Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

A real estate association watching Metro Vancouver’s tight and costly housing market predicted conditions should begin to moderate by the third quarter of 2018.

Last week, the British Columbia Real Estate Association stated that home builders are responding to a lack of available homes across the region by dramatically increasing multi-family housing starts.

Starts across Metro Vancouver surged 40% to 22,700 units in 2016, while the BCREA’s report said an estimated 19,700 multi-family homes were started so far this year, and a further 19,000 units are forecast in 2018.

BCREA added that data on estimated completion times of the developments suggested that available suites in new apartment projects should rise from fewer than 4,000 units per quarter in 2016 to about 6,000 by late next year.

Most of the units are pre-sold, but the BCREA report said that renters who are buying homes will free up needed rental suites, while owners moving to new units will bolster a scarce supply of housing as their former properties go on sale.

The study argued that while a surge in multi-family completions isn’t the only solution for housing affordability in Metro Vancouver, a significant increase in the supply of homes can help keep a lid on climbing rents and house prices.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Grosvenor Americas? The Pacific to take a prime position in downtown Vancouver

Michael Bernard
The Vancouver Sun

The Pacific

Project location:  886 Pacific Street. Vancouver (Pacific and Hornby)

Project scope:  214 condominium and townhomes in a 39-storey concrete highrise with expansive views of English Bay and the North Shore mountains. One-to-four-bedroom homes range from 491 to 2,887 square feet. Close to shopping, entertainment and the False Creek seawall

Prices: From $749,900

Developer: Grosvenor Americas

Architects: ACDF and IBI Group Architects

Interior Design: Square One Interior Design

Sales Centre: Suite 100 – 1050 Homer St., Vancouver

Hours: By appointment

Telephone: 604-559-8258

Website: ‪www.grosvenorpacific.com

Completion Date: 2021

The Pacific, Grosvenor Americas’ striking addition to Vancouver’s skyline, is one of those buildings that will serve as a beacon that guides visitors to the city’s downtown.

But its developers, architects and interior designers have also spent a lot of time and energy making sure The Pacific “feels like home” to those who move into the building when it is complete in 2021.

“We ascribe to the idea that we want it to be a timeless home that in 10 years from now will still feel like it makes sense,” says Marc Josephson, Grosvenor’s vice-president of development.

“But we also really believe that there is a core fundamental idea that this will be a home,” he said. “[Buyers] want good, well-thought through space. They want high-quality materials. They want comfortable living and energy efficiency.

“That is our focus and what differentiates us [from others].”

When it is complete, the 39-storey building will rise 375 feet above the corner of Hornby and Pacific, serving as a beacon and landmark between the Granville Street Bridge and Burrard Bridge, says architect Maxime-Alexis Frappier, whose Montreal firm, ACDF, collaborated with the Vancouver-based IBI Group Architects in the design.

“This is a great site in the city,” Frappier said in a recent interview at the Pacific’s showroom on Homer. “We knew we had to address the territory and make the tower come alive.”

The building has several features that will make it stand out from any other in the immediate area. The east and west sides of the building feature undulating balconies — think ocean waves — that will create a sense of movement to the building, said Frappier. The north and south facades of the trapezoid-shaped building feature an uninterrupted curtain of floor-to-ceiling windows that will reflect the mood or “humour” of Vancouver’s sky on any given day, he added.

Even the view from the street has been given special consideration, said the architect, who angles a mirror to show how the soffits under the balconies reveal geometric patterns to passersby below.

To take full advantage of the spectacular views of English Bay and the North Shore mountains, all the homes are relatively shallow in depth, but span the average 20-foot length of each balcony, said Josephson. “They are not deep, but wide, meaning they have good exposure to light, so everything is bright and very well lit [by daylight].”

The Pacific is also distinguished from some other new additions to the downtown scene in that it has no retail or commercial space. That has allowed the designers the latitude to create a commanding entrance with double-height ceilings and a modified porte cochere, or covered entrance. There are three townhouses at street level and Grosvenor has adopted the Leslie House, a heritage home on the site that was built in 1888 and probably best known to Vancouverites as the former home to Il Giardino restaurant. One of the few remaining examples of a Queen Anne design home, it is being considered for a café and office space.

The weighting of the allocation of homes in The Pacific also suggests Grosvenor is looking to attract downsizers and young urban professionals, including those considering starting a family, said Josephson.

Of the 214 units, one-bedrooms account for 35 per cent, two-bedrooms 42 per cent, three-bedrooms 21 per cent and the four-bedrooms just two per cent, he said, adding two-thirds of all homes are two- or three-bedroom units, which is higher than many projects built near rapid transit in the last few years.

Grosvenor, whose recent higher-end projects include the Grosvenor Ambleside and Connaught developments on the North Shore, has a range of pricing on offer at The Pacific. One-bedrooms start from $749,900, two-bedrooms from $1.390 million, and three-bedrooms from $2.875 million, which works out to an average of about $2,000 a square foot, Josephson said.

Grosvenor uses its show room space to present “vignettes” of interior design developed for The Pacific by Square One Interior Design of Vancouver.

Company principal Cynthia Ziolkoski, for whom The Pacific is the first multi-family project, pointed out some of the features her firm is particularly proud of during a tour of the presentation centre.

The washer and dryer closet features side-by-side rather than stacked machines and a counter above in select homes for folding clothes, she said. A flex room beside it has a pocket door rather than a pivoting one. “This can be used as an office; it is usable space, and it doesn’t feel like a tight space or that you are in a closet.”

Another attractive feature in the display space is the use of barn doors for the bedroom that open up to a 180-degree view of the outside, she said. “Even when you are in the bedroom, you have this beautiful view.”

Buyers can select from three colour palettes of light to dark. Cabinetry in The Pacific was produced by Italian design firm Snaidero and includes integrated flat panel cabinets to house the 30- or 36-inch Sub-Zero fridge, Wolf gastop, convection wall oven and microwave and Miele dishwasher. Overhead cabinets are aided by motorized hinges for easy access while at ground level there are wide soft-close drawers and doors. Backsplashes are finished in marble.

Also contributing to the kitchen’s efficiency are customized island counters to maximize dining space. To maximize storage, there are full-height pull-out pantries, and pull-out tray and towel holders. In some bedrooms are fully equipped walk-in closets. Bathrooms have large-format marble tile across walls and floors and the Snaidero floating vanities have deep pull-out drawers with nested internal organizers and under-cabinet LED lighting.

Common amenities include a well-appointed multi-purpose lounge with entertainment and flexible seating areas and an air-conditioned fitness centre. Outside the second floor facility is a landscaped and illuminated outdoor terrace with barbecue, outdoor seating and dining areas and a children’s natural play area.

The Pacific, which is built to LEED Gold standards, also has a 24-hour concierge service attached to a private driveway.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

other

Toronto Condo Bedrooms Come Up Short: Study

As house prices continue to rise in the Greater Toronto Area, buyers are increasingly turning to condos as their market entry point and are living the highrise lifestyle for longer, rather than buying detached homes as their families expand. The problem, a new study finds, is that existing and pending condo stock doesn’t accommodate this growing need.

Just 41 per cent of the 105,000 condos currently in development will have two or more bedrooms, according to a report from Ryerson City Building Institute and Urbanation. Titled “Bedrooms in the Sky – Is Toronto Building the Right Condo Supply?”, it says a combination of rising home prices and a surge of demand from both up- and down-sizers will put intense pressure on the need for larger condo units. In total, there are currently 321,500 units in the GTA.

“Millennials are growing up. Today, renting and living in studios and one-bedroom condos may suit them just fine, but over the next five to ten years, they will be looking to upsize to more family friendly housing with an emphasis on larger two-and-three bedroom apartments given the affordability situation,” the report reads.

It says that the population of those in the age bracket between 35 to 44 is poised to swell to 207,000 by 2026 as millennials age. Meanwhile, the number of seniors will rapidly expand to 484,000 and that “in many cases they will be looking for similar housing options that young families struggling to afford will also want.”

However, the affordability gap between condo and house ownership is the main culprit behind overcrowded condo demand; it now costs $600,000 more purchase a detached home than a condo unit at October’s average prices of $1,134,000 and $511,000, respectively. That’s tripled since 2007. And, as a Toronto three-bedroom unit now sells for an average of $918,000, condo dwellers who wish to stay within city limits still lack affordable move-up options.

“This increasing demand for family-sized units means that young families will have to “drive to qualify” for any type of unit, not just detached housing,” says the report. “This may also contribute to pressure on green field lands and urban sprawl to accommodate outward building of family-friendly housing—unless we can find ways to build more affordable missing-middle housing units.”

Vancouver Empty Homes Tax Now in Force

The Empty Homes Tax (EHT) proposed and passed in Metro Vancouver last autumn is now in force, and the city is taking an aggressive approach to ensure homeowners come clean about their home’s occupancy status.

Homeowners have until February 2 to disclose whether their property is classified as empty, by self-declaring either by mail or online. Those who don’t will automatically be subject to the tax, which is a whopping 1 per cent of the property’s total value, plus a $250 fine. Those who falsely declare their home’s status will be charged an additional $10,000 fine. The city will create a team to randomly sample homeowners to enforce the new rules.

The tax applies to any property that is not a principal residence and remains unoccupied for at least six months of the year. It also applies to rental housing that remains untenanted for that period of time. However, there are a few exceptions including those who reside in Vancouver for up to 180 days for work purposes, owners and tenants receiving medical care, deceased owners, property titles that are transferred during the year, or if the property is receiving major renovations or redevelopment.

The EHT is intended to improve rental supply in Vancouver, which has a historically low vacancy rate of 0.7 per cent. Mayor Gregor Robertson says that by returning vacant properties to rental stock, that rate could be improved to as much as 3.5 per cent. It’s estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Vancouver homes could fit the tax criteria.

“Almost all homeowners in Vancouver will not be affected by the empty homes tax,” he told reporters, “but we know there are thousands sitting empty right now.”

“As long as it’s low as it is right now, we need to do everything we can to get rental housing available for people who live and work in Vancouver.”

A similar empty homes tax could also be a reality for Toronto, with the municipality empowered to implement one as part of the Ontario government’s Fair Housing Plan.

Montreal Sales Sizzle in October

While still a steal compared to Toronto and Vancouver’s real estate markets, Montreal housing continues to heat up, with October breaking an eight-year sales record.

Sales were up 7 per cent annually last month with 3,270 changing hands, reports the Greater Montreal Real Estate Board. The average price also rose across all home types, to $367,512 in the Greater Montreal area and $462,516 on the Island of Montreal.

Homes are also selling at a rate that’s two weeks faster than last year, lingering on the market for an average of 78 days, says GMREB President Mathieu Cousineau. “The single-family home and plex (structures with two to five units) markets are becoming increasingly favourable to sellers, as selling times for these property categories are falling,” he stated in a release.

He adds that the condo market, while leading growth in sales at 13 per cent, is also balanced, with units selling in 103 days – 17 fewer year over year, at an average price of $255,000. It’s the sixth consecutive month that multi-family housing sales increased by more than 10 per cent.

Single-family home prices rose 5 per cent to an average of $320,000, with plexes up 5 per cent to an average of $482,500.

New Ontario Condo Tribunal Now Online

The Condominium Authority Tribunal (CAT), a new online entity designed to streamline the condo owner dispute process and make it more affordable, is now up and running as part of the Protecting Condominium Owners Act (COA) that went into effect on November 1.

Rather than force owners to engage in an often pricey and arduous court or mediation battle, the online tribunal offers a three-phase escalation system, with direct access to mediators and adjudicators starting at $25. While it currently only handles issues relating to condo records, its services are anticipated to expand in the future.

Said COA Chair Tom Wright in an interview with the Toronto Star, “Typically these dispute would require someone taking the matter to the courts, often a costly and lengthy avenue. Sometimes a mediator would be brought in, but that would require the agreement of all parties and, again, it could be costly. The fact that a condo corporation would have to pay means the owners are footing the bill.”

In addition to the new dispute tribunal, the COA also ushered in a slew of new regulations to better protect Ontario’s 1.6 million condo residents, such as mandated training for new board members and managers, processes for meeting notices, voting procedures, reserve funds, as well as disclosures for awarded vendor contracts.

New Home Construction Remains Steady in October

The pace of new home construction starts picked up again last month after experiencing a downturn in September, reports the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The Crown Agency reveals ground was broken on 216,770 new units in October, compared to 215,153 the month prior.

“The trend in housing starts essentially held steady in October following a decrease in September,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “Nevertheless, new home construction remains very strong in 2017 as the seasonally adjusted number of starts has been above 200,000 units in nine of ten months of the year.”

In Toronto, where the resale market has slowed considerably since the summer months, new construction remains robust but has softened slightly, which the CMHC attributes to the timing of preconstruction sales.

“Total housing starts in the CMA trended lower in October 2017, with the most pronounced declines occurring in single-detached home and apartment starts,” the October report states. “Lower trending single-detached home starts are reflective of fewer sales of pre-construction units through 2016 and spring of 2017. Sales of pre-construction condominium apartment units have been brisk over the past couple of years and these units continue to start construction with varying levels of intensity each month.”

© 2015-2017 Zoocasa Realty Inc.

Services and amenities will be near at hand, while a clubhouse will make for a true gathering spot on site

ROBIN BRUNET
The Province

Developer: Kingdom Properties

Website: www.townshipcommons.com

Phone: 604-539-7750

Contact: [email protected]

 One of the great benefits of masterplanned village-style residential developments such as Township Commons by Kingdom Canada is that, if properly executed, they truly feel like self-contained communities — a village within a village, so to speak.

Township Commons consists of low-rise condominiums and townhouses combined with spacious three-level city homes, all grouped cozily together and providing a wonderful visual diversity of rooflines and architectural textures.

The village theme of Township Commons also ensures plenty of people activity, thanks to commercial services located at street level fronting 66th Avenue, and a clubhouse called Town Hall, anchoring the eastern border of the community.

Township Commons is literally across the road from the Township of Langley’s city hall complex and the local RCMP detachment, the epicentre of a community that has grown to exude a distinct urban vibe, but retains its rural appeal by being situated between acres of unspoiled farmland, stables and parks.

Township Commons is also a quick walk away from one of Langley’s most popular shopping hubs: a concentration of big brands such as a Walmart Superstore, Save-OnFoods, London Drugs and Best Buy. “The location really is a key factor,” says Margot Jay, licensed sales manager at Fifth Avenue Real Estate Marketing Ltd.

Of Township Commons’ 211 residences, 78 are traditional townhomes ranging from two to four bedrooms, while the 120 condominiums range from one- to three-bedroom units. Jay describes the city homes as “three-storey residences that each have their own private garage within the underground, yet have private direct access to their beautiful living spaces on all three floors, with the master bedroom occupying the entire third level, offering the ultimate retreat.”

The diverse building types at Township Commons have been carefully arranged and oriented, with a stepped-back design in order for the decks to provide great views of the surrounding neighbourhood.

Award-winning Portico Design Group is responsible for the interiors, which include a kitchen option that has never before been seen in the residential marketplace. “For those who choose, there is a new all-black kitchen with Shaker-style cabinets and quartz countertops,” says Jay.

The Town Hall clubhouse “is a true gathering spot for residents,” says Jay. “In addition to a kitchen and fitness room, there are flex rooms and an entertainment area.”

This degree of care in residential planning is typical of Kingdom, which has earned global respect for being a first-class community builder.

Township Commons will appeal to a wide range of buyers, from firsttime homeowners to those wanting to downsize; and as such, Jay is expecting a high degree of response as pre-sales begin.

“I would urge people to register now in order to become a VIP and take advantage of the best prices,” she says.

For more information, visit townshipcommons.com and register to receive new information on this exciting new community as it becomes available.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc

Evolv35 homes come with an extra: the ‘lock-off suite’

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Evolv35

Where: 312 Moody Ave., North Vancouver

What: 35 four-bedroom townhomes situated in Moodyville, a new, award-winning master-planned community

Residence sizes and prices: Homes range from 1,554 to 2,070 sq. ft., with legal suites, from $1.3 million; built to Passive House Canada standards and 2032 energy codes, which will help homeowners reduce their energy usage by 90 per cent annually

Developer: Guildford Brook Estates

Sales Centre: ‪100 E. 3rd St., North Vancouver (3rd and Lonsdale)

Hours: Previewing by private appointment

A home that promises to be comfortable and sophisticated indoors and responsive to the wider community can be a rare find. At Evolv35, Guildford Brook Estates’ townhome community in Moodyville, a burgeoning community in North Vancouver, buyers can be assured their well-designed contemporary family homes will meet the needs of their bottom line, as well as the broader environment.

Interior designer Theresa Yoon, principal of I.D. Lab, offers three finishes at Evolv35 to enhance warmth and create a clean, modern look in the interiors. Those same finishes, made of durable materials such as porcelain tiling and engineered stone on the countertops, can be found in the homes’ “lock-off suites,” studio or one-bedroom units, which can be used as rental units. Each has its own private entrance.

All homes will be built to Passive House Canada standards and 2032 energy codes, which are designed to reduce energy consumption by up to 90 per cent annually, courtesy of super-insulated exterior walls, triple-glazed windows and a fresh air ventilation system.

A display kitchen in the presentation centre is laid out in a horseshoe shape, a design that provides plenty of preparation space over three countertops. The finishes and design options, including a walnut scheme, a warm rift white oak cabinet option and a grey painted cabinet scheme, offer a modern look to appeal to universal tastes, Yoon says. Open shelving interrupts the upper cabinetry on two sides, breaking up the uniformity, while a chimney hood fan adds to this appeal.

 “The chimney fan allows us to extend the splash tile up behind it, which is a great feature,” Yoon adds.

“The open shelves allow the homeowners to display particular items or to simply have easier access to kitchen accessories used daily. The higher backsplash height gives the kitchen a larger appearance visually and shows off the stone splash.”

Visitors, meantime, have been attracted to the flexibility of Evolv35’s lock-off suites. The city of North Vancouver’s 2016 figures place the vacancy rate at 0.3 per cent, (a healthy vacancy rate is said to be between three and four per cent), and the addition of these suites in the homes is seen as a thoughtful gesture on the developer’s part to ease that tension, with no compromises. Residents in these suites will enjoy the same high-quality finishes that grace the main home.

“We did not use inferior or more cost-effective finishes for these units, as projects typically do [in suites designed for extended family and renters],” Yoon says. “These units can be easily furnished as they are spacious. With an open-concept plan within the kitchen and living areas, they are flexible in terms of furniture space planning.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

IBM urges B.C. government to use blockchain to track marijuana sales

Armina Ligaya
The Vancouver Sun

IBM Corp. is urging the B.C. government to use blockchain to track marijuana sales throughout the entire supply chain once recreational cannabis is legal next year.

The U.S. technology giant said blockchain could help the government limit or eliminate black market sales by tracking where and how cannabis is sourced, sold and priced, from seed to sale.

IBM made these comments in its submission as part of the B.C. government’s public consultation on cannabis regulation, ahead of Ottawa’s July 2018 deadline to make recreational marijuana legal.

“Blockchain is an ideal mechanism in which B.C. can transparently capture the history of cannabis through the entire supply chain, ultimately ensuring consumer safety while exerting regulatory control,” IBM said in the Nov. 1 document, posted on the provincial government’s website.

The B.C. government solicited input from various stakeholders as it prepares to lay out its plan for how recreational marijuana will be handled in the province. Ontario was the first province to announce its detailed marijuana plan in October, which includes the sale of the drug in up to 150 stores run by the Liquor Control Board of Ontario.

Meanwhile, IBM has invested heavily in blockchain, a technology which creates a shared digital ledger where records or transactions can be tracked and shared in real time, and in a secure and transparent manner. The technology, which powers cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, is akin to a global bulletin board.

The U.S. company said in its three-page submission to the B.C. government that blockchain could be used to track supply and demand, and manage inventory. It will also be easier in a blockchain-powered system to control quality and track down the source of poor-quality product, IBM added.

“This type of transparency would bring a new level of visibility and control to the provincial regulators and provide assurance to the multitude of cautious stakeholders regarding the way the management of a cannabis supply chain is rolled out within British Columbia,” IBM said.

© 2018 Financial Post

Neil Sharma
Mortgage Broker News

In a bid to quell rising prices in the Vancouver and Toronto markets, the government may be causing irreparable damage in smaller cities and towns across Canada with mortgage underwriting rules, set to take effect January 1.

Shane Bruce, founder of the ACME Group of Companies, says he’s already transacting fewer mortgages; and the drop isn’t just noticeable in his base of St. John’s, Newfoundland,  it’s apparent throughout the region.

“It’s certainly affected all of the markets,” Bruce told Mortgagebrokernews.ca. “A lot of these changes have just made it more difficult for borrowers to get financing. Supply and demand kicks in; if you have more supply than demand, it drives down prices. It’s been more difficult to maintain mortgage volume compared to past years.”

According to Bruce, the new 200-basis-point stress test has caused some lenders to pull out of the St. John’s marketplace, and he anticipates 2018 being slower than this year because monolines are being torpedoed by the government in favour of the charter banks.

“We maintain most of our business through the monolines, and it looks like they’re going to get affected more than charters,” he said. “We’ve always persevered, but it can get very difficult if more monolines pull out. In the smaller markets, I believe people do get more affected because we don’t have as many lenders as bigger metropolitan areas.”

What Bruce calls a “one-size-fits-all” government policy, primarily intended for the country’s largest cities, is a head scratcher.

“We don’t have a real estate supply problem like Toronto does and we certainly don’t have a growing population, and it seems like that’s what the government is focusing on while ignoring things like unsecured credit and credit card debt. There’s no rhyme or reason.”

“We’ve always found that smaller markets are more susceptible to shocks one way or the other. Just as a percentage of the overall supply in the market, they’re just more susceptible to bigger swings,” said Gordon McCallum, founder, president and CEO of Edmonton-based First Foundation, which operates all over Alberta.

“The rule changes by design depress demand and reduce buying power for consumers. When you depress demand in a small market that already has depressed demand, and there are people who have been trying to get out of that market and sell, it doesn’t do good things for that local market.”

Given the oil sector’s decline in recent years, OSFI’s rule changes come at an inopportune time for Alberta, he added. While the province may welcome government intervention for buoyancy purposes, it’s presently intruding with legislation intended for Canada’s two largest housing markets, and there will be collateral damage.

“The legislation wasn’t intended to slow an out-of-control marketplace in Edmonton or Calgary,” said McCallum. “This is the danger of nation-wide policy for a nation-wide housing market that doesn’t exist: We’re such a diverse place, with unique local markets, that it’s a pretty broad brush to be painting with.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media

In a city of NIMBYs and BANANAs, creativity is needed to find ?missing middle? of housing

Anne McMullin
REW

Out of crisis comes creativity. Vancouver’s affordable housing issue has led to the development of innovative approaches that, with zoning changes, would enable more first-time homeowners to enter the market.

Laneway or micro homes are affordable solutions but zoning restrictions prevent the ownership, strata or otherwise, of these smaller housing options. The adage “less is more” applies, given our need to reduce our ecological footprint, make better use of our existing space and consume less.

Consider the traditional single-family homes across the region. Municipalities could strategically rezone these to multi-family dwellings, permitting current homeowners to subdivide their lots for townhomes, duplexes and more. These housing options are called the “missing middle”, or what’s between the condo tower and single family home.

Imagine grown children of homeowners buying in the neighbourhoods they grew up in. Seniors benefit by selling their main principal dwelling, likely an old timer with maintenance needs where property taxes have been deferred anyway. Seniors could downsize or “rightsize”, to a smaller, new laneway dwelling on the same lot after selling their principal home parcel. In many neighbourhoods, seniors’ housing is not available or long wait lists and monthly costs make it prohibitive to move from single-family homes.

Tiny homes that are portable and easy to assemble are also catching on. These could be built on existing single-family lots, subdivided for multiple homeowners.

Micro-home builder Ian Kent of Nomad Homes told News 1130: “The world would be a better place if housing was more accessible and affordable. But… supply and demand has made it too expensive…, at least for the size of house we are accustomed to. If houses were smaller, more efficient and easier to build, this reality could change.”

In Vancouver, for example, a primary residence must be at least 37m² or 398 square feet. What’s more, strata-titling is generally not permitted in single-family zoning.

Will we see resistance to a new home ownership approach? Absolutely. After all, Vancouver is home not only to NIMBYs (Not in My Back Yard) but also to many BANANAs: “Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anything” (or Anyone). Applying a 15% foreign buyers’ tax won’t make the affordability issue disappear. Condo and townhome housing prices haven’t magically declined.

Zoning change for multi-family dwellings, condos and townhomes must also accommodate a blend of market and non-market housing for all incomes. Vancouver’s cost of living makes employee recruitment difficult, underscored by HootSuite CEO Ryan Holmes, who said: “Vancouver risks becoming an economic ghost town as people continue to leave due to lack of affordable housing.”

For comparative curbside appeal, see the four homes in the photo above. A typical laneway home in Vancouver (around $250-300K to build), a new rowhome development, a new duplex and a multimillion-dollar detached teardown. Which home would you choose to live in? Shouldn’t more of these lower-priced options be available? These discussions must start now among all stakeholders: governments, developers, home-seekers, homeowners and affordable housing agencies.

As Margaret Mead famously said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

© 2017 REW.ca

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The housing markets of Toronto are Vancouver are showing differing trajectories according to a report from RBC Econonic.

Toronto has returned to a more composed and sensible position following the implementation of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan it says. “Gone is the earlier frenzy fueled by supercharged demand conflicting with a dearth of homes available for sale,” the report notes.

In its place is a balanced market where demand has avoided fears of a sharp rise in listings and dramatic drop in sales – at least for now.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver the market is less stable as prices are rising sharply again and sellers are in control.

The economists say there is little to suggest the Vancouver price gains will slow in the near future and points to particular concern in the acceleration of condo prices.

Affordability remains a real issue in Vancouver, the report says, and this will only worsen as interest rates rise.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd