Calgary votes to ramp up suburban growth

Calgary votes to ramp up suburban growth

City council has approved plans for more than a dozen new suburban communities on Calgary’s periphery, requiring a bump in property taxes in the next four-year budget to help cover the costs of growth. Council voted 12 to 2 to approve 14 greenfield developments following a lengthy debate in chambers Monday. Administration had initially recommended just eight projects from a list of 16 last June.

Calgary Herald – Globe and Mail – CBC

Vancouver’s property tax lowest in Canada, U.S.

Got a million dollars to plow into real estate? Vancouver’s a great place to park it, thanks to a property-tax rate that’s the lowest in both Canada and the U.S. The owner of a $1-million home in the Pacific Coast city will pay just $2,468 a year in property tax, compared with $6,355 in Toronto or more than $10,000 in Ottawa, according to a new study by real estate website Zoocasa.

Bloomberg

Due to traffic, contractors refusing to work in Vancouver

Owning a home in Vancouver already comes at a premium. And increasingly, homeowners are facing the high cost of renovation and maintenance as tradespeople either opt out of working in the city entirely, or charge extra for having to go there. A big reason for the premium cost of hiring the trades is the city’s traffic, contractors say.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Vancouver walks tightrope between panoramas, housing

Paris has its Eiffel Tower, Chicago has its architectural skyline and Vancouver has its sweeping ocean and mountain views. But the housing crunch in the city has prompted debate about the value of protecting the scenic backdrop that has defined the urban landscape versus the urgent need for more housing. A proposed development by B.C. Crown corporation PavCo in the city’s False Creek neighbourhood could include a 40-storey tower.

Vancouver Sun – Globe and Mail

Vancouver approves tower with social housing entrance

The City of Vancouver has approved a proposal to rezone several low-rise apartment buildings in the West End to construct one 30-storey tower, with separate entrances for social and market housing residents. The development is planned for the current site of three apartment buildings, measuring three and four storeys, at the corner of Burnaby and Thurlow Streets in the Burrard corridor near Davie Village.

CBC

Ottawa rejects plans for redevelopment of convent

The City of Ottawa’s built heritage subcommittee rejected the latest plan for the contentious Sisters of Visitation Convent on Richmond Road on Thursday, hoping to improve the design. Ashcroft Homes proposes to demolish the west wing of the convent and replace it with a new nine-storey residential addition, restoring the rest of the historic building.

CBC – Ottawa Citizen – Property Biz Canada

Condo developer approved for second Kingston building

The same developer behind the controversial Capitol condominium project in downtown Kingston has won approval to construct another high-rise in the city’s midtown. City council recently gave IN8 Developments Inc. the green light to construct Sage Prestige, a 10-storey ‘luxury’ condo building located on a triangular-shaped lot on the south side of Princess Street between Victoria and Nelson Streets, site of the former Keg restaurant.

Global News

Community group fights B.C. town over apartment complex

A community group made up of property owners is taking the Town of Gibsons, B.C., to court, claiming a bylaw passed by the municipality has the potential to “dramatically alter the character and quality of life in their community.” According to the O’Shea/Oceanmount Community Association, the town adopted a zoning amendment bylaw that goes against the official community plan by allowing the multi-unit Eagleview property development.

Business In Vancouver

July home sales in Metro Vancouver lowest in 18 years

Residential housing sales in Metro Vancouver reached their lowest levels for the month of July since the year 2000, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV). There were 2,070 residential property sales in July 2018 — a 30.1 per cent decrease from the 2,960 sales recorded in July 2017. It was also a 14.6 per cent decline compared to June 2018 when 2,425 homes sold.

CBC – Globe and Mail – Business In Vancouver

Greater Victoria home sales fall for eighth straight month

The number of Greater Victoria home sales continued to slow in July even as contractors build thousands of new single and multi-family housing units throughout the region. “We are in a different market now than what we have seen for the past two years,” Victoria Real Estate Board president Kyle Kerr said Wednesday.

Victoria Times Colonist

GTA sales, prices rise for second straight month

In a sign the Toronto area real estate market is in recovery mode, year-over-year resale home prices and sales rose for a second consecutive month in July. Selling prices climbed 4.8 per cent to $782,129 last month, up from $745,971 in the same period last year, for all types of homes in the region, according to the latest numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board released Friday.

Toronto Star – Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Globe Newswire

Condo sales slump as more Edmontonians opt to rent

A lofty condo project planned for the edge of Westmount is now destined to be a seniors housing complex. Brokers say the change reflects the ongoing decline of condo sales in Edmonton. Clifton Place, a high-end 260-unit condo building proposed by One Properties, was set to be built on a lot west of 124th Street and south of 102nd Avenue, overlooking the North Saskatchewan River.

CBC

Home equity loans double: CMHC

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says the country’s mortgage debt increased at a slower pace in the last quarter of 2017 compared to the year before. The Crown corporation attributes the slowdown to rising interest rates and decreasing home sales. CMHC also reveals the growth rate of home equity line of credit debt more than doubled compared to Q4 2016, trailing credit card and auto loan debt.

Financial Post

Wells Fargo to pay $2.09B fine over mortgage loans

Wells Fargo (WFC-N) has agreed to pay $2.09 billion in penalty to settle claims related to mortgage loans originated in the run-up to the financial crisis. The civil fine is for alleged origination and sale of residential mortgage loans that the lender knew contained misstated income information and did not meet the quality that Wells Fargo represented, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Wednesday.

Reuters

Investors chase multi-family properties

Cap rates are holding steady at low levels as investors chase multifamily properties in major Canadian markets. Midyear results from CBRE and Colliers International also find almost every other property type, except premier office, is trading at higher cap rates. “Sector fundamentals remain exceedingly strong with low vacancies and rising rents seen in most markets across the country,” reports David Montressor, executive vice president of CBRE’s national apartment group. 

REMI Network

RENX Columnists

Toronto condo market: Will it follow Vancouver, N.Y. or Phoenix?

About 10 years ago, you’d often see new condo investor marketing pieces with projected unit carrying costs that would spell out the monthly mortgage payment, condo fee, taxes and expected rental rate at completion. At the time, there were complaints these investor-return projections shouldn’t be allowed, as forecasts for monthly $3-per-square-foot rents were absurd.

Read more

Market Conditions

Toronto-area condo sales cool

The Toronto region’s hot condo market is taking a breather that could see a little more room in the “scorching hot” Toronto rental market in the next couple of years, says the director of market research for Urbanation. Pauline Lierman said the slowdown — 56 per cent fewer sales in the second quarter compared to last year — was to be expected after last year’s extraordinary number of project launches.

Toronto Star – Newinhomes.com

U.S. multi-family rents reach new heights

The average U.S. multi-family rent reached an all-time high of $1,409 in July. Rents increased 2.8% year-over-year with the $3 increase from June and have risen three per cent year-to-date, according to a survey of 127 markets by Yardi Matrix. The July performance arose from strong second-quarter economic growth and healthy demand.

PR Newswire

Mortgage and Finance

Mortgage brokers vs. banks: The pros and cons

If you’re looking for a mortgage on a home purchase — or to renew one on a home you already own — is a mortgage broker or a bank your best option?

The main difference is a bank mortgage officer represents only the products their institution offers, while a mortgage broker is an intermediary who works with multiple lenders and is paid a referral fee by the lenders. Mortgage brokers are regulated in Ontario by the Financial Services Commission and require a licence.

Toronto Star

Natural Disasters

State of emergency declared on Vancouver Island

A growing wildfire west of Nanaimo, B.C., has prompted the regional government to declare a local state of emergency, and the evacuation of a number of homes Monday night. The Nanaimo Lakes wildfire was last estimated at 107 hectares, more than doubling in size in just a few hours, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service.

CBC – CTV

Northern California blazes largest in state history

Twin Northern California blazes fuelled by dry vegetation and hot, windy weather grew Monday to become the largest wildfire in state history, becoming the norm as climate change makes the fire season longer and more severe. The two fires burning a few kilometres apart and known as the Mendocino Complex are being treated as one incident. It has scorched 1,148.4 square kilometres, fire officials said Monday.

CBC

Legal Issues

Vancouver sues developer to force repair of mansion

The City of Vancouver is headed to B.C. Supreme Court in a bid to force a prominent Chinese developer to repair a storied $14 million mansion ravaged by fire. According to court documents, the 1911 Shaughnessy home that once hosted Vancouver’s wealthy and powerful is now at threat of rodent infestation and water damage.

CBC

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Miami developer offers rent discount for giving up cars

Melo Group is handing out $100 monthly rent discounts at a new apartment project for people who surrender a set of wheels, though some analysts are skeptical the perk will work in such a spread out region as South Florida. The developer is offering the incentive at its Square Station apartments in Miami’s Arts & Entertainment District.

CoStar Group

Other

Smart home industry expected to reach US$53.45B

According to a new Zion Market Research report, the global smart home market was valued at around US$24.10 billion in 2016 and is expected to reach approximately US$53.45 billion by 2022, growing at a CAGR of slightly above 14.5% between 2017 and 2022. The advanced technology has enabled various devices to be connected and controlled by one device and this technology is used by smart homes.

Globe Newswire

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