Low prices on great new himes

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Ottawa, ON, November 15, 2012 – According to statistics released today by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), national home sales activity and average price were little changed in October 2012.

Highlights:

• Home sales little changed (-0.1%) from September to October.
• Actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity down 0.8% from October 2011.
• Number of newly listed homes down 3.8% from September to October.
• Market remains firmly in balanced territory.
• National average home price unchanged (+0.02%) on a year-over-year basis.
• MLS® HPI up 3.6% in October – smallest gain since May 2011.

The number of home sales processed through the MLS® Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations was little changed in October 2012 compared to the previous month (-0.1 per cent) and remains below levels reported in the first half of the year.

Sales activity improved in about half of all local markets as compared to September, including Greater Vancouver and Greater Toronto. However, in keeping with the national trend, transactions there remain well below levels posted in the first half of the year.

On a year-over-year basis, actual (not seasonally adjusted) activity was also little changed, down 0.8 per cent from levels recorded for October of last year. Led by Calgary, sales were up compared to levels one year ago in almost two-thirds of all local markets. Sales remained below year-ago levels in Greater Toronto, Greater Vancouver, and Greater Montreal.

“Sales data in October held steady at the national level, but we are seeing some diverging trends among local housing markets,” said CREA President Wayne Moen. “Markets in Alberta and Saskatchewan are gaining strength, while some of Canada’s traditionally most active markets have lost steam. As always, all real estate is local, so buyers and sellers should talk to their REALTOR® to understand how the housing market is shaping up where they live or might like to live.”

“Little has changed since national activity geared down in the wake of mortgage rules that came into force in July,” said Gregory Klump, CREA’s Chief Economist. “Opinions differ about how sharply sales have slowed depending on the local housing market.”

National sales in October were on par with the same month last year and in line with the 10-year average for the month (Chart 1). Activity for the year-to-date is also running in line with the 10 year average (Chart 2).

“These results suggest that the Canadian housing market overall has returned to a more sustainable pace,” added Klump.

A total of 402,322 homes have traded hands via Canadian MLS® Systems over the first 10 months of 2012, up 0.8 per cent from levels reported over the same period last year and 0.4 per cent below the 10-year average for the period.

The number of newly listed homes retreated by 3.8 per cent in October following a jump in September. Monthly declines were reported in almost two-thirds of all local markets, with Greater Toronto and Greater Vancouver exerting a large influence on the national trend.

The monthly decline in new listings caused the national sales-to-new listings ratio to edge back up to 50.9 per cent in October compared to September’s reading of 49 per cent. Based on a sales-to-new listings ratio of between 40 to 60 per cent, nearly two-thirds of all local markets were in balanced market territory in October.

The number of months of inventory is another important measure of the balance between housing supply and demand. It represents the number of months it would take to sell current inventories at the current rate of sales activity. It was another measure that was little changed in October. Nationally, there were 6.5 months of inventory at the end of October. This is virtually unchanged from the reading of 6.4 months at the end of September after accounting for rounding (6.479 in October vs. 6.448 in September).

The actual (not seasonally adjusted) national average price for homes sold in October 2012 was $361,516. This represents an increase of $80, or 0.02 per cent compared to the national average price in October 2011.

The national average price continues to be influenced by compositional factors, most notably by fewer sales in Greater Vancouver this year compared to much stronger levels last year, and more recently by fewer sales in Greater Toronto.

Excluding these two markets from the national average price calculation yields a year-over-year increase of 2.5 per cent, reflecting average sale prices that rose in 70 per cent of all local markets in October 2012.

Unlike average price, the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI) is not affected by changes in the mix of sales, so it provides the best gauge of Canadian home price trends.

The Aggregate Composite MLS® HPI rose 3.6 per cent on a year-over-year basis in October. This marks the sixth consecutive month in which the price gain slowed and is the slowest rate of increase since May 2011.

Year-over-year price gains decelerated for all Benchmark property types tracked by the index with the exception of the townhouse/row segment. The townhouse/row segment nonetheless posted the slowest price growth among Benchmark properties.

Year-over-year price growth remains strongest for one-storey single family homes (+5.3 per cent) and two-storey single family homes (+4.5 per cent). Prices for townhouse and apartment units continue to post more modest gains, rising 1.2 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

Most markets continued to see positive but slowing year-over-year price growth in October. The exceptions were Calgary, where price growth accelerated, and Greater Vancouver, where the year-over-year price decline was smaller in October than it was in September.

The MLS® HPI rose fastest in Regina (13.0 per cent year-over-year), but the increase was smaller than it was in September (14.2 per cent).

The MLS® HPI also climbed in Calgary (6.8%), Greater Toronto (5.1%), Greater Montreal (1.8%), and the Fraser Valley (1.5%). In Greater Vancouver, the MLS® HPI eased 0.8 per cent year-over-year in October.

City hopes to recoup money from sales of north van properties

Bob Mackin
Van. Courier

Two years after placing the Olympic Village into receivership, the city is trying to wring money out of the assets seized from Millennium Development.

At a hastily called news conference on Nov. 17, 2010, Mayor Gregor Robertson revealed that Ernst & Young was put in control of the home-away-from-home for 2010 Winter Olympics athletes after Millennium defaulted on $740 million owed to the city.

In March 2011, city hall seized 32 properties estimated to be worth $45 million net from Millennium. The deadline for bids on two of the most lucrative properties was Nov. 9, but city hall refuses to disclose how many potential buyers expressed interest.

“Staff are reviewing the submissions and they will make a presentation to council in the coming weeks,” city communications manager Sandy Swanton told the Courier.

The city was offering a “strategically located property assembly” at 199, 127 and 131 Esplanade West in North Vancouver near the Lonsdale Quay Public Market, SeaBus terminal and ICBC headquarters. According to 2011 figures, the properties were appraised at $6.25 million. They include one-storey buildings that house a Starbucks, tailor shop and dry cleaner, plus a parking lot that was appraised at $3.3 million alone.

The other property open for bids until Nov. 9 was 260 Esplanade West, an entire city block with two and three-storey retail and office buildings described by the city as a “commercial investment property with significant redevelopment potential.” In 2011, it was assessed at $19.94 million but appraised at $28.5 million.

The deadline for bids on a nine-unit commercial/retail building at 1327 Marine Drive in West Vancouver’s Ambleside district was Oct. 5. That property was appraised at $5.5 million in 2011.

Last June, the city sold the former Daily Province Building near Victory Square for an undisclosed price. In 2011, it was appraised at $10 million and assessed at $6.996 million.

By the end of 2011, the debt remaining on the Village was $462 million. In April 2011, the city estimated a $48 million loss on the project, not counting the $170 million land cost.

Meanwhile, owners of 68 units worth an estimated $50 million are proceeding with a lawsuit seeking refunds. No trial date has been set, but the owners’ lawyer, Brian Baynham, is awaiting a case management hearing with Justice Lauri Ann Fenlon.

“I think it can be resolved in a couple of days, it’s not a complicated issue we think,” Baynham said. “The question for the court is whether (City of Vancouver was) a developer, as that term is defined in the act. Also whether or not Millennium SEFC, the company that built the Olympic Village, was a developer. Because all developers we say had to sign a disclosure statement, the failure to do that amounts to a breach of the Real Estate Marketing Act and if there is a breach of the act, my clients are entitled to rescind.”

Fenlon, coincidentally, presided over the unsuccessful 2009 application by female ski jumpers to force International Olympic Committee and VANOC to let them compete at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

By late October, 564 of the 737 Village on False Creek units had been sold and Rennie Marketing Systems was projecting sellout by 2014. In May 2010, marketer Bob Rennie told an Urban Development Institute meeting that he hoped to sell-out in two years.

The owner of Montreal’s Olympic Village, El Ad Canada, sold the property for $176.5 million to Canadian Apartment Properties Real Estate Trust in early November.

Three months before the Montreal 1976 Olympics, the Quebec government took over the 980-unit project. Fraud and conspiracy charges against developer Joseph Zappia were dropped in 1988.

© Copyright (c) Vancouver Courier

700 oppose size of plans for Safeway site

Brent Richter
Other

A group of City of North Vancouver residents, about 700 of them so far, are hoping to stay council’s hand on approving what could be the largest development in Upper Lonsdale history.

City resident Linda Heese and a few other volunteers have been collecting signatures for a petition calling on council to reject a proposal from developer Onni Group for the Safeway site at 13th Street and Lonsdale Avenue. The project would see 344 residential units in two towers measuring 180 and 240 feet in height, atop a commercial podium including a new grocery store. The project goes to a public hearing and likely vote by council on Nov. 19.

But in Heese’s view, the towers are too tall and dense for the neighbourhood and abut the sidewalks, which will “change, irrevocably” the character of what is now a nice pedestrian street.

“It’s too extreme and it doesn’t leave any greenspace left and the towers are too close to the sidewalk. There’s no setback. There’s no landscaping. There are no architecturally nice things about this design,” Heese said.

Unlike the other condo towers in the neighbourhood, council hasn’t made “big fuss and feathers” to make sure the Safeway site has large setbacks and landscaping to improve their look for the passing public.

The plan also calls for 14th Street to become the main entry point of the development for residents and delivery vehicles, which will bring traffic chaos to a street designated as a greenway in the official community plan, said Heese.

“How can we put another 20 stores in this thing, and have (the ones here now) and not feel that there’s going to be a traffic problem? And why are we going to be bringing grocery trucks and moving vans into a street designated as a greenway,” she asked.

There are also problems with what council seems to be willing to trade the extra density for, Heese said.

In exchange for the increase in density, Onni is offering 10,000 square feet of non-profit housing, 5,000 square feet of childcare space, a $1-million contribution to the city’s amenity fund, a connection to the Lonsdale Energy Corporation, infrastructure upgrades to the surrounding streets and traffic signals, $250,000 in public art, green building standards and extra commercial space.

But those perks pale in comparison to how much more Onni stands to make with such a dense project, Heese said.

Judging by the reaction she’s seen from people signing the petition, there is little public awareness about the size and scope of the project, something for which Heese blames the city and developer. Both failed at being forthcoming about the project with public notices and signage, Heese argued, and Onni’s proposal is buried in “menus and menus and menus” on the city’s website.

“How many people have gone onto this and have gone through all of that stuff to see what the hell is going on here?” she said. “This has been flying so low on the radar, it’s unbelievable.”

The artist’s rendering of what the site may look like when fully developed also doesn’t accurately depict how tall and how wide the buildings will be, Heese suspects.

Onni has offered to meet with Heese to discuss the proposal, but Heese said she is only meeting with them to discuss a much smaller development on the site.

“I know what they’ve done and I see all their detailed plans. I don’t need them to do a sales pitch to me,” she said.

Ultimately, the site ought to be redeveloped, Heese said, but she would like to see a project that is more in keeping with the official community plan, which puts a maximum building height at 180 feet.

In the meantime, Heese says she will continue gathering signatures and letting people know about the project right up until the Nov. 19 public hearing.

“I’m hoping that if (council) hears from enough people in our city, that they will realize how unpopular this project is and how drastically it changes the character of the area, and that people really, really care,” she said.

No one from Onni was available to comment on the proposal or petition.

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

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Whether a condominium is your very first home purchase, or you’re downsizing from a detached house, it’s important to know how to best maximize space while showcasing your personality. Interior design can be daunting, so we’ve put together a handy list of our top ten tips for designing your condo.

Want to see our tips in action? Our professionally designed show suites have a little something for everyone. They’re open every Saturday & Sunday to the public for viewing (entrance at the front of the Summit House at Morgan Crossing, along 26th Ave.).

1. Never Underestimate the Power of Storage – No matter what type of home you live in, handy storage solutions that blend seamlessly into your aesthetic is key. We love the look of built-in shelving, and use it often in our show suites. Or for a quick solution, try an ottoman that doubles as a storage bin. Mason jars are an inexpensive way of organizing everything from household knick knacks to baking ingredients and toiletries.
2. Embrace Your Space – Don’t miss opportunities to use the same space in multiple ways. That fantastic granite countertop is a great place for chopping veggies, but throw a couple barstools around it to use as a breakfast bar. Try investing in a leather bound coffee table that doubles as extra seating during dinner parties.
3. Use Area Rugs to Separate Space – Most condos maximize space by blending the dining and living room into one central space. Placing a large, colourful area rug in your living area defines it from the rest of your space, while adding a pop of colour and personality.
4. A Little Bit of Paint Goes a Long Way – Paint can be your best friend when it comes to decorating. It’s inexpensive, and easy to change if needed. Light colours, like off-whites and taupe shades can brighten a room and make it appear larger, while bold accent colours like burgundy and teal help define and draw attention to a space. Try doing a bit of both, but remember the key here is to use colours in the same family (warm tones or cool tones, but not both).
5. Don’t be Afraid of a Little Colour – Many condo owners opt to keep walls a lighter shade to maximize light. But you can always find creative ways of adding accent colours through accessories such as lamps, vases, rugs, and throw pillows. Because accessories are easily interchangeable and don’t break the bank, you can change the mood of your home with a couple new pieces (out with the blue, in with the orange!)
6. Make Your Space Uniquely You – The most important thing to keep in mind when decorating is staying true to your aesthetic. Your home should be a reflection of your personality. Maybe you love modern lines and clean minimalism. Or perhaps you love ornate crown molding and a have a flair for the dramatic. Make sure this is reflected in your home!
7. No Need to Spend a Fortune – You’ve just bought a new home, so perhaps that custom sofa made of Italian silk has to wait a little while longer. Try checking out local antique and thrift stores in your neighbourhood for a funky, unique piece that you can bring back to life. A coat of paint on a vintage armoire and patterned slipcover on an older sofa can go a long way!
8. Invest in a Piece Your Really Love – While you don’t need to spend a fortune on everything, you may find a piece or two that speak to you. It could be a painting you’ve had your eye on, or a custom built in wall unit. If you really love it, it’s worth considering.
9. Throw Matchy-Matchy Out the Window – Long gone are the days where everything needs to match just so. Some of our favourite looks come from mismatched items that somehow work perfectly together. So don’t get rid of that art deco pattered armchair just yet—it may surprise you.
10. Highlight Unique Features – Take a look at what makes your space unique. The lofts at Summit House boast 22’ ceilings, so a spectacular light fixture and art pieces draw your eye to the vaulted ceiling. Custom drapes framing tall picture windows are a great way to bring unique patterns and textures to your home.

Vancouver Coun. Louie made safety request for planned 12-storey building

Mike Howell
Van. Courier

In his 30 years of designing buildings, architect Stu Lyon admits what he is expected to incorporate into a 12-storey project slated for a strip of East Hastings is a first for him.

His challenge: To design the building at 955 East Hastings “with particular regard for the safety of sex trade workers present in the area,” according to one of the conditions outlined in a rezoning application approved by city council Oct. 30. “We’re as interested as you are in finding out exactly what these ideas are because it’s a bit obscure to us,” said Lyon of GBL Architects, which is working on behalf of Wall Financial Corporation.

The 12-storey building will occupy a strip of East Hastings next to rail tracks and across from Ray-Cam Community Centre. The 352-unit complex will include 70 units for social housing, with one-third at welfare rates. Space for a possible grocery store and production, distribution and repair businesses will be part of the project.

The location of the development happens to be in a neighbourhood used for decades by sex trade workers, one of whom spoke during the public hearing on the project. Concerns about safety was what prompted Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie to ensure design of the building incorporate “crime prevention through environmental design” principles with regard to sex trade workers.

But what does that look like, exactly?

In interviews with Louie and Mary Clare Zak, the city’s director of social policy, that’s a question that still can’t be fully answered until the architect, developer and city discuss modifications or improvements. Louie and Zak both mentioned the possibility of additional lighting but beyond that they’re not prepared to speculate.

“I can’t at this point give you any definitive, ‘Here’s what’s going to happen,'” said Zak, adding that she didn’t anticipate dramatic changes to the design. “We can’t expect the developer to make sweeping changes at this point. It’s more, ‘What can they do that would mitigate any harmful effects and hopefully make the design better for everybody in terms of safety?'”

Kate Gibson, executive director of the WISH drop-in centre for sex trade workers, said she is encouraged city council has prostitutes in mind when designing a building. Although Gibson couldn’t recommend specific improvements to the building, she suggested the design ensure the parkade be at the opposite end of the block where sex trade workers are present.

“Maybe that would diminish people’s whole interaction with one another so that people won’t be irritated with one another,” she said.

Sex trade worker Susan Davis, who belongs to an advocacy group for prostitutes, said concerns about design could be alleviated by allowing sex trade workers to live and work in the building. “I would like to see that sex workers are openly allowed to bring their customers in to visit with them and I would like to see sex workers at the top of the list in terms of being a priority for housing,” Davis said.

If that is not accepted, she said, then the rights of sex trade workers and their presence in the neighbourhood should be written into the building’s strata rules. An open parkade with good lighting is another recommendation. “There has to come a time when we all learn to live together,” Davis added.

The discussion about the new complex comes as Zak’s department is developing a way of assessing how new developments in the Downtown Eastside such as the Woodward’s project affect low-income and vulnerable people such as sex trade workers.

Lyon, meanwhile, said his firm still has to submit a development permit, go before the urban design panel and then to the development permit board before the project will proceed.

© Copyright (c) Vancouver Courier

Cormac Foster
Other

At one point, Multiple Listing Services was innovative technology designed to help buyers find homes. Today, though, its only getting in the way. With more users finding homes on national search sites, arcane rules and local focus have made MLSes as relevant as the binders they replaced.

The Basics

For more than 100 years, real estate brokers have worked together to help sell listings. In the pre-digital days, brokers kept “listing books” full of their local board’s available properties, which allowed each broker to promote a wider range of homes than he or she represented individually. The result was faster-moving inventory for the entire board, and everyone won. The service was (and still is) opt-in: brokers choose which listings to cross-promote. But results down’t lie, and the vast majority of properties wound up in the book.

Eventually, the listing book gave way to a brokers-only digital database, which improved performance and accuracy. When the Web came along, real estate boards acknowledged the necessity of a consumer interface, providing plug-in solutions that let users search its inventory, or licensing third-party software vendors to provide similar services. Brokers who want to develop something fancier can request direct data feeds (often at substantial cost), subject to the board’s restrictions.

Technology disruption in real estate is a very volatile topic, so let’s be clear about what this article is not saying. We’re not saying the Internet will eliminate the need for agents. It’s already changed the way they do their jobs, but houses aren’t cars, so an expert voice will always be important.

The Problem

For a very long time, even after the MLS went digital, brokers were gatekeepers to an area’s listing data. Seeing available inventory meant taking a trip to the local real estate office, which guided the buyer through every phase of the search and purchase. The Internet has changed that. According to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), 88% of home buyers (and 94% of buyers age 25 to 44) used the Internet during their home search, typically long before contacting an agent.

That same NAR survey revealed that more than a third of Realtors received no business whatsoever from their personal websites. The reason for the discrepancy? Homebuyers are bypassing MLS-sanctioned broker sites for online marketplaces with more inventory and a broader customer experience.

1. Searches Are Bigger Than Boards

The real estate industry is local. Real estate searches, however, are not. MLS coverage areas often overlap. It’s not unusual for a broker to participate in three or more boards, each with its own MLS, its own custom data fields, its own naming conventions and its own restrictions on how data can be searched and displayed. In many cases, the boards may even restrict “commingling” of their listings with listings from other boards, creating a logistical nightmare for brokers trying to list as much inventory as possible on a website.

A broker whose territory bridges the Pennsylvania/New Jersey border explained his frustration with board-specific data restrictions. “I have customers who come to me and say it’s impossible to search through all of the area properties on my website, and I can’t blame them. They don’t care about which [real estate] boards are where. They just want to see everything within 20 miles of work, so they bounce from my site, do a search on Trulia, and if I’m lucky, they come back to me with questions. If I’m not, I lose the lead.”

2. The Industry Has Moved On

National and regional search portals like Trulia, Zillow, and even Craigslist offer a wider range of inventory than brokers’ MLS-specific search widgets. Typically, they can get away with this because their listings aren’t part of the MLS system. Trulia, for example, actively recruits direct listings from agents, building its own national database of searchable properties that cuts through local boards’ red tape. Syndication services like ListHub and Point2 allow brokers to push their listings to dozens of portals with a single click. More progressive MLSes are partnering with these and other, similar services to help brokers promote their listings and maintain data integrity. Other have blocked syndication deals, but determined brokers are pushing listings on their own.

Does listing aggregation introduce the potential for errors and fraud? Absolutely.

In January, a prominent San Diego real estate firm (video above) rather famously pulled its listings from sites like Trulia for exactly that reason. Trulia itself found evidence that 21.3% of direct submissions had an error in listing status or price.

Clearly, there’s an advantage to MLS oversight, but the cat is out of the bag, and the numbers are striking. In the US, Trulia, Zillow, and Realtor.com account for 8 times as many visitors as all of the major real estate franchisors combined. Consumers seem willing to put up with inconsistency if it helps them find a house on their terms. Brokers seem to agree. For all the rumbling about unfair treatment by listing aggregators, actual defections like the one in San Diego are extremely rare. The public wants broad, easy searches. Despite their best intentions, most MLSes are getting in the way.

The Prognosis

Third-party aggregators aren’t going anywhere, and the trend toward listing decentralization will continue. In January, four national franchisors entered a partnership with ListHub to try to deliver a national real estate search to end users in the face of a NAR ban on direct data feeds from MLSes. Expect to see more of this sort of maneuvering as everyone tries to create national portals.

At the same time, we’ll likely see more consolidation into mega-MLSes like California’s CARETS, which encompasses more than 50 boards. By migrating boards to a common technology platform and (hopefully) encouraging them to adopt similar rules, larger MLSes should make independent sites more useful, help secure deals with aggregators that actually protect data integrity, and make homes easier to buy and sell.

Can This Technology Be Saved?

The local real estate board will no doubt continue to exist, but the MLS as we’ve known it is already on its way out, just like the three-ring binders that came before it. The best shot MLSes have at remaining relevant is acknowledging that change is inevitable, and doing what they can to keep that change safe for their clients. If they embrace the world of syndication, consolidate where it makes sense, and position themselves as guardians of data accuracy in a distributed world, they can remain an important part of the industry and even improve it. If not, well, it’s not clear anyone will miss them.

Where chic meets affordability

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Uptown Clayton true value with casual chic

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Plans for 2,818 units on 28-acre site

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