Other

Canadian manufacturing sales increased 2.5 per cent in July to $53.7 billion, surpassing the previous record monthly dollar volume set in July 2008. Sales were higher in 16 of 21 manufacturing sub-sectors.

In BC, manufacturing sales were up 0.2 cent on a monthly basis, and were 10.4 per cent higher year-over-year. Through the first seven months of the year, manufacturing sales are 6.3 per cent higher than last year. The durable goods sector, which includes wood products, mineral products and machinery and equipment manufacturing, has bounced back from a slow start, growing 2.8 per cent year-to-date. Non-durable goods like paper, clothing, and food manufacturing, have posted 10.6 per cent growth compared to 2013.

The manufacturing sector is one of the largest employers in British Columbia. Growth in sales should help drive employment and household income gains in markets with a large manufacturing base, which in turn will ensure a strong local housing markets.

Copyright ©2014 BCREA

Garry Marr
Other

Three of the country’s most expensive housing markets continue to drive the national average price for a home, according to a new report.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday the average sale price of a home in August reached $398,618, a 5.3% increase from a year ago.

“Although activity rose in fewer than half of local housing markets in August, the national tally was fuelled by monthly increases in Greater Vancouver, Calgary and Greater Toronto,” the Ottawa based group said in a release.

The big three continue to see prices rise while their sales continue to increase, both factors helping to drive national numbers. Year-to-date, Vancouver sales are up 18% year over year while Toronto and Calgary are up 4.2% and 13.% respectively.

Added together, the three cities are responsible for 33% of all sales in the country this year. However, the dollar value of the trades year-to-date have so far been worth about 48% of all activity.

“Sales picked up in some of Canada’s most active and expensive real estate markets which fuelled another national increase,” said Beth Crosbie, president of CREA, in the release. “Even so, the national increase in sales does not reflect local trends in many markets across the country.”

Prices were down in August from a year ago in six of the markets surveyed. Another eight markets were near the rate of inflation, in terms of price increases.

For August, national sales were up 1.8% from July and 2.1% from a year ago. It was the seventh consecutive month sales have grown and the highest level for sale since January, 2010.

“Sale activity in recent months has remained stronger than was anticipated earlier this year,” said Gregory Klump, chief economist with CREA, in a statement. “Listings and sales this spring were deferred due to unseasonably harsh weather which subsequently supported activity once the delayed spring home buying season got into gear. This trend was reinforced by a decline in mortgage interest rates.”

Mr. Klump said the boost from deferred sales will not continue and noted sales were down from the previous month in a majority of Canadian markets.

Supply continues to be constrained led by Toronto where new listed homes were down 1.2% in August from July. New listings were down from a month ago in about 60% of the markets surveyed by CREA.

© 2014 National Post

Garry Marr
Other

The national average home price shows a market still growing but increasingly that figure is hiding the fact that it’s barely treading water in many Canadian cities.

Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver continue to drive the Canadian housing market, but there is little the federal government can do to cool them off without impacting the rest of the country, say economists.

“We have very strong markets in three of our biggest cities and almost the rest of the country is mediocre at best,” said Doug Porter, chief economist with Bank of Montreal. “Some of these cities, by some measures, are quite weak.”

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Monday the average sale price of a home in August reached $398,618, a 5.3% increase from a year ago.

Vancouver August sales were up 18% year over year while Toronto and Calgary were up 4.2% and 13.6% respectively. Added together, the three cities are responsible for 33% of all sales in the country this year. However, the dollar value of the trades year-to-date have so far been worth about 48% of all activity.

Mr. Porter noted the deepening divide happening across the country. “On the sales side, almost half the major markets reported declines last month,” he wrote.

The federal government, which has moved four times to tighten regulations in a effort to slow down the housing market, might be hard-pressed to do so again given the market differences.

“I’m not sure [any] markets are so hot they need dousing,” said the economist. “If you hit the market with something like tighter mortgage rules, that could send some already weak markets into a tailspin. Policy makers are in a tough bind.”

Ottawa-based CREA made special note in its monthly release about how the big three real estate markets were driving the overall number.

“Sales picked up in some of Canada’s most active and expensive real estate markets, which fuelled another national increase,” said Beth Crosbie, president of CREA. “Even so, the national increase in sales does not reflect local trends in many markets across the country.”

Prices were down in August from a year ago in six of the markets surveyed. Another eight markets were near the rate of inflation, in terms of price increases.

For August, national sales were up 1.8% from July. It was the seventh consecutive month sales have grown and the highest level for sales since January, 2010.

Finn Poschmann, vice-president of research with the C.D. Howe Institute, noted that though Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary are dominating the data to produce increasing values, it hasn’t always been that way.

“If you look back over five years, things are a little different. Calgary had the biggest hit over 2008-09, and spent late 2010 through summer 2011 in negative territory as well. Vancouver went through a cooling phase from summer 2012 through summer 2013. The GTA though is the relentless monster – prices marched steadily since September 2009, with a five-year annual growth rate of 7.5%. That adds up fast,” said Mr. Poschmann, who thinks the eventual interest rate rise on the horizon should produce “some cooling” in the coming year..

He says Ottawa could control individual markets if Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. introduced risk pricing into its mortgage insurance model. That would raise costs in those markets.

“Governments absolutely should not target specific markets. It is implausible that Ottawa could be the better judge of a sustainable market, or at what prices the market should clear,” he said.

Ottawa may not have to intervene based on the view of CREA’s chief economist who says some of the increased activity is a bit of a one-time blip.

“Sale activity in recent months has remained stronger than was anticipated earlier this year,” said Gregory Klump, chief economist with CREA. “Listings and sales this spring were deferred due to unseasonably harsh weather which subsequently supported activity once the delayed spring home buying season got into gear. This trend was reinforced by a decline in mortgage interest rates.”

© 2014 National Post

No Vacation for Home Buyers in August

BCREA
Other

 The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 7,341 residential sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in August, up 7 per cent from August 2013. Total sales dollar volume was $4.1 billion, an increase of 12.4 per cent compared to a year ago. The average MLS® residential price in the province rose to $560,318, up 5 per cent from the same month last year. 

 “Consumer demand remained relatively robust in August,” said Cameron Muir, BCREA Chief Economist. “The Okanagan and Chilliwack board areas posted the strongest year-over-year gain of 22 to 25 per cent in unit sales, while Victoria and Vancouver increased around 10 per cent respectively.” Home sales last month were the highest for the month of August since 2009.

“Low mortgage rates, increased net-migration and improving economic conditions continue to underpin housing demand in the province,” added Muir.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was up 22.8 per cent to $28.5 billion, compared to the same period last year. Residential unit sales were up 15.8 per cent to 57,715 units, while the average MLS® residential price was up 6.1 per cent at $564,466.

 August 2014 Residential Average Price, Active Listings and
Sales-to-Active-Listings Data by Board

 

Board				Average Price				Active Listings				Sales-to-Active-Listings
August 2014 Residential Average Price ($)		August 2013 Residential Average Price ($)		% change		August 2014 Residential Active Listings (Units)		August 2013 Residential Active Listings (Units)		% change		August 2014 Residential Sales to Active Listings (%)		August 2013 Residential Sales to Active Listings (%)
BC Northern	269,185		244,012		10.3		3,016		2,980		1.2		13.5		13.8
Chilliwack	304,662		294,155		3.6		1,692		1,741		-2.8		13.6		10.6
Fraser Valley	528,939		482,006		9.7		7,575		8,342		-9.2		16.3		14.5
Greater Vancouver	802,763		784,567		2.3		15,967		17,205		-7.2		17.7		14.9
Kamloops	318,113		327,405		-2.8		2,236		2,185		2.3		10.4		11.3
Kootenay	280,642		278,362		0.8		3,203		3,357		-4.6		8		6.2
Okanagan Mainline	421,387		379,059		11.2		5,197		6,000		-13.4		15.1		10.7
Powell River	258,017		240,015		7.5		238		271		-12.2		9.7		9.6
South Okanagan	317,844		316,219		0.5		1,677		1,824		-8.1		9.4		9.1
Northern Lights	264,693		290,957		-9		345		343		0.6		7.5		10.2
Vancouver Island	324,309		329,532		-1.6		5,659		5,894		-4		10.6		11.2
Victoria	497,608		479,978		3.7		3,329		3,588		-7.2		17.2		14.5
Provincial Totals*	560,318		533,400		5		50,134		53,730		-6.7		14.6		12.8

*Numbers may not add due to rounding

 August 2014 BC Residential Multiple Listing Service® Data by Board

 

Board				Dollar Volume (000s)				Units
August 2014 Residential Sales ($)		August 2013 Residential Sales ($)		% change		August 2014 Residential Sales (Units)		August 2013 Residential Sales (Units)		% change
BC Northern	109,827		100,533		9.2		408		412		-1
Chilliwack	70,072		54,125		29.5		230		184		25
Fraser Valley	651,124		582,745		11.7		1,231		1,209		1.8
Greater Vancouver	2,263,792		2,006,138		12.8		2,820		2,557		10.3
Kamloops	73,802		80,542		-8.4		232		246		-5.7
Kootenay	72,125		57,621		25.2		257		207		24.2
Okanagan Mainline	330,789		243,356		35.9		785		642		22.3
Powell River	5,934		6,240		-4.9		23		26		-11.5
South Okanagan	49,901		52,492		-4.9		157		166		-5.4
Northern Lights	6,882		10,184		-32.4		26		35		-25.7
Vancouver Island	194,910		217,161		-10.2		601		659		-8.8
Victoria	284,134		249,588		13.8		571		520		9.8
Provincial Totals*	4,113,295		3,660,725		12.4		7,341		6,863		7

* Numbers may not add due to rounding

 **NOTE: The Northern Lights Real Estate Board (NLREB) became part of the South Okanagan Real Estate Board (SOREB) on April 1, 2011.

 August 2014 Year-to-Date BC Residential Multiple Listing Service® Data by Board

 

Board					Dollar Volume (000s)					Unit Sales					Average Price
2014 ($)		2013 ($)		% change			2014		2013		% change		2014 ($)			2013 ($)		% change
BC Northern	832,414		701,705			18.6		3,199		2,880		11.1		260,211			243,648		6.8
Chilliwack	526,332		439,503			19.8		1,724		1,453		18.7		305,297			302,480		0.9
Fraser Valley	5,289,003		4,342,039			21.8		10,265		8,899		15.4		515,246			487,924		5.6
Greater Vancouver	18,511,347		14,760,698			25.4		22,875		19,383		18		809,239			761,528		6.3
Kamloops	505,608		526,924			-4		1,594		1,668		-4.4		317,195			315,902		0.4
Kootenay	476,179		373,338			27.5		1,701		1,338		27.1		279,941			279,027		0.3
Okanagan Mainline	2,104,787		1,563,560			34.6		5,251		4,172		25.9		400,835			374,775		7
Powell River	52,526		40,646			29.2		233		187		24.6		225,435			217,358		3.7
South Okanagan	379,494		296,053			28.2		1,244		976		27.5		305,060			303,333		0.6
Northern Lights	68,312		70,459			-3		246		260		-5.4		277,691			270,996		2.5
Vancouver Island	1,613,806		1,448,556			11.4		4,914		4,577		7.4		328,410			316,486		3.8
Victoria	2,219,486		1,962,692			13.1		4,471		4,056		10.2		496,418			483,898		2.6
Provincial Totals*	32,579,292		26,526,168			22.8		57,717		49,849		15.8		564,466			532,130		6.1

* Numbers may not add due to rounding

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) is the professional association for more than 18,500 REALTORS® in BC, focusing on provincial issues that impact real estate. Working with the province’s 11 real estate boards, BCREA provides continuing professional education, advocacy, economic research and standard forms to help REALTORS® provide value for their clients.

To demonstrate the profession’s commitment to improving Quality of Life in BC communities, BCREA supports policies that help ensure economic vitality, provide housing opportunities, preserve the environment, protect property owners and build better communities with good schools and safe neighbourhoods.

For detailed statistical information, contact your local real estate board. MLS® is a cooperative marketing system used only by Canada’s real estate boards to ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale.

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Foreign buyers are fuelling a seismic spike in Vancouver’s luxury housing market, realtors say

Julie Gordon
The Vancouver Sun

Chinese investors’ global hunt for prime real estate is helping drive Vancouver home prices to record highs and the city, long among top destinations for wealthy mainland buyers, is feeling the bonanza’s unwelcome side-effects.

The latest wave of Chinese money, linked in part to Beijing’s anti-graft crackdown, is flowing into luxury hot spots. But it has also started driving up housing costs elsewhere in a city which already ranks as North America’s least affordable urban market.

For decades Vancouver, along with Hong Kong, Sydney and Singapore and more recently New York and London has been attracting Chinese and other Asian buyers.

And just like those other cities, Vancouver got caught in the most recent buying frenzy, which realtors say has intensified after President Xi Jinping announced his anti-corruption crusade in late 2012.

“In the last year there’s been the corruption crackdown in China and a lot of people have seen their wealth evaporate over there because of that,� said Dan Scarrow, a vice president at MacDonald Realty.
“So they want to put it somewhere they perceive as safe and there’s nowhere safer than the west.�

Canada does not track foreign property buyers, but analysis of city assessment data carried out by a leading urban planner and made available to Reuters helped identify Vancouver’s hottest neighbourhoods. Interviews with realtors active in those areas confirmed the perception that Chinese buyers were largely behind the latest rally.

Andy Yan of Bing Thom Architects found that values for detached homes in the $2-5 million range have risen by 49% since 2009, making it the fastest growing segment in Vancouver’s housing market. Home values in a handful of luxury enclaves in Vancouver’s west climbed more than 50% over  that period, driving city-wide values up more than 35%.

Realtors are saying that more than half of buyers in prime markets are mainland Chinese.

“My market, the luxury real estate market, is primarily Asian buyers – mostly from mainland China,â€? said realtor Malcolm Hasman, a partner at Angell Hasman and Associates. Hasman said Asian buyers accounted for roughly 90% of sales of properties costing $5 million and more.

The impact of the latest inflow of foreign cash is particularly acute for Vancouver, its market already tight because of limited building space and a decade-long nationwide property bull run fuelled by low borrowing costs.

However, its headaches might offer a glimpse of things to come for other world cities that attract global capital.

Sales volumes for detached luxury homes soared in Vancouver by 38% in the first half of 2014 compared with the year earlier period, led by properties valued at or above $2 million, according to a report by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

“Foreign investors are competing with other wealthy Canadians and there’s a lot of demand,� said Ross McCredie, chief executive of the luxury-focused realty firm.

Over the past 12 months, the benchmark price for a detached home in western Vancouver rose 10% to a record $2.28 million, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

Nowhere is the China effect more apparent than at the top end of the market.

An English-style estate on a one-acre lot in Vancouver’s exclusive First Shaughnessy neighborhood is on sale for $17.9 million and all 10 offers it has attracted so far are from ethnic Chinese buyers. All are either newcomers or those who have arrived in the past decade, according to the listing agent.

“It’s all about status,� said Sherry Chen, a realtor with Rampf-Anderson Real Estate Group, who deals mainly with wealthy clients from mainland China.

In most cases, these are “astronaut families� where the husband keeps working in Asia flying back and forth, while the wife establishes an education base for the children in Canada.

Close correlation between high-end property prices and the discontinued “millionaire visa� program for wealthy individuals has raised concerns that its termination this year could hurt the market. But prices seem to have recovered after a temporary dip, McDonald Realty’s Scarrow said, adding that property investors had several other ways of accessing the market.

The money flow has transformed the DNA of the city. Condo towers are now built without a fourth floor, as that number is unlucky in Asian cultures, and wok kitchens – a second kitchen for cooking with a smoky wok – are standard in most new homes.

The influx is also having a trickledown effect as people sell out in prime locations and move to other neighborhoods driving up prices and widening the gap between housing costs and the condition of the local economy.

“We are in this unprecedented situation right now in terms of housing prices and how quickly they’ve escalated. They’ve become completely disconnected from local incomes,� said Geoff Meggs, a Vancouver city councillor.

Vancouver has ranked the second least affordable major city after Hong Kong for the past three years in an annual survey by  think-tank Demographia which tracks housing costs and incomes in top markets such as New York, Sydney, Singapore and London.

That raises fears of brain drain and concerns about the markets excessive reliance on foreign money.

“I think Vancouver faces challenges a number of cities are facing in the world,� said Yan. “And that is what does one do in this new environment of global capital and money flows.�

© 2014 National Post

People who rent apartment at participating buildings will build up Bosa Equity account to be used against down payment for Bosa homes, announces developer

Joannah Connolly
Other

Under the new Bosa Equity program, people who rent an apartment at participating Bosa or BlueSky Properties rental buildings will have up to 15 per cent of their rent placed in a Bosa Equity account. The credit can be put towards a down payment on a future Bosa or BlueSky new home purchase, to a maximum of three per cent of the value of the home.

Bosa’s website describes the scheme as unlike a bank account and more “like a kind of loyalty program that tracks what you spend with us. In some ways it’s better than a bank account, because you can’t use it to splurge on a vacation or new bike.”

It cites the example of renting a one-bedroom Bosa apartment for $1,600 a month. Of that, a maximum of $240 can go toward the purchase of a new Bosa or BlueSky home, so after three years the renter has $8,640 in that account. Bosa will credit up to a maximum of three per cent of the new home’s price, so if the renter would like to buy a $300,000 home, the maximum credit they could use is $9,000.

Participants have up to 24 months after ending their rental lease to spend the credit on a new Bosa or BlueSky home, after which the credit is lost.

Bosa’s website adds, “We understand that it’s hard to save up and still enjoy life, so we want to lend you a hand.”

 © 2014 Real Estate Weekly

BRENT JANG
Other

Metro Vancouver’s hot housing market is scorching when it comes to high-end sales.

Properties selling for $3-million or higher have surged 35 per cent in the Vancouver region, defying predictions of a slowdown after Ottawa shut down the federal immigrant investor program in February.

In the first eight months of this year, there were 572 properties in Metro Vancouver that sold for at least $3-million, including 135 homes for $5-million or more, according to Macdonald Realty Group’s compilation of statistics from local real estate boards. In contrast, there were 422 properties that changed hands for $3-million or higher in the first eight months of 2013, including 112 homes that sold for at least $5-million.

At the pace of sales volume so far this year, the luxury real estate market in the area will smash the record of 691 homes that sold for $3-million or higher in 2011.

To stand out in real estate circles on the West Coast, $3-million is the new $1-million. Having a million-dollar home will elicit yawns, not envy, because 55 per cent of detached properties in the City of Vancouver were assessed at $1-million or greater on July 1, 2013, according to research by Andrew Yan, an urban planner with Bing Thom Architects. About 37,800 properties made the cut for the million-dollar club last year.

There had been expectations in the industry that some rich immigrants from China would avoid investing in Metro Vancouver after the federal government scrapped the immigrant investor program, but transactions of at least $3-million are headed toward a new annual high, said Dan Scarrow, vice-president of corporate strategy at Macdonald Realty.

Single-family detached homes dominate posh sales, though there are also some condos and townhouses in the data.

“There is confidence in the Vancouver real estate market. People within the market itself are trading and there is also money flowing in from outside,” Mr. Scarrow said in an interview. “Real estate experts thought there was going to be a slowdown in sales, and I actually thought so as well, but we’ve been proven wrong.”

Macdonald Realty notes that 178 of the firm’s 531 sales of detached houses within the City of Vancouver last year, or 33.5 per cent, went to home buyers with ties to China.

Mr. Scarrow, who will be opening a Macdonald Realty office this fall in Shanghai, says the vast majority of buyers have family and/or business links to Vancouver and there are only a small number of strictly offshore investors engaged in speculation. He will spearhead efforts to find prospective buyers for residential properties and seek investors in Vancouver’s commercial real estate market and new condo projects.

In many instances, it would be prudent for foreign buyers to invest in commercial properties instead of entering the residential market, especially if houses are left empty, Mr. Scarrow added.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver calculates a benchmark home price index, which strips out the most expensive homes to give what the board views as a better indicator of pricing trends. Detached homes on Vancouver’s west side sold at an index price of $2,282,400 in August, up 9.7 per cent from the same month in 2013. The index price for detached houses in the municipality of West Vancouver has risen 8.4 per cent to $2,018,600 over the past year.

Greater Vancouver’s total sales for detached homes, condos and townhouses climbed to 2,771 in August, up 10.2 per cent from a year earlier. The Fraser Valley Real Estate Board handled 1,302 transactions last month, up 3.5 per cent from August, 2013.

The Greater Vancouver data include suburbs such as Richmond, Burnaby, Coquitlam and West Vancouver. The Fraser Valley statistics include the sprawling suburb of Surrey.

© Copyright 2014 The Globe and Mail Inc.

Grainne Burns
Other

Investors in mixed-use condo developments are increasingly concerned that the bad press and stigma towards the concept in the U.S. may be adopted here.

And their fears may be warranted as news about a new project comprising subsidized, affordable units has ignited a fresh wave of debate. Many online commentators argue that they would not pay top dollar for a high-end unit when others can get a better deal in the same building.

Similar to other such development, the complex will comprise separate amenities and entrances for those who have paid full-price and those receiving subsidies. In the case of the new Aqualina Bayside development, a number of units are being offered to artists through Artscape.

This ‘poor door’ concept is already a hot-bed of debate in New York with city officials planning to forbid separate entrances.

However, Joy Patterson from Condo Chicks believes Canadians are more welcoming and open to mixed-use developments.

“The idea of having essentially two condominiums within one location isn’t bad idea. Those who pay more will in turn have access to more amenities,” she says. “It gives equal opportunity for all to live in a desirable waterfront location and the art space concept would bring some culture to the area. The term “poor door” should obviously be revamped.”

Copyright ©2009 KMI Pty Ltd

Other

The pace of new home construction in Canada slowed in August, falling 3.7 per cent to 192,368 units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). The six-month trend in Canadian housing starts sits at 189,837 units SAAR.

Housing starts in BC urban centers jumped 31 per cent in August on a monthly basis to 33,631 units SAAR. On a year-over-year basis, housing starts were up 31 per cent compared to August 2013. Single-detached starts were up 6 per cent while multiple units were up 43 per cent compared to this time last year. Year-to-date, total BC housing starts are 8 per cent higher than 2013.

Looking at census metropolitan areas (CMA) in BC, total starts in the Vancouver CMA were up sharply following consecutive double digit declines in June and July. Vancouver starts rose 50 per cent from August 2013, led by a 67 per cent increase in multiple starts. Year-to-date, Vancouver housing starts are up 6 per cent. In the Victoria CMA, new home construction tumbled 52 per cent year-over-year. Year-to-date, housing starts in Victoria are down 15 per cent. New home construction in the Kelowna CMA pick-up once again in August, rising 46 per cent year-over-year on balanced growth between single and multiple starts. Year-to-date, housing starts in the Kelowna CMA are up 45 per cent . Housing starts in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA showed significant strength for the second straight month, more than doubling the pace set last August. However, year-to-date, new home construction in the Abbotsford-Mission CMA is down 20 per cent.