Posted by:

Whistler Real Estate Co Ltd, #137- 4370 Lorimer Road, Whistler, BC V0N 1B4

I was walking on the valley trail with my dogs one day when I crossed paths with a young couple pushing their two young children in a stroller, admiring the view.  The woman asked if her children could pet the dogs, and while the little ones connected with the furry faces at their eye view, the adults started to talk small non-sense talk that adults in these situations do.  Being an adult in Whistler, when faced with the task of starting a conversation with people I don’t recognize, one of my classic openers is “so, where are you from?” That usually is answered by some locale, whether far flung or near, and a return question asking where I am from.  When I reply that I am from Whistler, I usually get an answer of “you’re so lucky” and then a quick discussion of the merits of Whistler and what it was like to live through the games follows and then we, the local and the tourists, part ways and continue.  This time, however, I got an unexpected answer.  “We live here.  Well, actually, we just bought a house here.” Aaah, I figured, part timers. But again, I was wrong.  The house that the couple had bought was there first.  They had chosen from many possible exotic locations to build a home base in Whistler.  We didn’t get much further in our conversation as the children had tired of wagging tails in their faces and the dogs had realized that the kids weren’t going to offer any treats so they might as well move on. 

While this little tete-a-tete may not have seemed like a big deal, it stuck with me as I finished my walk.  Tis couple had not only looked at the future of Whistler and liked what they saw, by buying a home, they had made an investment that would help the entire valley. Building and buying homes are good for the economy. Construction and sales generate significant economic activity including the movement of goods (who doesn’t do a little redecorating when you buy a new house), creation of jobs and government revenue (I know nobody likes the idea of paying taxes, but that government revenue helps make Whistler beautiful too). Every time a home changes hands, the transaction generates $42,000 in economic spin-offs and 2.8 jobs.  While 2.8 jobs may not sound like a lot, with 16,300 housing starts and $4.4billion in home renovations expected in Metro Vancouver in 2012, 70,000 jobs will be created and generate about $3.5 billion in wages. If even a tenth of that happened in Whistler, 7,000 jobs could be created next year!

With snow on the hilltops, the lowest cost of borrowing in a generation, and a buyer’s market, now is a perfect time to invest in our community by investing in the Whistler real estate market.