Condo rents in Toronto see biggest jump on record

Condo rents in Toronto see biggest jump on record

Research firm Urbanation Inc. says shrinking condominium inventory in the high-rise sector, driven partially by landlords selling to would-be homeowners, helped drive the highest annual rental rate the firm has ever seen. Urbanation in its year end report found that condo rental rates jumped 11.7 per cent in 2016.

Financial Post – Globe and Mail

Review of mandatory licensing of condo managers in Ontario

When Bill 106 (the legislation aimed at protecting condominium owners in Ontario) received Royal Assent on Dec. 3, 2015, it set out to amend the existing Condominium Act but, as importantly, it also laid out a new licensing regime for condo managers. On Dec. 17, 2016, the province circulated its first set of proposed regulations to be adopted under the new Condominium Management Services Act.

Lexology

Gupta Group launching ICONA Condominiums in Vaughan

Sales will begin for The Gupta Group’s ICONA Condominiums, near the heart of the evolving Vaughan Metropolitan Centre in Vaughan, Ont., on Jan. 25. “There will be two towers, 51 storeys and 53 storeys, with a large three-storey podium facing Highway 7,” said chairman/CEO Steve Gupta.

Property Biz Canada

CMHC to hike mortgage insurance premiums in March

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. is hiking mortgage insurance premiums for home buyers. The Crown corporation said the increases will amount to an average of $5 a month more for new borrowers.

Globe and Mail – CBC – Globe and Mail

Ottawa exploring new housing benefit for low-income renters

The federal government is looking at creating a new benefit to help low-income Canadians who struggle to pay the rent each month. Multiple sources say officials want to establish a new housing supplement program that would link benefits to individuals, rather than housing units — a departure from how such supplements have typically worked in Canada.

Financial Post

Affordable housing in Quebec gets $400 million injection

The federal and provincial governments have agreed to invest a total of $407 million into social housing in Quebec over two years, with Ottawa contributing $286 million to the province’s $121 million. Jean-Yves Duclos, federal minister of social development, made the announcement in Montreal on Monday.

CBC

Cash crunch means TCH could board up a unit a day in 2018

Toronto Community Housing is on track to board up one unit per day in 2018 if more funding for repairs can’t be secured, the head of the social housing corporation told the Star. An estimated 425 units are already slated to close in 2017, pushing the total number of boarded-up subsidized housing units to nearly 1,000 with more than 177,000 people on the waitlist in Toronto — enough for three sold-out crowds at the Rogers Centre.

Toronto Star

Fying boulders, now leaks at Halifax apartment building

A water leak forced some tenants out of an apartment building in the Clayton Park area of Halifax Monday night, according to the Red Cross. There were safety concerns as water started leaking on one of the upper floors of the four-storey building on 390 Parkland Dr., also known as the Parkland Arms.

CBC

Maker of ‘Lego’ homes finds a buyer

Shortly after Christmas of 2015, Kurt Goodjohn received an e-mail that would change the direction of his business. While on vacation in Mexico, Goodjohn, co-founder of Karoleena Inc., which makes prefabricated homes and cottages, was contacted by Rod Graham, the president and chief executive officer of Horizon North Logistics Inc., a Calgary-based provider of work-camp accommodations.

Globe and Mail

Richmond looks to regulate ‘monster homes’ on farmland

This week, Richmond city council is looking at bylaws that restrict the size of so-called “monster homes” on farms. Lower Mainland farms are some of the most productive in North America but they are being edged out by high real estate prices, a leading academic says.

CBC

Kelowna farmland development with B.C.-wide implications

A plan to build a housing development on agricultural land in West Kelowna has local and provincial implications, says a councillor who opposes the proposal. West Kelowna Coun. Duane Ophus called the proposal a “slippery slope” on Monday. The property, with a sweeping view of Okanagan Lake, has never been farmed, according to the owners, who’ve had it for more than 60 years.

Vancouver Sun

How lenders sidestep Canada’s mortgage rules

Canada’s subprime mortgage providers are increasingly teaming up with unregulated rivals to sidestep rules designed to clamp down on risky lending. The result of these partnerships are so-called “bundled” loans, which pair a primary mortgage with a second loan from unregulated groups called Mortgage Investment Corporations (MICs).

Reuters

Real estate sector can expect less regional disparity

The extreme regional disparities that characterized Canada’s real estate markets last year will narrow in 2017 as overheated areas cool and slower markets gather steam, Royal LePage says in a report released Thursday.  That trend will be driven by lower prices in Greater Vancouver and strong but moderating price growth in the Greater Toronto Area, the real estate company said.

Montreal Gazette – Globe and Mail

Home of Calgary billionaire Clay Riddell for sale

For nearly four decades a sprawling property southwest of Calgary was home to one of the city’s richest oil tycoons. But Clay Riddell’s lavish home in the Municipal District of Foothills is now on the block for anyone with pockets deep enough to afford the $9.9 million price tag.

Calgary Herald

U.S. real estate leaders identify challenges

As they grow less confident in the economy, top real estate executives at firms of all sizes find themselves united by a key concern for 2017: Agent recruitment and retention. In the latest Imprev Thought Leader survey, 85% of participants agree that recruiting more agents is their most critical business challenge.

Marketwired

Market Conditions

QuickFacts on sales of $1-million-plus homes in four cities

Sales of homes for more than $1 million soared last year, according to a Sotheby’s report Wednesday. Here’s a breakdown for four cities – Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

Calgary Herald

Why today might be the best day to buy a Toronto-area house

The choice of homes may be limited in the dead of winter, but consumers waiting for the hot spring market should know that January actually provides the best chance for snagging a bargain. Seven years of sales data on about 650,000 Toronto-area transactions, shows Tuesday is probably the day this year when buyers will pay the least for a home, according to TheRedPin.

Toronto Star – Financial Post

Calgary housing market faces another tough year

Calgary’s housing market is in for another tough year as the region’s economy slowly rebounds from its worst recession in decades, the local real estate board said in a new forecast. The Calgary Real Estate Board predicted home sales in the city would rise by 3 per cent this year to 18,335, but would remain slightly below 2015 levels and well below the more than 25,000 resale homes that changed hands in 2014.

Globe and Mail

Hundreds of new Calgary condos sit empty

Real estate numbers show hundreds of new condos in Calgary are sitting empty. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says about 1,500 newly built housing units sat vacant across the city last month and more than 800 were apartment-style condos.

CBC

Mortgage and Finance

Genworth upgraded despite potential housing correction

CIBC World Markets upgraded Genworth MI Canada Inc. to the equivalent of a buy rating Monday, saying the stock was poised to go higher despite fears the company is vulnerable to a housing correction.  Genworth, Canada’s largest private mortgage insurer, has seen its stock fall by more than 17 per cent in the past three months.

Financial Post

Applications open for 1st-time B.C. homebuyers loan

Applications are open for the B.C. government’s new Home Partnership program, which provides loans of up to $37,500 to help first-time homebuyers fund their down payment in the province’s pricey housing market. Those already hunting for their first home, however, should know the loans are not available right away — the closing date on a purchase must be after Feb. 15, 2017 for your application to be considered.

CBC

As housing prices surge, so does mortgage fraud

Mortgage fraud has surged in Canada as soaring home prices in some markets have squeezed buyers and attracted attention from money launderers, data from credit reporting agency Equifax Inc. show. The number of mortgage applications flagged as potentially fraudulent has risen 52 per cent since 2013, Equifax found.

Globe and Mail

New Developments

Citizen activist groups blossom amidst Vancouver’s housing crisis

Coquitlam resident Christine Boehringer launched the Lonely Homes website recently to record empty houses in her neighbourhood. Ms. Boehringer is not an analyst or practised housing activist. She’s just another concerned citizen who sees houses around her that appear to be empty and neglected.

Globe and Mail

Protesting Vancouver development then and now

It’s a familiar scene in Metro Vancouver: locals outraged over a new highrise proposal in their community. However, this story takes place 25 years ago this week, in response to a development considered one of the most successful projects in the city’s history.  

CBC

Kamloops home builder in legal battle after unearthing artifacts

Greg Ferguson was in the midst of building his dream home when he received a call that derailed everything. Excavators digging into the ground uncovered remnants of First Nation artifacts. A representative from the archaeology branch of the B.C. government who was on the other end of the phone told Ferguson to stop excavating.

CBC

Ottawans upset by ‘skinny’ infill apartments

Kathy Bruce-Kavanagh has lived in the Garneau neighbourhood for decades and she’s upset about infill housing affecting her Ottawa community. She’s particularly unhappy with the increasing number of permits being issued for “skinny” apartment buildings on lots formerly occupied by just one home.

CBC

Seasonal Homes

Accessible cottage added as demand increases

A cottage operator on P.E.I. is adding a second fully accessible cottage, with the help of ACOA, in the face of increasing demand. Bernard and Cheryl Jay, owners of Margate Riverview Cottages, plan to have Kristen’s Kabin open this summer.

CBC

Construction

Province releases plans for long-awaited Fort McMurray seniors facility

The Alberta government has released concepts for a long-awaited, 100-bed continuing care facility planned for the heart of downtown Fort McMurray. On Tuesday, Alberta Infrastructure will present the drawings to the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s land planning and transportation committee, and discuss other support structures to be built nearby.

CBC

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

“Scandalous’ land deal forever altered Ottawa

History doesn’t record what was on the menu, but a dinner party in Richmond on the night of Aug. 27, 1820 forever altered the face of the future capital. The “scandalous” and “indecent” proposal that came out of it meant Ottawa’s first residents built their homes in a fetid, mosquito-infested swamp called Lowertown.

Ottawa Citizen

Other

Clear fire hydrants while you’re shovelling, suggests fire department

The ice and snow that comes with the winter season can bring with it several safety hazards, says the St. John’s Regional Fire Department. During an interview on the St. John’s Morning Show, Insp. Gary Power shared some measures people can take to ensure their homes — and the family in them — are safe.

CBC