Canadian housing braces for ‘biggest rule change of all time’

Canadian housing braces for ‘biggest rule change of all time’

It didn’t take long for the impact of rising rates to hit the market. People rushed to lenders Thursday to lock in contracts and get pre-approved mortgages after the Bank of Canada raised its overnight lending rate the day before. The larger concern is what two hikes in the overnight lending rate in two months will do.

Financial Post – Toronto Star – CBC – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

B.C.’s new real estate watchdog targets condo developer

The head of B.C.’s real estate watchdog agency has issued his first emergency order since being appointed last year as part of the province’s efforts to crack down on misconduct in the sector, with an enforcement action targeting longtime Vancouver condo developer Mark John Chandler.

Vancouver Sun

Government policies hot topic at TO apartment conference

Proposed Ontario government policies regarding rental housing introduced in the spring were still a major topic of discussion at Wednesday’s Canadian Apartment Investment Conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. “It’s not that there aren’t issues with the current system,” said John Matheson, principal of StrategyCorp, a Toronto-based government relations and advocacy, communications and management consulting firm.

Property Biz Canada

New Vancouver condo shortage looming

Mandatory registrations of new Vancouver condominiums have fallen 28 per cent this year as starts have plunged, despite a white-hot pre-sale market that has driven new condo inventory to record lows. Registrations of new homes with the BC Homeowner Protection Office (HPO) are seen as a harbinger of new home construction, according to BC Housing.

Western Investor – BCBusiness – Vancouver Sun – Business In Vancouver

Soaring rents put squeeze on B.C. students

Vancouver Province – Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun: Part II

Home Capital shareholders say no to Buffett

Warren Buffett’s bid to double his stake in Home Capital Group Inc. (HCG-T) was rejected by shareholders of the Canadian mortgage lender in a vote Tuesday. Investors voted against the offer, which would have boosted Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s (BRK.A-N) stake to 38 per cent from about 20 per cent. Stockholders including CIBC Asset Management had objected to the deal.  

Bloomberg – Globe and Mail – CBC – CTV

InterRent buys Montreal, Hamilton apartment buildings

InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust (IIP.UN-T)  will spend $65 million to purchase two neighbouring high-rise apartment buildings in Montreal and a mid-rise apartment complex in Hamilton. “We are extremely pleased to announce these two acquisitions,” InterRent CEO Mike McGahan said in a release announcing the purchases.

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Hamilton church to move graves to make room for condos

 A Hamilton church says it’s hoping to move hundreds of centuries-old graves in order to make way for modern-day condo dwellers. For reasons that are unclear, Christ’s Church Cathedral says its current parking lot was built over top the 19th-century remains of hundreds of former parishioners. Church officials say they want to address the issue as part of a revitalization project.

CTV – Hamilton Spectator – CBC

11 things to know about Calgary’s multi-family market

Duplexes led all attached home segments with 30 per cent sales growth through Calgary’s resale market last month. There were new owners for 179 of these homes, up from 138 a year earlier, says the Calgary Real Estate Board. Here are 11 take-aways from the resale activity for multi-family development in Calgary last month, writes Josh Skapin.

Calgary Herald

Winnipeg developers weigh risk of infill homes

A real estate agent and a developer have different opinions about whether Winnipeg is on the cusp of a new era in infill residential development. Bruce Balliet, development manager for TriWest Construction Inc., said most established home builders continue to be leery of single-family infill projects because they’re riskier than building in a new subdivision. Residential and commercial agent Jon Blumberg disagrees.

Winnipeg Free Press

Edmonton ponders ‘missing middle’ infill

There is a demand for middle-density infill housing in Edmonton but the city needs to figure out how best to do it, says Mayor Don Iveson. “I think we have to come up with a zoning package that is straightforward for (developers) to use,” Iveson said Wednesday. The “missing middle” segment in infill includes triplexes, low-rise apartment buildings and multi-family housing with a shared yard space.

CBC – Edmonton Journal – Edmonton Journal

	U.S. hurricanes’ impact on real estate
	The following section of the RENX newsletter is dedicated to news about Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in the U.S. and its impact on real estate.

 

Irma won’t affect Florida real estate prices: Developer

The damage by Hurricane Irma in Florida shouldn’t affect real estate prices, billionaire real estate developer Jeff Soffer said. Irma ripped roofs off homes and caused flooding and power outages across the state, Soffer, CEO of the luxury real estate development and property management firm Turnberry Associates, said these kinds of storms are predictable in the area.

CNBC – Globe and Mail

13 of AHIP’s 14 hotels operating at capacity

American Hotel Income Properties REIT (HOT.UN-T) and hotel manager, ONE Lodging Management, Inc. have completed a preliminary review of AHIP’s properties in Florida and Southern Georgia and found the damage to be minimal. Of the 14 AHIP-owned hotels in the region, 13 are operating at capacity, while the Kingsland, Georgia hotel remains under an evacuation order. 

Marketwired

Chinese homebuyers flock to Montreal: Agent

Homebuyers from mainland China have helped fuel a Montreal housing market that continued to sizzle last month with record sales and rising prices, says David Mellor, who owns three Royal LePage offices in Montreal, However, he doesn’t believe it’s because of the introduction of taxes on foreign buyers in British Columbia and Ontario.

Vancouver Sun – Montreal Gazette – Canada Newswire

Canadians still have a shine on for Sunbelt real estate

No longer just a winter getaway destination, Canada, led by Alberta, is growing corporate economic ties with Arizona, says the founder of a bilateral trade council. Bi-lateral trade investment has soared through $5 billion US according to 2016 figures presented by the Canada-Arizona Business Council (CABC), and continues to grow.

Calgary Herald

Canada housing starts rise unexpectedly in August: CMHC

Canadian housing starts rose unexpectedly in August, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp said on Monday in a report that boosted expectations for economic growth in the third quarter as condo building continued to surge. The seasonally-adjusted annual rate of starts rose to 223,232 in August from July’s upwardly revised 221,974. Economists had expected a decline to a 212,000 annual rate.

Reuters – CBC – Winnipeg Free Press – Ottawa Business Journal

Banning double-ending could hurt buyers: B.C. realtors

New draft rules banning so-called double-ending by real estate agents are being met with chagrin from realtors, who say they knew the change was coming but that it could have some downsides for some home buyers. The B.C. Office of the Superintendent has issued the draft rules barring agents from representing both seller and buyer in a transaction.

Globe and Mail – Vancouver Sun – Vancouver Sun

Market Conditions

TO house prices likely already near bottom: RBC economist

Toronto’s roller-coaster market took a swoop lower in August, the fourth-straight month the average sales price declined from a dizzying record high set in April.  According to RBC economist Robert Hogue, Toronto is likely to mimic Vancouver’s experience. “Our view is that the market has largely adjusted to Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan and should maintain balance between supply and demand,” Hogue wrote.

Toronto Star – CBC – Financial Post – Toronto Star

High-end home sales bolster Winnipeg numbers

Higher-end homes were a hot commodity last month in Winnipeg. In its August sales report released Friday, the Winnipeg Realtors Association (WRA) said sales of residential-detached homes priced at more than $500,000 were up 32 per cent from August 2016. It said last month’s sales included seven homes priced at more than $1 million, with the most expensive selling for $1.7 million.

Winnipeg Free Press

Benchmark house prices finally cool in Victoria core

For the first time in two years, the benchmark value of a single-family home in the region and the Victoria core has fallen, according to the Victoria Real Estate Board. The benchmark price  dropped to $694,500 in August from $700,800 in July while the benchmark price in the core dropped to $823,100 from $834,200 from the previous month.

timescolonist

Atlanta has a national multi-family advantage

Employment growth is positive nationwide — but Atlanta, Florida, Las Vegas and Nashville are reporting robust growth. That bodes well for the multifamily market in these areas. That’s according to ARA Newmark’s Q2 2017 Multihousing Market Overview. Yields remain stable throughout the country at 5.6%, with secondary and tertiary markets primarily in the Midwest and Southwest offering the highest multifamily yields.

GlobeSt.com – CNBC – GlobeSt.com – Marketwired

Mortgage and Finance

A 200-km commute to work means a cheap mortgage

Eleven months ago, Tammy Hurst-Erskine ditched the Toronto housing market and bought a house in St. Thomas, Ont. But she kept her job in the big city. That means that three days a week, she wakes up at four, drives at least two hours to be at work for seven. At the end of the day, it’s another two hours home.

CBC

Rising interest rates could spell trouble for home equity loans

When the Bank of Canada raised its key overnight lending rate on Wednesday — the second interest rate hike in two months — the central bank also raised concern over household indebtedness. Each time the bank raises rates, lenders immediately pass them on to borrowers who hold products based on the prime rate.

CBC – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

New Developments

1.5 years later, B.C. condo owners still can’t move in

To own a home in Metro Vancouver is to gain a foothold in the toughest housing market in the country. But the owners of the 92 units at Murrayville House, a sold-out condo building at 221a Street in Langley, still wonder when they can move in, even one-and-a-half years after putting money down on their homes.

Global News

Ottawans object to Windmill’s proposed condo complex

As Southminster United Church turns to a developer to help its finances, Old Ottawa South residents have raised objections about a proposed condominium’s height and the obstruction of heritage views of the church itself. Windmill Developments is behind the proposal, which includes four three-storey townhouses and a 14-unit, six-storey apartment building.

CBC

Legal Issues

Home renovation deposits allegedly used to cover gambling debts

When GarCon Building Group went bankrupt more than two years ago, Karim Hajee was one of several homeowners who collectively lost more than a million dollars in deposits on home renovation work. Court documents filed last week allege that the money — which hasn’t been returned — went partly toward the company owner’s personal expenses, including gambling debt, and bills for his former Toronto home.

Toronto Star

‘Matrimonial home’ a hot topic when it comes to family law

When it comes to family court, both the definition and application of“matrimonial home” are often hotly contested, given the rights that flow from such a designation. As the division or equalization of a separating couple’s property is governed by provincial legislation, there are different rules about the use and division of matrimonial homes across Canada.

financialpost

Condominium Management

Ontario condo buyers grapple with monthly fees

When Joe Byer bought a condo in a 24-storey downtown building in 2009, he and his wife were attracted in part by the appealingly low monthly fee: $400 for the two-bedroom unit. After about a year, recalls Byer, the owners and condo board directors began looking more closely at the 20-year-old building’s neglected upkeep. In short order, a new board approved a doubling of the fees.

Globe and Mail

Affordable Housing

Calgary affordable-housing complex opens after delay

After a months-long delay due to construction problems, the opening of Clarke Court, a 32-unit affordable-housing project in the southwest Calgary community of Kingsland was celebrated Saturday. The residential property, which will be managed by the Calgary Housing Company, features a mix of bachelor, one-, two- and three-bedroom units. It includes a handful of accessible units for tenants with disabilities.

CBC – Global News

Small houses

Do tiny homes offer big solutions for TO?

Tiny homes have gained in popularity as real estate prices rise and millennials are strengthening the trend as they eschew the accumulation of stuff in favour of collecting experiences. The idea of living in, say, 300 square feet, doesn’t appeal to everyone, but tiny homes do offer some interesting possibilities for those who don’t mind giving up 52-inch TVs.

Newinhomes

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Young Vancouver families opt for diverse downtown

Kelly Shoecraft’s second child is due in just over a month, but she has no problem chasing her two-year-old daughter Amelia as she bolts to the corner of the busy park in trendy Yaletown. One byproduct of choosing to raise their kids in a two-bedroom rental apartment across the street, she said, is she and her husband are constantly walking everywhere.

Globe and Mail

Real estate helps create ‘cities of millionaires’: WealthScapes

Canadians are richer than ever and thanks to rising real estate and stock markets, the country now boasts four cities where the average household net worth is over $1 million: Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary and Victoria. According to the annual WealthScapes report from Environics Analytics, national household net worth rose 12 per cent over last year to $770,635, while household debt grew 4.4 per cent.

Globe and Mail – BCBusiness – Global News

Salt Spring Island votes against becoming a municipality

Salt Spring Island residents have voted against turning their idyllic island — the largest of the southern Gulf Islands — into a municipality. Preliminary results showed close to 62 per cent of voters opted to maintain the status quo in a referendum on Saturday: 3,930 people cast a ballot against incorporation, while 2,419 people voted in favour. 

Vancouver Sun – Victoria Times Colonist

Other

	RENX has surpassed 10,125 Twitter followers
	Recent follower Quarry Rock Developments is a B.C.-based firm offering quality homes at competitive prices.
	Follow RENXca, the most comprehensive news feed on Twitter for Canadian real estate professionals.