Vancouver strata files class-action lawsuit against Airbnb

Vancouver strata files class-action lawsuit against Airbnb

A downtown Vancouver strata corporation has filed a class-action lawsuit against Airbnb, the online property rental business. The strata, located in the city’s Yaletown neighbourhood, claims Airbnb has rented out properties throughout B.C. and Canada without the consent of the rightful owners and has profited from the unauthorized rentals without any compensation to those owners.

Vancouver Sun – CBC

Inside WeWork’s Wall Street housing community

It’s been a year and a half since August Urbish first stepped into the lobby of the WeWork Cos. housing community on Wall Street, and he says the experience has completely changed him. His fully furnished apartment is located five floors above WeWork’s shared office spaces in a section called WeLive.

Bloomberg – Property Biz Canada

Construction underway at The Reach in Kamloops

Ground broke on the first residential development at The Reach at Thompson Rivers University (TRU) in Kamloops, B.C. recently, and a second should start in the spring. The Cape Group just launched Creston House, a 57,000-square-foot, four-storey, 50-suite condominium that sold 40 per cent of its units in a month before construction began.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Symphonia POP tower debuts in growing Montreal condo market

The developer of a more-than-$100-million condo project in Montreal is betting that its natural setting, the new Champlain Bridge and a new light-rail station will help sales pop. Construction is slated to begin next summer on the 32-storey Symphonia POP tower on the southern tip of Nuns’ Island, just off the Champlain Bridge.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Vancouver Chinatown condo tower project rejected — again

A controversial condo tower proposed for Vancouver’s Chinatown has been rejected by the city’s development permit board. This was the fifth application in four years by Beedie Living to build at 105 Keefer. “We’re super happy,” said Nat Lowe, of the Chinatown Action Group. Lowe said he’s hoping government and Beedie Living will come together and work to build low-income and social housing.

Vancouver Sun – CBC – Business In Vancouver – CBC

Ontario unveils new condo rules to crack down on abuse

The Ontario government rolled out a new set of rules Wednesday to crack down on abuse and mismanagement by some condo boards.  The changes to the Condominium Act come after a CBC Toronto investigation  found members of several condo boards in the GTA allegedly forged signatures for board elections and signed service contracts with businesses in which they had financial stakes.

CBC – Canada Newswire – Law Times – Government of Ontario News

Chartwell retirement home to anchor Quebec City mall

A shopping mall in a Quebec City suburb is being redeveloped and will include a new retirement residence as part of a $100-million mixed-use project. Chartwell Retirement Residences is spending $78.5 million to build a 360-unit retirement home in Cap-Rouge, a borough of Quebec City, while developer Immostar is redeveloping the 42-year-old Mail Cap-Rouge (Cap Rouge Mall).

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Lack of ‘missing middle’ making GTA unaffordable: Tuckey

The GTA is in danger of becoming the next London, Hong Kong or New York City — highly desirable cities, but unaffordable for most people. Much of the dramatic increase we have seen in the prices of new homes, resale homes and rentals is the result of supply being outstripped by demands. The population of the GTA has grown significantly, but housing supply has not kept up.

Toronto Star – Newinhomes.com – Toronto Star – Financial Post

Toronto faces shortage of family-friendly condos: Report

The Greater Toronto Area’s condominium boom is failing to produce enough larger, family-friendly units to accommodate a coming wave of millennials due to hit prime child-bearing age, a new report warns. A study by Ryerson University’s City Building Institute and Urbanation says only 41 per cent of condominiums under construction or in preconstruction have at least two bedrooms. 

Globe and Mail – Toronto Star

Alberta landlords unhappy with ban on adults-only apartments

The NDP government’s looming prohibition on adults-only apartment buildings is an unneeded assault on choice, the Calgary Residential Rental Association said Thursday. While the province says families with children will have more housing alternatives with the law that goes into effect Jan. 1, association executive director Gerry Baxter said it addresses a minor concern at the expense of many.

Calgary Herald – CBC – Global News

Huge Alberta homebuilder falls into receivership

One of Alberta’s largest homebuilders lost its battle to restructure its debt Thursday and fell into receivership after the Royal Bank of Canada sought to collect more than $64.6 million. An Edmonton judge granted a consent order that will allow a receiver — Alvarez & Marsal Canada — to take control of the assets of several companies associated with ReidBuilt Homes, including ReidBuilt Homes Calgary, and Builder’s Direct Supply.

CBC – CBC – Calgary Herald

Foreign buyers not swayed by B.C. housing tax

The proportion of foreign buyers in the Vancouver region is at its highest level since the province’s 15 per cent tax on these purchasers came into effect a year ago, with experts and industry insiders saying international interest is strong in the surging condo market and the suburbs of Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey. Foreign buyers accounted for five per cent of homes bought in Metro Vancouver in September.

Globe and Mail – Globe and Mail – Financial Post – Globe and Mail

North Van. mansion hits market for record $36.2M

West Vancouver is more known for its luxe mansions, but the owners of a North Vancouver estate-style property off Indian River Crescent in Deep Cove are vying for some attention listing theirs for sale at $36.2 million. It would be a reputed record price for North Vancouver on the Multiple Listing Service, according to Sotheby’s International.

Vancouver Sun – Globe Newswire

Amazon, Walmart want to enter your home

Stephanie Reisner enjoys the convenience of online shopping, but when Amazon invited her to try a new service where packages would be left inside her home, she balked. “It’s a bit invasive,” says the author who lives in Denver. On Wednesday, Amazon will launch Amazon Key, where a delivery person gains access to your home while you’re out and drops your packages just inside the door.

CBC

GOP tax plan has real-estate industry in a panic

Two powerful trade associations slammed the GOP’s tax plan Thursday, saying the reduction of a key benefit for homeowners could hurt the market. The plan would cap the mortgage-interest deduction — which allows homeowners to subtract interest payments from their taxable income — on new homes at $500,000. This could dampen the benefit of the deduction outside of the most expensive housing markets and may lower home values.

Business Insider

Market Conditions

Montreal’s luxury market red hot

Sitting in the sales office of his latest big project, 628 St. Jacques, Michael Broccolini just can’t stop smiling. And with good reason; he is describing how buyers responded to his new 35-storey condo development, “We opened it to public sale the second week of October, and a week later we were 80 per cent sold.” The tower will have 258 units.

Montreal Gazette – CTV – Property Biz Canada

Calgary rental apartment market heating up

“In July, our stats showed that high-rise purpose-built rental apartments were 83 per cent leased and low-rise were 80 per cent leased across the Calgary market,” says Jayne McKay, a market analyst with Urban Analytics. “All new high-rise rental apartment projects are now 91 per cent leased, while low-rise apartment projects are 88 per cent leased . . ..”

Calgary Sun

Toronto condo prices soar in October

The usual seasonal bounce in re-sale homes between September and October was more pronounced than usual this year in the Toronto region, growing 12 per cent. But there were still 2,597 — about 27 per cent — fewer sales this October compared to the same month last year. Home prices also rose 2.3 per cent year over year in October, but new numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) on Thursday showed some areas are doing better than others.

Toronto Star – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

TO, Van. see home-sales rush ahead of new stress-test rules

Home sales climbed in October in both Toronto and Vancouver as buyers moved to lock in purchases in Canada’s most expensive cities before new mortgage stress-testing rules take effect in January. The Toronto Real Estate Board said home sales in the Greater Toronto Area climbed 12 per cent in October.

Globe and Mail

New Developments

Forest Hill condo built for the neighbours

It seems an ideal pairing of talents, in a circle-of-life kind of way: three young entrepreneurs and two experienced, renowned Toronto designers. The project: One Forest Hill, a 12-storey luxury condo. The millennials — Jordan Morasutti, 34, Taylor Morasutti, 32, and Robert Fidani, 30, of North Drive — have developed five award-winning luxury condo projects in the GTA in the past four years.

Toronto Star

Vancouver eight-storey condo tower approved

It was a relatively rare sight at Vancouver city council on Tuesday: a unanimous vote in favour of building a tower. By a 10-0 vote, councillors approved rezoning parts of two blocks at West 45th Avenue and Yew Street to allow an eight-storey residential tower and five-storey addition to Dunbar Ryerson United Church.

CBC

Controversial Saskatoon tower clears first hurdle

Opponents of a controversial proposed condominium tower warn a dangerous precedent has been set after its first endorsement at Saskatoon city hall. The municipal planning commission endorsed the proposed seven-storey, 45-unit development less than a block from the riverbank on Tuesday, despite opposition that included a petition with 183 names urging its rejection.

Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Taxes and Utilities

Halifax council calls for review of property assessment cap

Halifax regional council is asking the Nova Scotia government to take another look at how it caps property assessments. On Tuesday, council agreed to send a letter to the provincial Minister of Municipal Relations and cabinet asking for a review. The cap was introduced in 2005 to limit unpredictable spikes in assessments, particularly with waterfront properties. Annual increases are now limited to the consumer price index.

CBC

Legal Issues

Unlicensed real estate brokers facing fraud charges in Kelowna

Two unlicensed real estate brokers, who served jail time in Alberta for conducting unlicensed real estate deals, are facing criminal charges in B.C. for allegedly defrauding two Kelowna residents out of thousands of dollars. Derek Johnson and Kevin Kumar are each charged with two counts of fraud over $5,000 for activities in the Kelowna area in 2015 and 2016.

CBC

Regulator freezes bank accounts of Re/MAX brokerage

In a rare move, Ontario’s real estate regulator has frozen the bank accounts of a North York Re/MAX brokerage after an inspection turned up financial irregularities at Re/MAX Right Choice Inc. It has been more than six years since the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) issued a freeze order, the agency said on Thursday

Toronto Star

Affordable Housing

Vancouver’s Oakridge Lutheran creating affordable housing

Churches and non-profit groups trying to take advantage of their land to build needed low-cost housing often need to go to a private developer and most of the future project is dedicated to pricey condos. The members of Vancouver’s Oakridge Lutheran church found another solution: working with the non-profit company Catalyst Community Developments.

Globe and Mail – Property Biz Canada

Small houses

Tiny B.C. homes making a big difference

A 320-square-foot house has made a big difference for Lance Alexander. Since moving in last year, Alexander has started working at a nearby mine and is living what he calls “the clean life.” It’s exactly the sort of transformation Aileen Prince, the former capital housing and lands manager for the Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation in north-central B.C., envisioned after seeing a TV show about tiny houses.

CBC

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Winnipeg kills engineers’ plan to expropriate homes

Dozens of south Charleswood residents packed Winnipeg City Hall’s council gallery Tuesday to watch a civic committee kill a proposed east-west corridor route that would have resulted in the expropriation and demolition of many of their homes. The gallery erupted in applause as councillors on the public works committee unanimously voted to permanently eliminate the proposed Sterling Lyon Parkway extension as an option for consideration.

Winnipeg Free Press

Surrey residents rally after secondary suite crackdown

Nearly 100 residents rallied outside Surrey City Hall on Sunday afternoon to protest the city’s crackdown on secondary suites. “What the city is doing is completely wrong and you can’t evict people because of parking complaints,” said homeowner and organizer Greg Garner.  The rally comes after several Surrey homeowners were told to shut down their illegal secondary suites this fall.

Vancouver Sun

Facts on the ground in Calgary’s laneway debate

Local architects have unveiled two laneway homes in Calgary and say they hope the recent general election and subsequent council shakeup could end what they call “Calgary’s four-year laneway housing standoff.” Mark Erickson and Matthew Kennedy of Studio North completed the Withrow Laneway House in Parkdale and the Bowling Lane House in Crescent Heights this summer.

Globe and Mail

Buying and Selling

Hamilton home prices continue decline since spring peak

House prices in Hamilton are continuing their decline from April’s high, according to a report released Friday by the Realtors Association of Hamilton-Burlington. The median sale price for a residential property in October was $452,600. Compared to April’s median sale price of $535,000, that’s a 15.4 per cent decrease.

CBC

Other

Virtual reality tours coming to Toronto rental market

Imagine touring your next potential home without having to leave your couch. Gryd.com is developing virtual reality apartment tours out of Winnipeg, and founder Jordan Billinkoff says it won’t be too long before his company expands across Canada.

CBC

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