Western Investor editor Frank O’Brien suggests some radical ideas to deliver affordable homes in B.C.?s pricey Lower Mainland

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

B.C.‘s Lower Mainland now has more than 70 homeless camps, and if it is to avoid the tent-city explosion being seen from Los Angeles to Seattle it must take radical steps to address housing affordability.

Due to a wider safety net and greater acceptance of government intervention, B.C. can move quicker than its U.S. neighbours to turn the housing crisis around.

It will require a degree of political courage and public and industry co-operation we have never seen before.

Here are some ideas to reduce the cost of housing and rising homelessness if we go all-in on a solution.

• Senior governments should buy non-fertile acres of the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR) close to the urban edge by leveraging low-cost government financing. The ALR covers 150,000 acres in Metro Vancouver but only 50 per cent is being farmed and nearly 30,000 acres have no agricultural potential, according to a 2016 Vancity study. A potential housing solution is for senior governments to buy 1,000 acres of non-arable ALR land and extend transit to the sites. B.C.’s largest public-employee pension fund is already among the largest owners of modular home parks in the province. By removing the land value, modular home parks or co-op apartments could be built on the ALR acres, providing low-cost housing for thousands.
• Rental housing should be encouraged to mix with industrial development in Vancouver, starting with the False Creek Flats, by offering industrial developers tax breaks based on the number of new rental apartments stacked above the often one-storey projects.
• Higher-density rental zoning should be mandated in Vancouver neighbourhoods near transit stops. For instance, Vancouver’s Commercial SkyTrain station, built 30 years ago, currently has only one-storey retail and no high-density housing. Renfrew and Rupert stations, and some other transit stations in Burnaby, also have potential for higher-density housing.
• Delay Vancouver’s new zero-emission bylaw and B.C.’s new Energy Step Code until the housing crisis eases. These new codes add thousands of dollars to the cost of all new homes while having zero effect on global greenhouse gas emissions, which they are meant to address.
• Rezone 25 per cent of single-family neighbourhoods in larger urban areas for higher-density housing, with a provision that half the new homes created be market rentals.
• Scrap Vancouver’s new bylaw that allows stratifying laneway houses on single-family lots. This bylaw increases lot values for house owners without delivering lower-cost homes.
• Scrap Vancouver’s moratorium on the demolition of older rental buildings, provided they are replaced by market rentals with a hefty percentage of social housing included.
• Finally, elect the gutsy, visionary leadership willing to make housing affordability a priority. It’s not too late.

© Copyright 2017 Western Investor

10-day cooling off period is crucial

Neil Sharma
REP

With a condo boom in full swing throughout the country, buyer’s remorse is likely to rise.

Fortunately, the government implemented a 10-day cooling off period during which purchasers of presale condominiums—not resale, nor ground-related housing—can rescind their offer of purchase.

Manu Singh, broker of Right At Home Realty, lauds the cooling off period because home purchases top the list of the biggest financial decisions people will make in their lives. A lot of purchasers, especially in cities like Toronto and Vancouver where the buying frenzy has caused people to buy impulsively for fear of missing out on a great unit, don’t realize that preconstruction units do not always get delivered as advertised.

“Preconstruction and buying builder-direct is not for everyone,” Singh told REP. “If you think about it, there’s a lot of hoopla around getting certain units. Sometimes you need those 10 days, even just to do a double-check.”

More importantly, without the 10-day cooling off period, the inability to secure financing could leave the buyer contractually obligated to abide the purchase agreement.

The 10-day cooling off period can also be extended under extenuating circumstances.

“You have these 10 days where you can go to the bank and see where you qualify for a mortgage,” said Singh. “I have a client who qualified just fine, but she got hung up on the appraisal side. With the tightening of the mortgage rules, banks are being more conservative with risk management practices; that includes third-party appraisals. In this case, the appraised value came in considerably lower than what the builder asked for and we agreed upon, so the 10-day cooling period can be extended if there are valid reasons. The bank got another appraisal that didn’t work out, but had it not been for the cooling period she’d have been on the hook.”

Ten-day cooling off periods also ensure a measure of builder accountability.

Alex Balikoev, a Core Assets Real Estate sales agent, says agents working in builders’ sales centres aren’t regulated and can essentially say whatever they want, true or not, to get a buyer to sign the dotted line. Buyers lured by false promises tend not to employ sales agents, and, as is often the case, they get carried away by floorplans and models, and make impulse buys.

“The people working in sales centres make much less commission, so for them every single sale matters,” said Balikoev. “I always advise clients to work with real estate agents who are well-versed in preconstruction. They’ll often give them access to projects that are not available to the public. Also, when they work with a real estate agent, the chances of them backing out of a deal are low because they’re making informed decisions.”

Both men agree that the cooling off period is an excellent example of consumer protection, but Singh thinks it can go further. Builders are not required to return deposits expeditiously, and that could potentially short-change a buyer who needs their money back to purchase a unit elsewhere.

“The government should specify in the cooling period how many days the builder has to return the deposit,” said Singh. “These are large sums of money and the builder will sometimes give the run around. There are a lot of reasons they give, but ultimately, it’s not my client’s problem and the money should be returned promptly.”

Singh advises clients that their lawyers should put verbiage within the document stating a deposit must be returned within a certain number of days should the client rescind the offer during the cooling period.

“I had it happen with another property we wanted to bid on, where the buyer was in a rut because the funds were tied up and she didn’t have enough for the deposit.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Space, pricing among the draws of Clayton Walk townhouses

Michael Bernard
The Vancouver Sun

Clayton Walk

Project Address: 18505 Laurensen Place (185^th and Fraser Highway) Surrey

Project Scope: A total of 143 two-, three- and four bedroom townhomes ranging from a two-bedroom unit at 1,223 square feet, three-bedroom at 1,462 square feet and-four bedroom at 1,615 square feet. Walking distance to shopping, elementary and high schools, parks and the future proposed Surrey-Langley light rail transit

Price: From $604,900

Developer: Anthem Properties

Architect: Ekistics Architecture

Interior Design: The Mill

Sales Centre: 18505 Laurensen Place (185^th and Fraser Highway), Surrey

Hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat — Thurs

Sales Contact: Jacquie Darmanin; 604-372-3306

Website: claytonwalk.com

Completion Date: now through 2018

Anthem Properties’ new Clayton Walk townhouse development in Surrey has come as a godsend for two different families with a challenge shared by many: Finding enough space at an affordable price in a housing market seen as one of the most expensive in North America.

For Sharlini and Richard Lal, the new four-bedroom townhouse they moved into earlier this month is a welcome relief because their daughter, 11, and five-year-old son now have their own bedrooms. “My kids are ecstatic,” said Sharlini. “It’s like having their own treehouse.”

For Mieke and Ross Morrison and their three-month old daughter, the three- bedroom townhouse they plan to move into next spring will mean ample space for their family’s future expansion.

With pricing from the low $600,000s, the homes at Clayton Walk worked for both families. For the Lals, their first home follows 16 years of living with Richard’s parents in Burnaby’s Brentwood area and a frustrating search around their neighbourhood for affordable homes.

“Burnaby townhouses are a lot older and not built for today’s family of four,” said Sharlini. “We looked hard, including in New Westminster and Delta, but just couldn’t find something [affordable].”

While each now faces somewhat of a longer daily commute — Sharlini to her office job in Coal Harbour and Richard to his welding work in Richmond — they say it’s worth it.

“To come home to something that is an investment in your lifestyle, what makes you happy, and what makes your children happy, there is no better feeling than that,” she said.

Mieke Morrison says she and Ross considered either buying a townhome or a small detached house with her parents, but opted for Clayton Walk because they could not have afforded a single-family house any closer in than Abbotsford.

The two families are typical buyers at Anthem’s 143-home development, the firm’s second this fall in Surrey and the fourth townhouse project in its Neighbourhood Series, says Elva Kim, Anthem’s vice-president of sales and marketing.

“Clayton Walk offers spacious floor plans that appeal to growing families and downsizers moving from a single-family home,” she said.

With the three-level homes ranging from 1,223 to 1,615 square feet, she says “the spacious design is the ‘wow’ factor. The homes at Clayton Walk have large kitchens that have a grand island and pantry for storage, side-by-side garages and open-concept floor plans with families in mind.”

Designed by Ekistics Architecture, the homes will be arranged in 24 separate clusters throughout the site, intersected by well-lit landscaped paths and roadways with visitor parking. The development is done in a classic “prairie school architecture,” with shingle siding, defining window elements, and flat roofs with overhangs designed for West Coast weather.

Both the purchasing families were particularly impressed with the side-by-side garages, instead of the tandem-style parking commonly found in this price bracket.

Mieke Morrison said the double-wide garage makes the overall layout of their new 1,500-square-foot home “just a little bit wider than most townhouses in the Cloverdale-Clayton area.”

“A lot of my friends have a tandem garage in their townhouses, and we didn’t want that. Now we can drive out and not constantly have to switch our vehicles.”

The wider design also made for an expansive deck area off the main level, something else they appreciated, she said. While the Morrisons’ new home doesn’t come with a backyard, Mieke noted she’ll happily accompany her kids to Clayton Park just steps away. Unlike her experience growing up in Cloverdale and playing on her family’s cul-de-sac, parents now invariably supervise their kids’ play environments.

Anthem has built three show homes for potential buyers to tour, including its largest model with four bedrooms and three bathrooms and a master-bedroom-on-the-main level, the model the Lal family purchased.

All homes feature nine-foot ceilings on the main level, and in most homes oversized stairwell windows allow lots of light to stream in. There is wide-plank laminate flooring on the main living level and carpeting in bedrooms. Most homes have side-by-side front-loading washers and dryers.

Most models have a spacious kitchen island with breakfast bar for entertaining and a full-sized pantry. All homes feature polished quartz countertops, and an oversized stainless steel sink with Grohe kitchen faucet, soft-close Shaker or flat-panel cabinetry, stainless steel Whirlpool appliances, including a dishwasher, combination microwave and hood fan, french door fridge and a five-burner ceramic glass cooktop.

Most homes feature a powder room on the main floor, while ensuites have showers with semi-frameless doors, soaker tubs, and dual-flush Duravit toilets to reduce water consumption. The tub surround and main shower wall have easy-to-clean tile, soft-close doors and drawers and porcelain sinks. Many homes come with spacious walk-in master bedroom closets.

The complex also has a 2,000-square-foot amenity area that includes a fitness studio, great room, entertainment lounge, kitchenette and landscaped barbecue terrace.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Justin da Rosa
REP

The home buying process is increasingly taking place online, and that trend has picked up steam following two new industry announcements this week.

Earlier this week, Meridian Credit Union launched two new digital lending platforms for both secured and unsecured lending.

“The launch of our secured and unsecured lending platforms is a real game changer in the personal lending space as it transforms what traditionally could be a highly frustrating process into a much more convenient and transparent experience for our Members,” Bill Maurin, President and CEO of Meridian, said.

The secured lending platform aims to eliminate much of the documentation involved in processing mortgages. The credit union claims applicants will be able to select the mortgage payment they want and secure a rate for 90 days.

“With time being a precious commodity for Canadians, today’s home buyers value and expect a fully digital and intuitive experience, and that is exactly what we are delivering with our platform,” Maurin said. “From the application process to the mortgage closing, everything is easily completed online, so no branch visit is necessary.”

And while Meridian is pushing mortgages further into the digital space, another company is doing that on the home valuation front.

Mobials Inc., a London, On. Based tech firm, launched HomeProof, a web-based home valuation tool earlier this week.

“As a homeowner, when it’s time to buy or sell, not knowing what your home is worth can cause a great deal of stress,” James Hayes, CEO & Co-Founder, Mobials Inc., who created HomeProof, said.  “The benchmark value we provide, takes the stress out of the initial stage of any real estate transaction – getting the valuation.  HomeProof is a direct channel to the value of your home.”

HomeProof uses data from the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC) and other sources to provide real-time home valuations.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Wide-ranging strategy includes setting home production goals based on local income levels

Dan Fumano
The Province

Vancouver’s new 10-year housing strategy, a plan more than 14 months in the making, covers a lot of ground.

The Housing Vancouver Strategy, unveiled Thursday less than a year out from a civic election in which housing is expected to be the top issue, touches on everything from creating affordable housing and taming speculation, to expediting the approval process and combating homelessness.

Of particular interest to observers is the city’s proposal for the “transformation of low-density neighbourhoods,” which would see parts of the city zoned for single-family houses — almost 80 per cent of Vancouver’s residential land — opened up to other housing options such as townhouses and row-houses.

Gil Kelley, the city’s general manager of planning, said the new housing strategy includes “big moves” that haven’t been done before in Vancouver.

Among them is the idea of setting home production goals based on local income levels, Kelley said, “So we’re actually meeting the needs of Vancouverites, and not only for investors. That’s a big shift.”

“The underpinning here, philosophically, is to make sure that Vancouver remains a place for all people, all incomes,” Kelley told reporters Thursday at city hall.

“That’s why we have this fairly ambitious number of 72,000 new units over 10 years.”

To compare that “fairly ambitious number” of 72,000 new Vancouver homes over 10 years, just the day before the federal government unveiled its own national housing strategy, with dual events in Vancouver and Toronto, setting a goal of 100,000 new housing units over 10 years across Canada.

Vancouver’s target of 72,000 new homes over 10 years represents a 50 per cent increase in supply over current trends, according to the city’s numbers, and that number is almost a quarter of the roughly 284,000 total dwellings in the city as of 2016.

Of the 72,000 new units, Vancouver aims to add 10,000 ground-level homes such as townhouses into single-family neighbourhoods over the next decade.

“That’s a good chunk over the next 10 years,” said Nathan Lauster, an associate professor at UBC whose recent book The Death and Life of the Single-Family House examines Vancouver’s changing neighbourhoods. “This is more ambitious than we’ve seen them do before in terms of densifying (single-family neighbourhoods).”

For context, last year the city had 109,260 ground-oriented dwellings, according to city statistics. That means the 10,000 new ground-level homes proposed by the city Thursday would represent a 10 per cent increase over the current number.

“I’m encouraged by this, opening up what is a lot of city land for more diverse sorts of housing that will also hopefully become much more affordable to a much wider range of people,” Lauster said Thursday after reviewing the city’s plan.

The city, Lauster said, is trying to fill in the so-called “missing middle,” medium-density housing types that can add people and vibrancy to an area, without drastically changing the feel of the neighbourhood. “The whole idea behind this is not to see towers everywhere … I don’t think we’re looking at turning into Tokyo overnight.” 

Still, neighbourhood changes on the scale proposed Thursday would have been hard to imagine in the 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s when Gordon Price was a Vancouver councillor, Price told Postmedia Thursday.

“RS1 was untouchable,” Price said, referring to the classification of zoning for single-family houses. “So this is a big deal.”

But Price believes it has taken the city “way, way too long” for both the densification of single-family neighbourhoods and the release of such a comprehensive housing strategy.

“Maybe there’s going to be some debate and conflict here,” he said. “But you might as well have had it five years ago.”

Mike Harcourt, who worked on several major Vancouver housing initiatives between 1973 and 1986 first as alderman then as mayor, told Postmedia Thursday: “The dream of single-family house ownership in Vancouver, that hasn’t existed for a long time.”

Harcourt believes that even in neighbourhoods like Dunbar, West Point Grey, and Kerrisdale — which he considers the staunchest “defenders of the single-family neighbourhood” — residents are more open to change and density now than they were only a few years ago.

“I’ve noticed a shift of mood in people in those neighbourhoods, just over the last few years,” Harcourt said. It’s possible, he said, that perspectives are changing in those neighbourhoods because older homeowners looking to downsize want more diverse housing options, as do their adult children with young families.

Dunbar and Kerrisdale are both cited in a release Thursday from the city, as examples of neighbourhoods in need of “revitalization,” where this year’s census data showed declines in children and overall population.

“We need to restore the vitality to a lot of those neighbourhoods in a creative way, but not just bulldoze everything down and build three- and four-storey apartments,” Harcourt said. “There’s a way you can do these changes that don’t destroy the quality of life and livability of these neighbourhoods, but make them energized.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Steve Randall
REP

Metro Vancouver’s vacancy rate for industrial real estate is trending lower, pushing up prices and creating pressure in the market.

The vacancy rate hit 1.6% at the end of the third quarter of 2017, down from the 1.8% a year earlier. Avison Young says the decline was despite the addition of 3.1 million square feet of new inventory, the same rate as every year since 2014.

“Metro Vancouver’s industrial development pipeline remains robust, but limited by a constrained supply of available industrial land,” comments Avison Young Principal Garth White. “Tenants seeking to expand or relocate should be in the market at least 12 to 24 months in advance of their lease expiry and will have to consider preleasing as an option.”

Metro Vancouver’s industrial market will surpass 200 msf in 2018 amid record sale prices and double-digit lease rates in many markets, Avison Young reports.

There were recorded vacancies above 2% in four Metro Vancouver markets: Burnaby (2.4%), Delta (2.7%), Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows (2.4%) and Port Coquitlam (2.2%).

Meanwhile, four markets recorded vacancie rates below 1%: Richmond (1%), Surrey (1%), North Vancouver (0.7%) and New Westminster (0.0%).

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Viridian showcases both style and substance

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

Viridian

Where: 3618 150th St., Surrey

What: 57 townhomes with two-car garages

Residence sizes and prices: Two to three bedrooms, 2,060 – 2,486 sq. ft., between $919,900 and $1,299,900.

Developer and builder: Portrait Homes Viridian Ltd.

Sales centre address: 3618 150th Street, Surrey

Sales centre hours: noon — 5 p.m., Sat. — Thurs.

Behind the traditional decor in the display home at Viridian, Portrait Homes’ community of townhomes in Surrey, visitors can find the substance and strength of carefully selected materials.

“We carefully research every finish we select for performance, not just looks,” says Lisa Perry, i3 Design’s director of interior design, who worked with Portrait Homes on the project.
The collaborators made sure every detail met their standards for resilience, choosing flooring from Germany, a country with strict environmental requirements for these materials, she says. “You know exactly what is being used in their manufacture.”
They also decided on what Perry calls a “registered emboss” (a texturing of sorts to mimic real wood) with a low sheen on the laminate flooring; this also makes the flooring easy for homeowners to clean and maintain.

Floor tiles in the display home are also full-body porcelain, a durable material that doesn’t scratch or chip, Perry adds. Comfort comes in the form of laminated fibreglass shingles with a 30-year lifespan, high-efficiency gas furnaces, rough-ins for central vacuum systems and energy-efficient windows.

The project backs on to park land and is just above the Nicomekl River

Greys with varied shades of blue and green make up the dominant shades in the open-concept space, reflecting the true meaning of Viridian, a tone inspired by the outdoors, Perry says. “We took cues from the natural beauty surrounding the site and coastal tones.”

Though the general style of decor leans to traditional or transitional style, Perry brings in an industrial tone with metal kitchen island chairs and a dining room pendant lighting. These pieces soften up the general formality of the home, and add a casual flair. “Many purchasers will be coming from larger single-family homes and may want to bring their bedroom or dining sets with them,” Perry says. “We wanted to show people that you can mix old and new for a more eclectic look.”

Granted, Perry wasn’t alone in the decision-making. She says that the collaborative working relationship with Portrait Homes was critical to the selection of materials. i3 Design worked with the entire Portrait Homes team, including the developer’s senior management, customer services sales and site staff. It was a memorable experience.

“Their walk-throughs [close examinations of the homes], are the most thorough I have ever encountered in this industry,” she says. Perry adds that she enjoyed seeing diplomacy and collaboration at work within a smaller family-based company.

“Everyone’s opinions are heard and the group comes to a consensus to ensure the best result for the purchaser…They have us provide samples of new products so they can test them in-house before they approve them to be used in their homes.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The sum involved in a just-concluded office sale in Vancouver has pushed the city’s commercial property segment towards a direction that has left industry observers bewildered with its pace.

In early November, the 30-storey Waterfront Centre by Bosa Development sold out in a week for over $2,000 per square foot. The firm noted in a statement that the price point was brought about by the “uniqueness” of the building, which is scheduled to fully open by 2021.

“When you have a AAA office building at a prime location directly across from the transit hub for Metro Vancouver, waterfront views, world-class architecture and amenities — the project and demand for it are truly unique in the market,” Bosa Development executive vice president Richard Weir said, as quoted by CBC News.

For comparison, data from Colliers Canada showed that the average price per square foot for commercial real estate in Vancouver is $830. This figure is already approaching that of the average per square foot for a condo ($1,023), per October statistics from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

CBRE Limited senior vice president Aaron Ulinder noted that the valuation of Bosa’s sale should not come as a surprise since it is classified as a top-tier “AAA” class building – that is, the newest and largest buildings in any given market, furnished with cream-of-the-crop amenities and operational systems.

“The closest comparable sale I’m aware of was the top floor of Terminal City Club’s office tower … at $1,328.00 per square foot in December of 2015,” Ulinder said.

The executive added that the other major factor that might have affected the sale is the level of demand in downtown Vancouver, where the overall vacancy rate for premium office space is less than 3%.

“There are only a handful of opportunities in the entire downtown core that could accommodate a tenancy greater than 20,000 square feet,” he said.

Ulinder emphasized, however, that even for the standards of AAA-class structures, the Waterfront Centre’s sale price was “unexpected”.

Bosa Development retained control of the top 15 floors for future leasing. Bosa representatives have yet to disclose the identity of the buyers, but said that one entity has purchased an entire floor.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Justin da Rosa
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The government announced Wednesday a 10-year, $40 billion National Housing Strategy aimed at improving housing affordability for Canadians.

“Everyone deserves a safe and affordable place to call home. Canada’s first ever National Housing Strategy is a once-in-a-generation vision to reduce homelessness, support community housing and shelter spaces, and address challenges of housing affordability,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said in a statement. “We took a major step forward on housing today, and we will continue to deliver initiatives that strengthen the middle class and lift more Canadians out of poverty.”

The National Housing Strategy is aimed at helping Canada’s most vulnerable citizens meet their housing needs.

The national plan, which is the first of its kind, aims to reduce “chronic homelessness” by 50%.

It also aims to remove 530,000 households from housing need; quadruple the number of federal housing units built under federal programs; repair three times as many existing units under the same programs; and protect an additional 385,000 households from losing an affordable place to live.

As part of the $40 billion investment, the federal government will work with provinces and territories to develop a $4 billion Canada Housing Benefit, to be launched in 2020, which will address local housing needs.

The investment in the National Housing Strategy also includes; $15.9 billion for a new National Housing Co-Investment Fund, $8.6 billion for a new Canada Community Housing Initiative, $2.2 billion to reduce homelessness, $300 million to address housing needs in the north, and $241 million for research and data.

“Our Government is establishing a federal leadership role in housing,” Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Families, Children and Social Development and Minister Responsible for CMHC, said. “The National Housing Strategy will create a new generation of housing in Canada. It will promote diverse communities and will build housing that is sustainable, accessible, mixed-income and mixed-use that will be located near transit, work and public services.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd