Archive for June, 2018

Housing market will reach a “convincing bottom” in Q3 says TD

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

Housing market easing on the mortgage front

Steve Randall
REP

The acute volatility of the Canadian housing market may be nearing the end.

The downturn in existing home sales in 2018, following a jump as the mortgage stress tests approached, have produced some dramatic declines but TD Economics believes things are easing.

“Fortunately, there is reason to believe that the worst of the adjustment is behind us. Monthly moves have become less dramatic, with some markets beginning to see modest increases,” a new multi-authored report says.

However, it will most likely be the third quarter of 2018 before the housing market reaches a “convincing bottom” the report says.

After that, the economists at TD see little chance of a significant resurgence due to rising interest rates, tighter mortgage rules, and weakened affordability.

With the Bank of Canada unlikely to introduce sharp rate rises, the TD Economics team expects a “gradual, well-telegraphed” tightening of monetary policy.

Households feeling the pinch of rate rises The report also highlights the pain that many Canadians are feeling from higher borrowing costs.

Canadian households are 30% more sensitive to rising borrowing costs than a decade ago. This is due to the level of household debt.

This is likely to mean a continued moderation of discretionary household spending, especially as oil and gas prices are trending higher.

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd

Port Moody’s Flavelle Mill masterplan a ‘once-in-a-lifetime opportunity’

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

PoMo waterfront set to transform after council adopts OCP amendment to allow redevelopment of the Flavelle mill site

Mario Bartel
Western Investor

The redevelopment of the Flavelle mill site will change Port Moody’s skyline and waterfront after city council adoped the amendement to its official community plan on Tuesday to allow that redevelopment process to begin. ? MARIO BARTEL/THE TRI-CITY NEWS

Port Moody’s waterfront will look drastically different in coming years after city council adopted the amendment to its official community plan (OCP) at its meeting last Tuesday that will pave the way for the redevelopment of the Flavelle mill site into a high-density mixed-use neighbourhood that could include homes for up to 7,000 residents and jobs for more than 1,100 people.

But some councillors say putting that many people on to the 12.7-hectare site is a recipe for disaster.

Coun. Hunter Madsen said the concept put forward by Flavelle to redevelop the mill site is “needlessly gargantuan” and will increase the burden on already busy roads and parks in Port Moody’s downtown.

“Our first responsibility is to protect quality of life for our downtown residents,” he said.

But other councillors cautioned it’s still early days, with no actual development proposal yet presented by the property’s owners.

“This is just the first step, we’ve got a long way to go,” said Coun. Meghan Lahti, of the vote to approve the OCP amendment that came after the Metro Vancouver board of directors also gave its assent to the city’s request for an amendment to its regional growth strategy to allow the site’s redevelopment. 

Bruce Gibson , Flavelle’s vice president of real estate management, said the company will spend the “coming months” creating a comprehensive master plan for the site just west of Rocky Point Park, with further opportunities for community involvement.

“We look forward to again working with the community, city staff, mayor and council as we start to create a uniquely Port Moody waterfront development honouring this historic location,” Gibson said.

Several councillors said they’ll work to hold the company to that commitment.

Coun. Diana Dilworth said the approval process and development of beloved projects like Newport Village, Suter Brook and Klahanie took many years, and she expects the same for the mill site.

“They were done in very strategic, phased approaches,” she said of those developments. “Initial plans that are presented change significantly based on what the community is asking for, based upon what council is asking for.”

What they should be asking for is more open public space along the shoreline that would extend Rocky Point Park westward, said Coun. Rob Vagramov, adding the company’s initial vision to build a boardwalk along the waterfront and dedicate almost a quarter of the site to public park and open spaces doesn’t go far enough.

“I like the idea of opening the space up,” he said.

Dilworth said the pressure is on everyone to create a development that fulfills the site’s potential and the community’s expectations.

“This is absolutely a once in a lifetime opportunity to enhance our shoreline,” she said.

Copyright © 2018 Western Investor

Province to reveal ‘hidden owners’ of B.C. real estate

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

Publicly accessible registry to target individuals behind property-owning shell companies and trusts, to ensure taxes are paid and prevent money laundering

Joannah Connolly
Western Investor

A new public registry will aim to reveal the “true ownership” of real estate in B.C. – and ensure appropriate taxes are paid – by creating transparency over the individuals behind property-owning shell companies and trusts, the province announced June 20.

As part of its 30-point housing plan, which has seen the launch of a number of new taxation policies, the NDP government plans to establish the publicly accessible database of all real estate ownership across the province.

The registry, said the government, will be the first of its kind in Canada and will “help give tax auditors, law enforcement agencies and federal and provincial regulators the information they need to conduct their investigations.”

“British Columbia has developed a reputation as an attractive place to anonymously invest and hide wealth. Right now in B.C., real estate investors can hide behind numbered companies, offshore and domestic trusts, and corporations,” said finance minister Carole James in a media statement. “Ending this type of hidden ownership in real estate will help us fight tax evasion, tax fraud and money laundering. Our goal is to return fairness to the housing market.”

Realtor Barry Magee, who is based in Vancouver, said he strongly supported the move. “In 2018, when accurate statistics are desperately needed for those debating our housing issues, it’s of ultimate importance for British Columbians to know who owns property. Purchasing through a numbered company was eliminated in Ontario in 1983, and B.C. has the unfortunate distinction of being the only province to allow purchasers to use this method to skirt the owner registering with land titles and also avoiding paying property transfer tax. This is a no-brainer: eliminate the bare trust loophole and require any purchases made using this method in the past to register the owner of the property with land titles.”

The province’s proposal, which includes proposed new legislation called the draft land owner transparency act, is set out in a white paper. The new law, which would have to be passed in the legislature, would “authorize the collection of beneficial ownership information, as well as the creation and administration of the public registry.”

B.C. residents can share their comments on the white paper until August 19, 2018, by emailing [email protected].

Other aspects of the province’s 30-point plan that aim to tackle tax evasion and close real estate loopholes include a proposal to track pre-sale condo contract assignments, otherwise known as “shadow flipping,” sharing information on the homeowner grant with federal tax officials and setting up a federal-provincial task force on tax fraud and money laundering.

Copyright © 2018 Western Investor

TheRedPin closes down: Being a tech disruptor isn?t easy

Wednesday, June 20th, 2018

TheRedPin, which shut its head office doors at Church and Front streets in downtown Toronto after being in business for seven years

Danny Kucharsky
REM

Tech disruptor real estate brokerages can survive and prosper but only if they have the right business models, says Romana King, director of content at Zolo.

She was commenting on last week’s closure of TheRedPin, which shut its head office doors at Church and Front streets in downtown Toronto after being in business for seven years. The online brokerage went into receivership almost a year after CEO Keith McSpurren, who has a solid background with start-ups, was hired to revamp the company.

TheRedPin “couldn’t figure out how to make it profitable enough to keep being a disruptor,” says King. She maintains that Zolo, founded in 2012, has been profitable since its second or third year of operations.

According to The Toronto Star, TheRedPin’s investors included the Trilogy Growth fund financed by ONEX Corporation founder Gerry Schwartz.

“It was a high-risk, high-reward situation,” McSpurren told The Star. “If I figured it out there would have been great rewards.”

The closure of TheRedPin affects an estimated 80 real estate agents and a number of office staffers, including a team of software and artificial intelligence (AI) developers who had been brought on by McSpurren. Representatives of TheRedPin could not be reached for comment.

Although it was well-financed, TheRedPin closure shows that “real estate is a hard industry to disrupt and tech brokerages are hard to scale,” John Pasalis, president of another tech disruptor brokerage, Realosophy, said on Twitter.

Tech disruptors such as Zolo, Zoocasa, Realosophy and TheRedPin have viewed real estate brokerages as old businesses that can be improved upon through the use of technology that provides solid market intelligence, King says.

But “the difficulty with real estate in Canada is that you have to work within board regulations and you have to work within the rules of real estate. For that reason, there’s only a certain number of ways you can structure a real estate business.”

In addition, new tech start-ups face an uphill battle because established real estate brands have decades of marketing behind them. “That’s why I think it’s so important that a tech start-up that really wants to be part of this business needs to address whether or not they’re a profitable business model before they go out and make their waves.”

The “very tried, tested and true” real estate industry in Canada will require more than a couple of tech start-ups to change the way the business is conducted, she says.

King suggests that TheRedPin over-relied on providing discounted services and commissions to buyers and sellers. “A place that markets itself on discounts – when I’m talking about my largest asset, I have trouble with that.”

She adds TheRedPin was trying to develop AI applications when it shut down. “We’re not there yet” she says of the use of AI in real estate. “When you double down on new tech to try and build your business model, that’s risky. You either have to have deep pockets or a really great business model.”

King says Zolo “flew under the radar” for years while it built its business model and only “popped our heads up” and started marketing significantly when that model worked consistently.

Zolo’s gross revenues have increased from $148,471 in 2013, its first year of operations, to $16.1 million this year, 39 per cent higher than last year. “We’re still growing year after year, even though the market has turned in the GTA,” King says.

© 2017 REM Real Estate Magazine

B.C. ski resorts free from speculation tax

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

Ski communities’ tax exemption and improving economy point to stable ? if not spectacular ‘ real estate sales

Steven Threndyle
REP

Big White near Kelowna: B.C. ski resorts welcome the exemption from B.C.?s controversial tax on seasonal property owners: but some agents say the sector is still recovering from the 2008 recession. | Submitted

With all the recent concern over the speculation tax potentially damaging recreational home prices, there are some properties that are not likely to see any such problem – those in ski resorts.

All British Columbia ski resorts are exempt from the province’s second-home tax that came with the February 20 provincial budget. That’s good news for real estate investors, as ski resorts seem to offer stability amongst a rapidly changing real estate climate affected by mounting tax policy. 

Here’s a look at how B.C.’s ski-resort real estate markets are faring.

Whistler: The high rollers are back in the game at B.C.’s biggest ski resort. Luxury property specialist John (JR) Ryan recently sold a remodelled nine-bedroom home on six acres of land for $17.5 million to an Ontario family. It was the highest-selling Whistler property since 2007. While such sales grab the headlines, Pat Kelly, CEO of Whistler Real Estate, said, “the point of origin for most Whistler sales is still British Columbia, and 70 per cent of the completed sales are below $1 million.” 

Sun Peaks: When does a ski resort successfully morph into a year-round resort and a cohesive, energized community? For Sotheby’s International realtor and Sun Peaks local Liz Forster, that time might be right now for the Kamloops-area resort. 

“Becoming a mountain resort municipality in 2010 has been a very positive move for Sun Peaks. Since then we’ve added a year- round K-12 school that enrols more than 120 students, a new health centre and we received a federal grant of $6 million to complete a sports centre. Commercial vacancies and closed shops have all but disappeared, reflecting the year-round community that is Sun Peaks today.”

New developments are coming into play. Located on the fairway of Sun Peaks Golf Course, Echo Landing in East Village is a 48-unit ski-in, ski-out condo/townhouse development. “This project launched in late November 2017 and quickly sold out,” Forster said. The homes will be completed over the next two years.

Silver Star Mountain Resort: Real estate agent Robin Baycroft, a ski instructor and former guest services manager at the Vernon-area resort, said the Silver Star market has steadily improved. “Last year, there were 72 sales in a price range of from $115,000 to $1.25 million. This compared with 20 sales in 2009 and 35 in 2014. So inventory is moving, and prices are rebounding.” 

Silver Star traditionally attracts skiers, not speculators, Baycroft said, but he added that rental income remains healthy.

“The Pinnacles hotel is promoting a new six-townhome project close to the village, and well-situated building lots are available for custom or spec homes,” he said. 

Big White Ski Resort: Long time real estate agent Gary Turner recalls how back in 2008, “it seemed as though the light switch had been turned off and suddenly, all of the sales shut down.” 

Now some properties are approaching their highs from 10 years ago, though Turner recently sold a condo in Big White’s prime Stonebridge Lodge for $600,000, almost $400,000 below what it sold for as part of a pre-sale in the early 2000s. He also had a warning for would-be developers. “If you think you can take a $200,000 lot and build at $450 per square foot and still make a profit, you’re dreaming,” he said. 

Fernie: Potential investors interested in Fernie Alpine Resort have a myriad of options. According to Carol Cohen of Fernie Real Estate, there are about 30 new houses under construction in the Kootenay town of Fernie priced in the $800,000 range. On the ski hill, serviced building lots are selling for around $300,000. “[We are] beginning to see spec homes built with self-contained suites for added revenue.”

Copyright © 2018 Western Investor

“Real estate agents will be obsolete in a few years.” claims tech chief

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

Virtual real estate buying and selling on the way

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

The president and co-founder of a technology firm whose clients include Colliers International sees a bleak future for Canada’s real estate agents.

“We firmly believe that real estate agents will be obsolete in a few years. The internet has solved the information asymmetry problem faced by home-buyers,” says Voxel World’s Max Agrad.

His words won’t go down well with agents; and consumers might be less ready than Agrad believes to accept a homebuying experience without the expert advice and guidance an agent offers.

However, investors think that Agrad and his team are on the right track in serving a digital-native generation; Washington DC-based Voxel World has just secured U$2 million in first-round funding for its growing product range of virtual reality real estate tools.

“This first round of funding is a great vote of confidence from investors. The money injected by our investors will help us market our revolutionary products to real estate developers around the world,” Agrad says.

“Millennials are now buying their first homes and they are much harder to convince than their parents. They tend to do their homework prior to visiting properties. Also, they are much more open to using VR/AR Solutions,” says Agrad.

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd

Strata condo windups ‘creative’ Vancouver property investments

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

Factors in property investment slowdown

Evan Duggan
Business in Vancouver

The Metro Vancouver commercial property investment market is showing signs of slowing, according to a 2018 first quarter report by Altus Group.

Overall investment volumes across all asset classes fell by 22 per cent in the first quarter of this year when compared to same period last year, according to the report by Altus Group — a provider of independent advisory services, software and data solutions to the global commercial real estate industry.

Altus tracked a total of 480 deals in the first quarter, each worth more than $1 million, for a total of $2.9 billion.

Deals for land accounted for 57 per cent of the market, including a couple of unique strata dissolution deals which suggest investors and developers are seeking new ways to get a hold of land in the highly-competitive market.

“Pretty much every asset class was down from the previous quarter, but the land markets overall were down approximately 50 per cent from the previous quarter,” said Paul Richter, the director of data solutions for Altus Analytics. “The most significant land market was the residential land market.

“That slowed down [too], so it actually had its slowest quarter since Q4 2015.”

Factors in property investment slowdown

He said several factors are at play in the apparent slowdown in the Metro Vancouver commercial property market, including the cumulative effect of several government interventions in the market. Among those are the provincial government’s foreign buyer tax and Vancouver’s empty homes tax.

“I think that’s causing some pause in terms of land banking or investment in land for future redevelopment projects,” he told RENX in an interview.

He said investors who already hold land might be pushing pause “until they see which way the condo market might head as a result of some of those restrictions or taxes that governments have put in place.

“Also, we’ve had quite a number of fairly significant land transactions occur in the course of the last two years, and I think we’re starting to see the slowdown of easy-to-develop sites, and we’re getting more into creative land acquisitions or creative site acquisitions that require [more] planning,” Richter said.

Strata dissolution opens new development path

In 2016, the provincial government updated the Strata Property Act so a strata dissolution now requires only 80 per cent of owners to agree for the land and building to be sold. 

Richter pointed to two such recent deals.

In one case, a strata condo building called Garden Court at 1830 Alberni Street in Vancouver’s West End sold for $52 million after the strata corporation agreed to liquidate the 42-year-old building and lands, according to the Residential Land Transaction Summary provided by Richter.

A numbered company purchased the land and buildings, which were assessed at $21.7 million.

In a separate deal in North Vancouver, the 2.4-acre Lynnmour Village South Site was purchased for $31 million after a similar strata dissolution.

Constructed circa 1973, the property included 90 units in four buildings, according to the summary for that deal.

The strata decided to dissolve after a series of building reports showed the complex needed extensive repairs that proved to be financially unsustainable, the summary indicated.

The new applicant has proposed a high-density, multi-building development on the site. Woodbridge Northwest, listed as the purchaser of the site, did not reply to a request for comment.

“These older buildings are coming to an age where the owners of each of those individual strata units and the building may be facing levies to do capital work,” Richter said. “They have developers that are coming in and offering them market value to basically walk away.”

Two paths to strata redevelopment

He said these deals are taking two forms: 1) the strata corporations agree to dissolve themselves and then liquidate the property, or 2) developers individually purchase units so they can eventually take over 80 per cent of the building. “And then they can control the fate of the property,” he said.

Richter said more of these deals will start happening in Metro Vancouver.

“We’re currently tracking a handful already… where the developers are acquiring single strata units. We’re calling that a strata wind-up in progress,” he said. “We are seeing a handful of specific addresses where we’re watching developers pick up more and more [units] as the days and weeks go on.”

© 2018 Real Estate News Exchange

Strata condo windups ?creative? Vancouver property investments

Tuesday, June 19th, 2018

Factors in property investment slowdown

Evan Duggan
Business in Vancouver

The Metro Vancouver commercial property investment market is showing signs of slowing, according to a 2018 first quarter report by Altus Group.

Overall investment volumes across all asset classes fell by 22 per cent in the first quarter of this year when compared to same period last year, according to the report by Altus Group — a provider of independent advisory services, software and data solutions to the global commercial real estate industry.

Altus tracked a total of 480 deals in the first quarter, each worth more than $1 million, for a total of $2.9 billion.

Deals for land accounted for 57 per cent of the market, including a couple of unique strata dissolution deals which suggest investors and developers are seeking new ways to get a hold of land in the highly-competitive market.

“Pretty much every asset class was down from the previous quarter, but the land markets overall were down approximately 50 per cent from the previous quarter,” said Paul Richter, the director of data solutions for Altus Analytics. “The most significant land market was the residential land market.

“That slowed down [too], so it actually had its slowest quarter since Q4 2015.”

Factors in property investment slowdown

He said several factors are at play in the apparent slowdown in the Metro Vancouver commercial property market, including the cumulative effect of several government interventions in the market. Among those are the provincial government’s foreign buyer tax and Vancouver’s empty homes tax.

“I think that’s causing some pause in terms of land banking or investment in land for future redevelopment projects,” he told RENX in an interview.

He said investors who already hold land might be pushing pause “until they see which way the condo market might head as a result of some of those restrictions or taxes that governments have put in place.

“Also, we’ve had quite a number of fairly significant land transactions occur in the course of the last two years, and I think we’re starting to see the slowdown of easy-to-develop sites, and we’re getting more into creative land acquisitions or creative site acquisitions that require [more] planning,” Richter said.

Strata dissolution opens new development path

In 2016, the provincial government updated the Strata Property Act so a strata dissolution now requires only 80 per cent of owners to agree for the land and building to be sold. 

Richter pointed to two such recent deals.

In one case, a strata condo building called Garden Court at 1830 Alberni Street in Vancouver’s West End sold for $52 million after the strata corporation agreed to liquidate the 42-year-old building and lands, according to the Residential Land Transaction Summary provided by Richter.

A numbered company purchased the land and buildings, which were assessed at $21.7 million.

In a separate deal in North Vancouver, the 2.4-acre Lynnmour Village South Site was purchased for $31 million after a similar strata dissolution.

Constructed circa 1973, the property included 90 units in four buildings, according to the summary for that deal.

The strata decided to dissolve after a series of building reports showed the complex needed extensive repairs that proved to be financially unsustainable, the summary indicated.

The new applicant has proposed a high-density, multi-building development on the site. Woodbridge Northwest, listed as the purchaser of the site, did not reply to a request for comment.

“These older buildings are coming to an age where the owners of each of those individual strata units and the building may be facing levies to do capital work,” Richter said. “They have developers that are coming in and offering them market value to basically walk away.”

Two paths to strata redevelopment

He said these deals are taking two forms: 1) the strata corporations agree to dissolve themselves and then liquidate the property, or 2) developers individually purchase units so they can eventually take over 80 per cent of the building. “And then they can control the fate of the property,” he said.

Richter said more of these deals will start happening in Metro Vancouver.

“We’re currently tracking a handful already… where the developers are acquiring single strata units. We’re calling that a strata wind-up in progress,” he said. “We are seeing a handful of specific addresses where we’re watching developers pick up more and more [units] as the days and weeks go on.”

© 2018 Real Estate News Exchange

Dual agency rules will disrupt housing market, real estate agents claim

Monday, June 18th, 2018

Realtors concerned about government’s definition of what constitutes a conflict of interest

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

A new real estate regulation came into force this week that British Columbia real estate agents say will take away the right of consumers to decide whom they can hire to buy or sell a home.

Changes to the B.C. Real Estate Services Act, effective Friday, June 15, prohibit “double ending” – representing both a buyer and a seller in a real estate transaction  – along with other strict regulatory changes.

The practice, known in the industry as limited dual agency, also includes agents representing two or more buyers vying for the same property, or rental agents representing both a landlord and a tenant. The ban on limited dual agency aims to avoid conflicts of interest when the agent is working on behalf of their client.

The new rules also may require agents to stop representing a client if other possible conflicts of interest occur. For example, if a potential buyer makes an offer on a property listed by an agent who has previously represented that buyer, the agent may have a conflict of interest and be required to refer the listing to another agent. This conflict could mean the listing agent potentially has confidential information about both the seller and the buyer.

The changes were to come in March, but the Office of the Superintendent of Real Estate postponed it after hearing “considerable concern from industry surrounding the implementation of the new rules and the impending implementation date.”

While tweaks were made, agents are concerned about a broad definition of what constitutes a conflict of interest.

“The new rules governing real estate practices mark a significant shift in how realtors in B.C. work with their clients,” said Darlene Hyde, CEO of the British Columbia Real Estate Association.

“It’s important that consumers know what to expect when the changes come into effect.”

The BCREA estimates that less than 5 per cent of residential transactions in the province involve a dual agency, but the June 15 ban on dual agency will affect every home sale in the province.

The Real Estate Council of British Columbia’s (RECBC) Independent Advisory Group advised the dual agency ban in 2016. This followed a handful of high-profile cases of realtor misconduct in Metro Vancouver’s white-hot housing market.

The connection flagged under the new rules need not be related to real estate; it could be any former social, business or community connection. In such instances, the realtor may be required to refer the seller to another agent.

“Say your mom and dad are selling their house and they choose an agent they trust to handle the sale,” said Michael La Prairie, owner of a Century 21 real estate franchise in Vancouver and president of the Real Estate Brokers’ Association. “Then a buyer comes in with another agent, but the buyer happens to know your parent’s agent, say from their church community.

“Under the new rules, the listing agent could be required to walk away from the listing.”

The RECBC, which is responsible for interpretation of the provincial legislation, leaves it to the agent to decide if a social connection represents a conflict.

“In those circumstances, it would be up to the real estate agent to apply professional judgment to consider whether the confidential information they received from their former client while acting as their agent would impair their ability to represent their seller client in the sale of the property,” the Council stated in an email.

Realtors are concerned that, if a transaction went bad, they could be exposed to liability simply because of the nature of the business, La Prairie said.

“Real estate is a relationship business,” he said. “Everyone knows each other.”

There are severe penalties for breaking the rules. Fines of up to $250,000 can be levied on individual agents, with brokerages liable for penalties of up to $500,000.

The BC Chamber of Commerce has passed a resolution asking for a postponement of implementation and a review, and 5,300 letters have been sent to the province in response to ads put out by the Real Estate Alliance of B.C., a lobby group against the changes, apparently to no avail.

The dual agency regulations follow a series of tax and regulatory amendments brought in by the provincial government this year, from the speculation tax to higher school taxes and an increase in the foreign buyer tax, that have left the industry reeling.

“My head is spinning with all the changes,” said Mark Goodman, a Vancouver agent with HQ Commercial.

“I feel like the NDP has given the industry a lobotomy.”

Commercial real estate agents are particularly concerned because the new legislation would prohibit an agent from selling a property to a potential buyer with whom they have had dealings in the past.

This is referred to as “double recusal,” meaning the agent could have confidential information about both the buyer and the seller.

That wouldn’t work in the tight-knit commercial real estate market, said Ron Emerson, a veteran commercial real estate agent with Cushman & Wakefield in Vancouver.

He said that, unlike the housing market, commercial real estate involves a much smaller group of buyers and sellers, and agents often deal with the same parties repeatedly.

© Copyright 2017 Western Investor

Vancouver officials push for vertical expansion to increase liveable space

Monday, June 18th, 2018

City planners are shooting for rental-only zoning and affordable home ownership

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

This week, Vancouver city staff are slated to push new measures that would ensure greater liveable density in the market by encouraging further vertical expansion.

The raft of changes to be proposed to the city council on June 19 – dubbed by the staff as the “Making Room” strategy – include increasing the supply of duplexes and townhouses, approving taller laneway houses, and adding the number of 4-storey apartment buildings.

Proponents argued that “Making Room” will augment the existing 10-year housing plan that aims to increase the number of homes available to a wide range of incomes.

“We found in our investigation that much of the new supply generated in Vancouver since 2010 or 2012 has been very high end, and it’s really more of a result of investment of foreign and domestic capital,” Vancouver chief city planner Gil Kelley stated, as quoted by StarMetro Vancouver.

City planners are also shooting for rental-only zoning and affordable home ownership deals in Vancouver’s single-family enclaves, where properties valued at over $1 million are the norm. Officials expressed hope that such agreements can help moderate the speculation that is responsible for much of the price increases.

“We hear … that the city has way too much land area locked up in low-density zoning, and that needs to change in order to make room for people of different incomes,” senior planner Dan Garrison said. “That we focus too much of our affordable housing on arterial streets, and have retained too much of that land area in those nice, leafy neighbourhoods that’s largely only available to people with higher incomes.”

CMHC data showed that over the past 7 years, Vancouver has created more than 2,400 rental apartments — but the city will have to significantly pump up the pace of rental development to meet the targets set in the 10-year housing strategy.

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd