Village Walk takes a central spot at Sun Peaks

CLAIRE YOUNG
The Vancouver Sun

You carry a lot of expectations as the first new development in almost a decade in a recreational property market.
Village Walk, which launched sales the end of last year in the four-season mountain town of Sun Peaks, has had no problem meeting them.

The 24-unit, luxury townhome development in British Columbia’s Thompson Okanagan region has already sold more than 75 per cent of the residences, and Sotheby’s Realty managing broker Liz Forster expects all will be sold “soon.”

The project will sit in the centre of the intimate ski-in-ski-out village in one of Canada’s largest ski areas with 1,728 hectares across three skiable peaks (Tod, Sundance, and Morrisey).

And while ski season is its biggest attraction, Sun Peaks also has a championship golf course (B.C.’s highest at an elevation of 1,200 metres), along with hiking and biking trails (40 of them), and a popular Alpine Blossom Festival that draws around 4,000 nature lovers and photographers each July.

Forster says over the past year, 84 per cent of residential buyers have been Canadian with the majority of those coming from other parts of B.C. and about six per cent from Alberta.

And some of those B.C. buyers are selling properties in Vancouver’s pricey Whistler/Blackcomb resort and taking the profits to buy in the less congested Sun Peaks village.

“I have a lot of people say Sun Peaks is what Whistler was 25 years ago,” Forster says.

Village Walk has seen a wide variety of purchasers, from first-time homebuyers to young families to active retirees.

“Multi-generational families gather at Sun Peaks for healthy, happy experiences. There is that real connection to nature,” Forster says.

There are about 1,500 residential units currently in the village — most part of a rental pool for visitors — and new units have not been built for some time.

“The downturn in 2008 affected recreational property in general, with some properties losing as much as 50 per cent in value. Prices here have rebounded back to 2007 levels. There is a new energy here; the feeling we have turned the corner,” Forster says.

In fact, Sun Peaks is the fastest growing community in British Columbia, according to the latest census. It grew to 615 full-time residents — which can obviously triple in peak season — a 66 per cent jump from 2011. It is expected to increase to more than 1,000 residents by the next census.

Village Walk sits in the centre of the village, across from the sports centre, and Forster says residents can walk to all village amenities in less than five minutes.

Buyers are able to fly into the region (Kamloops Airport) and don’t need a car when they are in the village.

“It is a good rental property for the same reason; you are close to everything.”

The units, at 2,400 square feet each over three levels, are large enough to gather friends and family, and Forster says it is larger homes in the Sun Peaks area that usually have the most demand.

Village Walk homes will have 12-foot ceilings, expansive windows front and back, and a gas fireplace with stone surround in the living room plus hardwood floors, and an open concept kitchen with quartz countertops.

Each unit has three bedrooms (plus basement flex room) and three-and-a-half bathrooms (including a basement three-piece bathroom with walk-in shower). The master bedroom includes a walk-in closet, balcony, and an ensuite with two separate sinks, a walk-in shower and a freestanding tub.

The extra-large garage has a workshop/ski tuning area, and lock-up storage. Exteriors include engineered stone, cedar shingles and rustic timbers with large outdoor patios and decks with hot tub and gas barbecue hook-ups.

There will be seven buildings in the project, made up of duplexes and three- and fourplexes. The first building is already under construction and will be ready for this ski season, in November. The second and third buildings are about a year from completion.

PROJECT: Village Walk, a 24-unit luxury townhome development

AREA: Sun Peaks mountain village, 56 kilometres from Kamloops, B.C.

WHAT’S AVAILABLE: There are five units left in the development, ranging in price from $689,900 to $709,900. The units are 2,400-square-foot, three-level townhomes with three bedrooms, two-and-a-half baths, with an additional flex room and three-piece bathroom in the basement. 

DEVELOPER: A&T Project Developments Inc. of Kamloops

INFORMATION: www.villagewalksp.com

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Townline?s Sussex to rise to 41 storeys in Burnaby?s Metrotown neighbourhood

Kathleen Freimond
The Vancouver Sun

Project: Sussex

Project address: 6050 Sussex Avenue

Project city: Burnaby

Developer: Townline

Architect: Chris Dikeakos Architects Inc.

Interior designer: Insight Design Group

Completion: Late 2019

Project size: 41-storey tower; 321 units

Bedrooms: one, two and three bedrooms; limited number of townhomes and penthouses still available

Unit size: 489 — 1,612 square feet

Price: Starting from $1,7 million for remaining homes

Sales centre: Suite 118 – 5021 Kingsway, Burnaby (entrance on Newton Street)

Sales centre hours: By appointment

Phone: 604-454-0889

Website: townline.ca

Completed: late 2019

A range of signature amenities combined with a location on the quieter, north side of Kingsway in the Metrotown neighbourhood distinguishes the Sussex tower in the booming condo market in Burnaby.

“Sussex is a short walk to the Metrotown SkyTrain station, you’ve got the mall (Metropolis) right there, universities are close by – so is BCIT and schools – yet it’s in a residential enclave,” says Chris Colbeck, vice-president, sales and marketing for developer Townline.

Sussex is a 41-storey building with nine floor plans making up the 321 homes in the development. Unit sizes range from junior one-bedroom condos at 489 square feet to larger townhomes and penthouses of more than 1,600 square feet.

“There is a really good mix of homes and because we are on the top of a hill, there are views from every floor,” Colbeck says. Sussex is attracting first-time buyers, homeowners moving up in the market, downsizers and investors, he adds.

The triangular site at 6050 Kingsway accommodates the residential highrise and a new church. (The church is under separate title.)

“As a result, the tower’s design is sleek and rectangular-shaped and unlike most highrises in the city,” says Richard Bernstein, principal at Chris Dikeakos Architects.

The east side of the building is higher than the west side, allowing for rooftop terraces and balconies to capture views of downtown Vancouver and beyond, Bernstein says.

The tower will rise from an elevated base that features an hotel-inspired lobby with interior walls of marble and wood, a 35-foot-high ceiling and spectacular chandelier. Feng shui principles were incorporated into the design, including moving water, Colbeck says. The lobby design includes a full-service concierge and a box fresh-room that enables homeowners’ food deliveries.

Part of the development’s 6,000 square feet of amenities is a two-lane bowling alley with custom colour-changing LED lights that will add to the fun atmosphere in a space dubbed the Mix. A social lounge, the Jax, connects to the bowling alley; the two areas combine to create a venue for large gatherings or they can be closed off to create two smaller spaces to suit the size of the event. Homeowners can also host dinner parties or private events in the Lux dining lounge, which has a large circular table and all-important chef’s kitchen.

A covered outdoor terrace above the bowling alley with two gas barbecues, seating and harvest tables, offers another option for socializing.

For residents who prefer to entertain in their own units, the kitchens at Sussex will provide the perfect backdrop. One of the distinguishing features of the development is the size and design of the L-shaped kitchens in the one-bedroom units. The kitchens have an oversized island that doubles as a dining area and generous counter and storage space including a pantry cupboard.

“It’s an unbelievable kitchen for a small home,” says Insight Design Group’s Allisa Karvonen. The design team made the most of the space by creating an appliance block: the dishwasher is located below the microwave that is placed at an ergonomic height. Alongside is the refrigerator and freezer, explains Karvonen. A full-extension hidden garbage and recycling centre and pull-out spice rack are standard in the kitchen that features quartz countertops with a waterfall edge on the islands. The soft-close cabinet doors have a glossy finish with grey uppers and white lowers.

Buyers have two palettes to choose from: the darker option, with its rich walnut-colour floors (seen in the show suite), while the other selection has lighter colours and natural-oak laminate floors.

Karvonen says the interior design team worked to integrate the bold lines of the “white box” feature on the exterior of the building into the interiors.

“We pared down the materials to one wood, one stone and one cabinet [in each palette] to maintain the simplicity of what you see on the exterior,” she explains.

In another subtle nod to the building’s exterior, the back wall of the kitchen in the two-bedroom plans has a contrast gable and the cabinet doors match the countertop, creating the impression of a box outline.

“It’s a nice feature that sets it apart from the sea of other projects out there,” Karvonen says.

The major kitchen appliances, including a gas cooktop, are by Bosch. Other appliances include a Blomberg front-loading washer and dryer in a separate laundry closet.

In the main and ensuite bathrooms, the heated floors will be welcome in the cooler months. All bathrooms have quartz countertops and backsplashes, undermount sinks with Hansgrohe chrome faucets and dual flush toilets by Kohler.

Large-format tiles (24 by 12 inches) cover the floors and walls. The tub and shower combo in the main bathroom has a frameless glass panel to contain the splashes without having to use a shower curtain. A thoughtful feature is the cut-out in the glass panel that will allow homeowners to reach in and adjust the temperature of the water before taking a shower.

Parking at Sussex is below grade and for residents who don’t own a vehicle there will be four electric, strata-owned co-op cars.

The sales centre at 5021 Kingsway shows the kitchen in the one-bedroom plans plus a two bedroom, two bathroom and den suite (G floorplan).

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Toronto prices for detached homes fall below $1M, but will buyers return?

Mitchell Thompson
The Vancouver Sun

Housing sales figures may be declining in Toronto and Vancouver, but with listings remaining scarce, economists are warning that significant gains in affordability may prove elusive.

Existing home sales in Toronto fell 15.1 per cent in June, a second-consecutive monthly decline that left resale activity 42 per cent below its March peak, according to a report from TD Economics.

June sales were also weak in Vancouver, falling 4 per cent from the previous month and 29 per cent below their February 2016 high, after a recovery blip petered out.

But when it comes to prices, the declines haven’t been nearly as dramatic, and likely won’t be until more houses hit the market.

“Toronto cooled in terms of sales quite abruptly, on par with 2008-2009 recession but you didn’t see much of a decline in prices because the market still remains short on supply,” said TD economist Diana Petramala. “When listings grow faster than sales, it will put downward pressure on prices.”

Desjardins senior economist Jimmy Jean said the slowdown in existing home sales has lowered prices slightly but agreed that further reductions are in doubt.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, sales dropped by about 14 per cent from April to June.

Still, Jean noted Toronto prices are still above last year’s average by 6.3 per cent. “That speaks to how high we’ve been and how fast that growth was. We’re erasing the growth we had but it hasn’t been erased yet. The same way it was moving fast on the upside, now it’s moving down and, I think, by the fall, we should see some flattening.”

Despite the rapid price increases seen in Toronto earlier this year, there isn’t a serious price reduction in sight, Jean said.

“The bidding wars you’re seeing might not be the case any longer but it won’t curb demand fundamentally. The market will remain tight because people are coming to the city…. Prices have been out of reach for years and growing much faster than incomes, so it will take more price declines and income growth before we have a situation where the market can be deemed affordable.”

“We’ll still have very lofty prices in Toronto and Vancouver. If we’re expecting the market to become instantly affordable that’s not going to happen. Given the low interest rates and rapid population inflow, they will still be expensive markets but we’re moving away, thankfully, from the days where there was incredible pressure for buyers to get in before prices grew another 40 per cent,” Bank of Montreal senior economist Douglas Porter said.

For now, rising interest rates and targeted taxes, such as those on foreign buyers, should work to “bring activity down to normal levels,” Bank of Montreal economist Robert Kavcic said. Higher rates should slow resale activity and the foreign buyer’s taxes should reduce the incentive for speculation.

Beyond that, Royal Bank of Canada economist Josh Nye said it’s down to psychology: “People in the market, foreign buyers or not, see the government stepping in to limit price growth. That impacts the way they behave. It means people say ‘Well, the government sees 30 per cent price growth, and that’s not sustainable, and they’re stepping in, so maybe it’s time to cash out and put the house up for sale.’”

At present, that doesn’t look likely and there isn’t much policy makers can do to boost listings, Petramala said.

While noting that the regulation had helped cool the market, she cautioned that interest rates may soon have to do most of the heavy lifting.

“The impact of the foreign buyer tax is in our rear-view mirror, it usually only lasts 2-4 quarters, so it’s really higher rates that will hold the market down, going forward.”

© 2017 Financial Post

32-storey hotel and luxury tower proposed for Kelowna skyline

Kelowna Daily Courier
The Province

Revised plans for a major hotel in downtown Kelowna now show a taller tower and the inclusion of 49 luxury residences.

The hotel at the base of Queensway is now planned to rise to 32 storeys, instead of 24, with the private homes on the upper floors.

“The hotel, and the stunning homes that will accompany it, will bring a presence and grace to the waterfront that will compete on the world stage,” Phil Milroy, chief executive officer of Westcorp, said in a release issued by the firm on Wednesday.

 Other changes made to the original plans include a restaurant on the 16th floor, putting all parking underground, and shifting the tower toward Water Street and away from the waterfront.

“We are really quite thrilled with where the design has evolved to, and we hope the public and council will agree so that we can get underway,” said Gail Temple, Westcorp’s vice-president of operations.

A conference centre, retail premises and restaurant adjacent to Kerry Park are all still part of the revised plans.

Company officials say they’ll submit a development-permit application to the city soon for the new-look hotel. A hotel for the site was approved by city council in July 2014, but Westcorp continually pushed back the start of construction.

On Wednesday, the company said plans were revised in part to reflect market demand for new downtown homes. As well, original plans envisioned a central podium containing a large parkade, something the company said proved to a “significant constraint” to the design of the building.

The hotel’s redesign was overseen by GCA Architects from Barcelona. “They have designed 180 luxury hotels worldwide and (bring) a global perspective to the project,” Westcorp’s release says.

New plans indicate 174 hotel rooms, rather than the 214 that were originally proposed. The general shape of the tower is still elliptical, as it was shown to be in the 2014 drawings.

The tower will be capped with a “glowing-beacon structure that will locate this downtown landmark on the night skyline,” the company’s news release says.

Having a restaurant on the 16th floor, Westcorp says, “will provide a new and interesting public space in our city”, the release says.

“We expect this new sky restaurant to become a must-see destination in Kelowna,” Temple said.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

VICTORIA BUILDING BOOM DRIVEN BY CONDOS

Andrew Duffy
Times Colonist

Vancouver Island has seen more than $1 billion worth of building permits issued so far this year, but the increased pace of construction could be threatened by the looming labour shortage.

While cranes crowd the skyline in Victoria and the region’s homebuilders are booking work well into late 2018, builders said projects are being delayed and costing more as construction companies are pushed to their limits.

“It’s been a challenge,” said Rory Kulmala, chief executive of the Vancouver Island Construction Association. “We are fighting a declining demographic anyway — by 2025 we expect B.C. will be short 15,000 skilled tradespeople.”

Kulmala said the problem is there are simply not enough young people going into the trades. Meanwhile, construction crews are working full-out on the Island, and every year they face more people retiring.

“It stresses out the industry. There are discussions being had about bringing in trades from other places in Canada, but this is a problem across the country,” Kulmala said. “It’s not as easy as saying: ‘Hey, come to Victoria.’ ”

The result is projects are taking longer, costing more or being delayed.

“It’s a drag on moving construction further and faster. Guys can only do so much with the resources they have,” Kulmala said. Contractors are starting to be more pragmatic and honest with property owners and developers that their projects are going to take longer to complete, he said.

Despite the shortage of labour, the construction industry continues to hum on the Island.

According to figures released Thursday by the Vancouver Island Construction Association, there were $1.06 billion in building permits issued through the first half of this year, a 19 per cent jump from the $890 million issued through the first six months of last year.

Residential building permits issued this year totalled more than $800 million, an increase of 24 per cent from the $653 million in 2016, while the value of non-residential permits jumped six per cent to $252 million.

The significant increase in permits means there’s plenty of work on the Island.

“There’s a lot of activity for a long time,” Kulmala said. “I don’t think we will see the same jump in permits [in 2018], but I suspect we shall maintain the level for the next four to six years. There are a lot of non-commercial projects out there, industrial and institutional and a lot of industrial activity on the North Island.

“And housing is busy, those guys are backed up for a year and sometimes two.”

The association estimates by the end of this year the Island will have seen a 20 per cent increase in the total value of building permits.

In Greater Victoria, there have been $648 million worth of permits issued so far this year, a 22 per cent increase over the same time last year. Residential permits accounted for $470 million of that, a 27 per cent increase, while the value of the non-residential permits issued increased 10 per cent to $177 million.

Kulmala said the expansion is being fuelled by demand for new buildings from a growing economy and population base.

According to the construction association, the expectation is the population will continue to grow as a result of in-migration from the rest of B.C. and other provinces, while economic growth will remain buoyant as a result of the low Canadian dollar, low interest rates and growth in the U.S. economy.

“We expect residential activity to grow and non-residential activity to broaden out to more areas of Vancouver Island,” said Kulmala.

© Copyright Times Colonist

Justin da Rosa
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

With mortgage rates constantly in flux, one investor felt the need to better manage the various files – and a new tool was developed as a result.

Monitor My Mortgage (M3) is a new mortgage application that gives homeowners the ability to stay on top of the mortgage market with real-time alerts that allow them to take advantage of the best mortgage options available.

“It’s like having a tool that scans for the best mobile phone rates and tells you how much you can save with your current provider or by switching to another – whether you’re locked in or not,” Brent Hughes, founder of M3, said. “It re-defines how people can and should think about their mortgage – as an investment they control, versus a monthly payment dictated by lenders.”

M3 provides its users with alerts that could impact their mortgages.

“When the Bank of Canada rate came out in July, it was an interesting time: Everyone was in vacation mode and 100% of our clients were sent and update of the rate change and showed their position with the rate change,” Hughes told CREW. “You can put in the software if you want to know when rates go up … early dates on renewals, and it does calculations of penalties as well. 99% of people don’t figure out their penalties until they’re sitting with their client at closing.”

The technology is similar to rate sites, which have been around for years, but boasts one distinction.

“What our tool does is provide you with notifications. Most of those sites chase the beginning of the mortgage or the end of a mortgage. We’re spending time in the middle every day they don’t need us so when they do we are top of mind,” Hughes said. “Keeping consumers informed and giving them all the tools. All the information is public information but it’s buried in lenders’ websites.”

Hughes said the idea was borne from his own home ownership experience.

“I built it for myself; (my wife and I) were up to 17 properties over our lifetime and it was frustrating when rate announcements came out,” Hughes said, noting any time a market change was announced, he was forced to contact his broker or lender to figure out how it could impact his mortgage.

And so he developed M3, which is available free to consumers online or as a phone app.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

B.C. townhouse project to arise on church premises

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

53 new townhouse units are slated to arise on the premises of the old St. Andrew’s United Church in Mission, B.C., should the proposal for the development push through.

The project, which is spearheaded by Noort Developments Ltd., has been scheduled for a public hearing on September 5. The development is planned to replace a church that has been standing since 1927.

The proposal included provision for grey row townhouses along with large parcels set aside for personal patios and yards, as well as an expansive children’s play area.

Updated data from the CMHC showed that Abbotsford-Mission has an overall vacancy rate of 0.5 per cent, a level maintained by a limited supply of housing in the Fraser Valley.

Earlier this month, the B.C. Real Estate Association said that consumer demand for condominium units and townhouses has significantly outpaced the hunger for free-standing homes in the year that followed the B.C. government’s introduction of the foreign home buyers’ tax.

The MLS Home Price Index benchmark price of apartments has increased by 18.5 per cent compared to July 2016, up to $616,000. Meanwhile, the benchmark price for townhouses has grown by 11.9 per cent over the past year, up to $763,700.

Jill Oudil, president of the region’s real estate board, attributed this shift to a pronounced need for more affordable residential real estate, adding that the tax has failed to address the main factor igniting runaway housing costs in Vancouver.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

A full-service online real estate marketplace has just announced the launch of its newest office in Vancouver, representing its very first expansion in Canada.

“Casalova, which has been operating in Toronto since November of 2014, sees great potential and demand for a new approach to traditional real-estate in the Vancouver market,” the company announced in a news release.
 
The platform is designed to help buyers find new houses or tenancies from the comfort of their own homes. Casalova’s front-to-end architecture incorporates the entire purchase process from property searches and schedule viewings to payment processing.
 
“The issues faced by clients looking to rent or buy a home are not confined to the Toronto market,” Casalova CEO and co-founder Ray Jaff said.

“The Vancouver market shows strong signs of growth and we’ve been getting more and more requests to expand out west. Our system has proven to be successful in Toronto and we’re excited to finally offer it to the people of Vancouver and greater British Columbia,” Jaff added.
 
As part of this expansion, Casalova has hired trilingual real estate agent, coach, and trainer Lex Sheng to lead the new Vancouver location. Previously a top agent of Zolo Realty, Sheng holds over 24 years of experience in real estate investment as well as 15 years in sales and marketing. Sheng has also closed over $400 million dollars in real estate transactions worldwide.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Justin da Rosa
REP

Last year’s mortgage rule changes are clearly impeding young buyers from breaking into the housing market, according to one veteran, but there is an even larger obstacle in the way.

“One of the things that came out of the report was millennials impression that the government’s actions relating to restrictive actions to mortgage insurance was an impendent,” Phil Soper, president of Royal LePage, said. “Yet, I’d say a larger impediment was 20% year-over-year price appreciation.”

According to Royal LePage’s most recent report, 49% of peak millennials believe the federal government’s mortgage regulations have impacted affordability.

As a result, they have been forced to consider lower-priced homes.

“When looking for a home, 53% of peak millennial purchasers across Canada are willing to spend up to $350,000, which would typically buy them a 2.5 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom property nationwide, with 1,272 square feet of living space,” the report reads. “Yet, with 58% of respondents having a annual household income of less than $69,000, and only 34% currently tracking to have a sufficient down payment of over 20 % to qualify for a mortgage in this price range, the actual logistics of homeownership can be quite difficult.”

The study also found 61% of millennials prefer to buy a detached home but only 36% believe that wish is realistic.

“In addition to high home values, peak millennials also face increasingly stringent mortgage stress test regulations, which push potential buyers to the sidelines, electing to either remain in the rental market to save up enough money for a down payment, or move to more affordable regions,” the report reads.

“When asked, 64% of peak millennials currently believe that homes in their area are unaffordable, with a significant proportion of respondents in both British Columbia (83%) and Ontario (72%) asserting that prices are simply too high. Of those that do not believe they will be able to own a home in the next five years, 69% stated that they cannot afford a home in their region or the type of home they want, while roughly a quarter (24%) are unable to qualify for a mortgage.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd