BoC should introduce 0.5% April increase: Scotiabank economist

Fergal McAlinden
other

“We think they’ve got some signalling to do that they take the inflation situation more seriously than their actions suggest”

 A 50-basis-point increase in the Bank of Canada’s benchmark rate could be in the cards for April with the central bank currently “behind the curve” on inflation, according to Scotiabank’s chief economist.

Jean-François Perrault (pictured top), who also serves as the banking giant’s senior vice president, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that a 0.5% hike in the Bank’s next rate announcement was “pretty likely” after recently released Statistics Canada data showed inflation ballooned to 5.7% last month.

Such a move would see the central bank’s trendsetting interest rate rise to 1%, having spent nearly two years at a rock-bottom 0.25% following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We think they’ve got some catching up to do. We also think they’ve got some signalling to do that they take the inflation situation more seriously than their actions today suggest,” he said.

“For those reasons we think they should raise interest rates by 50 [basis] points in April… Given where expectations are, it’s very difficult to see them not signalling a more aggressive response to inflation.”

While Canada’s housing market has surged partly because of those low pandemic-era interest rates, Perrault said that such a hike would be unlikely to have a significant material impact in cooling down activity, particularly given the current robustness of that market.

February economic data pointed to strong market conditions, with listings improving in a “very, very welcome” development for the housing market, according to Perrault.

Read next: Bank of Canada hike: Have borrowers’ views on the market changed?

“We’ll be entering the spring market more fully in the next few weeks. The dynamism in the market is really quite remarkable, and that… is in part because there’s a lot of people that are still trying to buy a place,” he said.

“Even if interest rates move up and they take some buyers out of the market, there are still plenty of others that are there to take advantage of the strength in the market.”

The Canadian labour market added 337,000 jobs in February, recovering strongly from the Omicron-induced shock of February job losses, and the unemployment rate has also sunk to levels not seen since just before the pandemic struck.

At 5.5%, Canada’s employment rate is now lower than it was in February 2020 (5.5%), one month prior to the onset of the pandemic, with last month’s surge in employment numbers spurred by gains in sectors that had been hit by January public health restrictions.

Perrault said that those were “unbelievably strong” job figures even if they were partially skewed by the rebound from January, pointing to a powerful labour market and growth environment that would likely continue.

That was important to note in the context of future Bank of Canada rate increases, he said, with economic expansion likely to offset some of the impact to the housing market of those hikes.

As for the prospect of the housing market levelling off towards the end of the year? Perrault said continued lack of inventory meant it remained “generally undersupplied in a very fundamental sense” both in terms of units available and population.

“That does suggest that, unbelievable as it maybe is to say, it’s not inconceivable that prices continue to rise from here and now,” he said. “We think interest rate increases are going to moderate that very significantly, but the momentum is very much there.”

Read next: Another Bank of Canada rate hike likely in April: BMO economist

Perrault pointed out that house prices across the country have effectively spiked by 50% in the past two years – but that hasn’t had a corresponding cooling effect on demand. The same could go for interest rate hikes, he said.

“The deterioration of affordability that flows from price increases almost certainly swamps a two- or three-percentage-point increase in mortgage rates,” he said. “A 50% increase in [house prices] hasn’t had a very detrimental impact on the housing market in terms of demand.

“Sure, higher rates are supposed to slow the real estate market, but the housing market hasn’t slowed despite this very, very significant increase in prices over the last couple of years. That speaks to this demand for housing that’s out there.”

For Canadians who already hold mortgages, there will be inevitable negative consequences from rate hikes down the road, although Perrault said only a small few are likely to be seriously affected.

“The purpose of higher policy rates is to cool things down, to make it a little bit more expensive for households to buy things. So there are going to be impacts,” he said.

“That’s why they raise interest rates. Generally speaking, I think those impacts are going to be manageable for the large majority.”

 

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Quebec home-buying intent returns to pre-pandemic levels

Micah Guiao
other

The new normal is also shifting consumer preferences

 The coronavirus might still be around, but Quebecers are ready to move on from the pandemic with their intent to buy a home, according to the latest Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Home Ownership Poll.

Home-purchasing intent has returned to its pre-pandemic levels, with one in five Quebec respondents keen to own a house in the next two years. This was a tempered result compared to the 19% in 2020 and 36% in 2021.

Read next: Canada house prices – why do they keep rising?

This comes even as new house prices climbed by 1.1% in February compared to the prior month, registering gains in 18 of 27 census metropolitan areas, according to Statistics Canada. In particular, Quebec saw monthly price growth of 2.9%.

The new normal has also shifted consumer preferences, with more than half of aspiring Quebec homeowners prioritizing location over size. Pascal Berger, mortgage specialist at RBC, said Quebecers are being more cautious with homeownership than ever, given that inflation continues to go through the roof.

“While there is still a significant amount of activity in the market, our research indicates that the rush of people looking to purchase a home over the last two years has subsided and we’re now starting to see a move back to pre-pandemic levels,” Berger said. “Between rising costs and the competitiveness of the market, Quebecers may now be taking a step back and setting aside more time to plan and save before making the jump into homeownership.”

The research also found that the budget for homeownership had risen by more than $50,000 to $352,578 compared to $298,971 in 2021 as 36% of Quebecers are now also spending less to save for post-pandemic homeownership.

In addition, half of the respondents are concerned about the rise in interest rates, while almost one in five mortgage holders said they are not prepared for that to happen. 

Read more: Rate increases – what could they mean for the housing market?

“With the rising costs Quebecers are facing, having a clear picture of your finances is a must,” Berger said. “Taking the time to create a plan and understand where they are financially can help them feel more in control of the home buying process.”

The online survey was administered to 2,753 Canadians from January 13-29, 2022.

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Q&A: First-time homebuyers face sticker shock from hidden costs

Shawn Conner
The Vancouver Sun

Along with the minimum deposit, there are fees on top of fees — before, during and after the actual purchase.

 Along with the minimum deposit, there are fees on top of fees for a home purchase. Realtor Michelle Comens offers some tips about these hidden costs. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

First-time homebuyers are often surprised at all the extra costs involved in purchasing a home. Along with the minimum deposit, there are fees on top of fees — before, during and after the actual purchase. We talked to Michelle Comens, who left the city’s VFX industry for the Lower Mainland real estate world 12 years ago, about these hidden costs.

Q. Do you work with a lot of first-time homebuyers?

A: I do. Some years it’s a third of my clientele. Recently I’ve had a lot of people moving here from Ontario and L.A.

Q: Are your Los Angeles clients from contacts you made from your TV and movie work?

A: Yeah, a few as a result of referrals from some Sony people.

Q: I guess for people who are earning in the high six figures incidental costs don’t matter.

A: Well, it all adds up. The Property Transfer Tax is huge. People who aren’t from B.C. don’t know about it. That’s a pretty hefty little thing to add on. (The PPT is one per cent of the fair market value up to and including $200,000, two per cent greater than $200,000 and up to and including $2 million, and three per cent of the fair market value greater than $2 million.) That’s probably the biggest surprise to people.

Q: Why isn’t there more outrage over this?

A: I don’t know. When I bought my first house in 1996, and a house then was $250,000, the tax didn’t seem outrageous. It’s the same tax but now that the numbers are much bigger, maybe the attitude is, “Well, we’ve kept the same tax rate. So what’s the problem?” But it’s a huge cash grab. Even if you own something and you want to put your partner on title, if they’re going to become a 50/50 owner on an investment property they have to pay a property transfer tax on that. I had a set of clients where the mom and the daughter basically traded houses. They had to trade on paper and both pay the tax.

Q: Is there any way buyers can mitigate inspection fees?

A: If you’re buying a condo, a lot of them have depreciation reports. Those are basically a 30-year-outline of what’s coming up in the building. Those are super helpful because what’s going to happen in the building is going to be your main expenditure rather than what’s happening in the physical unit. What a lot of buyers are doing is reading everything beforehand and doing inspections before they even make an offer, and then they might not get the place.

 

Q: The initial deposit isn’t necessarily a surprise though, is it?

A: That can be a tricky thing for people to come up with sometimes. I let them know that they’re going to need access to those funds quickly. It’s something you need to come to the table with for sure.

Q: What about legal fees?

A: I often recommend going with a notary rather than a lawyer. If the closing is straightforward, the notary will do the land title, move the money around, all of it. My experience with them over the years has been excellent.

Q: Do buyers have to pay if there’s a rush for strata documents?

A: This is a huge cash grab by strata management companies. The rush fee can be $300 and you’re paying for the documents as well. But the listing agent will pay that.

 

Q: Then after the purchase there are things like insurance and property tax.

A: Insurance can be a big surprise to people, especially when you’re dealing with a strata. Part of your strata fees are paying for insurance for the building. Most stratas require you to have your own liability insurance. That can be tricky to get if the deductible on the strata is high. That’s something you want to look at — how much are the deductibles for strata insurance, and how much is your own insurance going to cost.

What I recommend for buyers is to do a simple Excel spreadsheet and plug in your numbers so you know what your monthly costs are. The big numbers can be scary but if you know what your mortgage rates are going to be, what your monthly cost is going to be, your strata fees, your insurance, then you’re in a better position. If you end up in a multiple offer situation where you’re having to go up by $10,000 increments you can look at it like, “Well, that’s about $40 more a month.” You know what your max is, you have all of those costs worked out.

 

Q: Should first-time buyers consider mortgage cancellation fees?

A: It’s something you should think about when you’re setting up your lending. Is it going to be at least a five-year hold, great, go for a five-year fixed rate. But if you might be selling or adding somebody it’s wise to think about what you’re doing. Those cancellation fees can be really high.

Q: What do you recommend if a buyer is thinking about renovations?

A: Sometimes I’ll have a contractor come in before we even put in an offer. Then the buyer has an idea of the cost and they can add that to their mortgage. And some stratas require permission, and then you might need to get a building permit that will cost. These things can really add up, too.

 

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Home buying attitudes are reversing back to pre-pandemic times

Michelle McNally
Livabl

For the last two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on Canada’s housing market, especially when it comes to buyer preferences.

As Canadians were mandated to work and school from home amid multiple lockdowns and stay-at-home orders, buyers went looking for bigger homes that could offer more space, privacy and comfort for their household. Functionality and larger living spaces became a priority for home shoppers, some of whom moved to other parts of the country to take advantage of lower prices in less built-up communities.

Now, as restrictions continue to be lifted and life slowly falls back into pre-pandemic routines, the sentiments of property purchasers are also changing again.

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Results released by an annual RBC Home Ownership Poll show that homebuying attitudes are shifting as Canadians move in a post-pandemic mindset. The online survey was carried out with 2,753 Canadians between mid- to late-January.

The intent to buy a home has now returned to January 2020 levels, with 23 per cent of respondents saying they are likely to purchase a home in the next two years. This is a drop compared to 30 per cent in 2021, but slightly higher than 2020 at 22 per cent. Alberta buyers expressed the most intention to purchase within a two-year timeline at 28 per cent followed by Ontario at 25 per cent.

“While there is still a significant amount of activity in the market, our research indicates that the rush of Canadians looking to purchase a home over the last two years has subsided and we’re now starting to see a move back to pre-pandemic levels,” said Andrea Metrick, senior director of home equity financing, acquisition and distribution at RBC, in the poll’s results.

“Between rising costs and the competitiveness of the market, Canadians may now be taking a step back and setting aside more time to plan and save before making the jump into home ownership,” she added.

High property prices impact purchasing decisions

A home’s location versus its size is a crucial factor in buyer decision making, but rising property prices are also playing an important role.

According to RBC’s poll, three-in-five respondents (59 per cent) stated that location is more important than buying a larger home as we return to normal, which may suggest that the need for more living space is becoming a lesser priority. Those respondents in Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario agreed with this sentiment the most, ranging between 62 per cent and 61 per cent.

Twenty-five percent of those surveyed said that they are willing to be further away from amenities to afford a larger home, while for those who rent, 27 per cent of respondents stated that they feel less pressure to buy than during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, for those who believe higher real estate prices have impacted major life milestones, 47 per cent said that thinking about buying or saving for a home as prices grow is causing stress in their relationship. More than half of respondents (54 per cent) agreed that they are stressed knowing that they may need to purchase a home farther away from family and friends, and another 30 per cent felt that as a result of increasing prices, they may need to live with their parents longer to save enough funds to buy a property.

Financial worries are having an impact on many prospective buyers. Forty per cent of those surveyed said that they are feeling financially overwhelmed, and 42 per cent are worried that their financial position may deteriorate over the next year. In preparation for a home purchase, 37 per cent of the poll’s respondents said that they plan to continue to spend less post-pandemic so they can put savings towards buying a home. Meanwhile, 33 per cent believe they will struggle to cover the costs of homeownership as they return to pre-pandemic spending habits.

“Buying a home is the largest purchase most Canadians will ever make, so it’s natural that it comes with a certain level of stress, especially in today’s market,” said Metrick. “While home buyers can’t control market factors, taking the time to create a plan and understand where they are financially can help them feel more in control of the home buying process.”

Buyers are saving and budgeting more for homes

COVID-19 buyers were able to take advantage of some of the lowest mortgage rates in history. Now, as rates rise again, existing owners and potential buyers may feel the pinch.

Sixty per cent of respondents said they were concerned about interest rates rising in the coming year, but a little under half (47 per cent) stated that they are well-positioned to navigate an increase. Twenty-two per cent of respondents with a mortgage haven’t even considered what they could afford if rates were to rise, RBC found.

As prices trend upward, Canadians are saving and budgeting more for a home. On average, respondents stated that their budget would be $506,646 if they were to purchase a new home. This is a more than $53,000 increase from $453,231 in 2021. For those saving for a home, respondents say that they have set aside $196,286 on average, a $18,000 increase from $177,558 in 2021.

British Columbia buyers had the highest budgets and the biggest savings for property purchase, at $692,741 and $288,451.

 

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp

Canada house prices – why do they keep rising?

Ephraim Vecina
other

Substantial increases have been observed for many materials

New home prices climbed by 1.1% monthly in February, registering gains in 18 of 27 census metropolitan areas (CMAs) analyzed by Statistics Canada.

Increases in construction material and labour costs were the main drivers of the sustained monthly gains.

“Softwood lumber once again saw large gains in market value, having increased 15% in January, following a 31.8% rise in December 2021,” StatCan said. “In addition to the price increase for the softwood lumber component of the Industrial Product Price Index, recent price gains have been observed for many other materials used in the construction of new homes, such as furniture and fixtures, as well as cement, glass and other non-metallic mineral products.”

Read more: Poll: Home ownership not an ideal step right now

Accelerating demand in Alberta also helped push up February prices. The largest month-over-month increase in new home prices nationwide was observed in Calgary (3.8%), a trend impelled by the single-detached segment.

“Sales activity reached a record high between January and February,” StatCan reported. “While new listings went up, Calgary had not seen housing market conditions this tight in over 15 years.”

“However, homes in this city remained relatively affordable compared with other cities in the country, encouraging migration from other provinces into Alberta. Both factors contributed to the upward price pressures of new and resale homes,” StatCan added.

Other centres of monthly price growth were Quebec (2.9%) and Edmonton (2.7%).

On an annual basis, Canadian new home prices increased by 10.9% in February, with the largest upswings seen in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo region (25.1%), Winnipeg (21.5%). and Windsor (20.7%).

 

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

Anthem and KingSett team for mixed-use towers on 8.3 acres

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

Burnaby devel0pment includes 2,100 condos, 240 rentals and 60,000 square feet of commercial space at Brentwood

Rendering of the first phase of Anthem and KingSett’s proposed master plan development in Brentwood, Burnaby. | Global News Wire

Anthem Properties Group Ltd. and KingSett Capital have acquired an 8.34-acre mixed-use site at Willingdon Ave and Dawson Street in Burnaby’s Brentwood Town Centre that will be developed under the city’s official community plan

Masterplan rezoning for the entire property is close to final approval and phase one sales are anticipated to commence in late 2022, according to Anthem.

Anthem and KingSett plan to develop the site into a four-phased community that will include 2,100 market condominiums, 340 rental units, and 60,000 square feet of new retail and office space across five residential towers and two wood-frame mid-rise rental buildings. The site is viewed as a major green node, with the phases built around a one-acre park, and will serve as both a Town Centre destination and a key linkage between Brentwood Town Centre SkyTrain Station and the Urban Trail, connecting east to the future Woodlands Park and south towards B.C.I.T.

“With this acquisition, we are thrilled to be able to build upon Anthem’s long history of developing large-scale mixed-use projects in the City of Burnaby. In a supply-constrained region undergoing population growth, the project will create a significant amount of housing supply aiming to address the market’s needs at multiple levels,” said Eric Carlson, CEO of Anthem.

This will be Anthem’s second development within the Brentwood Town Centre plan, following their completion of Tandem in 2007, a three-tower mixed use community. Anthem has also completed the sell-out and construction of Station Square’s five residential towers in Metrotown, containing over 1,800 homes and 450,000 square feet of retail.

Founded in 1991, Vancouver-based Anthem has invested in, developed or managed – alone or in partnership – more than 310 residential, commercial and retail projects across western North America.

 

© 2022 Western Investor

Vacant Vernon bank building sells below assessment

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

Old branch building of 23,178 square feet on a 0.15-acre lot in downtown Vernon, B.C., sold for $3 million.

 

Type of property: Office building

Location: 3130 30 Avenue, Vernon, B.C.

Number of tenants: vacant

Size of property: 23,178 square fet

Size of land: 6,500 square feet

Land size in acres: 0.15 acres

Zoning: C7 (Heritage Business District)

BC Assessment value: $4.23 million

List price: $3.28 million

Sale price: $3 million

Date of sale: March 17, 2022

Seller: Royal Bank Realty Ltd.

Brokerage: Cushman & Wakefield, Vernon, B.C.

Broker: Craig Haziza.

 

© 2022 Western Investor

Chilliwack commercial building on 0.24-acre lot sells for $1.49 million

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

The 3,150-square-foot restaurant property is on a busy street in central Chilliwack, B.C.

HomeLife Advantage Realty Ltd., Chilliwack, for Western Investor

Property type: Retail

Location: 45835 Yale Road, Chilliwack, B.C.

Number of units: 1

Size of property: 3,150 square feet

Size of land: 12,807 square feet

Land size in acres: 0.24 acres

Zoning: CS1

List price: $1.5 million

Sale price: $1.49 million

Brokerage: HomeLife Advantage Realty Ltd., Chilliwack

Broker: Rick Toor

 

 © 2022 Western Investor

Glass boxes atop heritage buildings change face of downtown

John Mackie
The Vancouver Sun

Several projects are in the works for large additions to heritage structures

 The former Canada Post building at 349 W Georgia in Vancouver is being redeveloped as a mixed-use building. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

If you haven’t been to downtown Vancouver for awhile, you might be in for a bit of a shock.

Several new highrise towers have gone up or are being constructed, dramatically changing the downtown skyline.

The southwest corner of Georgia and Homer  has an unusual and imaginative new 24-storey office tower that twists in four-storey blocks, like a Rubik’s Cube.

Across the street, the old post office is being transformed into a giant mixed-use project with 1.05 million square feet of office space and 175,000 sq. ft. of retail.

The old post office was already a massive, bunker-like building that took up an entire block. But the redevelopment makes it much bigger, because two glass towers have been plopped on top of the existing heritage building.

The towers aren’t that tall as skyscrapers go — the south tower along Georgia is 19 storeys, the north tower along Dunsmuir is 22 storeys. But they feel enormous, because they go right to the edge of the building and run for the entire block.

Three blocks up Georgia at Granville, the Hudson’s Bay recently announced plans to add a 12-storey glass box on top of its existing six-storey store.

It hasn’t been submitted to the city yet, but the proposal would more than double the building size to 1.4 million sq. ft.

That breaks down to roughly one million sq. ft. of offices in the glass tower, and 400,000 sq. ft. for the store, a reinforced concrete structure that would need costly seismic upgrading and heritage restoration.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Handout rendering of the proposed Bay building  at Granville and Georgia. PNG

This isn’t the only proposal to add a big glass box onto a heritage building downtown — it’s part of a trend.

Bonnis Properties wants to add a tapering glass tower atop the east side of the 800 block of Granville Street that would rise up to 18 storeys. Not just on one or two properties, but over top of almost the entire block, including the historic Commodore Ballroom.

Bonnis also wants to build a 24-storey glass tower at 526 Granville on top of the three-storey Leckie Block, an 1899 structure with one of the city’s last stone facades.

The trend is not new — in 2017, a 31-storey glass office tower was built on top of and around the 1929 Vancouver Stock Exchange building, which was 11 storeys.

But the concept of adding new structures on top of heritage buildings definitely seems to be picking up steam, given the demand for downtown space.

Robert Lemon used to be the head of Vancouver’s heritage department. Asked about the Bay proposal, he said, “I think it’s a very elegant solution, in itself. But I’m not sure we need to have huge buildings on top of already large heritage buildings.”

When Lemon worked for the city, it developed a heritage density transfer program. If the owner of a heritage building restored their building, they were eligible to sell “air rights” or density to developers to compensate for the restoration and/or lost redevelopment costs.

“We assumed that an A-listed, designated building was essentially good as it is, and it isn’t expected to be redeveloped,” said Lemon, a retired architect.

At the Hotel Georgia, for example, the existing building was retained at the same size in a redevelopment and a highrise condo built on its former parking lot. The hotel was seismically upgraded and restored, and the cost was covered by the addition of several storeys of density to the new tower.

But policy has changed. Now you can add lots of density on top, which can trigger a much more extensive upgrade.

“It’s a Catch-22,” said Lemon. “The minute you start to add on top of a building, you make it more expensive to add on top of the building, because you have to upgrade the whole building, all the way through.

“You keep piling on more costs, therefore you need more density to justify the cost of upgrading the building you’re putting the box on top of. It’s a spiralling upward premise.”

Renderings of a development proposed by Bonnis Properties for the 800-block of Granville Street in Vancouver. Photo by Architect: Perkins&Will /PNG 

Heritage consultant Don Luxton said there is a lot of pressure to redevelop sites downtown. But the city ended its heritage density transfer program several years ago, and owners of heritage properties can find themselves facing costly upgrades.

“We’ve always had vertical additions to buildings, it’s the scale of them that is changing,” said Luxton, who worked on the old post office project.

“That’s reflective of the pressure we’re under from a density point of view — there’s so much pressure to build. There’s an economy that is free market driven.

“What is really important to understand is that the city keeps putting the taxes up, so buildings that you think are perfectly adequate for their purpose can’t pay the taxes anymore, so it drives much of this work.”

It isn’t just bigger heritage buildings that are being redeveloped. At Homer and Pender, Chard Developments wants to add two storeys to the three-storey Hartney Chambers building, a Heritage B structure that was built at 343 West Pender in 1906.

A second, seven-storey building would go up at what is now 424 Homer, on the site of a relatively nondescript two-storey building that currently houses a massage parlour.

But underneath the facade is an 1892 building that was once the headquarters of the Vancouver World, pioneer Vancouver’s top newspaper. Heritage advocate Patrick Gunn said it was designed by one of B.C.’s most renowned architects, Samuel Maclure.

“It’s hugely important,” said Gunn. “That’s Samuel Maclure’s earliest commercial extant structure.”

Vintage photos of 424 Homer show a handsome commercial structure with lovely arched windows. But the original facade has been covered up, and when the Vancouver Heritage Register was compiled in the 1980s, it was missed. Not being on the register, it can be demolished. 

Vancouver World printing house, 424 Homer, 1893. Photo by Vancouver Archives AM336-S3-2-: CVA 677-4

Luxton said if Vancouver wants to protect its heritage buildings, it’s going to have to make some changes.

“I think is we need more flexibility in terms of transferring density around, and possibly get rid of the view cones so we can build (higher) in those areas rather than put the pressure on our heritage buildings,” he said.

“And we should we advocating for federal tax credits for heritage. These are all things that would make a difference.”

Former heritage planner Jeannette Hlavach said the city could also put a cap on the zoning and density of heritage sites. But it isn’t likely, given the city’s current push for density.

“There is a way that this could all get ratcheted  down, which is if people didn’t have the expectation that they can get so much more density because the zoning is so big,” she said.

“It is all legally possible, but there isn’t the political will to do that.”

So what’s going to happen in the foreseeable future? More projects like The Post and The Bay will likely be proposed.

“In some ways, it is great that people think that downtown Vancouver is an area worth investing in,” said Hlavach.

“Perhaps that’s a good thing. But losing the character of the downtown and some of our really iconic buildings, like the Hudson’s Bay, it’s disappointing.”

Lemon said it “seems like open season” for major redevelopments of heritage buildings.

“You have a heritage building? Let’s just put a big tower on top of it, and get double the density,” he said. 

“There’s no benchmark, no baseline for density anymore, everything is sky’s the limit basically. I guess people look at sites that don’t punch the view cone, and then they build up as much as they can.”

The city of Vancouver didn’t make a planner available to talk about the issue. But it did send an email reply when asked why it was approving redevelopments on top of heritage buildings.

“Heritage Policies and the Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada generally allow for a modest rooftop addition to a heritage building, as long as it is done in a compatible but distinguishable way,” it reads.

“In this way, the heritage value of the existing building would be preserved while the addition would provide the owner with the financial ability — through additional housing and/or job space — to allow the heritage conservation. The extent of the addition depends on the size of heritage building and could vary from one setback floor to multiple additional storeys.”

Lemon agrees that “compatible but distinguishable”  additions to a heritage building are accepted practice. But he questions whether The Post project, for one, meets that standard.

“The measure for an addition to a building in good heritage conservation is, is it compatible, is it distinguishable, and is it a product of its time,” he said.

“In the case of The Post, is it compatible? I don’t think it is, at all. Is it distinguishable? Well it certainly is. Is it a product of its time? Well I guess it is, in that the trend is to add great big bulky modern boxes on top of historic buildings.”

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Architect Harry Gugger with The Exchange tower in  Vancouver, B.C., Nov. 8, 2017. Photo by Arlen Redekop /PNG

The News Herald — new quarters at 424-426 Homer Street, Apr. 23, 1935. Photo by Stuart Thomson Vancouver Archives AM1535: CVA 99-4742

The former home of the Vancouver World and News-Herald newspapers at 424 Homer in Vancouver. Underneath the bland renovations is a 1892 building, one of the oldest in Vancouver.

The application to be hooked up to Vancouver’s water supply for 424 Homer in April, 1892. Note that it says “World” building, for the Vancouver World newspaper. It was the 1,479th building in the city to apply for water. Source: Vancouver Archives

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Rising home prices discouraging for potential 1st-time buyers

CBC Staff
CBC Radio

 Parker Snow says he is finding it difficult to purchase a home, even though he and his partner work full time. (Tony Davis/CBC)

Rising prices of homes on P.E.I. have some Islanders wondering if they’ll ever be able to afford their own place.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association this week, housing prices are up 8.5 per cent in the last year. In 2020 to 2021, they were up 21.9 per cent.

Parker Snow said the high prices mean he’ll have to keep renting, even though he and his partner are working full-time jobs.

“It seems like the average housing price, you are paying way too much for way too little because everything is so inflated it’s almost not worth looking at,” he said.

As well, Snow said it’s hard for some people to qualify for a mortgage when they are just barely able to pay rent — something that’s also jumped on P.E.I. over the last few years. 

 

Home prices are expected to continue rising as long as supply is low and demand is high. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

And with many jobs on the Island seasonal, he feels some are worried about steady income.

“I think there are a lot of jobs on the Island that have a lot of precarity so if you lose even a little bit of that steady income, you are going to default on a mortgage and you’ll be in severe debt.”

Realtors say the hot market of the last few years is showing no signs of slowing down.  As long as there is low supply and high demand, prices will go up, said Mary Jane Webster, a real-estate broker with Remax in Charlottetown.

“Historically we have had six to nine months of inventory on the system at this point and now we are down pretty significantly so essentially we have lots of buyers and not enough stock to sell them.” 

Webster said new homes are being built and sold in an average of 44 days, according to data collected in February.

Some homes get multiple offers, and over the past year more people looking to relocate to the Island have bought homes without even setting foot in them.

 

 

Mary Jane Webster of Remax in Charlottetown says some people are buying homes without ever seeing them in person. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)

That creates a tight market for those trying to buy a home in the range of $300,000, Webster said.

“We do multiple-offer scenarios which essentially if there is more than one offer then you are in a multiple-offer situation. We are seeing that mostly in the lower entry-level price point than we are the higher-end stuff.”

Construction costs, up 30 per cent compared to past years, are also playing a factor, with most builders quoting about $300 per square foot.

Realtors said buyers who feel priced out in the Charlottetown market might have better luck finding something in their price range outside of the city. 

 

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