Beating the world's most popular city park, New York's Central Park, Vancouver's Stanley Park is named the #1 top 25 Parks in the World by Trip Advisor's Traveler's Choice 2013.

Once again Canada is top in reputation by the Reputation Institute's annual 2013 Country RepTrak Study.

For May 2013, a total of 26 units of strata properties, i.e. condos and townhouses, were sold in UBC.  This is a decrease from the 27 units that sold in April.

Of the 26 units that sold last month, 2 were 1-bedroom homes, 16 were 2-bedroom homes, and 8 units were 3-or-more bedroom homes.

For a free private consultation to sell your home, please call me, Len Diaz, at 604-551-1323.

Sold units does not include single detached homes, pre-sale, under construction, and private (FSBO) sales.  All figures are taken from MLS.

Inc. magazine recently listed 6 reasons why Amazon, Microsoft, and Facebook are opening local development offices in Vancouver.

- Superb Support From the Government

- Top-Notch Software Development Talent

- Proximity to Silicon Valley

- Canadian Work Ethic and Politeness

- Greenest City in the World by 2020

- Quality of Life

Read the entire article by Christina DesMarais

A Vancouver woman lost $6000 to a fake landlord that posted a rental apartment on Kijiji.  

Here's the story from CBC News.

Fake landlord posts realtor's photos on Kijiji

CBC News 

Posted: Jun 4, 2013 8:39 PM PT

Police are warning renters to be careful when looking for apartments after a woman lost $6,000 in a fake landlord scam in Vancouver.

Sandy Irving found an 1,800-square-foot apartment in Coal Harbour on the online classifieds site, Kijiji.

"Well, I thought, I've hit a good one here, because this is better than lots I've seen," Irving said.

She viewed the suite four times, but each time, the man claiming to be the landlord said he was too busy to go with her.

The pair met at a coffee shop to sign the rental agreement, and Irving made copies before giving him $6,000 in cash for the first month's rent and deposit.

But the condo was not actually for rent. It was for sale by an owner who lives in Korea. Pictures from the legitimate real estate listing were used for the fraudulent rental ad.

The listing agent says the fake owner tricked the building concierge into letting Irving into the suite by saying he was taking the suite off the market and renting it out instead. He arranged for the concierge to give a key to Irving.

Police say renters should get a passport copy, drivers licence or other ID from potential landlords before handing over any money.

"If at all you feel uncomfortable in a transaction when you're trying to rent a place, we suggest that you back out and you look at another place to rent," he said.

Police are examining surveillance video from the photocopy shop to try and locate the scam artist.

With files from the CBC's Jesara Sinclair and Kirk Williams

According to the CBC, the 6434 sq ft penthouse unit at the Fairmont Pacific Rim has sold for $25 million, making it the most expensive condo sold in Canada.