Oak Bay has about 10 new houses a year. About eight are created from knocking down older houses, and the other two from creating new lots on larger lots.

Oak Bay bylaws allow each home to have two boarders, but not a suite.

Saanich too is considering suites, but is taking it very slowly. A questionnaire put out in conjunction with the municipality's review of its Official Community Plan showed that about 75 per cent of those who responded were in favour of legalizing suites. View Royal has legalized them, as has Sidney and most of Victoria, with suites in the Gonzales area right next to the Oak Bay border.

Link to Times Colonist article for further information.....

Metchosin basement dwellers need more elbow room, residents say.

More than 70 per cent of residents favour increasing the size of attached secondary suites to about 90 square metres (969 square feet).

However residents were not as keen on allowing stand-alone secondary suites on larger properties (over two acres). Only 55 per cent of residents who responded favoured the detached suites.

"The report was clear on expanding the size of the attached suites, and I think that's going to be a fairly easy decision for council to make," Mayor John Ranns said.

Link to Times Colonist article for further information ....

The developer of a proposed 56-unit condominium project at the historic Mount St. Angela site on Burdett Avenue isn't looking to make any money out of the project.

Rather, Norm Isherwood has the financial means and the desire for any profit go into a trust to run an additional nine rental units designated solely for elderly women in need of housing, project planner Roger Tinney said this week.

"Mr. Isherwood was born and raised in the building and he'd like to leave a legacy," Tinney told a group of about 30 people who gathered to see the final plans for the contentious project before it goes to a public hearing on Jan. 17. "This is very much a personal project for Mr. Isherwood."

Link to Times Colonist article for further information....

The Internet servers at B.C. Assessment are likely to be humming over the next few weeks as homeowners around the province jump onto its website to check out the value of their homes and compare that with values given friends and neighbours.

"By far our most popular tool is ASBA (the assessment and sale by address)," said B.C. Assessment's Nick Nilsen. "People can go on there and compare their properties to others that have sold in the neighbourhood and compare to their neighbours."

He admits there's probably a bit of peeking over the fence going on because people are generally curious.

Link to Times Colonist article for additional information and link to BC Assessment ....

Kim Linkert found validation with a click of a mouse yesterday.

The Victoria homeowner, who along with wife Karen bought a $210,000 Montrose Avenue home in 2001, noticed his home is now assessed at $473,000 after surfing the B.C. Assessment website.

The impressive return on investment didn't come as a surprise to Linkert, who tends to keep a close eye on his investments, but did reinforce his belief that real estate is one of the best investments you can make.

Link to Times Colonist article for futher information.....

The assessed value of Greater Victoria's homes in 2008 has climbed to $83.7 billion, an increase of nearly $10 billion from last year's roll, according to figures released yesterday by B.C. Assessment.

The numbers, based on property market values as of July 1, 2007, reflect a steady increase, according to Brian Hawkins, assessor for the region. The majority of homes in the region will have increased by between eight and 12 per cent, slightly off last year's average of 15 per cent.

"It's been basically the same story here for the last five years," said Hawkins. He credits the continued strength in the market to the capital region's being a "desirable location," as well as the stable mortgage rate and low unemployment rate.

Link to Times Colonist article for additional information.....