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The affordability of a home in Toronto moved a little further out of reach in February. Data from the Toronto Real Estate Board shows the average selling price of a detached home rose above $1-million last month.  “The overall supply of homes for sale, as measured by the count of active listings at the end of February 2015, was down by 8.7 per cent compared to the same count in February 2014. This means that market conditions became tighter, leading to more competition between buyers,” the Real Estate Board said in a release.  According to BNN.ca, the overall average selling price for February 2015 home sales in the Greater Toronto Area – which includes the outer suburbs of Markham, Brampton, Missisauga, Brampton and Oakville – increased $596,163, a 7.8 per cent compared to the same period last year. While the selling price of a detached home rose above the $1-million mark in Toronto, the average selling price for condos and town homes in the 416 area dropped. 

Copyright © 2015 Key Media Pty Ltd

Jennifer Paterson
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Those already invested in the Ontario real estate market can continue to take a deep sigh of relief – the province saw solid home price increases in the last quarter of 2014, according to a new report. But those investors considering buying an income property in Ontario, and particularly in Toronto, should take note that housing affordability has eroded for the second straight quarter. “We are watching Toronto pretty closely as it’s a market that time and time again shows deteriorating affordability – indicating that owning a home in the area, especially a single detached, is a stretch for many local homebuyers,” said Craig Wright, senior vice-president and chief economist at RBC, which published the report. “While we’ve seen some improvements over the past couple of years, Vancouver still takes the top spot for the least affordable market in Canada.” The latest Housing Trends and Affordability Report noted that, after showing surprising strength since the spring last year, resale activity experienced the steepest monthly decline in four and a half years at the end of 2014, with the number of homes changing hands falling between 5.6 per cent between November and December. January 2015 brought more of the same with resales falling another 3.1 per cent. RBC indicates that this new bout of weakness can be largely attributed to the sharp drop in oil prices, which damaged confidence in oil-producing provinces. “Calgary became a buyers’ market in the fourth quarter following a prolonged period of nearly three years when sellers had the upper hand,” said Wright. “Demand-supply conditions in most other local markets remained generally balanced with the exception of Vancouver, which stood out as a sellers’ market.” RBC’s housing affordability measure for the benchmark detached bungalow in Canada’s largest cities in Q4 of 2014 is as follows:

• Vancouver – 82.4 (down 1.2 percentage points from Q3).
• Toronto – 56.8 (up 0.8 percentage points).
• Montreal – 37.3 (unchanged).
• Ottawa – 36.0 (up 0.2 percentage points).
• Calgary – 33.7 (down 0.6 percentage points).
• Edmonton – 33.5 (up 0.1 percentage points).

Copyright © 2015 Key Media Pty Ltd

 

Jamie Henry
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Month-over-month MLS sales of homes in Greater Vancouver surged by 60 per cent in February, with 3,061 sales compared to 1,913 in January. This equates to a 21 per cent rise from February 2014 and 20.2 per cent above the 10-year average for the month. Ray Harris, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, said: “It’s an active and competitive marketplace today. Buyers are motivated and homes that are priced competitively are selling at a brisk pace right now.” In Metro Vancouver, sales of detached and attached houses and apartments rose by 15.4 per cent. The number of new listings was 11 per cent, down compared to the same month last year, but 10 per cent higher than January 2015. The benchmark price for all properties in Metro Vancouver is up six per cent from last February to $649,700. See all the figures.

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Submitting a low offer is one thing, but getting the offer accepted is another thing altogether. Vancouver agent Barry Magee explains the factors

Barry Magee
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A common topic among real estate buyers is whether or not they should offer a price that is much lower than the listed price. It’s an interesting concept, but one that is not without its pitfalls. Submitting an offer is one thing, but getting the offer accepted is another thing altogether. Let’s take a look at the different factors to consider:

1) Be Certain You Fully Understand Market Conditions

In a market like Vancouver and the Lower Mainland we are often faced with an inevitable reality – people really like living here. Sellers are more than aware of this, and are primed to take full advantage.

Looking at comparable properties in the area that have sold going back as far as two years (or further) will give you a good understanding of what the seller is expecting. Maybe they’ve already priced it low to encourage multiple offers or a quick sale? If that’s the case, it’s likely they won’t even submit a counter offer.

As real estate agents we are very much held to account by what the market will bear, and buyers and sellers are not immune to this either.

2) Be Willing To Negotiate or Have Something Else to Offer

Starting with a low offer could be considered disrespectful or a bullying tactic. If that’s the case, why not submit another offer slightly higher if you don’t hear back from the seller? If the goal is to get the ball rolling on negotiations, being flexible can enhance the likelihood of this occurring.The #1 rule of real estate is to not take things personally.

If you plan on submitting an offer that is substantially lower than the listed price, make sure you offer the seller something in return.

3) Your Offer Should Be As Clean As Clean Can Be

If price is your primary concern, then the other subjects in the offer should be valuable to the seller. Is offering a quick possession of value? You never truly know someone’s motivation for selling – for all you know this money could be keeping a business afloat or needed to bail a family member out of financial trouble.

There is one thing that is constant throughout the world, money makes it go round. And cash is king! Use any superlative you want, but quick money can offer be a great thing to offer a seller. Excluding the financing clause and offering a large deposit will let the other party know you are serious and able to act quickly.

As a real estate agent in Vancouver, I personally prefer to avoid lowball offers. But a lot of agents, especially those who work with investors, are more comfortable with this strategy. It’s not my preferred way of doing business, but at the end of the day it’s always ultimately my client’s decision whether or not they want to submit or accept an offer that is substantially lower than the listed price.

© 2014 Real Estate Weekly

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Perhaps inspired by the enthusiasm of its mayor, Victoria council has given unanimous approval to Jawl Properties’ plans to build an office-retail complex across the street from city hall, at 1515 Douglas St. The 287k SF project, designed by D’Ambrosio Architecture + Urbanism, will include two towers (six and 13 storeys) with 254.5k SF of office space and 32k SF of ground-floor retail and commercial. The development—which gets top marks for having the niftiest rendering we’ve seen in a while—will target LEED Gold.

Victoria mayor Lisa Helps is an especially big fan of the Jawls scheme, insisting that this “21st-century building” will “contribute to the happiness factor of people downtown.” It’s “more than a building,” she added, according to the Victoria Times Colonist. “It’s a live interface with the public realm.” Phase 1 will see construction of the six-storey office building on Douglas and underground parking (220 stalls). The second phase will include the 13-storey tower. The former Royal Bank branch sitting on the property will be demolished.

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Aquilini Investment Group’s $29.5M bid for Kelowna’s troubled SOPA Square project received final approval last week, a strong signal that the Okanagan centre’s finally on the mend after getting hit hard in the 2008 financial crisis, Colliers AVP Marshall McAnerney tells us.

SOPA Square—a mixed-use development on 1.7 acres on South Pandosy Street in Kelowna’s Lower Mission area—will include 40k SF of ground-floor retail space, with 23k SF of office space above. The development will also have an 11-storey residential tower and six-storey townhome complex—160k SF of residential in all. The project, originally approved back in 2008, had a rocky recent past, going through several owners before entering receivership last year.

Aquilini’s $30M investment in SOPA Square represents a resounding vote of confidence in Kelowna, Marshall says, noting the project will help transform South Pandosy into a thriving hub with restaurants, shops and services, all within a short stroll of Okanagan Lake. Parts of the commercial space are built and operational, with early retailers like Famoso and Tru Frozen Yogurt. A 7k SF brewhouse is planned. The offices are strata units from 300 to 7,154 SF. Residential tower plans will be tweaked by the new owners and the project relaunched.

Marshall predicts the area could become Kelowna’s version of Kitsilano. “The neighbourhood around SOPA has been exploding in the last few years, and a lot of it’s based on the feeling that this is going to be the place to be.” He even bought a home in the neighbourhood recently. Older houses on his street are getting torn down, replaced with bigger ones. An Urban Fare opened a few years back, and loads of great new eateries, too. “All the trendy restaurants are coming,” says Marshall. “This is becoming a true urban centre unlike anywhere else in the Okanagan.”

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