Archive for April, 2020

BC housing starts could fall 30% in 2020

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

Record number of homes currently under construction, but…

Sean MacKay
Livabl

Metro Vancouver put up steady home construction numbers in March even as many other BC regions saw declines. But, despite last month’s encouraging activity levels, significant drops are forecast for at least the near term for all markets in the province.

Central 1 Credit Union Economist Bryan Yu explained in a regional outlook published last week that even as a record number of homes are currently under construction in the province, the rest of the year appears shaky as the disruptive effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are starting to be felt across the market.

New home construction levels, generally measured by “housing starts,” or how many homes began construction during a given period, are viewed as a key factor in determining market health.

“Housing starts are expected to slow due to the broad COVID-19 disruption to society,” wrote Yu. “While construction sites remain open, it is likely that physical distancing measures, closures of non-essential services, and delays in permitting will further slow buildouts and delay projects.”

Citing a major drop in residential building permits across BC municipalities observed in March, Yu said a 30 percent decline in housing starts “would not surprise” this year.

This potential drop in activity represents a tremendous about-face for the provincial market, which as Yu noted in his outlook, had a record of 62,000 housing units under construction during the first quarter.

Indeed, it was likely to be a stellar year for home construction across many major Canadian markets before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold.

“[T]he [home building] sector was priming itself for an extremely strong run through 2020 given the fundamental backdrop before the COVID-19 outbreak,” wrote BMO Senior Economist Robert Kavcic in a research note last week.

Kavcic believes March data on Canadian housing starts is only capturing the early effects of the pandemic on activity levels, with starts likely to remain “extremely depressed” through April and May.

© 2019 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Defying pandemic predictions, Vancouver prices might continue growing

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

Vancouver still most unaffordable city

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

Regardless of the global COVID-19 outbreak, Vancouver’s housing prices might actually climb even higher, RE/MAX stated.

“Despite a modest 1% growth in average home price projected for 2020, Vancouver still sits comfortably at the top of the podium as Canada’s most unaffordable city,” RE/MAX said.

The market analysis cited data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), which indicated a benchmark detached home price of $1,433,900 and an average condo price of $677,200.

“Vancouver’s stretch as a seller’s market has been driven by strong, year-over-year increases in demand, and the supply of listings has struggled to keep pace. This trend has been strongest within the condominium market; as of February of this year, there was a 28.4% ratio of sales-to-active listings,” RE/MAX explained.

“With supply being further depressed during this public health crisis, Vancouver real estate prices have the potential to creep even higher.”

The Bank of Canada’s recent rate cuts are further stimulating the market.

“With the rate down to 0.25%, it has made it easier for Canadians to access a mortgage, helping to steady demand within the housing market,” RE/MAX added. “With buyers able to now increase the amount that they are able to borrow, thanks to these low interest rates, demand may increase, pushing supply lower….and prices even higher.”

“For now, it’s looking like COVID-19 won’t cool Vancouver’s sizzling Spring Market, at least when it comes to housing price growth.”

Copyright © 2020 Key Media

Anger mounts as Big Six profit from mortgage deferral programs

Tuesday, April 14th, 2020

Mortgages that are deferred are being charge interest on the new amount

Clayton Jarvis
Mortgage Broker News

It has been undoubtedly moving to see people reclaim a sense of shared humanity in the weeks since COVID-19 threw the world’s population all into the same boat. But for every example of neighbours serenading each other from the rooftops, it’s not hard to find competing stories that remind us that not every trait shared by humanity is an inspiring one.

That’s the decidedly mixed sentiment being triggered by many of Canada’s Big Six banks and their recent mortgage deferral programs, which allow borrowers to put off making loan payments for up to six months as the world continues fighting the coronavirus, after a recent CBC story detailed the challenges faced by two homeowners. What was first trumpeted as a lifeline for homeowners in distress is now being framed by some borrowers as a source of “additional” interest charges that will create millions in profits for the banks at a time when the average Canadian is wondering if she’ll still have a job tomorrow.

Rather than halt interest charges during loan deferment periods, some members of the Big Six are adding them to borrowers’ outstanding balances and charging interest on the new amount. Homeowners who opt for deferment programs may rightfully feel penalized for doing little more than trying to avoid defaulting on their mortgages at a time when the Canadian economy has been largely shuttered by government order.

No surprise, then, that where once there was relief, now there is rage.

“The way they are touting the deferrals like [the banks] are our heroes in some way, all the while ‘helping’ us, as a country, into heaps more personal — and fabricated — debt,” Toronto homeowner Amanda Merle told CBC. She says the four-month deferral she and CIBC agreed to will cost her an extra $7,400.

An out of work health care aide in Calgary, Sidra Liaqat, told CBC her six-month deferral will force her into paying an additional $5,300 in interest to RBC.

“Basically, it’s just the bank profiting off this emergency,” she said. “I don’t think it’s fair. It’s not right.”

When asked for comment, representatives from RBC and the Canadian Bankers Association sent MBN boilerplate comments that were identical to the ones shared with CBC. Neither group directly addressed the topic at hand.

“[T]he cash flow freed up from the deferrals completed to date is roughly $778 million per month, or $2.3 billion per quarter. This keeps money in the pockets of people who need it now,” said the CBA’s statement, which added, somewhat ironically, comments about the importance of access to “low-cost credit, particularly during an unexpected shock”.

RBC’s comment had more to say about the relief the bank is providing its credit card clients than it did about mortgage deferrals.

The truth on mortgage deferrals

CIBC, however, addressed both the CBC story, which the bank says contains inaccuracies, and the issue of additional interest. The statement provided to MBN, in full, is below. (Emphasis added by MBN.)

At CIBC, we do not charge interest on interest during the mortgage deferral period.  Clients have the option of paying accrued interest at the end of the period or adding the unpaid interest to their mortgage which would increase a monthly mortgage payment by an average of $40 based on a $300,000 mortgage at a 3% interest rate amortized over 25 years.  Mortgage deferrals are helping keep thousands of dollars in the pockets of clients facing financial hardship. Those deferring mortgage payments for six months will benefit from an average of $10,000 in immediate payment relief which can help a lot at a critical time.

The emphasized text is critical, and not only because it describes options for homeowners not included in the CBC story; it speaks to the transparency the banks have used in talking to the public about mortgage deferrals and what they might cost.

“Every bank has a little bit different of a policy, but it is given to you upfront,” says DLC’s Sara Makhomet. “There’s no hidden cost or ‘I wasn’t aware this is happening.’”

And it’s not as if the situation among non-bank lenders is any different.

“It’s very, very similar,” Makhomet says, adding that she hopes other assistance options can be put in place for borrowers, particularly now that the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation has in place a $50 billion fund for purchasing insured mortgages, thereby reducing the risk faced by the Big Six.

But what more can banks conceivably do?

“I don’t think, in clients’ minds, they realize how much this is costing [the banks],” says Dalia Barsoum of Streetwise Mortgages. “Should they just delay payments without earning interest? I can’t make that call, but at the end of the day, the mass request for mortgage deferrals is also impacting the rest of the people who are looking to get funding.”

Barsoum explains that as the banks’ lending reserves rapidly diminish amidst a dearth of mortgage payments they will be forced to tighten their lending practices.

“There’s not an infinite amount of money that can cover all of these deferrals and still keep the market going,” she says. Barsoum is already seeing lenders on commercial properties cut off conventional lending that lacks the backing of the CMHC. The capital that would normally grease the wheels of the economy has been vaporized.

From the banks’ perspective, it’s a complex, damned-if-you-do/damned-if-you-don’t situation. They are providing an invaluable solution for Canadian homeowners desperate for cash flow, but they must also ensure they can continue paying dividends to their investors, such as the untold number of seniors who rely on those dividends for their economic security. Those payments cannot exist in the same universe as mass mortgage forgiveness.

Homeowners, on far tighter budgets than any of the Big Six, are similarly stuck. Their options, until better ones are presented, are few.  

Copyright © 2020 Key Media

House of Commons passes $73 billion wage subsidy bill

Sunday, April 12th, 2020

The Trudeau government and opposition have passed the wage subsidy bill

Joan Bryden
The Province

 The House of Commons has approved a massive $73-billion wage subsidy program aimed at helping businesses and workers survive the economic ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A bill to implement what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the most significant economic program since the Second World War was passed Saturday “on division” after some six hours of speeches and debate.

On division means there was some opposition among the handful of MPs in the chamber, but there was no recorded vote. It was not immediately clear who objected.

Passage of the legislation was assured after Conservatives dropped their attempt to tie the bill to the longer-term question of how Parliament should function in the midst of a national health crisis.

At a morning news conference just hours before the Commons met for a rare emergency sitting on the Easter long weekend, Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said his party had agreed to support speedy passage of the bill and to continue discussions on the future of Parliament later.

Under the bill, which was expected to pass the Senate and receive royal assent later Saturday, the federal government will pay companies 75 per cent of the first $58,700 normally earned by each employee, up to $847 per week for up to 12 weeks. The subsidy is retroactive to March 15 and will be available to companies that lost 15 per cent of their revenue in March or 30 per cent in April or May.

Finance Minister Bill Morneau said the money will begin to flow within two to five weeks, with the government working to get it started in the shortest possible time.

Scheer said that Conservatives had won some improvements to the bill over the past week of negotiations and that their support for the wage subsidy was never dependent on settling the matter of how or when Parliament should sit going forward.

That said, Scheer argued that the work of opposition parties to improve the legislation demonstrates how important it is to have the Commons sitting regularly so that the government can be held to account.

“This shows that during times of crisis, Parliament needs to play its role,” he said.

Scheer reiterated his party’s contention that the Commons should sit with reduced numbers four days a week.

Trudeau has argued that in-person sittings present a health risk for Commons clerks, administrators, security and cleaners who’d have to come to work at a time when all Canadians are being urged to stay home to curb the spread of the deadly virus. He’s also argued that small sittings like Saturday’s sitting of just 32 MPs who are primarily within driving distance of the capital would shut out MPs from all corners of the country.

Trudeau’s Liberals have been promoting the idea of virtual sittings of Parliament. Commons Speaker Anthony Rota has instructed Commons administration to consult with experts about the logistics and technology required for virtual sittings, with the goal of having them up and running within four weeks.

But Scheer said: “We can’t wait that long.”

He suggested that in-person sittings should be held until virtual sittings can be implemented.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said he’s open to discussing either virtual sittings or “limited” in-person sittings. But Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said he would never agree to regular, in-person sittings.

For the past couple of weeks, the Commons finance and health committees have been meeting weekly via teleconference. As part of the deal struck with opposition parties to speedily pass the wage subsidy bill, government House leader Pablo Rodriguez said more committees industry, government operations, human resources and procedure and House affairs will also begin virtual meetings.

The latter committee will be specifically tasked with exploring the best ways for the Commons to function in the weeks ahead. It is to report back by May 15.

“We have to be creative,” Rodriguez said.

“On one hand, we can’t tell Canadians, ‘Stay home because that’s the way to fight this (pandemic)’ and then come here every day and meet.”

To satisfy the NDP and Bloc Quebecois, the government promised in the motion seeking unanimous consent to speed the bill through the Commons that it would implement measures “without delay” to fill some of the gaps left by emergency aid programs.

It promised specifically to ensure financial support for Canadians who don’t currently qualify for assistance, including seasonal workers, students, owner-operators, those who’ve exhausted employment insurance benefits and those earning modest incomes from part-time work, royalties and honoraria.

It also promised to ensure essential workers who are earning low wages will receive additional support.

At the behest of the NDP, the motion was amended to add a promise that the government will not “unjustly penalize” anyone who in good faith applies for and receives emergency benefits but is subsequently found to be ineligible.

The government also promised in the motion to provide partially non-repayable loans for small and medium-sized businesses to help them cover fixed costs, such as rent.

Singh urged Trudeau to go further and drop all the eligibility criteria for the emergency benefit. However, the prime minister did not specifically respond to that suggestion.

For the most part, the sitting was notable for its lack of partisanship, with New Democrat, Green and Bloc MPs thanking the government for being open to their suggestions for improvements.

Conservatives, however, characterized the bill as a “fix,” required after the government flubbed its first emergency aid legislation two weeks ago $107 billion worth of tax deferrals and direct financial aid, including a 10 per cent wage subsidy.

Trudeau, who has addressed the nation daily at briefings outside his home for 26 days, spoke instead Saturday in the Commons, where he delivered a Churchillian speech invoking the heroic battles fought by Canadian troops in the First and Second World Wars.

“This is not a war. That doesn’t make this fight any less destructive, any less dangerous, but there is no front line marked with barbed wire, no soldiers to be deployed across the ocean, no enemy combatants to defeat,” he said.

“Instead, the front line is everywhere. In our homes, in our hospitals and care centres, in our grocery stores and pharmacies, at our truck stops and gas stations. And the people who work in these places are our modern-day heroes.”

© 2020 Postmedia Network Inc.

Dust off your cybersecurity toolkit

Thursday, April 9th, 2020

Last Pass…

other

Dust off your cybersecurity toolkit

With an increased amount of time being spent online, it’s more important than ever to get up to speed on the cybersecurity routines that will keep you and your family secure. So let’s freshen up on some best practices that should be top of mind throughout every step of your day-to-day digital life.

 

 

 

BE ALERT TO PHISHING SCAMS

Protect yourself from email phishing scams by asking yourself some important questions before interacting with a new email, such as: Was I expecting this email? Do I know the sender? Is there a sense of urgency for my attention? Are there links and attachments in the email? Never click or open an email until you can verify that it is legitimate.

 

 

 

STAY ON TOP OF SOFTWARE UPDATES

Stop hitting that snooze button when your computer prompts you to update your software. Many times software is updated to protect against security flaws. So, if you don’t update, your device may remain vulnerable. Update your browsers, extensions, computer OS, mobile apps – do a full check to make sure you’re up-to-date and protected.

 

 

 

CLEAR YOUR CACHE

You probably will accumulate a lot of cookies and other tracking in your browser as time goes on. It’s a good idea to periodically clear your browser cache for “all time,” giving yourself a fresh start. And if you’re concerned about adware, consider an extension like AdBlock Plus to help cut down on your exposure.

 

 

 

CLEAN UP YOUR VAULT

You may be surprised how many sites and passwords you’ve accumulated in your LastPass account. Take a stroll through your vault, and start shutting down accounts that you just don’t use anymore – for example, one-time registrations or sign-ups for one-off purchases. The fewer credentials you have, the fewer credentials you need to protect.

 

 

 

POLISH UP ON PASSWORD SECURITY

As a LastPass user, you’re probably familiar with the power of the Security Challenge. But it’s important to take it regularly to see where your weak or reused passwords are, especially as your passwords age. Once you can see your weaknesses, LastPass can help you generate new passwords that are unique and secure.

 

REBGV COVID-19 update April 8

Thursday, April 9th, 2020

REBGV COVID-19 update April 8

REBGV

Value of building permits issued across Canada plummets in March – StatCan

Thursday, April 9th, 2020

COVID-19 uncertainty has slowed building permits

Duffie Osental
Mortgage Broker News

Economic uncertainty from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused the value of building permits issued across Canada to decrease in March, according to figures from Statistics Canada (StatCan).

According to StatCan, the value of building permits issued by Canadian municipalities fell 23.2% in March 2020 to $1.4 billion when compared to the same month last year, with Ontario, British Columbia, and Quebec registering the strongest declines –  likely reflecting provincial measures put in place mid-month to slow the spread of COVID-19

Broken down by region, municipalities in central Canada showed the largest declines, as both Ontario and Quebec declared emergencies in mid-March to combat the pandemic. In Montréal, the number of permits filed declined 37.6% in March compared with the same period a year earlier. In Ontario, the value of building permits issued fell by 50.5% compared with March 2019.

Meanwhile, StatCan reported that investment intentions in the Maritime provinces showed resilience with building permits in Halifax surging 153.1%, as both the residential (up $31 million) and non-residential (up $28 million) sectors increased compared with March 2019. Additionally, the number of permits in Charlottetown increased by 31.6% (up 12 permits) from a year ago.

In Western Canada, the value of building permits declined 3.2% to $861 million as the fall in investment intentions for British Columbia (down 26.8%) offset gains made in Alberta (up 11.7%).

“As British Columbia reported many of the earliest Canadian cases of COVID-19, construction intentions likely slowed earlier than in the rest of Western Canada,” said StatCan. “A change in development fee costs in January for Vancouver may also have pulled some permits forward as builders avoided cost increases by submitting permit applications earlier than usual.”

Copyright © 2020 Key Media

US News: Veros cuts housing appreciation projections in half

Thursday, April 9th, 2020

Veros Real Estate Solutions projects average annual home price appreciation of 1.9%

Clayton Jarvis
other

In its most recent market forecast, Veros Real Estate Solutions projects average annual home price appreciation of 1.9% for the 100 largest housing markets in the U.S. in 2020. Not so bad considering the economy is currently encased in concrete.

Although that 1.9% is half the rate of appreciation projected by the company in January, Veros’ Vice President of Statistical and Economic Modeling, Eric Fox, says most housing markets are set to come out of the upcoming recession little worse for wear.

“The fundamentals are still there with the housing market,” he says. “There are no signs that demand or supply is going to come crashing down.”

Fox describes what is currently happening in markets across the country as a pause rather than an unravelling. Rather than cancelling their home sales, relocations or retirements, he says clients are simply delaying their next moves for the next few months.

That level of patience was in short supply during the 2008 financial crisis. Passing through such a crucible, Fox says, not only woke new homeowners to the fact that housing prices can, in fact, fall, it also prepared them for the next crisis – the one we’re all sharing a slice of today.

That preparedness means no panic selling and no rising inventory levels. Prices should, therefore, stay where they are. Fox expects a “small hiccup” in prices for the next two quarters, followed by “a big, fast rebound at the end of the year.”

Fox urges interested parties sorting through the ashes of the 2008 nuking of the economy in search of guidance to keep in mind the fundamental difference between the last recession and the one we’re currently staring down the barrel of.

“The last one was really different, in terms of it was housing that caused the recession,” he says. “When we’ve seen recessions not being caused by housing, housing tends to still do okay.” During the most recent recession, in 2001, a time in which unemployment doubled, prices did indeed keep rising.

“Recession doesn’t always equal house price depreciation.”

Some markets, like NY, are on ice, but activity is still occurring “We’re still seeing houses go under contract that have gone under contract that have been on the market for five days on the MLS. There are still lots of markets where people are buying, and we’re not seeing aggressive price pressure.”

Seller sentiment today compared to the last meltdown: homebuyers ready; last downturn taught owners that the cycle exists;

Fastest growing markets; 4/10 in WA, does supply and demand rule? “I think it does.” Lots of jobs; lot of pending sales; if jobs and plans to retire are set, they’re just being pushed back;

Expects pent up demand being unleashed in markets with strong fundamentals; forecast calls for a short period, a quarter or two of price declines, and then

Market lethargy, not enough pressure to change things; low demand, low supply; spike in demand, possibly at the end of the summer

Copyright © 2020 Key Media Pty Ltd

Review bylaws before electronic meeting

Thursday, April 9th, 2020

Only practical method of voting may be calling the roll one at a time to identify how they vote

Tony Gioventu
The Province

Dear Tony:

Our strata corporation is 118 units in the Fraser Valley. In 2010 we adopted a new bylaw package that was drafted and reviewed by our lawyer that included a bylaw that permitted “annual or special general meetings to be conducted by electronic methods”.

The bylaw contained no other language and we assumed this would be easy to administer. We attempted to hold a special general meeting last week to approve a long overdue roofing project for later this summer. There will be a very small levy as we have planned for most of the funds from our contingency reserves. The notice was issued and advised everyone of the electronic meeting that included a conference call number and or Zoom connection.

It became clear at the beginning that the meeting was in trouble as no one had figured out how we would do registration to identify owners, proxy holders and issue voting cards or in lieu of that be able to identify each eligible voter as there were over 65 people on the call/meeting.

While the concept of an electronic meeting seems ideal, it resulted in a termination of the meeting half an hour after it was called to order because there were so many delays, people continuously getting cut off the system and having to reconnect, and a continual number of people on the conference call who kept interrupting the process.

Are we making this too complicated? Is there an easier method to managing an electronic meeting?

Gerri W.

Dear Gerri:

Electronic meetings work very well for small groups of council members or owners where it is easy to identify each owner or council member as they participate.

To properly facilitate and conduct a general meeting by an electronic method — which requires every eligible voter to be able to communicate with each other — bylaws must permit electronic general meetings and address: the process of registration, certification of proxies, recognizing how voting cards will replace electronic attendees, how the quorum is reported and maintained in the event the electronic system being used fails, how a chairperson may be elected if necessary, how votes for resolutions would be counted, how you would address the matter of secret ballots or a precise count if your bylaws permit, who decides how each vote is taken and how the minutes and records of the meeting are reported.

For electronic meetings, once the roll of eligible voters as been “registered” and established, the only practical method of voting may be the calling of the roll one at a time to identify how they vote. This will at least ensure you have a record by unit or strata lot number that can support the calculations and decisions made at the meeting.

An online voting process is possible; however, in testing several online voting technologies that occur at a simultaneous meeting, you require a separate identity number for each eligible voter to prevent voting irregularities.

If more than the registered eligible voters sign in — which has occurred on several Zoom meetings — what happens when there are more votes cast than the number registered? Now you will be required to call the roll and verify each strata lot vote, resulting in a voting irregularity.

Here is a test I apply on procedural questions for both in-person and electronic meetings.

  1. Have all eligible voter’s voting rights been protected?
  2. Are all eligible voters and proxies properly identified?
  3. Is there a risk of voting irregularities as a result of a general log in?
  4. Do the bylaws of the corporation permit the electronic procedures?
  5. Do the procedures comply with the Strata Property Act and Regulations?

In the past week, we have audited several general meetings converted to Zoom meetings. There was a single method of joining where several parties attended who were not owners, not eligible voters, and disrupted the meetings, and where the strata corporation’s bylaws did not permit electronic general meetings.

There is no single solution that remedies all the conditions, and while it is not safe for people to be congregating in confined spaces, we must look at viable alternatives.

Without amending bylaws, a strata corporation still has the opportunity to convene a restricted proxy meeting, or if there is no urgency, defer the meeting until it is permitted and safe to once again gather.

Before you convene an electronic meeting, closely review your bylaws to determine if the method is permitted, talk through the procedures with council and your manager so you understand how they will be executed.

For more information on restricted proxies and managing your strata through the COVID-19 crisis the Condominium Home Owners Association has prepared a number of guides and templates to assistance with operations. Go to www.choa.bc.ca, email [email protected] or call 1-877-353-2462 and an advisor will be happy to assist.

© 2020 Postmedia Network Inc.

Sophia Living 2301 Clark Street Port Moody 30 two and three bedroom townhomes by Paulsun Holdings

Thursday, April 9th, 2020

Sophia Living townhomes meld traditional and modern in Port Moody?s heritage district

Michael Bernard
The Province

Sunny Singh says his family-owned company has a golden rule when it comes to building homes for people: “We build homes that we would want to live in.”

The company, Paulsun Holdings, started by his father 30 years ago, also considers places where the members of the extended family would like to be located, and Port Moody qualifies as just such a location.  Sophia Living, which carries on the tradition of being named after the grand-daughters, is nestled in an area of Port Moody that the city has designated as heritage zoning. That is why the boutique-style development of 30 two- and three-bedroom townhomes has a traditional design with Craftsman-style features.

The homes, single-level two-bedroom and den units at ground level with two- and three-level townhomes stacked on top, are in four buildings with an attractive courtyard in the middle — complete with a checker board pattern pathway in the centre for kids to use for their games. While the one level units have doors on the outside streets and facing the courtyard, the upper level homes have doors on the courtyard. The site, one corner of which is at Clark and Spring, is laid out to provide higher density levels, which in turn allows Paulsun to offer the homes at more affordable prices, he said.

Why Port Moody? The company has built all over Metro Vancouver but has always been impressed with the Vancouver suburb situated at the eastern end of Burrard Inlet, said Singh. “We’ve built there in the past, and we have always liked that area. Port Moody is a unique kind of city right in the middle of everything but not very many people know about it. Once people go there, they are quite impressed. It is now becoming one of the most popular destinations for people to take their kids, including the great Rocky Point Park. “My wife and I have a new baby girl, so we go down there once a week,” he said, adding that there is a kids’ aquatic park, an ice cream shop and a museum nearby. “When we looked at the site for the first time, we felt like this was a place where we would want to live.”

Singh says the homes are close to the West Coast Express and Skytrain station but not so close that the noise of the trains is an issue. Also nearby are small stores along St. John whose heritage features are protected by zoning.

The garden suites range from 1,000 to 1,100 square feet; the two bedroom plus den range from 1250 to 1350 square feet, while the three bedrooms are 1,350 to 1,431 square feet. While the exteriors of the homes will be heritage styled when completed, the interiors of the 30 homes are completely modern and suited to today’s living. The open-style floor plans are practical and efficient and come in two designer colours. Flooring is modern wood laminate throughout the living areas, bedrooms and stairs.  All main levels have nine-foot ceilings and a full fire sprinkler system throughout with smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. There are five-inch baseboards and 3.5-inch flat stock casing on all doors and oversized windows, which come equipped with two-inch faux wood blinds. Every home has a full-size stacked washer and dryer and wood closet organizers to maximize storage.

Kitchens come with a premium stainless steel appliance package. It includes an Energy Star-rated 36” KitchenAid counter-depth French door fridge with bottom freezer, water dispenser, and automatic ice maker. Also included is a 30” KitchenAid Electric Range with self-cleaning convection oven, an Energy Star KitchenAid ultra quiet dishwasher with hidden controls and multiple wash options, a built-in Panasonic Microwave with a stainless steel trim kit and an Energy Star under-cabinet Broan hood fan.

The cabinetry is custom-made solid plywood cabinetry with a soft-close feature and brilliant satin or black hardware and engineered quartz countertops. Most kitchens have islands with a breakfast bar for entertaining and a dual stainless-steel sink with garburator and high-arc Delta faucet. There is an energy efficient hot water system as well.

The bathrooms feature custom-designed cabinetry to maximize storage and a sleek under-mount sinks and quartz countertops.  Every bathroom comes with Delta wall and hand showers, high-grade handset porcelain floors and coordinating wall tiles. There are also relaxing soaker tubs to accompany the walk-in shower with tempered-glass enclosures and one-piece low water consumption toilets.

Singh says that Paulsun uses a number of green building techniques including low VOC paints, a recycling program during construction and solid building practices to ensure the homes are Green Gold and Energuide 82 certified. Every resident parking stall in the underground parking is pre-wired for electric car charging.

Sophia Living, Port Moody

Project address: 2301 Clark St., Port Moody

Project scale: Thirty wood-frame boutique garden suites and townhomes with balconies and patios in a traditional design located in Port Moody’s heritage district. Close to Skytrain, West Coast Express, shopping and schools. Two-bedroom and den and three-bedroom homes range in size from 1,027 sq. ft. to 1,430 sq. ft.

Prices: Starting from $729,000

Developer: Paulsun Holdings Ltd.

Architect: Jordan Kutev Architect Inc.

Interior Design: In house

Sales centre: 3032 St. John St., Port Moody

Sales phone: 604-468-0601

Website: www.sophialiving.ca

Completion date: Fall 2021

© 2020 Postmedia Network Inc.