Vancouver rolls out empty home tax

Vancouver rolls out empty home tax

Owners of secondary homes in Vancouver that sat vacant for more than six months this year will soon have to pay a new empty homes tax, but it remains to be seen whether it’s having an effect on the city’s tight rental market. The city became the first in Canada to introduce such a tax this year. Owners of empty secondary properties had until July 1 to find a renter, and if they did not, they must pay the levy in February.

Globe and Mail – Business In Vancouver – CBC

Condo cancellation leaves Torontonians priced out of market

On Oct. 30, Mickle Lynn received an envelope that shattered his dream of home ownership. Lynn was among the buyers of  Museum FLTS who received a cheque last month refunding their deposits along with a letter from developer Castlepoint Numa saying the 168-unit condo was cancelled. Cancellations and failures are a reminder of buyers’ vulnerability. Twenty-three projects with a combined 4,121 units have failed to complete since 2012, according to Shaun Hildebrand of Urbanation.

Toronto Star – Financial Post – BuzzBuzzNews – CBC

Vancouver apartment sales drop as prices rise

The number of multi-family rental apartment transactions in Metro Vancouver dropped by 23 per cent through the first nine months of 2017 while the overall dollar volume for deals jumped by 35 per cent. “There was a slowdown in the number of sales transactions because of a few factors, in Goodman’s opinion,” said Mark Goodman, a principal of The Goodman Report and HQ Commercial.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Victoria apartment project will be rental, not condo

A Victoria housing project previously proposed as condominiums has been redesigned and will go to public hearing as a 44-unit rental building. Empresa Properties and Low Hammond Rowe Architects are proposing a “boutique” four-storey apartment building with underground parking be built at 1120-1128 Burdett Ave. on lots currently occupied by three 1920s-era homes.

Victoria Times Colonist

Homestead plans 11-storey apartment near Ottawa LRT station

A Kingston-based developer is proposing an 11-storey apartment building located next to a mixed-use property it already owns on Richmond Road. Homestead has filed an application with the city to build a 132-unit complex at 851 Richmond Rd., on the same property as its existing 11-storey Lord Richmond apartments and just west of a proposed 24-storey condo complex on the site of Kristy’s restaurant.

Ottawa Business Journal

Quebec allows rebuilding in heart of Gatineau flood zone

Quebec will allow Gatineau residents in the most flood-prone part of the city to rebuild their homes, an area deemed likely to flood on average every 20 years or less. This exemption overrides a rule that called for demolition, and no rebuilding, of all homes in this zone that have been declared a “total loss.” In June, the province had ruled against rebuilding. 

Ottawa Citizen

Toronto condo’s backup power generators live, four years after ice storm

A year after Toronto revamped guidelines requiring high-rise residential condos and apartments to have long-term backup power systems, only one building in the city appears to have complied. The Grange Condominium at 551 The West Mall in Etobicoke is equipped with four 60-kilowatt natural gas turbine generators. They were installed over the summer on the roof and are now online.

CBC

Adult-only apartment building ban — the real story

Ruth Adria, a battler for the rights of seniors, goes to court. She wants protection against discrimination because of age to be included in two sections of Alberta’s human rights law. The seniors’ advocate wins and news reports say she wants to use her victory to challenge unfair driving tests for the elderly.  Because of this change to the human rights law, adult-only apartment buildings are a no-no.

Calgary Sun

BC SPCA hopes to develop student housing

In Vancouver, a city with scarce space, long-time owners of land such as churches have also been seeking to make the most of their assets. The latest example of a do-good organization turned would-be developer can be found in the hopes of the BC SPCA, an animal-protection organization that has owned an old building on East 7th Ave. at Clark Dr. in East Vancouver since 1955.

Vancouver Sun

Make Toronto housing denser, say young professionals

Denser is better, say Toronto’s highly educated, high-earning young professionals, when it comes to housing. Many would elbow their way into some of the region’s established, amenity-rich neighbourhoods if there were more affordable housing options, according to a survey of 18- to 39-year-olds for the Toronto Region Board of Trade.

Toronto Star

Edmonton must change redevelopment rules: Planner

Edmonton needs to allow a wider variety of housing in mature areas so the population and amenities in these communities don’t stagnate, said Simon O’Byrne, Stantec’s vice-president of community development. Too many neighbourhoods contain almost exclusively traditional single-family houses when they should also offer skinny homes, O’Byrne said.

Edmonton Journal – Globe and Mail

B.C. more dependent on real estate than Alberta is on oil

If Alberta is Canada’s oil country, then B.C. is . . . real estate country? New government data released last week shows B.C. has become more economically dependent on real estate transactions than Alberta is on oil. According to Statistics Canada, mining, oil and gas accounted for 17 per cent of Alberta’s economy in 2016, while real estate accounted for 18.4 per cent of B.C.’s. 

Huffington Post Canada – Global News – Mortgage Broker News

Foreign buyers overlook Vancouver, head to Seattle

Seattle hasn’t historically been known as a hotbed for foreign investment, but real estate experts say that home sales there have seen a dramatic shift upward since Vancouver brought in a foreign buyers tax. “A lot of people who were looking in Vancouver are automatically looking further south now to Seattle,” said Matthew Gardner, chief economist with Windermere Real Estate in Seattle.

CBC – CBC

Seattle approves tax on Airbnb, short-term rental operators

The Seattle City Council has voted to tax operators of short-term rentals, such as those listed on Airbnb. The Seattle Times reports council voted on Monday to impose taxes of $14 per night for entire homes and $8 per night for rooms. The taxes begin in 2019. The tax ordinance states the proceeds will be used to support community-initiated development projects and to create affordable housing.

National Post

Amazon Key-like deliveries could raise insurance rates

Smart locks that let retailers deliver packages inside houses or apartments with a digital code while you are away raise liability questions and could raise home insurance rates, experts said. Amazon’s system is being tested in Detroit, Miami and Silicon Valley. Wal-Mart is testing similar systems in Silicon Valley and Miami.

Toronto Star

Market Conditions

The Canadian property market refuses to fall

It isn’t just Canadians waiting to see tomorrow’s latest real estate numbers. On Wednesday when the Canadian Real Estate Association releases the latest sales statistics and prices for resale homes, it will feel like the whole world is watching. At the end of last month Swiss banking giant UBS put both Toronto and Vancouver in the top five of its international bad boy list.

CBC – Maclean’s

Calgary’s apartment market turning the corner: Altus

Calgary’s condominium apartment market is overstocked, a viewpoint shared by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. and the Altus Group. In its Calgary Flash Report 2017 Altus says, “unsold units in active new condominium apartment projects in Calgary are excessive; at the end of Q2 2017 . . .” However, Matthew Boukall, senior director of residential products, says the market is turning.

Calgary Sun – MTL Blog

Suburban condos drive Lower Mainland housing start activity

A continuing upswing in condominium apartment starts in suburban areas drove October housing starts in the Vancouver region up 186% year-over-year, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation data. A total of 2,899 starts were recorded, compared with 1,013 units in October 2016. A 12% drop in single-detached home starts was not enough to offset a 323% increase in multi-family home starts, from 598 units in October 2016 to 2,532 units in October 2017,

Business In Vancouver – BC Business

Toronto-area new housing starts plunge 42 per cent

New housing starts tumbled in the Toronto region in October as builders slowed the pace of new project construction amid market uncertainty. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said 2,438 new housing units were launched in the Greater Toronto Area in October, a 42 per cent drop from 4,204 units in October 2016. Starts were also down 21 per cent over September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

Globe and Mail – Saskatoon StarPhoenix – Canada Newswire

New Developments

Committee endorses Winnipeg apartment tower

Plans for a new 18-storey residential tower adjacent to Winnipeg’s Harkness transit corridor station were endorsed by a civic committee Tuesday. The project has been approved by both the city planning staff and councillors on the city centre community committee. The property currently is zone for commercial use and requires a change to a residential mixed-use district. The project still needs council’s approval before it can proceed.

Winnipeg Free Press

The Pacific to make a design statement in downtown Vancouver

The Pacific, Grosvenor Americas’ striking addition to Vancouver’s skyline, is one of those buildings that will serve as a beacon that guides visitors to the city’s downtown. But its developers, architects and interior designers have also spent a lot of time and energy making sure The Pacific “feels like home” to those who move into the building when it is complete in 2021.

Vancouver Sun

Chinese company’s cottage country boarding school plan sunk

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Seniors Housing

Builders of 55-plus housing segment remain confident in U.S.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) 55+ Housing Market Index (HMI) indicates U.S. builder confidence in the  market continued to be positive in the third quarter of 2017.  It marked the 14th consecutive quarter in which the reading was above 50, the break-even point at which more respondents see conditions as good than poor.

World Property Journal

Legal Issues

Renters denied B.C. home take their case to Human Rights Tribunal

A family of six a landlord called “way too big” to rent a three-bedroom, two-bathroom house in Victoria is taking its case to the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal. The landlord applied to have the case dismissed. Based on guidelines published by the province’s Residential Tenancy Branch (RTB), he believed it was his right to restrict how many people could rent his property.

CBC

Condominium Management

Condo disputes can now be resolved online

Ontario’s 1.6 million condo residents have a new avenue for settling disputes in their buildings and neighbourhoods. Last week, the province launched its first online tribunal to help resolve the complaints that arise in 10,000 condo corporations. The Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT) provides direct access to mediators and adjudicators in a stepped process that begins with a $25 fee.

Toronto Star

Construction

3D-printed steel touted as the future of B.C. home construction

A Vancouver company is hoping to disrupt the local construction framing industry with new technology that can “print” steel beams and accelerate the building process. LifeTec Construction Group Inc., which has an 8,000-square-foot warehouse, has already caught the attention of some local upscale homebuilders and has taken on a number of small, private projects. 

Business In Vancouver

Construction costs rise for U.S. apartment projects

The cost of U.S. construction is rising again. Trade disputes, hurricanes and rising demand from overseas are all pushing up the price of materials from gypsum wallboard to lumber and steel. And a shortage of labour is pushing construction workers’ wages higher. “When we work with clients in their budgeting process, we are encouraging them to include a healthy contingency,” says Daryl McFarland, vice-president of Sun Country Builders.

National Real Estate Investor

Affordable Housing

NYC developers can’t find tenants for ‘affordable’ apartments

In a city grappling with an affordability crisis, thousands of hopeful tenants apply for a limited number of subsidized apartments. But some developers are having trouble finding tenants to fill these spots. A particularly hard slot to fill is reserved for people who earn 130 per cent of the area median income (AMI) or higher — which in New York City is $86,840 for an individual.

The Real Deal – MarketWatch

Advocates unsure about Vancouver’s modular housing plans

The City of Vancouver may tout modular homes as part of the solution to the city’s homelessness crisis, but housing activists say they’re wary the stopgap solution may end up being the final one. J.J. Reich, with the activist group ‘Alliance Against Displacement’ said, “It wouldn’t be surprising if that is treated as a final solution.” 

Global News – CTV

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Turf war on B.C.’s ‘Evil Island’

Eagle Island is so close to West Vancouver it barely registers as an island. After a 20-second boat ride on a small barge, I was standing on arguably the most scenic spot in the Lower Mainland. But it’s not the serene escape from city life that it appears, resident Stephanie La Porta says.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Buying and Selling

Point2 Homes reports record-breaking traffic increase in Canada

According to its latest website traffic stats, Point2 Homes recorded 3.82 million visits in October, marking an impressive 33 per cent year-over-year increase in total traffic. Based on the traffic so far, 5 million monthly visits are expected in 2018. The largest number of visits comes from Canada, with a spectacular 41.6% year-over-year traffic growth. Significant traffic increases were recorded in Vancouver (60.5%), Calgary (47.5%), Toronto (38.1%) and Ottawa (37.6%).

Canada Newswire

Doors open – for the real estate elite

The residents of Toronto’s most prestigious enclaves are used to seeing real estate agents popping up on their tree-lined streets. They’re less accustomed to seeing busloads of agents arriving from around the globe. On a recent warm fall day, three luxury coaches rolled through the streets of Rosedale, Forest Hill and Moore Park. The agents on board were in town for an international real estate confab and Elise Kalles was keen to usher the visitors through three of her most desirable listings.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Other

Facebook wants to help find your U.S. apartment

Looking to lease an apartment? Soon you will be able to scroll through options on your Facebook feed. Facebook announced Thursday it would expand Marketplace, its platform for selling products on the site, to include apartment and home rental listings. The new service was announced in partnership with Apartment List and Zumper and will include “hundreds of thousands” of apartments and homes for rent.

MarketWatch – HousingWire

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