Vancouver Real Estate

Kits, as its known, is one of Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhoods, named after an Indian Chief Khatsahlano of the Squamish tribe, who moved there in the early 1800s to work in the sawmills. Bordered by Burrard, Alma, 12th avenue and the water to the north. Kits Beach has been voted one of the sexiest beaches in the world and used to be know as Greer’s Beach, named after the notorious Irishman Sam Greer, whose daughter was the first white baby to be born in the Cariboo during the gold rush days. She married the first Notary Public in BC and they built Killarney Manor on Cornwall Avenue.The neighbourhood has shops, restaurants, public transportation and a variety of homes. It is popular with the UBC crowd, as it has easy access to the university. In the ’60s it was the home of the hippies and in the ’80s it became the home of the yuppies. No hirise condos in Kits , only mid-rises.

Some Kitsilano History

by Maggie Chandler November 6, 2006 Kitsilano

I decided to have a little fun with video and do a few video blog postings about Kitsilano. Because I’m so very interested in history, I’ve started with Sam Greer, the first owner of the area after the CPR. Here’s a photo of Greer’s Beach just after the turn of the century.

I’m standing around the …

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Flowers at the Market on Yew Street

by Maggie Chandler November 1, 2006 Kitsilano

Whenever I walk down Yew Street it is such a lift to see the flowers for sale outside at the corner market. Rain or shine, they brighten any Kitsilano day.

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Kitsilano Streets Named after Trees – Arbutus Street

by Maggie Chandler October 15, 2006 Kitsilano

Arbutus is a quintessential West Coast tree, and is a most fitting tree name for a street in the Kitsilano neighbourhood. On Arbutus street, just north of Broadway, is the small converted corner store: Arbutus Market. Now a coffee shop, it exemplifies the feeling Vancouverites have come to associate with Kitsilano.

Arbutus Street in Vancouver …

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Kitsilano Stats for August 2006

by Maggie Chandler September 12, 2006 Kitsilano

thought you might be interested to see this graph put out by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, showing the average prices from January 1977 to August 2006. Comparing these empasizes the changes that have gone on in this city over the years. In 1977 Coal Harbour hadn’t even been developed yet, and is …

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Kitsilano Streets Named after Trees – Yew Street

by Maggie Chandler September 8, 2006 Kitsilano

As the season changes, I thought it would be fun to look into the interesting aspects of Kitsilano’s street names: particularly all the streets named for trees. Starting with the Yew, I looked up some tree lore and here’s what I found.

How to recognize a yew tree:
First, it is an evergreen conifer. Green year round. …

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Positive Densification

by Maggie Chandler July 8, 2006 Kitsilano

So many real estate blogs feature statistics.

Although I like to add these from time to time, your best source for these would be to subscribe to my e-zine, or check my website, which has many pages devoted to this data. In this blog, I want to reveal more about Kitsilano, to celebrate the community, and …

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The Character of Kitsilano

by Maggie Chandler June 28, 2006 Kitsilano

Much of the character of Kitsilano is drawn from the historic houses that can be found while walking the tree-lined streets.

As well, the landscaping and gardens of the homes here reveal wonderful examples of West Coast gardening – from Zen to English gardens.

One lovely example of Kitsilano character can be seen on Stephens Street, …

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Kits Market Heats Up Compared to a Year Ago

by Maggie Chandler June 27, 2006 Kitsilano

The Market in Kits has Heated Up.

Comparing the sales of Kits houses and condos between last May, 2005 and May of this year reveals a dramatic increase.
Just look at these figures.

Condos:A year ago, you could buy a kits condo for as low as $195,000. Now it’s up to $225,000. The median price in may ’05 …

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Kitsilano Living

by Maggie Chandler June 26, 2006 Kitsilano

So many people want to live here, aKitsilano is one of Vancouver’s most sought-after neighbourhoods.

There is good reason for this. Not only is it close to downtown, but the beach is so close. In the early days of Vancouver, this beach was used for outdoor camping, and archival photos show lines of tents along the …

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Kitsilano Living

by Maggie Chandler June 26, 2006 Kitsilano

As you can see from the stats in my last posting, Kitsilano is one of Vancouver’s most sought-after neighbourhoods. So many people want to live here, and there is good reason for this. Not only is it close to downtown, but the beach is so close. In the early days of Vancouver, this beach was …

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