Montreal basks in ‘Goldilocks’ housing status

Montreal basks in ‘Goldilocks’ housing status

While the once-soaring housing markets in Toronto and Vancouver are showing signs of cooling, Montreal is just getting started. Demand in Canada’s second-largest city has heated up enough to put Montreal-area home prices on track to rise six per cent this year, the biggest jump since 2010, according to the Quebec Federation of Real Estate Boards.

Bloomberg – CBC – Canada Newswire

Spend now to protect Edmonton from flooding: Report

A new report suggests the city spend $2.6 billion on drainage work to protect mature neighbourhoods from flooding in sudden and heavy rainstorms. Several options were laid out in the report released Monday, with city staff recommending one that is described as the “new normal” for Edmonton.

CBC

Gupta Group eyes condos for future growth

If you want to keep track of the ebb and flow of the Canadian real estate industry, Steve Gupta is a pretty good gauge. The head of Toronto-based Gupta Group, who was heavily invested in the apartment sector in the 1980s and ’90s, is a major player in the hot hotel sector and has recently become more involved in condo construction.

Property Biz Canada

TO needs amenities to keep families downtown

As city planners continue to work on design guidelines to make the condo towers that dominate Toronto’s skyline function more family-friendly, international experts are recommending a focus on zoning and amenities. Chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat calls for developers to build units with stroller storage, movable walls and shadow-free playgrounds.

CBC – Toronto Star

TO realtors raise concerns over bidding wars

GTA real estate agents are raising concerns about an emerging practice designed to help buyers win bidding wars by promising to automatically top any better offer for a home. Escalation or elevator clauses allow a would-be buyer to submit an offer for a house and include a provision promising to automatically top the best price from any other bidder.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required) – Marketwired

TO home sales suffer biggest drop since recession

Sales of existing homes across the GTA dropped a whopping 20.3 per cent in May from a year ago, while the average home price in the region fell about six per cent from April. The Toronto Real Estate Board said Monday there were 10,196 sales through the Multiple Listing Service last month, down from 12,790 sales reported in May 2016.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail – CBC – Toronto Star

Uncertainty forcing appraisers to take second look

The potential for rapidly dropping prices in southern Ontario is forcing appraisers to have a second look at properties they have already assessed. Claudio Polito, a Toronto appraiser and principal owner of Cross-town Appraisal Ltd., says lenders basing mortgage decisions on value are trying to stay on top of a market that appears to be changing rapidly.

Financial Post – Bloomberg

Greater Van. sales return to near-record levels

Home sales bounced back to nearly record levels across the Greater Vancouver area in May, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver’s latest numbers. Residential home sales hit 4,364 last month, just 8.5 per cent down from May 2016, which saw an all-time record 4,769 homes sold. It was also an increase of 22.8 per cent over April 2017, when 3,553 homes sold.

Vancouver Sun – Financial Post – Business In Vancouver

Changes to Van. Chinatown policy contemplated

Major changes may be coming to the City of Vancouver’s Chinatown development policy in the wake of public anger over a proposed 12-storey residential complex in the area. Those changes, being prepared by staff now, include a ban on tall and wide buildings in favour of small, narrow lots for better character fit.

Vancouver Sun – Globe and Mail – Vancouver Courier

Logel Homes launches as multi-family brand

A show suite recently launched Auburn Rise, the 373-unit condominium development in southeast Calgary. It’s the first project of Logel Homes, a new multi-family brand under the family name of Tim Logel, president of Cardel Lifestyles. He joined Cardel Homes in 1982 and has been involved in the construction and sales of more than 6,000 single-family homes and 2,500 condos and townhomes.

Calgary Herald – Calgary Herald

Winnipeggers snap up luxury apartments

A Winnipeg developer is tapping into the growing demand for higher-end apartments by converting a former condominium development into luxury rental units in St. James. Dynasty Lands International Inc. is halfway through converting the 84-unit Silver Heights Condominiums at 350 and 360 Lodge Ave.

Winnipeg Free Press

CMHC boosting ability to detect mortgage fraud

The head of Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation says it is beefing up its ability to detect mortgage fraud after being directed to do so by the federal government. CMHC president and CEO Evan Siddall says there are incentives to commit fraud in the system and therefore the agency needs to be vigilant.

Toronto Star – Financial Post

IMF warns of ‘significant’ risks from housing market

The International Monetary Fund is urging Canada to take further action in order to address rising household debt levels and the risks of a sharp correction in the housing market. The IMF warns of “significant” risks to future growth due to the potential for a housing market decline that impairs bank balance sheets and spreads to the broader economy.

Globe and Mail – Maclean’s – Maclean’s

Mapletree acquires U.S. student housing portfolio

Mapletree Investments, the Temasek-backed property development, investment and capital management company, acquired a portfolio of assets from Kayne Anderson Real Estate Advisors worth $2.16 billion Cdn. The portfolio comprises eight purpose-built student housing assets with 3,611 beds in the U.S. and 140 beds in Canada, as well as four multi-family assets with 1,388 units in the U.S.

The Edge Markets MY – THE BUSINESS TIMES – The Straits Times – IPE Real Estate

U.S. apt. rents maintain streak of slowing growth

Although multi-family rents across the U.S. increased in May for the third month in a row, Yardi Matrix is continuing to chart a deceleration in the growth rate. Average U.S. monthly rents rose $4 to $1,316, according to Yardi Matrix’s monthly survey of 121 markets. On a year-over-year basis, rents were up 1.5 per cent nationwide in May.

GlobeSt.com – GlobeSt.com – World Property Journal

Market Conditions

Ottawa market hits new highs in May

After months of gaining steam, Ottawa’s housing market surged in May as buyers set an all-time record for sales in a single month and average resale prices, new figures from the Ottawa Real Estate Board show. OREB members sold 2,300 residential properties last month, an increase of 19.9 per cent over May 2016. To put that number in further context, the five-year average for May sales is 1,946.

Ottawa Business Journal

Manitoba’s vacancy rate for seniors units lowest in country

The vacancy rate for standard seniors housing units in Manitoba has improved during the past year, but is still the lowest in the country, according to a new survey by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. In its 2017 Seniors Housing Report released last week, CMHC said Manitoba’s overall vacancy rate has climbed to 4.0 per cent from 2.7 per cent in 2016.

Winnipeg Free Press

Edmonton condo sales stagnant in May

The Edmonton condominium market is still flat, according to a Realtors Association of Edmonton report comparing housing sales in May to sales from the last five years. The report calculated the average condo sale price at $250,818 in May, down from $258,494 in April. But the real story, according to the report, is the continuing low volume of condo sales.

CBC – Edmonton Journal – Edmonton Journal

Seattle has most competitive market in U.S.

As Seattle tops the U.S. for home price growth for the seventh straight month, the market has gotten so competitive it’s now nearly impossible to avoid a bidding war. The monthly Case-Shiller home price index showed single-family home prices across the Seattle area increased 12.3 per cent from a year prior — the fastest growth in more than three years. 

Seattle Times – Winnipeg Free Press – Bloomberg

Mortgage and Finance

Mortgage rates spike for riskier borrowers

It was just six weeks ago investors feared Home Capital Group Inc. (HCG-T) was going out of business. The situation at Home Capital has stabilized somewhat, but with the company now unable to meet borrower demand and would-be customers worrying their mortgages won’t close in time, mortgage brokers are sending millions in business to Home Capital’s competitors. 

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Canadian Western Bank sees increased mortgage demand

Canadian Western Bank (CWB-T) said Thursday it was experiencing higher-than normal demand for mortgages as a result of challenges faced by its largest competitor, Home Capital Group. Canadian Western Bank, based in Alberta, said in a statement alongside its second-quarter results that it is being very selective in approving new loans.  

Reuters

What new Canadians face when buying a home

Trying to buy a house in big cities such as Toronto or Vancouver is challenging for any young family, but is doubly so for newcomers to Canada. Prices in the housing market often come as a shock and then the process of qualifying for a Canadian mortgage can be complicated and confusing. 

Globe and Mail

Taxes and Utilities

Deadline looms for Vancouver empty-home owners

Vancouver’s new empty homes tax could soon find its first targets. Homeowners who keep their principal residence outside Vancouver are being reminded they have until July 1 to find renters. The city’s tax targets properties left vacant at least six months per year and not used as a principal residence. The 2016 census found 25,000 empty homes in Vancouver.

Vancouver Province

Delta, B.C., homeowners stunned by tax increases

Tsawwassen residents Ron and Verna Neufeld’s 2017 property tax bill had gone up over 25 per cent in one year. “As seniors on a fixed income, it’s a little bit shocking to get this kind of increase,” said Ron, 85. Last year, the Neufelds paid $3,269.65 in property taxes but this year they’ll be forking out $4,093.98, an increase of $824.

CBC

Natural Disasters

New homes arrive at flood-ravaged Manitoba F.N.

Lake St. Martin First Nation celebrated another milestone Wednesday, with the arrival of the first of nearly 200 new pre-fab homes for the flood-ravaged Interlake community. Matix Lumber Inc., a local building supply company that also specializes in building homes and commercial buildings for northern and remote communities, is building 190 homes for the Ojibway community.

Winnipeg Free Press – CTV – CBC

Flooding closes Toronto Islands

The flooded Toronto Islands will be closed until at least July 31 — a month longer than the city had initially estimated. The announcement came after weeks of flooding that submerged 40 per cent of the islands’ buildings, roads and parks. Ferries are cancelled with the exception of those providing service to Ward’s Island for residents and authorized personnel.

Toronto Sun – Globe and Mail – CBC – Toronto Star

Vast majority of England’s floodplains vulnerable

Only 10 per cent of England’s extensive floodplains are fit with the shortfall putting an increasing number of homes and businesses at risk of flooding, according to a new report by Co-Op Insurance. Floods are more likely due to climate change and will claim higher economic costs unless action is taken to halt the damage to floodplains.

The Guardian.

Other

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