other

Most owners of condos that they rent out do not have liability insurance – if tenant does not have content insurance and owner does not have condo tenant liability insurance then if a tenant floods the suite, the owner will have to pay out of pocket.

Here is an interviewed with Sarah Thompson from Hub International Insurance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WAoWByQuGHk

Fraserview co-op signals change in financing affordable housing

Kim Pemberton
The Vancouver Sun

A new co-operative housing project, near the Fraser River off Marine Drive, is under construction after the City of Vancouver donated land to the Vancouver Community Land Trust run under the auspices of the Co-Operative Housing Federation of B.C.

The new Fraserview Housing Co-op, which will provide 278 homes in two residential towers at 2910 East Kent Ave., is expected to open by the end of 2017. It is part of a new approach being taken to creating affordable housing in the province. 

The federation set up the Vancouver Community Land Trust in 2014. Besides the two residential towers now under construction on Kent Avenue, the trust is working in partnership with two smaller, non-profit housing providers to provide more housing on other city-donated land sites, so there will be 358 new homes in total (including the Fraserview Housing co-op that will be in the two residential towers).

One of the non-profits is Tikva Housing Society, which will provide 32 townhomes — also at the Fraserview site — for working, low-income Jewish adults and families. The other non-profit is Sanford Housing Society, which has a 48-unit project on Kingsway slated to open in March. That complex will provide homes to low-income singles — half of whom are people living with mental illness.

The Co-Operative Housing Federation of B.C. is now in talks with the municipalities of Surrey, Maple Ridge and North Cowichan to see if land donations in those communities can result in new affordable housing, said federation executive director Thom Armstrong.

“Co-ops are a vital part of the solution for new affordable housing going forward. They’re all non-profit, so if you are a municipality it’s a smart thing to do with assets of land by investing in a land trust,” said Armstrong.

The waiting list for applicants for the Fraserview Housing Co-op will not be open until next spring. However, both the Tikva Housing Society and the Sanford Housing Society are accepting applications. Both non-profits have contributed almost $4 million to the projects. B.C. Housing also provided $4 million of project development funding.

The federation helped create the Athletes Village Co-op in 2011, that has 84 units, through the Vancouver Community Land Trust. And, in 2015, the federation created the Community Land Trust Foundation of B.C., with the goal of acquiring, creating and preserving affordable housing in the province.

In the past, co-ops in B.C. were mostly built between 1972 and 1992 and were funded by the federal government.

“Part of the problem around housing affordability is we need to build actual affordable housing — for governments to put money on the table and to partner with non-profits like the co-op (federation),” said Marc Lee, a senior economist with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

“But that ended in the early 1990s when the federal government pulled out for budgetary reasons for (financing) new construction. The main barrier to them now being created is upfront capital. But once it’s built you have the revenue stream attached to it from rents. They tend to pay for themselves in 20 to 25 years,” said Lee.

He noted it would take 5,000 new units a year to keep up with the demand for affordable housing in B.C., according to estimates from the B.C. Non-Profit Housing Association.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

THIND Properties receives three finalist nods

JODIE WARREN
The Province

A finalist in three Georgie Award categories for its highly successful Pixel project in Burnaby, THIND Properties Ltd. is gearing up to launch its biggest development to date: Lumina.

Located at on the south side of Beta Avenue in Burnaby’s Brentwood area, Lumina is a fourtower residential project that is just minutes from the Brentwood Town Centre Sky-Train station.

Bonnie Leung, sales and marketing manager for THIND, says homes in Lumina will have many features that will set it apart from other condominiums in the region. “We will be offering fullsized appliance packages from Bosch, air conditioning in all units, and very spacious floorplans with nine-foot ceilings,” she says, noting that these high-end features still come with an affordable price tag. “Lumina is going to be ‘Brentwood’s best value’,” she says.

The target market for the homes, which come in one-, two- and threebedroom configurations, is chiefly younger buyers. “We feel that the younger demographic will find the location to be very appealing,” says Leung. “Brentwood is quickly becoming known as the ‘new downtown’. It has great amenities, access to transit and less than half an hour to downtown Vancouver. In addition, you are getting much more space than you would in a typical Vancouver condo.”

The project, which will feature extensive landscaping, including garden plots and walking paths, is also walking distance to schools, parks, grocery stores, restaurants and Brentwood Mall, which is undergoing a massive redevelopment.

THIND plans to begin marketing homes in the first tower of Lumina in early 2017. Those interested in registering can do so by visiting the project’s website at: www. luminabrentwood.com.

THIND’s marketing efforts for Lumina will likely be as impressive as they were for Pixel. That project has earned the company recognition as a finalist for Best Advertising Campaign, Best Sales Centre, and the Grand Georgie category for Marketing Campaign of the Year. The 101-unit residential project, which consists of a four-storey building with ground-level commercial space, is located on Kingsway and Gilley between Metrotown and Edmonds. Key features of Pixel include well-designed, smart floor plans, low maintenance fees and in-suite flex space that can easily be converted for an office or guest room.

Leung says the campaign for Pixel, created in partnership with MAC Marketing Solutions, focused on the building’s name, which was in turn inspired by the building’s design. “When you look at the building from a distance, the windows and balconies look like pixelated images,” she says. “So we created the brand from that image. It had a very fun feel to it, and the incorporation of pink in the logo really made it pop. The brand was very identifiable and contributed greatly to success of Pixel, which sold out very quickly.”

She adds that the Georgie nomination is greatly appreciated by THIND, which has been building homes – from single-family to condominiums — in the Lower Mainland for 20 years. “The year 2016 has been incredible for THIND, from the success of Pixel to the birth of Lumina,” she says. “We’re beyond thrilled to end the year by becoming a finalist in three Georgie Award categories.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Burnaby highrise design recalls ?sleek geometry? of luxury automobile

MICHAEL BERNARD
The Vancouver Sun

Project: Imperial

Project Address: 5051 Imperial St., Burnaby

Project Scope: A total of 169 one-, two-, two-bedroom-and-den, and three-bedroom homes, including 13 townhomes with street access, in a 26-storey concrete highrise tower in the southernmost part of the Metrotown community plan. Access to both Expo and Millennium SkyTrain lines and the Central Valley Greenway bike route.

Prices: Current pricing from $473,900; for additional pricing information, call the sales centre

Size: from 535 to 1,115 square feet

Developer: Amacon Development Corp.

Architect: Chris Dikeakos Architects Inc.

Interior Designer: False Creek Design Group

Sales centre: 4700 Imperial St., Burnaby

Centre hours: Noon to 5 p.m., Sat — Thurs 

Sales phone: 604-436-5550

Website: www.imperialbyamacon.com

Occupancy: Early 2019

An architect’s inspiration for a building can come from anywhere: movies, myths, songs — even the design-rich world of the automobile.

For senior architect Robert Duke it was the name “Imperial”— Amacon’s Development’s highrise residential offering in the Metrotown neighbourhood of Burnaby — that triggered a rush of ideas about the building’s design.

“With every new project I do, I visit the site to see anything that may be referential to the design of the building,” said the senior associate at Chris Dikeakos Architects. “And in this case, the client had already decided that they were going to use the street name, Imperial, for the building which will sit on Imperial street.”

“As I was driving around, I noticed some older cars in the area, which kind of tweaked me on to Imperial, as in the car,” he said, referring to the luxury automobile Chrysler built between 1926 to 1993 to compete with GM’s Cadillac and Ford’s Lincoln Continental.

 “They were beautiful and long and they have a very nice grille, said Duke. “ So I was trying to think about how I could incorporate that kind of sleek geometry into the building,

“I was interested in making the balconies on the east side and the west side really long continuous ones that end up having a profile of the grille of the (Chrysler Imperial) radiator. It was like the grille floating above the ground.”

Duke said there were other factors that ultimately determined the design of the 26-storey concrete tower, including the odd L-shaped lot. In order to accommodate the client’s call for ground-level townhomes, he designed a “skybridge” that joined one arm of the “L” to the main building. The 13 street-level two-floor townhouses — some stacked one above the other—include some live-work models with 350-square-foot work spaces with direct access to the street.

The separated townhouse also allowed for the creation of a dramatic lobby with 18-foot-high ceilings and a porte-cochere — a covered area for cars to drop off passengers — which was well received by the City of Burnaby.

As well, the project’s name made the choice of colour for the building’s façade — panels done in a shade of royal blue — an obvious one, he said.

The luxury theme has been carried through in other aspects of Imperial, including “a hotel-inspired concept” for the interiors of the 169 homes, says Grace Austin, manager of marketing and sales for developer Amacon.

“Given that Amacon owns and operates the Loden Hotel (in downtown Vancouver), it was a concept we felt comfortable with,” she said. “We wanted that first coming-in-the-door experience to be like walking into a hotel.” Owners will have the benefit of a true concierge “rather than a security guard in a uniform,” refrigerated parcel service, art sculptures in the lobby and even bones for owners’ dogs. Three high-speed elevators serve the homes above.

Inside the homes, Amacon is offering a package of specs that exceed the average offerings, including three colour options of cashmere grey, pearl white and suede (natural wood). Each suite has ample his-and-her walk-in closets, vanities with pull-out wire basket organizer drawers, and the option of a hotel-style safe for personal valuables in the master bedroom ensuite. Air conditioning is standard.

The hotel concept was adopted with the end user in mind, said Louise Noon, an associate with False Creek Design Group, which worked with Amacon on the interiors.

“We also work with some major hotel hospitality brands and where we can we try and bring that into a residential product.,” said Noon. “It’s a very tailored approach to the interiors and there is a lot of consideration given to selecting high performance finishes and lifestyle enhancement features.”

Common amenities are luxurious, but affordable, Austin said. They include a games room, meeting room, music room, a fitness centre, a yoga/dance studio and a large dining hall where owners can host parties “for 50 people, where everyone gets a seat.”

A social lounge area spills on to outdoor furnished and landscaped space Amacon has provided for garden plots for residents, she said.

The suites themselves feature wide-plank laminate wood floors, roller shades on all windows, and nine-foot ceilings in most areas of the home. Kitchens feature a 30-inch integrated appliance package (24-inch in the one-bedroom home), a convection wall oven and five-burner cooktop , a slide-out fan and microwave with trim kit in most homes, an integrated dishwasher and a microwave with trim. All homes have a large-capacity front-loading washer and dryer.

Cabinetry is full height soft-close doors and drawers. The waterfall style countertop is made of polished quartz stone. The large-format 24-inch tiled backsplash is in stone-style travertine, onyx or marble.

Polished quartz stone is also used in the bathroom, which features a modern rectangular porcelain sink. The ensuite bathroom includes a frameless glass shower with a rain head and a handheld wand. The medicine cabinet is framed and mirrored with an extended ledge.

Underground, residents will have exclusive use of a BMW i3 electric vehicle and a bike-share program, a bike repair bench and two stalls for washing cars.

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc

Shell companies, nominees and trusts mask the real buyers

SAM COOPER
The Vancouver Sun

Almost half of Vancouver’s 100 most expensive homes are bought using shell companies or other financial tools that obscure the identity of the true owners, a report from anti-corruption group Transparency International says.

The report, which focuses on money laundering and tax evasion vulnerabilities in Canadian real estate through a study of Vancouver luxury homes, slams Canada for failing to close home-ownership loopholes related to shell companies, trusts and nominees.

The report concludes the prevalence of non-transparent ownership in B.C. luxury real estate makes it impossible to measure how much offshore cash is invested in B.C. homes, even though B.C. is attempting to collect data on foreign ownership.

“An influx of overseas capital is one of several causes of rising property prices (in Vancouver and Toronto), but the extent and impact of foreign investment remains unknown since very little data is collected on property owners,” the report says. “Individuals can use shell companies, trusts and nominees to hide their beneficial interest in Canadian real estate.”

Compared to other advanced economies, Canada has weak transparency laws, the report states. Transparency International is a non-government coalition that studies global corruption and advocates legal reforms to fight financial crimes.

“Though Canada is not known as a global hub for money laundering and tax evasion, our legal framework and lax enforcement environment make it easy for individuals to misuse private companies and trusts,” it says. “Anonymous companies and trusts are the getaway cars of financial crime. … Canada is an increasingly attractive destination for those looking to park and invest the proceeds of crime.”

The report notes that Canada has for unknown reasons failed to live up to its international commitments to close loopholes that are abused by financial criminals, and a resulting “secrecy regime” has emerged.

To illustrate the point, the report notes that “as a testament to the secrecy afforded in Canada, the law firm at the centre of the Panama Papers leak, Mossack Fonseca, marketed Canada to its clients as an attractive place to set up anonymous companies.”

In examining Vancouver’s 100 most valuable homes, the report found that 46 per cent — amounting to more than $1 billion in assets — have opaque ownership. Of the 100 properties, 29 are held through shell companies, at least 11 are owned through nominees (listed as students or housewives on land titles), and at least six are disclosed as being held in trust for anonymous beneficiaries, the report says.

Trusts are private contracts — which are sometimes voluntarily disclosed to protect the owner’s interests — but they do not have to be registered in Canada or listed on land titles, report author Adam Ross said in an interview with Postmedia. Therefore, it is impossible to know how many of the 100 homes examined are owned through undisclosed trusts, Ross said.

“Looking at these 100 homes is a good indication that we have no way of knowing who really owns property in B.C.,” Ross said. “It should be ringing alarm bells for most Canadians … this is the perfect storm for people outside Canada to come to the weakest link for potential money laundering in real estate.”

Trusts and shell companies can be used in B.C., the report states, to avoid property transfer taxes. Ross said there are legitimate reasons for commercial real estate to be transferred through companies without triggering property tax. But this “tax loophole is also available to owners of residential property that is held through shell companies,” the report states.

In an interview, UBC real estate economist Tsur Somerville said he can see legitimate uses of some of the ownership structures outlined in the Transparency International report. For example, using companies to transfer ownership shares in companies that own multiple properties without triggering property tax is reasonable, Somerville said. But, he said, “I think it is different for single unit properties.”

Ross said crime groups in Canada are believed to hide ownership with the means outlined in the report, and a host of factors he looked at suggest the methods are also used by foreign buyers. The report notes that a 2016 report from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, an inter-government anti-money-laundering agency, says corrupt officials from China are known to use obscure ownership structures to launder money in Vancouver real estate.

It is also impossible, the report states, to judge how many nominees are represented in the sample of 100 luxury homes.

A nominee is a person who appears as owner on the title of a home but is not the real buyer. For the purposes of the report, Ross classified students and housewives on land titles as nominees.

Of the 42 luxury properties in the sample that were sold in the last five years, 26 per cent were owned on paper by students or homemakers, the report says. But “only one of the 58 homes bought before 2011 is owned through an obvious nominee,” the report says.

The report cites a recent Postmedia story that revealed a student from China had bought a Point Grey mansion for $31.1 million.

“Though the value of the transaction was unique, the deal is part of a wider trend whereby unemployed individuals are acquiring luxury property in the city with other people’s capital,” the report says.

“These individuals have no source of employment income and are likely nominees for family or friends.”

The use of nominee owners is a common tool for money laundering through real estate, according to an RCMP case study, the report says. Also, “beneficial owners can use nominees to avoid or evade tax by claiming principal residence or first-time homebuyer exemptions,” the report says.

Shell companies, defined as companies with no business operations that are only used to hold assets, are ripe for abuse in B.C., Ross said.

The report says in Canada there is no need to show documentation to prove your identity as a company owner, and owners can list other people as nominees and directors, and in B.C. shareholders don’t have to be identified.

“A recent study found that of 60 countries around the world — including known tax havens and secrecy jurisdictions — only in Kenya and a select few U.S. states is it easier to set up an untraceable company than it is in Canada,” the report states. “In Canada, more rigorous identity checks are done for individuals getting library cards than for those setting up companies.”

The report cites several examples of anonymous home ownership through foreign registered companies. In one case, a $57- million Point Grey property is owned through a shell company in the British Virgin Islands. In another, an anonymous owner bought two penthouses in the Fairmont Pacific Rim for $40 million in 2013, through a company in the United Arab Emirates.

The report recommends the federal government establish a central registry of companies and trusts and their true beneficial owners, which is a measure already taken in the United Kingdom and due to be established in other First-World economies.

“Anonymous companies and trusts deprive treasuries of billions of dollars in tax revenues each year, add considerable cost to law enforcement, and hinder asset recovery,” the report says. Establishing a registry of hidden owners would save the government money and “would also help to level the playing field, ensuring that responsible taxpayers do not shoulder the burden for those seeking to skirt the system.”

The report recommends that “beneficial ownership information should be included on property title documents, and no property deal should be allowed to proceed without that disclosure. In cases where a property is held through a nominee, this should be explicitly stated and the identity of the beneficiary should be disclosed.”

© 2016 Postmedia Network Inc

In a real estate crash, the pain goes beyond falling house prices

TED RECHTSHAFFEN
The Vancouver Sun

Canadian real estate prices only have three main directions they can go: Up, flat or down.

Now that we have gotten that out of the way, this article is about what happens if they go down. It is not a prediction, but just trying to paint a picture of just what might be in store for Canadians — and outlining things you can do today to protect yourself.

For the sake of excitement, let’s say that there is a solid decline of 25 per cent from today’s prices. It can certainly happen.

From 1989 to 1996 Toronto average home prices dropped 36 per cent.

In 1980, Vancouver average home prices dropped over 40 per cent within one year.

But is the worst of your trouble simply the drop in value of your house?

Unfortunately, that is only the biggest of a long list of worries if we face a major house price decline. These would likely include:

Your investment portfolio would be hit hard if you own Canadian bank stocks, Canadian REITs, Canadian mortgage and mortgage insurer stocks. Also look to declines in any retailer or manufacturer of appliances or building materials with significant exposure to the Canadian market.

Your taxes will go up. This will happen because the gravy boat of real estate-related revenues will need to be replaced. This is particularly true of your municipal government.

You might see a tax hit due to our collective ownership of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). The very large government-owned mortgage insurer provides mortgage guarantees (among other services) on many of the most vulnerable loans. These are often for homeowners who may have only 10 per cent down on a house. In the event of a 25 per cent price decline, these people would now owe 15 per cent more on their mortgage than the value of their house. I can tell you that many of the recent changes to mortgage rules in Canada are tied very closely to the government’s great fear of what will happen to CMHC if there is a house price meltdown. In total, current mortgage insurance in force stands at $523 billion!

If you are a real estate builder or developer, real estate agent, mortgage broker, real estate lawyer, provider of title insurance or any other job that is directly related to Canadian real estate, clearly there will be a direct employment impact to you. But what about others? How many cars, cottages, boats, vacations, high-end watches, nice restaurant meals, and the list could go on, have been bought by those who are directly employed by the real estate industry? Assume that every one of those industries will suffer a hit as spending falls.

What about all of the Canadians who are real estate rich? In Canada today there is a little under $2 trillion of household credit, of which over $1.4 trillion is directly related to borrowing against real estate. Imagine all of the spending that Canadians do that is in part funded by either the actual dollars borrowed against their house or the added confidence that their ever-growing house value provides. On both fronts many Canadians will pull back on their overall spending because of a 25 per cent decline in house values. This will hit the Canadian economy across the board.

Selling your house at that point may not save you. It can help, but what might take a week to do in a hot market could take you a year to do when you are desperate, unless you want to take an even bigger loss on your house.

To summarize this doomsday scenario, your house value will drop and selling will be tough, your taxes will go up, your investment portfolio will suffer, the economy will drop and possibly you will lose your job. You must be thrilled that you ever read this article.

Is there anything you can do to avoid getting hit on all fronts? I believe there are four things that you can do today to minimize the pain from a very bad Canadian real estate market:

If more than 60 per cent of your total net worth or equity exposure is in Canadian real estate, you might want to consider selling or downsizing to lower that exposure. For example, if you have non-real estate assets worth $400,000 and a $1 million house and a $400,000 mortgage, I would suggest you have $1 million of net worth, and your equity exposure to real estate is actually 100 per cent. This person would have to sell their home, and buy something worth $600,000 or less to get to a 60 per cent real estate exposure.

How directly is your employment tied to the Canadian real estate market? The harder your job would be hit from a decline in real estate values, the more important that 60 per cent number becomes for you in point No. 1. In fact, you may want to use a 50 per cent number.

You likely have complete freedom in how your RRSPs and other funds are invested. Take a hard look at your exposure to Canadian real estate in your investment portfolio. If you are overly exposed in item number one or two above, then it is even more important to have meaningful investment exposure outside of Canada or at least outside of Canadian financials, mortgage funds and REITs. We see too many people who believe that these sectors are bullet proof, but unfortunately they are layering on added risk to their large personal Canadian real estate exposure.

The final item is to review your debt exposure. When times are tough, cash is king and debt can be a tremendous weight. It is at those times when you need it most that your income and investments can suffer. If your debt minus your non-registered investment assets is more than double your annual household income, then you should take a hard look at how you will be able to manage a recession.

Nobody really knows which way the Canadian real estate market is headed from here. What we do know is that for much of the country, the past 20 years have been quite kind to real estate. We also know that real estate has cycles just like every other investment, and it has been quite a while since we have seen a sizable decline. It is definitely coming. It is only a question of when. Don’t act like you are immune.

© 2010-2017 Postmedia Network Inc

Condo building can ban sharing services

DREW HASSELBACK
The Vancouver Sun

In a ruling that could have wider implications, an Ontario court has said that condominium corporations have the authority to ban unit owners from renting out their properties on services such as Airbnb or Expedia.

In a 14-page decision released Thursday, Justice Robert Beaudoin of the Ontario Superior Court ruled that the owners of an Ottawa condo unit violated the “single family use” provision in the condo’s “declaration” because they had been making their unit available for short-term rentals on nine web sites, among them Airbnb, Expedia.ca, Kayak.com, hotels.com and Orbitz.com.

“‘Single family use’ cannot be interpreted to include one’s operation of a hotel-like business, with units being offered to complete strangers on the internet, on a repeated basis, for durations as short as a single night,” Justice Beaudoin writes.

The rule is based on the judge’s interpretation of Ontario’s Condominium Act, but it could have implications in other provinces with similar legislation.

“I would suspect that in most common law jurisdictions — that’s all of them except Quebec — a similar concept would apply,” says, Rod Escayola, the lawyer in the Ottawa office of Gowling WLG who argued the case on behalf of the condo building, Ottawa-Carleton Standard Condominium Corp. No. 961.

Douglas Menzies and his wife Norma White offered stays in their Ottawa condo unit through their private company, DGM Management Corp. The listings offered access to their unit, as well as the condo’s parking, exercise room, pool and common spaces. According to the court decision, the Airbnb listing asked that guests “be discreet about mentioning Airbnb to anyone in the building.”

The condo corp argued in court that making the unit available for short-term stays violated the condo’s “declaration.” This is the legal document that created the condo corp and that limits how unit owners can use the property. The condo corp also argued the rentals breached a rule the building introduced in April that bars unit owners from renting out their properties for terms of less than four months.

Judges have enforced four-month lease minimums in the past, so it was no surprise that Justice Beaudoin confirmed the Ottawa condo corp’s ability to impose the four-month lease limit. What’s important and novel about the Ottawa case is that Justice Beaudoin also found that short-term rentals breached the declaration.

Ontario law allows condo boards to adopt rules that govern things such as the number of pets a unit owners can keep or when residents can use the pool.

Rules can also govern short-term rental periods. Still, unit owners might argue these rules shouldn’t apply retroactively, especially if they’d been renting out their units before the rule kicked in. They might claim a “grandfather” exemption to the short-term rental ban. Banning short-term rentals at the declaration level wipes out that argument. The declaration is the pinnacle in the hierarchy of documents that govern a condo corp. It ranks in a superior position to the rules, and it’s a very difficult document to amend.

Escayola thinks the Ottawa decision gives a condo corp with a “single family use” provision in its declaration the power to enforce bans short-term rentals, even retroactively. Such provisions are a common feature of Ontario condo declarations. Condo lawyers in other parts of Canada will likely study the Ottawa decision to see if the reasoning will apply in their jurisdictions.

“I think it’s going to be a game changer in the province of Ontario.” Escayola said.

The declaration for the 244-unit Ottawa condo on Metcalfe Street has a provision that limits use “only for the purpose of a single family dwelling, which includes a home office … and no other purpose.”

Justice Beaudoin analyzed the phrase “single family use.” He found that it contemplates something more than short-term sleeping quarters or a hotel-like operation. Single family use, he said, is “incompatible” with the concepts such as check-in and check-out times, security deposits, cancellation policies, cleaning fees, what to do with dirty sheets and towels, and credit card payments.

Menzies is a lawyer. The judge considered arguments that the unit was sometimes used for law firm functions, to prepare expert witnesses for trial and to house out-of-town witnesses. He also considered the point that access to the condo unit was auctioned to raise funds for not-for-profit organizations.

The judge rejected those uses as fitting within the definition of single family use. “What has happened in this case is a commercial use of the unit,” he ruled.

© 2016 National Post

DERRICK PENNER
The Vancouver Sun

The pace of construction of new housing in Metro Vancouver in 2016 has already smashed a record, with even more starts expected before the end of the year.

Metro Vancouver builders began construction of 2,651 housing units in November, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported on Thursday, bringing the 2016 total to 25,760. That is projected to hit 27,495 by the end of the year.

And 2016 will be the first year in the past five in which housing starts have kept up with the growth in new households — families moving here or being set up here by young people.

While CHMC expects home construction will ease in 2017, it still expects a busy year, as continuing growth in households spurs relatively high levels of new construction, despite a slowing of the real estate market.

“Sometimes we have starts that are higher than household formations, then next year it will reverse,” said Robyn Adamache, CMHC’s principal market analyst for the region. “It’s kind of volatile that way, but I think it’s safe to say we are certainly not overbuilding.”

We expect the first six to nine months of 2017 to be near full-out production for most of our builders”

Figures for formation of households haven’t been reported for 2016. But Adamache said CMHC estimates that, in the past five years, there were 158,100 new families in Metro, but only 152,000 new homes built, a shortfall of 5,000 (this figure doesn’t count new homes built to replace ones that were demolished).

CMHC forecasts that Metro Vancouver housing starts will ease to between 21,500 and 23,500 in 2017 and to between 20,000 and 22,000 in 2018.

Adamache said the strength of B.C.’s job market supports housing starts remaining at relatively high levels.

In the first half of 2016, housing starts were partly driven by a lack of supply in Metro Vancouver’s frenzied resale housing market, Adamache said.

Now, the factors that have contributed to a slowing of re-sales across the region — such as the province’s 15-per-cent tax on foreign buyers, and changes in mortgage insurance rules that make it tougher for first-time buyers to qualify for loans — will influence demand for housing starts.

“The unknown is consumer sentiment,” Adamache said, “not only related to mortgage changes but just in general how consumer confidence is (faring).”

It takes some time for changes in sentiment to affect housing starts, many of which are planned long in advance and based on the advanced sale of unbuilt units, according to Robert de Wit, CEO of the Greater Vancouver Home Builders Association.

“We expect the first six to nine months of 2017 to be near full-out production for most of our builders,” de Wit said.

“(But) there is going to be a bit of cooling off,” de Wit said. “The consensus is that (construction) is going to slow down to the pace of two years ago.” But that’s still busy, he said.

Segments of Metro Vancouver’s property market are in “a bit of a staring contest,” said Michael Ferreira, managing principal of the research firm Urban Analytics, as buyers and sellers wait to gauge the impact the foreign buyers tax and mortgage changes have on prices.

Ferreira said prices on the new-construction side of the real-estate market appear to be hitting a ceiling, particularly in townhouse developments.

“Price escalation has slowed, if not stopped completely,” he said.

However, builders can respond quickly if they sense bigger changes in the market, said Tom Davidoff, an assistant professor in the Sauder School of Business at the University of B.C.

“If there was a crash, you’d see projects, even zoned projects, not (take out building) permits,” Davidoff said.

He said developers will likely slow down land purchases and rezoning activities first.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Ephraim Vecina
REP

 

Real estate professionals who are looking to increase their proficiency and improve their presence in the digital world should ensure that the consumer enjoys the same level of customer experience both online and offline.
 
In the recent MPC National Conference, Andrew Lo of Kanetix Ltd. said that it’s high time for industry professionals to begin considering “strategy” and “digital strategy” as the same thing.
 
“There is not digital strategy, only strategy in a digital world,” Lo stated, as quoted by CMT.
 
Lo highlighted the crucial role that smartphones play in the current landscape, saying that this contains the richest pool of potential clients. The most effective way to take advantage of this fact is to create a website tailored for mobile use—a website that can grab and keep attention even on a small screen.
 
The natural progression from this point is to design the website in such a way that it allows potential customers to contact the industry professional without having to re-enter their data when they suddenly need to switch units (say, from mobile to desktop) for one reason or another.
 
“You need to tightly integrate your mobile and desktop experiences to allow for a smooth transition.”
 
Lo added that Google Analytics would be able to provide valuable information on how to optimize website design based on how visitors navigate, so it would be wise to connect one’s website to the platform.
 
“Make enhancements to the user experience based on data, not opinion,” he said.

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