Edmonton’s Blatchford project on hold

Edmonton’s Blatchford project on hold

Edmonton city council has voted unanimously to delay the $238-million Blatchford redevelopment for one year. Some councillors have grown nervous over the practicality of the carbon-neutral energy vision for the project on the former City Centre Airport grounds. Coun. Ben Henderson expressed frustration the city has already been talking about the development for six years.

CBC News – CTV News – Edmonton Journal

Layoff protection offered by Alberta condo project

For the first time in a generation, new Alberta condos and homes sit ready. It has builders like Calgary’s Carlisle Group thinking creatively about who to get customers into a show suite. “That’s the No. 1 challenge . . . just getting people out of their home, reading all the doom and gloom,” Jim Bryce said.

Global News

Burnaby outpaces Vancouver in tower development

Burnaby is putting up a forest of highrise residential towers over the next 25 years, far outstripping anything contemplated by Vancouver. Targeting land around rapid transit nodes and four malls, developers have at least 106 highrise residential buildings with more than 30,000 units proposed or under construction.

Vancouver Sun

First Quebec student housing fund established

UTILE announced the foundation of the Popular University Student Housing Fund (PUSH Fund), the first investment fund dedicated to the construction of student housing in Quebec. With an initial capitalization of nearly $2 million from the Concordia Student Union (CSU), the PUSH Fund’s mission is to finance the development of new, cooperative and affordable housing units,

Canada Newswire – Canada Newswire

BMO exec slams market ‘scaremongers’

Bank of Montreal’s (BMO-T) chief economist is poking the bear in the eye. Douglas Porter looked back at comments predicting the demise of Canada’s housing market, as far back as 2008. All warned the party was, or would soon be, over. One comment, a few years ago, warned prices would collapse by 25 per cent.

Globe and Mail – CBC News – Huffington Post – Buzzbuzzhome.com

B.C. government moves to end shadow flipping

The B.C. government is moving to outlaw what the Premier calls the “greedy’ and “shady” practice of so-called shadow flipping in residential real estate. The move comes after a investigation exposed how sales contracts for single-family homes are being legally assigned – flipped quickly – to new buyers for a higher price, before an initial deal closes.

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

B.C. real estate panel to review sales practices

A panel set up to examine whether unscrupulous real estate agents are taking advantage of British Columbia’s overheated housing market will look into “shadow flipping” and other practices that have come under scrutiny in recent months, according to terms of reference released Tuesday.

Globe and Mail – CBC News – Victoria Times Colonist

Vancouver market ‘vulnerable’ to money laundering

Dozens of Vancouver-area real estate firms are failing to comply with federal anti-money-laundering laws that require them to identify who their clients are and where their money comes from. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FinTRAC) says it found “significant” or “very significant” deficiencies within some five dozen B.C. brokerages.

Globe and Mail

U.S. regulators concerned about ‘shell companies’

The U.S. Treasury has begun an experiment designed to track foreigners purchasing luxury homes, anonymously, in New York and Miami, two of the hottest U.S. real estate markets. U.S. regulators are especially concerned about purchases made through “shell companies” in what could be scams to launder money.

CCTVAmerica

MIPIM 2016: ‘Housing the World’

The central theme of MIPIM 2016 was “Housing the World.” Given UN data more than 50 per cent of the world’s population now lives in cities and annual urban growth is at 1.8 per cent, it seemed highly appropriate.

Commercial Property Executive

U.S. single-family housing starts hit nine-year high

Construction on new houses rose in February to a five-month high, led by the biggest increase in single-family units in nine years. Housing starts climbed 5.2 per cent last month to an annual pace of 1.18 million, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected starts to rise at a seasonally adjusted 1.15 million rate.

MarketWatch – Reuters

Millennials delaying the move to suburbia

There has been a flurry of news reports recently touting the droves of Millennials flocking to the suburbs. Although this may make for a great headline, the message is not representative of what is actually occurring within the housing market.

National Real Estate Investor

Investcorp scoops up student housing, MF assets

Investcorp’s U.S.-based real estate arm said Monday it had closed on about $220 million US worth of acquisitions in the multi-family and student housing sectors. The five properties are located in the Minneapolis metropolitan area and in Boca Raton, Fla. Investcorp did not identify the sellers.

Globest.com – MultifamilyBiz.com

APG backs Indian residential property vehicle

APG is backing a residential property fund launched by Indian developer Godrej Properties. Godrej’s fund management business has raised $360 million Cdn for its Residential Investment Program II vehicle, with APG as the lead investor. The vehicle is a follow-up to the $262 million residential development platform GPL set up with an APG-led investor group in 2012.

IPE & Real Estate – Wall Street Journal

Kennedy Wilson fund acquires multi-family properties

Global real estate investment company Kennedy Wilson through its value-add fund Kennedy Wilson Real Estate Fund V purchased two Seattle-area multi-family properties in separate transactions for a combined purchase price of $141 million. In total, Fund V invested $50 million of equity and secured new debt of $92 million through Freddie Mac.

CoStar Group – Multihousingnews.com

RENX Columnists

The suburbs and the sound of crickets

This post isn’t about what will happen to the suburbs as Boomers flee for Multi-Family Housing (MFH) in more-dense urban neighborhoods. But, what happens to them next will likely be a very big deal.

Read more

Market Conditions

Toronto’s suburbs get share of frenzy

Real estate agent Shawn Lackie was greeting house hunters with some trepidation when he listed a house for sale in Whitby, Ont. “It was a beautiful home in its day – which was about 1994,” says Lackie of Coldwell Banker RMR Real Estate. The house, with an asking price of $540,000, sold for $550,000 after receiving 10 offers the first day.

Globe and Mail

Downturn puts chill on Calgary home flipping

Nicole and Barry Hemphill of Fusion Home Designs have been flipping houses in Calgary for six years. Their latest renovation, a three-bedroom bungalow on Winchester Crescent in Westgate, has been on the market for six months and, despite several price drops, interest in the property has been poor.

Globe And Mail – News Talk 770 Calgary

What Canada’s average house price will get you in the U.S.

Despite the terrible exchange rate, for Canadian home buyers the buck still goes far further in many U.S. cities than in the top two priciest Canadian markets of Toronto and Vancouver. The average house price for resale homes in Canada will reach $478,100 in 2016, up eight per cent from last year, thanks to strong price gains in Toronto and Vancouver.

Maclean’s

Latest reports:

* GTA, Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), Canada Newswire

* Regina, Association of Regina Realtors, Regina Leader-Post

* Saskatoon, Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), Saskatoon StarPhoenix

* Edmonton, Edmonton Journal

* B.C. new housing construction, Statistics Canada, Business In Vancouver

* New housing construction, Statistics Canada, Saskatoon StarPhoenix 

* U.S. home sales, National Association of Realtors, Winnipeg Free Press, Reuters

* U.S. multi-family starts, Census Bureau, CP Executive, Globest.com

RENX Market Summaries

Mortgage and Finance

Retiring with a mortgage a bad idea

When it comes to opining on seniors carrying debt into retirement, I feel anyone with credit-card debt — or even mortgage debt — has no business fantasizing about retirement. To me, it’s simple: if you have debt of any kind, you keep working until it’s all discharged. I believe the foundation of financial independence is a paid-for home.

Financial Post

Three ways to pay off your mortgage faster

Things like traffic, work and dirty dishes can seem to go on forever; your mortgage doesn’t have to. Even if you have signed on for a long mortgage, with payments scheduled to continue until you’re old, there are ways to speed everything up, experts say. It’s a matter of knowing your options and paying attention to detail.

Globe and Mail

Venn Partners launches Dutch residential mortgage lender

Venn Partners has launched Venn Hypotheken, a Dutch residential mortgage lender in the Netherlands. The company first announced plans to launch a residential mortgage arm in The Netherlands last year. It will use the Venn Hypotheken arm to increase its annual mortgage lending to $2.9 billion Cdn by 2018.

IPE & Real Estate

HUD making things easier for FHA lenders

HUD has made it easier to access funds for the development or financing of affordable housing by updating its Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) guidance, which is used by lenders underwriting Federal Housing Administration (FHA) deals. HUD has simplified the due diligence that must be performed before closing a loan.

Globest.com

New Developments

Brookfield Multiplex contractor for record-setting project

The developer Omniyat has appointed the contractor Brookfield Multiplex to build its $712 million Cdn One at Palm Jumeirah project. The company said the 1.2 million-square-foot building, consisting of a ground floor and 23 storeys, will include a $71-million penthouse – Dubai’s most expensive apartment.

The National

Taxes and Utilities

Winnipeg-area homeowners cry foul over hike

West St. Paul residents are facing an average education tax increase of $430 per household. The education tax increase from the Seven Oaks School Division works out to an average 17 per cent jump across the capital region municipality. “We need a review of how education is funded,” said West St. Paul Mayor Bruce Henley.

Winnipeg Free Press

Affordable Housing

Affordable housing must keep accessibility in mind

“We no longer look at housing as a problem. It is the solution.” That was the message that Member of Parliament Adam Vaughan brought to a recent public forum on affordable housing. And that change of perspective is welcome. After decades of more or less ignoring this pressing social need, the federal government is poised to enact a new strategy on housing.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Blame politicians for Vancouver’s price crisis: UBC

Canadian politicians, keen to stimulate B.C.’s economy, are responsible for creating the conditions that have lead to Metro Vancouver’s housing affordability crisis, according to a new study. Politicians decided to “reboot a troubled regional economy through an infusion of activity from the growth region of the Asia Pacific,” UBC geographer David Ley says.

Vancouver Sun – Business In Vancouver – Huffington Post Canada – Vancouver Province

Budget will have money for affordable housing: Sources

Housing and anti-poverty advocates were predicting Tuesday’s federal budget would see an increase in funding for affordable housing, with short-term investments buying time for the government to build a long-term plan. Just how much money the government will set aside is unclear. Sources say the money is expected to flow through an existing program.

CTV News – Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail

Forcing affordable units into Ottawa condo towers won’t be easy

Cities will soon be allowed to make developers include “affordable” units in new developments that need rezonings, the provincial government says, but it might not make much difference outside Toronto. The basics: A developer wants a rezoning for a 30-storey condo tower and city council says 50 of the 250 units need to qualify as affordable.

Ottawa Citizen – Buzzbuzzhome.com – Canada Newswire – Newinhomes.com

Small houses

Looking inside Regina’s first ‘tiny house’

There’s a quote by designer William Morris hanging inside Robinson Residential’s first tiny house. “Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” In this space, the contrary would be ludicrous. At 160 square feet, there is only room for the essentials.

Regina Leader-Post

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Oliver blends historic background with modern urban living

Like many cities, districts with the richest histories typically surround the downtown core, and Edmonton’s Oliver neighbourhood is no exception. In the early 1900s, Oliver was considered the far west end of Edmonton. Today it is a diverse neighbourhood, and considered one of Alberta’s most densely populated areas.

Edmonton Journal

Changes suggested to reduce infill noise, dirt

Changes to Edmonton’s development rules are meant to turn around some slumping infill numbers and make neighbours happy. A report set to come to the city’s community services committee Tuesday suggests doubling fines from $250 to $500 for companies that leave dirt and debris on streets and sidewalks.

Edmonton Journal

Buying and Selling

New home-buyers bridging gulf between dreams and reality

Anyone wanting to buy her first home, especially in a big city, sees the gulf between her dreams and reality. A so-called starter house in Toronto and Vancouver may cost more than $1 million. In January, the average price of detached homes hit a record high of $1.83 million in the Vancouver region.

Financial Post

Tax implications for selling U.S. real estate

In recent years, many Canadians purchased U.S. real estate to take advantage of the strong value of the Canadian dollar and the depressed real estate prices in the U.S. Today, with the substantial decline in the value of the Canadian dollar and the increase in real estate prices in the U.S., many Canadians are now considering whether they should sell.

Business In Vancouver

Private sales rising across Vancouver

Real estate agent Juliana Jiao gave me a private viewing of a 3,700-square-foot luxury two-floor condo with a 20-foot-high living room ceiling and panoramic views of the north shore. Jiao specializes in luxury condos in Coal Harbour. She says many of her listings are private, which means the homes won’t ever be seen on the multiple listing service.

Globe and Mail

Big Fat Deal: Living the Olympic dream

Address: 502 – 151 Athletes Way, Vancouver
Price: $4,450,000
MLS: R2043879
The skinny: Two-bedroom, three-bathroom, 2,739-square-foot condo in the Olympic Village on False Creek.
The bling: Imagine living the dream in the Olympic Village. You’re right on the seawall and if your life plan includes a yacht, you’ll be able to keep an eye on it from your living room.

Real estate bidding wars ‘sales strategy’

Vancouver homebuyers increasingly encounter real estate bidding wars, some of them artfully engineered by realtors who list properties at prices below their market value. Toronto lawyer Mark Weisleder says such listings usually are priced from five to 10 per cent below genuine value, in order to generate buyer interest and drive up prices.

Vancouver Sun – National Post – Vancouver Sun – Maclean’s

Other

BILD, Tarion announce award finalists

Once again, we find ourselves in the new home industry’s awards season. The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), as well as Tarion, Ontario’s new home warranty corporation, have announced the finalists of their respective awards.

Newinhomes.com – Ottawa Business Journal

Projects seek solutions to shoreline erosion

Round 1 winner: Lake Winnipeg. Up next is round 2 rematch: Lake Winnipeg vs. willows. After launching a shoreline protection pilot project involving willows in 2013 — and then having it wash away into the lake’s high water a few months later — the East Interlake Conservation District decided to try again.

Winnipeg Free Press