Other

On September 7, nearly 5,000 bicyclists representing Canada and 17 other countries pedalled into Whistler at the end of the 122-kilometre GranFondo race from Vancouver.

The end-of-summer event – the largest timed bike race in the world – followed the first international Ironman competition that’s slated to become an annual Whistler competition. These large-scale events give evidence that Western Canada’s top ski resort still has big-time appeal – and potential – three years after the Winter Olympic Games.

Recently the Audain Foundation, founded by Vancouver real estate developer Michael Audain, started construction of the $30 million, 55,000-square-foot Audain Art Museum in Whistler that will open as a tourist and cultural attraction in 2015.

Hotel bookings for June and July were up 15 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively, from a year earlier – the “highest for those months” since Tourism Whistler began tracking overnight visitors decades ago, a spokesperson confirmed.

Local realtors say that is great news for the retail and real estate markets.

Retail

“One American is worth 10 Canadians when it comes to retail spending,” half-joked Drew Meredith, a commercial realtor with Whistler Real Estate Co. Meredith, who is pitching retail leases across Whistler, says the return of summer crowds is a welcome sign.

“We have been down for awhile,” he said, pointing to retail lease rates. While the top village stroll from “the market to the mountain” still demands lease rates between $60 and $120 per square foot, Class B locations are much less expensive – $25 to $35 per square foot – and harder to lease up.

Still, due to the lack of new commercial construction and the fairly low turnover, retail vacancy rates remain a healthy 2 per cent, comparable to top street front retail locations in Vancouver.

Housing

Yet it is residential that has always defined Whistler real estate and there are also signs of a turnaround in a housing market that has been the worst performer in the southern Lower Mainland for most of the last decade. The benchmark price of a detached house in Whistler in August dipped to $900,900, down 1.5 per cent from a year earlier and 9.7 per cent lower than five years ago.

As a comparison, the typical Lower Mainland detached-house price increased 14.6 per cent since 2008, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

This summer, however, an “international businessperson” purchased a Whistler house for $10 million – the most expensive home sale in the resort since 2009.

“I think it’s really a positive sign and it shows there’s confidence in our market,” said Ann Chiasson, owner of Re/Max Sea to Sky Real Estate, who brokered the sale. “I think the real estate market has huge potential here still.”

According to a recent Re/Max report assessing housing trends in several Canadian recreational property markets, international buyers – particularly from Hong Kong and Singapore – now make up 12 per cent of purchasers in the resort.

“Whistler is one of the best places to buy,” said Landcor Data Corp. CEO Rudy Nielsen. “The market is definitely down, but you’re never going to replace Whistler as one of the best places in the world for skiing and recreational use.”

Nielsen believes key factors in the resort’s decline include:

• global economic uncertainty;

• a comparatively high Canadian dollar; and

• tightened lending requirements for buying secondary homes.

Whistler Real Estate Co. president Pat Kelly similarly believes the market is stabilizing. His statistics, based on the larger Whistler Listings Service, show the average home sale so far this year is $1,479,323, or 7.1 per cent less than $1,593,000 in 2012.

Condo prices plunged

“The condo market has taken the biggest drop and this is almost solely attributable to the condo-hotel market, which represents about 10 per cent of the total number of transactions in the marketplace,” said Kelly.

REBGV stats show that the typical Whistler condo price plunged 43 per cent in the past five years to around $212,000 this August.

Phase 2 properties are one quirk of Whistler real estate.

Buyers of these properties get condominiums that are managed by companies such as the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. These properties have a covenant and operate in a rental-pool system that limits owners to spending a maximum of 56 days in their properties each year.

Phase 2 properties are desirable because they tend to be close to the village and ski hills. Realtors, however, argue that they are qualitatively a different real estate class than properties in which the owner can live year-round.

According to Chiasson, another factor that skews Whistler real estate price trends is the small total number of sales: high condominium sales or low single-family home sales can magnify and distort trends.

Regional homebuyers still drive the majority of business in Whistler’s housing market, with Re/Max noting that 75 per cent of purchasers are from B.C.

“We’re seeing more people coming from the Lower Mainland and purchasing because it’s more affordable than the city and it’s better than betting on the stock market,” said Whistler realtor Steve Legge. “There’s more trust and confidence in our market.”

Best sales since ’08

The Re/Max report noted that Whistler posted its best first-quarter numbers since 2008 this year. Between May 2012 and April 2013, 565 property sales were made – nearly identical to last year’s levels – with the average transaction price rising slightly from $676,000 to $696,000.

Demand remains high for properties listed between $500,000 and $1 million, the resort’s most popular price point, although the report also indicated strong demand for products priced up to $1.5 million. The average starting price for a typical three-bedroom chalet in Whistler is $700,000.

There are currently 150 houses listed for sale in the resort, starting at $539,000. There are also options for buyers on the lower-end of the spectrum, with 37 properties available under $400,000.

The average Whistler condominium price dropped 12 per cent in the last year, according to the report. Legge says that Whistler’s condo market has “picked up some” in the last year with the reduced pricing.

With interest rates at near-historic lows, Legge, who works with Whistler Real Estate, says that now is a good time for potential homebuyers.

“Truthfully, steady as we go is the feeling I get,” he said. “I’m optimistic we’ll see a slow, steady growth – provided pricing doesn’t get out of control.”

from Western Investor October 2013

Other

Greed at all levels – from the street to City Hall – is to blame for a sharp drop in sales of residential land in Metro Vancouver, according to real estate consultant and developer Michael Geller.

“We all got too greedy,” said the president of Vancouver-based Geller Group.

RealNet, a Toronto-based data-tracking firm, reported that sales of land suitable for multi-family properties plunged 30 per cent in Metro Vancouver during the first half of this year, compared with the same period a year earlier. The trend is also seen in Toronto and Calgary, where sales of residential land dropped 51 per cent and 52 per cent, respectively.

RealNet research manager Richard Vilner said the decline d mirrors a slowdown in condominium sales, suggesting that “land prices may have peaked in Canada’s three biggest housing markets.”

Some condo developers are pulling back because of an overhang of unsold inventory and soaring municipal fees., Geller suggests.

“I am not surprised that land sales have slowed down,” he said.

from Western Investor September 2013

MLS sales and prices continue to climb

Mario Toneguzzi
Other

CALGARY — Calgary’s red-hot housing market continued to sizzle in September as MLS sales and prices followed an upward trend.

According to the Calgary Real Estate Board, total MLS sales in the city of 1,923 during the month were up 19.44 per cent from a year ago.

The average sale price rose by 8.27 per cent to $454,352 while the median price was up 8.78 per cent to $402,500.

Calvin Buss, involved in real estate marketing and sales, said job creation and in-migration are fuelling the current market.

“The international in-migration is getting stronger and stronger. And if you look at the number of people that came out of Ontario over the last six months into Alberta, it’s just staggering,” said Buss who has his home for sale in Edworthy Park at $4.49 million. The home is situated in the middle of a forest overlooking the Bow River and the downtown.

“In Calgary we have a tight market. We’ve had good markets over the last two years. And that’s tightened everything up. And then you get all that in-migration coming based on jobs. You start to get things really tightening up. Like the vacancy rate downtown doesn’t have any elasticity to help absorb these people so they’re forced into the marketplace. And the marketplace only has a certain capacity.”

Calgary is in a sellers’ market which is good news for people like Buss who have their homes for sale.

In September, there were 2,796 new listings in the Calgary market, up 4.33 per cent from a year ago but active listings at the end of the month were down by 23.08 per cent to 3,922.

Scott Bollinger, broker for the ComFree Commensense Network, said the jump in prices isn’t too surprising when you look at the underlying factors, which include a tight inventory, a close-to-zero-vacancy rental market converting many would-be renters into potential buyers, and the fact the economy’s humming along.

“What is a little surprising is that the numbers of new listings aren’t keeping pace with big jumps in prices and sales,” said Bollinger. “I think Calgarians know this is a seller’s market. It has been for months. So that tells me that population growth and demand are simply outpacing supply. Speculators who sat for years on second and third properties, waiting for a hot market, have already sold.”

Days on the market to sell in September fell from 45 a year ago to 36, which represented a 20 per cent decline.

“The economy continues to support factors that are driving housing demand forward,” said Richard Cho, senior market analyst in Calgary for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. “Employment in Calgary has trended up, with many full-time jobs also created.

“Latest reports also show that net migration to Alberta has been strong as well. After two quarters, net migration in Alberta has increased over 40 per cent from last year. Sales thus far are up compared to 2012 levels, and that is not expected to change by the end of the year.”

Ben Brunnen, a Calgary economic consultant, said the local real estate market should perform well this fall with a favourable economic outlook, a tight rental market and strong population growth the key factors.

“Alberta has been one of the most resilient economies in Canada, and this gives buyers confidence,” said Brunnen.

“At the same time, supply remains tight with limited inventory to meet demand and builders trying to catch up. For the economy as a whole, strong real estate prices give homeowners confidence, and this could help boost consumer spending in Alberta.”

CREB said single-family home sales in September of 1,354 were up 20.25 per cent from last year while the average price rose by 9.25 per cent to $512,359. Condo apartment sales increased by 17.39 per cent to 324 with the average price up by 4.38 per cent to $298,765. Condo townhouse sales were up 17.79 per cent to 245 while the average sale price increased by 2.95 per cent to $339,534.

“Tight market conditions have supported price growth in the Calgary market,” said Ann-Marie Lurie, CREB’s chief economist. “But the pace of unadjusted monthly growth has eased in September.

“While prices show strong year-over-year gains, if the level of new listings continues to improve relative to sales activity, prices should level off for the remainder of the year.”

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Revised plan for Oakridge development ready for viewing

Naoibh O’Connor
Other

Revised plans for the proposed redevelopment of Oakridge Centre will be on display at open houses Oct. 3 and 5.

The size of the civic centre has been expanded, but the number of  towers remains  the same with the highest still at 45 storeys.

Henriquez Partners Architects and Stantec applied to amend the site’s zoning on behalf of Oakridge Centre owner Ivanhoe Cambridge and Westbank Development in November 2012. The initial application featured 13 towers ranging from 18 to 45 storeys with 2,800 residential units, as well as rooftop greenspace, retail space and amenities such as a community centre.

The mall was developed in 1956 and last renovated in the mid 1980s. The 2007 Oakridge Centre policy statement limits towers to 24 storeys.

In June, council endorsed staff recommendations outlined in an interim report on the rezoning application, including tower heights up to 45 storeys, as well as the general level of density proposed. That decision came after council heard reaction from about two-dozen people.

Critics are alarmed about the proposed density and scale being considered, while supporters approve of what they see as a sustainable design for the 28-acre site.

Graeme Silvera, Ivanhoe Cambridge’s vice president of retail development for the western region, told the Courier Tuesday that the revised plan still includes 13 towers, the tallest of which remains at 45 storeys, while the lowest is now 17 storeys. The positions of some of the towers have shifted.

The tower on the northwest corner by 41st was moved into the middle of the site, according to Silvera.

The locations of towers near The Terraces — a 32-unit strata located in the top three floors of the building housing Crate & Barrel and medical offices — were also moved slightly. Residents in The Terraces are troubled by the height and proximity of the towers, and they consider the overall development too dense for the neighbourhood.

Silvera said the 45-storey tower next to the Terraces was moved 12 feet further away and the 42-storey tower pushed seven feet further away.

“That was the maximum tweaking we could do looking at the retail underneath, so we tried to get [the towers] further away. That was the best we could do,” he said.

Silvera maintains one of the biggest changes in the revised plan is to the size of the civic centre, which has increased from 45,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet.

The community centre used to be 23,500 square feet, but it’s been enlarged to 36,000 square feet, while the library was 13,000 square feet and is now 25,500 square feet. The childcare area has stayed the same size at 8,500 square feet.

“We’ve now included the seniors centre in the community centre as an integrated unit,” Silvera added. “And the building has also changed position quite significantly. It used to be in the middle of the site, which wasn’t very accessible. Now it’s been moved to the extreme south end of the site adjacent to the pick-up and drop-off area and Safeway.”

The affordable housing component has also increased from about 150 units to 280 units and there are now six access points to the rooftop open space. The rooftop’s usable open space has expanded from roughly seven to nine acres.

Whether any of these changes appease critics remains to be seen.

“There are some critics we’ll never satisfy, but certainly I think these changes will do a lot to show the community that we are listening and that we have made some significant shifts,” Silvera said.

“You’ve got to look at this site in the context of a long-term 2050 development.”

The plan goes before the urban design panel next, possibly in early November.

The open houses are at Oakridge Centre in the former Zellers location from 5 to 8 p.m., Oct. 3 and from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., Oct. 5.

© Copyright 2013