We must work together to solve affordability crisis

Farid Rohan
The Vancouver Sun

We don’t blame all Arabs every time OPEC pushes up (or down!) the price of a litre of gas. We don’t blame Mexicans if fruit prices go up or the Japanese when B.C. lumber mills close for lack of demand. We accept the free market principles of supply and demand and we deal with price fluctuations as best we can.

So why do we blame immigrants, and specifically the Chinese, for spiking real estate prices when the real problem is lack of supply and increasing demand?

It’s a dangerous tendency, and one that threatens to undermine the very ideals of citizenship and plurality that have made Canada so admired around the world. Our country’s heritage includes every ethnicity on earth. The principles that define us as Canadians include those of dignity and kindness, tolerance and compassion. The elements that underpin our democracy include a respect for liberty, for freedom of movement and for the potential of a market driven economy under the rule of law.

But these principles and values are not guiding the current discussion. Instead we see outbursts of ignorant emotionalism and incipient racism.

It’s important, first, to define the immediate problem. The economic power of recent immigrants and foreign purchasers has showcased excessive economic advantage while denying many the ability to be part of a vibrant, growing cosmopolitan city. Many of the young people and professionals who make up our city’s core are feeling frustrated by our failure to find a solution to affordable housing.

Yet, instead of working together to address the challenges of inequity, many are retreating to the more familiar ground of racial accusations. They use the seeming intractability of these problems to build scapegoats. Even people who may have been acting in goodwill have been guilty of launching dubious studies that rely on selective facts and the dangerous sweep of ethnic stereotyping.

In an age when terrorism is also a serious social issue, and when certain people have chosen to target ethnicity or religion in that conversation, this raises a risk that I feel personally. I, who have been proud to call Canada my home for more than four decades, have an Arabic name — one that might easily become part of a database of potential security targets, not for anything I have done, but merely because of my heritage.

This is a perversion of the Canadian experiment, and one we must deal with quickly, and together. We cannot promote prejudice against any racial or ethnic group without betraying ourselves. The vitriolic accusations against “others” can lead only to hate and a division that will harm us all.

We need a solution, of the sort that can only be found through joint action. We cannot continue to speak from both sides of our mouths, on the one hand promising economic hope and jobs, while at the same time isolating recent immigrants and visitors from normal social intercourse based on mutual respect.

Certainly, government must be forceful in addressing issues such as the disruptive influence of laundered money. At the same time, we must all stay focused on the economic principles of a liberal democracy, of supply and demand. We must remember the values of immigration and the benefits of building a progressive society in which people of diverse backgrounds can live and prosper together as members of one city and country.

This responsibility rests upon all levels of government, as well as upon community leaders and the media. All must work together to refresh the spirit of optimism, while rejecting any narrative where facts are manipulated to become food for racist agitators or dismissive special interest groups.

The only way to resolve deep social and economic problems is by forging a unity of purpose.

Racism has deep roots. Without a conscious, deliberate, and sustained effort, we are all at risk from its destructive influences. It can only be overcome through open dialogue and close association among those of opposing points of view.

So, I address this appeal to all — politicians, pundits and community leaders: the realization of our collective potential depends on the character and initiative of every individual. No action plan can succeed if leaders fail respond in their own capacity. I respectfully and urgently call upon my fellow Vancouverites of whatever background to look at current real estate situation with new eyes and with a new resolve to set ethnicity aside — to embrace all of your neighbours, new and old, in the search for a lasting solution.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Millennials? delicate balancing act between education and ownership

by Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Canadian members of Generation Y still have multiple options for their desired homes despite benchmark prices for detached properties (as of July) sitting at around $1.2 million in Toronto and at nearly $1.6 million in Vancouver, analysts stated.

“It’s obviously stage of life, as needs change, your requirement for a home changes,” Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) director of marketing communications Fahed Malik told the Financial Post. “There is a need for a larger home and a detached home can give you that practicality.”

A recent survey by the OREA found that approximately 51 per cent of millennials are intending to buy a detached property within the next two years. Meanwhile, 28 per cent said that they would go for condo units, and 18 per cent expressed a preference for semi-detached homes.

However, observers said that while getting a detached home is still possible, doing so would mean giving up the advantages afforded by other home types—in particular, proximity to work for those employed deeper within the city.

“Living near the city’s downtown means downsizing your expectations,” the Financial Post’s Garry Marr wrote in his analysis.

“The desire to have the dog, the garage and 2.4 kids is strong no matter what generation you are talking about,” Re/Max Western Canada regional executive Elton Ash said. “I just did a road trip in Manitoba and visited a community 35 kilometres north of Winnipeg and the lot cost was $45,000. But it’s the same result as you move out of city cores, prices to get cheaper and that’s why bedroom communities are getting more popular.”

In Vancouver, an attached home like a townhouse unit or a row house is currently going for an average of $669,000, which might represent a more realistic option for millennials who do not want to contend with long distances to and from work.

Another especially important point, according to Environics Analytics demographer Doug Norris, is that most of the supply in the detached market is cornered by baby boomers.

“They’re not moving until [age] 75 or so,” Norris said.

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

The French language is a major deterrent for the Chinese to settle in Montreal

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

While various analysts and observers have predicted a mass exodus of wealthy overseas nationals to markets outside Vancouver in the wake of B.C.’s imposition of a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers, opinion remains divided about Montreal’s prospects in this new taxation regime.

On the one hand, local professionals like Sutton Quebec agent Martin Desjardins have said that Montreal’s situation is an outlier among the country’s leading markets, and developments in the two hottest cities won’t necessarily reflect those of Montreal’s.

“[The local market is] nothing compared to what’s happening in Toronto and Vancouver,” Desjardins told CBC News. “I really don’t think this is something that’s looming for Montreal.”

“I don’t think it will ever be to the point where we’ll have to put a tax,” he added.

Meanwhile, other experts have predicted an increase in foreigner-driven volume in markets outside B.C. as these buyers scramble to avoid the tax, most notably Toronto and a host of other possible destinations—including Montreal.

“Certainly I think Toronto and potentially other markets like Montreal will start to become more attractive, because comparatively speaking they will be less expensive,” Sotheby’s International Realty Canada president and CEO Brad Henderson said.

CMHC market analyst Francis Cortellino noted that Montreal’s future remains unclear despite mutterings of increased activity outside Vancouver after August 2, when the new tax took effect.

“We’re not sure yet what [buyers] will do. There are a lot of possibilities,” Cortellino said.

A CMHC report released last month revealed that foreigners represented a small proportion of residential property owners in Montreal, with 1.3 per cent of condominiums in the greater Montreal area and 5 per cent in the downtown being owned by overseas nationals.

Americans and French represented the majority of these owners, while Chinese—the main movers in the Vancouver market—comprised only 8 per cent of foreign buyers in Montreal.

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

Toronto Real Estate Board says prices in the Greater Toronto Area are up

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

Toronto’s housing segment continues to heat up as the average price of a detached home spiked up by 21 per cent year-over-year in July, up to $952,983.

The latest figures released by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) also stated that in the same period, the average resale price of a residence in the GTA grew by over 16 per cent to $709,825, reported The Canadian Press.

Meanwhile, the average condo price in the region increased by 9.2 per cent to $406,865.

July’s sales volume of 9,989 transactions—up from 9,813 the previous year—was the highest ever recorded for that month in the GTA, TREB added.

Along with a sharp 7 per cent decline of new listings to 13,542 last month, the TREB noted that these developments represent a “troubling trend” of surging demand far outstripping available inventory.

“Housing policy is now top of mind for all levels of government,” TREB president Larry Cerqua said on Thursday (August 4).

“Policy makers need to be focusing on solutions to the sustained lack of low-rise inventory throughout the GTA.”

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

The new 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers of B.C. homes has made its shockwaves felt not only among overseas nationals, as even developers have expressed concerns about the possible impact of this new levy on cooperative ventures involving non-Canadian companies.

Specifically, developers fear that even in a project where foreigners account for only a small part of the ownership group, the whole deal would still be slapped with the 15 per cent tax, reported Joanne Lee-Young for the Vancouver Sun.

“This is our understanding,” Urban Development Institute president and CEO Anne McMullin said, adding that buyers might end up shouldering the increased cost.

“I recognize that some of our members would be happy to have non-local developers have to pay a higher price for their development sites, but there are also a number of members (and some very significant members) who have the potential to be caught by this legislation, and to have their sources of investor funds capped by this [new tax],” McMullin added.

While the executive did not specify what ongoing or planned projects fit that profile, McMullin stated that any policy that would aim to cool down the country’s overheated housing markets should take into account that foreign presence is unavoidable in an open world.

“People want an easy solution for a complex situation,” she lamented. “It’s a global marketplace and it’s far more complicated.”

The B.C. Ministry of Finance said the applicability of the new tax would depend on various factors.

“It would depend on the situation, but, for example, if six out of 10 directors are foreign citizens, that corporation could be considered foreign controlled and the tax would apply,” the Ministry wrote in an email to the Vancouver Sun.

“When two (or more) corporations are purchasing a property and one of those is foreign owned, the foreign corporation would pay the full 15 per cent on the portion of the property they own.”

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

More than 400 deals reported to face collapse after new tax

Katia Dmitrieva, Natalie Obiko Pearson
other

British Columbia’s decision to impose a 15 percent tax on foreign buyers to cool Vancouver’s scorching housing market is poised to derail more than 400 home purchases worth millions of dollars and may prompt calls for legal action.

At least 427 deals are likely to collapse due to the new measure, according to Dan Morrison, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, citing responses from 27 brokers to an e-mail inquiry. The group didn’t calculate the value of those sales, though they would be worth about C$404 million ($307 million) based on the average purchase by a foreign buyer of C$946,945.

That may just be the tip of the iceberg.

“It’s a domino effect,” said Elton Ash, Western Canada regional executive vice president for Re/Max Holdings Inc. Not only will foreign buyers be hit but also Canadians who had contracts to sell and had already put offers on their next house, he said. Morrison said the effects could take years to play out given some deals involve the sales of condos still being built.

Canada’s westernmost province introduced the tax for foreigners as price gains intensified this year. The cost of a detached home in Canada’s third-biggest city soared 38 percent over 12 months to C$1.58 million in July. British Columbia joins governments from the U.K. to Australia imposing measures to tame markets that have become unaffordable for many local residents. Public support for intervention was building in Vancouver, where anecdotes abound of offshore investors bidding up prices then leaving homes empty. The provincial levy only applies on homes in the Metro Vancouver area, where three-quarters of the foreign money flows.

Legal Challenges

Re/Max is still tallying the fallout of the tax, which took effect Aug 2. At least one C$14 million sale in West Vancouver fell through because the levy would’ve added another C$2.1 million to the cost, Ash said.

The measure will hit the lower-end of the market the hardest, such as C$500,000 condos, where the cost won’t be so easily absorbed, said Ash. Some sellers will react by cutting prices to salvage deals, he said.

The province’s move may yet face legal challenges.

‘Just Shocking’

The new tax violates several treaties and agreements that Canada holds with at least 28 other countries, including the U.S. under the North American Free Trade Agreement, according to Barry Appleton, managing partner of law firm Appleton & Associates, who specializes in international law and has launched claims in Canada under NAFTA.

“It’s just shocking that a provincial government in Canada would choose to have a knee-jerk reaction in this way,” Appleton, who has been contacted by several entities but declined to name them, said by phone from San Francisco. Depending on the treaty in place, individuals or the state can sue Canada for losses related to the tax, as well as challenge the tax as discriminatory, he said.

“All legislation is vetted to ensure it complies with the constitution,” said Jessica McLachlin, a spokeswoman for British Columbia’s finance ministry in Victoria. “The government received opinions on the additional property transfer tax and we believe British Columbia is within its rights to act as it did to protect the residential real estate market from distortions.”

Legal Precedent

France may provide a precedent for legal action. Foreign homeowners went to court in 2012 after the nation raised the capital gains tax on overseas investors to as high as 33.5 percent, arguing discriminatory treatment was illegal under France’s bilateral tax treaties. They were successful, and France reduced the rate to 19 percent for all sellers, said Miranda Bothe, founder of Paris Property Group.

In British Columbia, an individual U.S. investor could file a claim under NAFTA, as could residents in 28 other countries that have trade agreements with Canada, Appleton said. Chinese buyers, who comprise the majority of foreign investors in British Columbia according to the finance ministry data, could file individual constitutional challenges under Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Chinese government could also go after the Canadian government, Appleton said.

“This government has been going around the world telling people that Canada is open to foreign investment, and now they discriminate against those very individuals, and with little warning,” he said.

Tax Avoidance

The federal government engages with provinces when measures in their areas of jurisdiction may have an impact on international trade commitments, Anne-Louise Chauvette, a spokeswoman for the Canada’s international trade department, said in an e-mail. “Should there be any such concerns with the new B.C. tax, the federal government will discuss those with the province.”

Sotheby’s Canada had about 20 high-end home deals organized the week prior to the tax announcement, and those deals are still proceeding as planned, Henderson said.

A bigger risk than canceling deals is the possibility that the tax may push some investment into the shadows as investors seek methods around the measure to avoid paying millions, he said.

Henderson’s firm found that the fastest-rising category of luxury homes were in the C$4 million-plus space driven by foreign investors, he said by phone Thursday. “People are buying homes worth millions and if they have the means to avoid the tax, they’ll take that route.”

©2016 Bloomberg L.P.

Latest phase of Okanagan development has spectacular sights

MICHAEL BERNARD
The Vancouver Sun

Project: The Vistas at Skaha Hills

Project location: 501 Skaha Hills Dr., Penticton

Project size: Third phase of 24 two-bedroom-and-den and three-bedroom condos overlooking Skaha Lake in the Okanagan. Part of a $250-million master-planned community of 600 homes on 550 acres with an on-site vineyard, restaurant, swimming pool, fitness room and walking trails, Close to Skaha Beach, city shopping and Penticton airport.

Prices: Homes range from 1,500 sq. ft. for $439,000 to 1,692 sq. ft. for $599,000

Developer: Greyback Developments

Architect: Nick Bovanda, CEI Architecture 

Interior Designer: Kim Upton, BID

Sales centre: 120 Sandhill Rd. (corner of Highway 97 and Old Okanagan Highway)

Sales Contact: Curt Jansen

Hours: 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Tuesday — Saturday

Telephone: 1-877-225-7382

Website: www.skahahills.com

Occupancy: June 2017

Skaha Hills executive Curt Jansen is delighted to show visitors the latest computerized wizardry for The Vistas’ villas — and the software is impressive. It gives potential buyers a bird’s-eye view of Skaha Lake, below the resort-style development’s latest phase of 24 yet-to-be-built homes in two buildings perched on the mountainside.

“It’s pretty authentic what they can do now with computers,” says Jansen, who as vice-president has overseen brisk pre-sales of the latest phase of the 600-home master-planned community on 550 acres.

“We give you a fly-through view inside the unit, and you can see what the three colour palettes look like. Then we take you outside on the huge decks where we have outdoor kitchens, outdoor fireplace and seating area, and you get the view.”

The balconies, a particularly popular feature among buyers, are super-sized when compared to the usual Metro Vancouver condo. The smallest balconies in the 1,500-square-foot-plus models measure 506 square feet, with a significant amount of that under cover to protect occupants from the Okanagan’s strong summer sun.

The largest balcony for the 1,690-square-foot model is 560 square feet, while the first-floor suites have an extra 36 square feet of ground-level patio space. All the expansive decks feature outdoor gas barbecue hookups and glass railings on the decks to maximize the views.

While the latest computer renderings of The Vistas villas are useful for buyers being asked to commit a year in advance of completion, they fall short of the real thing. Jansen recently took some visitors to the future site of The Vistas, up the roadway past maturing vineyards and more than 45 finished or under-construction single-family homes sold during the earlier phases. They were treated to the view down the 11-kilometre lake, which can described as breathtaking.

The development is well situated. Far below is the city of Penticton and its airport, about a five-minute drive away. Down the hill are the sandy shores of Skaha Beach, ranked by Chatelaine magazine as among Canada’s 20 best beaches.

Not surprisingly, the 24 homes in the two buildings that went on sale last month have already been reserved well in advance of their completion date next June. However, more villa homes are to be released within the next year and additional phases of single-family homes are on the drawing boards.

Sales have been brisk since Greyback Developments began marketing Skaha Hills two years ago on land it has leased through the Crown from the Penticton Indian Band, said Jansen. That way, homeowners escape paying steep transfer taxes and GST because they lease rather than purchase their land for 99 years. The model has been proven to work well with Raven Woods, a similar aboriginal land development by the Tsleil Waututh Nation in North Vancouver.

The interiors of the villas feature an open-concept kitchen and living space, a large island for entertaining, professionally designed cabinets with soft close hardware and quartz countertops. Flooring is durable and easy-to-maintain luxury vinyl planks.

Appliances include a 22.3-cubic-foot Blomberg french-door refrigerator with ice-water dispenser, a Blomberg tall tub dishwasher, Italy’s Fulgor convection wall oven and gas cooktop with a chimney-style exhaust fan over the island, and a Panasonic microwave oven with stainless steel trim.

Buyers can choose from several upgrade packages. They include a Fulgor Milano Induction cooktop and a SMEG brand built-in 24-inch Speed Oven and 1,000-watt microwave. Also available is an electric fireplace option, a built-in entertainment centre and audio speakers in two locations, and a built-in desk. On the balcony, a Kingsman Aurora Gas Fireplace and a dual element comfort heater overhead can take the chill off spring or fall evenings.

The master ensuite has his-and-her sinks, a tiled master shower and tiled backsplash, and Kohler toilet and bathroom tub shower enclosure.

Meanwhile, work continues on building out the master-planned community’s amenties. In June, Stage West Hospitality opened its $5.2 million PLAY Winery on the same hill with stunning lake views. It features a tasting lounge, wine shop and indoor-outdoor bistro and expects to bottle its first vintage wine next year.

Also planned is an amenities centre complete with swimming pool, hot tub and fitness facilities, with pickle ball courts nearby. The entire development is laced with walking and cycling trails and at the entrance to Skaha Hills is the nine-hole Skaha Meadows public golf course.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Single family homeowners in tony community part of builder?s target market

CLAUDIA KWAN
The Vancouver Sun

Project name: McKinnon by Cressey

Project location: W. 48^th Avenue & West Boulevard, Vancouver

Project size: 40 homes in a four-storey concrete construction building
Residence size: 2 — 3 beds, 970 — 2,400 sq. ft.

Prices: from $1.3 million

Developer: Cressey Development Group

Architect: IBI Group

Interior designer: Scott Trepp, Trepp Design

Sales centre: 3130 Arbutus St (between W. 15^th and 16^th avenues), Vancouver

Hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thurs

Telephone: 604-428-8858

Website: www.mckinnonbycressey.com

Sales began: July 2016

Occupancy: Winter 2018/Spring 2019

 When some think of living in Vancouver’s tony Kerrisdale neighbourhood, they may mainly envision row upon row of stately single-family homes. However – as Cressey discovered through a couple of recent developments on the city’s West Side – downsizers from those homes are displaying a real appetite for continuing to live in the area in large condominiums.

Now, the company is improving on what it learned through its Arbutus Ridge and Sterling developments with its latest offering: McKinnon by Cressey.

 “With Arbutus Ridge, we had a mix of smaller homes, including one-bedroom units,” explains Jason Turcotte, vice-president of development at Cressey. “At Sterling, there were no one bedrooms at all, and there aren’t any here either.

“There aren’t a ton of families looking to move into these homes; it’s very sophisticated buyers looking for a luxurious ‘lock and leave’ lifestyle now that they’ve sold their houses.” (He also expects there to be some consumers ‘moving up’ in the market as well, from previous multi-family residential experiences.)

Most of the prospective buyers are people who would likely have renovated or built high-end homes before, so Cressey knew it had to do something very special to impress them. It set about trying to retain the best components of a single-family home, while adding a few new special touches that would be new to purchasers.

 Turcotte points them out on a walk through the show suite at the McKinnon sales centre. It starts right from the entry point, where a small foyer immediately inside the door helps create a sense of arrival. Off to one side is a proper laundry room with side-by-side appliances, a stone countertop for folding, overhead storage space, and a hanging bar for delicate items. Putting this in its own area is highly practical; it decreases the level of noise coming from the machines when they’re running, and also reduces potential visual clutter when guests are over. A powder room and coat closet are equally functional little spaces before entering the apartment proper.

Turcotte says the design process really revolved around the kitchen. The company has made it a habit to continue to improve its trademark CresseyKitchen every time it has the chance to do so, with that trademark referring to easy-to-walk-through layouts and high-level design.

“The kitchen is the most important room in a home – it’s the heart of a home, it’s where you spend most of your time,” he says. “We also figured the people who would be living here would be very social types who loved to entertain.”

 The design team employed all white wood veneer cabinetry in all of the homes, with a pleasing to the touch imprinted grain pattern. The light-coloured millwork brings a real sense of brightness into the space. Inset deep niches eliminate the need for handles on the doors and drawers, and lower the maintenance factor. The latter is also why marble is employed only on the backsplashes, with durable and easy-to-maintain quartz for the countertops.

For the ease of the cooks in the family, the integrated refrigerator and freezer have been grouped with a wall oven in one area of the kitchen. A five-burner natural gas Wolf cooktop is on the other side, making going between the two areas simple. Glass and metal drawer interiors are sturdy and easy to clean, and built-in cutlery organizers help keep them organized. Most homes also have a pull-out pantry.

 The design team opted for a stand-alone kitchen island that is square, allowing for storage on all sides and easy traffic flow through the kitchen. Here, for instance, is where the microwave and wine bottles are tucked away in the show suite, along with drawers and shelves for putting away sundry other items.

 Built-in closet millwork is included, as is heated flooring in master bedroom ensuite bathrooms. The bathrooms feature the latest in contemporary design, including walls and floors completely clad in oversize tiles, wall-mounted faucets, wall-hung floating vanities with elongated trough sinks and undermount lighting, ceiling-mounted rain shower heads, and freestanding soaker tubs. More storage is available in drawers or cleverly concealed mirrored panels.

 All homes are fully air conditioned, with engineered hardwood floors and nine-foot-high ceilings in living areas. Each home has access to sizable terraces or balconies, with the penthouses having access to expansive private rooftop decks with outdoor kitchens. Those owners can also choose to install hot tubs.

 Cressey offers more than half a dozen upgrades for all owners in a $30,000 package, including an integrated wine refrigerator, a built-in Wolf espresso machine, a TV entertainment unit that can either conceal or reveal a screen, with space for a bar cabinet, and an parking stall outlet to charge an electric vehicle.

 “Some of the upgrade items don’t suit everyone, so it didn’t make sense to just go ahead and include them,” Turcotte explains. “For instance, if you’re not a coffee or a wine drinker, you’re not going to add those things in – this allows people to customize the spaces a little more to their individual preferences.”

He says most of the interest is coming from people who are already in the immediate area, and who know and value living in an established neighbourhood that isn’t quite as busy as some other urban areas of Vancouver. They already know and take advantage of the amenities in the neighbourhood, such as shopping, dining at local restaurants, great access to schools and golf courses, and a really strong sense of community.

 Even so, some may not know why Cressey decided to name the development McKinnon. As the story goes, at the turn of the 20^th century, South Vancouver was emerging as a neighbourhood – enough to warrant getting its own interurban electric rail (similar to a streetcar) stop. Local resident Mrs. William McKinnon, whose first name appears to have been lost to the sands of time, was tasked with naming the stop and elected to go with Kerry’s Dale, after her family home in Scotland. Eventually, that became Kerrisdale.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

The markets to target and avoid, according to one investment veteran

Justin da Rosa
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Peter Figura, director of national sales at Centurion REIT, has worked as an investment advisor since 1999. Today, however, he specializes in private real estate. And while there are certain Canadian markets he believes provide great opportunity for real estate investors, it’s an American city he is most bullish on.

“Usually when you talk to Canadians about U.S. real estate they think Arizona, Florida. I was blown away by Seattle. The apartments are very different,” Figura told Canadian Real Estate Wealth. “It’s a very different market with a different approach to renting. The highest propensity to rent and the lowest propensity to buy. Everybody wants to rent.”

One positive about Seattle for investors is that there is no rent control. That and the availability of properties.

“In the states, the market is 10 times bigger but the apartment market is 30 times bigger than in Canada. What this does for investors, many people postpone buying,” he said. “From an investor’s point of view it’s good because there’s no rent control, [and] there is no shortage of properties to buy and it’s one of the best markets to find renters. They created around 50,000 jobs last year.”

Still, there are some markets in Canada as well that Figura believes offer ample opportunity.

“I think there are areas outside the GTA and everyone is talking about which will be the next one. Hamilton was beat up for years but it’s reinventing itself and it’s growing. The towns around that, like Stony Creek, Grimsby,” he said. “I think Kitchener –Waterloo might be interesting with the high tech sector.”

And, of course, there Canadian markets he advises investors to avoid.

“The Vancouver and Toronto are definitely ones to avoid, in my opinion … or the price may be out of range and the cap rates may be low. Toronto has rent control, you can go around it in a certain way but it’s difficult. Condo conversion is not available in Toronto,” Figura said.

“Outside Ontario, you have to be careful. Alberta and Saskatoon were doing fantastic, but now they aren’t so great,” he continued.  “You need a careful approach with those markets. There might be pockets of opportunity because prices are suppressed.”

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd