Mirvish selling Toronto condo development to Great Gulf

Mirvish selling Toronto condo development to Great Gulf

The Great Gulf real estate group is buying a high-profile, high-rise development in Toronto’s entertainment district from Ed Mirvish Enterprises. The Mirvish+Gehry project currently calls for two towers — one 82 storeys and the other 92 storeys — near the Princess of Wales theatre on King Street West. Terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed in Monday’s announcement.

CBC – Globe and Mail – BuzzBuzzHome – Urban Toronto

Toronto’s former Trump Tower launches rebranded luxury condos

Altering the reputation of the luxury hotel-condominium once known as Trump Tower isn’t as simple as hanging a new sign. But a re-branded and financially re-engineered foundation for the glass and granite skyscraper at Bay and Adelaide Sts. means the property is finally poised to move past its previous legal and financial troubles, says Jay Wolf, the Los Angeles-based president of JCF Capital.

Toronto Star – Toronto Star

CIM starts on Markham’s Mackenzie Creek

CIM International Group Inc., and its partners have begun site preparation for the Mackenzie Creek development in Markham, Ont., which will contain 195 townhomes at full build-out. Averton Homes is the project manager, while Morrison Financial Mortgage Corporation is providing construction financing.

Property Biz Canada

Quebec landlords fight short-term rentals

At least a dozen Montreal landlords have obtained eviction orders since June 2016 on the grounds their tenants are running commercial enterprises by subletting their apartments on short-term rental websites. More than half of those rulings have come within the past six months and the majority involve the popular short-term rental site Airbnb, Régie du logement records show.

Montreal Gazette

B.C. Court rules condo-building sale did not follow process

A group of condominium owners won a huge court victory over their neighbours Sept. 21 when BC Supreme Court Justice Warren Milman dismissed an attempt by a larger group of owners to wind up their strata corporation and sell assets to a developer. The Bel-Ayre case is the first in which a strata corporation that obtained the necessary 80% support from owners failed to obtain court approval.

Business In Vancouver

Short-term rental rule changes could cause chill: Chard

Victoria’s development community is concerned after city council voted last week to change the rules governing short-term vacation rentals, warns Chard Development, one of the city’s busiest developers. David Chard, who has built five residential buildings in or near downtown, with four others planned or under construction, said developers may start to question the stability of the city’s policies.

Victoria Times Colonist – Victoria Times Colonist – Victoria Times Colonist

Pickleball latest addition to condo amenities

Pickleball is the fastest-growing sport among Americans aged 50 or older; younger players are also flocking to it, says the USA Pickleball Association.  Pickleball is played with paddles and a perforated plastic ball, singles or doubles, on a court about one-fourth the size of a tennis court. If you haven’t included pickleball in your apartment or condominium amenities package, what are you waiting for?

Building Design & Construction

TREB urges caution over vacant-home tax

The Toronto Real Estate Board is urging the city to exercise caution regarding a possible vacant-home tax. The board says it’s worried there is not enough data or evidence to support the idea a vacancy tax would increase the supply of rental housing. It urged the city to take a measured approach to help avoid any unintended consequences for the housing market and property owners.

Toronto Star – Newinhomes – GlobeNewswire

Toronto has world’s most overvalued housing market: Report

Toronto and London are among the cities most at risk of a housing bubble as economic optimism and low borrowing costs push up property values in urban areas worldwide, according to UBS Group AG. Toronto, which entered the index of 20 locations for the first time this year, has the most overvalued housing market, while London was the third-riskiest in Europe after Stockholm and Munich.

Bloomberg – CBC – Newinhome – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Housing affordability at worst level since 1990: RBC

Royal Bank says housing affordability in Canada hit the worst level since 1990 in the second quarter of this year. In a new report Friday, RBC Economics says its national housing affordability measure deteriorated for the eighth straight quarter. The Toronto area was the hardest hit, where RBC says affordability declined the most and hit the lowest level ever measured in the city.

Winnipeg Free Press – Business In Vancouver

Tartan Homes’ Dufresne to lead OHBA

An Ottawan with nearly three decades of experience turning land into lots is the new president of the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, charged with advocating for an industry worth $56 billion a year to the province’s economy. Pierre Dufresne, the vice-president for land development at Tartan Homes, began his term as OHBA president last week.

Ottawa Citizen

Home Capital cuts 10 per cent of workforce

Canada’s biggest non-bank mortgage lender Home Capital Group Inc. said on Monday it had reduced its workforce by about 10 per cent since the second quarter and reaffirmed its expectation to achieve about $15 million in future savings. The company, which had initiated a cost-savings program in February, had 816 active employees as of June 30.

Financial Post

Housing becoming a drag on Canadian economy

Canada’s economy showed signs of cooling in July, in line with expectations the nation’s expansion would return to more sustainable levels after recording some of the fastest growth in decades. Gross domestic product was little changed from the prior month, Statistics Canada said Friday from Ottawa, ending an eight-month string of gains. A slowing housing market was among the biggest drags on growth.

Bloomberg – Financial Post

Manhattan apartment sales highest in two years

Manhattan apartment sales were the strongest in two years, although prices at the top end continued to face pressure. Total sales increased 13 per cent in the third quarter compared with a year ago, according to a report from Douglas Elliman Real Estate and Miller Samuel Real Estate Appraisers and Consultants. Yet stronger sales were driven by slightly softer prices, especially at the high end.

CNBC – Bloomberg – The Real Deal

Mortgage rates depress U.S. apt. investment conditions

Multi-family investing conditions grew stronger in the second quarter from the previous one, with some markets such as Seattle and Boston posing increases that exceeded historical averages by large margins. However on an annual basis the investment conditions decreased, according to Freddie Mac’s Multifamily Apartment Investment Market Index (AIMI).

GlobeSt.com – GlobeSt.com – National Real Estate Investor

Market Conditions

Vancouver among world’s most expensive markets: Survey

A new survey says Vancouver is the world’s sixth most expensive city to buy a condo and the eighth most expensive market for a single-family home. Hong Kong tops the list as the most expensive place in the world to purchase property, according to a new Century 21 survey. New York and San Francisco are the other two North American cities to crack the top 10.

Global News – Globe and Mail

Harvey cools off hot real estate market

Homeowners and real estate agents throughout Montgomery County and across Texas had been enjoying a long run of hot home sales and climbing real estate values — until Hurricane Harvey hit in late August. Although the local housing market was showing signs of losing some of its steam during the summer, Harvey’s arrival and its torrential rains poured cold water on the real estate market, hitting it with what the Houston Association of Realtors terms a “heavy blow.”

Chron.com

Mortgage and Finance

CMHC explores cutting red tape for self-employed

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is exploring ways to make it easier for entrepreneurs and new immigrants to buy a home by cutting some of the red tape required to prove they can afford to pay the mortgage.

Financial Post – CTV – Canadian Mortgage Trends

New Developments

Anthem Properties closes deal on Coquitlam project

Anthem Properties has closed a deal to buy the Coquitlam housing complex Brandywine for $32 million. B.C. Supreme Court approved the sale of the 58-unit condominium project at 585 Austin Avenue earlier this year. This is one of the first strata developments to sell to a developer using a new method for winding up strata corporations since the B.C. government implemented Bill 40 last year.

Business In Vancouver – Journalofcommerce.com

Seniors Housing

Ottawa company dreams big for seniors with small houses

With city-run care homes under the microscope following stories of abuse, a new company in Ottawa is pitching an alternative vision for aging: a small house in a backyard, with a package of health services. Coach Homes of Ottawa Inc. recently unveiled its model homes at the Ottawa Fall Home Show.

CBC

Natural Disasters

A third of Calgarians disregarded flood evacuation order

Convincing people they’re at risk from an imminent natural disaster can be trickier than you might think, according to research from Mount Royal University that looked at Calgarians’ responses to the 2013 flood. The researchers asked 400 residents whose homes were affected by the flood when — and how — they realized they were under an evacuation order. Researchers were surprised by some of the responses.

CBC

Floridians file nearly 17,000 flood insurance claims

Nearly 17,000 flood insurance claims connected with Hurricane Irma have been filed, and more are expected in the coming weeks. The Sun-Sentinel reports that of 16,786 flood claims filed through Thursday, 3,969 were filed in Monroe County. There were 647 claims from Volusia County and 553 from Flagler, as of Sept. 21.

Daily Commercial News

Legal Issues

Gamblers placed big bets on B.C. real estate

Paul King Jin, the alleged suspect at the centre of a major RCMP probe into money laundering and underground banking, is connected through big B.C. real estate loans to “high-risk” VIP gamblers from China, a Postmedia investigation shows.

Vancouver Sun

Affordable Housing

Vancouver’s tech boom could worsen affordability crisis

Vancouver’s lack of affordable housing is critical and will get worse without “transformational” changes — including more private-sector rental stock — Gil Kelley, Vancouver’s general manager of planning, urban design and sustainability, told B.C.’s building industry. The lack of affordability for working families has grown worse over the past decade and the challenges “are not going to let up any time soon,” said Kelley.

Vancouver Province – Vancouver Province – Victoria Times Colonist – Marketwired

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Looking at Ottawa’s fastest-growing neighbourhoods

While Ottawa’s central downtown population grew at the fastest rate last year, data from the city’s annual development report show neighbourhoods just outside of the greenbelt are gaining ground. Ottawa’s annual development report uses population estimates from both the city and Statistics Canada census data to track neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood growth and compare those statistics with the city’s planning policy objectives.

Ottawa Business Journal

Other

Tridel repeats as Ontario Home Builder of the Year

The Ontario Home Builders’ Association (OHBA) recently announced the 2017 Awards of Distinction winners. For the second consecutive year, Tridel walked away with the prestigious 2017 Ontario Home Builder of the Year award. “Based in Toronto, Tridel demonstrated excellence not only in building design and customer service, but also in their commitment to innovative, sustainable building,” says a release from the OHBA.

Newinhomes – Canada Newswire

Student wins design award for a condo that grows with your family

University of Toronto architecture student Yupin Li has come up with a novel solution for growing families looking to jump into the Toronto real estate market — condo units that can be divided into smaller rental apartments until the owner decides they need the space back. Li’s building design, called “Flex,” won an award of excellence at the 2017 Toronto Urban Design awards.

CBC

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