Okanagan housing prices drive exodus to Alberta and beyond

Cindy White
Western Investor

Cheaper housing, higher wages lure families east
The sunshine and beauty are assets, but high housing costs are driving some Okanagan residents back to the Prairies.
She’s 32-years old, has three children and a good income, but Andie is moving back to Alberta because it’s just too expensive in Kelowna.
The cost of living, especially housing, is forcing her to go back to Edmonton, where she grew up.
Andie came to the Okanagan in 2011 and pays $2,300 a month for what she describes as a very small, three-bedroom apartment. For a time, she shared it with her mother, to help cover costs.
“I have a full-time job, but I’m expecting. So, once I leave my job my income is going to go down and the cost of renting here is too high for our incomes,” she says.
Andie says what she can find in Edmonton is half the cost and much bigger. She can also stay with relatives while she looks for a new job and home. She adds that the options for school and childcare are also better.
Unfortunately, the move is going to split up her family.
“My oldest is 12. He wants to stay because his friends and school and life is here,” she says. He will be living with his dad.
“My other middle child is 10 and he wants to come with mom. And I have a little five-year-old that’s just with me.”
Andie calls it very stressful. She earns $3,600 a month in Kelowna as a legal assistant but she suspects she will make that or more in Alberta.
Another woman who answered a question on the Kelowna Moms Facebook page about leaving the Okanagan for somewhere more affordable said her family moved to Edmonton earlier this year.
“We moved in January and bought a house for $332,000. Four-bedroom three-bath 2,700 sqft. Daycare for two kids ages three and one is only $400 a month full-time,” Serena Husel Richardson posted. “My mortgage is cheaper than when we were paying for rent…. Honestly the only thing I miss about Kelowna is the nature… but we will just vacation there as we now have wayyyyy more money to do so!”
It’s not just young families that are leaving.
Kaye and Bob Chisholm of Brainy Bee Honey on Valley Road are returning to Saskatchewan after 22 years in the Central Okanagan.
“We’re going to sell this property and we’re going to move back to Saskatoon. We lived in Saskatoon before we moved here,” says Kaye, who acknowledges they’ll have to get used to Prairie winters again. “It is a known factor. It’s not like we’re going to something we don’t know.”
The exodus to the east is being watched by the Calgary Real Estate Board.
Chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie says they are seeing a shift in migration patterns with people starting to move back from other provinces, although fourth-quarter 2021 numbers still showed Alberta losing more people to B.C. She adds that it will be interesting to see if the first-quarter 2022 stats indicate a change in flow.
Calgary home prices fell along with oil prices nearly a decade ago and slipped even further during the pandemic. They have been climbing back up to 2014 levels in recent months. However, the median single-family home price is still well below Kelowna, at $629,000 in April.
“And we just went above $600,000. We were at $550,000 by the end of last year,” she adds.
Condo prices in Alberta’s largest city have not recovered from the pandemic hit.
“They’re still 10 per cent below where they were, unadjusted for inflation, back in 2014. And you put some perspective on that in price, and our condo prices–sort of like the average resale condo is under $300,000,” explains Lurie.
She notes outlying communities like Airdrie and Cochrane are even more affordable than Calgary. The benchmark price in Airdrie is $480,000 and in Cochrane, it’s $530,000.
Edmonton is also a relative bargain. The average April price for a three-bedroom home was $446,000.
Lurie points out that there has been job growth recently, especially in professional services that tend to come with better salaries, including in the tech sector and in the oil and gas industry.
“Coming from the fact we struggled for so long it is a nice change to see that growth. And we’re finally seeing it impact flows. What we were seeing during the pandemic was people were generally leaving to go to other provinces and we’re finally starting to see a turnaround in that,” she says.
She adds that it’s nice to see Alberta with a bit of an advantage after everything it’s been through.
“We don’t mind having them come back,” Lurie says.
Andie sums up what a lot of people in the Central Okanagan might be feeling right now.
“We pay for the sunshine and beauty here, I guess.”
But for her, that price is now too high.

© 2022 Western Investor

Housing starts struggle to keep pace with population growth

Michelle McNally
Livabl

Although residential construction grew in Canada last year, the number of homes being created has still struggled to keep up with the rising population within the country’s biggest cities.

The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently published its Housing Supply Report, which analyzes current housing supply trends in Canada’s six largest Census Metropolitan Areas (CMAs) — Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa.

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One of the major findings from the report shows that housing starts have struggled to keep pace with population growth in some regions, particularly in Toronto. This trend, CMHC said, could adversely affect centres like Toronto and Vancouver where there are major affordability challenges present.

“The number of housing starts was high in several census metropolitan areas in 2021, compared to the average of recent years,” said Eric Bond and Francis Cortellino, senior CMHC specialists for housing market analysis, in the report.

“Despite this, the types of structures built and the target market for the new units they contained varied from one area to another. Exploring the different realities of these CMAs helps us better understand why some markets are more affordable than others,” they added.

Toronto housing starts lag behind population growth

As populations rise, the need for new housing increases. Some regions are able to add more housing compared to their population size better than others, CMHC pointed out, which can help to limit price pressures on homes and rentals.

On a per capita basis, Montréal, Toronto and Ottawa generally have the lowest levels of residential construction according to the report’s findings. For Toronto specifically, there has been a downward trend in the ratio of building versus population in recent years. In 2021, there were 56 housing starts per 10,000 population, down from 57 in 2020 and 58 in 2019.

“This indicates that, despite a high number of housing starts, construction has not been sufficient to keep pace with population growth; a situation that has certainly not helped reduce affordability problems in this CMA,” said the CMHC report. 

 

However, the affordability challenges seen in the three cities are not of the same scale — housing types and regulations are also part of the picture in addition to the quantity of housing starts.

Calgary and Edmonton, on the other hand, have reported a higher starts-to-population ratio in recent years, where more than 100 housing starts per 10,000 population has been recorded over a certain period.

“This high level of construction relative to the population base has contributed to limiting pressure on prices,” the report noted.

Vancouver has recently become the CMA with the highest ratio of housing starts — with 93 starts per 10,000 population — thanks to a slowdown in population growth and a high volume of construction.

2021 housing starts surge in Calgary and Montréal

Last year, home building activity took off in some of Canada’s major urban communities.

Rising property prices, falling inventories and strong housing demand that was supported by low interest rates improved the confidence of developers and homebuilders to move ahead with new projects, CMHC said in its report.

Housing starts surged the highest in Calgary, which grew 62.6 per cent between 2020 and 2021 as 15,017 new units across all housing types broke ground. Single-family detached and apartment starts helped to support this growth, which increased 58.1 per cent and 91.4 per cent over the same time period.

Ranking in second place among the other five CMAs, housing starts increased 18.6 per cent annually in Montréal during 2021 thanks to nearly 27,300 apartment starts.

The majority of 2021 housing starts among the six CMAs were found in Toronto, where 41,898 units broke ground. However, starts grew only 8.6 per cent from 2020, the second-lowest rate between the CMAs after Ottawa, which reported 10,221 housing unit starts. Toronto also accounted for the most apartment starts between the other CMAs with 30,237 new units in 2021, up 7.7 per cent from 2020.

Diversity of housing types needed, but costs should be considered

In addition to increasing supply, CMHC stated in its report that a variety of housing types in different locations are needed to “provide housing options for households of different sizes, ages, and compositions.”

However, as a result of multiple financial factors, high-density housing is the most practical option.

“Housing diversity, however, needs to take land and construction costs into account,” said the report. “With land costs so high, only higher-density structures will be financially feasible. It will not be financially feasible to build new single-detached homes in our cities.”

When it comes to housing diversity, Ottawa has the best mix of single-detached, apartment and row homes, which had almost equal shares over the last five years and in 2021.

In Canada’s three major cities — Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver — apartments now represent three out of every four new housing units. Higher costs for land and restrictive geography have resulted in more apartment growth. Condominiums account for a strong majority of new apartment construction over the past five years in most cities, with the exception of Montréal where there is a strong rental market. The share of rental apartment construction also grew in 2021 among the CMAs compared to the average of the most recent five-year period.

Single-detached starts are most common in Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa given their high availability of developable land. Meanwhile, just one in 10 housing starts were single-detached homes in Vancouver and Montréal.

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Vancouver home buying activity returns to more typical levels in April

Michelle McNally
Livabl

Home shoppers in Metro Vancouver likely saw a more normal pace to the market in April as trends “returned to more historically typical levels,” last month.

According to the most recent insights from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV), home sales in the Vancouver region returned to more traditional levels in April, a change that likely provided welcome respite for homebuyers.

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“So far this spring, we’ve seen home sales ease down from the record-breaking pace of the last year,” said REBGV’s chair, Daniel John, in the most recent market report.

“While a small sample size, the return to a more traditional pace of home sales that we’ve experienced over the last two months provides hopeful home buyers more time to make decisions, secure financing and perform other due diligence such as home inspections,” he added.

Here’s what we know about the April housing market based on the most recent information from REBGV.

Property sales fall from March and 2021 levels

Last month, Metro Vancouver recorded 3,232 residential home sales. This marks a 34.1 per cent decrease from the 4,908 sales that were transacted during April 2021. Month-to-month, property sales were down 25.6 per cent from March’s levels, when 4,344 homes were bought and sold. However, last month’s sales were 1.5 per cent above the region’s 10-year April sales average.

By property type, apartments accounted for the majority of homes sold, with 1,692 transactions logged in April. This is a 26.1 per cent drop compared to the 2,289 apartments that traded hands in the same month last year.

For detached and attached properties, 962 and 578 sales took place in April, a 41.9 per cent and 40 per cent decline from last year.

Fewer properties added to market in April

As home sales fell in April, so did the number of new listings hitting Vancouver’s marketplace.

Last month, 6,107 detached, attached and apartment properties were brought online for sale on Metro Vancouver’s MLS system. Compared to last year, this is a 23.1 per cent decrease — or more than 1,800 properties fewer — than the 7,938 homes that were put on the market during April 2021.

On a monthly basis, the quantity of new properties fell 8.5 per cent from March’s 6,673 newly-listed homes.

Currently, there are a total of 8,796 homes available for sale on MLS in Metro Vancouver. Compared to last year, this is 14.1 per cent less when there were 10,245 homes available. Yet, in contrast to March, there are more homes on the market overall, up 15.3 per cent from 7,628 available listings.

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for April 2022 in Metro Vancouver is 36.7 per cent. By property type, the ratio is 25.3 per cent for detached homes, 47.1 per cent for townhomes and 45 per cent for apartments.

Average residential price rises to $1.37 million

Metro Vancouver homebuyers will have to fork over more cash to pay for the average home in the region.

In April, the MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential properties rose 18.9 per cent annually and one per cent monthly to $1,374,500.

Attached homes reported the biggest increase in its benchmark price during April, which grew 25 per cent annually and 1.1 per cent monthly to $1,150,500. Detached homes currently cost the most compared to other Vancouver property types, with a benchmark price of $2,139,200, up 20.8 per cent yearly and one per cent month-over-month.

For apartment homes, the benchmark price increased 1.1 per cent from March and 16 per cent from April 2021 to $844,700.

 

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Cargill secures 247 acres near Regina for $38 million

Western Investor Staff
Western Investor

Ag giant plans to build a $350 million canola crusher at Global Transportation Hub site

Cargill’s plans for a huge canola crush plant at Regina are cruising ahead.

The company has bought 247 acres from the Global Transportation Hub (GTH), just west of the provincial capital for $38 million. The provincial cabinet recently approved the deal.

Cargill said that it would build at the GTH because of the road and rail infrastructure.

Jeff Vassart, president of Cargill Canada, said in a news release that the location would give farmers easy access for deliveries, as well as allow the company to efficiently deliver agricultural goods to end-users.

The $350-million plant is one of several announced for the province last year. Construction was expected to start this year on a facility capable of crushing one million tonnes of canola.

The plant should be operational by 2024.

“We see strong potential in the growth and competitiveness of the canola processing industry and look forward to helping farmers access the increasing market demand,” Vassart added.

The sale is the first parcel of land sold in the 1,800-acre GTH since 2017. In 2019, the province of Saskatchewan turned the troubled Hub over to Colliers International management in 2019.

The land was sold at market value for roughly $156,000 an acre, though there would have been negotiations on the price given the parcel is larger, according to the province.

The land was sold at market value for roughly $156,000 an acre.

© 2022 Western Investor

Generate more income in 7 steps

Telelisting Staff
other

Cold calling is an essential part of the sales process. Real estate cold calling is more than picking up the phone and dialing a random number. Here are the 7 steps to cold calling that will generate more profits for you:

1. Set goals : A good goal might be to make calls for an hour each day and meet a new prospect in person each week.

 

2. Be professional: People always respond better to enthusiasm and empathy. The more time you spend listening to your prospects, the better you will be able to address their issues.

 

3. Provide a service: Cold calling is about building your business, but remember that you are providing a service through your experience, training and knowledge.

 

4. Prepare yourself: Get comfortable, practice your phone scripts with a friend or colleague.

 

5. Start calling: Make sure you are focused and in a quiet place. It is also important to take notes of your calls and responses.

 

6. Get past the “no’s”: If you are cold calling, you will hear a lot of “no’s”. If you are afraid of that word, you won’t get very far. Remember, you will achieve success one yes at a time!

 

7. Follow-up: Be prepared to take the next step with prospects to continue the conversation.

 

Remember, cold calling is essential to growing your success!

 

© 2022 Telelisting.net, All rights reserved

 

 

 

 

How is activity in the Greater Vancouver region shaping up?

Ephraim Vecina
other

Housing industry association reveals the latest in the market

Home sales in Greater Vancouver returned to more “historically typical” levels in April, according to the region’s housing industry association.

The latest data from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver showed that the market saw a total of 3,232 sales last month.

However, while this was 1.5% above the 10-year sales average for the month, this was also a marked decline from the 4,344 transactions in March and the 4,908 sales in April 2021, the REBGV said.

The region had 6,107 new listings – including detached, attached, and apartment properties – last month, down by 8.5% monthly and down by 23.1% annually.

Read more: Vancouver approves hike to empty homes tax

Together, these trends represent a much-needed respite for would-be home buyers, who would now have more time to make decisions, secure financing, and conduct home inspections, said REBGV chair Daniel John.

 The composite benchmark price for all residential properties across the Metro Vancouver market reached nearly $1.375 million, having increased by 1% from March and by 18.9% from April 2021, the REBGV said.

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Toronto home sales plummet 27% in April

Fergal McAlinden
other

The city’s home price index also posted its first monthly decline since 2020

Sales in Toronto’s housing market dropped 27% in April compared with the previous month and posted a 41% year-over-year decline over the same time last year, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

April sales totalled 8,008 compared with 10,939 in March and 13,613 in April 2021, TRREB said, with the home price index dropping by 1.6% over March – the first time it’s fallen since October 2020.

That index, which adjusts for pricing volatility, came in at just over $1.35 million in April, while the average home price for Greater Toronto was $1.2 million, a decline from the previous month’s figure of $1.3 million (although still around 15% higher than April last year).

In a statement, the board indicated that recent interest rate increases had likely had a strong cooling effect on the market.

“It certainly appears that the Bank of Canada is achieving its goal of slowing consumer spending as it fights high inflation,” TRREB president Kevin Crigger said. “Negotiated mortgage rates rose sharply over the past four weeks, prompting some buyers to delay their purchase.”

The so-called 905 – an urban area surrounding Toronto – accounted for the most significant decline, TRREB said, as sales of detached homes in that area plummeted around 47% compared with the previous year with townhouse sales down 44%.

Competition will probably remain strong enough between buyers to impel further price growth compared with last year, TRREB’s chief market analyst Jason Mercer said, although “the annual pace of growth will moderate in the coming months.”

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Toronto home sales plunge and prices slide as rising borrowing rates bite

Stephanie Hughes
The Vancouver Sun

Average home price slips to $1.254 million

Toronto home prices slid three per cent in April from the month before.

Toronto home prices slid three per cent on a month-over-month basis and sales slowed significantly in April as rising interest rates started to weigh more heavily on the housing market.

While the average home price of $1.254 million was still up 15 per cent from last year, sales were off 41 per cent from last April and down 27 per cent from the month prior, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said Wednesday.

“Based on the trends observed in the April housing market, it certainly appears that the Bank of Canada is achieving its goal of slowing consumer spending as it fights high inflation,” said TRREB president Kevin Crigger in a press release. “Moving forward, it will be interesting to see the balance the Bank of Canada strikes between combatting inflation versus stunting economic growth and related government revenues as we continue to recover from and pay for pandemic-related programs.”

In its fight against the highest inflation rate in decades, the Bank of Canada has so far raised its key rate 75 basis points to one per cent. These rate increases have started to ripple throughout the mortgage market, raising the cost of borrowing.

However, the tight supply of homes is still expected to put some upward pressure on prices compared to last year.

“Despite slower sales, market conditions remained tight enough to support higher selling prices compared to last year,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer in a release. “However, in line with TRREB’s forecast, there is evidence of buyers responding to increased choice in the marketplace, with the average and benchmark prices dipping month-over-month.”

Mercer added that he anticipates there should be enough buyer competition to keep price growth strong compared to 2021, though the pace of growth will start to moderate over the next few months.

The supply issue is one that Canada’s leading housing authority is looking at. In the first in a series of reports on the topic, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation this week noted that supply was not keeping up with population growth in Canada’s largest cities, particularly in places like Toronto.

The combination of low supply and steady demand from immigration may be one reason not everyone is seeing a slowdown.

Cailey Heaps, president and chief executive officer at Toronto-based Heaps Estrin Real Estate Team told the Financial Post her team is not seeing as great a shift in the market as is suggested in TRREB’s latest findings.

“This is really incongruent with our experience right now,” Heaps said. “We’re not seeing a slowdown to the extent that … this release would have you think.”

Heaps pointed to regional data from Toronto-based firm Realosophy showing the Toronto area seeing a 14 per cent decline in sales from March to April. She added the figures are being skewed by the surrounding 905 region, though she is still seeing strength in that area too.

“The spring market does feel like it has life still,” Heaps said. “I think it’s being fuelled by lack of inventory and obviously immigration numbers, and the uniqueness of the product that Toronto buyers are looking for keeps them in the marketplace.”

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun, 

This BC market has seen its first market slowdown in nearly two year…

Ephraim Vecina
other

However, the cooling trend might actually prove beneficial for would-be home buyers
Fraser Valley’s monthly sales activity has fallen below the 10-year average for the first time in nearly two years, according to the region’s housing industry association.
A total of 1,637 home sales transpired in Fraser Valley in April, representing a drop of 36.6% monthly and a decline of 45.7% annually.
“We would typically see a flurry of activity around this time of the year,” said Sandra Benz, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board. “However, that’s not been the case so far. While it’s still too early to say whether this trend will endure, the slowing of sales combined with an increase in active listings is helping to restore a semblance of balance to the market, which is encouraging for home buyers.”
The region saw 3,622 new listings in April, down by 20.9% from March and down by 27.8% from April 2021. Total active inventory stood at 5,387, which was 14.6% higher on a monthly basis.
Read more: Is Canada’s urban exodus on the wane?
As for benchmark prices, single-family properties stood at $1.731 million (up by 33.8% year over year), while townhomes were at $902,500 (up by 38.3%). Apartments saw their benchmark grow by 35.6% annually to reach $649,500 in April.
Baldev Gill, CEO of the FVREB, said that the Bank of Canada’s rate hikes will play a major role in market dynamics over the foreseeable future.
“In fact, we’re already back to rate levels we haven’t seen since 2019. This will put an added burden on homebuyers, particularly on first-timers, who will have to meet more stringent stress test conditions,” Gill said.
“Ultimately, this will likely result in a decrease in demand, which may slow price growth. However, it will do 
little to resolve the underlying issue of low inventory.”

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Great News for Buyers – Home Prices are Dropping in the GTA: TRREB

Patti Cosgarea
other

Following the Bank of Canada’s interest rate increase, we are finally seeing the red hot Toronto market begin to cool down, making way for buyers who have been wary of entering the competitive market.  Some cities are leading the way in terms of becoming more affordable and opening up opportunities for those sitting on the fence. Below are the four most affordable cities in the GTA based on average composite home price index (HPI).  

• Read: Reality Check: Interest Rates Are Rising, Securing a Mortgage Rate Now is Best for Buyers 

Home Prices are Becoming more Affordable Across Toronto and the GTA 

The April 2022 numbers from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) show that the Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was down in comparison to the March level, with the average selling price being $1,254,436 in April, compared to $1,300,082 in March. This is great news for buyers, especially those that have locked in a pre-approved mortgage rate. 

• Read: 7 Houses Under $900,000 For Sale in Mississauga

The majority of homes sold were townhouses and detached, with more than 1000 townhouse sales and over 2700 detached home sales in the GTA. The average price was $997,416 and $1,526,791 respectively, a year-over-year price increase of 20% and 16.8%. Month-over-month, the average price of townhouses fell by 7.6% in April, and detached homes by 6.5%. In the City of Toronto, the majority of sales were condo apartments, with an average sale price of $820,835.

“It is anticipated that there will be enough competition between buyers to support continued price growth relative to 2021, but the annual pace of growth will moderate in the coming months,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst, Jason Mercer. This signals a more balanced market and the time for motivated buyers to make their move.  

The Four Most Affordable Cities in the GTA Right Now

Here are the four cities with the most affordable average price in the GTA as of April 2022. 

Brock

The leader on our list of most affordable cities in the GTA is Brock. The average price was $857,224 in April, meaning that Brock homes can be scooped up for $200,000 less than the GTA average. There were 13 home sales and 51 new listings. This led to the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR), the measure of available inventory and new listings entering the market, of 69.2%.

Essa

Second on our list is Essa. The average price was $918,126 in April, which much to the delight of buyers is $170,000 less than the average in the GTA. There were a total of 39 sales and 96 new listings, for a SNLR of 68%. 

Oshawa

The average price in Oshawa was $936,561. It was a busy month for real  estate in the city, with the average home price coming in $150,000 below the GTA average, there were 296 sales and 636 new listings, for a SNLR of 75.5%. 

Orangeville

Last on our list is Orangeville. Coming in $150,000 below the GTA average, Orangeville’s average price in April was $938,711. There were 64 sales in April and 118 new listings, for a SNLR of 76.6%. 

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