Salt Spring Island Real Estate

Salt Spring Island real estate, Li Read, provides updates about market conditions and local happenings in and around the island of Salt Spring, Ganges, Pender Island, Saturna and James Island.

How?

How?

First, call me.

Suggestions on places to stay, routes of arrival.

Information on events, things to do & to see, free maps & full real estate information (of course!), plus background lore of the Gulf Islands & of Salt Spring Island. The historical perspective is always fun!

You can fly in to Vancouver International Airport, take a 10 minute cab ride to the “south terminal” and catch one of three floatplane companies that service directly to Salt Spring Island…these are year round/regular scheduled flights:
Harbour Air, Seair, & Salt Spring Air. It’s about a 12 minute flight from Airport to Ganges Village on Salt Spring.

Harbour Air & Salt Spring Air also go from Salt Spring to downtown Vancouver Harbour…approximately a 25 minute flight.

Salt Spring Air also connects with the Victoria Airport (Patricia Bay connection) and with Maple Bay (on Vancouver Island).

There is a ferry from Vancouver’s Tsswassan terminal direct to Long Harbour on Salt Spring Island. Another ferry links Victoria’s Swartz Bay terminal with Fulford Harbour on Salt Spring. A third ferry links Crofton, a mid-Vancouver Island terminal with Vesuvius on Salt Spring. These three connections are regular year round scheduled ferries.

Arriving from the U.S.? Take the Washington State ferry’s international sailing from Anacortes to Sidney…drive ten minutes to Swartz Bay and drive onto the Fulford bound ferry. Or, come via the Blackball ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, and make your way to either Swartz Bay or to Crofton terminals.

Coming from Lower Mainland? Along with that direct Tsswassan route, you could catch the ferry from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, at Nanaimo, & then a short drive south delivers you to Crofton and the ferry to Vesuvius, on Salt Spring.

Check the B.C. Ferries website for further schedule information.

Easy to enjoy a visit to Salt Spring and the Gulf Islands from anywhere in the world.

Discovery is always the first step in any new adventure.

Not from Canada? Easy to enjoy property ownership on the Islands, on a seasonal basis. Want to move here and never leave? Call me, and I can put you in touch with appropriate advisors, including immigration lawyers, to discuss landed immigrant potential.

These peaceful and beautiful Gulf Islands, including the jewel of Salt Spring Island, shimmer gracefully in the Salish Sea (the historical name for Georgia Strait).

I look forward to helping you to discover them. Call me!

How may I help you to buy your Salt Spring Island or Gulf Islands property? Look forward to your call.

liread33@gmail.com

Who?

Who?

Hmmm…the interesting thing about Salt Spring Island and the Gulf Islands is that there is something for everyone.

A strong artistic community calls forth a like-minded audience response, I think.

There are over 100 writers who call Salt Spring Island home. A publishing company, with several award winning books under their label, also is located on Salt Spring.

There are several painters, fabric artists, sculptors, actors (live theatre is alive & well & living on Salt Spring), musicians (blues, folk, rock, fusion, classical), and there are over 400 people involved in choral presentations…imagine that many people, in a small community, singing!

There is a Buddhist monastery on Salt Spring, plus an Ayervedic based centre. The Island has a reputation as a healing place…zen sitting group, several yoga groups, plus meditation groups offer their individual paths. Alternative medicine opportunities abound, along with mainstream medicine (hospital, seniors for seniors facility, assisted living options, plus extended care unit).

An interesting retirement option then? Yes.

With 3 elementary schools, a middle school, a senior school, plus adult education opportunities, the Island will also work well for young families.

In our post-Internet world, if one inhabits the digital universe, then one can live anywhere.

Summer/seasonal places, of course…this entire area is a recreational paradise. The Southern Gulf Islands & Salt Spring Island are in the heart of the best protected boating waters in the world.

Retirement opportunities to fit all financial comfort zones…call me about some stellar options that will appeal to you.

Arable land for hobby farms, horse properties, vineyards, or orchards…the 10 K diet is also alive & well on these Island beauties!

Family lifestyles are rich experiences, here. A slower and more sustainable living pattern is possible.

A thoughtful, interesting, connected and environmentally aware “who” will feel right at home on Salt Spring Island & the Gulf Islands. Remember, “everyone” is here…a diverse population, meshing ages and lifestyles…with the arts as the background rhythm of the Island experience.

More information? Call me!

How may I help you to buy your special property on Salt Spring Island or on another Gulf Island? Look forward to your call!

liread33@gmail.com

Why?

Why?

Well, for starters, Salt Spring Island & the Gulf Islands are “safe havens”.

They are close to major centres (Vancouver, Victoria, Seattle), and so benefit from all nearby amenities offered by such cityscapes.

They are also wonderfully “apart”, and suggest a sense of what life must have been like, say in the 1950s/60s/early 70s…the visual vibe of space & slower time still lingers here.

Everything necessary for a pleasing lifestyle in our 21st Century post-internet world is available on Salt Spring Island, the largest & best serviced of the Southern Gulf Islands grouping.

A strong sense of community, a caring & artistically motivated ethic, a scenically beautiful region, located in the best protected boating waters in the world, and enjoying a temperate climate…it really doesn’t get any better.

Seeking a place that offers an interesting and sophisticated lifestyle with a casually elegant rural flair? This is it…tucked away & beautifully serene, yet with the ease of living one requires.

More details about this hidden gem? Call me!

How may I help you to buy your special Salt Spring Island or Gulf Islands property? Look forward to your call.

liread33@gmail.com

Where?

Where?

Well, on the Pacific Northwest Coast of Super Natural British Columbia, in Canada, of course!

The Gulf Islands are nestled into the east side coastline of the very large Vancouver Island…this puts them in the rain shadow of this huge island, and so delivers an exceptional micro-climate known as “cool Mediterranean”.

All of the Gulf Islands, whether ferry accessed or water access only options, and regardless of whether located on Vancouver Island side or Lower Mainland side of Georgia Strait, are “governed” by the Islands Trust.

This is a provincial government mandated body, and it has been in place since 1974. Its mandate is to “preserve & protect” the environmental beauties of the Gulf Islands, for the benefit of all B.C. residents.

This control of growth is achieved through strict zoning/bylaws…the Trust is about land use/bylaws. More info? Call me!

The Pacific Northwest Coast is exceptionally beautiful…mountains, ocean, islands. The Southern Gulf Islands are in the best protected boating waters in the world. This, plus the enviable micro-climate, offer a jewel of a location.

Salt Spring Island is the largest and best-serviced of the Southern Gulf Islands, and enjoys an inspiring year round lifestyle. Close to everything, easy to get to (3 ferries, 3 floatplane companies) from Vancouver, Victoria, & Vancouver Island…plus Seattle. Yet, wonderfully apart…perfect for a family, or as a retirement opportunity, or as a seasonal retreat…a gem to savour!

More details? Call me!

How may I help you to buy your special Salt Spring Island or Gulf Islands property? Look forward to your call.

liread33@gmail.com

What?

What?
Well…
Salt Spring Island & the Canadian Gulf Islands, of course.

These lovely small islands, mainly nestled into the east side of the very large Vancouver Island, enjoy the best weather pattern in Canada.
In the rain shadow of Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands experience a temperate climate, known as “cool Mediterranean“. Orchards & vineyards thrive here.

This thin strip of land between the ocean and the coastal mountains, the Pacific Northwest Coast, is generally delectable…the Gulf Islands are just that bit more unique and special!

Each island has its own special signature. It’s what goes “ping” for you that makes the decision about which island will “work” for you…so important to listen for that “ping”.

Salt Spring Island is the largest and best serviced of the Southern Gulf Islands grouping. It’s a stand alone community. One doesn’t have to leave the Island for anything…except to get one’s car serviced under warranty. There are good people to service your car…just not under warranty.

There is a year round lifestyle on Salt Spring Island. It’s not a “summer season only” place. It’s a stand alone & self-contained community and that makes a big difference to the rhythm of the Island.

A hospital, all services, three ferries (Vancouver, Victoria, mid-Vancouver Island), three floatplane companies (to Vancouver Airport, to downtown Vancouver, and to Victoria Airport and to Maple Bay, on Vancouver Island. There is a direct service from Lake Union in Seattle, to Ganges on Salt Spring, in the summer season). All these options are year round schedules.

Three elementary schools, a middle school, and a state of the art senior school, plus night school classes for adult education, are all available on Salt Spring.

An Arts Centre for live theatre productions, concerts, dance, forum speakers, plus gallery spaces for painting, fabric arts, photography exhibitions…there is a strong artistic base to Salt Spring’s lifestyle.

An indoor pool, a Sailing Club, two marinas, yacht club outstations, government docks for transient moorage, several boat launch facilities for day sailors…plus beaches to stroll, to swim from, lakes (all stocked with trout and bass, for freshwater fishing pleasures), park reserves for walking/hiking, tenting & bicycling venues…galleries, studios on tour…an amazing blend of environmental beauty and artistic surprises await your discovery, on special Salt Spring Island!

The Gulf Islands are all a part of the Provincial Government mandated Islands Trust. This Trust has been in existence since 1974. It controls growth through severe zoning/bylaw restrictions. It was created “to preserve & protect” the environmental beauties of the Gulf Islands for the benefit of all B.C. residents. In effect, growth has been controlled on all the Islands, and all of them have benefitted, thus.

Whether it’s for summer or seasonal use, or for year round living, whether it’s a ferry accessed or water access only option, there will be a Gulf Island that will “ping” for you.

How may I help you to buy your Salt Spring Island or Gulf Island property? Call me!

liread33@gmail.com

What does Christie’s $200 million in sales mean for high end Real Estate

Does the Christies record breaking art sale signal a real estate rebound on the way?

Could be… Fine Art has always been a bellwether of all other discretionary spending. Good news, then, that Christie’s Auction House experienced further gains in their recent sale of stellar Impressionist offerings.

Real estate sales, in the luxury and unique properties segment, mirror the arrow of Fine Art sales…usually within four to six months.

Markets are cyclical

After a good three to four years of pause mode, the buyers are again recognizing that it’s wise to own rare & irreplaceable hard assets.

Salt Spring Island & the Canadian Gulf Islands offer temperate climates, & swim alluringly in the best protected boating waters in the world!

Read the signs & don’t miss the shift in the real estate market…Art sets the direction…the move is underway!Vue de l'Asile et de la Chapelle de Saint-Remy" by Vincent van Gogh