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Urban living lifestyle and real estate in Vancouver, Downtown and the Waterfront

10/12/2026

More High End Condos Coming to Market

This past week saw the addition of several new condos in the seven figure range. The condo market is soft, so seeing high-end condos come to market in the $1,000,000 plus range makes me admittedly just a wee bit nervous. These high-end units are selling, but why sell now? Is there an outward trend in Downtown? I don't think so, as the luxury apartment market shows strong occupancy figures which point to high demand locally....

This past week saw the addition of several new condos in the seven figure range. The condo market is soft, so seeing high-end condos come to market in the $1,000,000 plus range makes me admittedly …

10/06/2026

Condos have an Advantage during periods of High Rates

I wrote an article a few years back about how condos behave a little differently for loan qualifying than single-family homes or traditional townhomes. Recently interest rates popped back up to nearly 8% and that has stalled some buyers qualifying for homes. With condos the borrower not only has to qualify for principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) but also including the HOA fee....

I wrote an article a few years back about how condos behave a little differently for loan qualifying than single-family homes or traditional townhomes. Recently interest rates popped back up to nea…

09/29/2026

Another Ship Builder at Columbia Shores

Columbia Business Center, Columbia Shores, Vancouver Vancouver has a long history of shipbuilding that dates to the 19th century. Since the end of WWII shipbuilding has not been at the feverish pace provided by Kaiser during the war. However it has continued on ever since at a much more modest pace. For more than 35 years Christensen Shipyards manufactured spectacular luxury yachts some more than 150 feet long....

Columbia Business Center, Columbia Shores, Vancouver Vancouver has a long history of shipbuilding that dates to the 19th century. Since the end of WWII shipbuilding has not been at the feverish pac…

09/21/2026

Condo Activity Picked Up Outside Downtown

Last week saw a pickup in new pendings, closed sales, and some new listings in the area just east of Downtown such as Columbia Shores, Tidewater, and Shorewood. The range was from well over $1 million to as little as $229k. Downtown saw some activity at Heritage Place, Frontier Block and Parkview. Prices are soft and there are still some price reductions showing up each week....

Last week saw a pickup in new pendings, closed sales, and some new listings in the area just east of Downtown such as Columbia Shores, Tidewater, and Shorewood. The range was from well over $1 mill…

09/14/2026

One Way Streets Are Still More Efficient, But Do We Need More Of Them Downtown?

If we wind the clock back to the late 1990's Vancouver's Downtown street grid was a classic urban core grid of one way streets both east and west as well as north and south. Longtime locals will remember the 1990s was a classic example of postwar urban decline. Downtown was not an inviting place to be at all. Mayor Pollard and the city council set upon a major task to transform Downtown back into an urban oasis where people would come from the suburbs to shop and play in the city center....

If we wind the clock back to the late 1990’s Vancouver’s Downtown street grid was a classic urban core grid of one way streets both east and west as well as north and south. Longtime lo…

09/08/2026

Downtown Summer 2026: How Was It?

As we wind down the 2026 Summer season how did Vancouver do this year? The economy is definitely a little less strong this year than in years past so the concern is whether we can maintain a healthy local and regional tourist economy. This past few month Vancouver lit it up with a series of excellent festivals and major events both at the Waterfront and Esther Short Park....

As we wind down the 2026 Summer season how did Vancouver do this year? The economy is definitely a little less strong this year than in years past so the concern is whether we can maintain a health…

08/31/2026

Vancouver Has Opportunities from both the North and the South

Vancouver has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Portland for nearly 200 years. The two towns traded places in the mid 19th century as the center of influence for the region as Hudsons Bay Company packed up and went north to modern day Canada whilst Oregon City flooded present day Portland with fresh new settlers off the Oregon Trail. In recent years Portland's mis-fortunes has led to a significant increase in popularity for Vancouver....

Vancouver has enjoyed a symbiotic relationship with Portland for nearly 200 years. The two towns traded places in the mid 19th century as the center of influence for the region as Hudsons Bay Compa…

08/24/2026

Is Downtown Vancouver Still Growing?

After a full decade of seemingly frantic levels of construction the last twelve years has been almost slow in comparison. Well it has obviously slowed but is Downtown still growing? Today we will take a look at projects in the pipeline and under construction to see if Vancouver's Downtown area is still on the move. Let's start by looking back to 2014 when things started to really perk up....

After a full decade of seemingly frantic levels of construction the last twelve years has been almost slow in comparison. Well it has obviously slowed but is Downtown still growing? Today we will t…

08/17/2026

Parking Woes: Real or Imagined?

After more than six decades stumbling around on this rock, I have found that parking is a universal gripe in almost any Downtown area from small towns to big cities. Parking is like gasoline prices, people whine about them all the time, but parking as a point of contention is perpetual, whereas gas prices tend to fluctuate up and down. When they are low people are happy, when they are high tempers flare....

After more than six decades stumbling around on this rock, I have found that parking is a universal gripe in almost any Downtown area from small towns to big cities. Parking is like gasoline prices…

08/10/2026

Vancouver Jobs Market Outpacing Region: Is the City returning to its Roots?

Vancouver is seeing a softening in jobs just as the nation as a whole is, but compared to the rest of the Metro Area, we seem to be kicking butt and taking names. All data points to Clark County as still healthy and robust but a little softer than the previous few years with Clackamas and Washington counties lagging behind significantly and Multnomah still in a bit of a job recession....

Vancouver is seeing a softening in jobs just as the nation as a whole is, but compared to the rest of the Metro Area, we seem to be kicking butt and taking names. All data points to Clark County as…

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