The housing market in British Columbia is heating up this spring, and there are four hubs where the action is hot. If you're selling or buying, here are the best places in the lower mainland to purchase real estate.

Vancouver & East Vancouver

The Vancouver market is always hot, but this spring it is going to get hotter. Vancouver's mild temperatures and high rating as one of the cleanest cities in the world is something that attracts buyers to the market. It is also one of the most stunning cities across the globe and is highly livable. There are countless activities to do in Vancouver: outdoor, cultural, and shopping. Vancouver also sports world-class education. It is no wonder that this diverse marketplace is heating up in spring.

East Vancouver is the hottest market in Vancouver. It is more affordable than Vancouver proper and its sports interesting real estate. Buying in this area is alluring due to these factors alone. Other reasons East Vancouver is so popular with those looking to buy is because of its stunning heritage buildings, which feature New York style lofts. East Vancouver has also been dubbed "foodie heaven" with incredible eats that range from less than casual to fine dining. Buying in East Vancouver is not only an investment but a lifestyle.

Surrey & South Surrey

Another area that is coming in hot this spring is Surrey, to the south-east of Vancouver. Surrey is a part of the Metro Vancouver regional district, and in good traffic, it can take around 45 minutes to get to downtown Vancouver - and around half an hour by transit. Surrey is a family-oriented city, and one reason it is so popular is that it has many new developments. By 2020 Surrey will likely be the most populated city in the Metro Vancouver area. Growth blooms opportunity, and Surrey is growing.

South Surrey, White Rock is also heating up. Within reasonable commuting distance from Vancouver, White Rock is right at the Canada/USA border and this makes it a very appealing place to live. White Rock is the closest city where Highway 99 connects to the Amerian Interstate 5. This means that those who like in White Rock have the shortest drive time when road tripping to the states, whether they are heading down to Seattle or just popping over for a day of shopping.

Richmond & East Richmond

Richmond, directly south of Vancouver, has a hot market in its eastmost district. East Richmond is closest to Highway 91. Richmond also features a total of 1,900 acres of beautiful public parkland, over 70 km of trails, and 60 km of road cycling paths. Richmond is also home to the Britannia Heritage Shipyard Park, which is an 8.14-acre national historic site. For anyone who enjoys outdoor recreation, Richmond is the perfect place to make their home.

Coquitlam

To the east of Vancouver is the city of Coquitlam. While it is may be a bit cooler than Vancouver, Surrey, and Richmond, this 140,000 person city is by no means cold. More out of the way than other areas near Vancouver, this city is surrounded by parks, including Eagle Mountain and Pinecone Burke Provincial Park, but those who live there do not suffer from any loss of modernity of style. It is also home to the Douglas College campus and hosts a massive trainyard that connects BC to the rest of Canada. It is a dynamic city. Coquitlam is also more affordable than some of its Metro Vancouver counterparts.

British Columbia is heating up this spring, and we at Gurdial Badh Group want to help you find the property - in the location - that suits you best.

You finally got your dream scenario; you have a job that you love, and you can now work from home! Working from home does have a lot of perks including no long commute across the city, you have a higher work-life balance, coffee whenever you want, and you can wear pajamas while you work (as long as you won’t be doing any video conferences)!

Setting up your personal home office space is also a big perk because you can design it however you want and you aren’t limited to a small cubicle. Sometimes, people design their home offices with things they like, but they aren’t aware that they will be a big distraction later on.  If you've purchased a home, or are looking to have a home evaluation to build you perfect office - here are six tips to keep in mind!

Design with Comfort in Mind

The two crucial parts of your home office that you need to be comfortable is your chair and desk. Having a fancy upholstered dining room chair may look awesome, but sitting on it for eight hours a day will be a pain. These chairs don’t give you proper back support and will make you feel very uncomfortable after a few days, which will affect your work output. The other part of your home office you should make comfortable is your desk. Make sure you find a desk that has a lot of space (including drawers) to keep your papers and work supplies in order.

If you will be painting your home office, try to avoid super bright colours. Staring at a bright colour after looking at your computer screen for a long time could get annoying and cause headaches throughout the day.

Lighting is key

When people design their home offices, they usually overlook how they will light their room and will end up relying on their overhead lights. Try to set up your home office where the sun is your main source of light. Open your blinds and let the sun shine in! On gloomy or dark days, use a desk lamp to create a nice glow for your work area.

Personalize your space

You have a whole room to decorate with whatever you want! Put up some posters of your favourite show/movie/sports team, put pictures of family and friends on your desk, print out comics that you find amusing and put them on the wall, and buy some plants to place around your office. Looking after the plants will give you something to do while you are on a break or if there is a lull in work.

Have fun with storage

Avoid the typical filing cabinet with a printer on top of it. They aren’t fun to use or look at. Get creative with how you store your papers and office supplies. Put your printer in a closet so you don’t have to look at it until you use it. It will also prompt you to get up and walk around to keep your blood flowing. To avoid filing cabinets, get some open concept shelves and colour coordinated binders to put your papers in.

Create a “break area”

Having a comfortable break area is almost as important as having a comfortable office space. Having a comfortable break area will help you recharge faster to tackle your work in the final hours of the day. If you can’t designate a separate room in your home as your break room, dedicate a space in your home office to have one. Get a mini fridge filled with snacks and drinks, add a bean bag chair to sit on, then just sit back and relax while you are on your break!

Have more office supplies than you need

When you work at a traditional office, there always seems to be an unlimited amount of pens, paper, and staples that you can use at any time. When you work from home you start to see that these office supplies run out over time and it becomes time consuming always running to the store to pick up what you need. When you are at the store, buy an overstock of everything you use to ensure you have the item(s) you need. For all of your home puchasing needs, contact our team here!

It can be discouraging to get your electric bill and find that the price is still too high for your tastes. This especially applies to people who have just moved into new homes and are likely on a budget to begin with and are trying to keep the electricity bill low. Here are some tips that will help lower the cost of your electricity bill, while having the added benefit in increasing the efficiency of your home.

1. Install Dimmer Switches

This is great if you sometimes find that you keep using more light than necessary. When you install dimmer switches, you can use only as much light as you need.

2. Keep Your Vents Open and Clean

Assess your vents. If you are someone that has central air conditioning/heat, check the vents in your home. Some might actually be closed. After they are all open, the air/heat system will not struggle to keep your home cool/warm. Your vents also have air filters that keep any unwanted debris from blowing through your home – in order to maximize ideal airflow, replace those filters monthly.

3. Reduce Laundry Usage

You have several options in helping reduce laundry usage and costs.

1. Set up a clothesline if the weather is warm outside to naturally dry your clothes. For colder weather, hang clothes on a drying rack or shower rod.

2. Reduce heat. Heating the water in the washing machine takes up most of the energy that your machine uses. Instead wash in cold water to reduce costs.

3. Do laundry at non-peak hours. Companies offer discounted rated during non-peak hours (which commonly begin at 8 P.M.).

4. Switch to LEDs

LED light bulbs use 90 percent less energy than the regular incandescent bulbs. Switch out the most widely used bulbs in your home and replace the rest when the other ones burn out.

5. Adjust Dishwasher Use

Take advantage of the other alternatives that your dishwasher offers such as using the energy saving cycle if it has one. Also, give the air-dry, no-heat feature a dry, since most of the time, a lot of energy goes into heating the water in the dishwasher. Also, make sure to reduce the number of times you are using your dishwasher by making sure it’s completely full before turning it on.

6. Schedule HVAC Maintenance

Schedule yearly HVAC maintenance appointments to increase the efficiency of your HVAC system by having it inspected and cleaned each time. This will also offer cleaner air in your home.

7. Take Advantage of Shading

In the warmer months, you can cut down on air conditioning usage by closing all the curtains and blinds on the sunny side of your home. You can also consider installing tinted window films if necessary. Another option for more shading is to plant trees outside of your property that can shield the majority of the sun’s rays.

These are seven ways that you can help lower the cost of your electricity bill to save you from seeing such a spike every month. Not only do these help save money but it will help contribute to a more energy efficient home. 

By now everyone has heard of Airbnb, the popular online hospitality service that allow people to lease or rent short-term lodging. While the concept of Airbnb boasts many advantages, from cheaper rent to more personalized accommodations, it has become an issue for the residents of Vancouver.

With the real estate in Vancouver, coupled with the amount of people that are looking for housing, Airbnb poses a problem in that with the expanding growth in tourists targeting short term rentals, many Vancouver residents can’t find a place to live.

The city of Vancouver cracked down on short-term rentals by announcing a series of restrictions that effectively bans properties from being used full-time on sites like Airbnb.

What caused this to happen?

Vancouver is a popular tourism hot spot with its many scenic naturistic views and popular landmarks. As a result of being one of the most highly sought after cities in Canada, it became the perfect place for tourists to come visit. This was made all the easier by Airbnb, which allowed for more reasonably priced accommodations. The consequence of this was that tourists flocked to Vancouver and took up the majority of the short term rentals for their vacation stay in Vancouver.

This problem expanded to the point where at least 6,000 illegal short term rentals (it is illegal to rent a home for less than 30 days) were operating in Vancouver. The new regulations were put in place to ensure that there is better use of all of the city’s housing that takes the residents into account.

What are the restrictions?

-          Short term rentals will only be permitted in homes that already have primary tenants (tenants that reside in the property for most of the year).

-          Any units that exist just for the purpose of being rented out in short periods (the city defines the short period as 30 days or less) will not be allowed to operate.

The above restrictions will be effective immediately starting April 2018. The main purpose of these strict regulations is that the city of Vancouver hopes that any short-term rental units will be pressured in joining the long-term rental market and this will create more living space for the residents of Vancouver.

What will keep these rules in effect?

Any resident who wants to rent either their entire home or a room in their home for less than 30 days will have to apply for a business license, pay a yearly fee of $49 and make sure to display their business license number on their online listing.

What are the planned results of these new rules?

These new regulations aim to free up more housing space by cutting down on short-term rentals and have them converted to long-term rental stock, which is highly needed to solve Vancouver’s rental housing crisis and to hopefully provide homes for the thousands of residents in Vancouver that are currently struggling to find a place to live.

If you are thinking of moving to the lower mainland, because of its beautiful naturistic scenes, fresh air and the mild climate appeals to you, then you’re in luck. We’ve compiled this guide of things you need to know about buying real estate in Vancouver. The city’s real estate market is multifaceted with significant price increases for all lodgings such as condominiums, attached homes, detached single family homes and other residential properties. There are many diverse options for those who are seeking a place to live in one of Canada’s most popular and livable cities. However, navigating the real estate market can be hard, so here are some to-know facts and tips to keep in mind when you are buying a home in Vancouver.

Mild climate means easier adjustment period

With the mildest climate in Canada, moving to Vancouver means there is less of an adjustment to the weather when compared to other parts of the country. Not only is it an easier adjustment period, it is a more cost effective one as well. There is less of an investment needed in other areas, like clothing, household appliances needed for snow removal and heating costs.

Subject free offers are common

Real estate is in high demand, and when that usually happens, bidding wars are common and buyers have to get competitive. As a result, many buyers are making subject free offers (real estate offers made with no conditions) to make their bids appear the most committed and desirable. This can be appealing to sellers, but buyers need to proceed with caution and understand the risks.

If the seller accepts the offer always seek legal advice from a lawyer. The buyer is committed to completing the deal, so buyers have to make sure they understand the legal repercussions of a subject free offer.

Timelines can be tight

When there are multiple offers one on property, a lot of listings have tight timelines for the offers to be submitted. This can cause steps that help protect buyers, like home inspections, to be skipped. Buyers need to be cautious and work with an experienced real estate agent to ensure everything is covered despite the timelines.

Increase in deposits

In the current market, the frequency and size of the deposits offered by potential buyers to sellers has significantly increased. For homebuyers, the ability to make a big deposit can make their offer more attractive, and thus increase their chances of being considered. However, there are risks to take into account, like doing a deposit with a subject free offer. This can make it difficult to get back any funding if the deal ends up not closing in the end, as well as the effort to recoup the deposit can result in a loss of money.

If you are ready to buy in Vancouver, gurdialbadhgroup can help you through what can be an overwhelming process for buyers.