All of which brings me to the substance of this Article: what distinguishes Vancouver from the rest of North America is not the fact that property values have appreciated so much. In the past five years, real estate went through the roof just about anywhere. What does distinguish the Vancouver real estate market from all others is that in the wake of the 2010 Winter Olympics property values are forecasted to almost double within the next four years. And this is at a time when interest rates are on the rise and when north-american markets are poised to expand at an average rate of five to ten percent a year, depending on where you are.

To say that the economy of British Columbia is booming at this time already is probably an understatement. But if one is to believe the projections of the Urban Futures Institute, the British Columbia Economic Council, the City of Vancouver and, heck, even Statistics Canada, this is nothing compared to what it is going to happen to property values in this town. Here is why: the provincial and federal governments will be injecting CAD 1.7 billion (yeah, that’s billion with a ‘b’ … like ‘Bob’) in the final four-year stretch of building, fundraising and planning for the monumental event. World-class facilities have been promised for the 2010 games, including a new Speed Skating Oval and Winter Sports Centre, improvements on the 120 Km Sea-to-Sky highway connecting Vancouver to Whistler, construction of the Vancouver Olympic Village, construction of the Whistler Sliding Centre - host of the bobsleigh, skeleton and luge events. There will be a new ice Hockey Arena at the University of British Columbia (UBC), a new Curling Centre, a separate Figure Skating Centre, a Short-Track Speed Skating Arena, retrofitting of the General Motors Centre and of the BC Stadium, construction of a brand new express subway connecting the Vancouver Downtown core to the airport and a myriad improvements all over town, so as to make Vancouver ready when the olympic torch enters BC Stadium on February 12, 2010. All in all, if one takes into account increased security, installation of all sort of paraphernalia and electronic gizmos to make us all feel more secure, and any and all other ancillary costs, the provincial and federal government will be handling a budget close to CAD $2 billions.