Qualex-Landmark undeterred by Calgary woes

Qualex-Landmark undeterred by Calgary woes

Calgary’s condominium sector has taken the hardest hit in a housing market gutted by the plunge in oil prices. However, partner Mohammed Esfahani says Qualex-Landmark has pre-sold 140 condominiums at his luxury Park Point tower in Calgary in the past year, 10 in the past month, at an average of $610 per square foot. “We are not afraid,” said Esfahani.

Business In Vancouver – Buzzbuzzhome,com – Financial Post – CBC News

Tarion concerns threaten to halt Urbancorp projects

One of Toronto’s major condo developers warned investors it could be forced to sell some of its projects if it fails to stop Ontario’s new-home warranty organization from revoking its registration. In statements filed, Urbancorp described the need to sell one or more of its housing developments as “worst-case” if the company loses its appeal with Tarion Warranty Corp.

Globe and Mail

Long-term care anchor of Sienna portfolio

The number of Canadians over the age of 75 is expected to double over the next 20 years, and Sienna Senior Living Inc. (SIA-T) believes it will be ready to house many of them. “There’s demand and we’re a high-quality provider and a good operator . . . we’re very well-positioned to be part of that growth,” said president/CEO Lois Cormack.

Property Biz Canada

Amenity spat delays Victoria towers

The City of Victoria has refused to back down from a requirement for an almost $1-million amenity contribution by developer Oakwood Parks Estates before two residential towers on industrial/commercial property will be allowed to proceed. Councillors stuck with staff recommendations calling for a $975,000 amenity contribution for a proposal to build two 12-storey towers over ground floor commercial.

Victoria Times Colonist

Bidding wars enter Toronto rental market

If you’re sick of bidding wars in the housing market, you might not fund refuge in the rental world. Toronto’s rental condominium market is starting to generate price increases that haven’t been seen in years, as tenants squeezed out of the housing market look to lease instead.

Financial Post – CBC News – Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Number of vacant new Edmonton houses skyrocket

The number of new, unsold homes in the Edmonton area soared more than 70 per cent over the last year, preliminary figures from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. show. There were about 1,800 vacant housing units in the area in March, a huge increase from 1,046 unoccupied homes the previous February.

Edmonton Journal

Canada’s homes prices soaring

Existing home sales set an record in March across Canada with prices rising at a pace not see since before the 2008 recession hit, according to new data out Friday. The Teranet-National Bank house price index rose 0.8 per cent from February to March, the largest monthly increase since 2008. Prices rose in six of 11 markets surveyed but the Vancouver market drove the national numbers.

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

Tenant turnover most likely in transit-oriented rental markets

According to a Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) study of the Vancouver market, the top three reasons why tenants move are when they buy a home, change jobs or find new lodgings where the rents are lower and the digs or the management’s better. But being able to track those moves is key for landlords.

Business In Vancouver

New West attempting to manage rapid rise

The mayor of New Westminster aims to protect the province’s former capital from becoming like Vancouver – a city where the commodification of housing is displacing residents. “Are we going to lose some of that character that is part of what makes New Westminster such a cool place?” asks mayor Jonathan Coté. “It’s always back of mind for myself.”

Globe and Mail

Chinese investment set to increase

Chinese investors are getting hungrier for real estate in Canada, where foreign demand has made million-dollar homes the norm in cities such as Vancouver. Inquiries for Canadian homes on Juwai.com, a property search engine that lists real estate around the world for Chinese buyers, jumped 134 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier.

Bloomberg – Buzzbuzzhome.com – Vancouver Province – Newinhomes.com

Can the public trust RE industry to govern itself?

Sometimes, real estate in B.C. feels more like the plot of an overloaded thriller than a regulated industry. Shadow flipping, predatory pricing, conflicts of interest: every day brings a new tale of realtor greed and depravity in a gold-plated market. Vancouver. There is a dedicated cop in this story: the Real Estate Council of B.C.

CBC News – Globe and Mail – Vancouver Sun

B.C. watchdog reads riot act to realtors

In a private speech to the Real Estate Council of B.C., the province’s top financial regulator warned realtors “your business is dead” if the public loses trust. Superintendent of real estate Carolyn Rogers also said she is “worried” risk conditions prevalent in B.C.’s housing market are “creating many other risks” across the financial system.

Vancouver Sun – CTV News – CBC News – Globe and Mail

Apartment sector’s run nearly over: Reis

“If there were any doubts about rising vacancy in the apartment market they should now be put to rest,” Ryan Severino, senior economist and director of research for New York City-based Reis (REIS-Q), said in introducing the company’s report on the apartment sector’s first quarter. For the third consecutive quarter, Severino says, national vacancy rates increased.  

Multifamily Executive – National Real Estate Investor

Manhattan luxury-rental plan abandoned

Manhattan builder Extell Development Co. is retreating from a plan to list 38 units at its One57 tower for lease, choosing to sell them instead as demand for luxury rentals slips amid an abundance of supply. The apartments, on the 32nd through 38th floors of the West 57th Street skyscraper, will be listed for sale as condominiums at prices starting at $3.45 million, Extell said in a statement.

Bloomberg

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

RENX Columnists

MPAC’s new online system has a few bugs

Dear MPAC;

Kudos on catching up with the digital age by turning the annual Property Income and Expense Return from a pile of paper to a digital submission form.

If only your team had made this move with a little more field testing

Read more

Market Conditions

Montreal market off to best start in four years

Greater Montreal’s real estate market got off to the best start in four years in 2016, buoyed by a surge in demand for condominiums in the first quarter, the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board said Thursday. About 10,600 home sales closed in the first three months of the year, up from 9,645 in the same period a year ago.

Vancouver Province

If trends continue . . .

Last year, Vancouverites fed up with the cost of housing banded together as part of the #donthave1million campaign. In 10 years’ time, they could find themselves rallying around the fact that they don’t have $5 million to buy a single-family home. HuffPost Canada has put together projections of house prices in Canada’s largest cities . . .

Huffington Post – Globe and Mail – Business In Vancouver – Globe and Mail

U.S. senior housing market past its prime

Despite recent market data and analysis that indicates the independent living and assisted living sectors may be past their peaks, senior housing market participants may still keep a positive outlook for the coming year. The seniors housing market is generally healthy, and while 2016 won’t be a banner year like 2015, it should still be a good year, says Integra Realty Resources (IRR).

Seniors Housing News – MarketWatch

50 most expensive rentals state-by-state

PHOTO GALLERY: Rents on apartments and single-family homes may be going up everywhere in the U.S., but even at the very top of the market, there is quite a difference between the going rate in New York and Wyoming. Researchers from RENTCafe put together a list of the most expensive rental units available in every state.

National Real Estate Investor

Latest reports:

* Québec, Québec Federation of Real Estate Boards (QFREB), Canada Newswire

* Toronto housing market, BNN.ca, CBC News

* Peterborough, Kawarthas Association of Realtors, Peterborough Examiner

* Saskatoon, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

* Saskatoon luxury homes, Boyes Group Realty Inc., Saskatoon StarPhoenix

* Medicine Hat, Medicine Hat Real Estate Board, Medicine Hat News

* Calgary, Edmonton resale markets, Calgary Herald

* B.C., British Columbia Real Estate Association, Business In Vancouver 

* New home prices, Statistics Canada, Reuters

* Canadian confidence in housing, Nanos Research Group, Bloomberg

* Los Angeles, 2016 USC Casden Multifamily Forecast, Curbed Los Angeles

* U.S., National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index, Globe and Mail 

* U.S. housing starts,  Commerce Department, Reuters

RENX Market Summaries

Mortgage and Finance

U.S. 30-year mortgage rate falls

Average long-term U.S. mortgage rates edged down this week to their lowest levels of the year, offering a continued incentive for purchasing during the spring home-buying season. The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate loan touched its lowest point in nearly three years, since May 2013. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average slipped to 3.58 per cent from 3.59 per cent last week. The key rate stood at 3.67 per cent a year ago.

Winnipeg Free Press

Taxes and Utilities

Calgary homeowners facing tax increase

Calgary homeowners are facing a property tax increase of nearly $170 on an average house after the provincial government raised its take of municipal revenue in last week’s budget.  The Alberta government adjusts its property tax rate on a province-wide basis, and this year that works out to a 10.2 per cent increase for residences and 4.6 per cent for non-residential properties.

Calgary Herald

Natural Disasters

B.C. wildfires prompt evacuations

A state of emergency remains in effect, but residents forced from their homes by numerous wildfires around the northeastern B.C. city of Fort St. John may get a break from the weather. Environment Canada forecasted temperatures to fall on Tuesday and rain should arrive by the end of the week.

Vancouver Sun – Edmonton Journal – Edmonton Journal

Houston recovering from yet another deadly flood

As more than a foot of rain deluged the nation’s fourth-largest city, inundating homes, shutting down major highways and leaving at least five people dead, Houston’s mayor said there was no immediate solution. Heavy flooding has become nearly an annual rite of passage in the practically sea-level city, where experts have long warned of the potential for catastrophe.

CTV News

Affordable Housing

Ontario’s inclusionary zoning not the answer

The Ontario government announced recently it will give cities the power to require home builders to set aside housing in new developments for low-income families. Municipal politicians might like the plan, but it will be costly for home buyers and is not the most effective way to give low-income families good housing. The province’s plan is called inclusionary zoning.

Globe and Mail

U.S. faces huge need for affordable seniors housing

The need for affordable seniors housing in the U.S. is becoming louder every year — there’s just not enough out there to meet the expected demand, and not much progress has been made. A recent study by Make Room reported the percentage of seniors who need affordable housing is rising faster than the increase in the elderly U.S. population.

National Real Estate Investor – Bloomberg – CBS News

Vancouver seeks to create affordable housing

The City of Vancouver wants to help moderate income earners buy 300 homes in the city. The Affordable Housing Ownership pilot program will go before the city’s finance committee on Wednesday. Under the program, the city would strike a deal with developers to acquire 20 per cent ownership of 300 new units, which it would sell to buyers at a discounted price.

CBC News – Globe and Mail – Business In Vancouver – Global News

TO millennials expect to afford home: BMO

About two-thirds of millennials in the Toronto area expect to own their own home, according to a survey by Pollara for Bank of Montreal being released Wednesday. That’s despite a higher average purchase price of $465,000 in Toronto, compared to the $350,000 national average. Those expecting to buy are relying on family to realize their dream.

Toronto Star – Marketwired – Vancouver Sun

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

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

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

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

Buying and Selling

Ottawa homeowners say heritage designation hurts resale

The City of Ottawa’s intention to grant a heritage designation for a stone house once owned by a Confederation poet is driving down its value, the current owners said Thursday. Margie Howsam, Jean Roger and Dave Roger spoke to the city’s built-heritage subcommittee in opposition to a report recommending heritage status for the 175-year-old home.

Ottawa Citizen

Edmonton’s most expensive condo

Empty nesters seeking a high-end downtown Edmonton perch could fork out almost $3.7 million for the most expensive condo listed in the city. The 3,326-square-foot, two-storey sky palace on the 34th and 35th floors of Pearl, the capital’s tallest residential tower, is a sign of central Edmonton’s growing popularity, real estate agent Jakie Ng said Wednesday.

National Post – CBC News

Condo Scene: The ABCs of condo living, Part V

In the final part of this A to Z series on buying your new condo, we tackle letters S to Z.
What is the security like in your building?  Do you have a concierge? How does visitor parking work, if applicable? Does the building use fobs or keys to admit residents to common areas?

Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Citizen – Ottawa Citizen

Big Fat Deal: Surfer shack near Kits

Address: 2027 York Avenue, Vancouver
Price:  $4,500,000
MLS: R2039911
The skinny: Two-bedroom, one-bathroom, 1,800-square-foot house in Kitsilano.
The bling: Yes, that’s right: $4.5M for 1,800 square feet. What in other civilizations would be cast as a pathetic little one-storey slum dwelling, in Vancouver is considered a prime opportunity.

BCBusiness

Other

The stories behind 10 stately Vancouver mansions

About a century ago, stately mansions lined the streets of the West End, Shaughnessy, Point Grey and other posh neighbourhoods across Metro Vancouver. But today, when 1,000 homes a year are felled to make room for the new, these grand old mansions can be a challenge to preserve. The key to survival is to adapt.

Vancouver Sun

SAM Awards honour Calgary homebuilders

Broadview Homes and Avi Urban are the new reigning top single-family and multi-family builders in the Calgary area. Broadview, part of Qualico Group of Companies, was crowned Builder of the Year, and Avi Urban won the Multi-Family Builder of the Year title at the Canadian Home Builders’ Association-Urban Development Institute Calgary Region Association SAM (Sales and Marketing) Awards.

Calgary Herald – Calgary Sun – Newinhomes.com