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May Rice Roll & Congee

May Rice Roll & Congee – There has been a surge of Cantonese comfort food rising back into the spotlight. The two items of comfort are rice roll and congee. Making some delicious rice roll is no feat. You need to be able to have the right consistency in order for the roll to hold up the filling inside. I love rice roll because it’s so silky and a soft chew that is irresistibly good. So when a IG reel came onto my feed about this place – I had to try it. I decided on the shrimp rice roll and the congee fish bites. The shrimp was a generous size with a nice crunch chew texture combined with the silky and soft subtle rice roll enveloping it made it so enjoyable to eat. The sweet soy sauce added the right sweet and savory taste that I could eat it up in one gulp. The congee was pipping hot! So I had to be extra patient to wait for it to cool down. The congee was nice and smooth and silky – not the thick version. I will say – it’s best to have it hot because once it gets cold – it gets very watery and the rice gets sinked down to the bottom and you’re left with more water on top. 
@foodblogprec

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Pho Net Viet

Pho Net Viet A modern designed restaurant with a large selection of standard noodles and rice but also have a great selection of items for the adventurous eaters. I had to try the bun rieu – the crab tomato noodle soup. Hands down it was so flavourful and on point on having legit crab meat to boost the taste. I enjoyed the flavours also – I did wish they added more crab/pork balls. The grilled sliced beef and chicken com – the rice dish. The meat was dry and overdone so I was disappointed. I would consider trying the soup again but would be more reserved wanting to try the rice dishes.
@foodblogprec

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Highlights From the Real Estate Board July 2023

Home prices across all home types in Metro Vancouver1 rose again in July, as strong sales figures continue to push up against low levels of housing inventory in the region.

“While sales remain about 15 per cent below the ten-year average, they are also up about 30 per cent year-over-year, which is not insignificant. Looking under the hood of these figures, it’s easy to see why sales are posting such a large year-over-year percentage increase. Last July marked the point when the Bank of Canada announced their ‘super-sized’ increase to the policy rate of one full per cent, catching buyers and sellers off guard, and putting a chill on market activity at that time.”

“What’s interesting to see in the current market environment is that, while the Bank of Canada rate hike this July was only a quarter of a per cent, mortgage rates are now at the highest levels we’ve seen in Canada in over ten years,” Lis said. “Yet despite borrowing costs being even higher than last July, sales activity surpassed the levels we saw last year, which I think says a lot about the strength of demand in our market and buyers’ ability to adapt to and qualify for higher borrowing costs.”

Sales of detached homes in July 2023 reached 681, a 28.7 per cent increase from the 529 detached sales in July 2022. The benchmark price for a detached home is $2,012,900. This represents a 0.6 per cent increase from July 2022 and a 1.1 per cent increase compared to June 2023.

Sales of apartment homes reached 1,281 in July 2023, a 20.7 per cent increase compared to the 1,061 sales in July 2022. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $771,600. This represents a 2.6 per cent increase from July 2022 and a 0.6 per cent increase compared to June 2023.

“NOTE: this representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board or Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver which assume no responsibility for its accuracy.”

Download The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s July statistics Package. Click Here

Download Fraser Valley’s Real Estate Board’s July Statistics Package. Click Here

Food for Thought on Real Estate – July

  • Seller’s market – A seller’s market is when there are more people looking to buy then there are homes available. This causes a rise in price above the long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio of 20% or higher
  • Buyer’s market – In contrast, a buyer’s market is when there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers. As a result, prices increase slower than the long-term average rate of inflation. In extreme circumstances this can cause prices to decline. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio below 12%.e
  • Balanced market – A balanced market occurs when supply and demand are about the same, with home prices rising in line with long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio between 12% and 20%.Summary Over a sustained period of time:
    • a seller’s market is represented by a ratio of 20% or higher
    • a buyer’s market is represented by a ratio of 11% or lower
    • a balanced market rests between 12-19

August 2023 Newsletter Introduction

Half of the Summer have come and went, and now we have one more month to savor the long days and get outside as much as possible. I am surprised that this year the heat was much more bearable compared to last year’s heat wave!  I was glad to see some rain to break up the long dry summer haul. Did you get a chance to catch the Summer Fireworks? I personally think it’s great to see different countries represented through their own creative performances. I spent my first month of the Summer just focusing on just steadily working and learning to be extremely patient with the terrible two stage. I was told that this stage is very mild compared to the future growth stages….*I am sooo looking forward to this*

Since the interest hike in July, prices have remained steady with prices relatively close to the market/benchmark prices for most properties. There may be a possibility of a long lull in late Fall and close to the end of the year as many holding rates are expiring and there may be rush of buyers looking to close on some homes in order to secure the rate. 

Hopefully in the next interest announcement in September 6th, we hear some good news and July would be the last one for this year. However, there is a possibility that we may see another hike in next year. Keep watch to see our neighbouring country fair as we are heavily influence by their economy so we tend to follow suit on whether we will continue raising rates or not. 

– Sam

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Fat Boy Kitchen

Fat Boy Kitchen – If you crave HK style comfort food then Fat Boy Kitchen got you covered! The portions are extremely large and bang for your buck! Guaranteed you’ll leave full along with a doggy bag. I enjoyed that you can customized on your lunch specials – I had ordered the black pepper mushroom sauce with pasta on the side. Once I had the meal in front of me – I knew that I would only be able to finish 1/4th of it. I will say – you really need to mix the sauce into the pasta really well since it’s drenched on the beef because the pasta was dry on the side and the sauce was very seasoned. To balance it out, you’ll really to get into it and make sure each strand is well coated to really enjoy the meal. If not, you’ll find it pretty dry and salty – the pasta/sauce. As for the drinks – I had ordered a HK milk tea. It was disappointingly bland and no aromatics. If you’re looking for a quick and cheap meal – this place is the one to go to in the East Van.
@foodblogprec

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Highlights From the Real Estate Board June 2023

“The market continues to outperform expectations across all segments, but the apartment segment showed the most relative strength in June. The benchmark price of apartment homes is almost cresting the peak reached in 2022, while sales of apartments are now above the region’s ten-year seasonal average. This uniquely positions the apartment segment relative to the attached and detached segments where sales remained below the ten-year seasonal averages.”

“Despite elevated borrowing costs, there continues to be too little resale inventory available relative to the pool of buyers in Metro Vancouver. This is the fundamental reason we continue to see prices increase month over month across all segments,” Lis said. “With the benchmark price for apartments now standing at $767,000, we repeat our call to the provincial government to adjust the $525,000 threshold exempting first-time home buyers from the Property Transfer Tax, to better reflect the price of entry-level homes in our region. This is a simple policy adjustment that could help more first-time buyers afford a home right now.”

The MLS® Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Metro Vancouver is currently $1,203,000. This represents a 2.4 per cent decrease over June 2022 and a 1.3 per cent increase compared to May 2023.

Sales of detached homes in June 2023 reached 848, a 28.3 per cent increase from the 661 detached sales recorded in June 2022. The benchmark price for a detached home is $1,991,300. This represents a 3.2 per cent decrease from June 2022 and a 1.9 per cent increase compared to May 2023.

Sales of apartment homes reached 1,573 in June 2023, an 18.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,326 sales in June 2022. The benchmark price of an apartment home is $767,000. This represents a 0.5 per cent increase from June 2022 and a 0.8 per cent increase compared to May 2023.

“NOTE: this representation is based in whole or in part on data generated by the Chilliwack & District Real Estate Board, Fraser Valley Real Estate Board or Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver which assume no responsibility for its accuracy.”

Download The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s June statistics Package. Click Here

Download Fraser Valley’s Real Estate Board’s June Statistics Package. Click Here

Food for Thought on Real Estate – June

  • Seller’s market – A seller’s market is when there are more people looking to buy then there are homes available. This causes a rise in price above the long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio of 20% or higher
  • Buyer’s market – In contrast, a buyer’s market is when there are many more homes for sale than there are buyers. As a result, prices increase slower than the long-term average rate of inflation. In extreme circumstances this can cause prices to decline. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio below 12%.e
  • Balanced market – A balanced market occurs when supply and demand are about the same, with home prices rising in line with long-term average rate of inflation. Typically this is indicated by a sales-to-active listings ratio between 12% and 20%.Summary Over a sustained period of time:
    • a seller’s market is represented by a ratio of 20% or higher
    • a buyer’s market is represented by a ratio of 11% or lower
    • a balanced market rests between 12-19

July 2023 Newsletter Introduction

SUMMER HAS ARRIVED AND SCHOOL IS OUT!!! June has been a mixed bag of weather but the weather has been pretty consistent in wonderful sunshine. I manage to start my first hike of the season – started very slow since it’s been more than 2 years that I’ve gone hiking. I’m excited to head to the next hike – I was thinking Diez Vistas. Any suggestions?

So how was the market in June since the impact of the increase interest rate that was announced in the same month.  Since the announcement, I have experienced many of my clients looking to sell as they’re having hardship in making their monthly mortgage payments. I also noticed the buyer’s confidence has changed to be more conservative in their decision making. As a result, the demand has dampened and supply has increased with homes being on the market with a longer average time. However, there are some buyers looking to hedge their bets and wanting to secure their interest rates before the next interest hike announcement happening in July would want to pull the trigger and purchase – with the possibility of the fear of missing out.  At the moment – many homes are priced at market or slightly below with offers to be reviewed at a certain time or first come first served basis yet majority of all offers would have subjects.

Note that the next interest hike announcement would be in July 12, and the next few ones for the reminder of the year would be: Sept 6, Oct 25, and Dec 6. Hopefully July’s interest hike with the possibility to rise another 0.25 base points will be the last one till the end of the year.

– Sam

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Cofeteria Italian Street Food

Cofeteria Italian – A quaint little cafe/restaurant that serves comfort Italian meals. Main street is always a fun place for me to check out the diversity of food. I was in the mood to try some authentic freshly made pasta that didn’t feel like you had to go somewhere fancy for it. I ordered the Tagliatelle ai funghi porchini –  A wide noodle with wild mushrooms. Anything with mushrooms is something, I always gravitate towards to try. Thoughts – it’s very light, and the different wild mushrooms really add different flavors and texture. However, as mentioned, it is very light tasting so if you’re someone who prefers seasoned meals – this dish may not be the right one. But it doesn’t mean the other dishes are light. I really like the pasta – it has the perfect texture to hold the oils and mushrooms together.
@foodblogprec

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