Document

High Street: City living in South Surrey, with everything just outside the front door ›› p.4

June 10, 2010

TRICIA LESLIE

British Columbia’s housing market is good news for those planning to purchase a home right now.

Although residential sales are expected to ease back by three per cent – from 85,028 units in 2009 to 82,350 this year – they will increase by four per cent in 2011, to 85,900, reports the B.C. Real Estate Association.

In its second-quarter forecast, the BCREA says eroding affordability will trim sales by three per cent this year despite improving economic conditions and related employ-ment growth.

But the push and pull of economic growth versus rising mortgage interest rates is expected to keep B.C. home sales near their 10-year average this year and next, says BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir.

Sales have been moderating in Metro Vancouver since the beginning of the year, after “record-pace sales” in 2009, so the mar-

ket moved from a strong seller’s market to a strong buyer’s market, says Muir.

“It’s really good news for buyers,” he says.

Homebuyers have more time to look through all the selection in the market, more time to decide what they want, and there’s less

chance there will be others bidding on the same home, he notes. “Sellers have to be a little more cognizant of their competition ... of what’s going on in their neighbourhood.”

The average B.C. listing price is forecast to climb six per cent to $494,600 this year and increase by another one per cent, to $499,700, in 2011.

“Strong consumer demand in Vancouver, Victoria and the Fraser Valley was largely responsible for driving the average home price in the province higher over the past three quarters,” Muir says.

“However, demand has moderated in those markets and a larger inventory of homes for sale has pulled market condi-tions into balanced territory, providing less upward pressure on home prices.”

Buyers’ market in Metro Vancouver

Cameron Muir

MAGGIE CALLOWAY

After years of tearing pages out of maga-zines, watching endless installments of home and garden television, and innumerable family discussions, you are ready to start the adventure of a lifetime ... building a family home from scratch. So: where to start?

The two most important decisions any homeowner must make, which may take as

long as a year while doing intensive research, will be choosing both an architect and a builder. If either of these decisions are wrong from the start, the project may be fraught with problems and could potentially turn the dream into a nightmare.

A good place to start is the twice-a-year Open House: A Showcase of New Homes, which is put on by the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association every spring and fall. The event showcases several new home projects throughout Metro Vancouver – all built by local, reputable developers – and gives people a chance to see what’s new and

cutting-edge in condos, apartment, town-homes, single-family homes and even estate homes.

Potential homebuyers can walk through homes and get a real sense of the quality of both the design and the build. In many of the Open House homes, the builder is present to answer visitors’ questions, which allows the potential homeowner to get a sense of whether there is a compatibility of vision. Even if a family is not at the final design stage of their new home project, this is a

Hire a custom builder and get the brand-new home you want

CONTINUED ON P.2

Custom: new and stunning

G. Wilson Construction president Gordon Wilson, left, and son Blair Wilson, project manager, at the custom home they built for a client on Vancouver’s West Side. Building a brand-new custom home means homeowners gets exactly the house they want. Rob Newell photo

2 • New Local Home | June 10, 2010

Publisher: Fiona Harris • 604-575-5822 • [email protected]: Tricia Leslie • 604-575-5346 • [email protected]: Maggie Calloway • [email protected] Advertising Sales: Black Press National Sales • Adrian Saunders • 604-575-5812 • [email protected] Advertising: 604-575-5822Designer: Brad Smith • [email protected]

New Local Home is published once a week by Black Press Group Ltd. (Suite 309 - 5460 152 Street, Surrey, B.C. V3S 5J9) 350,000 copies are distributed free across Metro Vancouver. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited.

The homes look brand-new and inviting. Stunning and welcoming, it is tempting to knock on every door to see if the interiors are as pleasing to the eye as the exteriors.

During the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association 17th annual Parade of Renovated Homes, Metro Vancouverites will be able to tour some of the region’s best examples of home renovations done right.

The GVHBA Renovation Council invites the public to come and see for themselves at 17 professionally renovat-ed homes in Burnaby, New Westminster,

North Van-couver, Surrey, Tsawwassen, Vancouver, West Vancouver and White Rock on June 13 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

GVHBA CEO Peter Simpson notes that Metro Vancouver ho-meowners will spend $3.5 bil-lion sprucing up

their homes this year, and this popular, one-day event offers exceptional sample renovations.

“Professional renovators, many of them award-winners, will be on site to offer expert advice and discuss their craftsmanship,” Simpson says.

“Project values range from $50,000 to more than $1.8 million, offering people an abundance of ideas they can possibly incorporate into their own renovations.”

Examples on the parade include the relocation and restoration of a 1902 heritage-designated Colonial bungalow, the creation of an ultra-contemporary family home/showroom, and extreme transformations of homes built from the early 1900s to the early 2000s.

Admission to the tour is by passport, available at each home for $10 per person; children 17 and under can visit the parade for free. Partial proceeds from passport sales will help support a carpentry training program offered by Guildford Park and Frank Hurt second-ary schools in Surrey.

The event is limited to six hours; visit www.gvhba.org to review the selection of homes and plan your route.

Check out GHVBA Parade of Renovated Homes

A UBC-area house on the GVHBA’s Parade of Renovated Homes went from a tired Tudor to a new, stunning West Coast look.

Before

“Professional renovators, many of them award-winners, will be on site to offer expert advice and discuss their craftsmanship.”

AfTer

great way to soak up ideas you may want to incorporate into your new home.

Equally important is the relationship be-tween the designer/architect and the builder; a push-pull fractured relationship with the homeowner in the middle makes for a more than unpleasant experience.

Often the architect will recommend a builder he has worked with before, and the same with a builder who will recommend an architect or designer.

The architects at Hotson Bakker Boniface Haden made a brilliant move at the start of the build of a new West Side Vancouver home: they had a party for everyone involved in the project, from the main builder – Gord Wilson of G. Wilson Construction – to every sub-trade contractor and supplier.

This get-together was a vehicle, not just to introduce everyone, but to impart to all involved in the vision they, and the hom-eowners, had for this project.

With a family company that has more than 30 years of experience in the industry, and with son Blair joining his father, G. Wilson Construction will likely remain a trusted family company for at least another 30 years.

Like many builders, Wilson started out by doing renovations, gaining the sort of problem-solving experience that is almost im-

possible to get elsewhere. In fact, the company still takes on major renovations to this day, while still building new custom homes.

Most people these days – if they are looking at building their own home and are not

young couples – want the convenience of an apartment or townhome with the privacy of a home, Wilson says.

“What they want is to build a house and be able to walk out the door whenever they want,” says

Wilson.“They want a home built to a level

that is minimum maintenance, and with someone to take care of the garden.”

The West Side homeowners, like many

people, were comfortable in their neighbour-hood and wanted to stay, but as empty nesters, wanted a home that would suit their needs going forward.

They bought a new corner property, 80x120 feet, with great south-facing views, a mature garden and old tear-down house – a perfect spot for a brand-new, custom-built home.

The homeowners hired a fantastic architec-tural firm with some young staff who had a clear vision of what they wanted, says Wilson.

“They had great enthusiasm, which came through to all involved in the project,” he says.

“Everyone was infused with a desire to do

“Everyone has awish book”Off the front: “You feel like you are a part of today when you are in the home.” – Gord Wilson, custom builder

CUSToMCrAving

Sleek and modern, this West Side custom home was built to suit the homeowners’ tastes and lifestyle. Shannon Mendes photos

CONTINUED FROM P.1

CONTINUED ON P.3

New Local Home | June 10, 2010 • 3

their very best work, to make their vision a reality. The clients were wonderful – they had worked for a long time with the architects. We were hired early ... at the preliminary design stage, which is when we like to be hired, to work with the architects and the client.”

“Everyone has a wish book,” Wilson notes, but says all parties involved were able to work together at each stage and help establish a budget and cost for the entire project, so the client could move forward.

“In my 30 years of doing this, I’ve found if the clients work directly with an architect – without the builder involved – there could be a nasty surprise when the dream home, priced out by the builder, comes in way beyond the budget,” Wilson notes.

The interior of the custom West Side home is open-plan and modern, with glass, con-crete, steel, and a floating staircase, but all has been completed in a warm, inviting way that feels like a home.

“You feel like you are part of today when you are in the home,” says Wilson.

“It brings in lots of light and has everything to do with modern living ... the other thing I thought was interesting was the old house on the property had a gable-shaped roof – a barn roof – and the new house speaks to that as well.”

This home was a complete change of focus for the retired couple who commissioned the new dwelling.

It was built for the next stage of their lives together, and everything had been carefully considered to fit their needs now and in the future.

Go custom and get your dream homeCONTINUED FROM P.1

This West Side Vancouver home was built brand-new, from scratch. Shannon Mendes photos


Sophisticated urban style

A High Street is a focal point for busi-nesses, shops and retailers in city centres throughout the world; in North America, it is sometimes called a Main Street, while other areas prefer Front Street or Market Street.

In South Surrey, a new High Street is emerging. Designed to capture the essence of city living, High Street at South Point – brand-new condo homes in the South Point Exchange neighbourhood – brings sophisti-cated urban style and modern convenience to the area.

Surrounded by shops, cafés, restaurants, grocers and essential services, the limited collection of 88 contemporary flats and city homes offer homebuyers the chance at a new home in a community where everything is just outside the front door.

“What we’ve created is an authentic High Street. Everything you need for daily or weekly shopping is just steps away,” says Grosvenor senior development manager Michael Mortensen.

“There’s a full complement of shops and services at your doorstep, but you’re living above it all, in a residential enclave.”

From fresh produce to fine wines, from dry cleaning to financial facilities, from hair stylists to the local neighbourhood pub, it’s all nearby.

Shops include Starbucks, Everyday Gour-met, Clancy’s Gourmet Meats, 7 Seas Fish Market, Save-On Foods, Liberty Wines, Kin’s Farm Market, Cactus Club, Milestones and Tim Hortons, among others.

Everything you need is just outside the front door at Grosvenor’s High Street in South Surrey. Photo courtesy of GrosvenorCONTINUED ON P.2

High Street: a chic, dynamic lifestyle


By the time they ask “Are we there yet?” … you will be.

Copyright 2010 © | Higherground Project Marketing Inc. Brokerage and Sales by Multiple Reality Ltd. Prices are sub-ject to change without prior notice.

A mere 90-minute drive from downtown Vancouver brings you to The Cottages. It feels like a world apart. Steps from peaceful and pristine Cultus Lake, surrounded by breathtaking mountains and lush green forests, with the great outdoors right at your doorstep. But this isn’t your grandfather’s rustic idea of a cottage – these luxurious family cottages are styled your way, with all the features and finishes you could hope for and large private porches and decks providing plenty of space for family and friends to gather and enjoy BC living at its best. And as if that wasn’t enough, the 10,000 sq. ft. clubhouse with pools offering all the amenities of a first-class resort.

1.877.888.4950CultusLakeCottages.com

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Single Family Cottages $399,900from

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‘Everything is just steps away’

Although many of High Street’s new homes have already sold, Mortensen says there is still a wide range of selection and size available for homebuyers, from one-bedroom homes up to three bedrooms.

There’s a good mix of High Street hom-eowners, he notes, from the empty nesters and downsizers who prefer a lock-it-and-leave-it lifestyle, to the first-time home purchasers and couples looking for a low-maintenance home.

The location is extremely accessible – close to Highway 99, Highway 91, transit routes and the U.S. border – making it easy to get to any destination.

“It’s certainly the kind of location where people can shed a vehicle,” Mortensen says, referring to the convenience of living at High Street.

Besides the shops and services at South Point Exchange – also built by Grosvenor, which has 300 years of residential build-ing experience in London, England and more than 50 years of experience building in Metro Vancouver – there are also the beaches of White Rock and Crescent Beach, recreational opportunities at South Surrey Athletic Park and several other local parks and trails.

Plenty of locals can often be seen kayaking in the ocean or in the waters of the Nickomekl River, especially when the

High Street’s interiors offer the airy spaciousness of free-flowing floorplans in a warm, contemporary style. Photo courtesy of Grosvenor

New homes in a great locationCONTINUED FROM P.4

CONTINUED ON P.6


City living in South Surrey

weather’s warmer, and local golf courses welcome a steady stream of golfers aiming to improve their game.

Outside, High Street’s classic yet timeless architecture was created by the award-win-ning firm of Rositch Hemphill & Associates, and features brick and HardiePlank siding alongside sophisticated details such as rich wood trim and moulded cornices. Many floorplans feature large terraces and patios, and covered balconies.

Inside, interiors are designed with warmth and contemporary elegance; no detail is overlooked.

Gourmet kitchens are welcoming and functional, with a six-piece professional appliance package, rich wood cabinetry, enduring stone countertops and hand-laid ceramic tile backsplashes. Spa-like bath and powder rooms invite relaxation and calm with timeless marble countertops, polished porcelain tile floors, designer tubs and frameless glass showers.

The attention put into the details at High Street stand apart, Mortensen says.

“I’d say they’re the highest-quality finishes in the market.”

Move-in ready homes at High Street start from $279,900, and HST incentives are still being offered.

Visit www.southpointlife.com for more information.

CONTINUED FROM P.5

Modern convenience meets quality

Kitchens at High Street are inviting and functional, while covered balconies allow year-round outdoor living. Photo courtesy of Grosvenor


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North Vancouver

West Vancouver

Burnaby

New Westminster

Squamish

Richmond

South Delta

Coquitlam

Port Moody

Port Coquitlam

Vancouver

Surrey

North Delta

LangleyCloverdale

Fort Langley

Pitt Meadows

Maple Ridge

South SurreyWhite Rock

➜

SquamishSkye-Soleil-Aqua

Presentation Centre, Unit 3, 1233 Main St.,Squamish. 604-616-1215

Furry Creek-Ocean Crest415- Furry Creek Dr. 604-787-1456

North Vancouver Wedgewood

768 Orwell St. 604-980-2508

Vancouver Sage

5898 Gray Ave., (UBC/Wesbrook) 604-822-0809Pacific Spirit

UBC Westbrook Village. 604-221-8878604-264-6477

District: South Main299 East 7th Ave., Vancouver. 604-879-2010

BurnabyJewel

6130 WilsonAvenue at Beresford. 604-456-0688Brentwood Gate-The Varley

1960 Beta Ave. 604-205-7228Adera - Green

7438 Byrnepark Walk. 604-439-8858

CoquitlamLevo

1170 Pinetree Way & Northern Ave. 604-464-5856The Foothills

Burke Mountain, 3381 David Ave. 604-944-3188Tatton

1240 Holtby, Coquitlam. 604-552-2220Whitetail Lane

1357 Purcell Drive. 604-552-3003Belmont

1456 Avondale Street. 604-461-7113

Burke Mountain Heights3398 Don Moore Drive, Coquitlam. 778-285-6299

Sterling3412 Wilkie Avenue, Coquitlam.

Larkin House1131 Pipeline Road Coquitlam. 604-552-1113

Port CoquitlamPearl

2343 Atkins Ave. 604-308-0227

RichmondAlexandra Gate

Cambie-Garden City. 604-279-8866Centro

7180 No.3 Road-Bennett. 604-270-8305Remy

106- 9780 Cambie Rd. 604-274-7326Hamilton Station

22788 Westminster Hwy. 604-279-8866Wishing Tree

Alexander Gardens. 604-871-4296Cambridge Park

9191 Odlin Rd. 778-297-7511Saffron

180-8360 Granville Ave. 604-270-2482

South Surrey-White RockHighland Park

160th & 24th Ave. 604-542-8995Glenmore at Morgan Heights

161A St. & 24th Ave. 604-542-8863Wills Creek

160th & 32nd Ave. 604-542-6200Kaleden

2729-158th Street. 604-541-4246Morgan Heights

26th Ave & 164th Street. 604-531-1111, 604-420-4200Cathedral Grove

2738-158th Street. 604-541-7383Southport

3677-143 Street. 604-292-0871

Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows Falcon Hill

23719 Kanaka Way. 604-466-5723Stoneleigh at Silver Ridge

13851 232 Street. 604-466-9278Solo

11749 223rd Street. 604-467-0800

New WestminsterVictoria Hill

McBride Ave. 604-523-0733Q at Westminster Quay

Renaissance Square off Quayside Drive. 604-515-9112Port Royal

Holy Ave. and Salter St. 604-520-9890

DeltaTrend

7445 Scott Road. 604-590-5483

LangleyBedford Landing

23015 Billy Brown Road. 604-888-2176

Seasons & Prelude at Milner Heights

208th St & 72nd Ave. 604-539-9484

Time at Walnut Grove

9525-204 Street. 604-694-1819

Cornerstone

5655 210A Street. 604-534-6000

SurreyAugusta Walk / Woods at Provinceton

18199 70th Ave, 778-571-1088

Hazelwood Estates

7881 164A Street. 604-657-5220

The Estates at Vistas West

16327 60th Ave. 778-574-1380

Vista’s West

6058 - 163 Street, Surrey. 778-571-1389

Knoll

7348 192A Street, Surrey. 604-574-0001

On Tour

Waterfront Capital Partners’ The Kimpton offers new, lowrise condo homes to potential homebuyers in North Vancouver.


MOTIF | Ad Concept V3.5 | Blackpress / New Local HomeA P P I A G R O U P O F C O M P A N I E S

BANGARANG COMMUNICATIONS LTDt 604.924.1729 f 604.924.0512

artist [email protected]

proof issued June 07, 2010

size Full Page | 10.3125” x 14” colour CMYKrun date TBD

version FOR APPROVAL

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