UBC development proposes four condo towers

UBC development proposes four condo towers

The University of B.C. campus has been transformed in recent decades by clusters of mostly market condos and townhomes, along with retail space and thousands of new residents. By providing land to real estate developers, on 99-year leases, the university has been able to significantly increase its endowment fund. Now, there is a proposal to develop another major campus neighbourhood known as Stadium Road.

Vancouver Sun

EBC seeks to build tower near Ottawa transit station

The City of Ottawa has received a third proposal for a high-rise tower on Scott Street near the Westboro transit station — an area which typically prohibits buildings higher than six storeys. The other two projects have already been approved, with construction already underway on the site that used to house a Trailhead outdoors store.

CBC

Ottawa student housing building acquired by ASH REIT

Alignvest Student Housing REIT (ASH) has an agreement to acquire its second property, a former hotel converted into a 357-bed student accommodation at 111 Cooper St., in Ottawa. Financial terms were not released, but Alignvest said the two properties combine to bring its asset value to $125 million. “We are very excited about entering the Ottawa market with the addition of 1Eleven to our portfolio,” said Alignvest managing partner Sanjil Shah.

Property Biz Canada

The Winslow Devron’s new T.O. boutique condo

Devron Developments is targeting homeowners looking to downsize in Toronto’s Lawrence Park neighbourhood with its new boutique condominium, The Winslow. The Winslow will be located at 2781 Yonge St., between Blythwood Road and Lawrence Avenue, on a site most recently occupied by two semi-detached homes, a parking lot, a three-storey investment building and a two-storey commercial building. Devron acquired the property from an individual landowner in January 2017.

Property Biz Canada

Detached home sales in Calgary at lowest level since 1990s

Sales of detached homes in Calgary are at their lowest level since the 1990s, according to numbers released by the Calgary Real Estate Board. There were 869 sales in the month of October, a drop of 8.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, bringing the overall year-to-date decline to 15 per cent. So far this year, the largest drop in sales was in the $600,000 to $999,999 price range.

CBC

Metro Vancouver sales plunge 35% year-over-year

Home sales across the region took a drubbing in October, plummeting 34.9% compared with the same month a year ago. The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) Friday reported the region tallied 1,966 sales last month. Not only is that down from October 2017’s 3,022 sales, but it’s a 23.3% drop from September when 1,595 home sales were recorded.

Business In Vancouver – Vancouver Province – Western Investor

Who is really doing the homebuying in our mad markets?

The residential real estate markets in Toronto and Vancouver can only be described as surreal. The homebuyers just keep coming, regardless of price.  We’ve had the debate in recent years about whether inflationary pressures have been sparked by foreign buyers looking to park or launder money, or take advantage of provincial immigration programs. The assertion the “big bad foreign buyer” is a true market force was deflated last December.

Value: Weighed and Measured

B.C. sets up new-condo registry to deter tax evasion

British Columbia will set up a registry to track the ownership of new condominium projects under development to crack down on tax evasion in the real estate industry, the western Canadian province said. Starting Jan. 1, developers will be required to collect and report on purchase agreements of presale condominium units, including when these contracts are flipped and reassigned to a new owner.

Bloomberg

Tougher mortgage rules fuel private lending surge

Higher interest rates and tougher lending standards are driving a surge in private lending to homeowners in the Toronto area. Twenty per cent of refinancing for mortgage deals in the second quarter were funded by private lenders, a 67 per cent jump from the first quarter of 2016, according to a report this week by Toronto brokerage Realosophy and property data provider Teranet.

Bloomberg – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Affordability stifles dreams of ownership: BILD

Every fall, BILD invites experts on economics and housing to join us for breakfast and speak to our members about what the GTA housing market will look like in the coming year. This fall was no exception. I also learned we have much left to do around housing supply and affordability in our region.

Toronto Star – Calgary Herald – Newinhomes.com

Ontario Landlord Tenant Board staff shortages create delays

The judicial body charged with adjudicating disputes between Ontario landlords and tenants is straining under a workload of cases with not enough staff to reach its standard of service on scheduling hearings, according to a newly released report. The umbrella group inside the Ministry of the Attorney-General that manages the Human Rights Tribunal and the Landlord Tenant Board, among others, acknowledged staffing shortages have hampered its work.

Globe and Mail

ALC blocks Tsawwassen Springs development

A townhouse development at Tsawwassen Springs has been blocked after a decision by the Agricultural Land Commission. Following a public hearing last year, council granted preliminary approval for the Tsawwassen Golf & Country Club Ltd. application to build another 60 townhouses, a tennis court and other amenities immediately west of the current development. The 6.3-acre site is in B.C.’s Agricultural Land Reserve but not actively farmed.

Delta Optimist

Vancouver builders, buyers survey post-election landscape

Kirsty Barclay and Carol Ann Lang are two faces of Vancouver’s housing nightmare. The two live in a nearly 90-year-old, three-storey apartment building in the city’s pleasant Kitsilano neighbourhood, paying, they admit, an indisputably low rent of around $1,200 for their roomy one-bedroom apartments – the result of decades of benevolent ownership by a Chinese immigrant family that wasn’t aggressive about raising prices.

Globe and Mail

Where do co-ops fit in Montreal speculation?

Most of us either buy or rent our home. However a third option is often overlooked: cooperative housing, where there are no landlords and no tenants. There is no rent or mortgage payment. Ownership is collective, and the responsibility for maintaining the buildings and landscaping is, too. Monthly housing fees are calculated to cover costs, not to make a profit, which often makes this type of housing more affordable.

Montreal Gazette – Canada Newswire

Mongohouse sues TREB, claims it has lost $50K

Mongohouse is striking back at the Toronto Real Estate Board, claiming it has suffered losses in excess of $50,000 after it was forced to abruptly shut down its website. In a counterclaim and statement of defence filed Tuesday, lawyers representing Mongohouse.com and its creator, Maxim Mai, allege the lawsuit brought against them by TREB was done under the “belief, knowledge or wilful blindness” that the claims were “without merit.”

Winnipeg Free Press – Globe Newswire

Market Conditions

Housing market activity to moderate in 2019, 2020: CMHC

Canada’s housing markets should see a moderation in both housing starts and sales while house prices are expected to reach levels that are more in line with economic fundamentals such as income, job and population growth. This forecast for 2019 and 2020 is drawn from the 2018 Housing Market Outlook released today by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

Canada Newswire – Toronto Star

Toronto home prices climb in October as condos edge higher

Toronto’s housing market showed more signs of stability in October as prices for condos and semi-detached homes jumped even as unit sales were little changed. The average selling price rose one per cent last month from September to a seasonally adjusted $810,881, the first gain in three months. The benchmark price, which adjusts for the types of houses sold, rose 2.6 per cent year-over-year.

Bloomberg – Globe Newswire – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Prices, sales decrease in Edmonton area

Real estate prices and sales have taken a significant hit across the board compared to a year ago, according to the latest figures. Residential unit sales were down by nearly 14 per cent relative to October 2017, according to the latest monthly statistics from the Realtors Association of Edmonton. The sale of rowhouses and duplexes was hit hardest, decreasing by more than 30 per cent in the past year.

CBC – CTV

Longest housing inventory decline in U.S. history comes to an end

National housing inventory grew by two per cent, or 25,000 listings, in October after four years of severe inventory declines, according to realtor.com‘s October housing report. New listings that hit the market in October were eight per cent cheaper than existing homes for-sale, which may be an early indicator more affordable inventory is on the way for first-time homebuyers.

PR Newswire

Mortgage and Finance

A first-time buyer experiences applying for a mortgage

Getting pre-approved is one thing, but when it comes to applying for a mortgage, the process can be confusing and intimidating, especially if you’re a first-time buyer. There’s an extra layer to the process if you’re buying a new construction home. We had the opportunity to chat with a first-time buyer, Erin, who is currently trying to find the best mortgage option for her and her husband. They bought a new condo in Toronto in 2016 and occupancy is scheduled for the end of this year.

Newinhomes.com

New Developments

Legislation would restrict size of mansions on B.C. farmland

The B.C. government has introduced legislation to ban mega-mansions on agricultural farmland by overriding local zoning in cities like Richmond. Agriculture Minister Lana Popham’s bill introduced Monday would restrict the maximum size of a home on agricultural land reserve property to 5,400 square feet. That size is already the standard under current ministry guidelines.

Vancouver Sun

Taxes and Utilities

Ontario markets with the highest land transfer taxes

While the affordability of local real estate, property tax, and neighbourhood amenities are obvious considerations, there’s one oft-overlooked factor that can add thousands of dollars to your closing costs: land transfer tax. Because LTT is calculated as a percentage of the overall home price, the amount of tax paid by buyers can vary from market to market.

Newinhomes.com

Natural Disasters

Hurricane Michael damage more than $165M: Porch

A new analysis from Porch, a leading home repair marketplace, found Hurricane Michael is estimated to have caused $165 million worth of damage to residential real estate, “This has been an expensive storm season for those homeowners in Florida and the Carolinas with the flooding from Florence in September followed quickly by these incredibly high winds and another round of rain from Michael,” said Porch’s Kyle Sandburg.

PR Newswire

Affordable Housing

Burnaby at a crossroads with affordable housing

Since he was first elected in 2002, former Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan sat by as vast tracts of affordable walk-up apartments were bulldozed to make way for shiny new condo towers. Burnaby amassed a healthy cash reserve – $1.3-billion – but spent very little to help poor residents by providing social or affordable housing. Many of Burnaby’s low-income residents were forced to relocate to New Westminster, Surrey and even Vancouver.

Globe and Mail

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Location top factor for job hunters facing steep housing costs

Cyndi Whaley and her family left Toronto two and a half months ago for Victoria. Toronto has more job prospects in her field of environmental science. However, the Victoria position that drew the family west came with something else — a ticket out of a red-hot housing market. Although Victoria real estate is not cheap, the family’s prospects for buying a house seem much better there.

CBC – CBC

Other

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