Greater Vancouver at lower end of balanced market

A good investment in a renovation should increase the value of your home by at least the amount of money you spent, or close to it. A bad one doesn't get you much of your money back. Here are some investments that have proven to return their value, or close to it:

• Low-cost improvements that make your home look better: Painting, new wallpaper, and items like new rugs and curtains help to brighten and improve the look of a home, and add value to your house if they are done close to the time of sale.
• New or improved kitchens and bathrooms: Improvements to your kitchen and bathroom seem most likely to increase the value of your home. Keep in mind that these improvements lose value over time.
• Improvements to the living room and the master bedroom: These are also good investments and will usually return most of the money you spent, if not more.
• Investments in more efficient use of energy: Oil, gas, and hydro costs continue to go up. That's becoming more of a concern when people are looking to buy a home. You can make your home more energy efficient as an investment in its value. Some government programs help reduce the costs of these projects. Also, consider buying appliances that waste less energy.
• Keeping up with repairs. If you do a little at a time, you can avoid doing a lot of expensive repairs at the same time. A reasonable amount to spend yearly is 1% to 2% of the value of your home.

• Swimming pool: Make sure you want a pool before you invest in a pool. The cost of putting in one won't show up in the price that you get when you sell a home.
• Costly appliances: Most people won't want to pay an extra $4,000 for your home to pay for a $7,000 refrigerator instead of a $1,200 refrigerator. If you pay thousands of dollars for top-of-the-line appliances, enjoy them. You probably won't get your money back if you sell them with your home.
• Costly landscaping: The way your home looks from the street can really help interest buyers. It's called 'curb appeal.' But if you spend $30,000 in landscaping, don't expect to get it all back. Most buyers probably won't see or appreciate the value.
• Renovating in an area where homes are being torn down: Tear-down activity involves homes being sold, torn down, and replaced by bigger, more expensive homes. If someone is going to buy your home and tear it down, a renovation won't return any of your money. The buyer will have no interest in the building, just in the land.

The key to renovating is to keep the house in good repair and do the renovations you want to enjoy. If you think you might be selling in the near future, focus on renovations that are more likely to get your money back.

B.C. home sales rose 12.9 per cent to 6,533 units in July compared to July 2010, while the average price climbed 10 per cent to $541,000, the B.C. Real Estate Association reported Thursday.

However, there was a wide discrepancy in price increases around the province, with Metro Vancouver continuing to show the highest increase.

But price increases in Metro Vancouver are slowing down, and are expected to slow down even further in the coming months.

"In Metro Vancouver, the price numbers have been inflated over the past several months as higher end [single detached] properties selling in pricier neighbourhoods [pushed] the average price higher," BCREA chief economist Cameron Muir said in an interview. "But this is unlikely to be sustained over the longer term."

Muir expects the number of single detached homes sold in pricier neighbourhoods like West Vancouver and Vancouver's west side won't be as high a proportion as experienced in recent months.

"Three months ago, the average price [in Metro Vancouver] was growing 25 per cent year over year," he said. "Now, it's dropped to 16 per cent."

According to the survey, Metro Vancouver saw a 15.9-per-cent increase in the average price of a residential property in July compared to July 2010, from $658,000 to $762,000. The Fraser Valley recorded a 9.7-per cent increase, from $459,000 to $504,000.

However, the Okanagan Mainline recorded a minuscule 0.5-per-cent increase, from $406,000 to $408,000, while Kamloops saw a 7.6-per-cent decline, from $311,000 to $287,000. Victoria recorded a six-per-cent decline, from $497,000 to $467,000.

Muir noted that housing demand in the near future could be bolstered by lower interest rates as investors flock to bonds and bank analysts predict the Bank of Canada will keep its overnight target rate steady in light of the U.S. Federal Reserve saying it expected that an increase in rates would not be warranted, given the state of the U.S. economy, until 2013.

He said that recent global economic uncertainty means that mortgage rates have the potential to reach record lows in the coming weeks as investors flock into bond markets. "This will mean added purchasing power and affordability for consumers."

Year-to-date, B.C. residential sales dollar volume increased 16.5 per cent to $28.2 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales increased one per cent to 48,628 units, while the average residential price for houses sold through the multiple listings service rose 15.3 per cent to $579,645, BCREA said.

Muir noted that home sales edged down four per cent from June to July on a seasonally adjusted basis. "Less frenetic buying activity in Vancouver operated to pull total provincial sales lower."

With Vancouver's real estate market bolstered by an influx of investment from offshore sources, selling a home in the area may be less of a challenge then most other markets in North America.

But there are still ways you can make sure your home sells faster on the market.

1. Differentiate From the Neighbors - In order to attract attention and to make your home more memorable, consider custom designs or additions, such as landscaping, high grade windows or a new roof. This can help improve the home's aesthetics, while potentially adding value to the home. Any improvements should be practical and use colors and designs that will appeal to the widest audience.

2. Don't overdo it - While it can pay to spice up your home, don't over-improve it. According to a 2006 article in Realtor Magazine, some renovations, such as adding a bathroom or a sun room, might not always pay. The data suggests that the nationwide average amount recouped for a bathroom addition is about 75%. For a sun room, it's even less. If you're going to invest in renovations, do your research and be sure to put your money into the things that are likely to get you the best return.

3. Clean the Clutter - It is imperative to remove all clutter from the home before showing it to potential buyers because buyers need to be able to picture themselves in the space. This might include removing some furniture to make rooms look bigger, and putting away family photographs and personal items. You may even want to hire a stager to help you make better use of the space.

4. Sweeten the Deal - One way to make the home and deal more attractive to buyers is to offer things or terms that might sweeten the pot. For example, sellers that offer the buyer a couple of thousand dollars credit toward closing costs will receive more attention from house hunters looking at similar homes.

5. Offer Transferable Warranty - A potential buyer may feel more at ease knowing that he or she will be covered against such problems, which could make your home more attractive than a competing home

6. Offer quick closing period - If it is possible for you to close on the home within 30 to 60 days, this may set your deal apart and get you a contract.

7. Improve Curb Appeal - Sellers often overlook the importance of their home's curb appeal. The first thing a buyer sees is a home's external appearance and the way it fits into the surrounding neighborhood. Try to make certain that the exterior has a fresh coat of paint, and that the bushes and lawn are well manicured. In real estate, appearances mean a lot. 

8. Get Your Home in "Move In" Condition - Doors, appliances and electrical and plumbing fixtures should be in compliance with current building codes and in working order. The idea is to have the home in move in condition and to give potential buyers the impression that they will be able to move right in and start enjoying their new home.

9. Pricing It Right - Look around to see what the prices are in the market. Regardless of how well you renovate and stage your home, it is still important to price the home appropriately. Try to put yourself in the buyer's shoes and then determine what a fair price might be.

Hope this helps. Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, we're always happy to help!

While the stock market is looking less than rosy, Baby Boomers in Vancouver are sitting on the proverbial golden egg.

Average prices for single homes in Vancouver in 1980 was $100,000. The same homes now sell for around $1,000,000. That increase in value coupled with low low interest rates finance renovations that only improve the value even more.

They can use this money to renovate, invest in more real estate or help their own children enter a rather formidable real estate market. With the kids moved out baby boomers are also downsizing and moving to condos closer to luxury amenities and within walking distance to the waterfront.
There are some who speculated that the amount of baby boomers rushing to sell would ultimately reduce property values but that hasn't happened in the lower mainland. Despite population growth of *55% in BC, boomers have not negatively impacted the market. (*Source BC Statistics)

Last month, there was a reported increase of 67.1% of property sales over February 2009 and a 28.6% increase over January 2009 by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver. Purchasers fueled by the Olympics and flocking from Mainland China may be the source of at least a good portion of this increase.

Downsizing has allowed boomers to liquidate some equity for retirement. For some, purchasing condos in the Fraser Valley can leave as much as $1 mill. as a nest egg for retirement.

But boomers aren't willing to give up the space to which they've been accustomed. They may not be willing to move into a 500 square foot home that new home owners are used to. Two bedrooms with ensuite and den with all amenities are usually a requirement. There is also the option of extending their original properties through renovation/remodeling to allow for rental space and retention of valuable property.

Source, The Vancouver Sun

March has seen an added 7004 listings to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in Greater Vancouver. That's up 60% from last year this time.

Average prices have also reached a high of $584,435 on all property types. This value is up 20% from last year and 3% above last year's peak.
 
Of course low interest rates have fueled our local market and the increase in prices always encourages people to sell - "We were expecting to see listings increase," Robyn Adamache, senior analyst with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said in an interview.

"Certainly any time you see prices rising is generally when you see more listings coming on line."

The increase has exceeded expectations of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

The market is expected to be pretty well balanced with supply controlling the rising prices. Total inventory of unsold homes in Greater Vancouver is 13,538 in March closing in on the record of 20,000 available in fall 2008.

Alternatively, realtors posted sales of 3,137 in March - 39% above March/09. Detached homes were up the most in the Greater Vancouver region with 1,336 sales, a 49-per-cent increase from March a year ago, averaging $800,341. That average is up 23% from last year but down 0.6% from February/10.

Source - The Vancouver Sun

It's the end of an era and a mad rush of desperate homebuyers flooded banks and brokers looking for the last good deal. Major banks posted their increases of almost 11% to 5.85 per cent on 5 year posted rates.

The rate increase comes as no surprise as it's just been a matter of when and how much. With the stirrings of life in our national economy and major gains in the past few months in the real estate market - not just in Metro Vancouver but also BC as a whole.

“People know rates are going up,” LeMay said. “The Bank of Canada said its overnight rate is going up. People put it all into one basket and think everything is going up.”

Monday's increases are the end of this particular portion of the government's economic stimulus plan. The finance minister Jim Flaherty voiced concerns over overheated housing markets and Canada Governor Mark Carney's worry over our debt levels, rates were expected to rise to slow the economy.

"Joe Santos, president of the Mortgage Brokers Association calculated that a family with $100,000 in household income, assuming they can negotiate a reasonable discount to posted five-year rates, would see their purchasing power reduced by about $40,000.

Before the change, he said, that family could qualify for a $614,000, five-year mortgage with 35-year amortization and a discounted mortgage rate of 3.89 per cent.

Now, however, the same family would likely face a discounted rate of 4.49 per cent, which reduces the maximum mortgage they could qualify for to $574,000."

“It’s obviously going to make it more difficult for people to qualify for Vancouver and Lower Mainland purchases, because property values tend to be higher here than in the rest of Canada,” Santos said.

Added to that, changes to mortgage qualification rules will also affect variable rate mortgages. Prime for now is at 2.25% but after April 19 buyers with only 5% down must qualify for a mortgage with the five year posted rate in order to get a variable mortgage.

The trend is now moving back to a fixed mortgage rate. For the last couple of years with variable rates at an all time low as many as 40% of homebuyers chose the variable rate.

What we all need to remember however, is that although we're not getting rock bottom rates we are still in good shape compared to just a few years ago. "Kevin Lutz, B.C. regional mortgage manager for RBC, noted that posted five-year fixed rates were 7.19 per cent two years ago, and the prime rate was 5.25 per cent."

Source: The Vancouver Sun

"Metro Vancouver's cheap-mortgage-fuelled real estate market has overshot its previous peak for prices with indications it will keep going, albeit more slowly, before cooling with the rise in interest rates."

Average prices in February in Metro Vancouver excluding Surrey, Langley and White Rock are at $662,741. The previous peak in May 2008 was $624,639. The combination of warmer weather and the influx of visitors from all over the world has had some measurable impact on our local real estate market.

The Teranet-National Bank housing price index analyses on the repeat sales of homes shows a that the deflation during our recent recession had all but been regained by January. This trend while expected to continue will most likely go more slowly. They found January was the ninth month in a row in which the national price index increased.

"Even in Vancouver, we've gained back everything we lost," Simon Cote, an analyst at the National Bank of Canada said in an interview. "The pace might be slowing a bit, but they are still going up."

Metro Vancouver prices have seen the following trends:

      1. Reached recession low in May 2009, but rose 11.7% between May and Jan/2010
      2. Prices rose 0.9% between December and January, biggest gain amongst 6 major markets
      3. Increases in supply of both new construction and more resale homes available will tend to balance the market for the long term.

Increased mortgage rates will also contribute to this balance. Canada banks increased their posted 5 year rates by .6 of a percent on Monday/Tuesday to 5.85. "For a family with a household income of $70,000, Muir said, this week's bump in five-year rates for buyers seeking five-year terms reduces the final amount they can pay for a home by $35,000."

Source: The Vancouver Sun

VANCOUVER — Canada’s real estate markets should remain heated through the spring, fuelled by generationally low mortgage rates, before settling into “more subdued” conditions as those rates rise, says the latest forecast from Scotia Economics.

Scotia Economics senior economist Adrienne Warren said the last decade saw “the strongest decade of real price appreciation in at least 50 years,” which will require an extended period for the economy to catch up with job creation and wage increases.

“If people were looking back at the last decade thinking that was normal, well it wasn’t normal, it was an exceptional decade,” Warren said in an interview.

Right now, she said, buyers are “bombarded by news headlines saying, and I think they’re correct,” that rates have hit bottom and will go higher, which is “adding a sense of urgency” to the market.

Listings of new properties, however, have not kept pace with this surge in buying, Warren said, and the result is bidding wars for properties that have pushed average prices to test “new highs, both for new and resale homes.”

Warren estimates that nationally, average prices are about 10 to 15 per cent above their underlying “fair value,” with some western markets likely more out of line.

“We haven’t broken it down for specific markets, but I would say there’s probably a little bit of a larger overvaluation in some western markets that had bigger run-ups [in prices],” Warren said, “so that would probably apply to Vancouver.”

After a sharp fall-off in sales and prices during the recession, Warren said Metro Vancouver saw an equally sharp bounce back.

The dip in prices for Vancouver barely shows up in the annualized pricing data Warren cites in her global real estate trends report.

Metro Vancouver showed an average home price of $592,441 in 2009 following the downturn, which was negligibly lower than the $593,767 average price of 2008.

Already in the opening months of 2010, Vancouver’s average price has hit $630,028.

The Metro Vancouver market, Warren said, does tend to retain high prices because of its unique geographic constraints, which makes the region “the least affordable market [in Canada] as well.”

Warren said she expects mortgage rates to remain relatively low and that, so long as the economic recovery continues, Canada will not experience the conditions that would spark a correction of real estate prices.

She forecasts Canada will see a “normal adjustment period,” in which property prices remain relatively flat for a significant period while other aspects of the economy improve.

Warren’s forecast anticipates that Canadians will focus more on paying down debt in the coming years, a period during which a strong Canadian dollar will also restrain the economy.

She also expects the growth in new households to be slower through the coming decade than it was during the previous decade.

Source from the Vancouver Sun.

The heated activity of late 2009 spilled over into Greater Vancouver’s real estate market in January, with 1,923 homes changing hand up 152 % over last year. While inventory showed some improvement, it still posted a 26 % deficit over January 2009 at 10,218 listings. That fact, combined with very healthy demand out of the gate, has created ideal conditions for bidding wars and upward pressure on pricing.

While the market was dominated by first-time buyers during much of 2009, the move-up segment has re-emerged, driving sales from $600,000 to $1 million. With all segments working in tandem, multiple offers are now occurring with frequency across the board. Buyers are aggressive, more than willing to compete. Yet, despite the increased level of competition, most are demonstrating caution, given the economic realities of the still-too-fresh recession and tenuous recovery currently underway.

While there are some exceptions, most homes are selling at list price and under. Existing fundamentals do point to further price growth in the months ahead, especially if the disparity between supply and demand continues to exist. The simple truth remains that for every deal closed in Greater Vancouver, approximately two to five unsuccessful purchasers jump back into the fold. The benchmark value of detached homes increased 19.5 % to $788,499, while condominiums increased 15 % to $385,487, when compared to January 2009. The benchmark price for all residential property types combined is up 17 % to $573,241—nearly one per cent higher than the all-time market peak in May 2008.

The looming Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and threat of interest rate hikes later in the year has added fuel to Vancouver’s already robust real estate market in 2010. Rising confidence is also a considerable factor. Purchasers are more secure in their belief that the worst of the recession is over and the prospects going forward are brighter. Given the framework that’s taken shape, the momentum is expected to continue unabated through the second quarter. Little relief is expected in terms of supply in the short-term. Rising prices may entice potential sellers in coming months, helping to ease the inventory crunch closer to mid-year.

Markets are easing to levels in keeping with the economy.

Real estate sales in January eased off the frenetic pace markets saw in December across British Columbia, the B.C. Real Estate Association reported Thursday.

While overall provincial market in January represented a sea change from the doldrums of early 2009, buyers seem to be coming sated.

"We saw a dramatic rebound in sales since last January, and that pace of sales that we saw in December, and during the last quarter, was unlikely to be sustained through 2010," Cameron Muir, the association's chief economist said in an interview.

January's sales, recorded through the Multiple Listing Service, hit 4,619 units, some 118 per cent more than the same month a year ago, but down about 16 per cent from December.

That slowing from December's hectic pace, Muir said, happened because many home hunters have bought, which lessens the "pent up demand." Other potential buyers, however, have been squeezed out by the rebound in home prices, which have begun to again approach pre-downturn highs.

With sales still elevated, the provincial average price hit $491,571 in January, up 19 per cent from the same month a year ago.

"Mortgage rates are still low," Muir said, so on the basis of monthly payments, "housing is still more affordable than it was at the previous peak in the first quarter of 2008."

However, with less pent-up demand and with home sellers expected to list homes in larger numbers during the coming months, Muir said "we are likely to see much less upward pressure" on prices during the rest of the year.

Carol Frketich, regional economist for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said January's easing in sales compared with December "is right in line with CMHC's forecast."

The high level of sales through the end of 2009, which was driven largely by the rapid decline of mortgage rates to record low levels that made monthly home payments more affordable, were expected to cool as conditions changed.

"What we're seeing now is sales moving lower from high levels back to levels that are more consistent with economic fundamentals," said Frketich, with those economic conditions being a slow recovery from the recession of late 2008 and early 2009.

While unemployment is still higher than it was at the peak, Frketich said the employment market is a "lagging indicator" of economic improvement. Companies do not start hiring again until they are sure business is improving.

And Frketich said other economic conditions, such as retail sales, have shown that the economy is beginning to improve.

Meanwhile, the higher levels of home sales have prompted developers to start work on more new homes, and builders are being rewarded with slight rises in prices.

Statistics Canada released its survey on new home prices Thursday, which showed that Metro Vancouver's new home prices in December increased 0.7 per cent from November. However, prices had still not caught up with where they were in December 2008, remaining 2.2 per cent below that mark.

Nationally, new-home prices were up 0.4 per cent in December compared with November.

Source: the Vancouver Sun

Housing supply and demand reach closer alignment in January.

Diverse selection and favourable interest rates continue to drive demand in the Greater Vancouver housing market.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 1,923 in January 2010, an increase of 152.4 per cent compared to January 2009 when 762 sales were recorded and a 23.5 per cent decline compared to the 2,515 sales recorded in December 2009.

In terms of historical perspective, January ranked as an average month for number of residential housing sales over the past decade, with higher sales in January 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2006.

Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 17.2 per cent to $573,241 from $489,007 in January 2009. This price is 0.8 per cent above the previous high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.

 “Although home prices in the region have largely returned to their previous peaks, we still see a significant number of first-time and move-up buyers in the market, thanks to low interest rates and the diverse range of properties available today,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president-elect said.

“There is also closer alignment between supply and demand in today’s housing market. At 18 per cent, the sales-to-active listings ratio in January is approximately 10 per cent lower than we’ve seen in our market over the last six months,” Moldowan said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,147 in January 2010. This represents a 39.1 per cent increase compared to January 2009 when 3,700 new units were listed, and a 139.1 per cent increase compared to December 2009 when 2,153 properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.

At 10,218, the total number of property listings on the MLS® increased 14 per cent in January compared to last month and declined 26 per cent from this time last year.

“Looking ahead, it’s difficult to know exactly what the Olympic effect will be on our market in February, although I think it’s fair to say it should be a quieter period for home buyers and sellers and so, in fact, may be a good time for motivated buyers to search for properties,” Moldowan said.

In January, sales of detached properties increased 141.4 per cent to 705 from the 292 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2009. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink® Housing Price Index, for detached properties increased 19.5 per cent from January 2009 to $788,499.

Sales of apartment properties in January 2010 increased 146.8 per cent to 891 compared to 361 sales in January 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 15.2 per cent from January 2009 to $385,487.

Attached property sales in January 2010 are up 200 per cent to 327, compared with the 109 sales in January 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 13.4 per cent between January 2009 and 2010 to $482,478.

If you have any question in regards to this report please don't hesitate to contact me.

If there was any question what Woodward’s would do for businesses in the Downtown Eastside, that question has already been resoundingly answered. Businesses, both old and new, say the development has been great.

Even before Woodward’s was finished, the knowledge it was coming was enough to bring in new business, and more customers.

Nuba Restaurant opened in the area in 2003, when Woodward’s was just an empty shell and looked like it would stay that way for a while.

“Seven years ago, this area was really pretty bleak,” owner Victor Bouzide said. “Every other person on the street was pushing pot.”

In the early days, a dead body was found in a dumpster near the restaurant.

But Bouzide knew Nuba’s good Lebanese food would be a hit, especially with students. With the Vancouver Film School nearby, there were lots of them.

“That’s what really prompted me,” said Bouzide, who now has a second location in the city and plans to open a third before the summer. “And I figured [the area] would improve. It couldn’t get much worse than it was.”

It has improved. Last year, Nuba moved from its original 550-square-foot location in the 300 block of West Hastings to its current 3,700-square-foot restaurant a block further east. Rather than serving 100 people a day, it now caters to an average 500, including takeout.

The clientele has changed too, with more well-dressed professionals and office workers in the mix, Bouzide said.

A few years ago, people weren’t willing to come to the restaurant because of its address, he said. Now they are.

Even older establishments are enjoying the renaissance. The Bourbon Pub has been in the same location at 50 Cordova St., a block east of Woodward’s, since 1936. During the day, its cheap beer — $3.50 a pint — attracts the locals, many who live in the hotel above the bar.

Before, people who came into the area headed straight for a particular restaurant or pub, the Bourbon’s general manager Avi Smith said. Now, with the introduction of Woodward’s, there’s a lot more foot traffic.

A lot of the younger residents in the buildings have been coming in as well, looking for a local pub to frequent, Smith said.

In the evenings, the Bourbon has live music or a DJ and that has attracted a student crowd, especially on weekends. This month, the pub started student nights on Tuesdays with no cover charge for students and 1990s music. That’s already taken off, Smith said, and it can only get better with the opening of Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts.

“As soon as they started doing the renovations on the building we started licking our lips and rubbing our hands together. We were so excited,” Smith said.

The addition of Woodward’s has brought in new businesses as well.

Dean Ferguson opened his hair studio, Stuart Dean Salon, on West Cordova, across the street from Woodward’s, a year ago in anticipation of what was coming. Before that he had been in Yaletown, which he said was getting over-saturated with salons.

“So I wanted to go somewhere I knew was up-and-coming and be the first one with my foot in the door,” Ferguson said.

Business has been good from Day One.

“Even before Woodward’s there have been a lot of great clients that have come in, like design people, architects, people like that,” he said.

Now with Woodward’s there is even more street traffic.

“I was busy, but it’s definitely gotten busier,” Ferguson said.

John Neate had been looking for a Gastown location for his JJ Bean coffee shop for some time, and was happy to snag a spot in the Woodward’s development.

With shops on Powell Street, Commercial Drive and Main Street, as well as other locations, JJ Bean considers itself an eastside roaster.

“Some businesses would fear going in there because they’re not familiar with the people in the Downtown Eastside,” Neate said. “[But] we’ve always been really comfortable being on the eastside.”

The biggest draw for the location, though, was the artists, restaurateurs and SFU.

“There are our kind of people there,” Neate said — the people who really appreciate good coffee.

At JJ Bean everything — the grinding and making the coffee — is done by hand, and that means it takes a bit longer than in other coffee shops.

“So the consumer who just wants the caffeine fix is not our customer,” Neate said. “The person that actually notices the difference between good coffee and excellent coffee, that’s our customer.”

The new businesses, including Woodward’s anchor tenants Nesters Market and London Drugs, has attracted one of Canada’s major banks into the area. TD Canada Trust is officially opening a branch in the Woodward’s building today, the only branch in an area better known for payday loan outlets.

Branch manager Spencer Leslie and his staff have made the rounds of the neighbourhood visiting everyone — businesses, employment centres and shelters. The group also plans to offer workshops on saving and other financial strategies to help the local community.

The idea is to complement the community and ensure everyone knows they’re welcome, Leslie said.

To help that along, all the staff at the branch have some tie to the Downtown Eastside.

In Leslie’s case, it’s his grandfather, who used to decorate the windows at Woodward’s at Christmas. Leslie’s office in the corner of the heritage building is surrounded by the windows his grandfather would have worked on. Leslie hinted he planned to give that tradition a comeback next Christmas.

Having a bank branch as part of the development “is a great opportunity,” Leslie said. “Look at the towers above. Look at the amount of people walking down the street. This is a great location.”

“I’m extremely proud to be here,” he added.

source provided by the Vancouver Sun; http://ow.ly/121du