An EnerGuide rating shows a standard measure of your home’s energy performance. It shows you (and future buyers) exactly how energy efficient your home is.
The rating is calculated based on standard operation assumptions so that you can compare the energy performance of one house against another.
The home’s energy efficiency level is rated on a scale of 0 to 100. A rating of 0 represents a home with major air leakage, no insulation and extremely high energy consumption.
A rating of 100 represents a house that is airtight, well insulated, sufficiently ventilated and requires no purchased energy on an annual basis (National Resource Canada)
Luckily this home at 1270 Oceanwood in Victoria BC is rated 85 and is a ‘built green platinum’ home – meaning it’s super efficient and available for sale for $895,000. More info here.
Vancouver, BC – June 30, 2011.
The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) released its 2011 Second Quarter Housing Forecast today. BC Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) residential sales are forecast to increase 5 per cent from 74,640 units in 2010 to 78,200 units this year, before increasing a further 3.1 per cent to 80,700 units in 2012.
“Home sales will post some modest gains over the next two years,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “However, positive housing fundamentals like job growth, rising wages and an expanding population base will be somewhat offset by higher borrowing costs over the next eighteen months.”
“Following a decade where unit sales broke all records, consumer demand over the next few years will be relatively moderate,” added Muir. The ten-year BC MLS® residential sales average is 87,000 units. A record 106,300 MLS® residential sales were recorded in 2005.
Chelsea is one of Concert Properties newest concrete and steel condos in beautiful Victoria. Concert is one of Canada’s most decorated developers and this building reflects the developer’s commitment is quality. Chelsea is a low rise building with an intimate collection of only 66 homes, and is located in Fairfield at 999 Burdett.
The building seamlessly integrates with the character of the neighborhood, and is surrounded a beautiful heritage brick wall. The majority of the suites offer 2 bedrooms and a den. This is truly one of Victoria’s most desirable condominiums, and the perfect choice for those looking to downsize and simplify their life. For up to date pricing, and availability in the building please get in touch.
Green building and renovations is an emerging trend in the real estate industry and, in my opinion a very exciting and important one. I wanted to share with you a few interesting statistics about the what it means to be GREEN, and what the benefits are!
1. 62% of Canadians are willing to pay between $5000 and under $20,000 for green features, while 8% of respondents are willing to spend over $20,000 or more of a green home. (Royal Lepage/NAGAB Eco Home Survey)
2. The most popular green modifications that poll respondents already implement in their homes include switching from regular light bulbs to CFL light bulbs (74%). (Royal Lepage/NAGAB Eco Home Survey)
3. Almost 3/4 of Canadians (72%) say that they will look for a green-improved property in their next home purchase, and 63% will be willing to pay more for an environmentally friendly home. (Royal Lepage/NAGAB Eco Home Survey)
Installing renewable energy sources to a residence is very site specific and can be thought of as buying 25 years of energy up-front as opposed to the current pay-as-you-go system we are currently accustomed to. Although there are systems available which allow households to harness sunshine, wind and flowing water ( micro hydro) there are 2 essential elements to consider: On-Grid or Off- Grid?
On-Grid systems allow a house hold to produce it’s own energy with the added advantage of pushing energy back onto the grid. There are 2 kinds of on-grid systems. Grid Intertie without batteries and Grid Intertie with batteries.
Grid Intertie without batteries are the simplest systems. They work just like any other appliance in your home – with the notable exception that they create electricity and push it backwards into the power grid. These systems are extremely scalable and flexible.
Grid Intertie with batteries add storage. These energy systems have reserves that will operate when the grid goes down. They also allow flexibility in terms of buying and selling power at different times of the day (to take advantage of time of use electricity metering).
While the costs to install such systems are still high this will change over time. Many believe the investment now will pay off in the future as energy costs increase. Companies like Energy Alternatives Ltd design, supply or install alternative or complementary power systems tailored to specific sites and clients’ needs.
Check back soon for information on off-grid alternative energy systems.
One of the reasons people decide to go GREEN is to make their home a healthier one. If you’re working to make your home an allergy-friendly home then you may want to consider changing out your carpets with a hypoallergenic floor. Here are a few examples of ‘healthy floors’.
Bamboo
The green alternative to hardwood, bamboo is growing in popularity and dropping in price. Bamboo, only takes three years to mature – most hardwood takes between 50 and 100 years – and it flourishes with few pesticides!
Be careful when choosing your bamboo since some brands are made using formaldehyde, and other brands may emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Check with your installer if using an adhesive to make sure there is no off-gassing. Be sure to ask a supplier for an emission-free bamboo: it is available and beautiful!
Cork
This is another great and green alternative! Bark from the cork oak tree is harvested carefully (Portugal is a major exporter) and there isn’t much damage to the trees themselves. Some of the trees are hundreds of years old! The bark is then fashioned into tiles that are moisture resistant, making it a good choice, even in the kitchen.
Cork comes in a variety of colours and patterns, and it feels soft underfoot and is very attractive!
Natural Linoleum
Natural linoleum doesn’t refer to the vinyl flooring popular in 1950s kitchens. Today, the word has been reclaimed and is used to describe floors created from organic materials that are stylish and allergy-friendly.
Natural linoleum, also known by the brand name Marmoleum, is made from wood flour and bound together with flax and linseed oils to produce an anti-microbial barrier. Marmoleum comes in a variety of patterns and colours. It is durable, lasting about 30 years.
Tiles
There are lots of varieties of tiles including: ceramic, porcelain, slate, glass, even recycled rubber.
Tiles are easily mopped or wiped clean and are very durable. Once consideration is, when installing tiles, it’s important to use a VOC-free silicone sealer on the grout to ensure that it won’t absorb mildew, mould or dirt.
If you have any more questions about local suppliers or installers please get in touch!
Thanks to http://allergicliving.com for helpful facts!
Pemberton Holmes has been providing real estate services in Victoria since 1887. It’s no wonder that traces of the company’s founders are found throughout the community.
An interesting historical side-note the founder of our company J.D. Pemberton and his wife Theresa made some significant donations in their lifetime including the donation of the property used for the Victoria Golf Club. As suchVGC has kindly named the annual service award in honour of the family. Below are a couple of pictures taken from an evening of recognition and celebration enjoyed by approximately 100 Members on Thursday, May 5.
Vincent Holmes, great grandson and Richard Holmes great great grandson were in attendance. Mike Holmes did not attend as he was still worried they might remember him from when he used to sneak on the third tee.
Mr. Keith P. Walker was presented with the first Pemberton Award of Merit. This award recognizes outstanding volunteer service to the Club and its Members.
Keith P Walker with Richard Holmes (left) and Vincent (right) Holmes, great grandson and great great grandson of Joseph D. Pemberton.
It’s easy enough to SAY you’re a green Realtor… but what does that actually mean? In an attempt to avoid ‘green washing’ here are a few of the well defined objectives that I have set for myself to provide some accountability and checks and balances for my personal commitment to go GREEN as a Realtor.
In my Real Estate Practice I am committed to:
1. Marketing GREEN properties
2. Helping Buyers locate GREEN properties
3. Continually educating myself (I’m a member of the National Association of Green Agents and Brokers), and other about the benefits of buying and thinking GREEN
4. Being committed to running an ethical business, that is committed to giving back both locally and internationally.
If you have any more questions about buying, or selling GREEN then please get in touch! Your comments and thought are most appreciated.
In my definition GREEN real estate is energy efficient, water efficient, designed for healthy living, constructed with low impact materials, and is easily accessible to amenities.
There are more than 12 million dwellings in Canada and 17% of all energy used in Canada goes towards operating our homes.
Thermal energy plants use over 63% of our water supplies. So reducing electricity consumption in our homes helps reduce water use.
Buying green is the way of the future, and future proof’s your real estate investment!
Hearing Mayor Dean Fortin address the agents at The Professionals Networking lunch last week was a real treat. As real estate professionals interoffice networking is so important because it allows us to better serve our clients by directly networking their homes listed for sale to dozens of agents. It also gives our buyers a leg up because we’re often first to hear about the hottest listings hitting the market.
In addition to networking at this month’s event, our group was kept abreast of not only real estate activity in Victoria but of what our local officials are doing to make Victoria one of the best places in the world to live.
Among many important topics the mayor discussed how important a vibrant Downtown core is to any major city and highlighted that if the vitality of a city’s downtown was lost that the effects could be devastating and it’s recovery difficult. He cited examples of cities such as Detroit that have taken decades to rebound and restore liveliness to their city centres. To maintain both daytime and nightly patronage of Victoria’s downtown programs like the Clean and Safe project have been successfully implemented and continue to improve.
It truly was great of Mayor Dean Fortin to speak to our group and share his vision for Victoria with us. All of the efforts and developments made by council are too many to list here but more information can be found at www.victoria.ca.
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