Ottawa development looking up as condos go sky-high

Ottawa development looking up as condos go sky-high

Until 1965, you wouldn’t find a building taller than the Peace Tower in Ottawa. Federal and city regulations banned developments over 92 metres to preserve the skyline dominance of Parliament Hill. The rule still exists in Ottawa’s immediate downtown area to help protect the classic silhouette. But, outside the downtown core, almost 25 buildings across the city are either already built or nearing completion in the next few years.

Globe and Mail

Home sales, listings slump in January

Canadian home sales dropped sharply in January to their lowest monthly level in three years amid a retreat in listings as new mortgage rules came into place, according to a new report from a national real estate group. The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said Thursday home sales through the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) declined by 14.5 per cent from December to January this year.

CBC – CTV – CBC – Canada Newswire

SmartCentres, Goldhar, Revera to JV on retirement homes

SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (SRU.UN-T), Mitchell Goldhar’s Penguin Group of Companies, and retirement residence owner and manager Revera Inc., have launched a joint venture to develop new seniors living residences across Canada. The three companies said Monday afternoon in a release they have already selected three SmartCentres properties and another property owned by Penguin.

Property Biz Canada

Hillcore Group acquires portfolio of N.B. seniors living homes

Hillcore Group announced it has closed the acquisition of a portfolio of seniors living and residential properties  from Atlantic Retirement Living Group for $70 million. The ARL portfolio consists of three retirement homes and three residential properties in Dieppe and Moncton, N.B. The three retirement homes (Residence Auberge du Soleil, Residence Oasis, and Moncton Residence) have 436 units. The lands at the latter two have additional development potential.

Canada Newswire

Developers move into student housing

Alan Perlis is promising to show off what he calls the most popular room in the 25-storey student residence tower Knightstone Capital Management Inc. recently opened near the University of Toronto. He has already given a tour of a spacious cafeteria, a penthouse lounge with panoramic views of the city, several video game rooms, a table-tennis room, even an arts and crafts space. What could be left?

Globe and Mail

B.C. condo developer offers pre-sale buyers unusual options

Vancouver-based Jago Development Inc. told holders of pre-sale contracts for the 55 units at Westbourne Residences — which sold out in mid-2016, but where construction has been delayed — that if they want to keep their contracts going, they must agree to a new price that is 15 per cent more. If not, they can terminate their sales contracts and get their down payment returned, plus an additional 50 per cent.

Vancouver Province

Pre-sale regulations in spotlight in GTA

When Mohammad Zaki agreed to buy a three-bedroom unit in a preconstruction townhouse development in 2016, he thought the home would be move-in ready this year. Two weeks ago, he found out it’s not being built at all. The cancellation of the project has left Zaki and the other buyers in the 68-unit Kennedy Gardens development scrambling in a market where prices have climbed significantly since purchase agreements were signed.

Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Condos grappling with demand for electric car charging stations

For condo-hunting Jean Guilbault, there was one feature in particular that any building absolutely had to offer if it was to make the grade: a charging station for his Tesla Model X. Guilbault and his wife, Florence Perreault, moved into Quebec City’s Woodfield-Sillery complex a year and a half ago and the condominium project’s electric-vehicle-friendly garage was a key element in sealing the deal.

Globe and Mail – Cape Breton Post

Landlord issues eviction notices to striking TO tenants

Tenants who’ve been staging a rent strike at a Parkdale apartment building since the beginning of February say they’re not intimidated by eviction notices their landlord sent them late last week. The more than 50 residents who joined the strike at 1251 King Street West say they received the notices after withholding their February rent to protest against a proposed increase above the provincial guideline of 1.8 per cent.

CBC – Metro News

Canadians increasingly embracing small living

Adrian Crook hadn’t always intended to raise his five kids in a three-bedroom condo in downtown Vancouver. However, skyrocketing real estate and rental markets across much of the country have some families choosing small spaces over suburban sprawl — and finding unexpected benefits. Crook moved downtown from the suburbs following a divorce, craving the social connections that he says are more readily available in the city.

Toronto Star

Ottawa community trades extra height for affordable housing

A nine-storey rental building would be taller than land-use rules allow, but the Ottawa city councillor for Hintonburg and the community association are willing to make a trade: more height for two affordable units. It’s a small number of low-cost homes in the proposed 57-unit rental building., but the deal between the community and the developer could inspire other builders and resident groups to negotiate affordable housing in new residential buildings.

Ottawa Citizen – CBC

Calgary, Edmonton fall off list of fastest-growing cities

For the first time since 2009-’10, Calgary and Edmonton failed to crack the top five list for population growth in Canadian metropolitan areas. According to projections from Statistics Canada based on census numbers, both Alberta centres grew by 1.8 per cent in 2016-’17.  That’s down from growth of 2.5 per cent in Calgary and 2.4 per cent in Edmonton for the period covering 2015-’16.

CBC – CBC

U.S. apartment developer predicts ‘acute crisis’

Scan the downtowns of the nation’s largest cities, and you are likely to see a staggering array of cranes. Multi-family construction is now at a 40-year high; the trouble is, developers are putting up the wrong kinds of buildings. The luxury market is largely overbuilt, while there is a shortage of affordable rental housing, and developers are hamstrung by the now record-high cost of construction.

CNBC – GlobeSt.com

Multi-family properties evolving with technology

Technology companies are rolling out new products that carry a promise of making a real difference for multi-family residents. “We are probably on the cusp,” says Rick Haughey, vice president for industry and technology initiatives for the National Multifamily Housing Council. For years, apartments experts have looked forward to new Internet-enabled smart technologies that would enable residents to control aspects of their residences remotely.

National Real Estate Investor – National Real Estate Investor

Copenhagen reveals secrets to a healthy city

Maybe it’s the Viking heritage. There is an icy open-air pool in the waters of Copenhagen’s harbour, and although it is mid-winter Danes still jump in every day. On the front cover of the city’s health plan, a lean older man is pictured climbing out, dripping, his mouth open in a shout that could be horror or pleasure. “Enjoy life, Copenhageners,” urges the caption.

The Guardian

RENX Columnists

Speculative foreign real estate buying: Chronic issue or red herring?

In this column a couple of years ago, I asked the question “are we at risk of becoming tenants in our own country?” Some would have us think so, at least in overheated urban real estate markets like Toronto and Vancouver, but I still find more questions than answers whenever I dive into this increasingly complicated subject.

Read more

Market Conditions

Toronto sees first home prices gain in six months

The Canadian real estate market got off to a good start this year with house prices rising in January, as Toronto saw its first gain in six months, according to a bank measurement. The Teranet-National Bank composite house price index, rose 0.3 per cent last month from December and gained 8.7 per cent in January from a year ago. 

CBC

Suburbs drive increase in Calgary’s new condo sales

New condo sales in Calgary might actually be on the rise, but not in the neighbourhoods one might think. In 2017, Altus Group (AIF-T) data shows 2,083 new condo units were sold — up 42 per cent from a sluggish sales year in 2016. However, buyers weren’t snatching up downtown real estate, according to the global real estate research group. That increase was largely driven by sales in the suburbs. 

CBC – Vancouver Sun – Globe and Mail

Edmonton’s steady market makes it possible to own a home

Like a lot of young homeowners, Terra Belanger and her fiancé wanted to step up in the real estate market. In April, they’ll move to Edgemont, a residential neighbourhood in southwest Edmonton. The growth in single-family homes is overwhelmingly in far-reaching suburbs, where land is more affordable for families who want new, modern houses.

CBC – CBC

Housing battle brews in booming Seattle

Seattle’s booming tech industry has brought a massive influx of new residents with big wallets to the city. But an ensuing housing crunch has led to skyrocketing rents and home prices that have strained middle- and working-class families and deepened the city’s crisis of homelessness.

Ottawa Citizen

Mortgage and Finance

B.C. loans for first-time home buyers saw little pickup in 2017

Relatively few first-time homebuyers took advantage of a B.C. government program offering interest-free loans during its first nine months, says a report from the provincial real estate industry’s trade association, but the program still led to a small increase in the market price of Metro Vancouver condominiums and townhomes. From January to September last year, 1,395 loans were paid or approved through the B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership.

Globe and Mail

New Developments

Calgary condo tower proposal strikes a nerve

A 20-storey condo tower proposed for Calgary’s oldest neighbourhood has caused “shock and disbelief” among residents, according to the planning chair of the community association. The development group behind the project is seeking to more than triple the height zoning on the site, which, at 20 metres, currently allows for six storeys. The tower, called The Grid, would be the tallest ever built in Inglewood.

Globe and Mail

Seniors Housing

Fort Mac presses for more affordable housing for seniors

The glossy photos and a professionally edited video leave little doubt Fort McMurray will get a new seniors facility for residents who need medical care and assisted living. But advocates say the missing piece remains any plan for affordable housing for seniors who can live independently. Several government departments told CBC News there is no commitment to expand the number of units for seniors within Fort McMurray after the Willow Square Continuing Care Centre is built in 2020.

CBC

Hamilton developers redesigning 55-plus community for active living

The redesign of The Village at St. Elizabeth Mills, a retirement community in Hamilton, is one Canadian answer to an international trend to make retirement living seamless and fun. By 2020, this 114-acre site along the Niagara Escarpment in Southern Ontario will look like a small European village, complete with alfresco dining along the streets and a weekend farmer’s market.

Globe and Mail

Legal Issues

Condo boards urged to revisit bylaws in anticipation of pot

With marijuana legalization expected later this year, condo boards are being urged to revisit their bylaws in anticipation. The president of the Canadian Condominium Institute (CCI) North Alberta Chapter said legalization could make some bylaws outdated. “Some of these bylaws are old, from the early 80s, and they won’t even reflect some of the language that we are talking about here,” Anand Sharma said.

Global News

Construction

Calgary sees rise in new multi-family construction

The rise in construction starts for multi-family development in the Calgary area last year has continued in early 2018. Construction crews broke ground on 7,111 multi-family homes in the Calgary census metropolitan area in 2017, rising 19 per cent from activity a year earlier, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. In January, year-over-year growth continued.

Calgary Herald

Affordable Housing

Speculation best hope for Van. housing supply: Developers

While the Feb. 13 B.C. Throne speech hinted attacking speculation is part of the answer to reducing housing costs in Metro Vancouver, developers say the reverse is true. In the past, speculative developers would bring new condos to the market in the hope of selling them, and lower prices would result from the competition and increased supply, they note.

Business In Vancouver – Reuters

Making modular more than a temporary homeless fix

Modular housing has been gaining ground not only as a viable option to end homelessness, but also as a solution to multiple issues surrounding affordability. “We are seeing growth and opportunities for affordable housing as that is at the front of the news right now in most urban centres within British Columbia,” said Craig Mitchell, director of innovative solutions at Metric Modular.

Business In Vancouver

Cambridge looks to improve housing affordability with secondary suites

The City of Cambridge is looking to make it easier to retrofit homes to include a legal secondary suite — a move it hopes will address housing affordability in the city. The new plan would put secondary residential units on the books as an acceptable modification to a home under the zoning bylaw “so you don’t need to go through the planning process,” Hardy Bromberg, deputy city manager of community development told CBC.

CBC

Buying and Selling

B.C.’s dual agency rules delayed following industry concern

New rules intended to improve consumer protection in real estate deals have been postponed for three months. The changes, which prohibit the real estate practice of dual agency and mandate increased agent disclosure, were originally scheduled for March 15. They will now happen June 15, to allow for clarification of the rules and provide adequate time for realtor education and training.

Salmon Arm Observer

Other

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