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Wednesday, March 9, 2016 Serving Ladysmith, Chemainus and area
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The Hercules created a splash at the entrance to Ladysmith Harbour recently, unloading 17,000 cubic meters of ‘mixed species’ timber, destined for sorting at Western Forest Product’s Burlieth water sort opposite Ladysmith. The wood was loaded in Gold River, and will eventually be processed at WFP’s Ladysmith and Saltair mills, or made available for local resale. The Ladysmith and Saltair mills are both located in Ladysmith Harbour. The Ladysmith Mill, built in 1967, specializes in small logs; the Saltair Mill, built in 1972, processes multi-species, mid-sized logs and is “capable of filling a diversified order file for high-quality Western Red Cedar, Hemlock and Douglas fir products.” Stay tuned to a future edition of the Chronicle for a story on the Burlieth water sort. Craig Spence
Hot housing market ups Ladysmith values too Craig Spence the chronicle
Red hot real estate markets in Vancouver and Victoria are causing a temperature rise in the Cowichan Valley, too, says the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board (VIREB). VIREB Past President Jason Finlayson said, “We’re definitely moving into a seller’s market here in the spring.” A domino effect is taking place, with home buyers looking outside the hyper-expensive Vancouver market to Victoria, then – when they discover housing prices on the tip of the Island on the rise – farther north.
The benchmark price for a layson said. “This year the buyers single family home in Duncan, at came out of the gate right after $303,800, compared very favor- January.” ably to the same house in Victoria Home sales doubled in at $525,000 in January of this year. Ladysmith this January comWith that kind of a differential pared to 2015, up from 6 to 13. “they’ll make the decision to drive “You’re probably getting more for over the Malahat,” Finlayson you buck in Ladysmith,” he said. said. “They’ll see the price differIsland-wide February saw a 44 ential between Victoria and the per cent increase in single-famCowichan Valley and they will ily home sales, and VIREB says look here and buy.” there are “no signs of the marAdding to the upward pressure ket slowing down.” This Februin Cowichan Valley, and else- ary 407 single family homes sold, where, is low inventory, and ‘pent compared to 258 last February. up demand.’ Another factor in the brisk marNormally home buyers be- ket is B.C.’s strong economy, comgin their searches in the spring. pared to the rest of Canada, said “That’s when you expect your the B.C. Real Estate Association’s activity to start happening,” Fin- chief economist Cameron Muir.
Beyond Your Expectations
“Some of what we’re seeing is pent-up demand spilling over from 2015, which saw record sales,” says Muir. “We’re anticipating that 2016 will be another busy year, but do expect activity to taper off somewhat in the latter half.” VIREB President Margo Hoffman said a new trend has been noted, with young buyers migrating to the Island. “We’re beginning to see some migration from Vancouver that isn’t retirement-focused,” she said. “An interesting development we’re watching is younger professionals who are trading in their homes for a significantly nicer property on Vancouver Is-
land and then commuting to their jobs on the Lower Mainland.” Hoffman said that the VIREB market is firmly in seller’s territory, with limited inventory continuing to be a challenge. She said savvy sellers may want to take advantage of market conditions. “We’re seeing multiple offers in many transactions throughout the board area because there are more buyers than sellers,” said Hoffman. “If you’ve been thinking about selling, it’s a perfect time to do so because there are lots of people who will want your home.” Finlayson concurred, adding that he has experienced multiple sales offers.
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