FINTRAC steps up brokerage audits

FINTRAC steps up brokerage audits

Significant deficiencies in how some salespeople and brokerages in the Vancouver area are handling their obligations under Canada’s anti-money laundering law has prompted the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) to increase the number of examinations it performs in the real estate sector right across the country.

REMonline.com

Unconditional offers concern Vancouver brokers

The breakneck speed of real estate transactions in Greater Vancouver has some brokers suggesting agents have clients sign a form spelling out they understand the risks when offers are made with no conditions. Sotheby’s International Realty has sent a notice to its agents with a new form asking for official client acknowledgment.

Globe and Mail

U.S. multi-family’s counter-cyclical appeal

From his vantage point as first VP, investments at Marcus & Millichap (MMI-N) and senior director with the firm’s Institutional Property Advisors division, Peter Von Der Ahe in a position to make a case for multi-family continuing to maintain its counter-cyclical appeal. It’s a claim he wouldn’t necessarily make for other property sectors at the moment.

Globest.com

Ivanhoe, Blackstone take management of Stuyvesant Town

Blackstone (BX-N), through funds it manages on behalf of its real estate investors, and Ivanhoé Cambridge, a real estate subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, announced the new property management company at Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village/ (STPCV) will be named StuyTown Property Services.

MultifamilyBiz – CoStar Group

Vancouver condo tower to be ‘ephemeral’

Reflective shingles on the facade of a proposed new residential tower on the West Georgia corridor are intended to make the building as ephemeral as possible, according to the Japanese architect. Kengo Kuma designed the 43-storey tower with two deep recesses or scoops that set it apart from the traditional rectangular cuboid form of high-rise towers.

Vancouver Sun

Tony and Cherie Blair build property empire

Like many parents who have done well out of the house-price growth of the past three decades, Cherie and Tony Blair have been able to help their children on to the housing ladder. Since they bought a home in his former Sedgefield constituency in 1983, the Blairs have built up a property empire worth an estimated $51 million Cdn.

The Guardian

Shared platforms offer richer living

Savvy real estate developers are taking a special look at shared living platforms. “It’s not a new concept. ‘Global living’ cities like New York, Chicago, Toronto and Vancouver have been doing this for years,” says Robert Duteau, senior vice-president of development at Grosvenor, a multi-national global real estate development company.

Calgary Herald

Panama Papers shine light on London real estate

The spotlight on the London property market as a destination for colossal sums of money has intensified after the so-called Panama Papers leak. The documents have led to various reports detailing the foreign ownership of multiple prime London properties, sparking fears that some multimillion-dollar deals are being financed with laundered money.

CNBC – Globe and Mail

Torontonians paying price to live urban dream

In 1898, the Toronto Publishing Company put out a social study of the youngish city by the lake. In Of Toronto the Good: The Queen City of Canada As It Is, author C.S. Clark marvels at the extravagant price being asked for a house on Charles Street. A real estate agent had the temerity to demand $3,200 for it.

Globe and Mail

B.C. home prices threaten food security: Vancity

Double-digit leaps in home prices across the Vancouver region could force farmers off the land and threaten local food security, a report from Vancity credit union suggests. Farmland prices, including in the rich and productive soils of the Fraser River delta, now range from $150,000 to $350,000 per acre for parcels less than five acres, the study said.

CTV News – Vancouver Sun – BCBusiness – CBC News

Russia moves to improve real estate regulation

The Russian Federal Anti-Monopoly Service (FAS) and the Accounts Chamber (the parliamentary body of financial control in Russia) is designing a new legislative base for the Russian real estate industry. According to FAS, the absence of legislative framework regulating the activities of real estate brokers in Russia does not guarantee the rights of consumers.

REMonline.com

Disciplined real estate agents face weak penalties

Real estate agents in Metro Vancouver who are disciplined for wrongdoing face fines and suspensions that are dwarfed by the hefty commissions they earn. Records from more than 100 recent disciplinary proceedings obtained by The Globe show only a fraction of agents ever lose their licences over misconduct, and fines averaged $4,850 or less.

Globe and Mail

Apartment building boom takes hold in Vancouver

Metro Vancouver developers are engaging in a rental apartment building boom the region hasn’t seen in more than a generation. A panel of developers, lenders and landlords said at the recent Vancouver Real Estate Forum they’ve been able to capitalize on extremely low rental vacancy rates, high demand for housing from newcomers and incentive schemes by local governments.

Property Biz Canada – Globe and Mail

Housing correction risk small: Fortress

The possibility of Canadian housing prices facing a major correction isn’t as large as many seem to believe, according to factors cited in Fortress Real Developments’ latest Market Manuscript report.

Property Biz Canada – Globe and Mail

B.C. real-estate firm put on short leash

The B.C. real estate industry’s self-regulating body has stepped in to impose a list of conditions on New Coast Realty, the result of a Globe and Mail investigation that revealed a controversial, informal training session at one of Vancouver’s fastest-growing real estate firms.

Globe and Mail – Vancouver Sun – Globe and Mail – CKNW News Talk 980

Urbancorp’s troubles pile up

Warped, grey plywood lines Curzon Street in east end Toronto. The fence ends at a gate, which is padlocked. Behind the gate rises a neighbourhood of prime three-storey townhomes Urbancorp markets as “The Neighbourhood of Leslieville.” Today the 56 purchasers are not sure when — or if — they will ever get the keys to their dream homes.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail

Vancouver, TO home prices could ‘end badly’: BMO

BMO Nesbitt Burns looks at what it would take to halt the rapid advance of the Vancouver and Toronto housing markets. And of the five potential factors, senior economist Robert Kavcic sees not a single one on the horizon. “Odds are that if this kind of price growth (especially Vancouver) continues, it will end badly . . .,” he said.

Globe and Mail – CTV News – Huffington Post

O-Train intersection could spark Bayview wave

Trinity Development Group’s proposed mixed-use complex that would span the O-Train tracks near Bayview station could become the centrepiece of Ottawa’s next great urban gentrification project, real estate experts say. Trinity hopes to develop the two-hectare site with up to four highrises that would include a mix of retail, office and residential space.

Ottawa Business Journal

Chinese developers aim to expand in Canada

Chinese residential developers are widening their beachheads in Canada as demand for homes grows in part from people of Chinese descent. Tianco Group Inc., DongDu International Group and Greenland Group are among the Chinese-controlled developers planning to increase their activity, executives of those companies say.

Wall Street Journal

Market Conditions

Royal LePage links

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/redistribution-of-canadas-workforce-drives-further-price-appreciation-in-greater-vancouver-and-the-greater-toronto-area-574863511.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/st-johns-home-prices-remain-flat-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863681.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/fredericton-home-prices-slip-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574864091.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/moncton-home-prices-show-steady-increase-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574864141.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/halifax-home-prices-slip-modestly-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863661.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/montreal-real-estate-market-sees-signs-of-revival-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863451.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/gatineau-sees-return-to-a-balanced-real-estate-market-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863181.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/ottawa-home-prices-show-moderate-growth-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863911.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/kitchenerwaterloocambridge-region-home-prices-show-healthy-increases-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863861.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/greater-toronto-area-suburban-regions-see-significant-growth-in-first-quarter-of-2016-574863551.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/hamilton-home-prices-show-healthy-increases-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863401.html

 

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/winnipeg-home-prices-see-healthy-increase-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863461.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/home-prices-in-regina-show-slight-declines-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863581.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/saskatoon-home-prices-remain-relatively-flat-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863341.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/edmonton-home-prices-show-steady-growth-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574864031.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/calgary-home-prices-post-modest-declines-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863791.html

 

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/kelowna-home-prices-see-strong-growth-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574864161.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/prices-in-greater-vancouver-see-significant-appreciation-in-first-quarter-of-2016-574863711.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/housing-prices-stabilize-in-laval-attracting-more-buyers-as-spring-market-begins-574863521.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/saint-john-home-prices-slip-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863311.html

* https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/charlottetown-home-prices-slip-slightly-in-the-first-quarter-of-2016-574863821.html

 

New inventory softens Saskatoon’s condo market

An influx of inventory softened Saskatoon’s condominium market over the last six months. “I think that our condo market is slightly more beat up than it was a year ago — we actually have a pretty good decline in the number of units trading and we have significantly more inventory,” said Royal LePage Vidorra‘s Norm Fisher.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Annual pace of housing starts slows: CMHC

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. says the pace of housing starts slowed in March. The agency says the seasonally adjusted annual rate was 204,251 units in March, down from 219,077 in February. Economists had expected an annual pace of 190,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

Globe and Mail – Windsor Star – Regina Leader-Post – Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Trump presidency could boost housing demand: Royal LePage

The prospect of a Donald Trump presidency could drive more Americans into Canada’s housing market, a new study by Royal LePage revealed. “The economic miracle that is contemporary Canada is driven in significant measure by our success at attracting quality immigrants to our land,” said Phil Soper, president and CEO at Royal LePage. (PLEASE SEE DETAILED CHART BELOW).

 

Windsor Star – Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail – Bloomberg

Foreign buyers prefer Toronto condos

A new Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. report on condominiums and foreign ownership suggests Toronto’s central core is leading the way in attracting offshore money. CMHC says that of all new buildings completed since 2010 in what it calls “Toronto Centre” about 10 per cent have been purchased by people from abroad, up from 2.3 per cent in the 1990s.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail – CTV News – Toronto Star

U.S. apartment vacancies up in Q1

The U.S. apartment market is still very strong, according to Reis Inc.’s report on the market for the first quarter of 2016, which the company released on Tuesday with commentary from senior economist and director of research Ryan Severino. But the market isn’t quite as robust as it was during the years after the recession.

Commercial Property Executive

Shortage of homes hits U.S. Midwest

Home buyers in hot housing markets from San Francisco to Brooklyn have grown accustomed to bidding wars, waived home inspections, and rapid-fire offers. If you’re house-hunting in Omaha, Neb., Grand Rapids, Mich., or Indianapolis, you might want to brace yourself for similar tactiBcs.

Bloomberg

Ottawa’s new rules have ‘no impact’ on Vancouver, TO

Canada’s two strongest housing markets, targeted this year by new housing policy from Ottawa, continue to exhibit no sign of slowing down. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said March was the highest-selling month on record. Meanwhile, Toronto showed it’s on pace to make 2016 a record-breaking year for existing home sales.

Financial Post – Winnipeg Free Press – Globe and Mail

Latest reports:

* Montréal, Greater Montréal Real Estate Board (GMREB), Canada Newswire

* Ottawa residential building permits, Statistics Canada, Ottawa Citizen

* Toronto, Toronto Real Estate Board, Toronto Star, Marketwired

* Hamilton, Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington, Hamilton Spectator

* Sarnia-Lambton, Sarnia Lambton Real Estate Board, BlackburnNews.com 

* Winnipeg, WinnipegREALTORS, Winnipeg Sun

* Kamloops, B.C., Kamloops and District Real Estate Association, CFJC Today Kamloops

* Chilliwack, Chilliwack and District Real Estate Board (CADREB), Chilliwack Times  

* Tri-Cities, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, Tri-City News

* Miami, Miami New Times 

* Kansas City, Kansas City Regional Association of Realtors (KCRAR), Marketwired

* U.S. apartment transaction volume, Real Capital Analytics (RCA), Multifamily Executive

RENX Market Summaries

Mortgage and Finance

Goldman Sachs settles over risky mortgages

The Justice Department on Monday announced a roughly $5 billion settlement with Goldman Sachs (GS-N) over the sale of mortgage-backed securities leading up to the 2008 financial crisis. The government accused the bank of misleading investors about the quality of its loans. The $5.06-billion deal resolves state and federal probes into the sale of shoddy mortgages.

Toronto Star – Reuters – New York Times

US CRE, multi-family originations rise in 2015

Commercial and multi-family originators closed $504 billion in loans last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. The MBA’s Commercial Real Estate/Multifamily Finance Annual Origination Volume Summation for 2015 found commercial bank portfolios were the leading capital source, responsible for $138.6 billion of the total.

National Mortgage News

Alberta’s proposed seniors home loan program denounced

Alberta’s new home renovation loan program for seniors, applauded by some advocate groups, is nothing more than a reverse mortgage, charges a Calgary woman. Bea McLaren says she was shocked to hear about Bill 5, the Seniors’ Home Adaptation and Repair program, announced Wednesday by Lori Sigurdson, minister of seniors and housing.

Calgary Herald

What will it take for mortgage rates to rise?

VIDEO: Rob Carrick talks about mortgage rates with Sherry Cooper, chief economist with Dominion Lending Centres

Globe and Mail

Seasonal Homes

Whether to buy or rent a cottage

The desire to own a cottage where you can look forward to making memories on the same lake every summer is an obvious one for many Canadians. However, Ted Rechtshaffen, president and chief executive of TriDelta Financial, says the financial argument for owning a cottage instead of renting one is harder to make.

Winnipeg Free Press – Globe and Mail

Taxes and Utilities

Ontario property assessments up 18 per cent

Ontario homeowners can expect the value of their property to have risen an average of 18 per cent when they get their new assessments. Ontario’s Municipal Property Assessment Corporation started mailing out the quadrennial notices Tuesday in the Barrie, Brockville and Cornwall areas. Notices for the rest of the province will be sent out over the coming weeks.

Winnipeg Free Press

Natural Disasters

Saskatoon City Council mulls flood fix

Dozens of Saskatoon homeowners are hesitant to take a vacation if heavy rain is in the forecast, says Coun. Charlie Clark. The intense rains of the past decade have overwhelmed the city’s aging storm water infrastructure, causing surface water to rush into their basements.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Legal Issues

Burnaby condo owners fined for taunts

A couple accused of screaming bigoted and obscene taunts at their neighbours and smearing dog feces on doors in their Burnaby condo complex have been ordered to fork over thousands of dollars in unpaid strata fines. Barry Linden and Ronald Thibodeau have been the subject of numerous complaints from their neighbours over the years, according to court documents.

Vancouver Sun

Condo sues property manager again

Much to the chagrin of its residents, Minto Plaza has become a poster child for the challenges facing Toronto’s burgeoning condo industry. For the second time in six years, the upscale 434-unit building is embroiled in a legal battle with its property manager over allegations of thousands of dollars in unauthorized expenses.

Globe and Mail

Affordable Housing

Unmet demand for larger units in U.S. rental housing

There are numerous initiatives focused on creating more affordable apartment units. Most of these initiatives are targeting the Millennials. We are highly underserved by affordable housing units in the U.S., particularly in the larger coastal cities of New York, Boston, Washington DC, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

National Real Estate Investor

Vancouver councillors look to protect housing stock from Airbnb

At City Hall Wednesday, Vancouver resident Emily Plommer said she and her partner relied on Airbnb to help them afford a rental home. Cities across North America are worried services such as Airbnb are hurting communities as landlords choose the lucrative option of short-term rentals over long-term tenants.

Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun

Calgary businesses oppose housing project

CHECK FOR UPDATES
Submissions against a northeast housing project for the working poor continued all day Tuesday at a quasi-judicial public hearing, with expectations that a series of rebuttals and several days of deliberation will continue to lengthen the drawn-out battle.

The Subdivision and Development Appeal Board has entered its second day of submissions against an application by the Calgary Drop-In and Rehab Centre to convert a former Quality Inn into an affordable housing complex along Edmonton Trail just south of McKnight Boulevard N.E.

Calgary Herald

‘A home for every Albertan’

Ryan Scott, the new president of Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Alberta says the biggest target during his term will be housing affordability. “I think the key is really our vision: A home for every Albertan,” Scott said. “I think that really goes down into a focus on affordability.”

Calgary Herald

Small houses

Is there a place for micro in U.S.?

For Robin Dionne, director of outreach for the Arcade in Providence, R.I., expectations for the micro-apartment complex located in a repurposed shopping passage were initially as modest as the 225-square-foot dwellings she began hawking in 2014. But it turned out small was just what some people had been waiting for.

MarketWatch – CBC News – Gizmodo

Tiny-house owners grateful for small blessings

Nothing beats the view from Carolyn Hesseltine’s porch. Just outside Terrace, B.C., she can watch the morning sun move over the mountains across the Kalum river. At 67, the self-proclaimed outdoor-loving wanderer had been looking for a place to put down roots. She found the opportunity in Bluegrass Meadows Micro Village.

Vancouver Province

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Toronto considers apartment licensing to prevent bad landlords

Toronto is contemplating a licensing system for apartment buildings to give inspectors more teeth when landlords fail to meet minimum property standards. The proposed Rent Safe program would apply to about 3,300 rental buildings with 10 units or more that are three storeys or higher, according to a city staff report. Condos and co-ops would be excluded.

Toronto Star

Historic Montreal co-op ruined by sinkhole

Several Montreal families are suddenly homeless after a sinkhole was found underneath a historic co-op building that dated back to the 1800s. The surprise discovery triggered an evacuation on Saturday. Four units of the rent-controlled Griffintown building were demolished Sunday night, leaving many priceless possessions amongst the rubble.

CTV News – CBC News

Vancouver filmmaker captures abandoned mansions

Corbie Fieldwalker is watching Vancouver crumble through the lens of a digital camera. While on a stroll last July, the filmmaker and a friend stumbled upon a house left to rot in Point Grey, a neighbourhood that’s home to some of North America’s priciest real estate and coveted for its ocean, mountain and city views.

Vancouver Province

Rodents taking over downtown Vancouver

As Vancouver’s real estate boom continues, concerns are being raised about the impact on displaced populations — including, increasingly, the rats unearthed by construction and looking for a home near you. Chelsea Himsworth, lead researcher on the Vancouver Rat Project, advocates for a citywide strategy in dealing with what she calls a public health threat.

BCBusiness

Infill housing debates expected for Edmonton region

Expect debates over lot splitting, skinny houses and condo towers to sweep across the Edmonton region as a new growth plan proposes infill targets for communities such as St. Albert and Sherwood Park. If passed, each regional city and town would be required to submit a strategy for higher-density redevelopment in existing areas.

Edmonton Journal – Edmonton Sun

Buying and Selling

Most millennials feel owning a home attainable: Poll

Canadian millennials are optimistic about the future, including their homeownership prospects, according to a new poll by RE/MAX. The survey, conducted by Leger, found 78.5 per cent of Canadians 18-34 agree that owning a home they love is attainable. In all provinces, Canadians overwhelmingly agree homeownership is attainable.

Canada Newswire – Globe and Mail

Couple sells Vancouver house to buy two New West properties

While many Vancouver residents wring their hands over the city’s skyrocketing real estate prices, others are quietly making the most of the situation. Rich Patterson, for example, sold his modest Vancouver house, then turned around and used the proceeds to buy a small commercial building for his business as well as a house in the suburbs.

Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun

Big Fat Deal: A licence to print money

Address: 3928 Quesnel Drive, Vancouver
Price: $6,180,000
MLS: R2051948
The skinny: Four-bedroom, five-bathroom, 3220-square-foot house with views in the Arbutus neighbourhood.
The bling: This property could be your licence to print money. This perfectly unremarkable family home is perched high on a hill with views worthy of a gross profit of more than $4,000,000 for its enterprising owners.

BCBusiness

Condo Scene: The ABCs of condo living, part four

NEEDS TO ADD PART 5

In the fourth part of this series on things to consider from A to Z when buying your new condo, we tackle letters P to R.

Ottawa Citizen

Condo investors snapping up multiple units

A rising share of condo investors in Canada’s hottest housing markets are snapping up multiple units in hopes of capitalizing on rising prices and lucrative rental income. Over all, the condo investment market has been stable, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation found in a new survey of more than 42,000 condo owners in the Toronto and Vancouver regions.

Globe and Mail – BCBusiness

Condo Scene: The ABCs of condo living, part three

In the third part of this series on things to consider from A to Z when buying your new condo, we tackle letters J to O.

Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Citizen

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