Spring and all its glory is right around the corner-just take a look at the signs all around you.

No, we're not talking about the budding flowers or the chirping birds-we're referring to those "For Sale" signs that start popping up on lawns across the country as the weather starts heating up.

And once the home-buying season commences … so do the bidding wars and mad dashes from one open house to another.

Since the housing market can be a tricky one to suss out, we asked agents across the country to give us their assessments for this season's real estate landscape.

Their overarching observation? This will be a competitive home-buying season-so if you snooze, you may lose out on that four-bedroom colonial you've been eyeing.

"The major pitfall is lack of preparation," says David Yocum, a Redfin real estate agent based in Chicago. "The [housing] recovery appears slow due to a lack of inventory and a low participation rate among first-time buyers, but it's still a competitive seller's market."

This is the following tips for Spring House-Hunting:

Spring House-Hunting Tip #1: Close That Laptop-and Canvass Old-Fashioned Open Houses

These days, using real estate sites to explore your options is par for the course: 90% of people search for listings online during their home-buying process.

Kicking off your search online is a good move, but don't dawdle too long behind the computer screen-inventory is expected to be tight in many major markets, so you literally want to hit the ground running.

"In our market we hope for a burst of new inventory in the spring, but that doesn't always happen," says Richard Seaton, vice president at TTR Sotheby's International Realty in the Washington, D.C., area. "Even if that burst comes, demand will outstrip supply, so buyers have to be in a position to make a decision quickly."

Spring House-Hunting Tip #2: Educate Yourself on Market Values and Trends

"Buyers need to get up to speed quickly on market values so they know the right decision when it presents itself," Yocum says. "The more quickly buyers can educate themselves, the more successful the home search will be."

This, of course, is where it's really all about location, location, location. According to the Case-Shiller 2014 home price index, San Francisco saw the largest annual regional gain at 9.3%, while other major markets-like New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C.-saw less than 2%.

Spring House-Hunting Tip #3: Nab Low Mortgage Rates-Now

Another reason not to dawdle too long? You want to take advantage of low interest rates while they last.

"Mortgage rates are still historically low, allowing buyers to wrap up the most house their money will afford them at payment levels that should be affordable for decades," Yocum says.

In fact, interest rates are so low that, in many markets, monthly mortgage payments are less than rent, adds Seaton. "Most predictions are that the fabulously low interest rates will stay that way through the spring, and that the variety of loan packages available to buyers will continue to multiply," he adds.

Spring House-Hunting Tip #4: Build Your Home-Buying Dream Team Before You Bid

If spring-cleaning season has you in a hyper-organized mood, channel some of that spirit into your house hunting-in order to be a serious frontrunner in a bidding war, you'll need to have all of your ducks in a row.

So not only will you need a savvy real estate agent, but you'll also want your lender, inspector and attorney at the ready so you can act fast, says Yocum.

Spring House-Hunting Tip #5: Keep Sweeten-the-Deal Moves in Mind

So you've finally found that dream Tudor on a half-acre-but you're stuck in a bidding war with another equally prepared buyer. How do you win by a nose?

For one, include an escalation clause, along with your offer, suggests Seaton. This is an amount that you'd automatically be willing to pay above a competing bid.

For example, let's say you add an escalation clause of $3,000 to your bid of $200,000. If a second offer comes in at $205,000, your bid would get bumped to $208,000. If you're in a hot market, a significant escalation factor could really pique seller interest, Seaton adds.

More related info? Westhills Consulting will here for you. Westhills offers a wide variety of innovative housing styles and options. Whether you're looking for a 3, 4 or 5 bedroom home with or without a suite, a townhome or our new and innovative small footprint home, you'll find it at Westhills. Follow us on Twitter @WesthillsCBC for more updates.

There is a lot of talk about "going green," global warming, ice caps melting and rising sea levels. At the same time we are investing millions, if not billions, of dollars to improve and widen roads and bridges so we can accommodate even more vehicles. Aren't vehicles the very things that contribute to the above-mentioned problems? Instead we should be investing in modes of transportation that are green - like trains. Here on Vancouver Island we have the fantastic opportunity to bring a railway back to life that has been neglected for decades. The infrastructure is already in place (like tracks, bridges, crossings and stations). I know it needs upgrading and it will cost quite a bit of money, but it will be money well spent. It's almost certain that the cost of energy is going up over the coming years, and owning a vehicle will get more expensive. An improved train system would be good for commuting, tourism and business. Anyone in doubt should drive to Victoria in the morning and experience the "Colwood Crawl." Then try to imagine what it will be like in 10 years. Let's look into the future and support this train before it's too late.

The Bank of Canada today announced that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. The Bank Rate is correspondingly 1 1/4 per cent and the deposit rate is 3/4 per cent.

The global economy has unfolded broadly as the Bank projected in its July Monetary Policy Report (MPR). The economic expansion in the United States is progressing at a gradual pace. Europe is in recession and recent indicators point to a continued contraction. In China and other major emerging economies, growth has slowed somewhat more than expected, though there are signs of stabilization around current growth rates. Notwithstanding the slowdown in global economic activity, prices for oil and other commodities produced in Canada have, on average, increased in recent months. Global financial conditions have improved, supported by aggressive policy actions of major central banks, but sentiment remains fragile.

In Canada, while global headwinds continue to restrain economic activity, domestic factors are supporting a moderate expansion. Following the recent period of below-potential growth, the economy is expected to pick up and return to full capacity by the end of 2013. The Bank continues to project that the expansion will be driven mainly by growth in consumption and business investment, reflecting very stimulative domestic financial conditions. Housing activity is expected to decline from historically high levels, while the household debt burden is expected to rise further before stabilizing by the end of the projection horizon. Canadian exports are projected to pick up gradually but remain below their pre-recession peak until the first half of 2014, reflecting weak foreign demand and ongoing competitiveness challenges. These challenges include the persistent strength of the Canadian dollar, which is being influenced by safe haven flows and spillovers from global monetary policy.

After taking into account revisions to the National Accounts, the Bank projects that the economy will grow by 2.2 per cent in 2012, 2.3 per cent in 2013 and 2.4 per cent in 2014.

Core inflation has been lower than expected in recent months, reflecting somewhat softer prices across a wide range of goods and services. Core inflation is expected to increase gradually over coming quarters, reaching 2 per cent by the middle of 2013 as the economy gradually absorbs the current small degree of slack, the growth of labour compensation remains moderate and inflation expectations stay well-anchored. Total CPI inflation has fallen noticeably below the 2 per cent target, as expected, and is projected to return to target by the end of 2013, somewhat later than previously anticipated.

Reflecting all of these factors, the Bank has decided to maintain the target for the overnight rate at 1 per cent. Over time, some modest withdrawal of monetary policy stimulus will likely be required, consistent with achieving the 2 per cent inflation target. The timing and degree of any such withdrawal will be weighed carefully against global and domestic developments, including the evolution of imbalances in the household sector.

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The Westhills BC Day Celebration has passed us by and what a celebration it was! With well over 3, 500 people attend and at one point over 800 children on the field playing and running about, we welcomed a number of musical talents to the Westhills stage over the course of several hours.

After the pleasant busyness of the late-summer and early-autumn harvesting crunch, and before the winter rains truly set in, youll enjoy a window of fine weather and working conditions to do a little garden and landscape maintenance. Part of the joy of the season on Vancouver Island is its calm, its meditative quality-the unhurried preparation for shortening days, cooler temperatures, maritime rains, all on the heels of heat and produce bounties. First off, clean up your spread. Remove the above ground husks of any perennials that have browned and died back, and gather ground litter like dried leaves and twigs. Such detritus-as well as big weed patches and discarded equipment-is excellent for cultivating slugs, which you most certainly don't want in your garden beds. On the subject of slugs, autumn is a great time to apply some anti-slug defenses such as beer traps. Baiting out slugs in early autumn, before they've laid eggs, can save you much hassle later on-and doing another round of bait later on in the season can target the hatchlings you missed. Westhill Consulting British Colombia

About six months ago we had the terrific pleasure of sitting down for coffee with Janet, a resident living in Lakeview Ridge of Westhills. While chit-chatting about her love for the community she now calls home, she told an amazing story about her next-door neighbour, Angela, and their small world tale of having grown up on the East Coast and realizing they had the same sister! Read as Angela tells us more.... The update - Janet and I are moving closer to finding our long, last sister Judy. As far as we are concerned, we were meant to find one another and have since continued to develop their beautiful friendship. Sitting down with Angela in her beautiful, Westhills home on a nice, crisp fall day, we sipped coffee and she shared her Westhills story. Her and her husband Roy moved into their Westhills home in September of 2010. Every Saturday Angela would trek on site to photograph the progress of her homey construction so that she could share her excitement with her friends and family. Once she had moved into Lakeview Ridge, Angela and Janet met and formed a bond almost immediately. They went on to co-founded the Real Ladies of Langford Lake, a group of "fun-loving gals who live on Langford Lake and just want to have a good time". The ladies took a break over the summer, but have gathered a few more members since we spoke with Janet. They are now looking forward to getting some activity/mingling events organized for this fall! The ladies group is one of the reasons that Angela adores Westhills. "There is a sense of community here and people desire to connect with their neighbours, particularly now in our fast paced world." This community feeling is not difficult to sense. Angela participates in her street garage/driveway parties, where neighbours will all pull out their lawn chairs and sit in their front yards socializing with one another. The party is on if one of the garage doors is open past 4PM - bring your favourite beverage! We couldn't help but notic

Over the past weekend Westhills hosted a resident's BBQ. It was a great opportunity to bring together neighbours from Lakeview Ridge, Parkdale Creek and Glenvale, for some food, fun and a chance to mingle and what location better than Parklands in Westhills?! More than 250 people attended and the buzz afterwards shouted out success! Residents in each of the subdivisions meet with one another and chatted about things that were happening in and around Westhills. The weather was perfect.... a bit windy to start but got nicer as the afternoon wore on, but not too hot. It was great for hanging out for a couple of hours and throwing down on the burgers, hotdogs and salads that were prepared. Many Westhills children came out to play on the new playground and fill their tummies with lunch. There were games for the kids like Frisbee and races, and everyone left with a prize. A number of Westhills dogs came out to enjoy the dog treats and water we had for them! All in all, the resident's BBQ was a fabulous success. We look forward to next year's event!

The Times Colonist posted an article that boasted Victoria as being one of the most walkable cities in Canada. The concept of walkability is one that is very near and dear to the heart of Westhills, as we foster a new community that values sustainability! The Westhills Master Plan embodies the goal of creating a unique, large-scale master-planned community based on principals of social and environmental sustainability. Major guiding factors of the design and implementation of Westhills are: considerations of location, alternative transportation modes, environmental preservation, community agriculture, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, and indoor environmental quality. These characteristics are demonstrated in the creation of approximately 6000 new residential units, with supporting commercial, civic and educational facilities. Approximately 84 hectares (208 acres) is designated as park and open space (equivalent to 40% of the total land area).

Dana Meise began hiking nearly 6 years ago with the goal in mind to hike solo across Canada via the Trans Canada Trail. This is no easy feat as the trail a stretches a span of approximately 23, 000 kilometers. To date Dana has hiked a whopping 16, 000 km over approximately 1, 000 days, where some days he has hiked nearly 70 km. With no benefactors or charities involved, this hike is simply an opportunity for Dana to explore, adventure, and experience all that Canada has to offer through the Trans Canada Trail. We met up with Dana as he hiked the section of the Trans Canada Trail that connects through Westhills. Battling a bit of fatigue from his most recent 7 month hiking stint, he spoke about this journey which started in Newfoundland and has brought him to Vancouver Island and more recently the Westshore. He spoke with such passion about the history, community and beauty that the Trans Canada Trail encompasses. He made mention to portions of the trail that were once used by the First Nations people thousands of years ago. It's amazing to think that something that was an important transportation route so many years ago has been preserved and can still be experienced to today. The Trans Canada Trail displays a unique preservation of the Canadian history with landmarks, the connection of amazing cities and people along the way. His eyes lit up when he spoke about the beauty of his mission, as many of the things he experienced only those that have walked the trail would understand. From beautifully forested trails to spectacular Albertan mountain ranges to vast Westhill Consulting British Colombia ocean landscapes, Dana has seen a lot of what Canada has to offer. Dana also distinguished the community aspect of his journey and all the people he has met along the way. He has come across thousands of people on his hike from all walks of life and from many different cities in Canada and all over the world. Although the scenery may change, the Trans Canada Trail holds t

At Westhills, we believe that excellence is achieved by a solid commitment to quality. Our foundation principles reflect the core values which bring this commitment to life.

Seating at Langford's Westhills Stadium could more than double, bringing it into the same league as Centennial Stadium and Royal Athletic Park. As many as 2, 000 more seats are slated for Westhill Consulting British Colombia, pushing the total into the 3, 000 range. The University of Victoria Centennial Stadium has seating for 5, 000, while the City of Victoria Royal Athletic Park seats 2, 237 for soccer and has a capacity of about 3, 500 for baseball with the Victoria HarbourCats.

Langford strikes bowling deal to spare taxpayers. Think of it as a municipal government version of bowling for dollars. Langford has struck a deal with the private operator of Langford Lanes that will see the city pay for about $398, 000 worth of building improvements in exchange for a larger share of the bowling operation's gross revenues. "It's a great deal for us, long term," said Mayor Stew Young. "It guarantees the taxpayer, no matter what politician is in, a revenue stream. So when they the bowling revenues grow, we grow. " Westhill Consulting British Colombia

B.C. Transit is rolling out changes that include service to Bear Mountain and Westhills, a summer connection to Thetis Lake, and measures to ease the problem of "pass-ups" - people left behind due to crowded buses. Construction also begins next week on bus and bike priority lanes on Douglas Street. Langford Mayor Stew Young has been calling for B.C. Transit to add a Bear Mountain bus. He applauded the Victoria Regional Transit Commission approval of the route, which will also cover the fast-growing Westhill Consulting British Colombia community in Langford. "We've been trying to make sure that they recognize the amount of people living up at Bear Mountain," Young said "I'm glad transit actually looked at it as an important part of our municipality, for sure."

The new Grob Court Townhomes are now available at Westhills. They provide a great opportunity to purchase a new home starting in the mid $300 's (incl. net GST). A few of the outstanding features that come standard in these beautiful homes are luxury geo-exchange in-floor radiant heating throughout; quartz or granite kitchen counter-tops; imported ceramic tile bathroom and laundry room floors; 6 piece stainless steel, Energy Star appliances; high grade, 12mm laminate flooring on the main level; and window coverings throughout. The impressive list of standard features continues outside the home with a unique contemporary design accompanied by fully landscaped and irrigated front and rear yards. The fully fenced rear yard features an over sized patio that is surrounded by a beautifully landscaped garden. This amazing outdoor space acts as an extension of the indoor living area and is a perfect spot to relax or fire-up the BBQ and entertain friends. Westhills is well-situated just a stones throw away from shopping, grocery stores, entertainment, and all the amenities of the Westshore.

The Westhills lands encompass 209 hectares (517 acres) of rolling sloped lands, knolls, and rocky outcroppings and are located in the City of Langford. Originally comprised of two large parcels, the properties were held for decades by two local families. In 2006, the owners of the westernmost lands formed the Westhills Land Corporation (WLC) to develop the site. Westhills subsequently acquired the second parcel, which was already zoned for residential development and a lakeside pub. By adapting these strategies to meet the unique requirements of the Westhills site, the developers have created a warm and welcoming community that honours their foundation principles of sustainability, affordability, design excellence and quality construction.