Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

There was a jump in the trend measure of Canadian housing starts in November with many major markets showing an increase.

CMHC figures reveal that the 6-month trend was up by almost 10,000 compared to October, to a seasonally adjusted annualised rate of 226,270 units.

“The trend in housing starts reached its highest level in almost 10 years this November, reflecting a second consecutive increase in multiple starts,” said Bob Dugan, CMHC’s chief economist. “This largely reflects construction of multiple units in Toronto, where evidence of overbuilding is low due to the decreasing inventory of completed and unabsorbed multiple units and strong demand.”

Toronto’s rise in starts for condos continues to be influenced by a market shift away from higher priced single-family homes. CMHC expects a further rise in condo starts due to high levels of pre-construction sales in recent years.

In contrast, starts in the Vancouver CMA were lower in November as the construction sector’s full capacity meant a pullback in apartment starts.

Although the City of Vancouver, Richmond and the North Shore have recorded lower year-over-year starts, there has been increased activity in Burnaby and New Westminster.

There were notable gains for multifamily starts in St. John’s with millennials and first-time buyers choosing for lower-priced options.

Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo and Guelph also saw higher starts, and London recorded one of the highest ever number of starts for the month of November.

The standalone SAAR increased by almost 30,000 units to 252,184 with urban starts up 14.4% to 235,412 units. Multiple urban starts increased by 16.9% to 175,016 units and single-detached urban starts increased by 7.5% to 60,396 units.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Ephraim Vecina
REP

Residential home sales in Greater Vancouver jumped by about 26% in November compared with the same time a year ago.

In its latest data release, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said that the number of sales last month, which saw 2,795 homes sold, was 17% above the 10-year average for the region in November.

However, sales dropped by 7.5% in November compared with October, The Canadian Press reported.

Board president Jill Oudil said that the year-over-year increase is attributable to the steady demand in the market, with the townhome and condominium segments posting particularly strong numbers.

Oudil added that inventories remained below typical levels, despite more listings entering the market this year compared with the same time last year.

The benchmark price for detached properties was about $1.6 million last month, about a 6% increase from November 2016. The benchmark price of an apartment property was about $648,000, an almost 24% increase from the same time last year.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Neil Sharma
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The new City of Toronto legislation restricting Airbnb apartments could spell bad news condo investors.

The legislation will restrict listings to principal residences and prohibit homeowners from renting out secondary units, like basement apartments, and will likely flood the primary rental market with new apartments.

Toronto’s chronic rental shortage—the vacancy rate is 1%—has been a boon for condo investors, who have benefited from fierce competition among renters that often manifests as bidding wars.

“In terms of the rental market, there will be a flood,” said David Wood, a sales representative with Forest Hill Real Estate Inc.” It’s a bad thing for typical one-year lease landlords because there will be more competition in the next three or four months, so if their lease comes up there will be less people to rent to.”

Wood, however, believes Toronto City Council’s legislation is not a bad thing because renters are desperate for shelter. “It could be a good thing for renters over the next two months,” he said. “I think it’s good for the city with the vacancy rate where it is right now. I think it’s a good move for the city to increase vacancy.”

Enforcing the new law is another matter, he added.

Alex Balikoev, a Core Assets Real Estate sales agent, doesn’t think the legislation cuts to the heart of the matter. He says that while the legislation will provide a short-term solution, it does precious little to address the larger issue: the shortage of high-quality rental units.

“Instead of doing something to streamline the issuing of building permits to developers so that they can build more condos, which can potentially be very high-quality rental units, they try to stick the tenant in the basement, which, why they’d do that, is a mystery to me,” said Balikoev.

While Balikoev envisions more problems of a similar nature down the road, another immediate problem he identified pertains to families struggling to make mortgage payments. In a city grappling with affordability, Airbnb was a great way to supplement monthly income, he says.

“Some families might struggle with their mortgage payments because they counted on auxiliary units for additional income, which would help them cover the mortgage,” said Balikoev. “Now, I’m not sure what they’ll do.”

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

The mixed-use development includes two six-storey condos with 16,942 square feet of commercial space

Mario Bartel
Western Investor

The Panatch Group is presenting the latest proposal for the redevelopment of the former Chisholm Television factory site at 50 Electronic Ave. in Port Moody.

The mixed-use development would consist of two six-storey condo buildings with a total of 358 residential units above and 16,941 sq. ft. of commercial space on the property, which runs along the south side of Murray Street from Electronic Avenue to Klahanie Drive. The residential units would range from 506 sq. ft. junior one-bedrooms to four-bedroom units as large as 1,556 sq. ft.

The project would also include a landscaped green space along its southern edge to buffer residents from the noise of the adjacent railway and SkyTrain tracks. The space could feature a kids’ play area, open lawns, pathways, an off-leash dog area and an urban garden for residents.

The site was once home to a state-of-the-art 56,000-sq. ft. factory that manufactured radios and black and white televisions beginning in 1955 until it closed in early 1964. At one time, the company had the capacity to build 200 TVs and hi-fi stereos a day. The old factory building, which over the years housed offices and even artist spaces, was demolished in 2010.

The following year, the provincial government contributed more than $160,000 to help remediate contaminated soil on the property in anticipation of its eventual redevelopment.

In 2014, a proposal to adjust Port Moody’s official community plant to allow construction of buildings up to 12 storeys on the site was rejected by council.

Copyright © 2017 Western Investor

Cascade City to be noteworthy for both its look and its location

Kathleen Freimond
The Vancouver Sun

Project: Cascade City

Project address: 5788 Gilbert Road (Tower A currently selling); 5766 Gilbert Road (Tower B, coming soon)

Project City: Richmond

Developer: Landa Global Properties

Architect: Arno Matis Architecture and Rafii Architects

Interior designer: Sublime Interior Design

Project size: 271 homes

Bedrooms: one, two and three bedrooms

Unit size: 505 – 1,505 square feet

Price: one-bedroom starting from $579,900

Construction: Summer 2018

Sales centre: 7100 Elmbridge Way, Richmond

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

Phone: 604-285-7285

Website: www.cascadecity.com

It’s important for a city’s architecture not to become too predictable, says Arno Matis, principle at Arno Matis Architecture. In a break from the ubiquitous tower-and-podium style, Cascade City, a development planned for Richmond by Landa Global Properties, represents a different configuration where each tower blends into a podium in one continuous form.

Arno Matis Architecture and Rafii Architects collaborated on the design of the development, which comprises two 15-storey towers on a narrow 87,252-square-foot site at Gilbert Road and Elmbridge Way.

“This building is a real departure for Richmond and the result is something quite unique,” Matis says.

The multi-use development is set back from the corner at Gilbert and Elmbridge, enabling the creation of public space at a pedestrian-friendly scale, Matis says.

He explains that on the south side of the towers, the terraces create a cascading effect and that this design was a factor in the naming of the project.

“There was also some thinking about the [Fraser] River and delta with layers of sediment being expressed in layers in the building and peeling back as [the building rises],” he says. “A result is that the units facing south get an incredible amount of light and large outdoor spaces.”

Matis says he hopes people from the community will enjoy the building, and that it will become the kind of development that helps define a community for the future.

“Perhaps the ideas that we’re bringing into Cascade City about a stronger connection to the landscape, a stronger indoor/outdoor connection, those kinds of ideas can be implemented throughout other projects in Richmond,” he adds.

Cascade City will be conveniently positioned near several restaurants and close to Richmond Centre, Aberdeen Centre and the McArthurGlen Designer Outlet mall.

The two towers will include 271 one-, two- and three-bedroom homes ranging in size from 505 to 1,505 square feet, and the development will also include retail space on the ground level. Construction is scheduled to start on Tower A next summer.

At the presentation centre at 7100 Elmbridge Way, the show suite’s interior design is bright and sophisticated with a high-end appliance package. Geèle Soroka, principle at Sublime Interior Design, says she was inspired by the open-plan layouts and floor-to-ceiling windows, which ensure the suites have lots of natural light.

Buyers can choose from two colour palettes. The light palette, as seen in the show suite, has white cabinets and countertops with light oak engineered hardwood floors.

“For the dark option, we have a design that is still bright and clean, but is for someone who likes a little more contrast. This choice has grey cabinets, white countertops and dark oak engineered hardwood floors,” Soroka notes.

The engineered wood floors are laid throughout the open-plan kitchen, living areas and bedrooms, seamlessly connecting the spaces and enhancing the flow, she adds.

The kitchen in the show suite reflects an Italian influence in the high-gloss flat-panel Aster Cucine cabinets along with the marble-inspired quartz countertop and matching backsplash.

“The developer wanted to make sure the quality of the cabinetry suited the architecture – these are premium cabinets,” says Soroka.

The same polished quartz tops the 39- by 117-inch (one-metre-by-three-metre) peninsula with an overhang that easily accommodates four stools, making it a natural gathering place.

Miele appliances enhance the upscale look established by the cabinetry. All units will have a built-in Miele wall oven and integrated dishwasher. The smaller units have 24-inch Miele refrigerators and 24-inch four-burner gas cooktops and hood fan, while the larger units include 30-inch refrigerators, 30-inch four-burner gas cooktops and hood fans. The built-in microwave is by Panasonic.

The 12- by 24-inch Calacatta marble-inspired porcelain tile on the floor and walls of the en-suite bathroom in the show suite underpins the luxurious design, while the Aster Cucine floating vanity with LED under-cabinet lighting and the frameless glass shower enclosure enhance a sense of spaciousness.

The undermount double sinks by Duravit have stylish Aquabrass faucets, and mirrored medicine cabinets provide extra storage.

There is a tub in the guest bathroom, which features 12- by 24-inch vein-cut marble-inspired porcelain tiles and a single sink in a floating vanity.

A separate laundry closet conveniently conceals a stacked LG washer and dryer.

Cascade City’s amenities provide for an interesting range of activities from fitness and yoga to places to enjoy music.

A multi-functional club lounge includes a kitchen and dining area, ping-pong and billiards tables and a mah-jong room. There is also a meeting room and a theatre and karaoke room to socialize with friends and family. A drystone riverbed and stone-paved promenade defines more than 25,000 square feet of outdoor amenity space, which includes a spacious seating area.

And for the musicians in the family, there is a piano room for rehearsal space, plus a music and violin practice room complete with music stand.

Parking (at and above grade) for residents will be accessible from Elmbridge Way and the lane behind the buildings. Also included is a car-wash station, electric-vehicle charging stations, parking spots for bikes, and storage lockers for purchase.

Cascade City will be air conditioned and closed-circuit cameras will monitor the buildings and parking entrances.

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.

Bitcoin is about to get put to the test as the first mainstream exchanges prepare to launch futures trading and ETFs

Claire Brownell
The Vancouver Sun

Cryptocurrency fever was already rampant when Evolve Funds Group Inc. on Sept. 22 announced it was the first company to file a prospectus to offer a Canadian bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Since then, investor frenzy has reached a fever pitch.

Over the past two and a half months, bitcoin has more than quadrupled in price. Investors have poured US$1 billion into initial coin offerings, where startups offer cryptocurrencies in exchange for capital. Even digital cats — yes, digital cats — are being bought and sold for six-figure sums on the blockchain of Ethereum, a rival cryptocurrency platform.

Institutional investors will soon be able to join the fun by trading bitcoin futures for the first time, first through Cboe Global Markets Inc. on Sunday and then through rival CME Group Inc. on Dec. 18.

As a result, the amount of capital at risk if the cryptocurrency bubble bursts is probably going to grow exponentially. And the traditional financial system, which some predicted would be obliterated by Bitcoin, will become even further integrated into what was once considered a fringe curiosity.

Despite the potential dangers and an eye-popping trading price, bitcoin is going mainstream.

Evolve chief executive Raj Lala said the demand for a Canadian bitcoin ETF is incredibly strong. He said having a regulated futures market on reputable mainstream exchanges is an important first step before offering the fund, because it eliminates the need for actual bitcoin to change hands.

“Futures have become a great proxy way to participate in a commodity,” Lala said. “This just makes for an easier way for you to participate in the price performance of bitcoin.”

But participating in the price performance of bitcoin is certainly not for the faint of heart.

On Friday, bitcoin surged to a new high of more than US$17,000 overnight, plunged to just under US$14,000 by noon and finally recovered to about US$16,000 by the end of the day. Just one year earlier, a single bitcoin was worth just US$770.

Currently, many institutional investors are unable to buy cryptocurrencies for a variety of regulatory and practical reasons. But futures contracts and ETFs will make it possible for them to place bets on the price of bitcoin going up or down using familiar exchanges and financial tools.

Big-name investors might be anxiously awaiting the opportunity to trade bitcoin futures, but the banks, which have to guarantee those trades, are not so eager.

Walt Lukken, chief executive of the Futures Industry Association, which represents financial institutions that hold customer funds and clear trades, expressed his concern in an open letter on Thursday to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

“A more thorough and considered process would have allowed for a robust public discussion among clearing member firms, exchanges and clearinghouses to ascertain the correct margin levels, trading limits, stress testing and related guarantee fund protections and other procedures needed in the event of excessive price movements,” Lukken said.

“The recent volatility in these markets has underscored the importance of setting these levels and processes appropriately and conservatively.”

The bitcoin futures markets that are about to launch are all cash-settled, which means a trader who buys a contract to purchase bitcoin at a certain price in the future and holds it to expiration will receive or pay the gain or loss in regular central-bank-issued dollars.

In other words, the futures market won’t directly affect demand for bitcoin for the most part, although some investors might spot arbitrage opportunities or hedge their positions by actually buying the cryptocurrency.

However, bitcoin futures and ETFs will increase the digital asset’s visibility and bring it to the masses. The financial instruments will also further cement bitcoin’s current principal use as a store of value, rather than a censorship-resistant payment network that’s independent of government control.

Anthony Di Iorio, a founder of Ethereum and chief executive and co-founder of Jaxx, a multi-cryptocurrency wallet, and Decentral, a Toronto innovation hub, said bitcoin’s evolution from a proposed payment network to an asset worth holding is not necessarily such a bad thing.

He said the big institutional money moving into bitcoin is likely to further increase the fee that miners charge per transaction — making it even less financially viable to use bitcoin as a means of buying a cup of coffee — but there are hundreds of other cryptocurrencies that may be better suited for that purpose.

“Perhaps Bitcoin is not going to be what people thought,” Di Iorio said. “It might not be Bitcoin for the day-to-day stuff, for the smaller things. But other ones are emerging, other ones will still find gaps.”

At a conference in Riga, Latvia, in late November, Bitcoin security expert and entrepreneur Andreas Antonopoulos said the entry of futures doesn’t necessarily mean the cryptocurrency is about to lose its radical roots and become a speculative playground for Wall Street types.

In a video of his remarks posted to YouTube, Antonopoulos said the futures market will perform a useful function for the Bitcoin ecosystem, allowing the miners who secure transactions to hedge against price swings by taking short positions.

“I think it’s important to recognize the CME is not Wall Street,” said Antonopoulos, who works on the oversight board of the exchange’s bitcoin reference rate. “I don’t think these people are as alien to our culture as many believe.”

© 2017 Financial Post

Steve Randall
REP

Canadian families increased their net worth by 14.7% in the four years from 2012-2016 according to new data from Statistics Canada.

Wealth increased mostly due to the rising value of homes, while debt was also driven by home prices as families took out larger mortgages.

The median net worth of Canadian families was $295,100 in 2016, up from $257,200 four years’ earlier. Last year, 61.7% of families owned their principal residence with 57.3% of them having a mortgage on their home. That means 38.4% of all families had a mortgage in 2016.

Total debt was $1.76 trillion, up 24.2% in the four-year period, while mortgage debt was up 30.4% to $330 billion. Almost 30% of families were debt free in 2016.

The median family debt increased 27.1% from $63,400 in 2012 to $80,600 in 2016. Mortgage debt increased to a median $190,000, 20% higher than in 2012.

Albertans were most likely to have a mortgage in 2016 (44%) while Nova Scotians were least likely (32.7%).

Home equity was up 12.8% from 2012 and up 115.2% from 1999 to a median reported value of $238,000 in 2016.

Families in British Columbia had the highest median net worth as of 2016 at $429,400. They were followed by those in Ontario ($365,700), Manitoba ($320,800) and Saskatchewan ($293,500). New Brunswick reported the lowest median net worth among the provinces at $158,400.

Copyright © 2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Michael Mata
Mortgage Broker News

Thinking of obtaining past home sale prices to inform your buying decision? If you’re scouting for real estate in the Greater Toronto Area, that won’t be easy, as a great deal of the region’s historical home sales data is controlled by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

Fortunately for buyers, TREB’s time as a gatekeeper may be coming to an end. Last Friday, the Federal Court of Appeal upheld a 2016 ruling which ordered the real estate board to end its strict control on some housing data. The decision marked another victory for the competition commissioner, who has long argued that TREB’s practices were stifling competition and innovation. 

TREB operates a database of real estate information known as the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Some of this data, including the list prices and addresses of residential properties currently for sale, is available to the public on Realtor.ca, a website operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). 

Real estate agents have access to the full version of the MLS, which contains a lot of additional data about properties that isn’t readily available to the public, including information about past and present sale prices of homes, as well as information on withdrawn or expired listings.

Consumers aren’t allowed wholesale access to this database. Until now, agents have only been allowed to share bits of data privately, via fax and email. This means that most people thinking of bidding on a home have no way of finding out what similar homes have sold for unless they ask an agent.

The competition commissioner has argued that these restrictions impede agents who want to develop new business models built around providing sales information directly to consumers. 

Real estate industry insiders told the tribunal that unrestricted access to housing data would allow them to alert clients when prices are dropping in a particular neighbourhood, track how many homes are selling above their listing prices, and provide speedy property valuations. Savvy consumers could use this data to assess the current value of a home without needing to ask a realtor for help.

Copyright © 1996-2017 Key Media Pty Ltd

Homes at The Pacific designed to feel like ‘an oasis within the city’

Mary Frances Hill
The Province

The Pacific

What:  214 condominium and townhomes in a 39-storey concrete highrise with expansive views of English Bay and the North Shore mountains.

Where:  1380 — 1382 Hornby, Vancouver (Pacific and Hornby)
Residence sizes and prices: One-to-four-bedroom homes range from 491 to 2,889 square feet, from $739,900

Developer and builder: Grosvenor Americas

Sales centre address: Suite 100 – 1050 Homer St., Vancouver

Sales centre hours: noon — 5 p.m. Saturday — Thursday or by appointment

As Vancouver’s skyline transforms and the downtown core becomes busier and more dense, the designers of the luxury interiors at The Pacific by Grosvenor Americas looked inward to create a haven for homeowners, a quiet escape from bustling urban life.

The vignettes in the display space offer a taste of simplicity and restraint with thoughtful detail to colour, neutral shade and shapes.
“We wanted each home to feel like an oasis within the city,” says Cynthia Ziolkoski, a principal designer of Square One Interiors, along with co-principal designer Jennifer Hamilton.

The designers started with a light palette that would act as a counterpoint to the vitality and sense of movement of the exterior architecture.
“A busier interior would diminish the sense of calm serenity that we have created within the overall interior colour schemes. We envision the interior as a peaceful retreat — not cluttered or overly detailed.”
Hamilton and Ziolkoski have created a display with angular accent furnishings, offset by attractive sculptural lighting design, such as the chandelier over the dining table, which resembles a futuristic mobile.

“The interior lighting and furnishings were carefully selected for their simple lines, finishes and sculptural qualities,” Ziolkoski says. “[They] are meant to complement the natural surroundings creating space and enhancing light… to create sophisticated details within the space.”
The designers focused on three statement pieces, or anchors, in the display: the kitchen island, which is “the centre of gathering in a home, the dining table, the heart of celebration of a home, and the sofa in the living area, the centre of relaxation,” Ziolkolski adds.

In contrast to these understated signature pieces, none of the accent furnishings, such as chairs, coffee table and living room seating, have solid bases. Bare, slim legs give the furnishings a lighter, more angular feel, “adding to the extra layer of detailing, yet [retaining] the sense of transparency,” she says.

Since simplicity is key, that transparency is vital to a building designed to become a landmark in the downtown core.
Much of the eye-catching detail is left to the exterior architecture. The building’s east and west sides will feature undulating balconies like ocean waves, while soffits under the balconies will reveal geometric patterns below.

Plans for the building’s extraordinary architecture had a great influence on the design process for Hamilton and Ziolkolski, particularly when it came to crafting a relationship between the layout and the stellar views of the city.

“The focus for each home and the layouts maximize views and exterior light.  Movement that is created by the play of light, the water and city lights surrounds the home with a nice energy.”

© 2017 Postmedia Network Inc