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Touches such as a record collection or books transcends the ?staged? setting

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Woodland Park

Where: 8570 204th St., Langley

What: 106 townhouses

Residence sizes and prices: Two beds, two-beds-and-dens, three beds, three-beds-and-dens, and four-beds; 1,263-1,825 square feet; priced from the $400,000s

Developer and builder: Infinity Properties

Sales centre address: 1 – 8570 204th St., Langley

Hours: noon-5 p.m., Saturday-Thursday

At Woodland Park, Infinity Properties’ new townhouse community in Langley, Gannon Ross Design principal Jen Gannon injected signs of life that might be familiar to all of us.

A record collection, books and everyday useful items can be found throughout these light, airy spaces for a look that transcends the “staged” setting. Tchotchkes of everyday life add a personality that appeals to visitors, Gannon says.

“We took this route because there is a general trend these days to really personalize your space by showcasing personal collections or hobbies like photography or record collecting.

“I think sites such as Pinterest really show people how to showcase their personalized space. I also think there is a trend to make your home comfortable, authentic and a reflection of you.”

One of the two display homes opens to a doorless den adjacent to the front hall, where Gannon Ross used a white and grey palette for a clean office. In one living room, she chose to decorate in a light Scandinavian tone. A neutral white ‘brick’ wall — an uncanny effect, thanks to wallpaper — offsets a long table, offering a perfect backdrop for an infusion of character.

“The neutral background allows us to pop in fun colour, pattern and texture. By building in a banquette and having the dining table run lengthwise, it makes the space feel more open.”

Strong design and character can be seen throughout the suites: in one bedroom’s unique wire chandelier, in kitchen millwork and in an open-concept space with minimalist touches of light wood, blue and red. Gannon says this combination appeals to first-time buyers open to new ideas and fresh takes on decorating. That demographic has taken a shine to these suites, thanks in part to her work.

“I think the colour palettes for the two schemes appeal to first-time buyers because they are contemporary yet neutral, and give first-time buyers a good canvas to start with. The two model homes gave ideas for two very different looks purchasers could work toward.”

No doubt, new homebuyers impressed with Gannon Ross’ style might want to use some of Gannon’s ideas when they move in. Gannon advises that they invest in a few good pieces of furniture or millwork and then, if they’re on a tight budget, add some fun pieces to add personality.

“Second-hand stores, Etsy purchases, Ikea or craft markets can help add a lot to a space.”

© Copyright (c) The Province

Cassidy Olivier & Joanne Lee-Young
The Province

The days of self-regulation are over for B.C.’s real estate industry following a series of changes outlined Wednesday by Premier Christy Clark.

The changes — aimed at restoring the public’s confidence in the sector battered by allegations of misconduct, weak reporting mechanisms and governance issues — include the creation of a dedicated superintendent of real estate and go beyond the 28 recommendations offered in a report released Tuesday by an independent advisory group.

Finance Minister Mike de Jong, who joined Clark in announcing the changes, said the report’s findings demonstrated the real estate industry’s self-regulatory structure has “not met the standard” expected in terms of protecting the public interest, a point furthered by Clark.

“Self regulation is very much a privilege that is granted on behalf of the public by government to professions that say they can do the job and prove that they can do the job,” said Clark.

“Well, the real estate sector has had 10 years to get it right on self-regulation and they haven’t.”

Clark said her government will work on all seven recommendations directed at government, including increasing the maximum fines for realtors and brokerages to $250,00 and $500,000, respectively.

Clark also said dual agency transactions — in which the agent acts as both the agent and seller of a property — will come to an end.

All authority to regulate, discipline and make and enforce rules will be taken away from the Real Estate Council of B.C. and given to the strengthened office of the superintendent.

Current superintendent Carolyn Rogers, who had previously said she will step down next month, is also responsible for overseeing all credit unions and pension and mortgage brokering industries. 

Further changes will see a “majority” of the council made up non-industry members. At present, the council is made up of 13 real estate agents elected by their peers, three government appointees, and one member chosen by the council to represent strata owners.

Housing critic David Eby said the removal of the industry’s ability to self-police was a “common sense response” to a “scathing report” that clearly demonstrated that self-regulation had failed. The main question was whether the government will adequately fund the new superintendent’s office, he said.

“I think it is a critical first step. But if the government doesn’t adequately staff the new office, then we will be right back where we are today in no time.”

Eby also said the announcement did little to address the issue of affordability.

Tom Davidoff, a professor of economics at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business, agreed, saying the announcement failed to account for other factors that are fuelling the area’s housing prices, including foreign capital.

“What I’m pretty confident of is the reason we have high prices isn’t because we are an unusually sleazy market,” he said. “And this does nothing about supply and does nothing about that surge in overseas demand. So it’s not going to do anything to make Vancouver more affordable, however if you are buying and selling a house, it might give you more confidence that you can trust the guy selling.”

Clark said her government will unveil additional measures that will address the issues of affordability, increasing housing supply and helping first-time buyers enter the market — the later in addition to the steps unveiled in the February budget.

As for her government’s seeming unwillingness to address the impact foreign capital is believed to be having on the market, Clark said: “Everything is on the table.”

“We are considering all the suggestions that have come from citizens, local governments, [what] we’ve learned from other jurisdictions — all of those things are on the table,” she said. “You will see more action on affordability and keeping that dream of home ownership alive for the middle class in the coming weeks and months.”

The Real Estate Council of B.C. responded to the announcement with a two-sentence statement on its website: “Today the B.C. Government announced their intention to end self-regulation in the real estate industry and to establish a dedicated Superintendent of Real Estate. The Council is ready, willing, and able to work with Government to implement the steps announced today.”

© Copyright (c) The Province

Steve Randall
Mortgage Broker News

While government agencies are trying to assess the whether foreign ownership of homes has a real impact on the market, a study by the Simon Fraser University in BC says that it has proof that it does.

Business professor Andrey Pavlov and this team looked at data from a now-closed scheme to encourage foreign investors to Canada and how things changed when it was scrapped.

The Canadian Immigrant Investment Program ended in 2014 and for around a year after that house prices dropped in neighbourhoods popular with Chinese buyers.

“This is as good evidence as we can get on the impact of foreign ownership on the real estate market. And the conclusion is: yes, there is an impact,” Pavlov told the CBC.

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

Going further than Independent Advisory Group recommendations, Premier announces that real estate council will be overhauled and governed by new superintendent

Joannah Connolly
REW

The self-regulation of the real estate industry will scrapped, with the industry governed by a new BC superintendent of real estate who will oversee a radically overhauled Real Estate Council of BC, Premier Christy Clark announced June 29.

The announcement was in response to recommendations issued June 28 by the Independent Advisory Group (IAG), which was appointed to look into real estate misconduct and the handling of such matters by the RECBC.

Clark’s radical changes go even further than the strong recommendations set out by the IAG, which suggested dramatically increasing misconduct fines for agents and brokerages.

In addition to implementing these much stricter fines, the province will establish a new superintendent of real estate who will “take over the council’s regulation- and rule-making authority.”

The RECBC will continue to exist, but it will be restructured to ensure most of its members come from outside the industry. Currently, 14 of the council’s 17 members are from within the real estate or property management industries.

“After reading the report, our conclusion is that the privilege of self-regulation in the real estate industry must end,” said Clark in a statement.

“This report examines shady practices and challenges plaguing the real estate market, particularly in the Lower Mainland, putting consumers at risk and tarnishing the reputations of honest professionals in the sector. We will act to protect British Columbians when they are making one of their most important family investments – purchasing a home.”

The BC government announced that it fully accepts the recommendations of the IAG and will:

• Establish a dedicated superintendent of real estate, who will take over the council’s regulation- and rule-making authority to carry out the changes required to restore public confidence.
• Reconstitute the Real Estate Council with a majority of public-interest, non-industry members.
• Implement the recommended penalties, as well as increased fines for unlicensed activity and other offences.
• Allow for commissions from licensees engaging in misconduct to be taken back to the council.
• Make the managing broker responsible for ensuring the owner of the brokerage does not engage in the business of the brokerage if the owner is not a licensee.
• No longer permit licensees to offer dual agency representation.

Clark told a media conference June 29 that the provincial government will start overhauling the system in the forthcoming weeks.

Finance minister Michael de Jong said, “Government is assessing the best and fastest way to enhance transparency and consumer protection in the real estate industry.

“We are working on legislation that will expand the powers of the superintendent of real estate to address these issues, ensure appropriate public representation on the board, and implement higher disciplinary and administrative penalties.”

Update:

The Real Estate Council of BC issued this statement Wednesday afternoon:

“Today the BC Government announced their intention to end self-regulation in the real estate industry and to establish a dedicated Superintendent of Real Estate.

“The Council is ready, willing, and able to work with Government to implement the steps announced today.

“Yesterday the Real Estate Council of BC released its Independent Advisory Group’s Final Report. This report details 28 far-reaching recommendations to enhance consumer protection, all of which the Council fully supports.” 

On July 30, British Columbia Real Estate Association president Deanna Horn said in a statement, “The vast majority of the 20,000 REALTORS® in BC do the right thing and we welcome a dedicated Superintendent of Real Estate to improve consumer protection in real estate transactions.

“Our livelihoods depend on our reputations and I know that almost every REALTOR® in the province will be happy to see stronger penalties and enforcement for rule-breakers.”

© 2016 Real Estate Weekly

?Evolving? demand means more firms looking to own rather than lease

Evan B Duggan
The Vancouver Sun

Demand and investment are mounting in Metro Vancouver for strata office units as values for those assets reach levels comparable with residential condos in the region, say local experts and investors.

In the past two years there has been roughly $280 million worth of sales in strata offices in Metro Vancouver — also known as office condos — according to a report by Colliers International. The report revealed that strata office sales reached $120 million by the third quarter of last year — nearly twice the total from 2010.

“Although the 2015 office condo market recorded lower sales volume in comparison to 2014, it is more an indication of a lack of quality product than a lack of demand,” the report said, which highlighted Downtown Vancouver and the West Broadway corridor as locations with the highest purchase prices.

Demand for office space in the region has been “evolving,” with small- and medium-sized companies looking to acquire their own spaces as owners, said Kirk Kuester, Colliers’ executive managing director in Vancouver.

“Lease rates are high, especially for new, high-quality office space,” he said last week. “If you look at all the new office buildings that have been built, they’ve leased up quickly and they’ve achieved relatively high rents in relation to the rest of the market.”

He said the economics now make sense for many smaller firms to own their office space.

“You have no idea how many calls we get from people looking to buy a small office building downtown,” he said. “They say ‘show us a small office building downtown that we can buy and own and we’ll occupy some space and rent out the rest of the space.’ But it doesn’t happen. You can’t find that.”

Kuester said smaller financial, legal, engineering and insurance firms seem to be driving the demand. “There are all the little guys who are saying ‘hey, we’d love to have 2,500-square-feet, 3,000 feet.’”

Vancouver-based Chard Development is hoping to tap into that demand with plans to break ground in January on a four-storey office strata building at 34 West 7th Ave. in Vancouver’s Mount Pleasant neighbourhood.

Chard Development has been active in the commercial and residential market in Victoria and Vancouver for about 20 years. The firm is motivated by Mount Pleasant’s emergence as a tech hub with a relatively young workforce, said Dave Chard, the firm’s president and CEO.

“We are quite familiar with the area,” he said. “We did the MEC head office about 20 years ago down on 4th Avenue.”

Chardsaidthenew54,000-square foot building is being designed by Proscenium Architecture and Interiors. The zoning allows for service, retail and light-industrial use on the main floor, with strata offices above, he said.

“It’s very difficult for smaller businesses to acquire their own office space,” he said. “Traditionally you’ve got to lease it, and what we’re trying to do is provide the opportunity for small- and mediumsized businesses to be able to acquire their own real estate.”

Chard said they’re aiming to start building in January 2017 with an 18-month construction period. The building would likely end up with about eight owners in units of 5,000-10,000 square feet.

The building will have two levels of underground parking as well as bike storage and end of trip facilities in the building, he said. “We anticipate a lot of people will bike to work.”

Similar to the residential market, the cost of commercial space is also pricing a lot of people out of the Metro Vancouver market, said Brady Fleguel, a real estate appraiser with Burgess, Cawley, Sullivan & Associates.

“The barrier for entry is so high to actually own an office building,” he said. “We’re talking $10 millionplus for an entry-level office building, but if the building is stratified you can buy your unit for $500,000, or $1 million.”

He said West Broadway has proven to be a vibrant market for strata office. Broadway recorded the highest sales volume with just over $90 million in 2014, according to the Colliers report, which attributed the total to Orca West Development’s Neelu Bachra Centre, which was completed in 2014. That project was one of the first new office condo developments to be completed in that area, and sold for an average price of $862 per square foot.

Fleguel said the area is driven by medical firms that want to be located around Vancouver General Hospital. “If you look up and down that corridor, the current vacancy for office is around three per cent because medical users tend to be stable tenants and they haven’t built a lot of new product in the area recently.”

He said prices for strata office units have occasionally rivalled residential condos, but residential is still king when it comes to strata, reaching the $1,000 per square foot range. “Would an office condo sell for that? I don’t think so. Not an average or across an entire project.”

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Organization warns of risks in changes to lending conditions

GARRY MARR
The Vancouver Sun

A Canadian mortgage industry group says there is no bubble in any Canadian housing markets and is warning the government against any changes in lending conditions that might derail the market.

Will Dunning, the chief economist for Mortgage Professionals Canada, which represents more than 11,000 members across the country, says everybody is waiting for the bubble to burst, but maintains there isn’t enough evidence to say it exists.

“There is a risk that changes in policies of lenders or mortgage insurers that reduce access to mortgages could cause an unnecessary drop in housing demand and housing prices, and bring consequent economic damage,” Dunning said, in a release out Tuesday that accompanies his group’s 38-page report on the state of the mortgage industry.

His comments come as federal finance minister Bill Morneau has called for a “deep dive” into the state of the housing market, including the impact of foreign ownership. Last week, Morneau announced a working group will be formed of federal officials, provincial representatives from Ontario and British Columbia and municipal counterparts in Toronto and Vancouver.

Morneau’s comments came after a torrid month for real estate in May for both Toronto and Vancouver. The composite index for all homes in Metro Vancouver rose almost 30 per cent last month from a year ago while average prices in the Toronto region were up almost 16 per cent during the same period from a year ago.

“At this time, we are hearing calls for more changes to macro-prudential regulation. The proponents want to make mortgage finance more difficult to obtain. That will result in reduced housing activity and, thereby, slow the growth rate for mortgage indebtedness,” writes Dunning, in his report.

He cautions about the importance to the housing sector and warns that some of the economic drivers out west are no longer present to propel those markets. In Calgary, the benchmark price for a home was down almost four per cent in May from a year ago, while prices in Saskatoon were off 2.3 per cent during the same period.

“Given the importance of housing activity to the national economy (especially since investment in energy projects is no longer a driver of growth), we are hopeful that any changes will be based on a careful consideration of the tradeoff between caution in the mortgage market versus overall economic growth,” Dunning writes.

Dunning says it is low mortgage rates — now as low as 2.15 per cent for a five-year fixed rate product, according to ratepsy.com — that have caused the resale market to surge.

On the foreign buyer issue, he notes there is a gap between average prices produced by the Canadian Real Estate Association statistics and data on price increases from the Teranet/National Bank House Price Index. Dunning says a larger gap indicates sale of higher end homes, something he says is present in Toronto and Vancouver, but not in nine other markets.

“This is consistent with increased buying by affluent foreign investors, although it is not conclusive proof,” he writes. “Given the available data, it may be impossible to measure buying by foreign investors with any reasonable accuracy, and it would be even more difficult to measure the consequences.”

As for the bubble talk, the economist says it has been going on since 2008 without any real evidence.

“Those comments have generally assumed that rapid growth in house prices (or a rising ratio of house prices versus incomes or of house prices versus rents) is sufficient evidence of a bubble,” writes Dunning. “To the contrary, these supposedly strong indicators are not definitive proof. They may actually represent healthy outcomes within existing conditions.”

In order to prove a bubble exists, he says there must be “expectations of price growth that are self-fulfilling” and that the expectations lead to increased and excessive activity in the housing market. He also says prices must diverge significantly from what should be expected based on economic fundamentals. As far as Dunning is concerned, the current market does not meet these conditions.

© 2016 National Post