The Vancouver Sun reported a couple of days ago that both the Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley real estate boards reported record home sales for the month of July. Below are the juicy details (aka the numbers)!!

July Sales for Vancouver Real Estate

4,114 sales in Metro Vancouver (via MLS)
–> 89% increase from July 2008
Price of typical single family home in Greater Vancouver area: $711,702
–> -5.5% since July 2008
–> +10% since beginning of 2009

2,089 sales in Fraser Valley (via MLS)
–> 62% increase from July 2008
Price of typical single family home in Fraser Valley area: $477,420
–> almost -6% since July 2008
–> almost +4% in the last 3 months

Of these sales, a whopping 37% were comprised of first time home buyers.

Its not that surprising for the people that have already moved here, lived here or has ever been here.  But it might surprise people who have not been to Vancouver. Here is the Full Story.

http://www.news1130.com/more.jsp?content=20090608_174330_9272

Makes me proud to be living in a world class City!

Today the area is more mixed, with artists, students, writers and other Bohemian-types occupying the area, and is commonly known as Vancouver’s Greenwich Village. Unlike the more generic shopping strips such as Robson in Downtown or West 4th in Vancouver West, most businesses on the Drive (there are an upwards of 400+ businesses) are single-owner operated and most of them only have a single location. Businesses in the area include European-style cafes, bars, several restaurants that offer different cuisines from sushi to Italian to Mexican, ethnic specialty stores and entertainment venues.

The area around Commercial Drive consists of quiet, tree-lined streets filled with circa 1900′s Victorian and Edwardian homes on narrow, long lots that back up to side streets where the garages to the homes are usually located (in the inner-city neighborhoods, it’s not often that you find garages that are actually attached to the homes). These homes were originally built to house the workers at the Canadian Pacific Railway. Along with the heritage homes are the heritage commercial buildings on and around the Drive; there are so many, in fact, that the inventory of the buildings in this area comprise the second largest in the city. There has been some movement toward the rejuvenating of the buildings while retaining their original character.

The combination of cafes, stores and restaurants that make the Drive an always entertaining spot to spend the day or grab lunch, and the bars and restaurants that make it a comfortable hangout spot for the evenings make Commercial Drive one of the most organic, well known and popular shopping strips in Vancouver. The neighborhood receives an award by the Georgia Straight Reader’s Choice Award for being the best neighborhood in the city repeatedly…not only that but it has also been ranked as one of the 10 hippest neighborhoods in North America by Utne Reader.

Commercial Drive is also the host of the annual Halloween “Parade of Lost Souls”. Families and friends gather at the Drive with costumes and candy. The event is always held on the Saturday closest to Halloween. Gay-friendly Vancouver also hosts the “Dyke March & Parade” in August, on the Saturday before the “Pride Parade” to support- and celebrate- gay pride.