U.K. architects design condos near Vancouver?s Stanley Park as tall, curvy trees

Susan Lazaruk
The Vancouver Sun

Rendering of a highrise project proposal for Vancouver. The two towers, at 1728 Alberni St and 735 Bidwell St., are made to look like trees. Photo by Picture Plane Ltd /PNG

Is Vancouver ready for tree houses?

Two new residential towers proposed for Alberni and Bidwell streets in the West End are designed to mimic large undulating cedars to lend a Vancouver character and identity to the project, according to the design architects, Heatherwick Studio from the U.K.

The design uses the “tree as our inspiration,” with the “idea of gentle curving vertical structures that connect the public on the ground floor to the top of the towers,” the architects say in materials to support a rezoning application for the land.

Because of COVID-19 restrictions, instead of the usual open house for the project, the city is holding an online question-and-answer period, from Feb. 22 to March 14. The application is being considered under the rezoning policy for the West End, and the city is inviting comments on how the proposal would fit into the surrounding neighbourhood.

The project is the first highrise complex the world-renowned architectural firm has designed in Canada. In the report, the designers say they wanted to counter the “generic glass and steel towers which look and feel the same no matter where you are in the world.”

It called that style “boring and sterile” and lacking in character and identity.

It offers critiques of a half-dozen existing condo buildings on Alberni, and none is flattering. It notes the “imposing facade” of one and the “unwelcoming entrance” of another. A third building has a “defensive landscape” and a fourth offers “empty spaces” at street level.

“It’s difficult to have a positive emotional connection with a huge, flat building,” the architects said.

Artists renderings Photo by Picture Plane Ltd /PNG

The two tree towers, one 30 storeys, the other 34, at 1728 Alberni St. and 735 Bidwell St., would be made up of 401 strata residential units — studios and one, two and three bedrooms — with balconies and views to the mountains, Stanley Park and the harbour.

The project proposes more spaces for bikes (524) than for cars (499). The buildings would replace two mid-1980s-era apartment towers on the land.

The new towers would sit on a five-storey, “mixed use podium” that would incorporate varied architectural materials, including wood and lots of greenery. Each of the buildings’ two bases is styled after a “green mountain” that would house restaurants and shops, and have a ground-floor plaza designed to be closed off in winter and opened up in summer.

Rendering of a hi-rise project proposal for Vancouver. Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG

Design elements are borrowed from nearby Denman and Davie villages to incorporate the vibrancy of that street life, and from low-rise neighbourhoods, which have sunlight for pedestrians, grass among the pavement and mini-parks.

It said the complex is designed with an “active ground plain” intended to attract a diversity of people, be accessible and lively, and foster community belonging.

The project is to be jointly developed by Bosa Properties and Kingswood Properties.

“The concept aims to bring a new level of global design excellence to Vancouver, featuring two curvaceous, light-filled towers and a publicly accessible ground-level plaza for community engagement,” Heatherwick said in a statement.

It’s not known when the buildings, if approved, would be completed.

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© 2021 Vancouver Sun, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved.

No, Canada?s housing market won?t crash

Neil Sharma
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

No, Canada?s housing market won?t crash

Neil Sharma
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

COVID-19 and Urban Flight: GTA Cities That Were Winners and Losers

Jannine Rane
other

According to a new report from Statistics Canada, more Canadians were “opting to live outside of Canada’s largest urban centres” between July 2019 and 2020, contributing to ongoing urban sprawl. The report cites that this trend continued “in spite of” the pandemic; likely a reflection of shifting lifestyle priorities including the ability to work remotely, and the need for green space, as well as swiftly growing real estate prices in major urban centres.

Zoocasa looked at home sales and average sold price data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) for the period between April 2020, the first full-month after COVID emergency measures were implemented and December 2020, to quantify this trend of urban flight during the pandemic within the GTA.

For this report, we looked at sales and sold home price data for houses (semi-detached and detached properties) and condo apartments for municipalities across the GTA between April and December 2020, and calculated the change in sales and average sold price compared to the same period in 2019. 

Our findings indicate that there was  a higher rate of sales and price growth for low-rise homes versus condo apartments in nearly every region. For the GTA as a whole, this translated to an 11% increase in detached and semi-detached house sales but conversely a 10% decrease in condo apartment sales between April and December 2020 compared to 2019. The average house price rose 13% or $132,736 to $1,123,618 year-over-year (y-o-y) during this period, and the average condo apartment price rose just 4% or $26,056, to $621,637.   

Further, there was clear evidence of the trend of urban flight taking place. Although there was an increase in sales and average sold detached and semi-detached house prices across every GTA region other than Dufferin County in 2020, the increase in sales and prices was most prominent in regions outside of the City of Toronto – municipalities furthest from the City of Toronto generally saw the largest jumps in the growth rate of house sales. In the condo apartment market, condo-dense regions like the City of Toronto and Peel Region experienced declines in condo apartment sales, however prices noted a slight y-o-y increase. 

Simcoe County Had the Highest % Increase in House Sales Among GTA Regions

Within Simcoe County, detached and semi-detached house sales grew 21% y-o-y for the period between April and December 2020, with 2,393 houses changing hands. The average sold price grew 17% annually to $766,083. Within Simcoe County, Innisfil recorded a 36% increase in detached and semi-detached house sales – the highest for the region – with 829 sales. 

Following Simcoe County was Durham Region, where there were 1,143 more detached and semi-detached house sales between April and December 2020 compared to the same period in 2019; a 17% increase y-o-y. The average house price rose by $117,263, to $775,213. Within the Durham Region, Scugog (+35%) and Brock (+32%) noted the highest rate of increase in sales. 

According to David Micek, a Zoocasa agent in Durham Region, “housing activity is off the charts in Durham Region. Following a brief lull at the beginning of 2020 and through April, buyers returned to the market in full force, and a lot faster than sellers did.” As such, Micek notes that inventory has been slow to catch up to growing demand, resulting in competitive market conditions and upward pressure on house prices. 

Indeed, the average detached and semi-detached house price in Durham rose 18% or $117,263. The average price in Scugog and Brock where sales growth for houses was highest, increased $170,535 and $84,013 respectively.

Elsewhere in the GTA, smaller and less populous municipalities experienced a higher increase in detached and semi-detached house sales on a y-o-y basis. For example, the York Region municipality of King recorded an impressive 75% increase in house sales y-o-y and a 20% annual increase in the average home price to $1,798,590 between April and December 2020. Similarly, Georgina in York Region noted a 36% spike in house sales during this timeframe and a 24% increase in the average house price to $710,758. Within Peel Region, Caledon experienced the largest increase in annual house sales – rising 29% y-o-y. The average sold price for detached and semi-detached houses in Caledon grew 21% to $1,224,675. 

Notably, while positive, sales growth for detached and semi-detached houses was relatively more subdued within the City of Toronto. House sales growth was relatively flat y-o-y, with just 99 more houses selling between April and December 2020 compared to the previous year, a mere 1% increase. The average sold price during this period was $1,404,498, an 11% increase y-o-y. 

City of Toronto Condo Sales Down 12%, While Simcoe County Records 108% Annual Increase in Sales

For the City of Toronto, where there is the highest concentration of condo apartments across the GTA, condo apartment sales dipped 12% y-o-y to 11,634; however, sold prices remained relatively steady with a slight 3% increase to $662,959. 

Across all GTA regions, condo apartment sales noted the sharpest decline in Peel Region. Sales across Peel Region declined -20% y-o-y for the period between April and December 2020. Despite the drop in sales, however, the average home price for condo apartments grew 9% to $515,801 in Peel – possibly driven by buyers seeking  larger units with more square footage due to pandemic-driven lifestyle shifts. Within Peel Region, condo sales declined 22% in Brampton and 20% in Mississauga, while prices rose 13% and 8% respectively in both municipalities.

Elsewhere across the GTA, perhaps surprisingly so, condo apartment sales grew y-o-y, and average sold prices followed suit. Notably, Simcoe County stands out once again with an 108% increase in condo apartment sales y-o-y, and a 14% increase in the average sold price for condo apartments. It’s worth noting however, that the total volume of condo apartment sales in the region during this timeframe was relatively low, with just 106 condos being sold. In Durham Region, sales increased 22%, while in Halton Region and York Region, condo apartment sales eked out small 3% and 4% increases respectively.

Check out our infographics below that highlight year-over-year increases in house (detached and semi-detached properties) and condo apartment sales and average sold prices for the GTA for the period between April and December 2020. Further below, find a round up of the municipalities with the highest and smallest increases in sales for houses and condo apartments. 

Municipalities with the highest % increase in detached and semi-detached house sales, April to Dec 2020 compared to April to Dec 2019

1. King (York Region)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 379 (+75%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $1,798,590 (+75%)

2. Innisfil (Simcoe County)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 829 (+36%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $703,386 (+16%)

3. Georgina (York Region)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 824 (+36%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $710,758 (+24%)

Municipalities with the smallest % increase in detached and semi-detached house sales, April to Dec 2020 compared to April to Dec 2019

1. Orangeville (Dufferin County)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 365 (-6%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $691,983 (+15%)

2. Adjala-Tosorontio (Simcoe County)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 124 (-4%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $899,252 (+32%)

3. Toronto (West) 

April to Dec 2020 sales: 3,340 (-3%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $1,226,987 (+12%)

Municipalities with the biggest % decrease in condo apartment sales, April to Dec 2020 compared to April to Dec 2019

1. Orangeville (Dufferin County)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 17 (-35%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $394,618 (+17%)

2. Halton Hills (Halton Region)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 15 (-35%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $459,320 (0%)

3. Newmarket (York Region)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 40 (-23%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $488,725 (+10%)

Municipalities with the biggest % increase in condo apartment sales, April to Dec 2020 compared to April to Dec 2019

1. Innisfil (Simcoe County)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 73 (+265%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $443,990 (+17%)

2. Whitchurch-Stoufville (York Region)
April to Dec 2020 sales: 31 (+107%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $636,584 (+30%)

3. Aurora (York Region)

April to Dec 2020 sales: 64 (+56%)

April to Dec 2020 average price: $552,480 (+12%)

Contact: For media inquiries, contact [email protected]

© 2015 – 2021 Zoocasa Realty Inc.

Kerrisdale 18-unit rental building sells for $388,888 per suite

Cushman &Wakefield
Western Investor

Built-in 1964, the multi-family rental on a 12,432 square foot corner lot in an affluent Vancouver neighbourhood sold for $7 million.

Property type: Multi-family rental

Location: 5940 Balsam Street, Vancouver

Number of units: 18

Size of land: 12,432 square feet

Land size in acres: 0.28 acres

Sale price: $7 million

Date of sale: January 12^, 2021

Brokerage: Cushman & Wakefield, Vancouver

Brokers: Don Duncan and David Venance.

© Copyright 2020 Western Investor

Vancouver rental vacancies up in 2020, but affordability still a ‘significant’ challenge: CMHC

Tiffany Crawford
The Vancouver Sun

Rental vacancy in Vancouver opened up in 2020 because of the pandemic, but the cost of new rentals spiked. Photo by Francis Georgian /PNG

Metro Vancouver’s vacancy rate was up in 2020 fuelled by higher supply and lower demand because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but affordability remained a challenge, according to a Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation report.

The report, published Thursday, says the purpose-built rental apartment vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver increased to 2.6 per cent in 2020 from 1.1 per cent in 2019.

Newer structures drove the increase in the vacancy rate, particularly in the cities of Vancouver and Surrey, while vacancy rates decreased in suburban markets such as Langley and White Rock, according to the report.

CMHC says the pandemic has lowered rental demand in Metro Vancouver in part because of employment losses among younger people and workers in service industries.

Also, migration to the region has slowed with international borders closed, and many international students have returned home to study online.

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For example, CMHC says at the University of British Columbia, the purpose-built rental apartment vacancy rate increased to 13 per cent in 2020, from 0.4 per cent the year before.

CMHC also notes that a combination of market forces and housing policies from different levels of government have led owners to convert their properties to long-term rental, creating new supply.

With lower demand for short-term vacation rentals due to less tourism, “it is likely that some of these conversions are the result of investors now choosing to rent their units to long-term tenants,” the report says.

The pace of average apartment rent increased by two per cent; however, that was down from 4.7 per cent in 2019. While the pace slowed, cost was still a major problem, especially for newer tenants, the report finds.

The average asking rent for vacant units is now 21.4 per cent higher than the average rent paid for occupied units, according to the report.

“This gap suggests that market rents currently faced by prospective tenants continue to see upward pressure following several years of strong demand that raised rents significantly, while tenants remaining in the same unit only face rent increases in line with the provincially allowable amount,” the report states.

Given this reality, the report suggests longer-term tenants with lower-than-market rents may be less inclined to move.

The report concludes that while more rentals became available in Metro Vancouver, affordability remains a significant challenge, especially for lower-income renters.

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Only two per cent of Metro Vancouver rental apartments would be affordable to households that earn under $25,000 a year, while those earning under $47,000 a year can only afford about 23.9 per cent of the rental stock available, the report finds.

Of these units, only 12 per cent have two or more bedrooms, “highlighting additional challenges for families with incomes in these ranges,” the report says.

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‘You will lose your money very, very quickly’: What investors need to know about GameStop’s stock surge

Alicia Adamczyk
other

Average Joe investors, coordinated on Reddit, have roughly quadrupled the stock price of the struggling video game retailer GameStop (GME) over the past two weeks in a trading frenzy that has cost traditional Wall Street hedge funds millions of dollars and turned GME into something of a meme on social media platforms.

The GameStop surge is making headlines because it’s being driven by retail investors — individuals who buy and sell stocks for their own gains, as opposed to professional investors working on Wall Street — on the subreddit r/WallStreetBets (WSB), a community 2.9 million-strong that refers to members as “degenerates” and idolizes Elon Musk.

These retail investors have beaten Wall Street at its own game, at least temporarily. It works like this: Many hedge funds have taken short positions in companies like GameStop, in which they borrow shares of the stock at a certain price under the expectation that its market value will be worth less when it’s time to actually pay for those borrowed shares. In other words, they are betting on the stock price dropping.

But Redditors are snapping up shares and stock options in GameStop en masse, knowing their momentum together is sending the stock price up. In turn, Wall Street pros betting against the stock have to run and cover that short position by buying the stock as well. That increases demand for the shares, which increases the price even more.

This so-called “short squeeze” isn’t unusual, says Craig Fehr, investment strategist at Edward Jones. “It happens all the time, but it doesn’t tend to play out in this public or dramatic a manner.”

For some followers of the subreddit, buying GameStop stock is both a troll of the hedge funds they call “parasites,” and a real attempt at making big bucks. Along the way, the users have been encouraged by Musk and fellow billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya, CEO of venture capital firm Social Capital.

Why are Reddit investors gaming GameStop?

Simply put, an army of retail investors joined together on WSB to “bleed the short hedge funds dry,” as one user put it. The subreddit’s followers explicitly characterize their campaign as a “great wealth redistribution,” in which they are attempting to trounce the hedge funds and make everyday retail investors rich. A comprehensive summary of the movement can be found on WSB.

“We’ve democratized the market [and] trading more generally,” wrote one user on Wednesday. “We’ve found a way to stick it to the suits [and] literally take back what is rightfully ours.”

But it’s no longer just WSB traders who have gotten in on GME’s wild ride, says James Royal, senior investing reporter at Bankrate. As the stock increased, investors around the world jumped on what they view as a money-making opportunity.

“This stock is trading more dollar volume than Apple, than Tesla,” says Royal. “This is not just an isolated corner of Reddit” anymore.

Trading has become gamified, but it’s real money

While traders on WSB who bought GameStop three or four months ago might be riding high now, investing experts, including Royal, are worried about posts from users declaring that they are putting their entire retirement funds and life savings into the single stock today.

Veteran WSB followers understand that the sub isn’t meant as a financial advice forum. But fledgling investors, many of whom started trading on free trading apps like Robinhood during the pandemic, might not understand the intricacies of what is happening, leading to some incredibly risky bets with money they can’t afford to lose.

If you have no experience dealing with that kind of thing you will lose your money very, very quickly.

“This is tremendously dangerous for retail traders who haven’t traded before,” says Royal. “The stock can drop precipitously in a matter of seconds or minutes. If you have no experience dealing with that kind of thing, you will lose your money very, very quickly.”

The good news is that so far, the mania is only influencing a handful of businesses, adds Fehr. The rest of the market is still behaving rationally, to the benefit of most average investors.

“Investments that are geared toward longer-term goals like retirement, your portfolio is comprised of higher-quality names that aren’t subject to these shorter-term market whims,” he says.

The GameStop situation is “fascinating and fun to watch,” but most people are better off on the sidelines, says Sarah Newcomb, director of behavioral science at investment research firm Morningstar. While the price is increasing now, it’s only a matter of time before it falls. No one should invest money they can’t afford to lose.

“Some people like to keep a small portion of their money in brokerage accounts for exactly this kind of speculative event,” she says. “But just like you wouldn’t take your rent money to Vegas, don’t put your life savings on the line trying to guess what the herd will do next.”

There will be some winners who will make money off of their GameStop trades. But there likely be many more losers who got in at the wrong time and didn’t understand what they were doing.

“It’s a game of musical chairs and you don’t know when it’s going to stop,” says Royal. “It’s all going to end in tears, it’s just a matter of when.”

© 2021 CNBC LLC

‘You will lose your money very, very quickly’: What investors need to know about GameStop’s stock surge

Alicia Adamczyk
other

These are Canada’s most unaffordable cities for homebuyers

Duffie Osental
Mortgage Broker News

Housing markets across Canada have grown exponentially more expensive over the last 10 years, placing homeowners under an increasing amount of financial pressure. A new study from Point2Homes has revealed where the nation’s homeowners are facing the greatest levels of housing unaffordability.

According to Point2Homes, the share of income needed to afford a home has skyrocketed since 2010. As home prices continue to rise and incomes plateau, mortgage affordability has worsened in 38 of the 50 largest Canadian real estate markets.

Read more: Housing market confidence strongest since mid-March

Additionally, the number of unaffordable markets – where the share of a household’s income needed to service a mortgage exceeds 30% — has jumped from six to 16 over the last decade.

Topping the list of Canada’s most unaffordable city is Burnaby, British Columbia, where, on average, households spend a whopping 44.7% of their income to service a mortgage.

The city is followed in the top five by Richmond, BC (44.0%); Oakville, ON (43.8%); Vancouver, BC (41.6%); and Kelowna, BC (40.8%).

The study also revealed Kitchener, ON as the city with the largest gap between home price increases and wage increases. From 2010 to 2020, the city saw home prices increase by 148%, while wages grew by only 38% — a 110% difference.

On the other end of the spectrum, however, Point2Homes revealed that Halifax, NS, is the most affordable city in Canada, with the average mortgage in the city taking up 10.8% of the median household income.

Rounding out the top three most affordable housing markets are Windsor, ON (11.4%) and London, ON (11.4%).

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