Doing your research and working with professional contractors can help you reduce the risk and expense of home construction projects

Sun

Professional new home builders and renovators help homeowners make sound and confident decisions.

You have thought about it and decided to renovate your home. Now you need to figure out how to go about it. What are the next steps, who should you hire, how do you make sure that your renovation is a success? It can be difficult to know how to put all the pieces together, and you want to avoid making serious mistakes.

Fortunately, help is at hand from the people who are closest to the marketplace–the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA), the national organization representing Canada‘s professional new home builders and renovators.

“A successful home renovation begins with good information,” says Richard Lind, President of the CHBA. “Investing in your home can be a big decision, both financially and emotionally. One of our key roles as an organization is to help people get the knowledge they need to make sound and confident decisions.” The Association was established more than 60 years ago, with a network of national, provincial and local offices across the country.

The Association’s website, www.chba.ca, has a full range of information for people who are contemplating making changes to their home. Don’t know where to start? Find out how to plan a renovation, with advice from homeowners and professional renovators. Not sure how to tackle your projects? Get practical information on how to approach and get the most out of your kitchen, bathroom, basement and other common renovations. Also, check out award-winning projects. Find out how to hire a professional renovator. Download worksheets. Locate a member renovator in your area.

The site is also home to several “featured sites” developed by the CHBA. One site, www.myhomereno.com, offers a roadmap to energy-efficient and healthy renovations. With today’s housing technology, you can increase the comfort of your older home significantly and enjoy better living while helping to protect the environment by reducing greenhouse gasses and other pollutants. Look for links to specific information products from the CHBA as well as Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Natural Resources Canada.

Another important site to check out, www.HiringAContactor.com, is the official site of the Association’s national consumer campaign, Get it in Writing!, aimed at encouraging homeowners to work with a professional renovator. Often homeowners are not aware of the implications and risks of hiring someone who doesn’t “play by the rules” or asks for payment in cash without a contract. Practical and to the point, this site explains the risks and how to avoid them. It offers information on insurance, workers compensation, liens and other important considerations for anyone thinking about hiring someone to work on their home, and explains the ins and outs of contracting. Finally, the site lets you take a sober look at renovations that did not work out–frauds, scams, court cases.

At the community level, local Home Builders’ Associations organize parades of renovations, consumer seminars, home show displays, media campaigns and a host of other public activities. This puts a face to the professional renovation industry, and lets homeowners see what others have done and learn about the renovation process.

MAKING YOUR MOVE EASIER

– Moving can be stressful. Too much to do and never enough time to do it. Telus has some handy moving tools and tips that can help simplify your next move.

– Visit www.telus.com and download a handy ‘to do’ list, printable packing labels, return address labels and garage sale signs.

– Get useful moving resources links, including postal code lookup, change of address, renovation guides and a Free PERKS Kit? for Movers* that includes up to $1000 in savings from Telus partners.

– Move your TELUS services online or call 310-2255 and say ‘move’.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

And subsequent expensive renovations, Re/Max says

Derrick Penner
Sun

Bob and Donna Bryant at their new luxury home built by contractors Blair (left background) and Gordon Wilson. Bryant and Wilson formed a company to redevelop the house across the street. Photograph by : Steve Bosch, Vancouver Sun

It is becoming more and more common for Vancouver custom homebuilder Gord Wilson to be hired by west side clients who have bought a house for $1 million and want $1 million in renovations.

“They usually want to bring the whole house up to current levels or current standards,” the president of G. Wilson Construction said in an interview.

According to realty firm Re/Max’s latest upper-end market trends report, Wilson’s clients are among a growing number of British Columbians willing, and having the wherewithal, to pay for prestigious addresses.

In Vancouver, that means spending upwards of $2 million to secure an address in west side locales such as Point Grey, even if some sprucing up is required to bring it to their standards.

“Most homes undergo some kind of improvement,” the Re/Max report notes.

For Wilson’s clients, that typically means seamless glass showers in the bathrooms, granite countertops in the kitchens, high-tech security systems and radiant heating beneath the floors.

Overall, Vancouver saw 249 homes worth $2 million or more — the luxury threshold set for the market — trade hands between January and July of this year.

Those numbers are small in comparison with the overall market (Greater Vancouver saw 10,817 houses of all types sell between January and August), but represent a 48-per-cent increase from the same period a year ago.

In White Rock and South Surrey, where the luxury threshold was set at $1.2 million, sales hit 105, a 44-per-cent increase from a year ago. There, about one-third of buyers paid top-dollar for desirable lots and opted to have homes custom-built to their specifications.

Victoria experienced 137 $1-million-plus sales, a 13-per-cent rise and Kelowna saw 59 houses worth $1 million or more sell, a 64-per-cent increase.

The extended period of low mortgage rates has played a role in the upper-end market, according to Elton Ash, Re/Max’s executive vice-president for Western Canada.

“If you can get cheap money, you’re going to take advantage of it, and people in this [luxury] market are sophisticated in that regard,” Ash said.

“But that isn’t really the underlying push to the market itself.”

The underlying factors, as Ash sees them, are the strong performance of economies across Western Canada in particular, the equity gains that have accrued during the upturn and growing wealth of the middle-age demographics.

“The baby-boom demographic we’re looking at, that’s where the country’s wealth is focused,” Ash said. “They have the financial wherewithal to enjoy a tremendous lifestyle, and they are very confident in the Canadian and British Columbia economies at this point.”

All the other markets Re/Max looked at in its survey saw growth in the number of luxury-defined buyers, some dramatically so.

Edmonton, where $900,000 was set as the threshold, Re/Max counted 87 transactions between January and July, which represented a 521-per-cent increase. Regina sold 11 homes worth more than $500,000, the luxury mark in that city, which was a 450-per-cent increase.

Saskatoon was a similar story, where the 60 homes worth more than $500,000 that sold represented a 328-per-cent increase.

In Vancouver, Wilson said he deals with some clients buying west-side homes for families. However, other clients are “more established” and renovate homes to suit future uses.

So beyond updating fixtures and finishes, Wilson said buyers are adding accessibility features such as elevators and accommodations for caregivers. He doesn’t see the trend diminishing.

Bob Bryant and his wife Donna are on the leading edge of the trend. They bought an 80-year-old house on Macdonald Street in 2001, and spent a considerable amount to tear it down and hire Wilson to build an architecturally-designed dream house, complete with an infinity swimming pool.

And Bryant, a retired advertising executive, is so confident in the west-side’s allure, he formed a company with Wilson to buy the house across the street to redevelop into a high-end home.

“I can’t suggest that I’m an expert,” Bryant said. “But [the market] is busy all the time.”

While Bryant believes real estate will still experience its ups and downs, he doesn’t believe the market will experience any massive declines in value and “fall apart.”

“There is just too many people in the world gaining affluence and looking for places to live that are comfortable and affordable, at least affordable in other people’s terms.”

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Trend defies traditional slow summertime, as condos show biggest increase in numbers sold

Derrick Penner
Sun

Real estate sales across the Lower Mainland continued their upward trend through August, according to statistics released Wednesday, defying early forecasts calling for moderation in the markets.

Multiple listing service recorded sales were up 12.9 per cent across metro Vancouver compared with the same month a year ago, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said.

That means 3,384 properties changed hands in Vancouver, with the so-called benchmark price for a single-family home hitting $726,067, up 11.1 per cent from a year ago.

“We’ve seen sales near record levels for three consecutive months despite the summer traditionally being a slower time for real estate in Greater Vancouver,” board president Brian Naphtali said in a news release.

Inventory, Naphtali added, stagnated at 10,721 units as the number of new listings in August shrank by two per cent compared with the same month a year ago.

Condominium sales saw the biggest growth with 16 per cent more transactions at 1,504 compared with a year ago.

The benchmark price for a typical condo was $367,944 in August, up 11 per cent from a year ago.

Townhouse sales increased 10.4 per cent, but that was a much smaller number at 592 units.

Fraser Valley realtors processed 1,763 MLS sales in August, a four-per-cent increase from the same month in 2006. The average price of a single-family home was $526,879, up 8.9 per cent from a year ago.

“The Canadian Real Estate Association revised its annual forecast for 2007 in August because the market so far this year has performed much stronger than they predicted it would,” Jim McCaughan, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said in a news release.

“We’re in the same boat in the Fraser Valley.”

However, Helmut Pastrick, chief economist for Credit Union Central B.C., said the resurgence in 2007’s real estate markets follows from a period in 2006 when sales had started to fade because of rising mortgage interest rates.

He added 2007’s rebound, which began about January or February, coincided with a wane in interest rates.

“We did have a bump up in mortgage rates in mid-May,” Pastrick added, which might still result in declining sales. In any event, Pastrick said he expects overall sales in Greater Vancouver to end up higher than in 2006.

Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, added that while prices across the Lower Mainland are up, their rate of increase has slowed considerably from the inflation seen in 2006.

“Price growth has moderated, but not as rapidly as we had expected it to at the beginning of the year,” Muir said.

He added that buyers who rushed in to use mortgages that they had pre-approved before May’s rate increases also helped bump up sales in recent months.

“It will be interesting to see what happens in the fall months in terms of this upward trend,” Muir said. “Is it going to continue?” Muir said buyers at the bottom end of real estate markets are being squeezed out, which is one of the biggest issues the region faces. At the top end though, Muir said those who have benefited from the economic prosperity of the times, and baby boomers who have seen significant equity gains, continue to drive sales.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007

Strong economy boosts White Rock, Victoria, Kelowna into $1m club

Paul Luke
Province

You have to reach way down into your pocket to even begin to afford a luxury home in Vancouver. The city boasts Canada‘s highest starting point for luxury homes at $2 million, according to a Re/Max survey released yesterday.

B.C.’s strong economy has pushed three other provincial cities into the million-dollar club for high-end palaces, the survey of 16 markets across the country found.

The starting point for luxury in White Rock is $1.2 million and $1 million in Victoria and Kelowna.

Luxury in Calgary starts at $1 million and $900,000 in Edmonton. In Greater Toronto, it’s $1.5 million.

“Strong economic performance, especially in Western Canadian provinces, has bolstered consumer confidence levels to such a degree that purchasers in the upper end are comfortable with a million-dollar-plus investment in real estate,” said Re/Max vice-president Elton Ash.

“Recent volatility in the stock market may trigger further investment in real estate as purchasers move to reallocate their holdings,” he added.

B.C.’s red-hot luxury home sales will stabilize over the next year as challenges in the U.S. housing market have a psychological impact on Canadian buyers, Ash said.

In Vancouver, luxury home sales between January and June jumped 48 per cent over the same period last year. Single-detached luxury sales in Kelowna rose 64 per cent.

Edmonton led Canada with a 521-per-cent surge.

The strong market for luxury property echoes the overall resale market, which is on pace for a record year, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

Booming Saskatchewan, which has boasted some of the highest percentage price increases in Canada over the past year, also has a scorching luxury market.

Re/Max says buyers now need $500,000 to buy a luxury home in Regina or Saskatoon. Regina luxury sales are up 450 per cent through the first seven months of 2007 compared to a year ago.

Saskatoon sales are up 328 per cent.

Re/Max credited the growing trend of inheritance as a key factor, estimating Canadians will collect $1 trillion in the coming years.

– The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reports that total residential sales reached 3,384 units in August, a 12.9-per-cent increase when compared to 2,998 sales in August 2006.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties tightened, decreasing by two per cent to 4,408 units compared to the 4,500 units in August 2006.

Fraser Valley MLS sales last month were the second highest on record for an August, rounding out the summer market of 2007 as second only to 2005.

Combined sales for June, July and August 2007 reached 5,800, compared to 6,866 sales for the same months in 2005.

© The Vancouver Province 2007

To qualify, a home must exceed national energy efficiency standards

Kathryn Young
Sun

Kosta Hatzidimitriou was surprised, then pleased when he stumbled upon a green mortgage for his recent purchase of a three-bedroom single-family home.

“The wife and I are trying to get more environmentally conscious and energy efficient,” he said. “Personally, I think it’s about time the banks got involved [in enviro-friendly products] because everybody else is.”

His new Citizens Bank of Canada mortgage included a $10,000 line of credit at prime for energy-efficient upgrades. and a blue recycling bin filled with $875 worth of information and coupons, including a $375 home energy audit to help determine what improvements can be made to his 18-year-old Toronto-area home.

“It’s interesting to find out a bank is doing this instead of some government agency,” Hatzidimitriou said. “I like that.”

Banks and credit unions are starting to offer what they call “green mortgages” and “green loans” for energy-efficient improvements, and plan to roll out more products in the coming months.

Vancity Credit Union (which wholly owns Citizens Bank) has been involved for many years in financing green and sustainable commercial properties, and now offers a climate change mortgage. Vancity doesn’t advertise this mortgage; instead it takes the money usually spent acquiring mortgage business — $1,250 per mortgage — and invests it in a climate change fund.

Citizens Bank began offering green mortgages last April in Ontario and will expand them to other provinces by next spring, said John Filice, director of residential mortgages.

Even some of the bigger banks are examining green possibilities.

“We are very seriously looking at this,” said Kelly Hechler, spokeswoman for TD Canada Trust. “We know there’s interest out there. We’ve seen it in polls we’ve done of homeowners who say it’s becoming an important thing to them.”

Although they’re a first step toward making Canadian homes more energy efficient, these financial deals don’t always meet the more strict definition of a green mortgage or green loan that government and green building promoters would like to see.

Gordon Shields, co-ordinator of the Net-Zero Energy Home Coalition, said a green mortgage usually refers to preferential interest rates for a mortgage on a home that’s measurably more energy efficient than one built to the provincial or national building code, such as R-2000, Energy Star, Built Green, Power Smart or Novoclimat homes. The homes are labelled and the energy efficiency measured, and tying the mortgage to that measurement is important.

“That would be a key component,” said Shields. “We would want to see a green mortgage premised on exceeding the national building code standard or national average.”

Steffan Jones, manager of home ownership policy for the insurance sector at Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., also said he doesn’t consider them true green mortgages.

“A lot of this is marketing,” Jones said. “But there is a benefit. If they’re encouraging people to get energy audits and at least think about it and perhaps know what kinds of improvements they can make, that’s the benefit that can’t be quantified.”

Since 2003, CMHC has offered an incentive for homebuyers who need mortgage insurance to buy certified energy-efficient homes or to buy existing homes and make them more efficient: they can receive a 10-per-cent refund on their mortgage loan insurance premium and extended amortization periods of up to 40 years without any surcharges. All homes must be either certified under one of the energy-efficiency programs or have energy audits to prove their energy-efficiency rating.

“Anything that makes things more energy efficient, there’s nothing wrong with that,” said Shields, whose group promotes net-zero-energy homes that produce as much energy (solar, wind or geothermal) as they use in a year.

True green mortgages and loans would help Canada‘s housing supply become more energy efficient much faster, Shields said. Buildings produce about 40 per cent of Canada‘s greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Canada Green Building Council.

Meanwhile, it’s been a learning experience for Hatzidimitriou as he goes through his blue box of coupons and information.

“It’s definitely made me revamp my plan for the future,” he said, adding that he’ll now put money into energy-efficient changes rather than landscaping, ceramic floors or granite counters.

© The Vancouver Sun 2007