Metro Vancouver industrial vacancy rate flirting with zero

Wl Staff
Western Investor

 — | CBRE

The industrial real estate vacancy rate in Metro Vancouver, which is already in the sub-1 per cent level in four municipalities, will soon fall below 1 per cent across the entire region, which is unprecedented, according to a forecast from commercial real estate agent CBRE.

“We believe continued strong demand and a critical lack of supply in the current market will force the vacancy rate below 1 per cent for the first time [in 2021]” said the CBRE Industrial projection, released February 18.

The four markets where the industrial vacancy are under 1 per cent are Delta (0.4%), Surrey (0.6%), Maple Ridge/ Pitt Meadows (0.9%) and North Vancouver (0.8%).

“Surrey is the largest industrial market in the Lower Mainland and seen as a safety net for supply over the past decade,” CBRE noted, adding “But this is no longer the case as the Fraser Valley now has a lower overall vacancy rate than Vancouver, Burnaby and the Tri-Cities.”

Demand for industrial space appears driven by distribution space needed by large retailers and the e-commerce sector.

 In 2020, warehouse and distribution accounted for 34 per cent of the 4.9 million square feet taken up in the industrial market, with food and beverage accounting for 23 per cent, up from a 6 per cent share in 2019. E-commerce claimed 12 per cent of absorption, which was ahead of both manufacturing and the film industry, which each accounted for 11 per cent of the industrial demand. Third-party logistics – which involves storage and shipment from multiple sources – captured a 9 per cent of the 2020 industrial take up in 2020.

Major companies completing built-to-suit industrial asset last year include grocery giant Sobeys, building a 530,500-square-foot distribution warehouse in Surrey.

This year, Walmart is expected to complete a 296,000 square foot “fulfillment centre” in Surrey and dairy firm Saputo Inc, will open a production and distribution centre of approximately 358,000 square feet in Port Coquitlam.

There continues to be an imbalance of demand and supply, with few significant speculative industrial projects underway, according to CBRE, which suggests vacancy rates will remain the third-lowest in North America in 2021 and 2022.

The shortage of space and high demand has driven Metro Vancouver industrial rates higher. CBRE is forecasting average industrial lease rates to hit a record high of $14.00 per square foot this year, up 6 per cent from 2020.

 

© Copyright 2020 Western Investor

Here Are Canadian Regions With Below Average Home Prices And The Homes You Can Buy There

Jannine Rane
other

According to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), housing market conditions across Canada resulted in a new record for home sales in January, with 36,897 homes changing hands; a 35.2% increase on a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis. 

By comparison, new listings dropped nationally by 2.9% y-o-y, with just 52,342 properties being added to the market last month. As such, the overall housing market was highly competitive for home buyers in January, as indicated by the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) of 70%. The SNLR is a measure of marketing competition during a defined period of time, and is calculated by dividing sales by the total number of new listings added to the market during that time. A number over 60% depicts a seller’s market: where demand outpaces supply and competition conditions favour home sellers over buyers. 

According to CREA, as the spring market approaches, the current pace of home sales growth might be inhibited by an evident lack of supply, particularly in Ontario markets, to meet growing home buyer demand. However, CREA notes that new supply “could materialize as current COVID-19 restrictions are increasingly eased and the weather starts to improve.” 

Prevalent market conditions in January also put upward pressure on home prices: the national average home price rose 23% annually in January to $621,525. To better understand where home buyers may find pockets of affordability, Zoocasa took a closer look at the average home price in each of the 25 regional housing markets covered in CREA’s monthly report, and ranked every market based on the annual rate of growth of the average home price. We also identified where the average home price fell below and above the national average home price, and curated a list of example homes in each market that sold within a $20,000 range of the average home price.    

Of the 25 regional housing markets included in CREA’s monthly report, 24 markets posted a y-o-y increase in the average home price, ranging from 5% to 41%, and just one market – Regina – saw the average home price decrease by 3% to $273,885. Further, 12 housing markets, or almost half of the areas included in the report, posted a growth in the average home price of at least 20%. 

Average Home Price Below National Average in 18 of 25 Regional Markets Across Canada 

Despite strong annual growth in the average home price in nearly every market, the average home price remained below the national average of $621,525 in 18 markets. 

Saint John took the title of Canada’s most affordable housing market in January, despite an 8% increase in the average home price y-o-y to 199,853. On the other hand, Greater Vancouver recorded the highest average home price in January at $1,089,096 – an 11% increase y-o-y. 

Despite tying for the highest increase in the annual average home price at 41%, the average home price in London and St. Thomas remained below the national average at $608,049. There was also a 41% increases y-o-y in the Niagara Region, however, the average home price clocked in at $651,138, nearly $30,000 higher than the national average. 

Check out our infographic below highlighting the average home price in 25 regional housing markets across Canada, and where the average home price is above or below the national average. Further below find a sampling of home listings available in each region where the average home price is below the national average.

 

 

Sample Listings in Canada’s 18 Most Affordable Regions  

1. London and St. Thomas 

• Average Home Price: $608,049
• Annual Price Growth: +41%
• What you could buy: 362 Ridout Street South
• • List Price: $599,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached 
    • 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 5 parking

2. Sudbury 

• Average Home Price: $356,633
• Annual Price Growth: +38%
• What you could buy: 4436 Hector
• • List Price: $349,700
  • Property Details: 
  • • Detached
    • 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 parking

3. Windsor-Essex 

• Average Home Price: $492,480
• Annual Price Growth: 31%
• What you could buy: 686 Dynasty
• • List Price: $488,888
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached
    • 3+1 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 parking 

4. Halifax-Dartmouth 

• Average Home Price: $433,000
• Annual Price Growth: +31%
• What you could buy: 3145 Veith Street
• • List Price: $424,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Semi-detached
    • 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 0 parking

5. Ottawa 

• Average Home Price: $591,413
• Annual Price Growth: +26%
• What you could buy: 83 Armagh Way
• • List Price: $598,800
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached
    • 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 3 parking 

6. Trois Rivières, CMA

• Average Home Price: $225,694
• Annual Price Growth: +24%
• What you could buy:450-452 Rue Lacerte
• • List Price: $219,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Duplex
    • 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 0 parking

7. Gatineau CMA

• Average Home Price: $338,679
• Annual Price Growth: +21%
• What you could buy: 26 Rue Beauséjour
• • List Price: $325,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single Family House
    • 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

8. Montreal

• Average Home Price: $516,350
• Annual Price Growth: +20%
• What you could buy: 85 Rue De Castelnau O. #413
• • List Price: $519,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Condo Apartment
    • 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 0 parking 

9. Sherbrooke CMA

• Average Home Price: $317,545
• Annual Price Growth: +19%
• What you could buy: 1786 Rue des Pois-de-Senteur
• • List Price:$320,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

10. Thunder Bay

• Average Home Price: $258,738
• Annual Price Growth: +16%
• What you could buy: 1405 Arthur St. West
• • List Price: $269,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached
    • 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 0 parking 

11. Calgary 

• Average Home Price: $518,237
• Annual Price Growth: +15%
• What you could buy: 201 560 6 Ave
• • List Price: $525,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Apartment
    • 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 parking 

12. Quebec CMA

• Average Home Price: $313,811
• Annual Price Growth: +14%
• What you could buy: 1571 Rue Camus
• • List Price: $309,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

13. Winnipeg 

• Average Home Price: $320,814
• Annual Price Growth: +10%
• What you could buy: 250 Queen Street
• • LIst Price: $309,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

14. Saguenay CMA 

• Average Home Price: $206,242
• Annual Price Growth: +10%
• What you could buy: 4685 Ch St. Paul
• • LIst Price: $209,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

15. Saint John 

• Average Home Price: $199,853
• Annual Price Growth: +8%
• What you could buy: 251 City Line
• • List Price: $195,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

16. Saskatoon

• Average Home Price: $331,555
• Annual Price Growth: +7%
• What you could buy: 213 X Ave N
• • List Price: $329,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family Home – Bungalow
    • 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

17. Edmonton 

• Average Home Price: $375,874
• Annual Price Growth: +5%
• What you could buy: 605 – 9741 110 St Nw
• • List Price: $365,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Apartment 
    • 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking  

18. Regina

• Average Home Price: $273,885
• Annual Price Growth: -3%
• What you could buy: 853 Connaught Street
• • List Price: $279,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Row/Townhouse 
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking  

Listings information was last updated at 4 PM ET on February 17, 2021. For more information about this report or to set up a media interview, please contact [email protected]

© 2015 – 2021 Zoocasa Realty Inc.,

Sales of Vancouver rental apartments soar as vacancies rise

WI Staff
Western Investor

— Kerrisdale 18-suite rental building sold in January 2021 for $7 million. | Cushman & Wakefield

Despite rental vacancies rising to the highest level in 20 years and a province wide ban on rent increases due to the pandemic, sales of Vancouver multi-family rental buildings surged in the second half of 2020 after collapsing 38 per cent in the first six months compared to the same period a year earlier.

“The Metro Vancouver market saw a total of 78 properties trade in 2020, just one less than the 77 transacted in 2019,” reported Mark Goodman, a partner and managing broker of Goodman Commercial, Vancouver, which specializes in the multi-family market.

Metro Vancouver’s 2020 total dollar volume increased to $1.13 billion, up 2.7 per cent in compared to 2019, and the average price per suite rose 8 per cent to $403,088, Goodman noted.

After being outsold by suburban markets in 2019, the city of Vancouver rebounded last year, posting $674 million in sales with 36 buildings sold, an increase of 53 per cent and 28 per cent, respectively, from a year earlier. Vancouver’s action continued in 2021, with the $292.5 million purchase of a 15-building portfolio in January by InterRent Real Estate Investment Trust and Crestpoint Real Estate Investments Ltd., both of Toronto. That one deal, brokered by CBRE in Vancouver, represents 43 per cent of Vancouver’s total dollar volume in 2020.

In 2020, the average per-suite price of a rental apartment building sale in the city of Vancouver was $499,500, but that spiked to $782,000 in Kerrisdale, due to the sale of two properties that were sold for development potential, Goodman noted.

Overall, suburban markets witnessed a 22 per cent decrease in buildings sold over the year, compared to 2019. Maple Ridge was the only area that saw an increase, Goodman said.

This could be linked to Metro Vancouver’s rising rental vacancy rate, which increased to 2.6 per cent as of October 2020, from 1.1 per cent a year earlier, the highest increase in 20 years, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC).

As well, while a ban on evictions ended in the fourth quarter of last year, rental increases in B.C. remain frozen until July 2021, due to pandemic regulations from the provincial government.

This has recently translated into some price reductions on apartment buildings listed for sale.

Goodman said that low mortgage rates – it is possible to secure CMHC-insured mortgage for multi-unit residential buildings of five units or more at 1.3 per cent or less – and a “search for safety and security” has kept Metro Vancouver’s rental apartment market relatively stable.

 

© Copyright 2020 Western Investor

18 Canadian Cities With Below Average Home Prices And Sample Listings

Janine Rane
The Vancouver Sun

According to the latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), housing market conditions across Canada resulted in a new record for home sales in January, with 36,897 homes changing hands; a 35.2% increase on a year-over-year (y-o-y) basis. 

By comparison, new listings dropped nationally by 2.9% y-o-y, with just 52,342 properties being added to the market last month. As such, the overall housing market was highly competitive for home buyers in January, as indicated by the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) of 70%. The SNLR is a measure of marketing competition during a defined period of time, and is calculated by dividing sales by the total number of new listings added to the market during that time. A number over 60% depicts a seller’s market: where demand outpaces supply and competition conditions favour home sellers over buyers. 

According to CREA, as the spring market approaches, the current pace of home sales growth might be inhibited by an evident lack of supply, particularly in Ontario markets, to meet growing home buyer demand. However, CREA notes that new supply “could materialize as current COVID-19 restrictions are increasingly eased and the weather starts to improve.” 

Prevalent market conditions in January also put upward pressure on home prices: the national average home price rose 23% annually in January to $621,525. To better understand where home buyers may find pockets of affordability, Zoocasa took a closer look at the average home price in each of the 25 regional housing markets covered in CREA’s monthly report, and ranked every market based on the annual rate of growth of the average home price. We also identified where the average home price fell below and above the national average home price, and curated a list of example homes in each market that sold within a $20,000 range of the average home price.    

Of the 25 regional housing markets included in CREA’s monthly report, 24 markets posted a y-o-y increase in the average home price, ranging from 5% to 41%, and just one market – Regina – saw the average home price decrease by 3% to $273,885. Further, 12 housing markets, or almost half of the areas included in the report, posted a growth in the average home price of at least 20%. 

Average Home Price Below National Average in 18 of 25 Regional Markets Across Canada 

Despite strong annual growth in the average home price in nearly every market, the average home price remained below the national average of $621,525 in 18 markets. 

Saint John took the title of Canada’s most affordable housing market in January, despite an 8% increase in the average home price y-o-y to 199,853. On the other hand, Greater Vancouver recorded the highest average home price in January at $1,089,096 – an 11% increase y-o-y. 

Despite tying for the highest increase in the annual average home price at 41%, the average home price in London and St. Thomas remained below the national average at $608,049. There was also a 41% increases y-o-y in the Niagara Region, however, the average home price clocked in at $651,138, nearly $30,000 higher than the national average. 

$30,000 higher than the national average. 

 

Sample Listings in Canada’s 18 Most Affordable Regions 

1. London and St. Thomas 

• Average Home Price: $608,049
• Annual Price Growth: +41%
• What you could buy: 362 Ridout Street South
• • List Price: $599,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached 
    • 3 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 5 parking

2. Sudbury 

• Average Home Price: $356,633
• Annual Price Growth: +38%
• What you could buy: 4436 Hector
• • List Price: $349,700
  • Property Details: 
  • • Detached
    • 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 parking

3. Windsor-Essex 

• Average Home Price: $492,480
• Annual Price Growth: 31%
• What you could buy: 686 Dynasty
• • List Price: $488,888
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached
    • 3+1 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 parking 

4. Halifax-Dartmouth 

• Average Home Price: $433,000
• Annual Price Growth: +31%
• What you could buy: 3145 Veith Street
• • List Price: $424,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Semi-detached
    • 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 0 parking

5. Ottawa 

• Average Home Price: $591,413
• Annual Price Growth: +26%
• What you could buy: 83 Armagh Way
• • List Price: $598,800
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached
    • 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, 3 parking 

6. Trois Rivières, CMA

• Average Home Price: $225,694
• Annual Price Growth: +24%
• What you could buy:450-452 Rue Lacerte
• • List Price: $219,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Duplex
    • 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 0 parking

7. Gatineau CMA

• Average Home Price: $338,679
• Annual Price Growth: +21%
• What you could buy: 26 Rue Beauséjour
• • List Price: $325,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single Family House
    • 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

8. Montreal

• Average Home Price: $516,350
• Annual Price Growth: +20%
• What you could buy: 85 Rue De Castelnau O. #413
• • List Price: $519,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Condo Apartment
    • 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 0 parking 

9. Sherbrooke CMA

• Average Home Price: $317,545
• Annual Price Growth: +19%
• What you could buy: 1786 Rue des Pois-de-Senteur
• • List Price:$320,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

10. Thunder Bay

• Average Home Price: $258,738
• Annual Price Growth: +16%
• What you could buy: 1405 Arthur St. West
• • List Price: $269,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Detached
    • 2 bedroom, 1 bathroom, 0 parking 

11. Calgary 

• Average Home Price: $518,237
• Annual Price Growth: +15%
• What you could buy: 201 560 6 Ave
• • List Price: $525,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Apartment
    • 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 parking 

12. Quebec CMA

• Average Home Price: $313,811
• Annual Price Growth: +14%
• What you could buy: 1571 Rue Camus
• • List Price: $309,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

13. Winnipeg 

• Average Home Price: $320,814
• Annual Price Growth: +10%
• What you could buy: 250 Queen Street
• • LIst Price: $309,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

14. Saguenay CMA 

• Average Home Price: $206,242
• Annual Price Growth: +10%
• What you could buy: 4685 Ch St. Paul
• • LIst Price: $209,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

15. Saint John 

• Average Home Price: $199,853
• Annual Price Growth: +8%
• What you could buy: 251 City Line
• • List Price: $195,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family House
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

16. Saskatoon

• Average Home Price: $331,555
• Annual Price Growth: +7%
• What you could buy: 213 X Ave N
• • List Price: $329,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Single-Family Home – Bungalow
    • 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking 

17. Edmonton 

• Average Home Price: $375,874
• Annual Price Growth: +5%
• What you could buy: 605 – 9741 110 St Nw
• • List Price: $365,000
  • Property Details:
  • • Apartment 
    • 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking  

18. Regina

• Average Home Price: $273,885
• Annual Price Growth: -3%
• What you could buy: 853 Connaught Street
• • List Price: $279,900
  • Property Details:
  • • Row/Townhouse 
    • 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 0 parking  

 

 

© 2015 – 2020 Zoocasa Realty Inc.

Community engagement key to real estate development

Franck O’Brien
Western Investor

— Moderator Kirk LaPointe with legends Ryan Beedie, Beau Jarvis and Deana Grinnell. | Western Investor

Getting the community onside was a central theme when three legendary real estate developers gathered February 10 for the 19th annual HAVAN Legends of Real Estate event, moderated by Kirk LaPointe, publisher and editor in chief, Business in Vancouver and vice-president, editorial, Glacier Media, and the first ever held online.

The tenet of gaining the trust of residents, First Nations and local governments underscored discussions about the past, the present and, most notably, the future of real estate development in Metro Vancouver.

When asked to share defining moments in their careers, two of the speakers at the virtual event pointed to times when gaining the confidence of the community was the key to moving a project forward. The third, Ryan Beedie, president of Beedie Development, recalled the successful opening of his first industrial project and the satisfaction he felt delivering jobs and investment into a supportive Delta neighbourhood.

Beau Jarvis, president of Wesgroup and chair of the Urban Development Institute, Vancouver, told the online audience that development can be stalled, even stopped, by community opposition. Kitchen-table talks with concerned neighbours, he said, can be as important as any boardroom meeting when it comes to moving a development from concept to construction.

Deana Grinnell, vice-president, real estate in B.C. and Ontario with Canada Lands Company, has been steeped in community engagement for years. She is involved now in perhaps her most challenging and complex mediations, regarding the master planned development of both the Jericho Lands and the Heather Street Lands in Vancouver. These high-profile projects involve not only deeply- engaged communities, but also three levels of government and the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

Working with First Nations, Grinnell said, is a template for reaching conciliation with the wider community.

Being humble is good first step, she suggested.

“It is about educating yourself,” Grinnell said, “You can’t expect First Nations to educate you. You can’t arrive in room and say ‘we are going to business as long as you do it my way.’ That won’t work at all.”

Jarvis and Beedie believe the real estate industry has made giant improvements in community engagement over the past few years, but agreed more can be done.

Jarvis noted, however, that the sheer complexity and prolific growth in Metro region real estate has resulted in a “mass” of often overlapping and competing policies from all levels of government related to social issues, density, the environment and climate change, especially in the new residential sector.

“There is no prioritization of policies,” Jarvis said. This leads to development delays, ballooning costs – and directly to the current housing shortage and affordability crisis, he said.

“Every government platform is housing, housing, housing but we are not seeing an outcome,” Jarvis said. “And I don’t see that changing.”

Beedie, citing an example where it took two years to receive permits for a simple industrial building, agreed unnecessary delays can drive prices higher.

“Instead of competing projects coming to the market [at the same time] only one is approved and so the demand pushes prices up,” he explained.

Beedie also cautioned that, in the commercial real estate field, long delays can be a drag on the economy, because national companies who need new space, and employees, will look outside of Metro Vancouver.

Looking to the future, the panel called for cooperative and innovative thinking to match a restrictive land base with the explosive Metro population growth over the next decades.

“We have no greenfield sites left, it is all infill from now on,” Jarvis said, adding the only answer is “intensification.”

Grinnell urged political leadership to create regional hubs that provide a “15-minute community” with homes, jobs, shopping and services all within reach, rather than a continual expansion of land-gobbling transit lines and freeways across the region.

Beedie pointed to specific examples of how infill development could take place, providing there was a political and community buy-in. He cited Vancouver’s Pacific National Exhibition site, where acres of parking lots sit vacant, he estimated, for 95 per cent of the year. “That land could be purposed for housing or to create employment,” he said.

“There is going to have to be leadership, and some people will be upset, but, if we don’t address issues around density, affordability will just get worse,” Beedie said.

Sponsors

The Legends of Real Estate was presented by the Homebuilders Association Vancouver (HAVAN), and sponsored by FortisBC , National Home Warranty -AVIVA and Federated Insurance. The media sponsor is Glacier Media Group and Business in Vancouver.

 

© Copyright 2020 Western Investor

Vancouver eyes future for 80 acres of waterfront

Mike Howell
Western Investor

City-owned land on False Creek represents some of the most prized real estate in Canada, and current leases are winding down

— South False Creek waterfront: much of the land is leased for 1,800 homes. Dan Toulgoet

The City of Vancouver launched a public feedback campaign February 15 that could lead to redevelopment of some of the 80 acres of land it owns between the Cambie and Burrard street bridges on the south shore of False Creek.

Currently, there are approximately 1,800 homes — both market and non-market housing — on leased lands known as False Creek South which are owned and managed by the city. Most of the 60-year leases expire in the next 15 to 25 years.

“The purpose of this engagement is to explore the future of these lands, for the next 50 years and beyond, while striving to balance the interests of current neighbourhood residents with those of all Vancouver residents who own this land,” the city said in documents released Monday to launch its month-long campaign.

The city said findings of the campaign will aim to give leaseholders and tenants “clarity” about the future of the land. The False Creek South Neighbourhood Association has asked for clarity for at least a decade, according to its website.

The city said one of the guiding principles for long-term planning of False Creek South is to maintain housing that is affordable for diverse groups of people, including options for current residents. 

The public feedback campaign comes as Vancouver continues to grapple with a housing crisis, which has been amplified by the pandemic and further exposed the city’s homelessness issue and affordability problem.

Currently, the neighbourhood has six co-ops, four market-rental buildings, six nonprofit buildings and 13 stratas.

False Creek South, which was transformed in the 1970s and 1980s from industrial land into primarily a residential neighbourhood, has a population of 5,597 residents. Median age of residents is 54.3 and median household income is $78,176, with 13 per cent of the population considered low-income.

No new housing has been built in the False Creek South neighbourhood since the 1980s.

The city’s future plan also aims to make the neighbourhood more diverse and equitable, with only 17 per cent of its current population represented by visible minorities, whereas Vancouver as a whole is at 52 per cent.

Addressing climate change and the city’s economy are also other considerations in any future redevelopment of the land.

The portion of city land excludes Granville Island and Senakw, the property under and around the Burrard Bridge owned by the Squamish Nation. The rest of the land in the area is either privately owned or owned by other levels of government.

 

© Copyright 2020 Western Investor

Strata revises minutes that detailed window failures at Vancouver’s Shangri-la tower

Jaonna Lee-Young
The Province

Demand for homes in January was really high in the Fraser Valley, Interior and Vancouver Island regions. Photo by Mike Bell /PNG

January was another record-setting month for the B.C. housing market, according to a B.C. Real Estate Association report on Thursday.

The BCREA reports that a total of 7,169 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service in January, an increase of 63.3 per cent over January 2020 and over 1,000 sales higher than the previous record for the month of January.

The average price in B.C. was $845,169, a 16.1-per-cent increase from $728,269 recorded in January 2020, according to the report.

BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson says while sales were strong across the province, the Fraser Valley, Interior and Vancouver Island regions shattered sales records and “pushed January sales to new heights.”

Demand is outstripping supply, however, with the report showing B.C. listings down 21.5 per cent in January, the lowest level of listings on record.

Ogmundson says with strong sales and so few listings, market conditions are exceptionally tight with less than three months of total supply.

“The supply of listings continues to be held back by the pandemic,” Ogmundson said in a statement Thursday. “With so few listings, markets are starved for supply and prices are under extraordinary pressure.”

The average price of a home skyrocketed year over year in some areas. In the Fraser Valley, the average price for all home types jumped 25.8 per cent to $944,996 and 26.7 per cent in the B.C. Interior to $634,465.

In Victoria, the average cost of a home went up 19.2 per cent to $868.509, while homes on Vancouver Island went up 10.9 per cent to $528,930. In Greater Vancouver, home prices jumped 11.2 per cent to $1,089,096 in January compared to the same month the year before.

 

© 2021 The Province

Cannabis CEO sues federal government over decision to ‘incarcerate’ travellers in quarantine hotels

Christopher Nardi
other

 

The lawsuit comes at a time of ongoing debate over the extent at which the government should be able to impose harsh lockdowns and travel restrictions on the public. Photo by Jason Payne/Postmedia

OTTAWA – From a house on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin, the CEO of a Canadian cannabis company is asking the federal court to quash the Trudeau government’s “arbitrary and capricious” decision to “incarcerate” travellers returning to the country in quarantine hotels.

“I personally woke up the morning that that was announced, and said ‘Holy s—, I now live in East Germany, and I’m a prisoner of the Government of Canada’,” said Jeffrey Rath, barrister and constitutional law expert at Rath & Company, referring to new quarantine measures announced by the federal government in late January.

Rath filed the lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of Dominic Colvin, the CEO of cannabis company CannaPharmaRx who is afraid of being “unconstitutionally” forced (the lawsuit reads “incarcerated”) into a quarantine hotel if he returns to his home in Kelowna, B.C.

Colvin flew to his home on Saint Martin on Jan. 24, 2021, at a time when a government travel advisory strongly discouraged any non-essential travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A few days later, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced strict new measures to dissuade Canadians from travelling abroad as the country grapples with the spread of the novel coronavirus, including a mandatory three-day quarantine in government-selected hotels upon return at a cost of up to $2,000.

The lawsuit comes at a time of ongoing debate in Canada and elsewhere over the extent at which the government should be able to impose harsh lockdowns and travel restrictions on the public.

Colvin is afraid that if he were to fly back to Canada within the next few weeks, he’ll be forced by the government to quarantine in a hotel (which he calls a “quarantine incarceration facility” in his lawsuit) instead of at home because he says he’s not sure he’ll satisfy the governments’ unclear definition of a “suitable quarantine plan.”

“The decision to incarcerate Canadian citizens returning to Canada made by the (government) puts my right to freely return to Canada at risk as I cannot return to Canada under the threat of arbitrary incarceration for an undetermined period of time,” Colvin wrote in an affidavit submitted in support of his lawsuit.

He was not available for an interview on Thursday, but his lawyer spoke to National Post on his behalf.

“Mr. Colvin is quite comfortably ensconced in a house on Saint Martin with access to a beach every day. So he doesn’t want to leave Saint Martin to come back and face arbitrary incarceration measures that have been promulgated by a government that clearly doesn’t know what it’s doing,” Rath said.

Currently, federal rules allow public health officials to force travellers arriving in Canada to stay up to 14 days (or longer if they end up testing positive for COVID-19) in government-run sites notably if they can’t show a proper two-week quarantine plan.

Trudeau’s updated plan to force all travellers entering Canada to spend three days in a federally overseen hotel has not officially come into force. The government is expected to release additional details as well as an effective date for the new measures as early as Friday.

 

Holy s—, I now live in East Germany, and I’m a prisoner of the Government of Canada

 

“By putting in place these tough measures now, we can look forward to a better time when we can all plan those vacations. Our government is committed to the safe restart and recovery of the Canadian travel and tourism sector as soon as conditions improve, ideally later this year,” Trudeau said at the time of the announcement all the while discouraging Canadians from leaving the country during March break.

But even if the mandatory three-day quarantine rule isn’t yet officially in effect, Colvin is asking the federal court to strike it down in advance because he argues that the government is already forcing some people without quarantine plans or recent negative COVID-19 tests into supervised federal sites.

“It’s just completely outrageous what they’re doing,” Rath said. “We’re judicially reviewing that decision to incarcerate people because it’s obvious that they’re already doing it.”

Colvin and Rath aren’t the only Canadians to oppose the government’s efforts to limit travel abroad by enforcing increasingly strict quarantine and travel rules.

Earlier this month, the Canadian Snowbird Association wrote a letter to Transport Minister Omar Alghabra saying it was “firmly opposed” to the mandatory hotel quarantine rule.

‘The CSA believes that the existing quarantine protocols should remain in place and travellers should be permitted to quarantine in their own homes. To force Canadian citizens to pay over $2,000 for three nights of accommodation in a government approved hotel is unreasonable and will be a financial hardship for many,” CSA president Karen Huestis wrote.

 

© 2021 National Post

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