New standards promoting energy-efficient light bulbs and the phasing out of older incandescent bulbs take effect in the new year in B.C.

The Ministry of Energy states that effective Jan. 1 retailers can only continue to carry the old incandescent 75 and 100-watt bulbs until their stock runs out, although other incandescent wattages can continue to remain on store shelves. Consumers will be required to buy more efficient options such as compact fluorescent light bulbs. Over seven million compact fluorescent light bulbs are sold annually in the province and 78 per cent of B.C. homes are already using them, the ministry says.

The new B.C. standards lead up to the federal government's national light bulb efficiency standards, which will apply to most wattage levels sold across the country in 2012. Several specialty products are exempted from the B.C. and federal standards.

For information, call the Recycling Council of B.C. hotline at 604-732-9253 in the Lower Mainland or 1-800-667-4321 in the rest of B.C.

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I read a great article today that talks about real estate in Canada and why we are not heading for crash like our friends in the USA.  If you own property, or are considering buying home, you should read this.

Read the full article here.

In the last 30 days, 187 single family houses were sold, down 10.5% from last week. The median price is up 0.5% to $553,000. The average house was on the market for 46 days, the same as my last report. This drop in volume is normal considering that we are in the Christmas season.

In the last 30 days, 115 condos were sold, up 5.5% from last week. The median price is unchanged at $278,700. The average condo was on the market for 60 days, 4 days longer than in my last report.

In the last week, the local inventory of single family homes has dropped by 3.1% to 1326 homes. Condo inventory has fallen by 5.0% to 721 suites. This point in the year is generally the lowest inventory that we will see until next Christmas. You can expect inventory to start growing as we move through January.