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Steve Randall
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Canada may share a head of state with Australia and New Zealand but the Bank of America Merrill Lynch has a different reason to link the three nations.

Its analysts say that the reliance on commodities and the level of money in the countries’ real estate could lead to an “unwinding” in the medium term. Their report says that the central banks of the three nations only have low interest rates as economic growth stimulants.

The good news for homeowners is that the report also notes the importance of the real estate sector as being a key reason why the governments of all three countries are unlikely to increase interest rates any time soon.

However, it still sees the ultimate conclusion being painful, such as policy changes for mortgages or measures which reduce home values.

The analysts also believe that the taxing of foreign investors is the best tool to help curb rising prices in certain markets, noting that “resale house prices fell by 19 per cent in Vancouver in August, the first month of a new foreign real estate transaction tax.”

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

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Rising values mean fewer people are eligible for break on property taxes

Kelly Sinoski
The Vancouver Sun

The City of Vancouver plans to lobby the B.C. government for a review of the provincial homeowners’ grant program, as fewer people qualify for the grant because of rising property assessments in Metro Vancouver.

The basic homeowners grant, provided by the province to reduce the property tax paid by a homeowner on a primary residence, is $570. Seniors, veterans and people with disabilities may qualify for additional grants of $275.

But the amount of the grant starts dropping for properties worth more than $1.2 million and hits zero when the property value reaches $1.35 million. The province increased the thresholds to these levels earlier this year, saying it meant 91 per cent of homeowners would be eligible for the grant.

But a staff memo slated to go before council next week suggests the number of Vancouver homeowners eligible for the grant has dropped significantly in the past decade, from 84.5 per cent in 2006 to just 64.7 per cent this year.

“If the policy framework is to support current homeowners from escalating costs, they’re failing in that the percentage of property owners currently eligible has diminished,” acting mayor Raymond Louie said.

The move by Vancouver follows defeat of a motion forwarded by Burnaby on Thursday at the annual Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, which called for a review to make the homeowners’ grant more equitable across the province.

Burnaby Coun. Sav Dhaliwal urged delegates to support the motion, which suggested the “unfair threshold” would mean only 76 per cent of homeowners in his city would receive a grant this year and called on the UBCM to petition the province for a review to determine if there could be a more equitable distribution of the grant across all regions.

“It affects those on limited income,” he said. “They not only lose basic grant but also the seniors’ grants. When you add up all of these things, it really hits hard any homeowners struggling to keep up with those taxes,” Dhaliwal said.

However, some rural homeowners feared the idea would hurt the $200 a year grant that residents of northern and rural areas get on top of the basic homeowner grant.

Brenda Leigh, a director in the Strathcona Regional District, said she appreciates that homeowners grants should be continually reviewed in urban areas, but it is “absolutely wrong” to try to take money away from rural pockets.

“The grant is meant to assist northern and rural residents with costs associated with having to live or work in rural areas. It has nothing to do with assessments in urban areas,” Leigh said. “I agree with Burnaby that they need to have a homeowner grant program that responds to the crisis in housing in the Lower Mainland, but I do not agree that northern and rural residents should be financing that.”

Louie said he was disappointed that motion was defeated, and blamed it on poor wording. He said idea was not meant to take money from rural areas, but ensure the homeowners’ grant was fair to homeowners across the province.

“There’s a need to review the program itself to see if it’s reflective of the number of homeowners across the province. Each year it has been eroding as a result of the rising assessments.”

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Short term rental websites could face fines

Bethany Lindsay
The Vancouver Sun

If Vancouver moves ahead with its plan to regulate Airbnb, people who host unlicensed short-term rentals may not be the only ones facing fines. City staff are also considering possible penalties for short-term rental websites that don’t comply with local bylaws.

The staff report released this week mainly focuses on defining what types of accommodation could be eligible as short-term rentals under a proposed licensing scheme, which aims to open up hundreds of homes to renters. An enforcement plan has yet to be worked out, but one component could be penalties for short-term rental services that allow unlicensed operators to list their properties, according to Vancouver’s chief licensing inspector, Andreea Toma.

“We are exploring that,” Toma said. “We need to ensure that what we’re putting forward as a policy, when it comes to enforcement, that it does have some teeth.”

The report, set to go before council next week, suggests that only primary residences or rooms in people’s homes should be rented for terms of less than 30 days. Both renters and homeowners could apply for licences, but only if rental agreements and strata bylaws allow short-term renting. 

Owners of secondary suites and investment properties would not be eligible for licences. Those same homeowners have already been told that any short-term rentals would make them subject to Vancouver’s proposed empty homes tax, another measure devised to ease the city’s rental crunch.

The vast majority of the 5,353 short-term rentals in the city (85 per cent, to be exact) are listed on Airbnb, according to staff. Toma said that the Silicon Valley giant has been very cooperative with the city and it is the only short-term rental website that has participated in meetings with staff to discuss regulations. 

Airbnb spokeswoman Alex Dagg wrote in an emailed statement that the company plans to continue collaborating with the city.

“We are reviewing the city’s report in detail and remain hopeful that Vancouver will become the first major Canadian city to develop fair, easy-to-follow regulations that support home sharing,” she said.

But Airbnb does not allow cities access to information about its hosts’ identities or addresses, which means that even if Vancouver bylaw officers see an unlicensed property on the company’s website, they only get the host’s first name — or a pseudonym — and a circle outlining the general neighbourhood of the home.

That has made enforcement tricky for many cities that tax and license short-term rentals, including Portland. 

“That’s the problem with enforcement,” Portland’s Mike Liefeld said in an interview earlier this year. “What you see on that platform is the same thing that we see. We don’t see a lot … unless we want to go through and book a room for everyone. That would be tedious, time-consuming, and really not a good use of resources.”

His city is one of several in the U.S. with the power to fine short-term rental companies over unlicensed operators. Airbnb has been relatively cooperative with Portland officials, but the city filed suit last year against HomeAway and VRBO over violations of the rules.

Similar regulations in some California cities have not been greeted kindly by Airbnb. The company has filed lawsuits against San Francisco, Anaheim and Santa Monica in response to ordinances demanding it remove or refuse unlicensed hosts.

The possibility of fines for short-term rental platforms is just one detail that Vancouver needs to work out. There is also the question of whether the city has the resources to enforce the regulations. The city of Austin, for example, has four full-time inspectors and a researcher dedicated to rooting out unlicensed operators.

“We haven’t completely worked that out in terms of the resourcing that’s needed,” Toma said. The staff report suggests the licensing fees may not cover the cost of enforcement.

The city may consider contracting with an outside data-scraping company to help identify unlicensed hosts. A firm called Host Compliance would be one option — it was responsible for preparing the overview of Vancouver’s short-term rental market for this week’s staff report.

Calls to 311 from annoyed neighbours will be a crucial tool for identifying unlicensed suites, Toma added. The city also plans to post a list of all licensed operators on its website, so that residents can look up nearby Airbnb hosts.

Licensing fees and fines have yet to be determined, as well. The proposed short-term rental regulation scheme would completely replace the current permitting scheme for bed and breakfasts, which means that operators of those quaint accommodations would no longer be require to serve their guests a morning meal.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Short term rental websites could face fines

Bethany Lindsay
The Vancouver Sun

If Vancouver moves ahead with its plan to regulate Airbnb, people who host unlicensed short-term rentals may not be the only ones facing fines. City staff are also considering possible penalties for short-term rental websites that don’t comply with local bylaws.

The staff report released this week mainly focuses on defining what types of accommodation could be eligible as short-term rentals under a proposed licensing scheme, which aims to open up hundreds of homes to renters. An enforcement plan has yet to be worked out, but one component could be penalties for short-term rental services that allow unlicensed operators to list their properties, according to Vancouver’s chief licensing inspector, Andreea Toma.

“We are exploring that,” Toma said. “We need to ensure that what we’re putting forward as a policy, when it comes to enforcement, that it does have some teeth.”

The report, set to go before council next week, suggests that only primary residences or rooms in people’s homes should be rented for terms of less than 30 days. Both renters and homeowners could apply for licences, but only if rental agreements and strata bylaws allow short-term renting. 

Owners of secondary suites and investment properties would not be eligible for licences. Those same homeowners have already been told that any short-term rentals would make them subject to Vancouver’s proposed empty homes tax, another measure devised to ease the city’s rental crunch.

The vast majority of the 5,353 short-term rentals in the city (85 per cent, to be exact) are listed on Airbnb, according to staff. Toma said that the Silicon Valley giant has been very cooperative with the city and it is the only short-term rental website that has participated in meetings with staff to discuss regulations. 

Airbnb spokeswoman Alex Dagg wrote in an emailed statement that the company plans to continue collaborating with the city.

“We are reviewing the city’s report in detail and remain hopeful that Vancouver will become the first major Canadian city to develop fair, easy-to-follow regulations that support home sharing,” she said.

But Airbnb does not allow cities access to information about its hosts’ identities or addresses, which means that even if Vancouver bylaw officers see an unlicensed property on the company’s website, they only get the host’s first name — or a pseudonym — and a circle outlining the general neighbourhood of the home.

That has made enforcement tricky for many cities that tax and license short-term rentals, including Portland. 

“That’s the problem with enforcement,” Portland’s Mike Liefeld said in an interview earlier this year. “What you see on that platform is the same thing that we see. We don’t see a lot … unless we want to go through and book a room for everyone. That would be tedious, time-consuming, and really not a good use of resources.”

His city is one of several in the U.S. with the power to fine short-term rental companies over unlicensed operators. Airbnb has been relatively cooperative with Portland officials, but the city filed suit last year against HomeAway and VRBO over violations of the rules.

Similar regulations in some California cities have not been greeted kindly by Airbnb. The company has filed lawsuits against San Francisco, Anaheim and Santa Monica in response to ordinances demanding it remove or refuse unlicensed hosts.

The possibility of fines for short-term rental platforms is just one detail that Vancouver needs to work out. There is also the question of whether the city has the resources to enforce the regulations. The city of Austin, for example, has four full-time inspectors and a researcher dedicated to rooting out unlicensed operators.

“We haven’t completely worked that out in terms of the resourcing that’s needed,” Toma said. The staff report suggests the licensing fees may not cover the cost of enforcement.

The city may consider contracting with an outside data-scraping company to help identify unlicensed hosts. A firm called Host Compliance would be one option — it was responsible for preparing the overview of Vancouver’s short-term rental market for this week’s staff report.

Calls to 311 from annoyed neighbours will be a crucial tool for identifying unlicensed suites, Toma added. The city also plans to post a list of all licensed operators on its website, so that residents can look up nearby Airbnb hosts.

Licensing fees and fines have yet to be determined, as well. The proposed short-term rental regulation scheme would completely replace the current permitting scheme for bed and breakfasts, which means that operators of those quaint accommodations would no longer be require to serve their guests a morning meal.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Mayor?s office announces next step in attempt to improve rental supply with stricter rules for short-term rentals, allowed only on primary residences

Joannah Connolly
REW

Home owners renting out their units through AirBnB, VRBO or other short-term rental platforms will be required to get a business licence first – and will only be granted one if the property is their primary residence, according to a proposed City of Vancouver policy announced September 28.

The move is intended to encourage the kind of AirBnB use that is considered vital to the “sharing economy” – such as renting out your home while you’re on vacation, or staying elsewhere – without allowing short-term stays to dominate the rental market and price out local long-term renters.

Investment properties and secondary residences in the city, which are subject to the new empty homes tax that aims to encourage those properties to be put into the long-term rental market, will not be granted a short-term rental licence.

Mayor Gregor Robertson said that the proposed short-term rental licence could force up to 1,000 Vancouver homes back into the long-term rental pool.

“Housing is first and foremost for homes, not operating a business,” Robertson told media. “At a time like this, when affordable and rental housing are in a crisis, it’s incumbent upon the city to take bold steps.”

The City said that regular audits will be carried out by checking short-term rental advertisements against business licences, and that business licence numbers must be included on all advertisements.

If the unit proposed for short-term rental is in a strata building, the City said that the business licence application will have to include written confirmation from the strata council that the building’s bylaws do not prohibit short-term rentals.

To get the licence, applicants will also have to prove that they live at the address with government photo ID and a copy of recent government or utility correspondence.

Long-term renters will also be permitted to apply for the licence as long as their tenancy agreement explicitly permits short-term sublets – a copy of which must be included in their licence application.

The City added in its statement, “Short-term rental licensees may be subject to a hotel or other tax that will be re-invested to fund affordable housing initiatives in the city.”

© 2016 Real Estate Weekly

THE MASTER PLANNED COMMUNITY INCLUDES MORE THAN 200 HOMES WITHIN A FAIRY-TALE-LIKE AMBIENCE

The Province

With less than a week to go before its Oct. 1 sales launch, excitement about Delsom Estates’ Sunstone Village Residences in North Delta is reaching the boiling point.

One of the reasons is that the beauty and tranquillity of this master-planned community will never be compromised. This is partly due to the fact that North Delta contains miles of well protected trails, beaches, nature reserves – and, of course, Burns Bog, the largest urban peat bog in North America.

But it’s also due to the careful planning that went into Sunstone. As the final phase nears construction, the community exudes an almost fairy-tale like ambience, with its curving street layouts, the vaulting roofs and intricate detail of the 200 single-family homes and other residences (courtesy Raymond Letkeman Architects), and the dramatic topographical features of a winding, tree-lined lake and central vehicular roundabout.

Michelle DesRosiers, senior project manager of Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing, which is presiding over the sales of Sunstone’s 54 condominiums in October, cites other unique aspects. “There are two entry points, but no vehicular corridors, which means low traffic throughout the community.

“As for the condos, they are the first and will be the only condominiums available in all of Sunstone.” With an eye towards accommodating locals, Sunstone also contains 70 quality rental apartments for those who want to downsize without tying up their equity; optional meal and cleaning services will be available, and amenities include a full dining room and large garden patio, as well as an outdoor terrace.

As for the village hub, it will be home to a variety of shops and services (including a pharmacy and bistro) and easily accessed via pedestrian pathways.

To say that Delsom has spent a lot of time and thought bringing Sunstone to life would be an understatement; the project began informally back in 1954, when Dennis Delsom purchased over 500 acres of land in North Delta.

Delsom’s vision for 100 acres of that acquisition was to create a community that would exemplify a tranquil, pedestrian-oriented lifestyle, while being close to elements such as the Sungod Recreation Centre, the Delta Nature Reserve – and, of course, Burns Bog. Sunstone would also be advantageous in that North Delta’s thoroughfares provide easy access to downtown Vancouver, the airport and the U.S. border.

Polygon Homes, which was building green, sustainable residences long before they became a trend, was responsible for constructing Sunstone’s numerous multifamily townhouses, and Polygon’s sister company, Morningstar Homes, built the single-family dwellings.

Bringing the project full circle is Delsom, which will soon preside over Peak Construction’s building of the village hub.

As DesRosiers prepares for the Oct. 1 sales launch, she echoes the sentiments of everyone involved in Sunstone’s creation by remarking: “This is a very special community in a special part of Metro Vancouver; everyone from local first-time buyers wanting something new to empty-nesters wanting to downsize without sacrificing quality will be at home in Sunstone.”

For more information about Sunstone Village Residences, visit www.sunstonevillage.ca

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc

Fairwinds at Hampton Cove combines calm seaside theme with fun details and grown-up drama

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Fairwinds at Hampton Cove

What: 147 townhomes, part of the master-planned community of Hampton Cove

Project address: 5550 Admiral Way, Ladner

Residence sizes and prices: Two- to four-bedroom homes up to 1,500 square feet, from the low $600,000s

Developer: Polygon Fairwinds Homes Ltd.

Sales centre: 5550 Admiral Way, Ladner

Hours: noon — 6 p.m., Sat — Thurs.

Celia Dawson and the designers at Polygon Homes have created a design for the ages in three display homes at Ladner’s Fairwinds at Hampton Cove.

They’ve combined a calm, relaxed seaside theme with fun, youth-inspired details, but added enough grown-up drama to engage every visitor. Enter one of the homes to be greeted by the study, graced in dark wood storage built-ins and muted graphics on upholstered chairs. Polygon’s designers wanted the study’s playful interiors to set the tone for the rest of the display home.

“It is the first room you enter in the home and the fun playful theme sets a positive and high-energy vibe. This sets the mood instantly and makes you want to venture into the rest of the home,” says Dawson, Polygon’s senior vice-president of design.

The Hampton Cove community is not one size fits all with each owner’s home the carbon copy of a neighbour’s. Fairwinds residences are slightly smaller than those in the Charterhouse phase and boast brighter colours on the exterior and more contemporary finishes in bathrooms and kitchens.

The Polygon design team asked Hampton Cove’s earliest buyers what they’d like to see in the design of new homes. They all came back with ideas on how the Fraser River locale could define the esthetic of any new homes in the community.

“The homeowners gravitated to the water and cove theme, given the location of our homes on the water and the close proximity to the yacht club and boat mooring,” Dawson says.

Injecting more energy by way of contrast and splashes of colour into the interiors of the home was essential to attract the desired demographic.

“The young family market dictated this direction,” Dawson adds. “It was an easy direction to go in: Smaller, affordable homes and more contemporary and clean lined to attract a younger market.”

The sunny, bright seaside look is just as appropriate for this market. One ensuite bathroom is perfectly sleek, with clean white marble floors and walls, all light neutrals contrasted with dark wood cabinetry — until Polygon adds a splash of bold, bright colour with artwork and accessories.

The designers still manage to leave some room for grown-up drama. Dark floors in the kitchen and study paired with light cabinetry in one kitchen create a stunning reverse effect.

“Dark floors seem dramatic and tend to ground a room nicely. The contrast of lightness above again adds to the drama of a room,” says Dawson.

“The reverse works well in a room. Contrast in general adds drama and creates a design with a strong sense of style and voice.”

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.