Product was a known killer, but low cost made it irresistible

Owen Munro
The Province

Asbestos seemed like a miracle product: It was fire-resistant, an excellent insulator and dirt cheap.

Canada’s infrastructure relied heavily on asbestos from the early 1900s until it became clear the fibrous mineral was killing people at an alarming rate.

Even though authorities warned of its dangers as early as the 1940s and ’50s, it wasn’t until the early 1990s that asbestos ceased to be used in homes.

Bob Barter has inspected commercial and industrial buildings since 1975. He said many of the workplace-related deaths linked to asbestos resulted from the ignorance of all parties involved — from the companies who had workers install asbestos in the first place, to the workers who disregarded warning signs.

“The very first asbestos removal job I was ever involved in was in the old RCMP building in Richmond,” Barter explained. “We were doing highrisk removals with a half mask and a Nilfisk twin-head vacuum cleaner as our negative air unit.”

Supervisors would walk through an uncontaminated “clean” room wearing the same clothes that had asbestos fibres in them, Barter said.

That would end up being one of Barter’s only asbestos-removal jobs as a worker before he moved into a role as an inspector with Richmond-based environmental company Pinchin West.

“We were literally poisoning ourselves standing there doing this work,” he recalled.

Fast facts

Canada officially stopped exporting asbestos after 2011. In 2011, exports totalled $40.7 million, with 69 per cent of that going to India ($19.5 million) and Indonesia ($8.5 million). From 1990 to 2011, Canada exported $4.3 billion in raw asbestos to countries such as India, Indonesia and Japan.

Overall, Canada has shipped more than $100 million of asbestos to each of the following 12 countries: India, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, Mexico, South Korea, Colombia, Spain, France, Malaysia, Sri Lanka and Brazil. Canada’s asbestos industry employed hundreds of thousands of workers, although exact national figures are not known.

An estimated 50,000 workers from more than 100 countries worked at the Cassiar asbestos mine in northern B.C. before it was closed in 1992. — Owen Munro

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Program persuades people to take ?big risk with other people?s money,? economist says

The Province

A new interest-free loan program touted by the B.C. government as a boon to first-time homebuyers struggling to save for a down payment is drawing harsh criticism from economists and other experts who pan the proposal as a politically motivated move likely to inflate housing prices even further.

The program could end up boosting demand — and therefore prices — by encouraging even more people to compete over the same number of homes, said Joshua Gottlieb of the Vancouver School of Economics.

“It seems like a policy that does not reflect an understanding of the current markets or basic economics,” he said in an interview.

“This is actually not really promoting ownership. This is promoting owning a small share of a home and taking a big risk with other people’s money.”

The provincewide program provides a matching loan that is interest-free and payment-free for the first five years to residents buying their first home, capped at five per cent of a property’s purchase price to a maximum of $750,000. That means the government could contribute up to $37,500 for each eligible home purchase.

The province did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Premier Christy Clark has touted the program as an effective tool to help first-time buyers whose only barrier to home ownership is lack of a down payment.

The last thing the real estate market needs is stimulus, said Tom Davidoff, an economist and housing expert at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business.

“Nobody thinks the problem with Canada’s housing market, and in particular Vancouver’s housing market, is that it’s just too dead and the values are depressed and nobody wants to buy,” he said.

Nathanael Lauster, a sociologist at UBC, said the timing of the announcement is telling, coming in the lead-up to next year’s provincial election.

A program designed to juice up the housing market benefits developers and the real estate and construction industries, as well as homeowners and residents who are already wealthy enough to qualify for the loan, Lauster said. These are all groups that tend to support the B.C. Liberals, he said.

Paul Kershaw at the university’s school of population and public health saluted the province’s attempt at assisting young people, but said the move would inevitably drive up prices and encourage people to take on more debt.

“I can sum it up in four words: right intention, wrong execution,” he said.

Funding for the plan will come from a 15-per-cent tax on foreign homebuyers, a luxury tax on homes worth more than $2 million and from property-transfer tax revenues.

While academics appear unanimous in their criticism of the government’s Home Owner Mortgage and Equity Partnership program, the industry commends the initiative.

“Anything that assists first-time homebuyers get on that property ladder now is definitely a good thing,” said Paul Taylor, head of Mortgage Professionals Canada.

Neil Moody, CEO of the Canadian Home Builders Association of B.C., said the measure is about helping people start to build equity. The move is also important to safeguard the housing industry and the jobs it provides, he added.

Anne McMullin of the Urban Development Institute agreed, adding the financial risk to taxpayers would be minimal because buyers still need to qualify for a mortgage based on the new rules.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

Taking Bold Action on Housing

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1. Offers qualifying home buyers loans of up to $37,500, interest and payment free, for five years.
2. The province will begin accepting applications on January 16, 2017.
3. To qualify, buyers must:
   1. be buying their first home
   2. obtain a high-ratio, insured first mortgage for at least 80 per cent of the purchase price
   3. have a combined gross household income not exceeding $150,000
   4. have saved a down payment amount at least equal to the loan amount
   5. be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for at least five years
   6.  have lived in BC for at least the full year preceding their application.
4. The loans will be due in full if the buyer defaults on a payment, ceases to use the home as a principle residence or resells the home.
5.  The Facts:
   1. The loans will match a home buyer’s contribution to a down payment up to five per cent of the home’s purchase price
   2. The maximum purchase price to qualify for a loan is $750,000 (excluding taxes and fees)
   3. After five years, buyers can either repay their loan or enter into monthly payments at current interest rates
   4. Loans through the program are due after 25 years.

View poster which describes the program which you can send out to any first time home buyers.

Every British Columbian deserves a place to call home. That is why we are taking action by controlling the cost of housing, increasing access to affordable rental units, and partnering with families to help make their dream of home ownership come true.

Achieving that dream can be challenging for first-time home buyers. With the launch of the B.C. HOME Partnership program, first-time home buyers have more options than ever to help them get their foot in the door.

Learn about the Housing Action programs you may qualify for today. Whether you are renting, buying or renovating, B.C. is working to keep housing affordable for you.

B.C. HOME Partnership

From middle class families to young professionals, first-time home buyers are looking to invest in a secure and stable future.

For many British Columbians dreaming of buying their first home, the hardest step is saving for a down payment. That is why the Province is partnering with British Columbians to help make that dream come true, through the B.C. Home Owner Mortgage and Equity (HOME) Partnership program.

Through the B.C. HOME Partnership program, the Province is helping first-time home buyers by contributing to the amount they have already saved for a down payment with a loan that is interest-free and payment-free for the first five years.

Here is how it works:

• The B.C. HOME Partnership program will meet the buyer’s contribution up to 5% of the home’s purchase price, to a maximum purchase price of $750,000.
• After five years, buyers can either repay their loan or enter into monthly payments at current interest rates.
• Loans through the program become due after 25 years – the same length as most mortgages.

The B.C. HOME Partnership program will start accepting applications Jan. 16, 2017. To apply, click here.

British Columbians buying their first home can also get help through other Housing Action programs like the First Time Home Buyers’ Program and the Newly Built Homes Exemption.

Housing Action

As B.C.’s economy and population continues to grow, it is important that we take bold action to ensure that all British Columbians have access to affordable and appropriate housing.

The Province’s commitment to Housing Action is driven by six key principles:

1. Ensuring the dream of home ownership remains within the reach of the middle class
2. Increasing housing supply
3. Smart transit expansion
4. Supporting first-time home buyers
5. Ensuring Consumer Protection
6. Increasing rental supply

Below you will learn how the Province is putting these principles into action.

Controlling the Cost of Housing

• As B.C.’s economy has grown, our housing market has attracted increased investment,. This has raised the overall cost of housing.
• To ensure that the dream of home ownership remains within reach of the middle class, the Province is taking action to control the cost of housing:
• 15% tax on foreign home buyers in Metro Vancouver
• 3% luxury tax on the purchase of homes over $2 million
• Property Transfer Tax revenue tied to a new Housing Priorities Initiative Fund used for investments in rental and social housing

Increasing Access to Affordable Rental Housing

• In 2016, B.C. committed to investing $855 million in to affordable rental housing – the largest housing investment in a single year by any province.
• This will support the construction of 4,900 new units of affordable housing across B.C.
• These units provide affordable housing options for those that need it most, including renters with low-to-moderate incomes, women and children, seniors, Aboriginal people, and people with disabilities.
• The Province has also taken action to enable the City of Vancouver to increase the supply of rental units.

Protecting Consumers from Risk

•  Following a review of the B.C. real estate industry’s self-regulation practices, it was determined that the sector had failed to adequately protect consumers.
• The Province took action to improve transparency, accountability and consumer protection, including:
• • Ending self-regulation of real estate industry
  • Increasing the power of the superintendent of real estate
  • Increasing penalties and fines for offences
  • Requiring higher standards for licensees

Helping Home Buyers

•  The Province offers a number of Housing Action Programs and Services to help British Columbians save money when purchasing or renovating a home.
• The Newly Built Home Exemption Program can save buyers up to $13,000 when purchasing a newly built home.
• The First Time Home Buyers’ Program can save buyers up to $7,500 when purchasing their first home.
• Through the new B.C. HOME Partnership program, the Province is partnering with British Columbians to provide about $703 million in loans over the next three years, to help around 42,000 B.C. households enter the housing market for the first time.

To learn about B.C.’s strategy for smart transit expansion, check out our 10-year transportation plan BC On The Move.

Housing Action Programs and Services

The Province provides a number of Housing Action programs and services designed to keep housing affordable for those who need it most – including low-income British Columbians, families, people with disabilities, seniors and first-time home buyers.

Click on the links below to learn about the Housing Action programs and services you can access today.

• First Time Home Buyers
• Help Paying Your Property Taxes
• Improving Your Home
• Rental Assistance

The Greater Toronto Area real estate still rising

Steve Randall
REP

Home prices in the Greater Toronto Area continued to rise to unprecedented levels in November, the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) says.

Its latest assessment of the market shows that the tight inventory at the end of November was only 84 homes more than in August (which had the lowest inventory on record) at 15,184; adding pressure to already-high prices.

Low rise homes accounted for just 13 per cent of available inventory with just 789 of those single-family detached homes. Inventory of high-rise homes was also lower in November.

“The low inventory story is not only about low-rise – high-rise inventories have been on a downward path over the past 3 years,” said Patricia Arsenault, Executive Vice President of Research Consulting Services at Altus Data Solutions, BILD’s official data source. “Total available inventory in November was the lowest November level we have seen since we first started to track this data in 2000.”

The average price of new condos in the GTA reached $493,137, a 10 per cent increase from a year ago while the average price of new detached homes in the GTA hit $1,230,961 in November, up 27 per cent from last year.

“The industry is building to government policy and building far fewer low-rise homes, especially detached single-family homes, but demand has not dropped with the supply so prices continue to increase,” said Michelle Noble, Vice President of Communications, Marketing and Media Relations at BILD. 

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

Housing correction is coming

Cheryl Chan
The Vancouver Sun

The forecast for a double-digit price drop in Vancouver’s housing market makes for a nice or nasty surprise for 2017, depending on where you are on the property ladder, but experts say it still won’t make the city affordable.

Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper said prices are headed for double-digit decline in 2017 as buyers drop out of the market.

“Home prices had got so out of whack with the growth in underlying wages and salaries that there had to be a correction,” said Soper. “And it’ll happen in 2017.”

Royal LePage, a unit of Brookfield Real Estate Services, is preparing a formal forecast for release in early January based on data from Brookfield, which also runs the nation’s biggest property valuation company. Those appraisals are used by banks, insurance companies and mortgage underwriters.

“We’re looking at all these trends,” Soper said. “If it’s not double digit, it’ll be close to it.”

The prediction is the latest in a series of reports by real estate groups and financial institutions forecasting a long-awaited correction in Vancouver’s overheated housing market.

Last month, the B.C. Real Estate Association released a report predicting an 8.7 per cent drop in home prices in the region for 2017, with the average MLS price dropping from $1.03 million in 2016 to $940,000 next year.

In October, the National Bank predicted a 20 per cent decline in the price of detached homes in Vancouver, a nine per cent drop for attached homes, and five per cent price decrease for condos.

There’s no question the market is getting buffeted by headwinds, said University of B.C. economist Tom Davidoff.

Recent government interventions such as the 15 per cent foreign homebuyers’ tax and tighter mortgage rules have cooled the market but are not yet fully reflected in prices, Davidoff said. “I think it’s a reasonable guess prices are going to end lower in the year than how it started.” 

But he said cheaper housing prices are not a sure thing.

Interest rates, housing supply, foreign demand from China, the exchange rate, as well as the province’s new interest-free loan program for qualified first-time home buyers announced last week, are all factors that could affect real estate prices in Vancouver, even tip the playing field in favour of a price increase.

“I’m not ruling it out,” Davidoff said, noting there is a broad range in the statistical distribution of where prices could be in 2017. Some indicate a decline as low as 50 per cent, while others suggest a jump in prices.

The mid-range forecasts, however, point to a modest correction following months of slumping sales in the Greater Vancouver market.

Typically, there’s about a six-month lag between the time demand starts to slow and prices begin to fall, Soper said from his Toronto office. “Thank goodness there’s going to be a measure of sanity returning to the market,” he said. “It’ll be healthy for the industry.”

Still, those expecting Vancouver to become affordable again may be in for a disappointment.

The typical single-family house has surged past $1.51 million, about 20 times the median household income in the region and more than 20 per cent more than what it cost in November 2015. A 10 per cent decrease would only bring prices back to about where they were in March.

“We are never going to be cheap,” noted Davidoff.

In a tumultuous world, Canada will remain a prized destination and haven. “Having a stable democracy with a beautiful environment, over time, is going to be a real strength of Vancouver,” he said. “In the long run, I’m reluctant to bet against Vancouver, but in the short run I can see the risks.”

B.C. housing critic David Eby sees a “no-win” situation in Vancouver’s housing market, one he blamed on government inaction.

A double-digit price dip will be “quite severe” for the many homeowners who heavily-leveraged themselves to get into the market the last few years.

“If prices stay where they are, families can’t afford to live in Vancouver. If they fall, a lot of families will be hurt … I can’t see an outcome here that has a happy ending for many people.”

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc.

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Property owners in BC will start to receive 2017 property assessment notices in early January 2017. These notices are prepared by BC Assessment, a provincial Crown corporation that classifies and values all real property in British Columbia. Visit the BC Assessment website to learn more about assessment notices (link is external) and property values (link is external).

The Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia (LTSA) is responsible for administering the land title and survey systems of BC that provide the foundation for all real property business and ownership in the province. The LTSA delivers secure land titles through timely, efficient registration of land title interests and survey records. Your title is a source of some of the information shown on your property assessment notice.

Contact BC Assessment (link is external) if:

• You did not receive an assessment notice (link is external). The 2017 property assessment notices are prepared using information current as of November 30, 2016. If your property transaction occurred after this date, the information may not have been included in the assessment roll used to generate the notices.
• You need to discuss your assessment with a representative.

If your address information needs to be updated, you must notify both organizations:

• BC Assessment: update your address in the assessment roll (link is external).
• LTSA: update your address on title using Form 15, and submit it to a land title office.

The LTSA also handles any name changes required to the assessment notice. Complete Form 17 –  Change Name and submit it to a land title office in person or by mail. Learn more about what else is needed to change a name on title.

The general public should contact lawyers or notaries to conduct filings, such as removing the name of a deceased person from title.

Customers can sign up for a myLTSA Explorer account to conduct searches for titles or plans, or use the services of a Registry Agent to obtain copies of documents. See Hire a Professional to Assist You for contact details.

The LTSA does not provide legal advice and cannot assist customers with completing application forms for land title registration or conduct title searches over the telephone.

Copyright © 2016 Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia.

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

Sales of homes in British Columbia will contract noticeably next year, the Canadian Real Estate Association announced on December 15.
 
In its update to its outlook on resale housing, CREA said that annual sales in B.C. will decline by 12.2 per cent in 2017. Average sale prices in the province have also been predicted to drop by 7.8 per cent in the same time frame, CBC News reported.
 
“This largely reflects an anticipated decline in single family home sales activity at the higher end of the market — particularly in the Lower Mainland,” CREA stated.
 
Ontario sales will also fall by 2.7 per cent, while prices will grow by 1 per cent.
 
“Transactions in B.C. and Ontario are anticipated to remain strong but fall short of this year’s record levels due to deteriorating affordability, an ongoing shortage of affordably priced listings for single family homes and tightened mortgage regulations,” CREA explained.
 
Aside from these two hotspots, the association said that sales will slow down in Saskatchewan, P.E.I., Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador.
 
All of these developments will mirror the slight slowdown that will be evident in 2017’s national sales numbers, which will drop by 3.3 per cent compared to the projected figures for 2016.
 
TD Bank economist Diana Petramala noted that the forecasts shouldn’t come as a surprise given that mortgage rates have already been going up since October.
 
“Rising interest rates tend to slow the market with a one- to two-quarter lag,” Petramala said. “As such, the combination of these factors will work to cool the market through 2017 and 2018. However, the inertia related to tight conditions in Toronto and its surrounding areas should keep these markets going for a few months more.”

Copyright © 2016 Key Media Pty Ltd

Western Investor

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Western Investor

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