Regardless of your  knowledge, here are a few things that you might not know according to 'Readers Digest Canada'.

1.  We like Beer. Canada day and a cold one go together like Bob and Doug Mckenzie. Here in BC, residents guzzle 1.2 million litres of beer over the country's birthday long weekend - and that's just from government run liquor stores.

2. It Make the Perfect Moving Day. As the rest of Canada celebrates with face painting and fireworks, Quebec opts for a mass exodus of apartments. In keeping with a decades-old tradition, most leases in La Belle Province expire on July 1. 

3.  The Test is Tough. In 2010, Canada toughened up its citizenship test with more detailed questions and a higher pass mark. As a result, failure rates jumped from between 4% & 8% to 30%. Here's a sample question - Do you know what year the name 'Canada' first began appearing on maps?  Answer they are looking for is 1547.

4.  Beavers Aren't as Sweet as they Look.  Think Canada's national animal is cute and cuddly? Beavers have been known to attack humans and on some occasions, kill them.

5. We like a good party.  You're more likely to tete Canada's birthday if you're among the seven million citizens whose mother tongue isn't French or English.  There are 200 other languages to choose from.

6.  We've Changed our Minds.  Canadians officially referred to July 1 as Dominion Day until 1982, when 13 sleepy members of parliament voted in the name change at 4pm on a Friday, before declaring the rest of the afternoon a holiday and taking off.

7.  We'll take a Risk.  On Canada Day 2006, three revellers relieved themselve on the National War Memorial. Someone snapped a photo, which caused a national outrage when it was published in the papers. One of the men was charged. After 50 hours of community service, a $200 donation and a public letter of apology, he got a reprieve from the court.

At Keith Vines and Associates, we offer good old fashion service, working with our home buyers and sellers in a relaxed, friendly manner, applying every available tool available to achieve the best possible outcome. Please take a moment to sign up for Keith’s Grapevine – a periodic eletter full of interesting market news, advice and tidbits

It has been reported that the brisk market of March and April are over for the real estate market in Metro Vancouver, and that this temporary decline my last for a while.

The main reason for the slow down is due in part to the expected easing of restrictions brought about by COVID-19.

Real Estate markets typically slow down in the summer, when people travel, but with the easing of restrictions, more travel locally and the promise of travel abroad may slow things down even more for the next couple months.

This may not be great news for sellers, but on the upside, with fewer listings coming on the market, prices shouldn't go down in the line with the decrease in homes being sold.

For the buyers out there, you can perhaps take solace in less competition.

So while that may be what the summer of 2021 will look like, the fall market could be a lot different.

As the borders begin to open, post secondary schools' welcome students back in person, and immigration starting up, demand not seen in the real estate market since pre-COVID could emerge. 

Vancouver is proposing a starting base fee of $45 per year for a new mandatory permit parking scheme for all residential streets in Vancouver.

The permit would be required for residents who park on their street overnight between the hours of 10pm and 7am.

There would be extra fees through an annual polluation charge for new higher polluting vehicles, with a sliding scale that would see all 2022 and older vehicles - all vehicles that people already own today, as well as specialized vehicles for wheelchairs - exempt from the extra fees.

The annual pollution chart, applies to vehicles with a model year of 2023 or newer. Battery electric and other low polluting vehicles such as hybrids would not to have to pay the surcharge, but moderately polluting new vehicles such as most gas powered sport sedans and more efficient small SUV's would pay $500 annually.

High-polluting vehicles such as most gas powered luxury sports cars, large SUV's and full size pick up trucks would pay $1000 annually.

There would also be fees for overnight visitors, who can park anywhere from 10pm to 7am but must pay $3 per night using the PaybyPhone app or at a neighbourhood pay station. No fees will be applied during the daytime.

The City is hoping this will deter future purchases of new higher polluting vehicles, and encourage people who get around by car to consider other modes of transportation.

Currently there are about 150,000 cars parked on Vancouver's residential streets overnight.

A Winnipeg girl is filling the hearts and stomachs of Winnipeggers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gwen, with the help of her mom, Jasmine, who chose not to share their last name, has been spending time in  her Winnipeg neighbourhood handing out free groceries for those who may not be able to make it out to the stores while social distancing.

'We just want to help our neighbours and put a smile on their face,' she said.

Gwen's pantry has a variety of options including canned soup, peanut butter and cookies. The items are being offered for free.

In addition to food, Gwen is also offering some of her artwork for free.

BC consumers often dismiss manufactured homes as a housing option, but the rise of Millenial buyers, BC's runaway housing prices and modern new designs may put Canada's most affordable homes on buyers wish lists this year.

Typical homes in BC manufactured home parks often sell for $250,000 or less, a fraction of the cost of detached houses, which average $893,000 across BC and $1.8 million in Greater Vancouver.

We are now seeing manufactured home park owners introducing bright, contemporary designs that are light years removed from a traditional trailer.

The Big Maple manufactured home park, located near Davis Bay beach on the Sunshine Coast, for example, has set up and sold 22 Click Homes, a locally made house design from Click Modulary Homes, that average about 1,000 square feet with 2 bedrooms.

The modern factory built homes were sold over the past 3 years, but mostly since 2020, at prices starting at $298,000 and are now in the $334,000 range.

This compares with a benchmark Sunshine Coast detached-house price of $838,000 in May, up 43% from a year earlier. Big Maple buyers pay a monthly pad rental fee of $500.

Individual buyers of manufactured homes on a rental pad usually require a 35% downpayment, but the financing, often through credit unions, offer similar mortgage rates, terms and insurance as the traditional housing market.

BC's hotel industry might be finally coming alive again after its most brutal year ever with at least 2 major hotels planned, one in Richmond, and one in Coquitlam.

COVID-19 has proven to be far worse than the 2008/2009 global financial crisis, SARS outbreak in 2003, 9/11 and the Gulf War combined, where two thirds of total hotel rooms across Canada sat empty in 2020.

The hotel occupancy rate in BC has fallen to the 30% range, the lowest ever recorded and the revenue per available room, a key industry metric, has plunged 60% from pre-pandemic levels.

Virtually the only BC hotel properties transacted in the past 12 months have been those bought by government to house the homeless and others in need of emergency housing.

Yet, experts are expecting a robust rebound in the hotel industry post-pandemic.

On June 7, Landa Global Properties announced it plans  a major hotel as a keystone of a giant mixed-use developement on a 3.5 acre site near Richmond's Oval Village waterfront.

The concept is for a 3 tower developement that will include the hotel, retail and residentail homes, with an elaborate clubhouse amenity for hotel guests and residents, with design elements influenced by high-end Asain hotels.

Meanwhile there are also plans for a 150 room hotel, comparable to the Hilton or Marriot, as part of a mixed-ue proposal in Coquitlam Town Centre on Pinetree Way and Lougheed Highway.

If all goes well, both hotels could be open in 2023 or 2024, which will be the first full years of stabilzed demand post-COVID with occupancies approaching pre-pandemic levels.