More B.C. homeowners deferring property taxes may signal distress, says appraiser

Derrick Penner
The Vancouver Sun

Rising numbers over the last five years looks like a warning sign to some, but is less worrying to others who have watched new applications slow down.

Property appraiser Paul Sullivan said he talks to a lot of homeowners who are already heavily mortgaged and don’t have the cash to cover added taxes when their property values soar “by no fault of their own.” Photo by RICHARD LAM /PNG

The number of British Columbia homeowners deferring property taxes has soared over the past five years inviting differing interpretations of what that means in the province’s overheated property markets.

To property appraiser Paul Sullivan, principal with the firm Ryan Law, the rising number suggests more homeowners are under stress due to high property taxes, particularly the province’s vacancy tax.

The number of homeowners deferring taxes hit 73,000 in 2021, according to Sullivan’s research, compared with 69,757 a year ago.

And that top number is up 76 per cent from 41,488 in 2016, with the aggregate amount those homeowners owed to the program up to $1.6 billion from $815 million over the same period.

“The frightening part is the amount, so sort of an ability pay thing by one measure,” Sullivan said, which speaks to the “house rich, cash poor” nature of Vancouver housing in particular.

However, while Sullivan looks at deferrals as a sign of financial stress in his argument that B.C.’s high-end property taxes should be rescinded, seniors advocate Isobel Mackenzie is less concerned.

Mackenzie said that while the overall number of deferrals is up, the number of new applicants to the program has declined over the last two years, 9,000 in 2020-21 and 10,670 in 2019-20 compared with 13,719 in 2017-18, the highest number in the last five years.

The debt homeowners have built up also isn’t a concern to Mackenzie because those amounts pale in comparison to the rate property values have risen and the low interest rates the program charges. She believes more homeowners should take advantage of deferral.

“So there’s $285 million that is in the hands of seniors (for 2020-21) because of property tax deferral that they otherwise would have to find in their bank accounts,” Mackenzie said.

B.C.’s property tax deferral program has been in place since 1974. Homeowners over the age of 55, surviving spouses, the disabled or families supporting children are eligible to apply, provided they meet equity requirements.

 

The province grants homeowners low-interest loans (the rate is 0.45 per cent for the regular program, 2.45 per cent for families with children), which is charged only on the principal, not at a compounding rate and which doesn’t have to be repaid until an owner sells their home.

Mackenzie said that the program works out to be a good financial decision for owners who can afford to pay their taxes because they can earn more by investing deferred amounts than they pay in interest.

“I’m more interested in encouraging seniors who are struggling financially — who aren’t deferring their taxes — to do so,” Mackenzie said.

And she argues the program should be expanded to cover other home-ownership costs such as strata fees and municipal utility charges.

Aside from the tax-deferrals, Sullivan said he talks to a lot of homeowners who are already heavily mortgaged and don’t have the cash to cover added taxes when their property values soar “by no fault of their own.”

Sullivan argued that the speculation and vacancy tax, launched to curb foreign speculation in B.C. real estate, is now charged to more British Columbians than foreign owners and has failed to lower property prices.

“So why don’t they rescind these taxes and get on with strategies to build homes,” Sullivan said. “That’s how we’re going to solve a housing crisis.”

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© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Fraser Valley home listings surged in January: Real estate board

Tiffany Crawford
The Vancouver Sun

There were 2,135 new listings last month, an increase of 67.1 per cent compared with December.

New home listings were significantly up last month in the Fraser Valley. Photo by Gerry Kahrmann /PNG

Homebuyers with an eye on the Fraser Valley may be in luck as real estate experts say home listings in the region surged in January.

While the valley’s overall property sales cooled compared with December, the volume of new listings “improved significantly,” according to a report Wednesday by the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

The board says 1,310 homes sold in January, down 23.7 per cent compared with the year previous and 27.5 per cent lower than December. However, there were 2,135 new listings last month, an increase of 67.1 per cent compared with December.

Total active listings for the month were 2,332, down 44.6 per cent compared with the same month last year, and an increase of 19.2 per over December, according to the board.

In a statement, board president Larry Anderson called the surge in home listings a positive, early trend for 2022. He didn’t say whether a surge in listings could be linked to the catastrophic flooding in the Fraser Valley in November.

“It’s early days yet, but if this trend continues into spring, we could see an easing of the supply demand dynamic in our region. We have a long way to go to replenish our housing stock and bring much-needed balance to the market, but this is a step in the right direction,” Anderson said in a statement Wednesday.

Baldev Gill, the board’s CEO, said a seasonal influx of new homes on the market could start to ease price growth this year.

The benchmark price for a detached home in the Fraser Valley last month was $1,569,300, up 4.6 per cent from December, and up 41.8 per cent from last January.

For a townhome, it was $796,500, up four per cent compared with December and up 37.2 per cent compared with the same month last year. And for apartments, the benchmark price was $574,300, an increase of 4.6 per cent from the month previous, up 30.6 per cent year-over-year.

More to come …

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© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Five B.C. housing markets forecast to see the most price growth

Ryan Garner
Livabl

Despite historically low inventory, housing demand remains high in British Columbia and prices are expected to continue climbing, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association’s (BCREA) 2022 first quarter market forecast.

“Strong sales should persist through the first few months of the year and supply will remain severely limited,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson. “As a result, we expect to see continued upward pressure on home prices in all markets.”

But which market expects to see prices rise the most in 2022? The Kootenay region — anchored by Nelson to the west and Cranbrook to the east — is forecast to see the province’s biggest price growth in 2022, with an average Multiple Listing Service (MLS) price of $508,000, a 12.8 per cent increase from 2021 ($450,466).

“As increasing average prices are directly linked to falling inventory, I don’t see any reduction in the upward pressure on average prices any time soon,” said Bruce Seitz, Kootenay Association of Realtors president. “Sellers will continue to benefit from the high demand for homes in the Kootenay region through 2022.”

Kamloops follows close behind, with a projected increase of 12.6 per cent for an average MLS price of $630,000, while Victoria is forecast to see average prices rise 11.4 per cent to exceed the $1 million mark.

Fuelled by buyers shifting east across the Lower Mainland, Chilliwack saw the province’s fastest price growth during 2021, increasing a whopping 26.2 per cent to $728,146. The BCREA forecasts 10.6 per cent growth this year to $805,000

Vancouver Island rounds out the top five, with anticipated price growth of 9.2 per cent pushing the average MLS price from $664,149 to $725,000.

While demand should remain high in the short term, the housing market is expected to see more balanced conditions this year. The BCREA is forecasting a total of 103,250 transaction during 2022, a 17 per cent decline from last year’s record-setting sales totals.

“Slower sales activity will allow the inventory of resale listings to rebuild, but given how low listings currently are, it will take considerable time before markets can return to a healthy balance,” Ogmundson said. “In fact, active listings in most markets need to more than double to bring markets back into balance.”

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Calgary housing market heats up as homebuyers from Ontario, B.C. pile in

Stephanie Hughes
other

‘This time, it’s not an oil boom, it’s just people moving here’

 Attached homes for sale in the Livingstone community against the distant Calgary skyline. Photo by Gavin Young/Postmedia files

Tight supply in Calgary’s real estate market pushed the average unadjusted benchmark price to $472,300 in January, a 12 per cent increase over the same time last year, according to data from the Calgary Real Estate Board (CREB).

Housing inventory also reached its lowest point since 2006 at 2,620 units, the organization said, while the 2,009 units sold was nearly double the long term trend.

Realtors based in Calgary told the Financial Post that demand in the market is being driven in part by buyers from Ontario and Vancouver, who have been flocking to the city in search of more affordable homes for their families or as investment properties.

Jared Chamberlain, a realtor and the owner of Chamberlain Group, has been working in Calgary real estate since 2004 and said he’s seen many booms and busts, mostly tied to the energy sector.

“This time, it’s not an oil boom, it’s just people moving here,” Chamberlain told the Financial Post. “I don’t ever recall seeing this quick an increase (in prices).”

This time, it’s not an oil boom, it’s just people moving here

Jared Chamberlain

There are two stories playing out in the Calgary market right now, according to Chamberlain: investors looking to grow their money in real estate at a lower price point, and families or young couples in Toronto and Vancouver who have been priced-out of their cities, but have a down payment ready for a Calgary home.

“It seems like it’s a transfer of money from other places that have had increases to now Calgary,” Chamberlain said.

Inter-provincial migration data backs up his observations insofar as Ontario is concerned. That province has seen an outflow of migrants for most of 2021, while Alberta recently saw a multi-year exodus reverse course. In the third quarter in 2021, 22,013 migrants came to Alberta from other parts of Canada and only 17,524 left, for a net gain of 4,489 people, according to StatsCan data.

The winter months usually see a lull in any housing market, though that hasn’t been the case this year, including in Calgary, the realtors said.

“Even December was an extremely busy month. And of course, it just flew into January full gangbusters,” said Lowell Martens,  an agent at the Calgary RE/MAX office.

A report from RE/MAX released late last year showed that through the end of October 2021, Calgary house prices had risen eight per cent for the year, trailing some of the country’s hottest markets. But sale volumes at the time were 76 per cent ahead of 2020’s pace, the largest increase in Canada.

CREB’s full-year figures for 2021 showed record breaking sales volumes and an overall price increase of more than eight per cent, after a five-year stretch in which prices for the most part declined.

The detached and semi-detached segments hit new all-time highs for prices, but the row and apartment segments lagged their oil-boom peaks.

That newfound momentum faces a challenge from the possibility that the Bank of Canada will hike its overnight rate in the coming months, but Chamberlain said he is not overly concerned.

“I don’t think that’s going to stop these types of buyers and what’s happening right now,” Chamberlain said. “I think the biggest concern is just a lack of supply.”

 

© 2022 Financial Post

Delta industrial land drew 14 bids from buyers

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

Beedie the buyer of 22-acre parcel on 80th Street, considered the largest industrial deal so far this year

 22-acre Delta site a rare industrial land offering in Metro Vancouver. | CBRE

Beedie the buyer of 22-acre parcel on 80th Street, considered the largest industrial deal so far this year

Local developer Beedie was the buyer after 14 bids were received for a 22-acre vacant industrial site in Delta.

The sale of the assembled property, owned by Delco Container Limited Partnership at 7590, 7664 and 7688 80th Street, is considered the largest industrial deal in Metro Vancouver so far this year and the largest ever for CBRE Vancouver, which brokered the transaction.

The price has not been released.

“I just talked to Beedie and they wish the price to remain confidential,” Steve Brooke, senior vice president at CBRE, who handled the sale with CBRE senior v-p Joel Barnett, told Western Investor. 

The deal closed on February 1, 2022.

The two most recent Delta industrial land sales, both on River Road, sold for an average of $4.2 million per acre, according to data from Avison Young.

Barnett said the 14 sealed offers were received from pension funds, real estate investment trusts, local developers and others.

“Metro Vancouver remains an incredibly challenging market to navigate when you have owner-occupiers, developers and investors all competing for the same space. We’re seeing purchasers become much more aggressive with the terms they propose from unconditional offers to larger security deposits,” Barnett said.

Delta has a record-low vacancy rate of 0.3 per cent and the overall Metro Vancouver industrial vacancy rate is at an historic low of 0.6 per cent, according to CBRE.

“While we have a record high of 9.4 million square feet of industrial space currently under construction, nearly 80 per cent of that is already spoken for,” Brooke added,

Delco will leave the Delta site vacant, and Brooke said he believes Beedie eyes the site for speculative development.

Beedie is keeping its options open.

“It might be. Given the level of demand in the market, I think, touch wood, we’ve got a reasonable probability of securing a build-to-suit and have a tenant that would commit to a large portion of the site, so we wouldn’t do speculative development. I mean, there’s just so many specialized users out there looking for a home, I think I’ve got a really good opportunity to land a build-to-suit for the site,” said Todd Yuen, president of Beedie Industrial Development.

 

© 2022 Western Investor

City of Vancouver records suggest strong opposition to Commercial-Broadway tower

Joanne Lee-Young
The Vancouver Sun

A revised rezoning application turned more of the rental units into below-market ones and made slight height and density changes that mean the project aligns with the City’s Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.

Proposed redevelopment site at the Safeway store on West Broadway and Commercial. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG
A Commercial Drive citizens’ group recently obtained City of Vancouver records that suggest strong local opposition to a proposed, transit-friendly, mostly market rental tower and retail project.
The group made a Freedom of Information request to the city that uncovered documents showing that for a one-week period in November 2021, input to the municipality from the public was overwhelmingly negative for a redevelopment proposal at 1780 Broadway by developers Westbank and Crombie REIT.
Of the 157 replies the city received during that week, 118 respondents opposed the project proceeding as planned, while 16 were mixed, and 23 supported.
“Those who checked the ‘mixed’ box on the city’s feedback site nevertheless expressed highly critical views of the existing proposal,” said a release from the ad hoc citizens’ group, No Megatowers at Safeway, which also released the FOI documents.
The group directed comments to Craig Ollenberger, who isn’t a member, but is the president of the Grandview Woodland Area Council, which is the local residents’ association.

Ollenberger said he didn’t know how large the ad hoc group was, but that “as far as my history with community issues goes, it’s a rather substantial group for the neighbourhood.”
Many of the comments submitted by the public to the city focused on the lack of public spaces for such a large site, said Ollenberger. “It doesn’t reflect anything about Commercial Drive, things the city has said they value in terms of small-scale retail.”

Proposed development site at West Broadway and Commercial in Vancouver. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG
The community response comes after the developers tweaked a rezoning application in November 2021 so there would be fewer overall units and more below-market rentals. In total, the proposal is for 653 units, with 215 condos and 438 secured rental units, of which 345 are market rental and 93 units are below-market rental.

The revised rezoning application turned more of the rental units into below-market ones and made slight height and density changes so that the project aligns with the city’s Grandview-Woodland Community Plan.
The city said the rezoning application is currently under review and that the process includes considering council-approved community plans, current priorities, policies and guidelines, as well as input from the public, advisory committees and other city departments.
The continuing consultation on the project, which sits beside the Commercial-Broadway SkyTrain station, comes as provincial Minister of Housing David Eby has been expressing frustration with community opposition and municipal red tape getting in the way of significantly increasing the supply of housing units that is necessary for future population growth.

“While the final decision on this site will be up to Vancouver city council, as housing minister I support Vancouver approving and getting built as much rental housing as possible given the depth and breadth of our current housing crisis in the region and the city,” Ebe said late Monday. “We also need the Broadway corridor plan approved before the next municipal election.
“At least 100,000 new people will be arriving as new residents in British Columbia this year — 25,000 arrived in the last three months of 2021 alone. All of these new residents are going to need housing, and housing like this that is close to transit will help us meet our affordability, sustainable transportation and climate goals all at once.”

University of B.C. economics professor Tom Davidoff said people who live near the development are more likely to oppose it and take the time to write to the city. Allowing it to proceed would give more housing choice to those who can afford it, and maybe relieve some pressure on rents, although not by much since it is only one building.

It may be that “you have to hurt a few people, a lot, in order to help more people, a little bit,” he said.
Ollenberger said it is the role of municipalities to figure out what citizens want and help them to build it.
“There are all kinds of projects going all across Vancouver that nobody has a problem with, so when people have problem with one, ask them why,” said Ollenberger.

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Busting the myth of Canada’s million or more vacant homes

Murtaza Haider
The Vancouver Sun

A deep dive by Murtaza Haider and Stephen Moranis reveals the alarmists have misinterpreted the data

 It turns out that the percentage of vacant homes is actually low, and even lower in high-demand urban areas, writes Murtaza Haider and Stephen Moranis. Photo by National Post

Recent media accounts and development agency reports suggest Canada’s housing affordability problem is being made worse by more than a million homes sitting empty, but a deep dive into the vacancy data reveals the alarmists have misinterpreted the information.

Many believe investors and those owning multiple homes contribute to worsening housing affordability by keeping dwellings empty that could house tenants or new millennial owners. Hence, critics say, housing conditions would improve if these million-plus “vacant homes” were made available for buying or renting.

Vancouver imposed a vacant home tax in 2017 and Toronto is doing the same this year. But the vacant tax in Vancouver has not netted tens of thousands of empty properties. A similar outcome is expected in Toronto, where the local government expects to find 6,500 to 9,600 vacant dwellings, though some or many would qualify for an exemption from the vacant home tax.

But it turns out that the percentage of vacant homes is actually low, and even lower in high-demand urban areas. Furthermore, some dwellings are temporarily vacant for a reason, for example, transitioning from one occupant to the next.

The myth of a million or more vacant homes or empty bedrooms are nothing but smokescreens

The reason many believe in the fable that more than a million homes are lying vacant in Canada is a cavalier interpretation of Statistics Canada data. To get to the origins of the exaggerated assertions, we reverted to the primary source of the claim, which is a report distributed by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report suggested that around eight per cent of the housing stock in Canada was vacant, or more than 1.3 million “vacant dwellings.”

The OECD vacancy estimates sparked subsequent news media accounts that this was causing affordability to worsen. The OECD reportedly sourced data from the Canadian government and pointed to a Canadian data portal, CensusMapper, as the source of vacant dwelling data.

The CensusMapper data is essentially sourced directly from Statistics Canada. But a quick look at the data portal reveals that some well-meaning individuals erroneously confused unoccupied dwellings with vacant dwellings, thus contributing to the widely exaggerated estimates of empty homes despite the posted caveats.

CensusMapper defines unoccupied dwellings as being either unoccupied or temporarily occupied by a person with a primary residence elsewhere in Canada or abroad. Similarly, Statistics Canada described an unoccupied dwelling for the 2016 census as a private dwelling fit for year-round living, but no one was residing there on May 10, 2016.

Were these dwellings unoccupied or vacant? Even if no one resided there on census day, did it remain unoccupied for a week, a month or the entire year? And what about the several hundred thousand cottages scattered across Canada that might be labelled unoccupied on census day, but were certainly not vacant.

Jens von Bergmann, who has previously taught at the University of Calgary, said some dwellings labelled as unoccupied by CensusMapper might actually be occupied, just not by the usual residents. For example, residences used as temporary housing for students or workers are not vacant, but are considered unoccupied by the usual residents.

The Canadian census, relying on input from enumerators, designates dwellings as vacant or otherwise on census day. Regrettably, these statistics are not part of the standard release by Statistics Canada. Fortunately, CensusMapper obtained special tabulations from the agency and has made the data available online.

A breakdown by the structural type of housing and city (Census subdivision) revealed the vacancy rate was much lower than eight per cent in urban Canada. Consider that while the overall vacancy rate in the City of Toronto was 4.6 per cent, census enumerators in 2016 identified a mere 2.2 per cent of the 276,630 single-detached dwellings as vacant. Even lower shares of single-detached homes were found to be empty in Montreal and Calgary, at 1.8 and 1.4 per cent, respectively.

The City of Vancouver reported a larger share of vacant dwellings (7.1 per cent), and the vacancy rate was relatively higher for apartments in duplexes, and low-rise and high-rise structures, a trend also seen in Calgary, Edmonton, Montreal and Toronto.

Even the empty dwelling counts by the enumerators are likely to be exaggerated because of how the census defines an apartment in a duplex, which is one of two dwellings located one above the other. If an owner decided to absorb the secondary suite into the primary dwelling or decided against renting the secondary suite, census enumerators may still count the secondary suite as vacant. Hence, the highest share of vacant dwellings is for apartments or flats in duplexes.

A small percentage of dwellings will always be unoccupied or vacant. For example, a private rental home between successive tenants, a dwelling undergoing renovations or owners being temporarily away for work will cause dwellings to be unoccupied.

Striving for 100 per cent of the dwellings to be occupied all the time is neither practical nor useful. The supply skeptics, however, continue to lobby the governments against building more homes.

The myth of a million or more vacant homes or empty bedrooms are nothing but smokescreens. A prudent way forward for the federal Liberals is to ignore supply skepticism and focus on building millions of new homes in a short period of time to address the housing deficit that has accumulated over decades.

Murtaza Haider is a professor of Real Estate Management at Ryerson University. Stephen Moranis is a real estate industry veteran. They can be reached at the Haider-Moranis Bulletin website, www.hmbulletin.com.

 

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Posthaste: Home sales set for the second ‘most remarkable’ year in Canadian real estate history

Pamela Heaven
The Vancouver Sun

RBC forecasts ‘super strong’ sales in first half of year

 RBC forecasts 579,600 existing homes will be sold this year. Photo by National Post

2021 by all accounts was a record-breaking year for Canadian real estate — a blockbuster for sales, prices and low inventories.

Such a pace is unsustainable, most agree, but how much of a comedown are we in for?

“Canada’s housing market isn’t about to buckle,” writes RBC senior economist Robert Hogue in a recent report.

The market will cool from the torrid heights of ’21, says Hogue — a view shared by most economists and industry experts, but a continuing shortage of supply and unmet demand are expected to drive “tremendous activity” this year.

RBC forecasts 579,600 existing homes will be sold this year. That’s down 13.1% from the record 667,000 transitions in 2021, but it’s still the second highest number in history, he said.

Most of the slowing will happen in the second half of the year, says RBC, with the outlook for prices in the first half to remain “super strong.”

Canada’s perennial problem of short supply is the biggest driver.

A report by Bank of Nova Scotia chief economist Jean-François Perrault says that Canada has the lowest average housing supply per capita among the G7. Within Canada, the housing shortage is most severe in Ontario, Alberta and Manitoba.

RBC estimates that the Canadian market was short 180,000 to 250,000 listings at the end of 2021. To achieve a better balance between supply and strong demand, active listings would need to triple, wrote Hogue. 

In the meantime, sellers maintain a tight grip on just about every market in Canada, with many smaller centres seeing bidding wars for the first time.

Inventories were at record lows for most provincial markets at the end of 2021 and RBC expects competition between buyers to remain “fierce” even beyond Toronto and Vancouver.

Demographics should keep demand strong, says Hogue. Millennials, now in their mid-20s to early 40s, are swelling the ranks of Canadians in their prime years for buying a home. RBC says there were 10.5 million people aged 25 to 44 in Canada in 2021, an increase of 8.3% in the past five years. “If historical ownership patterns hold, millennials will remain a major force in the housing market in 2022 and beyond,” wrote Hogue.

Immigration is also set to increase with the government target rising to 411,000 this year. Immigration typically hits the rental market first, but RBC also believes some skilled workers coming to fill labour gaps will be ready to buy as soon as they arrive.

The big event that will tap the brakes on the housing market is Bank of Canada rate hikes. RBC expects six hikes totalling 150 basis points over about 18 months, causing both variable and fixed mortgage rates to rise “materially” — even to the point of pushing up the mortgage qualifying rate.

This alone should dampen demand, especially in expensive markets like Toronto and Vancouver.

At the same time more supply is expected to come on the market, said RBC. Housing starts climbed last year to levels not seen since the mid-1970s. All going well, that could boost completions to almost 250,000 units in 2022, up from the average of 190,000 units over the past five years.

That increase along with slightly slower demand should “noticeably” ease the imbalance, said Hogue.

Yet, RBC doesn’t think the housing market will see abrupt changes. “These will be the first steps on a long road to normalization. We do expect 2022 will be a remarkable year by almost any standard … unless you compare it to 2021,” wrote Hogue.

The global outlook for real estate returns also looks strong. Oxford Economics forecasts that total returns for direct real estate and REITs will average 6.5% to 7% a year over the next five years, significantly outperforming bonds and equities that it projects will return 0.7% and 2.5% a year, respectively.

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OTTAWA UNDER SIEGE Big rigs and their supporters descend on Parliament Hill on Saturday. Thousands of truckers from across the country and protesters opposed to COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions descended on the capital over the weekend . Much of downtown Ottawa was snarled by parked vehicles and crowds of protesters. The protest started against the federal government’s vaccine mandate for cross border truckers, but expanded into a larger movement against broader public health measures to limit the spread of the virus. Transport Minister Omar Alghabra told the CBC the federal government stands by its vaccination rule for cross-border truckers.

 

• International Energy Agency releases quarterly report on global natural gas markets
• Omar Alghabra, minister of transport; Francois-Philippe Champagne, minister of innovation, science and industry; Marie-Claude Bibeau, minister of agriculture and agri-food; and Mary Ng, minister of international trade, export promotion, small business and economic development, will hold a news conference following a national summit to strengthen Canada’s supply chain
• The Association for Mineral Exploration Roundup 2022 runs from Jan. 31 through Feb. 3 in-person and online in Vancouver. Opening day includes virtual comments from Energy Minister Bruce Ralston
• Sean Fraser, minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship, will make an announcement on improving and modernizing the immigration system
• Parliamentary Budget Officer releases costing note “Underused Housing Tax Act” 
• Ontario eases COVID-19 restrictions. Indoor dining, gyms, retailers, shopping malls, and cinemas can reopen at 50 per cent capacity
• Today’s Data: Canadian industrial product and raw materials price indice 

         FP Dealmakers 2021: Equities steal the show in                     bonanza year for dealmaking

• FP Dealmakers: How a ‘rocket fuel’ tech sector drove the year of the IPO to new heights
• Stocks rebound but head for worst January since 2016
• Time to defuse the bomb that will explode when boomers turn 85
• What rate hikes mean for the housing market
• Goldman’s top strategist sees risk of further stock market pullback
• Shell to begin trading under simpler, single-line share structure

2021 turned out to be a year for dealmaking, Financial Post data has revealed. Low interest rates and record-breaking stock markets fuelled 17% more deals than in 2020. The dollar value of $517.3 billion was slightly lower than the year before as governments eased off from the early days of the pandemic, but it was well above 2019, writes the Financial Post’s Barbara Shecter. Corporate markets flourished, racking up 32% more corporate debt and equity deals than in 2020, with a total value of $332.73 billion, up nearly 17%. For more on the blockbuster year for deals and the top dealmakers, read on. 

It’s that time of year again when the task of doing your taxes begins to nag at the back of your brain. It’s tempting to ignore it until the the April 30 deadline is upon us, but as our content partner StackCommerce points out, that just makes the task that much more stressful. The trick is getting out ahead of it and doing them early.

StackCommerce can help, whether you are an individual, family or business. The 2022 Complete Tax Preparation Bundle features over 600 lessons on how to get ahead of your taxes. From breakdowns on how to create financial reports in Microsoft Excel to lessons on how to enter tax data for an S corporation, the answers to your filing questions can be found here.

 

Today’s Posthaste was written by  (@pamheaven), with files from The Canadian Press, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg.

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© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Asking price for Vancouver luxury home first listed at $34.8 million now reduced to $24.8 million

Carlito Pablo
The Georgia Straight

 The owner of an unsold Vancouver mansion looks to be a determined seller.

The vendor of 1126 Wolfe Avenue has again reduced the asking price for the multi-million-dollar custom-built home.

The new tag for the three-storey residence is now $24,880,000.

That’s almost $10 million off the original selling price more than four years ago, or $9,920,00 to be exact.

The seven-bedroom and eight-bath home first came on the market on August 25, 2017.

At the time, the listing price was $34.8 million.

This Vancouver real estate offering expired on March 2, 2018 with an unchanged price.

The 1126 Wolfe Avenue property returned to the market on September 2, 2021 with a new and reduced price of $28 million.

Despite the massive $6.8 million reduction from the original $34.8 million price, no sale was made.

It seems that the offer needs to be more attractive.

On January 24, 2022, the $28 million price was reduced by 11.1 percent for a modest $3,120,000 discount.

Is $24,880,000 a good price?

It depends on how one looks at it.

Per B.C. Assessment, the home was built in 2014.

This piece of Vancouver real estate has a 2022 assessment of $16,143,000.

This means that the new selling price of $24,880,000 is more than 54 percent over the property’s current assessment.

The old home at 2116 Wolfe Avenue was last sold in 2013 for $4,528,000.

The current listing states that the “exceptional newly completed grand-scale luxury estate residence is situated on a prized .53 acre view property”.

It is “located in the confines of Vancouver’s ultra- exclusive and most prestigious First Shaughnessy enclave boasting spectacular views of the city’s downtown skyline and North Shore Mountains”.

“The architectural elegance and grandeur with its bold white brick exterior and beautiful landscape create an impressive majestic presence and features over eleven thousand three hundred square feet of formal and informal living on three expansive levels,” the listing also notes.

Moreover, “Exquisite design, master craftsmanship and opulent finishes blend seamlessly to create an international masterpiece while embracing the security and convenience of today’s most up-to-date technology.”

 

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