Live, work and play at Morgan Crossing ›› inside

December 10, 2009

TRICIA LESLIE

Being warm during the B.C. winter usually means bundling up in layers of warm clothes, gloves, toques and thick, cozy winter coats.

But for the many people who don’t own a proper winter overcoat, the holiday season is not necessarily bright.

That’s why the Greater Vancouver Home Builders’ Association has been pitching in to help for more than a dozen years with its Coats for Kids campaign.

An annual initiative that is now in its 14th year, the fundraising effort sees thousands of coats and warm articles of clothing go to the Lower Mainland Christmas Bureau, which distributes the donations accordingly.

Last year, more than 3,000 coats and other items – including brand-new toys – were donated during the campaign, which runs until Dec. 11 this year.

“The goal is always, to do better – to ex-ceed – last year. The need always seems to be there,” says GVHBA CEO Peter Simpson.

“Some people are even bringing in brand-new coats ... we’re getting reports that the

response from the public has been fantastic.”Last Thursday, Simpson says, a local el-

ementary school responded in numbers.A Grade 6 class from

Walnut Road Elemen-tary dropped by with a whopping 239 coats, explaining that they wanted to participate “as part of our studies

related to social responsibility.”“It’s wonderful to see this participation at

such an early age,” Simpson says.“These Grade 6 students – some of whom

likely gave up their old coats – are likely help-

Public pitches in with coatsGVHBA campaign makes the season warmer for many

Greater Vancouver Home Builders’Association marketing co-ordinator Christine Reid (left) and Wendy McNeil, GVHBA director of marketing and education, have their arms full of winter coats, thanks to the community’s gener-osity. The GVHBA’s annual Coats for Kids campaign runs until Dec. 11. Rob Newell photo

Demand in the Greater Vancouver hous-ing market remained well above seasonal norms throughout November, reports the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

That demand has home values edging upward, states an REBGV release.

In the past year, the benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Van-couver increased 12.4 per cent to $557,384 from $495,704 in November 2008. This price, however, remains down 1.9 per cent compared to May 2008, when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.

“This unseasonably high level of demand can be attributed in large part to low interest rates, but it also speaks to the diverse range

of housing options available in Greater Vancouver,” says RE-BGV president Scott Russell.

“Prospective homebuyers today have more options at different price levels than ever before.”

Residential property sales in November posted the third-

highest volume ever recorded in Greater Vancouver for that month, reports the REBGV. Sales in the region totalled 3,083 in November 2009, an increase of 252.7 per cent compared to last November, when 874 sales were recorded.

The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board, which represents Metro Vancouver regions includ-ing Surrey, North Delta, White Rock and Langley, also reports a busier than normal November in the real estate market.

Residential sales for the FVREB increased 200 per cent compared to the same month last year.

“This was the second-busiest November Fraser Valley realtors have seen in 10 years,” says FVREB president Paul Penner.

The predictions are positive for 2010, too.The latest Re/Max Housing Market Out-

look survey for next year forecasts residential real estate sales will likely recover in nearly all major Canadian cities. Greater Vancouver will lead the way, that report says, with an expected 45 per cent increase in sales.

High home demand in local housing

“Prospective homebuyers today have more options at different price levels than ever before.”

CONTINUED ON NEXT PAGE

“The need always seems to be there. Some people are even bringing in brand-new coats.”

2 • New Local Home | December 10, 2009 New Local Home | December 10, 2009 • 3

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WHERE TO LIVEmorgancrossing.ca

A life un-generic. Where your friends can’t wait to visit.

Or your friends are your neighbours. Where shopping, fi tness, dining, and fun aren’t at the end of a long drive, they’re part of your home.

Because where you live should be where you have a life. So don’t settle for boring, demand living. Presentation Centre: Open daily (except Fridays) noon–5pm. Located at 15879–24th Ave, South Surrey, west of 160th St.

This is not an offering for sale. Any such offering may be made only with a disclosure statement. Prices and specifi cations are subject to change. E.&O.E. Sales and marketing by Developed by

ing children their own age. They’re helping the community where they live.”

This year, the GVHBA and 43 member companies are participat-ing in the fundraiser; donations can be dropped off at 58 locations until Dec. 11 (see www.gvhba.org for a complete list of drop-off sites).

Morningstar Homes is one GVHBA member that has partici-pated in Coats for Kids every year since the campaign’s inception.

And this year is no different – people have been dropping by Morningstar’s three coat drop-off locations since the campaign started Nov. 30.

Morningstar president Dale Bar-ron says it’s important to give back to the community in which you live and conduct business.

“It’s nice to be able to do some-thing for the children ... all these coats go to people who need them,” he says.

“It gives you a great feeling.”

Coats can make winter warmer for those in need. Rob Newell photos

Still time to give to a good cause

You take a walk on Sunday morning to the neighbourhood baker, just down the street, who calls you by name. With a loaf of fresh-baked bread in hand, you stop in at your favourite café for a latté, greeting the staff and neighbours you recognize along the way. As you start the short walk home, you pass the Steve Nash Sports Club and plan to drop in for an invigorating workout later – after you’ve enjoyed some of that delicious-smelling bread. Picking up a bouquet of fresh flowers, you head home to enjoy the thick Sunday morning paper with your recent purchases.

This kind of lifestyle – where neighbours know each other and every convenience is nearby – is one of the main reasons homebuyers are attracted to Morgan Crossing, which offers new condominium homes in an urban village setting at Grandview Corners in South Surrey.

“People love the village lifestyle. Everything they need is close by, and there’s the social aspect – we want to provide more social opportunities so that (residents) get to know their neighbours, or get to know the baker at Thrifty’s,” says Fin-gerprint Strategies president Bryan Woolley.

“You can live, work and play here. It’s been a huge hit – all kinds of people are showing inter-est.”

A Larco Investments project, Morgan Cross-ing features 457 homes in a variety of floorplans and sizes, from one-bedroom residences up to three bedrooms and a range of combinations in between. The units are being released in phases; the first homeowners are expected to take oc-cupancy in late December.

The village lifestyle concept has been em-braced by homebuyers, Woolley says, and adds there’s been a steady flow of potential homeown-

ers showing interest in – and purchasing – new Morgan Crossing residences.

Larco Investments built The Village at Park Royal, a West Vancouver retail centre that was so popular, Morgan Crossing was a natural next step, Woolley says.

“The village is not only very cool, it’s conve-nient. People talk about reducing their carbon footprint and getting away from urban sprawl... Morgan Crossing is more in line with what we need to do today,” says Woolley.

From restaurants and cafes to laundry/dry-cleaning and grocery stores, from concerts and movie nights to car club shows, cooking classes at Thrifty Foods and lessons at Golf Town, Morgan Crossing will be complemented by

more than 60 on-site shops and services upon completion.

And that’s another bonus, Woolley notes.Because all of the retail construction is sched-

uled to be completed by next March or April, new residents at Morgan Crossing won’t have to endure months of waiting for building-related noise and mess to clear up, he says. Instead, you have a brand-new community with new, ready-to-live in homes.

“Instead of being on the outside looking in, be on the inside and living out,” says Woolley.

Morgan Crossing homes range in price from $270,000 up to the mid-$500s.

Visit www.morgancrossing.ca for more infor-mation.

CONTINUED FROM PREVIOUS PAGE

Embrace the village lifestyle in South Surrey

Larco Investments’ Morgan Crossing offers new homes and a village-inspired lifestyle in a popular South Surrey neighbourhood.

4 • New Local Home | December 10, 2009

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