Sun

Marinus at Plaza 88

Project location: 888 Carnarvon, New Westminster

Project size: 256 condos in a 36-storey mixed-use tower

Residence size: One-bedroom plus den, 631 sq. ft.; two-bedroom, 779– 817 sq. ft.; and two-bedroom plus den, 1,152 sq. ft.

Prices: $335,900 (one-bedroom and den) — $536,900 (two-bedroom and den)

Developer: Degelder Group and Charter Pacific Developments

Architect: Via Architecture

Interior Design: McCutcheon Design Group Inc.

Sales centre: 901 Columbia St.

Hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thur

Telephone: Colin Chin, sales manager, 604-683-6128

Web: www.marinusliving.com

Occupancy: Immediately; fourth Plaza 88 tower yet to be constructed

By Mary Frances Hill

When Colin Chin walks through the parking area at the Marinus at Plaza 88 condominium project, he sees a lot that’s 90 per cent empty. And that tells the Marinus sales manager something: that the New Westminster project has achieved its original design vision and become a model of sustainable living.

In other cities, and in other residential developments, that parking lot might be full, says Chin. “But I know many of these owners don’t drive, or at least don’t drive to work.”

Mike Degelder of the Degelder Group first envisioned Plaza 88 some 20 years ago as a project that would incorporate sustainable living and be unique in North America.

Charter Pacific Developments joined Degelder in 2005, and in 2006, the partners acquired the first of many building permits.

“We’re trying to alleviate transportation [and] go green in the grand scheme of things,” says Chin. “It’s sustainable, and it’s the concept for the future.”

Two of Plaza 88’s four towers are now occupied: Azure I and Azure II, both mixed-use 32-storey towers. Marinus, with 256 residences spread over 26 of its 36 storeys, represents the third phase of the project. Once the final tower is erected, the development will be a village unto itself, with some 900 residential units and about 180,000 square feet of retail and commercial space. But Marinus also represents something else: it is the tallest residential and commercial building in Greater Vancouver outside of downtown Vancouver.

A resident of a Marinus condominium can walk downstairs to the New Westminster SkyTrain station, and then head to work downtown. After returning home from a busy workday, that resident will be able to purchase dinner-makings at a nearby grocery, then head to a movie or a gym. All of this — access to shops, transit, and fitness and entertainment facilities — is but an elevator ride away.

When construction is complete, Marinus will incorporate the SkyTrain station; a protective sound barrier will shield residents from the noise of the trains. Commercial space will include a Shoppers Drug Mart, a grocery store and a 10-theatre cinema complex.

“There is no excuse not to come home with milk any more because it’s right across the SkyTrain track,” Chin says. “[This kind of development] allows people more flexibility.”

The most affordable two-bedroom unit measures 880 square feet, has views of the Fraser, and is priced at $382,900. The lowest-priced one-bedroom unit is priced at $335,900. In many suites, the views of the river and the New Westminster Quay’s commercial hub are all-encompassing, and the layout of each suite is designed to take advantage of the vistas. In any of the view suites, an open-plan kitchen looks out to the dining area, which in turn opens up to a bright, carpeted living room with a fireplace, oversized window and balcony. (Buyers can upgrade to engineered hardwood throughout the suites).

Luxury features include a granite slab countertops in the kitchen and bathroom, mosaic tile backsplash, stainless-steel appliances and wood-grain cabinets in the kitchen. There is imported porcelain tile flooring in the entryway and kitchen, and there are double sinks and soaker tubs in the washroom. All units are wired for Internet in their living rooms, den and bedrooms.

As well, those buyers who accept an an unassigned parking space — as opposed to a reserved spot — will see the price of their units reduced by $10,000.

Plaza 88 has been a long gig for realtor Chin. While watching the project grow and supervising the sales of his suites, he’s seen his kids grow up. He and his family have bought new homes in the development, and he’s been schooled in the politics of negotiations with six land owners and the city of New Westminster through various incarnations of its city council. While Shoppers is already on board as a tenant, Chin says he’s confident that the development’s size and proximity to transit will make it a magnet for more retailers and residents.

“The big defining difference of any condo is what’s outside the window and what’s directly outside — or in this case, right downstairs.”

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Alan Zibel, AP Real Estate Writer
USA Today

WASHINGTON — Mortgage rates held below the 5% threshold for the second straight week, a report said Thursday, weeks before a government program that has been keeping rates low is scheduled to expire.

The average rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage was 4.95% this week, down from 4.97% a week earlier, mortgage finance company Freddie Mac said.

Rates dropped to a record low of 4.71% in December and have hovered around 5% since, kept down by a Federal Reserve campaign to stabilize the housing market by lowering mortgage rates.

The central bank’s $1.25 trillion program to buy up mortgage securities issued by Freddie Mac and sibling company Fannie Mae is set to expire March 31. But the Fed has held the door open to extending the program if the economy weakens.

Some analysts argue that rates could rise once the Fed’s program ends, hurting both the recovery in housing and the overall economy. But government officials are optimistic that the Fed will be able to end its program without a major disruption.

Freddie Mac collects mortgage rates on Monday through Wednesday of each week from lenders around the country. Rates often fluctuate significantly, even within a given day, often in line with long-term Treasury bonds.

This week, the average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.32%, down from 4.33% last week, according to Freddie Mac.

Rates on five-year, adjustable-rate mortgages averaged 4.05%, down from 4.11%. Rates on one-year, adjustable-rate mortgages fell to 4.22% from 4.27%.

The rates do not include add-on fees known as points. One point is equal to 1% of the total loan amount.

The nationwide fee for loans in Freddie Mac’s survey averaged 0.7 of a point for 30-year and 15-year loans and 0.6 of a point for five-year and one-year loans.

Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

36% say they are likely to buy in the next two years, up from 26% last year, poll shows

Joanne Le-Young With a file from Julie Fortier
Sun

Sentiment among would-be homebuyers continues to improve in B.C., according to an annual RBC home ownership study released on Monday.

The study reported that 36 per cent of B.C. residents in a recent survey conducted by Ipsos Reid said they are likely to purchase a home in the next two years, up from 26 per cent last year.

B.C. residents outpaced respondents elsewhere in the country with plans to put down the largest average down payment

— $92,676 — citing good prices and low interest rates as motivators.

“What we are seeing in B.C. is cautious optimism, tempered by a healthy dose of reality,” said Kevin Lutz, regional manager at RBC.

Tsur Somerville, a real estate expert at the University of B.C., welcomed the news, but added: “I tend to view ‘Are you planning to buy something?’ as not the most useful kind of information because, ‘Am I planning to do something?’ depends on what happens.

“I am a lot more interested in what happens in the economy than how many people are thinking about doing something.”

“What it does do, [however], is track how people are perceiving the market, and it sounds like people are moving from, ‘It’s overpriced and the world is going to collapse,’ to ‘Oh, interest rates are very good and the world is not going to collapse.’

“It’s another form of describing conditions that we already know from sales and price movements and what is going on with interest rates,” said Somerville, who is director of the centre for urban economics and real estate at UBC’s Sauder School of Business.

“I think if the Bank of Canada raises interest rates a whole bunch, then this survey becomes rather worthless,” he cautioned.

According to the poll, respondents across the country who said they are “very likely” to purchase a home in the next two years rose to 10 per cent from seven per cent two years ago.

Respondents aged 18 to 24 were particularly enthusiastic, with those saying they were very likely to buy almost doubling to 15 per cent from eight per cent in 2009.

After the record-low interest rates, increased supply and stable prices seen at the end of 2008 and in the beginning of 2009, the real estate market in Canada has been strong during the past 12 months. The average resale home in Canada reached $337,410 in December 2009 — up 19 per cent from a year earlier –and sales were up 72 per cent, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.

The poll of 2,047 Canadian adults was conducted online by Ipsos Reid between Jan. 8 to 13, 2010 and is considered accurate to within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Joanne Lee-Young
Sun

February housing starts in Vancouver continued to bounce back from lows reached in 2009, with the number of new units breaking ground doubling last year’s tally, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation on Monday.

“Of course, last February in 2009, we were still in the darkest point before anything

started turning around. So you have to keep in mind that when you see that increase, it’s back up from there,” said CMHC senior market analyst Robyn Adamache. “But we are back up to a decent level of housing starts.”

The CMHC pinned the February boost in the Vancouver area specifically to a few large-scale multiple-unit residential projects, plus continued strength in the number of new, single-detached residential homes. As well, more than 800 apartment homes were started.

“The important thing about what’s going on is that we are seeing a level of absorption with sales of new units,” said Adamache. “Builders see that not only the resale market is back, but now there are [sales] in new units. It’s giving them the confidence to start new

projects.”

Elsewhere in B.C., the Abbotsford area saw 37 new home starts compared to 28 a year ago. The province as a whole recorded an eight-per-cent gain in home starts compared to a national average of 6.1 per cent.

Ontario recorded a 28-percent gain in February, while Atlantic Canada rose 14.3 per cent and the Prairie region increased 10.8 per cent.

Homebuilders in B.C. and Ontario are racing to put supply on the market before the harmonized sales tax kicks in on July 1, said economist Pascal Gauthier of TDEconomics.

Added pressure is coming from buyers concerned about tighter qualifying standards on mortgages, which take effect April 19, and higher borrowing costs expected in the second

half of the year.

But February’s housing starts show that supply is finally firming up at the same time that demand is poised to ease, Gauthier said.

“Come the second half and into 2011, it’s likely to be a friendlier environment for buyers,” he said.

With new-home supply rising and resale listings following suit, “price growth is going to soften up a bit,” Gauthier said.

“If you’re a buyer, you should exercise patience and look at the fundamentals.

“The five-year rate isn’t going to shoot up 100 basis points overnight.”

Nationally, new home construction has now roared back 76 per cent from the recession-level cyclical low, said BMO Capital Markets economist Robert Kavcic.

Few expect the current level of housing starts to be maintained.

“In the second half of the year, we should observe a level of activity near the demographic needs of roughly 165,000,” said National Bank economist Matthieu Arseneau.

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

But HST, new mortgage rules credited

Staff Reporter
Province

Home building moved into a higher gear in Metro Vancouver last month as the number of houses started surged to 1,402 units, twice the number posted a year earlier, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday. Starts in the first two months of the year were 77-per-cent higher than in the same period last year.

But the federal housing agency cautioned against getting too excited by February’s homebuilding exuberance.

“The first few months of 2009 saw some of the lowest levels of homebuilding on record, so year-over-year comparisons are large,” CMHC said.

“Home starts this year are forecast to be higher than 2009 but below the five-year average.”

A few large multi-unit residential projects in Vancouver provided the biggest boost to February’s starts, CMHC said.

Nationally, home building rose by a more-than-expected 6.1 per cent to 196,700 units in February, CMHC said.

That was up from 185,400 units in January and above economists’ forecasts of 190,000 units for February.

“The gain in February housing starts was concentrated in the multiple starts segment, particularly in Toronto,” said CMHC’s chief economist Bob Dugan.

Urban housing starts were up nine per cent from January to 179,100 units on a seasonally adjusted basis, with multiple units rising 19.1 per cent to 89,900 and single starts increasing 0.5 per cent to 89,200 units.

Ontario recorded a 28.6-per-cent gain in February, while Atlantic Canada rose 14.3 per cent, the Prairie region increased 10.8 per cent and B.C. was up eight per cent.

Quebec saw housing starts fall 14.1 per cent. Housing starts in rural areas totalled 17,600

units in February, down from 21,100 the previous month.

Ian Pollick, economics strategist at TD Securities, said February’s gain shows “the new-homes market is slowly coming back to life and may finally be benefiting from the resurgence in overall housing market activity.”

“However, we caution that the pace of advance will likely be hard-pressed to eke out similar gains later in the year, mainly as a result of enthusiastic buyers attempting to close transactions ahead of the regulatory [new mortgage rules] and [harmonized sales] tax changes coming into effect mid-2010,” he said.

“As such, this report likely overstates the true strength of the recovery in new residential housing, though it is safe to say that housing still remains a bright spot in Canadian economic activity.”

© Copyright (c) The Province

Peter Mitham
Other

It’s not uncommon for developers to celebrate a site’s history when it comes up for redevelopment and somehow weave what the site was into a story of what it will become.

And so it was at downtown’s Cecil Hotel recently as Rize Alliance Properties Ltd. hosted what was billed as “The Last Dance at the Cecil” to kick off its new project, the Rolston. The condo tower will have 185 residential units on the Cecil site and incorporate the adjacent Yale Hotel with its 43 social-housing units (50 non-market units in the 82-room Cecil will be lost, though these were largely occupied on a short-term basis).

While the dancers (wearing more than usual for the occasion) were a nod to a past that will wrap up this summer, it was notable that most  people, from the waiting staff brought over from the Opus Hotel to cater the event to developer Will Lin, weren’t entirely comfortable taking in the sights. It might be one of

the few instances in Vancouver real estate history where a desirable development opportunity generated modest glances rather than ogling.

While the bills weren’t busting the girls’ G-strings, Lin remarked that the event amounted to a big night at the Cecil, which has seen a drop in business in recent years as adult entertainment went online.

Yet the departure of exotic dancers from the hotel will be emblematic of the steady transformation

of the south side of downtown from an industrial precinct to chic ’hood. A decade ago it was still possible to be solicited by the young men working Boystown, even as the towers crowded in. Today, Aquilini Investment Group’s development on Richards at Helmcken has shut down Madame Cleo’s while the Rolston will extend the trend in the socalled “Midtown” neighbourhood between Yaletown and

the West End.