Vancouver condo rush sparks flipping frenzy

Vancouver condo rush sparks flipping frenzy

The condominium market has turned red-hot in Vancouver, with agents saying local and offshore buyers are snapping up units not yet completed, even as a foreign buyer tax has sent detached home sales plunging. Condo prices have escalated so quickly some owners are flipping their units before construction is finished, a move allows foreign buyers to capitalize on price gains without having to pay the 15 per cent levy.

Reuters

B.C. to introduce new real estate rules in 2018

The B.C. government has announced new rules it says will cut down on shady real estate deals in the province. Superintendent of Real Estate Michael Noseworthy says the changes are set to take effect March 15. They include better informing buyers about how much compensation realtors are entitled to, as well as restricting “dual agency.“

CBC – Vancouver Sun

RMS Group, Edmonton agency put new spin on ‘social’ housing

What will be easy to see at Edmonton’s Pine Creek Manor is that the apartments are designed for the middle-income renter market, with amenities including air conditioning and granite counter tops. What won’t be apparent is that Pine Creek Manor is actually an audacious experiment, a first-of-its kind 50-50 partnership between builder RMS Group and Edmonton’s Capital Region Housing Corporation,

Property Biz Canada – Property Biz Canada

Kingston’s Cornerstone Suites student housing for sale

Investors interested in the Kingston, Ont., student housing market had a chance to bid on the Cornerstone Suites residence until last week. “The original owner and developer had assembled a bunch of properties just outside of the student ghetto of Queen’s University with the intention of building student residences, which is ultimately what was built,” said  JLL‘s Earl Kufner.

Property Biz Canada

Basement apartment ban proposed for Toronto Airbnb

Unmoved by pleas from desperate homeowners, some Toronto councillors want self-contained basement apartments banned from Airbnb and other short-term rental services. Planning committee members unanimously rejected a city staff proposal secondary units, with their own kitchens and bathrooms, be included in new regulations on lucrative rentals of less than 28 days.

Toronto Star – Globe and Mail (Subscription required)

Airbnb-style rentals need regulations: Calgary councillor

People who use services like Airbnb to rent out their homes might have some red tape to deal with after a Calgary councillor asks the city next week to regulate short-term rentals. Coun. Ward Sutherland says a notice of motion going to council on Monday is intended to create “an even playing field” between Calgary hotels, lodging houses and short-term rentals.

CBC

Commuting time is key for young professionals

When it comes to choosing where they live, it’s all about the journey to work for GTA young professionals. Seventy-six per cent of respondents to a survey for the Toronto Region Board of Trade said their daily commute was one of the top three considerations in where to locate — ahead of distance to amenities (59 per cent) and the cost of living (53 per cent).

Toronto Star

Whistler employees squeezed by RE boom: Report

Metro Vancouver isn’t the only region in the Lower Mainland seeing skyrocketing real estate prices. A new report from Sotheby’s International Realty Canada shows the nearby resort municipality of Whistler is also facing a spike in home prices. The report  analyzes real estate prices in ski communities such as Whistler, Sun Peaks and Canmore.

Global News – Toronto Star – Globe Newswire

Devimco sells 95% of units in Magellan Condos

Earlier this month, Devimco Immobilier launched the first phase of its Magellan Condos project, located on the site of Quebec’s largest mixed-use real estate development project, Solar Uuniquartier. Today Devimco Immobilier confirms 95% of the units have been sold. The developer partnered with Fonds immobilier de solidarité FTQ and Fondaction for the project.

Canada Newswire – Property Biz Canada

Even developers can’t afford Toronto’s housing market

Toronto-area land prices have gotten so high developers are struggling to build new homes people can afford. Buyers are no longer lining up, despite discounts and incentives. The cost of land has nearly tripled in some areas the past five years, according to Altus Group Ltd. It now accounts for roughly half the price of a new home. In 2011, it was a little more than a third.

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

Vancouver needs more purpose-built rental: Developers

Developers say more Metro Vancouver,rental stock needs to be built. City planners, the lenders who finance projects and would-be tenants all agree adding purpose-built, rental units can temper the housing crisis. But escalating land values and conflicting and competing housing policies are conspiring to make this a challenge, according to a panel moderated by Cynthia Jagger of HQ Commercial.

Vancouver Sun

What changes have not been made to Ontario’s Condo Act?

On Nov. 1, Queen’s Park “turned on” many of its new legislative provisions affecting the condominium industry. Last week, we blogged about the changes which have been implemented. This week, we blog about those changes which have not been implemented yet. For all of the items listed below, we are still under the “old” version of the Act.

Lexology

Smart cities a good investment: Venture capitalist

Tech firms are poised to transform the built environment, particularly cities, with radical new ways of problem solving, delegates attending the Canadian Construction Innovations inaugural conference were told recently. Venture capitalist Jesse Devitte, co-founder of New England-based Borealis Ventures, has for the past two years turned his gaze on construction as the newest sector ripe for transformation by tech innovators.

Daily Commercial News

Apartment construction cooling as U.S. housing engine

Faster apartment building was instrumental in pulling the U.S. housing market out of its slump a decade ago. Now, that engine is starting to throttle back. A softening in the multi-family segment is something to keep an eye on even as overall homebuilding — which includes single-family dwellings that make up the largest share of the market — is expected to keep moving forward.

Bloomberg – CoStar Group – GlobeSt.com

Hong Kong apartment sets Asian record

An unidentified buyer paid $21,700 Cdn per square foot for a luxury flat in Hong Kong’s exclusive Peak neighbourhood, making it Asia’s most expensive apartment by area, according to Knight Frank LLP. The buyer shelled out more than $262 million Monday for two adjacent apartments at No. 8 Mount Nicholson, said Wheelock Properties Ltd. 

Bloomberg

RENX Columnists

Is volunteerism an answer for cash-strapped municipalities?

When municipalities are short of operating capital to maintain infrastructure and services, we traditionally have had two choices: settle for reduces services and maintenance, or pay more in taxes and user fees. But what about a third option, volunteerism? Reduced services sabotage a municipality’s efforts to attract new investment in the form of new retail, residential and commercial development, and to attract new anchor employers.

Read more

Market Conditions

Vancouver rentals 44th-most expensive in world or are they?

Rents for one-bedroom apartments in the Vancouver area are the priciest in Canada, but they’re not anywhere close to the most expensive in the world. An international study of 100 cities by Nestpick, a meta search engine, ranks Vancouver with the 44th-highest rents in the world. But $914 for a small one-bedroom Nestpick says is typical for a suite between 420 and 485 square feet will likely be hard to find.

Vancouver Province

TO, Vancouver shortages will keep prices soaring: CIBC

The efforts of provincial government and federal regulators to cool off Canada’s hottest housing markets will amount to little, and Toronto and Vancouver will soon be back to their old tricks, according to a new report from CIBC. Toronto in particular is experiencing a shortage of housing supply, and the underlying demand may be “stronger than perceived,” deputy economist Benjamin Tal wrote in a client note Tuesday.

HuffPost Canada – Global News – Business In Vancouver – Business In Vancouver

Regina home listings at an all-time high

The number of homes for sale in Regina is at an all-time high, and they’re ripening on the vine. But sellers aren’t budging much when it comes to price. Listings in the city reached a record high for October, with 1,444 homes up for sale as the month came to a close — a pattern for much of 2017, according to the Association of Regina Realtors.

Regina Leader-Post

Mortgage and Finance

Mtl. mayor wants power to levy foreign buyers’ tax

Valérie Plante said she will ask the provincial government for the power to levy a tax on residential real estate purchases by foreign buyers in the City of Montreal. She said the mayors of Vancouver and Toronto — where taxes on foreign buyers are in place — told her they would have liked to act sooner to deal with rapidly rising housing prices in those cities.

Montreal Gazette

CMHC targets shadow lenders

Canada’s housing agency is seeking more data on home loans from shadow lenders, amid concern rising levels of debt aren’t being adequately tracked and may increase the risk of financial instability. Canada Mortgage & Housing Corp. will seek data from participants in the securitization program on their uninsured conventional mortgage lending, said chief executive officer Evan Siddall.

Bloomberg

How Canadian homes became debt traps

In 1998, Ann bought a one-bedroom condo in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver. Gainfully employed at a printing company, she found the monthly mortgage payments were within her budget. The building was on the older side, and eventually she got the itch to update the decor.

Maclean’s

New Developments

Proposed Minaki condos scuttled by OMB

A group of cottagers and year-long residents are declaring a small victory after the Ontario Municipal Board recently ruled against a proposed condo development at the site of the destroyed Minaki Lodge. After 11 days of hearings earlier this year, the OMB ruled in October against a proposed development called “Minaki on the River,” spearheaded in 2010 by Steinbach, Man., developers Schinkel Properties.

CBC

Beedie to revise Chinatown project proposal?

Vancouver’s planning director says he believes the developer trying to build a controversial project in Chinatown will come back with a vastly improved design that the city can approve. “I really feel we’ll come out with a better building,” said Gil Kelley after he and two other city managers rejected Beedie Living‘s proposal for a nine-storey condo building on a significant site in the historic neighbourhood.

Globe and Mail

Movie theatre jewel of Sidney condo proposal

Sidney’s Star Cinema, which has been nurtured and grown with community support, will play a starring role in a new downtown development that could start coming out of the ground next spring. Cameo, a mixed-use project by Casman Properties, is expected to seek a development permit within the next few weeks.

Victoria Times Colonist

Controversial Gastown proposal reduced, by three feet

On the heels of the controversy over 105 Keefer in Chinatown, Vancouver has another hot potato on its hands in a heritage neighbourhood. Last year, a proposal to redevelop the historic Stanley and New Fountain Hotels was rejected by the Gastown community. The plan called for the Stanley and New Fountain to be demolished, except for their facades, and three new structures built in their place.

Vancouver Sun

Seniors Housing

Parkbridge wins Most Outstanding Exemplar of Land Lease award

Parkbridge Lifestyle Communities has been awarded Global Awards‘ Most Outstanding Exemplar of Land Lease in 2017 for its Village at Bay Moorings community in  Penetanguishene (Penetang), Ontario. The Global Awards celebrates superior performance and modernization of seniors housing and care around the world.

Canada Newswire

Renovation, Repair and Maintenance

Vancouver’s Casa Mia gets green light for seniors care facility

A revamped proposal for the once-controversial plan to convert Casa Mia into a seniors care facility won unanimous support at a public hearing at Vancouver City Hall last week. Council’s decision to approve the rezoning application comes five years afterThe Care Group first pitched a proposal for the sprawling property. The approved application will see the mansion retained and an addition built to create a 90-bed facility.

Vancouver Courier

Legal Issues

Langley condo project had 149 buyers for 91 units

Individual pre-sale condo units in a Metro Vancouver development were sold to as many as three or four buyers, B.C. Supreme Court heard Monday, in a case where several parties are hoping to find out what happened to more than $12 million paid by prospective homebuyers. Vancouver condo developer Mark John Chandler was ordered Monday to provide financial records and other documents to The Bowra Group, the receiver.

Vancouver Sun

Vancouver delayed house demolition to avoid paying owners

A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled the City of Vancouver is liable for damages because it deliberately delayed an application to demolish a historic house in the exclusive Shaughnessy neighbourhood until it had passed controversial heritage-protection rules. It appears to have done so in order to avoid paying compensation for loss of property value because of the new rules, Justice Catherine Murray ruled.

Globe and Mail – CBC

B.C. real-estate regulator suspends realtor

B.C.’s real-estate regulator has taken the rare step of issuing an emergency suspension on a Metro Vancouver realtor alleged to have targeted clients facing foreclosure on their properties with a predatory rent-to-own scheme. Late Tuesday afternoon, the Real Estate Council of British Columbia announced an immediate suspension of Kevindeep (Kevin) Singh Bratch and his company, Bratch Realty.

Globe and Mail – Canada Newswire

Construction

Apartment condo construction boosts starts in NW Calgary

New construction of multi-family development in the Calgary area picked up last month, as the city’s northwest quadrant continued its surge over activity from last year. Shovels turned for 568 multi-family units — which includes apartments, townhomes and duplexes — in the Calgary census metropolitan area in October, says Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. This marks a 48 per cent lift over the 293 year-over-year.

Calgary Herald

U.S. housing starts hit one-year high

U.S. homebuilding jumped to a one-year high in October likely as disruptions caused by recent hurricanes in the South faded and communities in the region started replacing houses damaged by flooding. The sharp rebound in home construction reported by the Commerce Department on Friday could ease concerns about the housing market, which has been a drag on the economy since the second quarter.

Globe and Mail

Affordable Housing

New affordable housing strategy ‘feeling the pinch’

Those struggling to keep a roof over their heads will find out later this week how the Liberal government hopes to deal with Canada’s ever-present shortage of affordable housing. Sources say the national housing strategy will outline a federal push to build more affordable housing, set up new funding programs for housing providers, and provide rental benefits for those struggling in the private market.

CBC

Edmonton rejects WestOak’s pitch for affordable housing

Edmonton city council is refusing to let a developer off the hook on its commitment to fit affordable housing in a proposed condo building off Whyte Avenue. On Wednesday, WestOak CEO Mathew McLash told council his company hasn’t been able to pin down a non-profit partner — a requirement under city policy — to help create affordable housing in the 16-storey Mezzo tower. 

CBC

Small houses

Micro units: The latest trend in high-density housing

Along with the “tiny house” craze, another new and growing trend in housing options, particularly in urban areas, is the increasing popularity of the “micro unit.” Whether the popularity and demand is being driven by economic factors and the need for more affordable housing, or by peoples’ preference to downsize to a more simplified lifestyle, “micro units” are becoming more popular and common.

mondaq

Cities, Towns and Urban Issues

Which Toronto buildings deserve heritage protection?

What’s worth keeping? That’s the question facing Toronto as some parts of the city experience rapid, intense development: Which buildings deserve to be protected as heritage? And downtown, a group of neighbours is casting their attention to a set of cottages that are older than the country – but which are being cut down.

Globe and Mail

Buying and Selling

Waterloo’s CIRCA 1877 condo sells out in two days

HIP Developments’ CIRCA 1877 recently became the first high-rise condo in the Waterloo region to sell out in less than two days. “I expected a good response, but our sales and marketing team had to start cancelling appointments with potential buyers the afternoon we launched our VIP Event. That’s how quickly the units sold,” says HIP Developments president Scott Higgins.

Newinhomes.com

Other

Ontario releases action plan on development electronic approvals

The Ontario government has released a 14-point action plan designed to streamline housing electronic approvals, explains a Ministry of Municipal Affairs news release.

Daily Commercial News