Anthem Properties recently announced the acquisition of the BC Electric Building, a 119,334 square foot office building located at in intersection of Hastings Street and Carrall Street.  The price was undisclosed.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver has released stats for August which show mixed results amid a general slowdown of sales activity since May of this year. A sample of selected areas in Metro Vancouver shows pricing as flat or in decline during the summer.

Year over year pricing is in slight decline pretty much across the board, with the exception of some of the Fraser Valley suburbs which did not exhibit significant price increases over the past two years. Pitt Meadows condos, for example, have shown a slight increase of 1.2% since May 2012. Other markets with much higher levels of new inventory, such as North Burnaby, have declined about 2.5% over the summer, and have remained relatively flat since 2010.

Prices are continuing to come off on the Westside of Vancouver, which was one of the hottest markets in 2010/2011 and was the basis for much of the commentary on the health of the overall residential market.

The HPI for single family homes on the Westside declined 2.5% in August alone, and is down over 6% since May 2012. The HPI remains 20% above where it was in August 2010, indicating that with a prolonged lack of sales activity, there may be a further decline in store. Between June and August, sales volumes were down 50% over 2011.

Metro Vancouver commercial real estate sales reach record $1.42 billion.

Commercial real estate transactions in Metro Vancouver reached an unprecedented six-month total of $1.42 billion during the first half of 2012, breaking the previous record of $1.03 billion set during the first half of 2010, according to a report released Wednesday.

The figures point to a longer-term surge and confidence in commercial land investments, experts say, but belie anxiety over diminishing industrial land availability as it gives way to more apartments and office towers.

The City of Vancouver Affordable Housing Strategy was recenently unveiled which provides direction on affordable housing initiatives from 2012-2021.  The strategy relies heavily on the private sector leasing city owned land to construct affordable housing. 

More information can be found here.

A two-storey retail building on the south side of West Broadway has sold for $2,320,000,  representing $498 per sq ft. The asking price was $2,350,000. The building is adjacent Joey’s Broadway.

The building is 4,658 sq ft in size and is leased to a tanning salon on the upper floor on a month to month basis. The bottom floor is available for lease and asking $35.00 per sq ft net.