Valencia Gains International Recognition

Nov 30, 2010

Courtesy of Michel Cruz of Rimontgo To count on the international scene a city needs a certain...well, stature. Names such as New York, London, Paris and Rome speak for themselves, and are so famous that they promote not just a city but country too. In Spain cities such as Madrid and Barcelona enjoy that kind of status – and Valencia would very much like to join this elite group.

Robert Bateman's waterfront home on Salt Spring Island is for sale...renowned wildlife painter & environmentalist!

Nov 27, 2010 — Liane ("Li") Read, Sea to Sky Real Estate

Here is a gem, two oceanfront adjacent parcels being sold as one unit. The treasured home of Robert Bateman, renowned Canadian wildlife painter and environmentalist. Home was designed and created (mid 1980s) by H. Schubart, who studied with Frank Lloyd Wright, and who moved to Salt Spring from California, in the mid-1960s. An exquisite rendering of the West Coast Contemporary ethic, this beauty enjoys calm, and privacy, and great sun exposures (s/sw/w), and also has a lovely sand and crushed shell cove with driftwood constructed boathouse, for kayak storage. A "natural" property, with dramatic and easy care landscaping. Detached double garage and spacious storage. Home enjoys formal entry/foyer, open plan living/dining (feature stone fireplace), country kitchen with breakfast area, master-sitting, in its own wing (ensuite and walk-in closet), plus children's or guest "wing" (3 bed, full bath, plus family room), reading room/den, expansive storage, wine room, separate laundry. An amazing studio space! Two further guest baths, office. Separate nanny's suite. The plus? Separate studio/workshop, on adjacent title...easy to create a guest space here! A Schubart design, too. In prestigious Reginald Hill, at Salt Spring's special "south end", this terrific family home awaits your pleasure. Enjoy!

Buying undeveloped land is the way to go?

Nov 26, 2010 — Liane ("Li") Read, Sea to Sky Real Estate

I think there's a dream that lives in the back of our brain somewhere, sort of like the box at the back of an overstuffed closet or in an attic...not always front and centre, but lurking there nonetheless. It's the dream of owning a home in a spectacular setting, with a natural world that eases the soul in some way...so much the better if the view is of water, or hills, or mountains....all three would be a true dream! The idea of building one's own home, too, might be something left over from those days when the continent was still being discovered, and arriving at land, creating a space, erecting a structure was the only possible route to survival...it's that frontier concept that still lingers for many of us. It starts with the dream, then the search for the actual land/location, and then endless poring over plan books, magazine write-ups that attract our attention, t.v. offerings, online suggestions. This is when we discover our true selves. Are we log home cocooners, are we colonial traditionalists, are we stark euro-modern? We also discover the great chasm that separates dream and reality...it's called affordability. Dreams are the forerunners of reality, though, and without them we would have no creative progress. This is a good time, in a real estate market trend line, to consider buying undeveloped land. The challenge and the creativity can spark amazing adventures in ownership.

Light...so important, especially in these darker months!

Nov 26, 2010 — Liane ("Li") Read, Sea to Sky Real Estate

Winter sunsets have a different quality to them...the light is "thinner" in some way, in our northerly environs. The sun sets in November around 4 p.m., and in the summer season, in July, it would be setting around 10 p.m. Quite a difference! The conifer forests always look the same, though, so the "vistas" are remarkably unchanged, regardless of the time of year. Less blue, more grey to the palette, though? The sun shimmers through the mist in a more golden glow, a softer hue, and in the summer we get those intense reds blurring down to purple, just before dark. Regardless of the season, it's always uplifting to view a sunset...is this how the Druids felt, at the soltstice moment, back at Stonehenge, when the light returned? I'm glad the holiday season involves decorations, lights festooned here and there, as without all this sparkle and trimming, it would be grey days indeed. Did I tell you that the fibre optic tree is twinkling away in the corner of my office? Light....always important.

Vargas Island...on Vancouver Island's dramatic "west coast"!

Nov 26, 2010 — Liane ("Li") Read, Sea to Sky Real Estate

The west coast of Vancouver Island is a dramatic region. This is an aerial shot of Vargas Island, about a 20 minute boat ride out of Tofino. The 64+ acre waterfront parcel, some of which is visible in this aerial view, enjoys old growth forest, private walking trails, amazing beaches, rocky knolls with vistas "forever"...plus a s/sw/w exposure. Yes, it is for sale.... This is a rain forest environment, and is a very temperate weather area. The mountains behind are the "inner spine" of Vancouver Island, which is a very large "gulf island". The other smaller Gulf Islands, nestled into the east side of Vancouver Island, are in the rain shadow of this much larger island region, and that is why they enjoy more sunshine/less rainfall than many other coastal areas. The protection of Vancouver Island is also the reason why the inner waters of Georgia Strait (historically known as the Salish Sea) are considered prime protected boating waters, some of the best in the world. We are so lucky in this area to be able to catch a ferry and to drive to sensational vistas, often simpjy a day trip away from wherever we live, whether on a smaller Gulf Island or whether on Vancouver Island itself. More information? Call me!

Chancellor Nominee Has Sold Her Connecticut Home

Nov 26, 2010

Courtesy of Christine Haughney of the New York Times As Cathleen P. Black endures scrutiny of her proposed appointment to become New York City’s next schools chancellor, she has one less house to escape from the pressures of her appointment this holiday weekend. The assessor’s office in Bridgewater, Conn. confirmed Tuesday morning that Ms. Black’s antique colonial at 204 Curtis Road sold in recent days for $1.98 million — 15 percent below its $2.35 million asking price. Carolyn Klemm, the real estate broker selling Ms. Black’s house said that she was allowed only to confirm that the house had closed.

Canada-Condominium market heating up-Whistler Mountain Open-Happy US Thanksgiving

Nov 25, 2010 — Ursula Morel, RE/MAX Sea to Sky Real Estate

Canada-Condominium market heating up-Whistler Mountain Open-Happy US Thanksgiving  Condos becoming bigger share of Vancouver's housing sales volume OTTAWA — Condominiums have become a hot sector of the Canadian real estate market, particularly as an option for first-time homebuyers spooked by high prices for single-family homes, says a report released Monday.

Snow? On the famously "wet coast"??? What??????

Nov 24, 2010 — Liane ("Li") Read, Sea to Sky Real Estate

Wow...Nature can surprise us, always! Although Environment Canada, for some weeks, has been forecasting a much colder winter for the Pacific Northwest Coast, and thus snow in the form of precipitation, not rain, this isn't a typical "wet coast" weather pattern. Caught a lot of us off guard.... On Salt Spring and the Southern Gulf Islands, snow arrived this past Friday, plus winds, and the resulting power failures left many islanders "in the dark" for 3 days. Interesting how "connected" we've all become...the virtual world meshing so seamlessly now with our "real" surround. A power outage of 3 to 4 days brings us right back to a yesteryear moment: fireplace sitting to keep warm, book reading by candlelight...milk and juices kept outside, where the Arctic Front was creating -10 C temperatures, just like cool spaces of yore, pre-refrigerators.... After the initial disorientation, with instantaneous immediacy erased along with the power grid, it was surprisingly easy to relax into a different kind of time sense. From always on/no time/always time, it became time on hold/endless time/time to ponder...hmmm...very interesting! Today the power is on again, the Blackberry is recharged, and the email round has begun once more. In the middle of a shift, we don't always notice the societal movements we swim in. When the plug is pulled on the wired world, it's a shock...also a thoughtful moment. Are we just creating Kierkegaard's "busyness" world, with our immediate connectedness? Or are we using this blurring of regionality/burgeoning globalization stream to creatively dream new routes of information sharing? Maybe we should have enforced power failures so we "wake up" to what's really important? And your thoughts are? Always welcome!

Luxury Homes by VAPF to Participate in the Millionaire’s Fair

Nov 22, 2010

Submitted by Kirsty Bryson The latest edition of the world famous Millionaire Fair will take place this following month of December in Amsterdam, Holland. Luxury Homes by VAPF, the luxury real estate company based in Spain, will take part in the exhibition within the “Exclusive Properties” section of the Millionaire Fair. A team of 5 members of the VAPF sales and marketing team will be present at the fair between the 9th and the 13th of December.

Tradewinds Realty Welcomes Denise Beairs to Their Team

Nov 22, 2010

Submitted by Tradewinds Realty, Inc. Denise's approach to real estate is one of integrity and honesty first, with a full dose of enthusiasm and passion. Working with investors of multi-residential properties or finding the discerning investors the perfect dream home has been the main focus of Denise's career!
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