Concord Pacific?s Park George will have swimming pools, an outdoor theatre, a tennis court

Simon Briault
The Province

Park George

What: 339 homes in tower one; 337 homes in tower two, with limited townhomes available

Where: 13768 and 13778—100 Avenue, Surrey

Residence size: 495 — 1,543 square feet

Developer: Concord Pacific

Sales centre: 9908 King George Blvd., Surrey

Hours: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., daily

Telephone: 604-583-9866

There aren’t many places where a new condo comes with access to two private swimming pools, an outdoor hot tub theatre, tennis court, work lounge, sports social lounge, virtual spin studio and video conferencing room. Park George, the latest offering from Concord Pacific in Surrey, is one such place.

Part of the reason for the range of amenities on offer is because residents will be able to make use of the facilities that are already in place at Park Avenue, two of Concord Pacific’s previous residential towers nearby.

“We call our developments master-planned communities because we try to share the amenities across a number of towers – in this case four – so that it keeps people’s strata fees down,” explained Grant Murray, senior vice-president of sales at Concord Pacific. “In total, there will be about 110,000 square feet of amenity space, 30,000 square feet of it indoors.”

 “You simply won’t find the same range of amenities in a single residential tower, or even two towers,” Murray added. “And you certainly won’t find them in a location that is so well connected in terms of transit.”

Park George’s two towers of 36 and 39 storeys will include 339 homes in the first tower and 337 in the second. The neighbourhood around the development has been a decade in the making, when the City of Surrey came up with a long-term plan to transform the city centre into a new urban core. This involved adding multiple highrise buildings, retail offerings and amenities, a new location for Surrey City Hall, the expansion of Surrey Memorial Hospital and a new RCMP headquarters.

“Then you’ve also got the extra rapid transit that will be coming to Surrey in the near future, extending the transit options south down to Newton,” Murray said.

Murray explained that the City of Surrey is aiming to transform, not just its residential environment, but its economic one as well.

“Everything’s been gearing up to make this a new urban area and they’re hoping to attract high-tech companies to the city in particular,” he said.

Concord Pacific and Park George, in particular, are well set up to contribute to this vision, according to Murray.

“These are the first towers in Surrey that will have 100-per-cent electric vehicle parking,” he said. “They also have a keyless entry and the WiFi connection will be fantastic so you’ll be able to walk around anywhere in the building and be connected, including in the elevators. We’re really big on technology and that’s why we’re installing smart thermostats in every suite so you’ll be able to set the temperature in your home while you’re away.”

Kitchens include Panasonic microwaves and Bosch appliance packages with wall ovens, four-burner gas cooktops, stainless steel hood fans and built-in fridge-freezers. Bathrooms have Grohe fixtures, Kohler sinks and built-in shower niches.

© 2018 Postmedia Network Inc.

Not enough city land to achieve Stewart?s goal

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

Vancouver mayor-elect Kennedy Stewart has promised to build 85,000 new rental homes over the next decade, but Urban Development Institute chairperson Jon Stovell argued that this plan won’t do much to improve affordability in the red-hot market.

“Without any land cost at all, the cost of a 600 square foot studio would be $1,800 to $2,000 a month,” according to Stovell, who is also president and CEO of Reliance Properties.

“That just barely clicks in at 30% of somebody making $80,000 a year but that’s at the very top end of this affordability range that they’re looking for,” he told CBC News.

Stovell noted that Stewart’s vow only takes into account the land area needed, while seemingly ignoring that the other costs associated with construction and development are “very, very high right now.”

“Processing is slow and costly. You’re paying property taxes while you’re waiting. A lot of these things are working against even creating that affordability.”

Data analyst Jennifer Bradshaw of Abundant Housing Vancouver added that the city does not even have enough land remaining to make Stewart’s promised number of additional housing an achievable goal.

“The city does have quite a bit of land that they could certainly, with non-profits, build on,” Bradshaw said. “But I do think they would perhaps have to go buy more, especially on the West Side.”

Stewart stated that 60,000 of the units would be rentals. Bradshaw stressed that increasingly dense areas such as the downtown core and Chinatown will not be good locations for the new construction.

“We’re going to have a Burnaby model where you are going to have to demolish those buildings and then build new developments on top of that, which is really not ideal,” Bradshaw said. “We want to keep those affordable rentals and we want to build elsewhere.”

Moreover, even an additional 25,000 units for affordable rental purposes won’t contribute much to driving down rents in the extremely tight market.

“It will have some downward pressure but really, most people in Vancouver, are living in market rentals.”

Copyright © 2018 Key Media

Millennials using inheritance to invest in luxury condos

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Toronto and Vancouver condo units in the $1-2 million price range have attracted a healthy proportion of buyers over the past few years, according to the 2018 RE/MAX Spotlight on Luxury Report.

Christopher Alexander, executive vice president and regional director of RE/MAX INTEGRA Ontario-Atlantic Canada Region, credited two notable demographics for the luxury sector’s vitality.

“Many Canadian Baby Boomers saw the strength of the real estate market over the past two years as an opportunity to cash-in, downsize and upgrade into the luxury market for retirement,” Alexander explained.

“We’re also seeing an emerging trend of Millennials entering the lower end of the luxury condo market, as they tap into their inheritance to invest in this popular property segment.”

Toronto saw its luxury condo sales rise by a relatively modest 2% year-over-year. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s had a 6% increase.

Toronto’s priciest condo sold for $11.5 million this year, representing a significant 44% upward spike from $8 million in 2017. Vancouver’s most expensive condo sold for $11.7 million, growing by 34% from 2017’s $8.7 million.

On the other hand, the single-detached housing market continued to labor under pressure from the foreign buyers’ tax. Luxury single-detached sales went down by 37% in Toronto and 31% in Vancouver.

“The foreign buyers’ tax has impacted overseas activity, opening more opportunities for local buyers to enter the luxury market,” RE/MAX of Western Canada executive vice president Elton Ash said.

“As a result, local buyers are driving demand for luxury condos going into 2019, which is welcome news for developers in major city centres looking to build more properties.”

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd

Housing market vulnerable, despite slowing sales: CMHC

Duffie Osental
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Real estate prices may be dropping, but the overall market is still exposed to a high degree of vulnerability. The Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) recently revealed this insight in their latest Housing Market Assessment (HMA) report for Q4.

The findings indicate that tighter mortgage rules, rising interest rates, and weaker growth in inflation have reduced the demand for housing across Canada and consequently eased prices. However, a combination of overvaluation and price acceleration has kept the housing market vulnerable. “Overheating is detected when sales greatly outpace new listings in the market for existing homes,” the report said. “Price acceleration is signalled when the growth rate of house prices increases rapidly.”

The assessment points to markets in Toronto, Vancouver, Victoria and Hamilton as particularly vulnerable. There is also evidence of overbuilding, where inventory of newly built and unsold housing units are higher than normal, in Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, and Regina.

Markets of low vulnerability include Ottawa, Québec City, Moncton, Halifax and St. John’s. Montreal is also observed to have low vulnerability, but a tightening between supply and demand has put significant upward pressure on prices in that market.

Of special note is moderately-vulnerable Winnipeg, where an inventory of new, unsold houses has accumulated over the past two quarters.

The HMA framework was developed to detect vulnerabilities in the housing market, in order to better respond to events such as the Toronto housing bubble of the 1980s and 1990s. The HMA identifies locations in the housing market that are exposed to instability from prices, and uses several indicators to assess market conditions.

“The ability of the HMA to detect vulnerabilities relies on the assumption that historical relationships between prices and fundamental drivers of housing markets have not changed,” said the report.

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd

The increase is the third this year and fifth since July 2017, with more rate raises expected to follow as soon as December

Joannah Connolly
Western Investor

The Bank of Canada has once again increased its overnight lending rate, with analysts forecasting future rate increases moving forward. 

The interest rate is now placed at 1.75 per cent as of Oct. 24, following its fifth hike since July 2017.  

“The Bank has forecasted that rate increases should be expected going forward. The pace of these increases will be determined by household’s ability to absorb the higher rates and the rate of inflation,” said James Laird, co-founder of Ratehub Inc. and president of CanWise Financial. “The Bank seems pleased that household credit growth has moderated, and the housing market is showing signs of stabilization across the country.”

Penelope Graham of real estate website Zoocasa said the rate hike will affect anyone taking out a mortgage, whether fixed or variable, as the new target increases the rate at which mortgage applicants have to qualify. Under the “stress test” introduced in January 2018, all new mortgage applicants have to qualify at the Bank of Canada posted rate, or their contracted interest rate plus two per cent, whichever is higher.

Graham stated, “As the Bank of Canada has opted to hike its trend-setting interest rate in its seventh announcement of the year, it will once again become more expensive for borrowers to qualify for, and carry, a mortgage. The ripple effect of this and consequent rate hikes on housing affordability will be felt most strongly by first-time home buyers, particularly millennial buyers, most of whom have never experienced interest rates this high in their lifetimes.”

The Bank of Canada said its key interest rate “will need to rise to a neutral stance” to keep inflation close to the target rate. Inflation is currently 2.2 per cent, having been reduced from the 2.5 per cent seen recently, and the BoC pegs “neutral” at around three per cent.

The Bank of Canada’s next scheduled date for announcing the overnight rate target is December 5, 2018.

Copyright © 2018 Western Investor

Luxury condo sales in Vancouver up 6 per cent

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Sales of homes in the $1-2 million price range are the focus of a new report from RE/MAX.

It found that sales of luxury condos have increased in 2018 compared to 2017, especially in Canada’s large urban areas.

In Toronto there was a 2% rise in luxury condo sales while Vancouver posted a 6% gain, and sales in Victoria surged 19%.  These increases have been driven mostly by Baby Boomers downsizing and Millennials investing in the more-affordable condo market.

“Many Canadian Baby Boomers saw the strength of the real estate market over the past two years as an opportunity to cash-in, downsize and upgrade into the luxury market for retirement,” says Christopher Alexander, Executive Vice President and Regional Director, RE/MAX INTEGRA Ontario-Atlantic Canada Region.

Meanwhile, sales of luxury single-detached homes have declined with those in the $1-3 million range declining 37% in Toronto and 31% in Vancouver.

Foreign buyers give way to locals The foreign buyers tax continues to impact this property segment with local buyers dominating.

For homes priced at $3 million and above, the decline in sales in Toronto and Vancouver is even steeper – 44% and 45% respectively. Sales of condos in this price range were unchanged in Toronto but declined 13% in Vancouver.

Victoria saw a 67% surge in sales of condos in the $2-3 million range but a decline of 40% in those over $3 million.

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd

REBGV
other

We’ve created three new videos to help you understand the changes to the Rules of Cooperation that’ll take effect on November 1. The changes range from minor modifications to new rules and a new form.

The Rules of Cooperation govern members’ conduct and obligations to each other in their business.

These changes are in response to member feedback and requests we’ve received over the past several years.

What’s changing?

The most significant changes are in Section 3 — Listings and Section 4 — Offers. A new form, the Direction Regarding Presentation of Offers form, will be required if the seller has instructions to delay offer presentations and/or to specify whether a buyer’s agent can attend the offer presentation.

Other changes deal with attachments to listings, like documents and photos, contingent listings, showings, title searches, and manufactured/modular homes. Changes in other sections affect offers and presentations, sales reporting, open houses and showings, signage, and lockboxes.

Resources to help you learn these changes

New videos

Rule 3.22 Member Access to Listed Properties – https://youtu.be/FY0YaEy7AAw

Rule 3.26 Title Seaarches and Rule 3.12 Consent to Post Documents – https://youtu.be/S2Dc3ZgQGzw

Rule 4.02 Presentation of Offers – https://youtu.be/HhHdooKnW0E

Rule 5.01 Reporting Sales – https://youtu.be/GBoPYjf0pyQ

Rule 7.02/7.03 Reference to Commission/Disclosure of Reduced Commission – https://youtu.be/syObUNEACtk

Rule 8.01 Advertising – General – https://youtu.be/BmFVsLt2KLE

BoC expected to increase interest rates

Steve Randall
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

With the Bank of Canada widely expected to increase interest rates Wednesday, a poll from debt advisors MNP shows rising concern over higher rates.

The survey, conducted by Ipsos, found that 1 in 3 Canadians are worried that rising interest rates could push them towards bankruptcy, up 6% since June.

More than half (52%) of respondents said that they are concerned about affording their debts as rates climb, that’s up 3% since June.

The share of those who say they are feeling the effects or recent rate rises; and the share who say future rises could put them in financial trouble; both hit 45%.

Almost two thirds of both Millennial and Gen X respondents are concerned about the impact of interest rate rises on their ability to service debts, while Boomers are less concerned (40%).

The poll reveals that 80% will cut back on spending to counter the effects of rising rates and there is some optimism about debt situations with 28% saying theirs has improved in the past year, 39% expecting improvement in the next year, and 50% saying improvement will be within 5 years.

Two in five said they regret the level of debt they have.

Albertans (20%) are most likely to say their current debt situation is worse, followed by residents of Atlantic Canada (17%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (15%), Ontario (13%), Quebec (10%), and British Columbia (8%).

Quebec residents (49%) are most likely to rate their personal debt situation as good, followed by residents British Columbia (45%), Ontario (38%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (34%), Alberta (33%) and Atlantic Canada (28%).

Copyright © 2018 Key Media Pty Ltd

Market Update August 2018

other

With the recent cool down in the Metro Vancouver real estate market, the media is having a field day pumping out articles creating fear of an imminent crash and stalling some Buyers and Sellers from making a move. We understand that there are some of our clients who’ve jumped on this bandwagon and are anticipating a bargain basement markdown in prices – but we advise that it is always risky to try to time the market.

There’s more than just home prices to consider when purchasing real estate. With the increased inventory to choose from and low mortgage rates, there are still some great opportunities in the market and good product continues to move.

“Home buyers have been less active in recent months and we’re beginning to see prices edge down for all housing types as a result,” Phil Moore, REBGV president said. “Buyers today have more listings to choose from and face less competition than we’ve seen in our market in recent years.”

For all property types, the sales-to-active listings ratio for August 2018 is 16.3%. By property type, the ratio is 9.2% for detached homes, 19.4% for townhomes and 26.6% for condominiums.

Generally, analysts say that downward pressure on home prices occurs when the ratio dips below the 12% mark for a sustained period, while home prices often experience upward pressure when it surpasses 20% over several months.

While the composite benchmark price has seen slight decreases over the last couple months of less than two percent, the prices are still higher than compared to August 2017 and in 2015, as seen in the graph below of median sales prices:

Opportunities in the Market:

Like last month, there are still some great opportunities in the market for people looking to sell or buy.

– Moving Up – It’s a great time to move up from condos and townhomes into a detached home, with increased inventory and narrowing price gaps.

– Going East to West – If you are considering moving East to West, now is a great time to do so. Good quality homes on the East side are maintaining their value while homes on the West side have seen price decreases.

– Attached Prices Near their Peak – Attached product is nearing its pricing peak, so now is a good time to sell, especially if you are thinking of moving into a detached single family home.

– Inventory – There is an increase in inventory as the market has shifted from a Sellers market to a Buyers market, giving buyers more choice and time to find the right home. There is more on the market currently than there was last year at this time, giving Buyers more options to find their dream home.

– Low Interest Rates – Currently, interest rates are still considerably low, but are forecasted to go up in the near future, so it’s a great time to purchase and lock in a low rate.

© 2018 Team Kerr. All rights reserved