A top bank mortgage specialist moves to Expert Financial

Kimberly Greene
Mortgage Broker News

One of the top bank mortgage specialists in Canada had made the move to the broker channel. CIBC’s Scott Dillingham is bringing his LendCity Mortgages brand to the award-winning DLC Expert Financial.

The Windsor-based mobile mortgage advisor has been a leader in the mortgage space for all of his eight years in the industry, consistently being ranked in the top 10% of volume among his peers during his career. His best year included nearly 500 deals for a total of $110 million in volume.

Dillingham made the move because he wanted more access to more lenders, and he’s gotten that in spades, as he and his team have had to learn the ins and outs of all the different lenders in the marketplace.

“We have to learn everything from everybody,” Dillingham said. “That’s probably the only challenge, but we’re quickly overcoming it. It’s quite easy to determine who will do what and where is the best place to land the client.”

Dillingham also left CIBC because he also wanted the option to pursue his online lead generation platform, which he wasn’t able to do at the big bank. With this platform, Dillingham’s company creates the content on behalf of a realtor partner and when a potential client downloads the information, they’re then included in continuous marketing campaigns. Ultimately the goal is for the prospective buyers to reach out to the realtor for business instead of the realtor reaching out to them.

“I am thrilled for Scott Dillingham and his team,” said Lorne Andrews, broker owner for DLC Expert Financial. “Aligning with the DLC Expert Financial model will support Scott’s goal to help impact the lives of others for both the clients he finances and supporting the growth of business of all our referral partners.”

Andrews added DLC Expert Financial will collectively bring more value to real estate brokerages across Canada, with a focus on enhancing the company’s REALTOR® partner’s lead-generation strategies and skill development.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media

44 concrete buildings in the Greater Toronto Area to be sold to Starlight Investments

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

A high-rise multi-residential portfolio of 44 concrete buildings in the Greater Toronto Area is slated to be sold to Starlight Investments for $1.732 billion.

Projected to close next month, the transaction will involve Starlight acquiring a total of 6,271 rental suites from Continuum Residential Real Estate Investment Trust.

“[The acquisition] is an extremely compelling opportunity to continue Starlight’s strategic growth,” Starlight CEO and president Daniel Drimmer said.

“We look forward to completing this significant Transaction and integrating the Portfolio into our multi-residential platform as we continue addressing Canada’s rental housing shortage.”

Continuum REIT will be withdrawing its previously announced IPO for the portfolio.

“We filed an amended and restated prospectus with the Ontario Securities Commission on October 21, 2019 with the intention of completing an initial public offering of the Units of the REIT. Since filing, senior management has been marketing the IPO in Canada and the United States which has resulted in an order book of over $1.0 billion,” Continuum CEO and president Dan Argiros noted.

“We are very proud of the superior performance of the REIT since inception and we thank all of our investors for their support.”

Copyright © 2019 Key Media

Canadian residential market almost at traditional levels

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

Despite a modest degree of vulnerability remaining, the Canadian residential market is now exhibiting “much narrow imbalances,” according to the federal housing agency.

A new quarterly report by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. stated that the average housing price nationwide ticked down by 0.6% annually during Q2 2019. Meanwhile, the population of young adults expanded by 1.9% during the same time frame, boosting the number of potential first-time home buyers.

For the third consecutive quarter, CMHC cited “moderate” risk for the national market. This was after around two and a half years of “high” risk ratings, The Canadian Press reported.

Breaking down by markets, Toronto has been moved from “high” to “moderate” risk, with prices declining by 0.8% and inflation-adjusted disposable income gaining 0.5% during the second quarter.

Hamilton was similarly moved from “high” to “moderate” vulnerability, while Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg all retained their “moderate” risk ratings.

“Low” risk markets include Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec, Moncton, Halifax, and St. John’s, CMHC noted.

Last week, the Crown corporation argued that stricter mortgage regulations are a major component of Canadian housing’s current stability. Low default rates and slower residential mortgage growth will also alleviate the worst effects of market weakness.

More importantly, these trends give credence to the Bank of Canada’s latest decision to hold its interest rates. Keeping rates flat would prevent a “resurgence” of credit, which has been previously cited by the central bank as a significant economic risk.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media

Short-term rentals not ‘sole’problem’ behind lack of housing

Dirk Meissner
The Vancouver Sun

British Columbia’s rental housing crisis goes far beyond factoring the impact of short-term rentals, say housing experts who say more building is needed to help families find affordable homes.

Recent data from Airbnb Canada says the short-term rental company collected almost $43 million in provincial, municipal and regional taxes over the past year, which will be provided to the provincial government, regional districts and the City of Vancouver to fund housing and tourism initiatives.

Housing experts said the tax is a small return for a province where families struggle to find affordable homes.

“The extra amount of tax the hosts are paying and the Airbnb is collecting and passing along, there’s no scenario where that tax makes up for the harmful impact of all the short-term rentals on housing availability and affordability in the province,” says Prof. David Wachsmuth at McGill University’s school of urban planning.

“Even if every cent of it was immediately placed into building affordable housing for B.C. residents that wouldn’t begin to address, wouldn’t begin to make up for the harmful impacts on the availability of housing short-term rentals are responsible for in the province.”

The Finance Ministry estimated last year that an Airbnb tax agreement would generate $16 million, but this year’s provincial return is more than double the forecast.

“The PST payment agreement is a new tax application, and as with any new tax application, we were conservative in our revenue projections,” Finance Minister Carole James said in a statement. “We’re closely watching the data as it comes in, and we’re making sure municipalities have the information they need to make decisions about regulating short-term rentals.”

Wachsmuth, who co-authored a study last June that found more than 31,000 homes across Canada were rented so frequently on Airbnb that they were likely dropped as long-term rentals, said collecting more tax in B.C. than was forecast should be viewed as a “bad sign.”

“What that is saying is that compared to Airbnb’s estimates, compared to the province’s own estimates, there’s been dramatically more short-term rental activity in B.C. than they were expecting,” he said.

The City of Vancouver said Thursday its efforts to regulate short-term rental units and bring back more long-term rental options are working because the number of long-term rental business licences have increased since the introduction of regulations for short-term rentals.

Brian Clifford, policy manager at the B.C. Non Profit Housing Association, said short-term rentals are just one part of an affordability crisis that escalated after decades of underfunding of housing initiatives.

“We know that (short-term rentals) contributes to affordability problems,” he said. “I’d say that there is a lot of focus on Airbnb, but it is not the silver bullet causing the affordability crisis. It is a contributing factor. It’s not the sole problem that we have.”

Clifford said the society, which represents the non-profit housing sector with more than 600 members, has data highlighting the extent of the affordability crisis across B.C.

In B.C., 43 per cent of renter homes spend more than the recommended affordability benchmark of 30 per cent of gross income on housing and utilities, he said. The national average is 40 per cent.

Clifford said 21 per cent of B.C. renters spend more than half of their income on rent and utilities, while the Canadian average is 18 per cent.

“One in five renters are in a crisis level of spending too much on rent,” he said. “It places households at risk of homelessness. If you are spending half of your income, what are you sacrificing?”

Clifford said he doesn’t yet have evidence that the B.C. government’s housing initiatives have had an impact on people needing housing.

“I want to say it’s getting better,” he said. “We don’t really know as of right now whether it is. All indications show rents are increasing. They are increasing faster than what average people are earning.”

Housing Minister Selina Robinson said B.C. is building its way out of a housing crisis that grew over several decades. She said thousands of affordable housing projects are under construction and people will start seeing new units by next year.

“We’ve been missing purpose-built rentals for decades,” said Robinson. “We had an out of control housing market. We really had not enough subsidized housing being built in the last couple of decades.”

Last year, The NDP government introduced an almost $7 billion affordable housing plan to deliver 114,000 units in a decade.

Robinson said construction of 22,459 units are underway. Of those units, she said 3,281 homes are complete, 6,304 are under construction and 12,874 are in the development and approval process.

“There are people on construction sites, But remember, typically, you have 18 to 48 months depending on where and which community. That’s how long it takes.”

Wachsmuth said B.C.’s housing plan is leading Canada when it comes to facing the challenges of housing supply and affordability, but more needs to be done.

“Ultimately, the solution has to be governments at the provincial and federal level making much more significant investments in public housing, in subsidized housing and in market housing as well,” he said.

© 2019 Postmedia Network

Tech investment in Canada is lacking

Martin Pelletier
The Vancouver Sun

In today’s global market, which has been made even more accessible through the rise of ETFs, investors can go pretty much anywhere they choose and for a low price. This democratization of investing is a good thing for Canadians, because outside of residential real estate, there aren’t a lot of capital growth opportunities here.

While residential real estate investment has more than doubled in the past decade to nearly eight per cent of our total economy, investment in machinery, equipment, research and development has been nearly halved to just over four per cent. Residential construction, related services and credit intermediation are now nearly as large as our energy and manufacturing sectors combined.

Then there is business investment, which when measured as a percentage of Canada’s economy has fallen to its lowest levels since the mid-1990s, according to BMO Economics. Non-residential gross fixed capital as a share of GDP has also collapsed from more than 14 per cent to just shy of 10 per cent over the past five years whereas the U.S. has held steady at 14 per cent.

Unless Canada suddenly decides to stop speculating on housing and instead starts building out an innovative, diversified and vibrant capital market we don’t expect this to change.

Not only are we losing constituents in the S&P/TSX with 18 companies having left since the end of 2017, but we are also lacking in those segments of the market shaping the future direction of the global economy, such as technology. While tech companies currently make up 21.5 per cent of the value of the S&P 500, they are only a paltry 5.2 per cent of Canada’s biggest exchange. Of that, just three stocks — Constellation Software, Shopify and CGL — account for three quarters of the total value.

While many are singing the praises of Toronto’s tech scene, the fact of the matter is there are only 15  tech companies on the TSX to choose from versus 74 in the S&P 500. For some additional perspective, the value of the top two tech companies in the U.S. alone currently surpass the total market capitalization of the S&P TSX.

Meanwhile, despite their size and fears of an economic slowdown, many are still delivering impressive results based on the most recent quarterly earnings reports.

Microsoft Corp. continues to gain ground in its highly profitable cloud computing business, while Alphabet Inc. delivered on revenue growth and is using its impressive cash flow to undertake massive share buybacks. Apple Inc. had plenty of good news with wearables nearing the size of its older Mac business paired with impressive results in its high-margin services business.

That said, there is one bright spot, at least for now, for those investors choosing to stay closer to home. There may not be a lot of excitement in our anti-competitive oligopolies such as banking and wireless but there are steady earnings and dividends and with concerns over falling interest rates we have recently seen an expansion in yields with some very attractive rates currently being offered.

For example, Bank of Nova Scotia currently pays 4.75 per cent, Great West Life 5.15 per cent, Enbridge 6.1 per cent and BCE 5.1 per cent. Interestingly, even the beaten up energy sector has also morphed into a yield play with cash flows being distributed to shareholders instead of being put back in the ground. In total, the S&P TSX currently offers an impressive dividend yield of 3.3 per cent compared to 1.8 per cent for the S&P 500.

We wonder though as to the longer-term sustainability of this model as corporate Canada continues to resign itself to being satisfied with the same-old approach to doing business. Maybe if it was willing to embrace change and offer higher-growth opportunities then more Canadians would not only stay closer to home with their investment dollars but also potentially look beyond residential real estate for a place to speculate. That would be a win-win-win for our economy, capital markets and investor portfolios.

© 2019 Financial Post, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.

Abbotsford location is a natural next step for Mosaic Homes

Kathleen Freimond
The Vancouver Sun

After nearly 20 years of building residences across Metro Vancouver, Mosaic Homes is taking its characteristic shingle-style townhomes to Abbotsford where it is developing Gardner, a 230-unit project on Livingstone Avenue.

“We are well-known and have track record in areas like Surrey and Langley, so Abbotsford was the natural next location for us,” says Geoff Duyker, Mosaic Homes’ senior vice president of marketing.

“Abbotsford is a growing centre and has lots going on there in terms of employment growth, a great university, the Abbotsford International Airport and the Abbotsford Regional Hospital. It’s a municipality we think continues to improve and grow,” he says.

He believes improvements to Highway 1 and Gardner’s location on the western side of Abbotsford close to the McClure exit make the development a natural next step for Vancouverites currently living in a condo or rental and who want to get into the market and secure their first home.

The development, designed by Ekistics Architecture, is also close to the green space and children’s playground in Gardner Park, several shopping areas including Mt. Lehman Crossing and the Highstreet Shopping Centre, elementary and secondary schools and The Rinks at Summit Centre.

The site will include 77 two- and three-bedroom townhomes currently on the market and rental apartments and townhomes that will be available later, says Duyker.

Construction on the three-acre site started in 2018 with the first homes being available for sale in September 2019 and those early buyers planning to move into their new homes this month (November).

The Gardner townhomes are designed to appeal to local young singles and couples who have grown up in the area and want to buy their first home in the city, and to people from across Metro Vancouver who are looking for affordable homes, says Duyker.

Potential buyers can choose from four floorplans ranging in size from 1,057 to 1,626 square feet. The two display homes on the site at 2838 Livingstone Avenue are the two-bedroom Gibson plan and the two-bedroom-and-den Finlay plan.

The architecture – characterized by shingles around feature elements of the buildings – and a choice of three colours for the front doors, is inspired by row homes seen during tours on the East Coast, says Duyker, adding each three-level home has a double garage and outdoor space.

Inside, the interior design is a modern interpretation of traditional style, says Stephanie Da Silva, director of interior design at Mosaic Homes.

“Our [Mosaic] homes are inspired by the sense of home that traditional Shaker-style kitchens evoke. We see a trend to a warm and cosy ambience and less sleek and modern,” she says.

Buyers can choose from two colour palettes, the matte taupe-grey cabinetry with oak-look laminate floors or the matte white cabinetry with walnut-look laminate flooring.

“Both are timeless and easy to integrate into every homeowner’s personal style,” says Da Silva.

Cut-pile carpeting features in the bedrooms, upstairs hallway and on the stairs in all the homes.

At Gardner the kitchens have a contemporary flair with the combination of the Shaker-style lower cabinets – featuring black matte hardware – while the modern flat-panel upper cabinet doors have integrated pulls, says Da Silva. A black matte Delta pull-down spray faucet is an interesting contrast against the white-tile backsplash.

In the Gibson townhome – look out for the distinctive blue front door – the kitchen is completed with a quartz countertop, an optional upgrade from the standard laminate. The large harvest table, which doubles as a prep area and a place for family mealtimes, is a Mosaic-designed optional upgrade.

With 10-foot ceilings throughout all the homes, the interior design maximizes the extra vertical height with plenty of extra storage while the larger windows also draw in plenty of natural light.

In the bathroom, the vanity is the same colour as the kitchen cabinetry (matte taupe-grey in this home), while polished chrome Grohe faucets and the showerhead and handle set add sparkle to the space. On the floor 12-by-24-inch marble-look porcelain tiles enhance the timeless design while white 12-by-24-inch tiles are featured on the walls around the deep soaker tub and shower.

Next door at the display home showing the two-bedroom-and-den Finlay floorplan, potential buyers can see the second colour scheme; white cabinets and contrasting walnut-look floors. On the ground level the den is staged as a study with the Whirlpool washer and dryer also located on this level.

With 10-foot ceilings throughout all the homes at Gardner, the interior design maximizes the extra vertical height with plenty of extra storage while the larger windows also draw in plenty of natural light.PNG

Going upstairs to the open-plan living space (the staircase wall would be perfect for a gallery wall,) the kitchen has a peninsula, a Lazy Susan in the corner cupboard, a large pantry cupboard and plenty of extra storage.

Major appliances are by Samsung with a Fisher Paykel refrigerator available as an optional upgrade.

In the living room, which opens to a deck large enough for family barbecues, the wall is reinforced with a cord-concealing conduit to accommodate a wall-mounted big-screen TV.

On the third level the smaller bedroom is decorated for a young child with playful wallpaper, a ceiling-hung chair, a fun window seat and kid-size table and chairs set up for games or crafts. The main bedroom has his-and-hers closets and an ensuite bathroom with shower.

Project Name: Gardner by Mosaic

Project Address: 2838 Livingstone Avenue

Project City: Abbotsford

Developer: Mosaic Homes

Architect: Ekistics Architecture Inc.

Interior Designer: Portico Design Group

Project Size: 77 homes for sale

Bedrooms: Two- and three-bedroom townhomes

Unit Size: 1,057 – 1,626 square feet

Price: Starting from the low $400’s

Sales centre: 2838 Livingstone Avenue, Abbotsford

Sales centre hours: Daily noon – 6:00 p.m.

Sales Phone: 778.752.9316

Website: mosaichomes.com/property/gardner

© 2019 Postmedia Network Inc.

Holborn Group also won an International Property Award for best bathroom design

REM

Vancouver-based real estate developer Holborn Group was a big winner at the 26th International Property Awards ceremony for its single-family residences in Phase II of Holborn University Heights in Squamish, B.C. The awards are judged by an independent panel of over 80 industry experts in design, quality, service, innovation, originality and commitment to sustainability.

The firm received recognition in several categories for Holborn Group, including Best Architecture Single Residence, Best Interior Design: Private Residence and Best Interior Design: Show Home for British Columbia.

The award-winning homes in Holborn University Heights represent the harmonization of wild natural landscapes and contemporary built environments, the company says in a news release. Holborn University Heights is a master-planned community. Each home has uninterrupted views of the Garibaldi mountains and features contemporary design esthetics for those seeking to connect with nature while still enjoying the comforts of modern living, the company says.

“The level of architectural design and custom interior details in our homes are things you don’t typically find in master-planned communities anywhere. We wanted to raise the bar for multi-family developments by being the first to offer it and at an attainable price,” says Joo Kim Tiah, principal at Holborn Group.

© 2019 REM Real Estate Magazine

Homeowners who list on Airbnb will need to be verified

Steve Randall
other

The rise of short-term letting platform Airbnb has been hailed as a revolution for travellers – and derided for its impact on local rental and housing markets.

But the platform continues to see strong growth worldwide with around 7 million properties currently listed and 600 million members.

However, recent events in California which saw a Halloween party held in an Airbnb-listed home turn to tragedy with the death of 5 people, has prompted the firm to take urgent action.

In an email to its staff, Airbnb co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said that the business is built on trust and – as some take advantage of this trust – it’s time to tighten up the rules.

It means that homeowners who list on the platform will need to be verified. This verification program is underway and means that homes will be verified for accuracy of the listing (including accuracy of photos, addresses, and listing details) and quality standards (including cleanliness, safety, and basic home amenities) and those that meet the company’s high expectations will be clearly labelled.

The plan is for every home and host to be 100% verified by December 15, 2020.

Manual screening for risky behaviour The firm will also be rolling out expanded manual screening of ‘high-risk’ bookings where its risk detection models suggest bookings may be used for unauthorized parties.

This will initially apply in North America from December 15 and then globally through 2020.

There will also be a 24/7 hotline and rapid response teams that will handle calls from concerned neighbours. This is being set up with help from law enforcement agencies in the US.

Copyright © 1996-2019 Key Media Pty Ltd

Squamish Nation is planning the construction of around 6,000 affordable units

Ephraim Vecina
Mortgage Broker News

A Vancouver housing project led by Squamish Nation is planning the construction of around 6,000 affordable units.

The Senakw development, which is slated to be one of the largest Indigenous-led urban projects nationwide, will be situated close to the downtown core.

As much as 11 towers will be erected at the south end of the Burrard Bridge. The tallest planned so far is 56 storeys high.

“We have a fiduciary responsibility to achieve the highest and best use when we do projects,” Squamish Nation councillor Khelsilem told The Canadian Press. “We have to bring back the best value for our members because otherwise they’re being robbed from the potential value that can be created on the land.”

“For a lot of other First Nations across the country, natural resources is the one option they have for growing their economies. Whereas for us, the land has been completely impacted [by the city’s growth] and so real estate is really the one thing we can get involved in that will make sense to generate revenue,” he told CBC News earlier this year.

“[The First Nation is] seeing the significant profits that everyone else is making. We’re right in the middle and we’re not doing anything, so I think there’s reasonable impatience that we should be getting involved,” the leader added.

Most of the units will be rental housing, with preference to be accorded to Squamish Nation members.

“Because we are proposing mostly rental we see opportunities to do some really interesting stuff around amenity spaces for tenants within the building, on those really beautiful vistas that might be on the roof or the really top part of the buildings,” Khelsilem stated.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media

Luxury housing in Toronto on an up-swing

Ephraim Vecina
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

Toronto’s luxury housing sector has enjoyed a marked upswing in activity this year, according to a new analysis by RE/MAX.

Accelerated sales came about as a result of a stronger economy and record-low unemployment levels, along with more relaxed interest rates and generous returns in the stock market.

“The fog has lifted – buoyed by solid economic factors, but also by the belief that the worst is behind us,” RE/MAX of Ontario-Atlantic Canada executive vice president and regional director Christopher Alexander explained.

“The housing market has shifted into recovery mode. Luxury home sales are climbing, prices are stabilizing, and demand is on the upswing for upscale product.”

Transaction numbers in the highest-end sector exceeded 2018 levels, with sales of freehold and condo properties valued at more than $5 million reaching 100 units from January to October. This represented an 8.5% annual increase.

Freehold properties in this price bracket now fetch an average value of $6,517,143. This is in contrast to the 3% year-over-year decline seen in the city’s single-detached housing market.

“The one consistency in Toronto’s real estate market throughout 2019 has been value – and it’s evident from the bottom end of the market to the top,” Alexander noted.

“Homebuyers at virtually all price points – including uber-luxe – are kicking the tires once again. As a result, momentum is building in the overall market, which is reflected in the escalation in sales at both the $2 million and $5 million price points.”

Sales of homes valued at more than $2 million went up by a little over 9% annually (reaching 1,975 transactions), while activity in the $3 million – $4.99 million sector slowed down by 4.7% year-over-year.

Fortunately for this segment, “sales of luxury properties between $3 and $5 million are expected to climb in the year ahead as the ripple effect works its way through various price points,” Alexander assured.

“Sales at lower price points tend to stimulate sales at the next level, as homebuyers trade-up to larger homes or more desirable neighbourhoods. Our research has found that the spread is narrowing with each month’s sales figures.”

Copyright © 2019 Key Media Pty Ltd