Boardwalk bans cannabis use in all Canadian properties

Boardwalk bans cannabis use in all Canadian properties

A major landlord in Alberta will prohibit tenants from growing, smoking, or eating cannabis on its Canadian properties, even after the product is legalized on Oct. 17. In a notice sent to tenants this week, rental giant Boardwalk states the company, “will not permit the use or cultivation of cannabis in our communities.” The prohibition of cannabis products will apply to all of its buildings across the country.

CBC – CBC – CBC

B.C. landlords fear financial fallout from new cap on rent hikes

Landlords in B.C. are concerned about absorbing the costs of property taxes and maintenance after the province decided against a 4.5 per cent rent increase proposed earlier this month. Increases in rent are allowed annually and the province determines the maximum amount, but this week the government chose to instead cap the increase at 2.5 per cent, the rate of inflation.

CBC – Vancouver Sun – Global News

Thousands of new apartment units ‘at risk’ in Vancouver

Approximately 12,000 planned Metro Vancouver purpose-built rental apartment units worth an estimated $5 billion are at risk of not getting built due to government policies, rising construction costs and delayed permitting, says an apartment building sales specialist. There are roughly 20,000 apartment units either proposed, approved or under construction in the region, said David Goodman, a commercial real estate agent who specializes in apartment buildings with HQ Commercial.

Property Biz Canada

Vancouver’s old-school apartment blocks under pressure

In the past few months, three apartments have sold at the Queen Charlotte heritage building in Vancouver’s West End. Elizabeth Seaton and her husband downsized from their nearly 3,000-square-foot Kerrisdale house to a 1,000-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment at the Queen Charlotte. They finally settled on the corner unit with its original heavy wood door, hardwood floors, high ceilings, large windows with mountain views and a neighbourhood that has children.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

B.C. stratas bank millions in anticipation of future costs

Five years after B.C. began requiring all strata corporations in the province to obtain depreciation reports projecting maintenance, repair and replacement costs for their properties over a 30-year period, homeowners have paid hundreds of millions of dollars to boost reserve funds in anticipation of the work. But with many now updating their initial reports, have they transformed how residential properties are managed and assessed by potential purchasers?

Business In Vancouver

Surrey LRT collides with higher land values

Hope for affordable housing along Surrey’s new light-rail transit (LRT) line route has collided with land banking and speculation that have driven residential land prices up 100 per cent in the past two years. Surrey is often seen as a bastion of affordable Metro Vancouver homes. In August approximately 200 detached houses were listed for sale in Surrey for $1 million or less, for instance, compared with just one in Vancouver.

Business In Vancouver

B.C. launches new money-laundering review of RE sector

B.C. has ordered a new review of the real estate, luxury automobile and horse racing sectors over worries they’ve been used by criminals to launder illegal money. Attorney General David Eby said Thursday he’s authorized an independent probe into money laundering that builds upon a similar investigation done earlier this year into how duffel bags full of dirty cash were allowed to flow improperly through B.C.’s casinos.

Vancouver Sun – Bloomberg – CBC

Home costs in Toronto, Vancouver ‘off the charts’: RBC

The cost of owning a home in Canada is at the highest level in 28 years and likely to get only more onerous as interest rates continue to rise, according to a report from Royal Bank of Canada. Home ownership costs, including a mortgage, property taxes and utilities, took up 54 per cent of a typical household’s pre-tax income in the second quarter. That’s up from 43 per cent three years ago.

Bloomberg – Victoria Times Colonist – Canada Newswire

Toronto, Vancouver among world’s biggest property bubbles: UBS

Housing prices in Hong Kong are the most overvalued and at the greatest risk of collapse, according to a report focused on 20 major cities. UBS Group’s Global Real Estate Bubble Index puts Munich, Toronto, Vancouver, London and Amsterdam alongside Hong Kong as cities currently in property bubble territory. “Major imbalances” are also found in Stockholm, Paris, San Francisco, Frankfurt and Sydney, the report said. 

CNBC – Victoria Times Colonist – Newinhomes.com

More protections needed for pre-construction homebuyers

The CEO of Ontario’s home warranty program says the recent cancellation of two condo developments in Vaughan suggests it is time the province looks at upgrading protections and transparency for pre-construction homebuyers, including flags on Tarion’s own website that would alert consumers to builders who have cancelled projects. Howard Bogach said the building industry’s reputation has taken a hit in light of two cancellations.

Toronto Star – Toronto Star – CityNews Toronto

GTA boards agree to sales data access deal

A data access deal between the Toronto Real Estate Board and a neighbouring board will for the first time expand the geographic reach of new competition rules that have allowed Canadian house hunters more access to such critical data as sold prices. The Oakville, Milton and District Real Estate Board (OMDREB) deal with TREB for the first time brings agents outside of TREB’s membership into the open data-sharing environment.

Globe and Mail

The long demise of Ottawa’s Heron Gate

The buildings have been worn down for years — the landlord says they’re beyond repair — but as of Monday the community in Heron Gate really is gone. Some tenants lived in the area for 20 years. For some, it was the only home they’ve known in Canada. The landlord, Timbercreek, said in a press release every tenant has found a new place to live after 105 households received spring eviction notices.

CBC

Tornadoes might have kicked up asbestos risk

The tornadoes have lifted the lid off an old hazard that usually sits quietly in older buildings without bothering anyone: asbestos. The use of asbestos in building materials fell off quickly in the late 1900s as hazards became known. Now, with walls and ceilings torn apart by the fierce winds that whipped the Ottawa region, the potential for asbestos risk has reappeared.

Ottawa Citizen

Move afoot to make downtown Edmonton more child-friendly

You’ll find plenty of bars, clubs and other adult-oriented spaces in downtown Edmonton, but now the city is asking how it can make the core more kid-friendly. An online survey released Tuesday asks families for their input on potential additions to the city hall and Stanley A. Milner Library grounds to make them better places for children.

CBC

Co-housing idea taking off in Winnipeg

Imagine living in a tight-knit housing development that strikes a balance between community and privacy. Winnipeg could soon have one if a co-housing idea comes through. Co-housing is where a group of residents live together in individual condo-like units but share things like occasional meals, tools and perhaps most importantly a sense of community

CBC

Market Conditions

Halifax real estate on the upswing

Halifax seems at the epicentre of change. There’s a sizzle in the air. Cranes have been dotting our skyline for what, the last five years? And as construction finishes, instead of getting tucked away for a decade or two, they’re relocating elsewhere to begin other new projects. The ripple effects of this ongoing activity are moving across the region and province, shaking up the real estate market.

Halifax ChronicleHerald

Toronto new home sales reflect uncertain economic outlook

While the price of new construction condos in the Toronto region continues to rise — 21.8 per cent year over year in August to an average of $784,512 — the cost of a new build single-family home fell 12.4 per cent to $1.13 million in the same period. The number of single-family home sales rose 50 per cent last month, while condo sales took a slight dip by one per cent, according to BILD.

Toronto Star – Newinhomes.com – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Buyers retreat from Metro Vancouver market

Housing sales in the City of Vancouver slumped 24 per cent over the summer as buyers became wary of paying too much, according to a report from Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. Sotheby’s, which studied the sale of all types of housing units valued at $1 million or more, said the slowdown extended broadly across all types of housing. And Sotheby’s said the slowdown is leading to lower prices.

Vancouver Sun – Toronto Star – Globe Newswire

Millennials fear they will be unable to afford GTA home

In the final set of Greater Toronto Area (GTA) Municipal Election Ipsos poll data released by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) and the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB), there is great concern among GTA millennials they will be unable to afford a home in the GTA; however, there is some optimism from this group regarding their views on housing supply for new residents.

Canada Newswire – PR Newswire – PR Newswire

Mortgage and Finance

CMHC well-capitalized and able to withstand extreme scenarios

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s stress testing of its own capital levels confirms its ability to weather severe but extremely unlikely scenarios, according to 2018 results released today. None of the scenarios tested should be considered a prediction or a forecast. Stress testing is an essential part of CMHC’s risk management program. All federally regulated financial institutions run these simulations.

Canada Newswire – Globe and Mail

New Developments

Complex for Whistler staff aims to ease housing crunch

Whistler Blackcomb is hoping to make a dent in the resort’s housing shortage with the proposal of a new staff housing complex. The resort announced plans for a dorm-style complex with 200 beds in Whistler, B.C., on Tuesday. Pete Sonntag, chief operating officer at Whistler Blackcomb, says rent will be set at less than $400 a month — similar to the resort’s existing staff housing, but far cheaper than market value.

CBC – Business In Vancouver

Seniors Housing

Seniors’ housing CEO makes beds and scrubs toilets

No job is beneath Raymond Swonek. Since he became CEO of GEF Seniors Housing 13 years ago, he has dedicated time every year to working side-by-side with staff in all 10 of the organization’s seniors’ lodges and some of its apartment buildings. On Tuesday, Swonek arrived at McQueen Place in west Edmonton with his own rubber gloves and hairnet, ready to take orders from staff.

CBC

Taxes and Utilities

Speculation tax tightens Vancouver market supply

Two years after the province raised the property transfer tax on purchases of residential real estate by foreign nationals in Metro Vancouver, foreign participation in the market has dropped markedly. The numbers indicate just one per cent of all transactions in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley Regional District during 2018’s first six months involved foreign nationals, down from three per cent year-over-year.

Business In Vancouver – BC Business

Comparing taxes and user fees in B.C. cities

Homeowners in Metro Vancouver, the Fraser Valley and along the Sea to Sky Highway pay vastly different levels of property taxes and user fees, depending on where they live. An analysis of provincial finance data for 29 cities shows how much the owner of an average detached house in each area would pay the municipality for standard items, including emergency services, parks, recreation facilities and road maintenance.

Vancouver Sun – CBC

TREB calls for reform of GTA land transfer taxes

The latest in a series of poll results released by the Toronto Real Estate Board reports a majority of Greater Toronto Area residents oppose the idea of new municipal land transfer taxes. Toronto is the only municipality with its own land transfer tax (in addition to the provincial land transfer tax). TREB has released a policy paper calling for reform.

Newinhomes.com – Globe Newswire

Natural Disasters

Earthquake alert system can buy West Coast precious seconds

This summer showed not only the promise of the patchwork of earthquake early warning systems popping up on America’s West Coast, but also the challenges it faces. On Aug. 28, when a minor quake briefly rumbled the Los Angeles suburb of La Verne, hundreds of area residents got advance notice from an app on their phones. Farther from the quake, Angelenos got as many as 10 seconds to brace themselves. 

Bloomberg

Canada’s cellphone system vulnerable in disasters: Experts

Advocates are calling for the federal government to examine the reliability of Canada’s cellphone services during emergencies after tornadoes swept through the Ottawa area last week leaving thousands with little or no cellphone service. John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said Canada’s communications systems are more vulnerable than they were in the past, as consumers and phone companies move away from traditional landlines.

CBC – CBC – CBC

B.C. far behind on wildfire protection

First, the good news: Experts say that after 15 years of serious neglect, the province is finally taking substantial steps toward reducing the risk of wildfires as well as their impact on British Columbians. The bad news is it won’t be enough to make a difference before the 2019 fire season. “It’s clear it’s not even close to enough,” said Kevin Kriese, chair of the Forest Practices Board.

CBC – Winnipeg Free Press

Legal Issues

Condo developer loses court fight with Town of Ajax

Embattled condo developer Thomas Liu of the LeMine Investment Group suffered another setback Friday when a Superior Court judge ruled against him in his legal battle with the Town of Ajax. Justice Anne Mullins found the town was entitled to repurchase the land it had transferred to Liu’s company because he failed to begin construction of his proposed development by July 15, 2017, as spelled out in their agreement.

Toronto Star – Toronto Star

Construction

Amazon invests in a prefab module supplier

A fund controlled by e-commerce giant Amazon is among the entities that invested a total of $6.7 million in the latest round of financing raised by Plant Prefab, a design and prefabrication company with a 62,000-square-foot factory in Rialto, Calif., which since May 2016 has produced modules for custom single- and multi-family homes. The sources for Plant Prefab’s Series A funding included Amazon’s Alexa Fund.

Building Design & Construction – CoStar Group

Affordable Housing

Regent Park affordable housing lottery draws thousands

Toronto residents hoping to find affordable housing could hit the jackpot again this week. The second housing lottery in Regent Park is wrapping up on Wednesday, and Toronto Community Housing (TCH) has already received more than 2,000 applications and counting — for just 75 units. While another round of available units is welcome news to housing advocates, some say the lottery also speaks to the housing “crisis” in Toronto.

CBC

Vancouver real estate woes continue unabated: UDI

VIDEO: Home ownership and home rental is getting further out of reach. At last estimate, the vacancy rate on rental properties was between 0.3 and 0.9 per cent, making it next to impossible to get affordable rental housing. New homes are equally difficult to purchase, especially mid-range ones. That’s homes with three bedrooms. This is forcing a paradigm shift in thinking about what is a mid-range home.

Vancouver Sun – Business In Vancouver – Business In Vancouver

Small houses

The case for and against tiny houses

The affordable housing industry is in a quandary as to how to define tiny houses, as well as smaller affordable homes. In my view, a tiny house is less than 300 square feet for off-grid living, while a smaller affordable home is a site-built house that ranges from 600 to 1,000 square feet and is connected to utilities. Developing tiny house communities will save homeowners little money while diminishing the long-term value.

Daily Commercial News

Other

Yardi Introduces Elevate for multi-family real estate

Yardi is bringing its new Yardi Elevate Suite for multi-family to market. Designed for CEOs, COOs, asset managers and other operational managers, Yardi Elevate delivers unprecedented portfolio visibility with in-depth operational data and predictive insights. In addition to RENTmaximizer, Yardi Matrix and Forecast Manager, the suite features the all-new Asset Intelligence, which incorporates machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve business performance.

Canada Newswire

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