A sharp-about face in the Toronto market

Ephraim Vecina
other

The region continues to see a resurgence in housing market activity, seemingly undeterred by price spikes
After several months of considerable market deceleration, the Toronto housing segment saw a sharp 15% month-over-month increase in sales in August, totalling 5,627 transactions completed through the region’s MLS system.
Sales accounted for the larger share of new listings compared to the previous three months, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.
This is despite the August figure representing a year-over-year decline of 34.2%, which TRREB said was a lower annual drop compared to the four months prior.
“If this trend continues, it could indicate some support for selling prices in the months ahead,” the TRREB said in its latest report. “On a seasonally adjusted basis, sales rose 11% sequentially.”
Read more: Canada home sales feel impact of rate hikes
The MLS home price index in Toronto went up by 8.9% in August, while the average selling price across all residential asset classes ticked up by 0.9% to more than $1.079 million.
This might be a troubling direction for the region’s home owners, TRREB officials said.
“While higher borrowing costs have impacted home purchase decisions, existing homeowners nearing mortgage renewal are also facing higher costs,” said Kevin Crigger, president of TRREB. “There is room for the federal government to provide for greater housing affordability for existing homeowners by removing the stress test when existing mortgages are switched to a new lender, allowing for greater competition in the mortgage market.”
“Further, allowing for longer amortization periods on mortgage renewals would assist current homeowners in an inflationary environment where everyday costs have risen dramatically.”

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

Bank of Canada set for fifth interest rate rise

Nojoud Al Mallees
other

Inflation is still running hot

 Inflation appears to have peaked but it’s still running hot and a supersized rate hike from the Bank of Canada next week is widely expected.

Some economists think Wednesday’s hike could be the last for a while.

“We think that by the time October comes around, we might be in a good enough position for the bank to take a pause and look at how the economy is reacting,” said Karyne Charbonneau, CIBC’s executive director of economics.

The September rate call comes at a crucial time for Canada’s economy.

As gas prices fell, the year-over-year inflation rate sat at 7.6% in July, down from 8.1% in June. Second-quarter GDP grew compared with the first three months of the year, though that slowed toward the end of the period and a preliminary estimate suggests a contraction in July. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate is holding at a historic low.

Despite the drop in the inflation rate, Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said in an Aug. 16 op-ed that nearly 40-year high inflation was still a major concern.

“Inflation in Canada has come down a little, but it remains far too high,” Macklem wrote. “We know our job is not done yet – it won’t be done until inflation gets back to the 2% target.”

Some of Canada’s major banks are forecasting the central bank will raise the key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point, bringing it to 3.25%.

In a closely watched speech last week, US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message on its own rate hike cycle, saying the Fed will likely impose more large interest rate hikes in coming months. His message that the US central bank will stay aggressive on interest rates had some observers speculating that the Bank of Canada hike on Sept. 7 could even be a full percentage point.

The bank hiked its key rate in July by a full percentage point – the largest single rate increase since August 1998 after a series of hikes that began in March. Previously, the rate had been at 0.25% where it sat since it was slashed to near-zero early in the pandemic.

Higher interest rates feed into higher lending rates across the economy, making it more expensive for Canadians and businesses to borrow money. The central bank is hoping that by making the cost of debt more expensive, spending in the economy will slow and inflation will cool.

However, senior economist David Macdonald at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives warns the rapid pace of the hikes could have serious repercussions because of the high level of business and household debt in the economy.

In his latest analysis, Macdonald said private sector debt amounts to 225% of the country’s gross domestic product. By comparison, the last time the bank raised interest rates this rapidly was in 1995, when private sector debt stood at 142% of GDP.

That higher level of debt, he says, will make it harder to achieve the bank’s desired “soft landing,” where interest rate hikes bring inflation down without triggering a recession.

“What I really wanted to bring out in this analysis was the fact that private sector debt is much higher today than it was in the 1980s and 1990s and previous times that we’ve seen this kind of rapid rate increase,” said Macdonald. “And why this matters, of course, is that it’s not just the interest rate that matters, the interest rate is charged on something. It’s charged on private sector debt.”

Macdonald has been calling for alternative solutions to cool inflation using federal government rather than central bank policy.

Some of his recommendations include changing mortgage underwriting rules for investors to cool housing prices and expanding the new excess corporate profits tax beyond financial institutions.

However, Christopher Ragan, McGill University’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, said the central bank is best-suited to take on the responsibility of maintaining low interest rates.

“There’s very, very good reasons why we have operationally independent central bank trying to target inflation rather than governments, because governments in the past have done a very poor job at that,” he said.

Ragan said the independence of the Bank of Canada allows it to act forcefully in the face of inflation, while any government intervention would be highly political. Nevertheless, Ragan says bringing inflation down with interest rate hikes is painful.

“That’s actually why it’s so important to never let inflation get high in the first place,” said Ragan. “Because it’s not just that high inflation is bad, it’s that reducing high inflation back down to low inflation hurts a lot.”

 

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

What You Need to Know about the Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians (Foreign Buyers Ban)

CREA Staff
other

In the last federal election campaign, three of the main political parties made commitments related to limiting or heavily taxing foreign buyers wishing to purchase property in Canada. While commitments varied slightly, the policy intent was similar – to temporarily limit or disincentivize foreign buyers in order to prioritize domestic ones, and to hopefully tamp down increasing home prices.

The experience with British Columbia’s Foreign Buyer Tax (implemented in August 2016) and the Speculation and Vacancy Tax (SVT) (introduced in the province’s ‘Budget 2018’), provides some indication on the impact of a ban on foreign buyers. Their experience suggests such measures have a small and often temporary effect on real estate markets, housing availability and affordability. The effects are largely isolated to large metropolitan markets, with no statistically significant impact in smaller communities.

On June 23, 2022, Parliament passed the Prohibition on the purchase of residential property by non-Canadians Act. Coming into force January 1, 2023, this Act:

• Does not apply to Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
• Applies to non-Canadians directly or indirectly purchasing residential property in Canada for a period of two years.
• Applies to residential property, including detached houses or similar buildings of one to three dwelling units, as well as parts of buildings such as semi-detached houses, condominium units, or other similar premises.
• Applies to direct or indirect purchases of residential property, including purchases made through corporations, trusts or other legal entities.
• Establishes penalties for non-compliance applicable to non-Canadians, as well as any person or entity knowingly assisting a non-Canadian in violating the prohibition.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and REALTORS^® have been strong advocates for governments at all levels to enact measures that will dramatically increase housing supply. While this measure may have modest impact on supply, we believe the federal government should proceed with caution.

We recently made the following recommendations to the government as part of a consultation process:

1. It should include a CUSMA exemption, treating property owners from the U.S. and Mexico in a similar fashion to Canadians to avoid a reciprocal response from our trading partners that could harm Canadians.
2. It should consider exempting purchase of established dwellings for redevelopment, providing the redevelopment genuinely increases housing stock, the project is completed within a specified time of the date of approval, and the existing dwelling is not rented out prior to demolition and redevelopment. This would include purchase of vacant land for residential dwelling development, subject to the development being completed and evidence of the project’s completion being submitted within a specified time of the date of approval.
3. It should consider existing measures at the provincial and municipal level when setting eligibility criteria, rates, and information disclosure requirements.
4. It should be re-evaluated once the impact of similar policies (such as Underused Housing Tax (UHT)) as well as evolving economic conditions can be reviewed.
5. It should take into consideration the compliance burden of implementation.
6. It should recognize that housing needs vary across provinces and a quota system should be considered to provide provinces some authority to tailor the ban as per their housing market requirements.

CREA is currently working with government, provincial associations and other stakeholders to minimize the impacts of the new rules on the businesses of REALTOR^® members, and any related impact on an already slowing housing market.

Please keep in mind the current January 1, 2023 coming into force date. CREA interprets this to mean should a non-Canadian enter into an agreement to purchase a relevant property on December 31, 2022, or sooner, the prohibition would not apply to that transaction. The language used in the Act suggests the prohibition applies to agreements of purchase and sale (APS) entered into after the January 1, 2023, coming into force date.

The Government has not yet released regulations, which typically clarify and define terms within the Act. CREA’s understanding and interpretation of this legislation may change upon reviewing the upcoming regulations. The legislation may be complicated to interpret, so it’s always a good idea to consult a lawyer for advice or guidance.

To read CREA’s full submission, click here. This document is currently only available in English.

© 2022 CREA

GTA Home Sales Increase in August Despite 34% Year-Over-Year Decline

Daniel Crook
other

 Home sales in the Toronto Region have seen a year-over-year dip of 34.2%, with 5,627 sales reported in the month of August, according to TRREB (Toronto Region Real Estate Board). While the decline is significant versus last year, August saw a bit of a rebound in volume versus earlier in the summer.. August also saw a greater share of new listings compared to the previous three months, up almost 15% from July. There is a possibility we could see some support for selling prices in the months ahead if this trend were to continue.

According to TRREB, the MLS Home Price Index (HPI) was up by 8.9% on a year-over-year basis and the average selling price for all home types was up by 0.9% to $1,079,500. The average selling price was also up slightly month-over-month, while the HPI Composite was lower compared to July. These results would suggest that a greater share of more expensive home types were sold this past August.

Data suggests expensive homes were sold more often in August

Detached home sales saw an 18% jump over last month, the highest amount of growth among all property types in the TRREB region, with 2,595 sales, and an average price of $1,379,700, up 1% from last month, the only property type to increase in average price over July. York and Durham saw the highest number of detached homes sold, with 568 and 542 respectively. 

Condo apartments continue to be the most affordable option with an average price of $711,321, down 1% from last month’s average of $719,273. The demand has also increased, with 1,028 sales, up 7% from July. 159 semi-detached homes have been sold at an average price of $1,127,429, with sales down 10% from last month and the price down 11%. Condo townhouses saw 121 sales, down 13%, at an average price of $818,935, down 4%.

READ: The Most Expensive and Affordable Homes Sold in August in Toronto and the GTA 

The impact of rising interest rates

Climbing interest rates, inflation and fluctuations in prices have left many would be buyers and sellers on the sidelines this Spring & Summer. Detached homes and semi-detached homes have both seen a 3% dip in prices from 2021, with average prices coming in at $1,379,700 and $998,490 respectively. Those on the property hunt will have generally found that prices in recent months are below the highs of early 2022 but for the first time this year have also shown signs of dipping past last year’s highs.  With a pending Bank of Canada rate hike expected this September; the increased borrowing costs for first time home buyers and mortgage renewals has left many speculating about the effect on prices for the upcoming Fall market.

TRREB President, Kevin Crigger, said: “There is room for the federal government to provide greater housing affordability for existing homeowners by removing the stress test when existing mortgages are switched to a new lender, allowing for greater competition in the mortgage market. Further, allowing for longer amortization periods on mortgage renewals would assist current homeowners in an inflationary environment where everyday costs have risen dramatically.”

READ: A Guide to the Real Estate Cycle for Buyers & Sellers

Cities with below average prices 

Toronto and the GTA continue to grow in population and there are many cities and regions with prices below the average, leading to a high demand and higher volume of sales. When comparing the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR), we examined some of the more in-demand areas and whether they are favouring sellers or buyers at this time; an SNLR of greater than 60% favours sellers and below 40% favours buyers, as a general rule.

Brock

Durham cities continue to be the most affordable in the TRREB region. Brock has some of the lowest average prices in the area, with the average home costing $748,071, just over $330,000 less than the region as a whole. It saw 36 new listings and 14 sales in August, with an SNLR of 51.6%.

Georgina

Georgina stands out as one of the most affordable areas in York, with the average home costing just $840,000. There were 65 sales last month, with 89 new listings, and an SNLR of 53%, signalling a balanced market in the area.

Pickering

Pickering is another example of the greater affordability of homes in Durham. The cost of the average home in the area is $990,008 and saw 95 sales last month, with 170 new listings coming to the market, giving buyers more options. The SNLR sits at 60.3%, teetering right on the edge of a balanced market.

Essa 

Simcoe County is slightly more affordable than Toronto, with the average home costing $928,718, and Essa’s cost is even lower at $816,272. There were 29 sales and 66 newly listed homes in August in Essa, with an SNLR of 52.9%.

 

© 2015 – 2022 Zoocasa Realty Inc.

GTA Home Sales Increase in August Despite 34% Year-Over-Year Decline

Daniel Crook
other

Vancouver home sales down 40% from last year, nearly 1% since July: board

Canadian Press
The Vancouver Sun

The board says sales for the month amounted to 3,152 and came amid a quieter summer season marked by reduced buying and listing activity.

A real estate sign is pictured in Vancouver, B.C., Tuesday, June, 12, 2018. Photo by JONATHAN HAYWARD /THE CANADIAN PRESS

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver says last month’s home sales plunged roughly 40 per cent since August 2021, but were almost unchanged from this past July.

The board says sales for the month amounted to 1,870 and came amid a quieter summer season marked by reduced buying and listing activity.

Last month’s sales were nearly 30 per cent below the 10-year August average.

Sales of detached homes saw the most dramatic year-over-year drop at 45 per cent with apartments trailing at 39 per cent and attached homes at 38 per cent.

The composite benchmark price reached more than $1.1 million, a seven per cent increase over August 2021 and a two per cent drop compared to July 2022.

Andrew Lis, the board’s director of economics and data analytics, attributed many of the figures to the high cost of living.

“With inflationary pressure and interest rates on the rise, homebuyer and seller activity shifted below our long-term seasonal averages this summer,” he said, in a news release.

“This shift in market conditions caused prices to edge down over the past four months.”

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Toronto home prices in historic correction

Ari Altstedter
other

Higher interest rates deliver a huge blow
Toronto home prices fell for a fifth straight month, the longest skid since 2017, as the property market adjusts to sharply higher interest rates from the Bank of Canada.
The benchmark price for a home in Canada’s largest city dropped 2.8% in August compared with the month before to reach CA$1.12 million, according to data released Friday by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.
That brings the total price decline to nearly 16% since March — the biggest five-month drop since the measure started being tracked in 2005.
In March, the central bank began raising its benchmark interest rate from an emergency low of 0.25% to rein in the highest inflation since the 1980s. It’s now 2.5%, representing one of the most aggressive rate-hiking campaigns in decades.
While inflation remains stubbornly elevated, one immediate effect of higher rates was to cut the borrowing capacity of most prospective home buyers. That forced sellers to drop prices quickly to find a level where they could get a bid.
Variable mortgage rates at Royal Bank of Canada, the country’s largest bank, have risen to 4.5%. Borrowers who want to lock in their rate for five years pay more than 5.5%.
Still, the monthly data brought some hints that the market slide may be easing. Transactions were up 11% in August from the previous month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The ratio of sales to new listings rose, generally a sign that demand is starting to balance out supply, the real estate board said.
Average selling prices were actually up 2.1% in August compared with the month before, though the real estate board said that was likely because larger, pricier homes accounted for a greater share of transactions, a compositional effect that the benchmark price is designed to smooth out.
Real estate buyers will almost certainly have to contend with even higher borrowing costs in the near future. Financial markets are currently betting the Bank of Canada will raise the policy rate by three-quarters of a percentage point next week, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Higher rate expectations have prompted a number of economists to predict Canada’s real estate correction is not over, with cities like Toronto, which saw the biggest run-ups during the early part of the pandemic, hit the worst.

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

Kelowna 4,320 square feet of retail sells for $1.8 million

MCL Real Estate Group
Western Investor

Retail building with three units on a 0.16-acre lot in Rutland community sold for nearly $800K over its BC Assessment value.

Property type: Retail

Location: 205-209 Asher Road, Kelowna, B.C.

Number of units: 3

Property size: 4,320 square feet

Land size: 7,086 square feet

Land size in acres: 0.16 acres

Zoning: C4 (Urban Centre Commercial)

BC Assessment value: $1.09 million

List price: $1.89 million

Sale price: $1.80 million

Date of sale: August 12, 2022

Brokerage: MCL Real Estate Group – Re/Max Kelowna, Kelowna B.C.

Broker: Kris McLaughlin

© 2022 Western Investor

Customer who defamed company on Google and Yelp ordered to pay $90K

https://rem.ax/3B9J3fy
The Province

A disgruntled customer who was found to have defamed a B.C. wood products company in his Google and Yelp reviews has been ordered by a judge to pay $90,000 in damages.

Tyler Ginther posted the online reviews about Longhouse Specialty Forest Products, claiming that the company was fraudulent and deceitful.

In November 2015, Ginther had met a sales representative from the company who was doing cold calls in the White Rock area.

Ginther, who had built several homes over the years, was constructing a house and the two men discussed his plans and the products of the Parksville company, which specializes in custom cut and stained cedar, fir and hemlock building supplies.

Ginther said in subsequent online reviews that the company defrauded, scammed or deceived him by charging him for cedar siding it knew he had not ordered. He argued at trial that what he had said was true.

But in a ruling on the case, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nitya Iyer found that Ginther was not a credible witness and he had not proven the allegations.

“I conclude that the defendant defamed the plaintiffs in his Google and Yelp reviews,” said the judge.

Longhouse, a family business, claimed that Ginther had damaged their reputation and caused them economic loss, and that he had acted with malice. They sought general, aggravated and punitive damages totalling $675,000, as well as special costs.

But the judge said the amount for general damages being sought, $125,000 each for Brian and Moila Jenkins, the two named principals of the company, was excessive because there was no evidence that anyone who knew them and read the reviews believed Ginther’s accusations.

“The ubiquity of internet reviews is now a fact of business life. While negative reviews may deter potential customers, a range of reviews is common, and a reasonable reader will exercise judgment in assessing them.”

The judge awarded the Jenkins plaintiffs a total of $60,000 in general damages and another $20,000 in general damages for the company itself.

I find that Mr. Ginther acted with malice when he posted the Yelp review,” said the judge. “As noted, he admitted that his intention was to harm the plaintiffs’ business.”

The judge awarded the Jenkins $5,000 each for the aggravated damages, but declined to award punitive damages or special costs.

Bernard Lau, a lawyer for the plaintiffs, said in an email that his clients were “very pleased” with the outcome and are grateful for the courts in vindicating their names and reputations.

“They can finally breathe a sigh of relief and put this matter behind them,” Lau said in the statement. “It was a very difficult time for them when the posts came out, particularly as they come from a close-knit community in Parksville and the false allegations about them and their integrity put them through a lot of unnecessary stress and impacted their business and personal lives greatly.”

Lau said he hopes the case serves as a reminder that posting comments online, even in the context of an “innocuous” Google review, has real-world consequences and possibly even significant financial ramifications.

Greg Allen, a Vancouver defamation lawyer, said that if you want to review a business on Google or Yelp, you should be mindful to keep your language measured and careful.

“The issue in this case is that the defendant took the position at trial that everything he said was true but he just wasn’t believed by the trial judge,” he said.

“So in that circumstance where you make allegations that are sort of incendiary in nature, you run the risk of having the business owner pursue you in defamation, and your main defence in that circumstance is that what you said is true.”

Allen said $90,000 in damages is not one of the larger awards for defamation in general, but in the particulars of the case does seem to be at the higher end of the range.

© 2022 The Province

Condo Smarts: Fees for forms set out in service agreement

Tony Gioventu
The Province

Any fees charged for the production of forms and documents are fees being charged by your strata corporation

 Dear Tony:

Our strata council is in dispute with our management company over the fees collected and charged for the production of forms when there is the sale of a strata lot. The source of the complaint started when a buyer was forced to pay $750.00 in rush fees for a Form F Payment Certificate and Form B Information Certificate. We have read our service agreement closely, and the standard fees of $15 and $35 plus copying apply, plus our strata agree to compensate the company for the $75 per hour required to research and complete the forms. We challenged the rush fees and how they are reported, and the manager simply advised it was an industry standard, and management companies make up their costs when a law office or notary requests the forms in less than seven days. As a strata council, we don’t see a monthly invoice because the company pays itself directly from our accounts. How do we control or account for the fees charged to our strata corporation, buyers and sellers? As a large strata, we have several sales every month.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

— Kevin W., Burnaby

Dear Kevin:

Any fees charged for the production of forms and documents are fees being charged by your strata corporation. The strata management company is an agent of the corporation. Under their agency agreement, they are permitted to charge the fees prescribed by the Strata Property Act and Regulations, as defined and agreed within your service agreement.

If the service agreement does not permit rush fees and the amount is not prescribed, the management company does not have the authority to represent as your agent to impose those fees.

Both a Form B and Form F require accuracy and review, for which the management company and the strata corporation will assume liability. It is critical to provide accuracy in financial and property matters in the forms because buyers will rely on this information when purchasing.

It is also essential to complete the Form F Payment Certificate accurately to verify funds owing to the strata corporation are collected when there is a sale.

Rush fees are not uncommon as a designated staff person(s) will be required to service that request; however, rush fees are included in many management service agreements. The fees permitted by the Act are drastically insufficient to meet the staffing requirements and time required for production.

Any forms produced by the management company are part of the records of the strata corporation. Your treasurer and council may request copies of all forms (without attachments) along with a detailed monthly invoice to cross-reference to the monthly financial reports the management company is required to provide.

This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Until your council agrees to an amendment to the service agreement to approve a rate and provision for rush fees, the management company needs to be advised they are not authorized to charge any such fees.

It may be time for your strata corporation to renegotiate your service agreement and define who is really paying for the production of forms and under what circumstances.

Registration is now open for CHOA’s Fall 2022 Education Program. Course highlights this season focus on Council Meetings, BC Human Rights Tribunal, The CRT, The Accessibility Act and Alterations. Go to: choa.bc.ca/seminars/.

Tony Gioventu is executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association. Email [email protected].

© 2022 The Province