Steve Randall
REP

Foreign buyers of homes in the Greater Golden Horseshoe make up only a small percentage of the market according to analysis by Toronto Real Estate Board.

It found that the proportion of buyers between 2008 and April 2017 with a mailing address outside Canada was less than 1 per cent; most of those had a US address.

The average share of foreign buyers during that 9-year period was 2.3 per cent and was 2.6 per cent in the first four months of 2017. Most (up to 90 per cent) of those bought their home to live in.

TREB also looked at flipping and found that the share of total transactions which saw homes bought and sold within a year was 5 per cent for 2016 and 7 per cent for the first four months of 2017.

The board has also released sales figures for the GTA for April 2017 showing a 3.2 per cent year-over-year decline to 11,630; although Easter was in April this year and March the year before.

New listings were up 33.6 per cent year-over-year to 21,630 while the average selling price rose 24.5 per cent to $920,791.

“The fact that we experienced extremely strong growth in new listings in April means that buyers benefitted from considerably more choice in the marketplace. It is too early to tell whether the increase in new listings was simply due to households reacting to the strong double-digit price growth reported over the past year or if some of the increase was also a reaction to the Ontario Government’s recently announced Fair Housing Plan,” said TREB president Larry Cerqua.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Residents of 3 Civic Plaza will enjoy high-end living

ROBIN BRUNET
The Province

When homebuyers are given the opportunity to “live above it all” in a residential tower with high-end amenities, what is the result?

In the case of 3 Civic Plaza, Surrey’s tallest residential tower situated in the midst of Surrey City Centre’s gleaming new civic plaza, it results in over 95 per cent of all available suites sold in a remarkably short space of time.

As this project nears completion, luxurious two-bedroom plans are available from the 26th to 49th floors, with panoramic views of Metro Vancouver, the North Shore mountains and the Fraser Valley. (At 52 storeys, 3 Civic Plaza rises above a neighbourhood of towers only approximately 30 storeys high.)

These spacious, open-plan homes have been meticulously designed and feature gorgeous island kitchens; bedrooms separated by living space for added privacy; full wardrobe-style closets in the master bedrooms; deluxe ensuites with hisand-her sinks, walk-in showers and separate soaker tubs — and much more.

Adding to the unique lifestyle opportunity of 3 Civic Plaza is the fact that the tower contains the boutique Civic Hotel, part of Marriott’s Autograph Collection. Residents have access to a la carte hotel amenities they choose to pay for, such as a pool, spa and fitness centre, as well as luxury items like room service. This keeps monthly strata fees low, while living in opulence.

The high-end hotel experience is pervasive: residents and hotel guests enter 3 Civic Plaza through its grand lobby, where a Prado café/bakery and restaurant, along with 24-hour concierge service, will be located. Capping the tower will be a rooftop deck and bar, meeting rooms and event space.

Another benefit : downtown Vancouver is only 30 minutes away. “You will literally be able to leave the building and access Surrey Central SkyTrain station platform,” says Sandra Liang, sales manager for Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing. “Where else can you come home from a long day of work, pick up the phone and have a hotel meal delivered to your door? It’s perfect for people who want to be romantic, but don’t have the time.”

Fortunately, the luxury of 3 Civic Plaza is affordable: spacious two-bedroom homes start at just $659,900, starting at just over 1,000 square feet.

But with 11 homes sold in March alone and 14 other agreements settled in a two-week period, the demand for the remaining two-bedroom homes is increasing.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Brownstones townhomes in Vancouver offer nod to the family?s heart ? the kitchen

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Brownstones at Kingcrest Park

Where: 4348 Knight Street

What: 16 townhomes; Fourteen row-style townhomes, eight in one building, six in another, with two duplex-style homes next door.

Residence sizes and prices: two and three bedrooms, 1,150 — 1,252 square feet, from $969,900 — $1,169,900

Developer and builder: Epix Developments Inc.

Sales centre address: 4348 Knight Street

Sales centre hours: 2 p.m. — 4 p.m. Sat and Sun or by appointment

A bustling neighbourhood surrounds Brownstones at Kingcrest Park, a community of townhomes that will stand near the hub of Kingsway and Knight in Vancouver, a short walk to green space, cafes and retail. It’s a vibrant area, but Epix Developments Inc. and interior designer Cynthia Florano also created an interior home plan and design that appeals to homeowners’ need for comfort, space and privacy.

Epix and Florano see the kitchen as the heart of family and social life, as its strategic placement in the homes makes clear. “The kitchens at Brownstones are definitely the focal point of the home as it’s centrally located on the main floor,” says Florano, the principal of Cynthia Florano Design.
In the home plans that greet potential buyers, the living room and the kitchen are on either side of the kitchen. This gives the kitchen a sense of private formality that more common layouts — some featuring a dining room bookended by the kitchen and living room — might not. At the same time, anyone working in the kitchen can socialize easily and naturally with family or guests in either the living room or dining area.

 “This creates diversity for the space, especially with the generous island, which is a luxury in townhomes,” Florano says. “The kitchen for growing families is not only the gathering place for meals, but for conversing and sharing special moments. It’s also a setting where you can feel comfortable to have friends over for entertaining evenings.”

Throughout the plan, privacy is balanced nicely with space planning to give active homeowners some freedom of movement, she adds. The townhomes aren’t “stacked,” so neighbours do not live below or above each other, and every homeowner will have an attached garage.

“There’s plenty of room for a full-sized vehicle, storage organizers, shelves and sports equipment,” Florano says.

“I would recommend [that homeowners] have the garage cabinets installed, as we did in the display, to keep life organized. For the growing family or the active couple, the extra storage space is a saviour.”

Epix kept a previously standing character home on the site, so used some creativity, adding heritage detailing like reclaimed hardwood flooring a heritage-era gas fireplaces, corniced ceilings, exposed beams and a cast-iron pot belly heater in one of the two duplexes that will stand in the community.

Florano and Epix used light neutrals in the interior finishes to accentuate the details in the general design, she adds. “The overall design palette throughout the display is tone-on-tone neutrals with textured fabrics. We wanted to create a fresh, elegant, but inviting home to view. By keeping the tones neutral, the design of the home is clearly more pronounced.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Taicheng Development Corp. has plans for about 1,000 homes on 178-acre Sea-to-Sky Highway site just north of Vancouver

Western Investor

A Chinese development company that paid $30.5 million for 480 acres near Squamish, B.C., five years ago is now proceeding with its first development on part of the site. 

Taicheng Development Corp. bought the land through a court-ordered, cash sale in 2012.

Last month, Taicheng was given a permit to set up an office in the Britannia Beach area, following approval from the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District.

“They’re setting up their offices so they can do their planning on site,” said Tony Rainbow, vice-chair of the district board. “They’ll be working on site.”

The permit would allow the company to set up an office trailer on the site of the future development for a three-year term.

It’s expected to be about the size of one or two portables, and would house about seven employees.

The setup of the office marks another step in a very lengthy process.

Land for the project had been purchased in 2012 and development applications have been submitted.

However, it will still be some time before shovels hit the ground, as the district has not yet approved the plans.

“They have a long, long way to go,” Rainbow said.

The latest proposal for the project would have about 1,000 homes constructed on 178 acres of land.

It’s expected to include a mix of houses, townhouses, row houses and apartments. Options to include laneway housing are expected to be available for houses on single-family lots.

Developers are hoping to have a central park and commercial space that could accommodate a coffee shop, pub and restaurant, among other things.

Included in the property is the gravel pit south of the mining museum, the former Makin lands and some of the land leading to the top of Furry Creek.

While proponents think its proximity to Vancouver would make it ideal for young commuting families – and recreational users – local  critics have voiced concerns about the traffic that it might cause.

Copyright © 2017 Western Investor

REP

In its first release since Ontario’s new housing plan, TREB releases Toronto market stats and provides update on influence of foreign buyers and short-term speculators.

A total of 11,630 homes were sold in the GTA in April, down 3.2% year-over-year. New listings, meanwhile, were up 33.6%, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

“The fact that we experienced extremely strong growth in new listings in April means that buyers benefitted from considerably more choice in the marketplace,” Larry Cerqua, TREB president, said. “It is too early to tell whether the increase in new listings was simply due to households reacting to the strong double-digit price growth reported over the past year or if some of the increase was also a reaction to the Ontario Government’s recently announced Fair Housing Plan.”

TREB is forecasting the possibility of a balanced market, after years of being considered a seller’s market.

“It was encouraging to see a very strong year-over-year increase in new listings. If new listings growth continues to outpace sales growth moving forward, we will start to see more balanced market conditions,” Jason Mercer, TREB’s director of market analysis, said. “It will likely take a number of months to unwind the substantial pent-up demand that has built over the past two years. Expect annual rates of price growth to remain well-above the rate of inflation as we move through the spring and summer months.”

Foreign buyers

In this latest report, TREB also analyzed aggregated annual property sales in the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH) between 2008 and April 2017 – including data from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and Teranet.

That study found buyers with mailing addresses outside Canada account for less than 1% of activity. It also found foreign buyers in the GGH accounted for 2.3% of market share between 2008 and April 2017.

“The trend from 2008 to April 2017 suggests that the share of foreign home buyers has remained low.  The results also follow the results from earlier released data from an Ipsos survey of TREB Members conducted in the fall of 2016,” TREB said in its release. “The Ipsos survey results estimated that 4.9% of transactions undertaken between the fall of 2015 and the fall of 2016 were accounted for by foreign buyers.  The Ipsos survey results had an estimated margin of error of ± 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.” 

Speculation

“Between 2008 and April 2017, homes bought and sold within a short period of time – within one year of the original transaction – by domestic or foreign buyers accounted for a very small share (less than 5% in 2016 and approximately 7% between January and April 2017) of total transactions,” TREB said. “TREB analyzed the ratio of property owners that owned more than one property in the GGH to the total number of properties. As of April 2017, this was a relatively small 6.2% of total properties.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

other

World Housing, a Vancouver group that partners with developers to fund new homes in third-world countries, has named its first project.

$2,900 from every condo sale in Vancouver House, a project developed by Westbank and designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group, will go toward building homes for families in Cambodia. The initiative should create 395 homes in a “garbage dump community,” according to a press release.

It’s called a “one-for-one model,” which is similar to a successful campaign by TOMS shoes. For every pair that a customer buys, TOMS gives a pair of new shoes to a child in need. World Housing claims to be the first in the world to apply the model to real estate.

“The vision of World Housing and its founders mirrors our own goal of affecting positive change in communities and I believe, will hold meaning for buyers,” Westbank president Ian Gillespie said in the release. He said he hopes the initiative will become the norm among developers, and inspire buyers.

World Housing currently works in three landfill communities in Mexico, the Philippines, and Cambodia.

Many people got a sneak peek at plans for Vancouver House during an art exhibition called Gesamtkunstwerk.

The condo project, set to be finished in 2018, first made waves in the city with Danish architect Bjarke Ingels’ design for a twisting tower.

Then it unveiled plans for a huge spinning chandelier to be installed under the Granville Street Bridge near the tower.

Copyright ©2017 TheHuffingtonPost.com, Inc.

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The heat in some of Canada’s housing markets is getting wider and deeper according to a new report from RBC Economics.

Its report shows that gains in sales over recent months continued in March with two thirds of markets increasing sales month-over-month and three quarters posting higher resales than a year earlier.

There were monthly gains for markets including Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal while Calgary and Edmonton reversed a four-month trend by posting declining sales.

RBC’s economists note that supply has increased in some markets but also that prices are continue to rise rapidly in Southern Ontario with all populated areas of the province facing higher risks of rising becoming less affordable.

Robert Hogue, RBC Economics senior economist says that the federal government’s measures to tighten access to mortgages appears to have made little impact.

“Since the new rules were implemented last fall, home resale activity barely flinched at all in some of Canada’s hottest markets in Southern Ontario. In other markets, such as Montreal and Ottawa any slowing has been modest and temporary at best. And in
Vancouver—which was in the midst of a significant cooling when the federal rule changes were announced—there have been early signs in the past couple of months that the market heat may be on its way back,” Hogue wrote.

He concluded that policy to address the sharp rise in prices in Ontario should be tackling both supply and demand issues but also reigning in expectations of price rises.

The suite of policy measures “must be credible and send a strong message to all stakeholders about the future direction of prices,” Hogue says.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd