Twitter.

If 2010 is the year to buy your first home, I invite you to an informative, free seminar on February 9. Hear from a financial planner, mortgage broker, and me about creating a plan to save for a down payment, get a good mortgage and find a great home. More details and sign-up can be found at TimAyres.ca/seminars

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2009 | BC | buyers | December | Market | Sooke | Statistics | stats | survey | Victoria | VREB

The Sunken Garden at Butchart

Last night, my wife and I got out and enjoyed the crisp December evening and headed out to world-famous Butchart Gardens on the Saanich Peninsula. Every year they decorate the gardens in thousands of lights, creating a truly magical Christmas experience. Despite the sub-zero temperatures, it was a gorgeous, starlit evening, and the lights were amazing. The gardens are decked out in a Twelve Days of Christmas theme, so along the garden paths there are little vignettes displaying the different parts of the famous song. It was fun to hear everyone reciting or singing “fiiiiiive golden rings” and so on as they approached the various displays along the route.

I brought along my camera, tripod and shutter release to get some long exposure shots of the lights. Lights at night are one of my favourite things to photograph, and I think the results turned out quite well.

A large cedar with lots of presents

There was a brass quartet playing Christmas carols, a carousel, and a skating rink set up for all to enjoy. The admission might seem a little steep at $23.50 for adults (lots less for kids, price list here) but if you buy a yearly pass and go more than twice it pays for itself (many will go once a season, or more if you have guests in from out of town).

I hadn’t been out to Butchart Gardens in about 5 years or more, and I had forgotten how lucky we are to have such a world-class attraction in our back yard. It truly is a top-notch operation and it’s no surprise how popular it remains, after over 100 years in existence.

Enjoy these photos – you can view the rest on my Flickr page.

Ponds are frozen over at the Gardens

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: activities | BC | butchart | christmas | display | events | gardens | lights | photography | things to do | Victoria | winter

Day 1 of the NAR Convention in San Diego was very productive – I saw two sessions today and unfortunately was shut out of a third due to it being full. The Introduction to Social Media session was great. As a REALTOR® who puts himself out there online using social media like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc, I was very pleased with the session. It was facilitated by three practicing agents, just like me, and they nailed it. Ginger Wilcox, Kelley Koehler, and Mariana Wagner were excellent – it was refreshing seeing a social media presentation by three working real estate professionals who actually, as they put it, do this to feed their kids.

Check out my video update from Day 1:

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: #NAR2009 | 2009 | conference | NAR | Real Estate | san diego | social media | tim ayres | update | Victoria | VREB

We arrived today in San Diego for the NAR (National Association of REALTORS®) Conference 2009. There will be approximately 20,000 delegates from all over the world at the convention, which is bound to be exciting, fun, and informative.

I am here as part of the delegation from the Victoria Real Estate Board. I am a director on the board, and we are here to represent our board and to attend conference sessions and the trade show on behalf of the membership. When we return, we will be reporting on the sessions we attended and posting them to REALTORlink, and using what we’ve learned to plan the future direction of our board. Here is a quick video I shot this afternoon. I hope to shoot several videos each day and post the content nightly to the blog.

-Tim Ayres – Sooke Real Estate Professional

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Tagged: 2009 | conference | events | NAR | Real Estate | realtor | san diego | tim ayres | update | Victoria | Video | VREB

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