Fairview Slopes is the new ‘in’ place with the arrival of Boxwood Green townhomes. GERRY KAHRMANN — THE PROVINCE

CREDIT: Gerry Kahrmann, The Province Spa time: master bath at Boxwood Green townhome offers serenity in the heart of the city.

CREDIT: Gerry Kahrmann, The Province Boxwood Green from top left: master bedroom; kitchen; den and bike room or wine cellar (above).

Fairview Slopes: so tickety-boo when the development of the slope started, spun out of the excitement of the early days of Granville Island and False Creek. So troubled when the leaky-condo crisis hit, along with so many other Lower Mainland neighbourhoods and now dedicated to salvaging its reputation and rising above the past.

Projects like Boxwood Green are part of the new Fairview, in every sense of the word, according to marketer Ken Leong. Subscribing to the building codes that have been in place for a reassuring number of years, these cool, sophisticated boutique townhomes are aesthetically more than alluring as well. The smart design and beautiful finishings go into creating what are effectively airy retreats. Quite an achievement in a district so populated that it’s clearly a favourite Buster’s Towing haunt — the trucks prowl routinely and take no prisoners.

Smart, then, for Boxwood Green to provide double secured garages for its townhomes, with direct access into the lower level. Homeowners here will likely feel sequestered from the madding crowd as soon as the first set of gates closes behind the car. Whew! Made it again.

Turn off the engine, get the groceries and come on up. Way up — these townhomes have four levels counting the garage level. In the display home, enter (I guess this would be the basement) to a neat study and sweet three-piece bath with shower and pedestal sink. The bike-storage area has been converted to a wine cellar, but this little flex room could serve a lot of purposes.

Up the first flight to the official front door level — and here’s a living space to really love. A sleek open floor plan with nine-foot ceilings and midships kitchen: long, narrow plumbed island, eating bar at one end, with the rest of the kitchen running parallel along the wall. Midships? The living room, with bay window and electric fireplace, opens through French doors onto a private patio and is at one end of the kitchen. The dining area is at the other. Granite counters, stainless and manufactured hardwood are standard. Entertaining is probably standard, too.

Of course some people would not love this much openness: for them, the more conventional floor plans of the mews townhouses behind, with kitchens set to the back.

Upstairs again (technically the second floor) to two bedrooms, here designated as kids’ room and media room, plus bathroom with tub and yet another elegant pedestal sink.

But the piece de resistance really is the master suite at the top, with deck and the best ensuite we’ve seen since somebody made over a bathroom on HGTV a few weeks ago. Deep soaker tub and glass surround shower, water closet, stone counters, undermount sink, porcelain tile floors, lots of natural light, huge wall mirror — voila. A spa.

Location-wise Boxwood Green is more than enviable. Across the street from Charleson Park in False Creek and a third of the way from Granville Island to the future Olympic Village, the development is on a direct route downtown, and just a few feet from the Laurel overpass that leads to the seawall and Market. Fairview, positioned close to South Granville shops and Broadway’s countless amenities, is also littered with useful little mini-malls of all kinds that have sprung up to serve the community, which leads to another great touch, right next to Boxwood Green’s front door. Yes, it’s a Starbucks you could call your own.

Spa time: master bath at Boxwood Green townhome offers serenity in the heart of the city. GERRY KAHRMANN — THE PROVINCE

Boxwood Green from top left: master bedroom; kitchen; den (above) and bike room or wine cellar (right). GERRY KAHRMANN — THE PROVINCE

FAST FACTS

WHAT: Boxwood Green is 24 townhomes on Fairview Slopes in Vancouver.

WHERE: 834 West 6th Ave., Vancouver.

DEVELOPED BY: Larc Developments.

SIZES: Two-bedroom to three-bedroom-andden townhomes, 1,174 sq. ft.-1,589 sq. ft.

PRICES: $464,900-$523, 500 and up.

OPEN: Noon to 5 p.m. daily except Friday, 834 6th Ave., Vancouver, 604-876-2366.

© The Vancouver Province 2004

The province’s buoyant home sale market has become a major multi billion-dollar dynamo in the provincial economy, the British Columbia Real Estate Association said yesterday.

It said home sales have generated an estimated $9.4 billion in related spending and created nearly 78,600 jobs since 2001.

The study was prepared by the Economic Planning Group and it estimates the economic impacts triggered by the transactions surrounding a typical residential Multiple Listing Service sale in 2003, including legal fees, property appraisals, moving expenses, utility connections, home renovations, furniture and appliance purchases and taxes.

Gordon Maroney, BCREA president, said the numbers clearly illustrate of just how important the sector is to the province’s economy.

“Home sales don’t just reflect consumer confidence or low mortgage rates, they create jobs and generate spending in other areas, [such as] home improvement furniture sales, for other professionals,” he said.

The study estimates every house that sells through the MLS generates $28,000 in related spending and contributes over $12,500 to the B.C. GDP, produce one quarter of a job and generates $5,400 in tax revenue.

Despite a general slowing in housing sales, B.C. is going to have another record year.

To date 90,456 housing units worth $26.1 billion have changed hands already smashing through the $24.1 billion in sales last year.

That performance, says Maroney, represents the creation of 21,000 jobs and the generation of an addition of $2.5 billion in spending.

© The Vancouver Province 2004

OTTAWA — The average selling price of a home in Vancouver shot up to $383,000 in November confirming the city’s status as Canada’s priciest real estate market, a new report shows.

The Canadian Real Estate Association reported Wednesday that while Vancouver is the most expensive, other markets appear to be just as hot with Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Hamilton and Ottawa having surpassed all previous sales records.

Nationally, the average selling price for an existing home hit $249,847 in November and a recent decline in mortgage interest rates will help keep the hot market from cooling off too much in the coming year, said J.P. Morgan Canada economist Ted Carmichael.

Carmichael noted that the benchmark one-year rate fell this month to 4.8 from 5.0 and the five-year to 6.05 from 6.5.

And there are signs that Vancouver‘s market is cooling despite the increase in average house-resale price, said Tsur Somerville, director of the Centre of Urban Economics and Real Estate at the University of B.C.‘s Sauder School of Business.

Somerville said Vancouver Multiple Listing Service-recorded resales dropped 16 per cent while the number of listings increased by 9.4 per cent.

“These are consistent with a weakening of the market, but in the case of Vancouver, we can translate that into achieving an equilibrium stability,” Somerville said.

“Because what has happened in the last two years [in Vancouver] is not a stable market.”

He added that sales numbers are a better gauge of what the market is doing because average prices can be influenced by the types of housing being sold in a given month.

“If 10 big west-side homes sold, and last month 10 smaller, tear-down sold, you would get a big price increase, but that wouldn’t be reflective of what is necessarily happening,” Somerville said.

After adjusting for seasonal ups and downs, sales of existing homes rose 1.4 per cent in November from October to 25,558, the highest level on record for the month of November. Sales so far this year were up 2.6 per cent over a year earlier.

While the number of homes up for sale also reached a high for the month, new listings were down from October, which when combined with the increase in sales, caused housing markets to get tighter, adding to price pressures.

The average price paid for a home last month was 6.2 per cent higher than a year earlier, and more than 20 per cent higher in a few cities, including Ottawa and Sudbury, Ont.

“Dollar volume, unit sales and average price remain on track to set a new annual record,” said real estate association chief executive officer Pierre Beauchamp.

And the housing market should remain strong into 2005 now that the Bank of Canada’s plan to raise interest rates further has been suspended, added association economist Gregory Klump.

“The bank should keep interest rates steady until at least the spring, taking its time to gauge the impact on the economy and job growth from the rapid rise in the Canada-U.S. currency exchange rate,” Klump said.

However, a lot of pent-up demand for homes has already been released as former renters are now homeowners, he said, predicting a more balanced market next year with more moderate price increases of three to five per cent.

RISING PRICES

Greater Vancouver remain’s Canada‘s most expensive real estate market, but others are also on the rise. Here’s a list of average selling prices and percentage change from a year ago.

Greater Vancouver

$383,343: 8.4%

Calgary

$229,114: 3.5%

Edmonton

$181,630: 8.7%

Montreal

$200,837: 11.7%

Ottawa

$268,772: 20.9%

Saskatoon

$139,169: 14.6%

Toronto

$318,837: 5.7%

Winnipeg

$124,317: 10.8%

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

CREDIT: Associated Press Files Young people in the Lower Mainland are showing more readiness to take the home-ownership plunge, a survey suggests.

If you want to find out about the needs and expectations of first-time home buyers, just ask them.

In fact, we at the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association have been doing just that for the past 10 years.

We recently examined this year’s responses, from 240 young people, all of whom were actively searching for their first homes.

Sure, some responses are predictable: Younger buyers believe today, as they believed in 1993, that the major obstacles preventing them from buying their first homes are high prices and having to scrape up enough cash for down payments.

This year, however, the positives outpace the negatives.

There appears to be a renewed optimism and confidence among young people eager to purchase a home. And forget about waiting for Mr. Right, more single women are buying homes alone.

If this year’s survey results are an indication, most potential first-time home buyers in the Lower Mainland are:

– 25 to 34 years old.

– Currently renting, and not living with their parents.

– Planning to purchase a home with a spouse or partner within a year.

– Prefer a two- or three-bedroom townhouse or low-rise condo sized between 1,000 and 1,800 square feet.

Additionally:

– Two-thirds of them expect to pay more than $200,000.

– Half indicated they would use up to $20,000 in RRSP funds for their down payments.

Some other findings follow. I added my own observations after each survey statistic.

– 64 per cent of respondents cited high housing costs as the major obstacle preventing them from buying their first home. Twenty-nine per cent said an insufficient down payment was the major obstacle.

As expected, these two impediments placed one-two. And first-time buyers likely aren’t doing any high-fives at the news that Vancouver just reached an average home price of $300,000. That said, many builders are offering well-designed homes priced far less than that average.

– 67 per cent of respondents currently rent accommodation and 17 per cent reside with parents.

With low mortgage rates, many renters realize that trading rent cheques for mortgage payments makes sense. Others will vacate the comfy family nest. For both groups, this is a happy milestone.

– 68 per cent will be purchasing their first home with a spouse or partner. Twenty-six per cent said they will be buying their first home alone.

Married or common-law, or simply two friends — mingles — pooling their resources as they would with a rental apartment, couples are taking the homeownership plunge. One-quarter of the respondents are going it alone, and half of this solo group are women.

– 37 per cent said they plan to buy within six months, while 46 per cent indicated they would buy within one year. Ten per cent said they plan to buy within the next two to three years.

A stated fear that both housing prices and interest rates might rise likely contributes to a greater sense of urgency among survey respondents than was expressed by respondents in previous years.

– Fourteen per cent said they plan to purchase a detached home; 27 per cent, a townhome; 29 per cent, a lowrise apartment; and 13 per cent a highrise apartment. The rest were undecided.

No surprise here. These are savvy folks who know what housing type they can afford. Many respondents realize that a single-family home will, in all likelihood, be their second or third step, not the first one. Ground-oriented housing, however, seems to be the clear preference.

– Four per cent said their maximum purchase price would be less than $125,000; seven per cent said $125,000-$149,999; 13 per cent, $150,000-$174,999; 14 per cent, $175,000-$199,999; 25 per cent, $200,000-$249,999; and 36 per cent, more than $250,000.

A sign of the times. This is the first survey in 10 years where one-third of the respondents said their maximum price would be more than $250,000. Two-thirds say their max is over $200,000.

– Four per cent said they have less than five per cent for a down payment; 29 per cent said 5 per cent; 47 per cent, more than five per cent but less than 25 per cent; and 19 per cent, more than 25 per cent.

This refutes the assumption that most first-time buyers opt for five-per-cent down. Nearly 30 per cent are indeed choosing that percentage, but two-thirds say they have more to plunk down, thanks perhaps to generous parents. The five to 25 per cent option on the survey is too broad a spread. In next year’s survey we will add threshold options at 10, 15 and 20 per cent.

– 51 per cent said they would use RRSPs as part of their down payment; 30 per cent indicated they will use $20,000 in RRSP funds for their down payment.

Go to the head of the class, kids. There are great benefits to using RRSPs. The maximum is $20,000 per person, and it can be repaid, either as a lump sum or installments over 15 years.

– 10 per cent said they will likely buy a home smaller than 800 sq. ft., 14 per cent said 800-999 sq. ft., 13 per cent said 1,000-1,199 sq. ft., 17 per cent said 1,200-1,499 sq. ft., 21 per cent said 1,500-1,799 sq. ft., 12 per cent said 1,800-1,999 sq. ft. and nine per cent said more than 2,000 sq. ft.

The responses here were all over the map. Expectations, however, are reasonable as respondents know they don’t want or can’t use more than 2,000 sq. ft. One young, active couple told me they couldn’t see themselves cleaning, heating, furnishing and maintaining a 2,000+ sq. ft. home.

– 13 per cent said they need only one bedroom, 40 per cent said two bedrooms, 39 per cent said three bedrooms and 5 per cent said they want a four-bedroom home.

The last few years the responses to this question have been almost identical. Have you noticed that many third bedrooms in display homes are furnished and equipped to represent a home office?

– There was no clear preference for location, although Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby and Langley were mentioned most.

There are many choices of house types and prices throughout the Lower Mainland. You choose.

– 93 per cent said it is important that their new home be protected by home warranty insurance.

The seven per cent of respondents who said it was not important should give their heads a shake. New home buyers in B.C. are protected by the most comprehensive warranty coverage in North America. It is interesting to note, however, that a lack of consumer confidence wasn’t even on the respondents’ radar screens. They all looked forward to owning their own homes.

– 12 per cent of survey respondents were under 25, 45 per cent were between the ages of 25-34, 24 per cent were 35-44, nine per cent were 45-54 and two per cent were over 55.

Oh, to be young again. No revelation here with the weight in the 25-34 age group. But, some of the respondents were single-again women in their 50s. When they bought their first homes, the husbands handled the details. Now they are buying their first homes alone. A re-start if you will.

– Features most desirable to respondents include energy-efficient homes, healthy indoor air, secondary suite and flex/adaptable design.

Many of the respondents belong to the blue-box generation. They are concerned with energy conservation, and healthy home design and construction. Also, they view secondary suites as potential mortgage helpers. The issue of secondary suites is hotly debated in many municipalities.

– 92 per cent of respondents said they consider the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association a credible source of housing information, two per cent said they did not, six per cent did not answer the question.

Great answer, except from the two per cent who obviously were in a nasty mood. Can’t please them all. Leaving the best to last, there’s a wealth of housing information on our website — www.gvhba.org.

Peter Simpson is chief executive officer of the home builders’ association.
His email: [email protected]

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

CREDIT: Associated Press Files Young people in the Lower Mainland are showing more readiness to take the home-ownership plunge, a survey suggests.

If you want to find out about the needs and expectations of first-time home buyers, just ask them.

In fact, we at the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association have been doing just that for the past 10 years.

We recently examined this year’s responses, from 240 young people, all of whom were actively searching for their first homes.

Sure, some responses are predictable: Younger buyers believe today, as they believed in 1993, that the major obstacles preventing them from buying their first homes are high prices and having to scrape up enough cash for down payments.

This year, however, the positives outpace the negatives.

There appears to be a renewed optimism and confidence among young people eager to purchase a home. And forget about waiting for Mr. Right, more single women are buying homes alone.

If this year’s survey results are an indication, most potential first-time home buyers in the Lower Mainland are:

– 25 to 34 years old.

– Currently renting, and not living with their parents.

– Planning to purchase a home with a spouse or partner within a year.

– Prefer a two- or three-bedroom townhouse or low-rise condo sized between 1,000 and 1,800 square feet.

Additionally:

– Two-thirds of them expect to pay more than $200,000.

– Half indicated they would use up to $20,000 in RRSP funds for their down payments.

Some other findings follow. I added my own observations after each survey statistic.

– 64 per cent of respondents cited high housing costs as the major obstacle preventing them from buying their first home. Twenty-nine per cent said an insufficient down payment was the major obstacle.

As expected, these two impediments placed one-two. And first-time buyers likely aren’t doing any high-fives at the news that Vancouver just reached an average home price of $300,000. That said, many builders are offering well-designed homes priced far less than that average.

– 67 per cent of respondents currently rent accommodation and 17 per cent reside with parents.

With low mortgage rates, many renters realize that trading rent cheques for mortgage payments makes sense. Others will vacate the comfy family nest. For both groups, this is a happy milestone.

– 68 per cent will be purchasing their first home with a spouse or partner. Twenty-six per cent said they will be buying their first home alone.

Married or common-law, or simply two friends — mingles — pooling their resources as they would with a rental apartment, couples are taking the homeownership plunge. One-quarter of the respondents are going it alone, and half of this solo group are women.

– 37 per cent said they plan to buy within six months, while 46 per cent indicated they would buy within one year. Ten per cent said they plan to buy within the next two to three years.

A stated fear that both housing prices and interest rates might rise likely contributes to a greater sense of urgency among survey respondents than was expressed by respondents in previous years.

– Fourteen per cent said they plan to purchase a detached home; 27 per cent, a townhome; 29 per cent, a lowrise apartment; and 13 per cent a highrise apartment. The rest were undecided.

No surprise here. These are savvy folks who know what housing type they can afford. Many respondents realize that a single-family home will, in all likelihood, be their second or third step, not the first one. Ground-oriented housing, however, seems to be the clear preference.

– Four per cent said their maximum purchase price would be less than $125,000; seven per cent said $125,000-$149,999; 13 per cent, $150,000-$174,999; 14 per cent, $175,000-$199,999; 25 per cent, $200,000-$249,999; and 36 per cent, more than $250,000.

A sign of the times. This is the first survey in 10 years where one-third of the respondents said their maximum price would be more than $250,000. Two-thirds say their max is over $200,000.

– Four per cent said they have less than five per cent for a down payment; 29 per cent said 5 per cent; 47 per cent, more than five per cent but less than 25 per cent; and 19 per cent, more than 25 per cent.

This refutes the assumption that most first-time buyers opt for five-per-cent down. Nearly 30 per cent are indeed choosing that percentage, but two-thirds say they have more to plunk down, thanks perhaps to generous parents. The five to 25 per cent option on the survey is too broad a spread. In next year’s survey we will add threshold options at 10, 15 and 20 per cent.

– 51 per cent said they would use RRSPs as part of their down payment; 30 per cent indicated they will use $20,000 in RRSP funds for their down payment.

Go to the head of the class, kids. There are great benefits to using RRSPs. The maximum is $20,000 per person, and it can be repaid, either as a lump sum or installments over 15 years.

– 10 per cent said they will likely buy a home smaller than 800 sq. ft., 14 per cent said 800-999 sq. ft., 13 per cent said 1,000-1,199 sq. ft., 17 per cent said 1,200-1,499 sq. ft., 21 per cent said 1,500-1,799 sq. ft., 12 per cent said 1,800-1,999 sq. ft. and nine per cent said more than 2,000 sq. ft.

The responses here were all over the map. Expectations, however, are reasonable as respondents know they don’t want or can’t use more than 2,000 sq. ft. One young, active couple told me they couldn’t see themselves cleaning, heating, furnishing and maintaining a 2,000+ sq. ft. home.

– 13 per cent said they need only one bedroom, 40 per cent said two bedrooms, 39 per cent said three bedrooms and 5 per cent said they want a four-bedroom home.

The last few years the responses to this question have been almost identical. Have you noticed that many third bedrooms in display homes are furnished and equipped to represent a home office?

– There was no clear preference for location, although Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby and Langley were mentioned most.

There are many choices of house types and prices throughout the Lower Mainland. You choose.

– 93 per cent said it is important that their new home be protected by home warranty insurance.

The seven per cent of respondents who said it was not important should give their heads a shake. New home buyers in B.C. are protected by the most comprehensive warranty coverage in North America. It is interesting to note, however, that a lack of consumer confidence wasn’t even on the respondents’ radar screens. They all looked forward to owning their own homes.

– 12 per cent of survey respondents were under 25, 45 per cent were between the ages of 25-34, 24 per cent were 35-44, nine per cent were 45-54 and two per cent were over 55.

Oh, to be young again. No revelation here with the weight in the 25-34 age group. But, some of the respondents were single-again women in their 50s. When they bought their first homes, the husbands handled the details. Now they are buying their first homes alone. A re-start if you will.

– Features most desirable to respondents include energy-efficient homes, healthy indoor air, secondary suite and flex/adaptable design.

Many of the respondents belong to the blue-box generation. They are concerned with energy conservation, and healthy home design and construction. Also, they view secondary suites as potential mortgage helpers. The issue of secondary suites is hotly debated in many municipalities.

– 92 per cent of respondents said they consider the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association a credible source of housing information, two per cent said they did not, six per cent did not answer the question.

Great answer, except from the two per cent who obviously were in a nasty mood. Can’t please them all. Leaving the best to last, there’s a wealth of housing information on our website — www.gvhba.org.

Peter Simpson is chief executive officer of the home builders’ association.
His email: [email protected]

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

The ‘clean rectilinear lines’ of the Folio building (below) are repeated by design in the presentation centre

A ‘green’ bathroom (like this one in the Folio presentation centre) conserves water and uses natural, and not synthetic, materials This two-bedroom apartment is available on three levels and, best of all, pool side.

With the Vancouver School of Theology’s Iona Building above and ocean and mountain below and beyond, Folio is singularly situated to inspire big questions about how and where we live, if not commensurate answers.

If, for example, community or neighbourhood are no longer so obviously bound by values informed by ethnicity and religion or income and vocation, might neighbourhood values informed by our relationship with the natural world be a substitute? Folio asks.

Can we on the West Coast ever champion our interiors for their equivalencies to the natural legacy beyond our exteriors?

The University of B.C. project is a social interrogative because you (collectively and figuratively) asked Intracorp Development Ltd. for it.

More exactly some of you (collectively and figuratively) asked Intracorp for an opportunity to make a profession of your concerns about the length and width and depth of your environmental footfall and of your commitments to ameliorating your footfall.

“People are asking our people, at our various locations [projects] around the Lower Mainland, ‘what’s the recycling program here,’ ‘what kinds of material are you using?’ They never used to ask about low-emission paint, but they do now,” Intracorp’s Don Forsgren says of the company’s decision to introduce some components of ”green” living at Folio.

“Those are the kinds of questions that get posed to our sales people and, back in the office, get posed to us.”

So . . .

The toilet technology will be an advance on the ultra-light flush toilet. A Folio toilet will be dual flush, with the heavier flush removing solid waste and the lighter flush liquid waste.

Kohler Co., the supplier of the dual-flush Intracorp will install in Folio, says its dual-flush can save 6,000 gallons of water annually.

The Folio pond will store rainwater for watering the grounds.

And . . .

The grounds will be watered by rainwater collected off the roof of the Folio building and stored in a reflecting pond that is the building’s centrepiece . . .

Further, the grounds will be stocked with drought-tolerant plants.

”We’ve done calculations that suggest we won’t be drawing on the municipal system [for summer watering],” Forsgren says.

And . . .

Recycling will be expedited by built-in sorting bins in each kitchen and a collection station in the parking garage.

And . . .

The garage will include two recharging stations for electric cars.

And not least for being last (in a list that the sales staff could easily add to) . . .

The paints used and carpets installed will emit low(er) levels of organic compounds.

Folio is the fourth ”chapter” in a ”book” Intracorp is ”writing” at the intersection of Chancellor Boulevard and Wesbrook Mall and calls Chancellor Place.

Chancellor House was the opening chapter; Argyll House and Argyll House East, the second and third chapters.

The university and four of its theological schools contributed to the Chancellor Place ”plot” with the three-year-old ”Theological Neighbourhood Plan.”

The plan anticipates the Iona Building and the chapels of St. Andrew’s and St. Mark’s and the Chapel of the Epiphany will anchor a neighbourhood of up to 625 new homes constructed over 15 years.

Folio will consist of 58 residences over four levels, 53 apartment homes and five townhouses. It is not its predecessors by design.

“Part of the positioning of Folio is that the product is about 20-per-cent cheaper than at Argyll House,” Forsgren reports, a decision Intracorp hopes will permit more UBC employees to buy at Chancellor Place.

“We weren’t capturing the UBC buyer, the person who works on campus, because the product at Argyll really is targeted to people selling houses on the west side and moving here [to Chancellor Place],” he says. ”A lot of people came and said, ‘we really like this neighbourhood, it’s authentically UBC, it feels like a campus should. A lot of people said, ‘this is where we want to be, professors, people in the hospital, but I can’t afford it.’ So we addressed that by providing product they can afford.”

The apartment houses start at less than $259,000. Over-all, 50 per cent of the Folio residences are available for less than $400,000 and 80 per cent for less than $450,000, Forsgren says.

People who might be attracted to Folio because of its green attributes have been labelled the ”Cultural Creatives.”

They number about 140 million people in Europe and North America, according to the cohort’s creators, sociologist Paul Ray and psychologist Sherry Ruth Anderson.

”Cultural Creatives care deeply about ecology and saving the planet, about relationships, peace, social justice, and about self actualization, spirituality and self-expression,” reads an advertisement for their book, The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World.

”Surprisingly, Cultural Creatives are both inner-directed and socially concerned, they’re activists, volunteers and contributors to good causes more than other Americans.

”However, because they’ve been so invisible in American life, Cultural Creatives themselves are astonished to find out how many share both their values and their way of life.”

Folio

Presentation centre: 1716 Theology Mall (at Chancellor Boulevard), University of B.C.

Hours: Noon to 5 p.m., Saturday to Thursday

Telephone: 604-228-8180

Web: www.folioliving.com

On offer: One bedroom apartment, from $258,900; one bedroom + den, from $312,900; two bedrooms, from $396,900; two bedroom + den, from $436,900. Penthouses start at $815,900.

Developer: Intracorp Development Ltd.

Architect: Ramsay Worden

Warranty: Saint Paul Guarantee

MAGAZINE CHAMPIONS ‘NATURAL LIVING’

The owner of the five-year-old Natural Home magazine, self-described as a journal for “Cultural Creatives,” made a name-change announcement this week that speaks loudly about the eco-savvy home-buyer.

As of the March/April issue, the magazine will be called Natural Home & Garden.

“Whether the tag is ‘eco-friendly,’ ‘organic,’ or ‘green,’ natural living is going mainstream in a big way,” the announcement from Interweave Press reads. “And, Natural Home & Garden is the magazine that understands that people are striving to live healthy, balanced and natural lifestyles — all of which start at home.

“Five years ago, this magazine started with a mission to help concerned citizens reduce the footprint they left on this earth. We edited for a small market of eco-friendly consumers, giving them a strong focus on the hows and whys of sustainable housing.

“Now with the growth of interest in natural living in the marketplace, Natural Home & Garden can capitalize on these trends . . . .”

Ran with fact box “Folio” and “Magazine Champions ‘Natural Living'”, which has been appended to the end of the story. Also See: Multi-generation, detached living in Langley: G4

© The Vancouver Sun 2004

PRINCE GEORGE – Housing starts are up markedly in Prince George compared to last year, according to Canada and Mortgage Housing Corp. statistics released on Wednesday.

During the first 11 months of 2004, there were 165 starts on single detached houses, an increase of 75.5 per cent compared to the 94 recorded between Jan. 1 and Nov. 30 last year.

In addition, work has started on 14 multiple-housing units so far this year, while there were none during the same period in 2003.

Work started on 12 single-family homes last month, up from just seven during November 2003.

“The area is doing quite well right now,” said corporation market analyst Christie Butchart. “There are some pretty strong market conditions.”

In total, there have been 179 housing starts in all categories in the Prince George area so far in 2004, an increase of 90.4 per cent compared to the same period in 2003.

© The Vancouver Sun 2004