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One of our clients called today, very upset. They had just come out of WalMart in the Morgan Crossing area to find their year old boxer gone; leash left on the post.

Our client is legally blind and, although Tofu is not a seeing eye dog, our client takes him with her almost everywhere she goes.

We live in a fabulous area of Metro Vancouver, and we hate to see things like this happen here, especially to someone with diminished ability, who needs the companionship.

Please help us find Tofu. Keep an eye out for him. If you see someone with a young Boxer, take  photo or call us. If a neighbour has recently come home with a dog that looks like it might be him, please let us know.

Our client and her young kids are very distraught about this.

Tofu is a young, neutered male Boxer. He is very friendly and loves people.

HudsonHomeTeam

604-773-3940

I  was scrolling through our Facebook page and noticed a headline by our friend Miss604 about Ashiana Tandoori.

Way before kids, we lived within walking distance of Ashiana (in East Van). Before that, we lived within walking distance of Vij’s,  back when it was half the size, Rangoli, didn’t exist and if you wanted a table, you had to wait in line outside, no matter what the weather (although they usually brought you tea if it was cold and/or wet). But back to Ashiana…

The food was great and, well, we could walk home, which made it more enjoyable in the form of sharing a full bottle of Gewürztraminer with our dinner; our favourite wine for spicy Indian food.

At first I didn’t bother to open the Facebook post because, well, living so far away from Ashiana, I didn’t want to torment myself by reading about it. Then I noticed the word Surrey in the subtext. I clicked on the link and read to my delight that Ashiana has opened in Surrey (their website doesn’t seem to note this as of yet).

Backtracking once more, I remember when we first moved to Surrey years and years ago, I thought; as a lover of spice/curry/tandoori, that it would be wonderful to live in a city that had so many Indian residents and, no doubt, some amazing Indian restaurants. Well, it turns out, we had a difficult time finding Surrey’s answer to Ashiana for Tandoori, or  Vij’s for South Indian flare. Apparently, the Indian community doesn’t eat out at Indian restaurants often enough to warrant many establishments other than those catering mostly to weddings and events.

So, Ashiana, is now available in Surrey and Vij’s; coming to South Surrey. Most of us live minutes from a beach (or two). It’s like a poor man’s Kitsilano (you know, houses are only $1 Million  not $3 Million). Of course, if we keep saying how wonderful it is here, $3 Million can’t be far behind.

Our community is slowly starting to take (new) shape.

The City of Surrey is transforming its waste collection process to reduce emissions and divert waste from landfill.

 

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Starting October 1st, 2012, residential waste will be collected using new state-of-the-art automated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, which emit 23 per cent less carbon emissions and 90 per cent less air particulates, compared to traditional diesel trucks. Studies show, replacing one diesel truck with a CNG truck is the equivalent to taking 475 cars off the road each year.
The new services will help residents separate kitchen and yard waste from solid waste by collecting organics separately from garbage, which will help the City meet its 70 per cent waste diversion objective before 2015. In the future, the organic waste will be delivered to the City's proposed Organics Biofuel facility, which will process it into fuel to power the waste trucks.
The new contract includes the use of standardized waste carts, which will be delivered in advance of the start date to all households receiving City waste collection service. The new carts will improve aesthetes and minimize scattered litter.
"The City of Surrey's new direction for waste collection and processing will help establish a benchmark in North America, and will go a long way to creating cleaner, more sustainable communities in the region," says Mayor Dianne Watts. "It's important for municipalities to demonstrate and advance new technologies, and to help facilitate new ways of reducing waste."

The City of Surrey is transforming its waste collection in order to reduce emissions and divert waste from the landfill.

The City approved a new residential waste collection contract this week with BFI Canada, and the new services come into effect on October 1st, 2012.

Under the new contract, residential waste will be collected using new state-of-the-art automated Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) trucks, which emit 23 per cent less carbon emissions and 90 per cent less air particulates, compared to traditional diesel trucks. Studies show, replacing one diesel truck with a CNG truck is the equivalent to taking 475 cars off the road each year.

In addition, the new services will require residents to separate kitchen and yard waste from solid waste, which will help the City meet its 70 per cent waste diversion objective by 2015. In addition, the organic waste will be delivered to the City’s future Organics Biofuel facility, which will process the material into natural gas that will be used to fuel the waste trucks.

The new contract includes the use of standardized waste carts, which will be delivered to all households currently receiving City waste collection service in advance of the start date. The new carts will improve aesthetes and help minimize scattered litter.

The attached Corporate Report, Appendix 1, Appendix 2 and Appendix 3 which was approved by Surrey Council. This report provides greater detail of the City’s decision relating to the award of the Waste Collection Services Contract and the proposed service changes.

City staff is working towards a communications plan which will ensure that Surrey’s customer base is well informed of the required changes well ahead of the new contract start date.

Please provide us with any of your comments regarding the above by filling out the form below. Alternatively, you may contact the City of Surrey Waste Hotline at 604-590-7289 or by letter at:

City of Surrey Engineering Department
Solid Waste Management Section
14245 – 56 Avenue
Surrey, BC
V3X 3A2

Thanks to the City of Surrey for supplying this information

  OTTAWA – April 16, 2012 – According to statistic^[1]s released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national resale housing activity edged higher in March 2012.

Highlights:

• Home sales rose 2.5% from February to March.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 1.6% above levels in March 2011, the smallest year-over-year increase since last April.
• The number of newly listed homes eased 0.3% from February to March.
• While still well balanced, the national housing market tightened due to the rise in activity.
• The national average home price edged down 0.5% on a year-over-year basis in March.

Sales activity over MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations rose 2.5 per cent from February to March 2012. The increase lifted national activity to its highest monthly level since April 2010.

Activity in March was up from the previous month in two-thirds of all local markets, with Toronto, Calgary, and Edmonton contributing most to the national increase.

Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity stood 1.6 per cent above levels in March 2011, the smallest year-over-year increase since last April. It reflects moderate gains in a number of major centres, including Toronto, Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, and Quebec City. Increases in these housing markets offset larger declines in Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, where activity last year ran at unusually strong levels.

A total of 108,373 homes traded hands in the first three months of the year. This is 5.0 per cent above the five-year average for first quarter sales, 3.8 per cent above the 10-year average, and 4.4 per cent above activity in the first quarter of 2011.

New listings were little changed following their uptick in February, having edged lower by 0.3 per cent on a month-over-month basis in March. The number of newly listed homes declined from the previous month in just over half of all local Canadian housing markets, and rose in almost all of the remainder.

“The spring housing market is off to a good start,” said Wayne Moen, CREA’s President. “The number of sales and newly listed properties are up from levels last year, and the vast majority of housing markets remain balanced. That said, all housing is local, so buyers and sellers should talk to their local REALTOR® to understand current and prospective trends where they live.”

The national housing market remains well balanced, although the monthly increase in sales activity caused the balance between supply and demand to tighten slightly.

The national sales-to-new listings ratio, a measure of market balance, stood at 55.1 per cent in March. This remains firmly in balanced market territory, but is up from 53.6 per cent in February. Based on a ratio of between 40 and 60 per cent, more than half of local markets were balanced in March.

The number of months of inventory stood at 5.7 at the end of March on a national basis, down slightly from 5.8 months in February. The number of months of inventory represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity, and is another measure of the balance between housing supply and demand.

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in March 2012 was $369,677, representing a decline of one half of a percentage point from the same month last year.

“Average prices are up from year-ago levels in most large urban centres,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “The slight decline in the national average price points to a tug of war between Toronto and Vancouver from the standpoint of their sales mix compared to last year.”

“The national average price was skewed higher last spring by record level high-end home sales in some of Vancouver’s priciest neighbourhoods. It was expected that this would not recur this spring, which the latest sales figures confirm. The decline in average price reflects the change in Vancouver’s sales mix, not housing price deflation.”

“At the same time, overall home sales activity in Toronto is stronger than it was last spring, and higher-end home sales are up from year-ago levels. Being by far the most active housing market in Canada, Toronto represents the single biggest factor supporting national average price compared to last year.”

¹ All figures in this release except average price are seasonally adjusted. Removing normal seasonal variations enables meaningful analysis of monthly changes and fundamental trends.

PLEASE NOTE: The information contained in this news release combines both major market and national MLS^® sales information from the previous month.

CREA cautions that average price information can be useful in establishing trends over time, but does not indicate actual prices in centres comprised of widely divergent neighbourhoods or account for price differential between geographic areas. Statistical information contained in this report includes all housing types.

Shred-A-Thons this weekend.

There are two shred-a-thons this weekend. One is being held at Semiahmoo Mall. Proceeds will go to The SouthSurrey/WhiteRock Food Bank. The other is in Ocean Park. Proceeds will go towards a new sports court & playground for the kids at Ocean Cliff Elementary.

FRASER VALLEY HOUSE HUNTERS LOOKING FOR GOOD BUYS; KEEPING PRICES RESILIENT

(Surrey, BC) – The The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board processed 1,412 sales on its Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March, a decrease of 22 per cent compared to March of last year, however only 13 per cent less than the 10-year average of 1,626 sales for same month.

Scott Olson, president of FVREB, says, “It was quieter than usual for March, but still steady with an increase in demand for more affordable properties, in particular detached homes for less than $500,000 and townhomes.

“Compared to last March, every community in Fraser Valley experienced a decrease in the sales of single family detached homes especially those priced at the higher-end; however Abbotsford, Langley and North Surrey all saw increases in the sale of townhomes.”

Olson adds, “Last year, single family homes represented 63 per cent of our residential market. This March, it dropped to 56 per cent, so we’re seeing demand for more affordable options. This is in contrast to last year when we saw elevated sales of higher-end homes in areas such as North Delta, South Surrey and White Rock.”

In March 2012 in Fraser Valley, the sale of detached homes with a value greater than half a million dollars decreased by 33 per cent compared to last year, explaining why average prices, which can be skewed by the dollar volume of high or low end sales*, are showing decreases year-over-year, while benchmark prices – homes with typical characteristics for the neighbourhood – are showing increases compared to 2011.

The MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) benchmark price of a detached home in March was $572,700, an increase of 6.8 per cent compared to $536,200 last year. The benchmark price of Fraser Valley townhouses increased by 1.5 per cent in one year, going from $310,300 in March 2011 to $315,000 in March 2012, while the benchmark price of apartments also increased by 1.5 per cent going from $210,600 in March of last year to $204,700 in March 2012.
The number of Fraser Valley properties on the market in March finished at 9,643, an increase of 5 per cent compared to the same month last year although the number of new listings received – 3,066 – represents a 9 per cent decrease compared to March 2011.

The average number of days to sell a detached home was 46 in March 2012, one day faster than last year. It took 49 days on average to sell a townhouse and under two months or 58 days to sell an apartment.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board is an association of 2,903 real estate professionals who live and work in the BC communities of North Delta, Surrey, White Rock, Langley, Abbotsford, and Mission. The FVREB marked its 90-year anniversary in 2011.

Full Stats Package here

Here is this weeks Garage Sale list

I’ll bet you can find some good finds at this weeks.

Click on the photo for the map.

2012 KICKS OFF WITH NEW HOME PRICE MEASUREMENT; AND, A SLUGGLISH START TO SALES

(Surrey, BC) – The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board’s Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) processed 799 sales in January, a decrease of 4 per cent compared to the 834 sales in January last year and 10 per cent fewer than were processed in December. In the last decade, January 2012 was second only to 2009 for lowest volume.

On the flip side, compared to other starts during the last 10 years, the Board received one of its highest influxes of new listings for January – 2,753 – 5 per cent more than January 2011 and 143 per cent more than December the month before. The increase in new inventory raised the volume of active properties in Fraser Valley to 8,320 by the end of January.

Sukh Sidhu is the Board’s president. “For spring house hunters this is great news. For buying power you can’t beat the combination of greater selection, the continuation of extremely low interest rates and stable prices.”

The Board’s new MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI), launched today, reveals that residential home prices in Fraser Valley have decreased gradually over the last six months, while still showing increases year-over-year.

In January, the benchmark price of a detached home in the Fraser Valley was $567,700, an increase of 7.6 per cent compared to $527,500 in January 2011 and an increase of 0.1 per cent compared to December.

For townhouses, the benchmark price in January was $314,200, an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to the same month last year when it was $306,800 and down 1.1 per cent compared to December. The benchmark price of apartments in January was $199,600, a decrease of 0.1 per cent compared to January 2011 when it was $199,800 and an increase of 0.3 per cent compared to December.

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI), replacing the Lower Mainland’s MLSLink® Housing Price Index, is a new measure of price for residential properties in five major markets across Canada. It includes Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal, with more markets to be added. It was pioneered by six founding partners: the real estate boards of Calgary, Fraser Valley, Greater Montreal, Greater Vancouver, and Greater Toronto and the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Sukh Sidhu says the new MLS® HPI will be very helpful to REALTORS® in guiding homeowners. “It’s a bigger, better tool to measure the change in home prices in the Fraser Valley and now we can more accurately compare our market to other major cities in Canada.” Learn more at www.homepriceindex.ca.

Download Stats Package here.

Here is a message for you to support the wonderful people at Bayridge Elementary School:

Helping without having to do anything – sort of.

Thrifty Foods Smile Cards - If you don't already have one of our special Community Smilecards from last year, pick one from the counter at the office. The card comes with a zero balance, and each time you shop at Thriftys, just load the card at customer service and pay anyway you like. Every time you load or reload the card, Bayridge gets 5% of the amount loaded. Then use your card at the cashier to pay for your groceries. You still collect your Thrifty's points as normal. This can really add up over the year, so your support in remembering to load at the service desk before you shop is really appreciated! The program runs until June and please feel free to grab a card for friends and family as they work at any location.

If you would like one, let me know and I will drop one off at your door, complimentary.

604-773-3940