Canada?s housing market improved for the 9th month in a row in November

Penelope Graham
other

Canada’s housing market improved for the 9^th month in a row in November, with strong gains in both sales and price growth – a trend that’s expected to continue into 2020, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association.

The latest data reveals the number of homes trading hands nationwide rose 0.6% from October levels, and 11.3% from 2018. Meanwhile, the number of newly-listed homes continues to shrink, down -2.7%; that’s increasingly putting the squeeze on buyers and pushing more local markets into sellers’ conditions, which helped drive the national average sale price to $529,000, an increase of 8.4%. That indicates the market has recovered by 20% from the six-year low recorded this February, though it still lingers below the 2016 – 2017 peak by 6 – 7%.

The MLS Home Price Index, which measures the price benchmark for homes, also rose 0.8% month over month and 2.6% year over year.

Strong Housing Market Growth to Continue in New Year

It’s a dynamic housing market participants should get used to, as CREA has updated its forecast for this year and next, calling for sustained growth trends across the country over the long term; a total of 486,800 home sales are expected to be logged for 2019, up 6.2% from last year. Sales were stronger than expected in the second half of the year, while months of inventory continued to brush rock bottom (with the Prairies stripped out, there’s just a 0.1 month of supply of available homes for sale, a 15-year low). The average home price is expected to clock in at just over $500,000, up 2.3%.

CREA forecasts a total of 530,000 units will sell in 2020, an increase of 8.9%, while prices are expected to surge 6.2% to an average of $531,000.

It expects that the same regional price trends that defined the 2019 market to largely continue throughout the new year, namely uneven price growth between the west- and east-end provinces, overall slower performance in the Prairies, and Ontario and BC making up the bulk of activity.

Sales on the Rise in Most of Canada’s Major Markets

CREA reports that November home sales were up in nearly all of Canada’s major markets, with demand on the rise for British Columbia and the Greater Toronto MLS listings, which helped offset declines in Calgary.

According to CREA President Jason Stephen, markets that continue to struggle with sales volume are those that have been disproportionately affected by the OSFI federal mortgage stress test, which has had an overcorrecting effect in cities that had largely balanced or buyers’ conditions before it was implemented.

“Sales continue to improve in some regions and not so much in others. The mortgage stress test doesn’t help relieve the ongoing shortage of housing in markets where sales have improved, and it continues to hammer housing demand in markets with ample supply,” he states.

Supply-and-Demand Gaps Growing in Hottest Cities

As has been the long-term trend, uneven supply of housing across Canada is also contributing to mixed price growth, as some locales face a tight supply-and-demand crunch, while others sit on a plethora of available listings.

Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist, says that as long as these imbalances persist, prices will continue to grow in the nation’s largest cities.

“Home prices look set to continue rising in housing markets where sales are recovering amid an ongoing shortage of supply,” he says. “By the same token, home prices will likely continue trending lower in places where there’s a significant overhand of supply perpetuated in part by the B-20 mortgage stress test that continues to sideline home buyers there.”

As a result of higher sales volume and declining new listings on a monthly basis, the sales-to-new-listings ratio (SNLR) for Canada as a whole hit 66.3% in November – deep into sellers’ market territory, and well above the long-term average of 53.7%. This ratio, which measures the level of buyer competition in a market, is calculated by dividing the number of home sales by the number of new listings brought to market over the course of the month. A ratio between 40- 60% indicates a balanced market, with below and above that threshold signalling buyers’ and sellers’ conditions, respectively.

Conditions Uneven Between East and West

According to this measure, just over half of all local markets were balanced in November, with Alberta and Saskatoon remaining largely over supplied, with the opposite occurring in Ontario, BC, and the Maritimes.

The overall months of inventory – a measure of how long it would take to sell off all available homes for sale – sank to 4.2 months, the lowest it has been since the summer of 2007, and below the long-term average of 5.3 months. As has been the case, it remains higher than usual in the Prairies and Newfoundland and Labrador, while below typical levels in Ontario, Quebec, and eastern markets.

Overall, conditions remain balanced in BC, including on the Vancouver MLS, though CREA warns that markets within the province are primed for price growth and buyers rebound in solid numbers.

Price Gains by Province

BC: While year-over-year prices remain down in both Greater Vancouver and Fraser Valley, the pace of those declines is slowing, down -4.6% and -2.9%, respectively. However, the remainder of BC’s markets are on an uptick; prices rose 1.4% in the Okanagan, 1.5% in Victoria, and 2.9% elsewhere on Vancouver Island.

Prairies: Price growth remains subdued across the board, down -2% in the Edmonton, Saskatoon, and Calgary real estate markets, while falling -5.5% in Regina.

Ontario and Eastern Canada: According to CREA, “… price growth has re-accelerated well ahead of overall consumer price inflation across most of the GGH. Meanwhile, price growth in recent years has continued uninterrupted in Ottawa, Montreal, and Moncton.”

© 2015-2017 Zoocasa Realty Inc.

Squamish Nation development doesn?t answer to the government

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

A December 10 vote among 827 members of the Squamish Nation has put in motion the largest residential development in Vancouver, which could include the tallest towers in the city.

Being built on First Nations reserve land, homes at the 6,000-unit project are exempt from provincial rent controls, the foreign-buyer tax and the so-called speculation tax that governs all other homeowners in Metro Vancouver, a B.C. Ministry of Finance spokesperson confirmed.

It is also unfettered by City of Vancouver property taxes, and city planning and development regulations.

The Senákw project is on 11.7 acres of Squamish Nation land on both sides of the south end of the Burrard Street Bridge. Plans call for a mix of market rental housing and 1,500 to 2,000 condominiums.

The unusually shaped property, adjacent to the former Molson brewery on Burrard Street and close to Vanier Park, was the ancestral village of the Squamish Nation. Squamish members were forcibly removed in 1913 and transported to the North Shore and Squamish Valley. Their homes were burned.

The Squamish Nation reclaimed the land in 2003 after the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled that Canadian Pacific Railway, which had been granted the land for the railway, should return it to the First Nation.

The $3 billion development, considered the largest on First Nations land in B.C. and one of the largest in Canada, will be built in a 50-50 joint-venture agreement with noted Vancouver developer Westbank Development Corp.

Westbank declined comment, referring all questions to the Squamish Nation.

The Squamish voting process, which did not allow access by media or members of the general public, resulted in an 87 per cent approval, with 718 of the 827 voting members of the Squamish Nation in support.

The referendum asked two main questions: whether members approved leasing out three lots in Senákw for 120 years; and whether they were in favour of the proposed development to be undertaken jointly by the Squamish Nation and Westbank.

“The Squamish Nation Council is thrilled with the outcome of this referendum, which was approved by a landslide,” said Khelsilem, a Squamish Nation councillor and spokesman. “This is truly a landmark moment in our Nation’s history. The Senákw project will transform the Squamish Nation by providing immense social, cultural and economic benefits to Squamish Nation members for generations to come.”

Questions over tower height

Based on the proposal, towers would be between 36 and 50 storeys, according to Khelsilem.

But to achieve 6,000 homes in 11 towers would require buildings of between 55 to 60 storeys, based on comparison with other residential towers proposed but not yet built in Vancouver.

Currently, the 307-suite Shangri-La Hotel on Georgia Street, at 659 feet and 60 floors, is the tallest building in the city. A proposal from Henson Developments for a site on Nelson Street is for a 60-storey Passive House tower with 485 housing units.

“Most of it’s going to be rental. We haven’t decided on the exact mix of strata — if we are going to include it and how much, that’s still to be determined — but we are looking at numbers around 10 per cent to 20 per cent, possibly 30 per cent. But right now that’s going to depend on market conditions and financing,” Khelsilem told Business in Vancouver.

Responding to concerns that Westbank might push for a component of high-end market housing, Khelsilem quipped, “It might not be the development partner; it might be the Squamish Nation, because we’re largely seeing it as an economic development project.”

In exchange for a long-term lease of the property, Westbank will guarantee the loan required for the development and contribute the equity required. The project will not require a financial investment by the Squamish other than the land.

A key element of the project is the lease agreement, which will span 120 years — enough time, said Toby Baker, senior operating officer for the Squamish Nation and CEO of Nch’kay Development Corp., to accommodate delays and shifting market conditions.

“We wanted to provide enough contingency at the front end of the lease so that if we run into market conditions that aren’t favourable and we have to delay a phase, it allows us 10 years to construct,” Baker explained.

This will result in a 110-year lease for rental units and a 99-year prepaid lease for the condo units, which are to revert to rentals when the lease expires.

Preferential pricing for Squamish Nation

Most of the project will be market-oriented, with just 150 to 200 rental units currently allocated to the Squamish Nation, which has about 3,600 members. Squamish Nation members who want to buy strata units will receive preferential pricing.

Despite the reputation of Westbank for high-design and upper-end units, Khelsilem said the focus is on rental and meeting the social needs of the Squamish community.

“There are opportunities to include other types of units at reduced rates or subsidized rates. A lot of that’s going to depend on how much the Nation wants to include in the project,” he said, noting that these will likely be undertaken with the assistance of financing programs from BC Housing and Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

Strata units will allow the project to secure profits on an as-needed basis, however.

The first of the project’s five phases could break ground in 2021.

Once complete, the project will bring at least 4,200 market rentals to the city, which is more than four times the 937 rental units that are expected to be completed in Vancouver this year.

“Our current timeline, working with the developer and working with the city, we would like to see construction starting in the next 16 to 18 months,” Khelsilem said.

‘A gift to the city’

Reaction to the project is mixed.

Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart has called the project “a gift to the city” because of the potential for badly needed rental units.

The Squamish would not be required to apply to the city for approval, a city spokeswoman confirmed in an email.

“We would look forward to continuing our long-standing relationship and work with [Squamish] to support their integration with the existing community and city service connections,” the email stated.

Condominiums in the project would be exempt from Vancouver’s empty-homes tax, which was recently increased.

Anne McMullin, president and CEO of the Urban Development Institute, which represents the Vancouver residential development community, had a note of envy in her voice.

“All the power to them. It is an ambitious project,” she said. “The problem we have in Vancouver is that it can take four to six years to get a rental building approved.”

Local residents have voiced concern and support about the scale of the project.

“Some people are shocked, some people are really upset, some people are positive,” said Larry Benge, a Kitsilano resident and co-chair of the Coalition of Vancouver Neighbourhoods.

“Particular to this Senákw project, it’s sitting in the middle of an important access point into downtown Vancouver. It is a very constricted site, so that presents quite a few issues to be addressed. How do the people who live there get in and out? What kind of transit upgrades do you need? Certainly the infrastructure around that area would need upgrading.”

While the Squamish Nation is the local government authority overseeing the project and will collect property taxes from residents, it must contract for the provision of city services.

“Now that we have this clear indication to move forward on the lease and the business partnership, we can start finalizing those kinds of details, then move towards very specific agreements with the city around the kinds of infrastructure,” Khelsilem said. 

Copyright © Western Investor

Listing Llama enables users to anonymously review and interview agents

Steve Randall
REP

Home buyers and sellers in British Columbia and Alberta can now use a new free app to connect with real estate agents.

Listing Llama enables users to anonymously review and interview agents using an online system. Agents can use the system to competitively pitch their services to win new clients and listings.

“With today’s real estate market, it is more important than ever to find the right real estate agent,” says Tarynn Parker, CEO of Listing Llama. “Finding the best agent to work with is a vital step. Selling or buying a house is one of the biggest financial transactions in most peoples’ lives. Home sellers typically hire a realtor for 4 to 6 weeks and pay them $10,000, $30,000, $40,000 or more. Finally, sellers command more choices with Listing Llama. For buyers it is the same, they’ve got the ability to make an informed choice in who they spend their valuable time and money with during their home search. Realtors benefit with our platform from increased exposure beyond their personal network, leading to more new clients and listings.”

Listing LLama – How it Works

Copyright © 2019 Key Media Pty Ltd

Home sales in British Columbia are strengthening

Steve Randall
REP

Home sales in British Columbia are strengthening according to the latest stats from the province’s real estate association.

BCREA says that MLS sales in November rose 27.5% year-over-year to a total of 6,616 and the average price rise 5.5% to $746,939. Total dollar sales volume was $4.94 billion, a 34.4% increase from the same month last year.

“After several months of strong gains, home sales are now firming around long-run averages,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “We expect 2020 will be a much more typical year for markets compared to the volatility of recent years.”

Buyers had fewer choices though as active listings fell 6.6% year-over-year to 33,310 units, down for the 7th consecutive month (seasonally adjusted). Sales-to-listings ratio was 21%.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume fell 6% to $50.23 billion, compared with the same period in 2018. Residential unit sales were 3.9% lower at 72,106 units, while the average MLS® residential price was down 2.2% year-to date at $696,574.

Recent data showed a significant pull-back for new homebuilding intentions in October.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media Pty Ltd

2019 had its ups and downs

Tina Mak
other

Wow! What a year of ups and downs for Vancouver real estate! There were no shortage of negative news in the first 6 months.  It reminded me of year 1996 to 2000 (read my attached graph).   Coincidently, NDP was in power during that time and that was a long downturn till we hit rock bottom in year 2000. 

 Since the beginning of this year, new home sales drop nearly 90%, developers offer creative incentives to buyers such as luxury handbags, watches, fancy events, free booze etc.  10,000 realtors didn’t make a sale in the first 6 months.  Yep, not one single sale!  This dip is new and a tough challenge to agents who came to the business after 2010 and home owners/buyers especially for the new Vancouverites & millennials involve in the real estate market in the last 10 years.  I personally have seen market dips like this 6-7 time since 1992 and love it every time it happens.  It allows clients to have more time to think without being rushed into making the biggest investment decision in their life.  Having said that, I am seeing the light is at the end of the tunnel!  One theory never changed: Sell high buy high; Sell low buy low! I’m very grateful to all of your trust, support, loyalty and referrals over the years.  The diversification clientele keeps my business strong every time when the down cycle happens. 

 Politics and Real Estate

 Politics affects all type of business especially in both real estate and stock markets.  It is more so now than ever.  Enclosed 2 graphic charts from the real estate board shows the market trends since 1977.  I added the global, national and local politics that affected our cycles on the right graph.  If you read carefully, you will see the next peak is always higher than the previous peak price.  Also compare it to the latest one with the trends up to November on the left.  Please see the price differences between September and November…it is inching up steadily.  Click and watch the Vancouver real estate board market update video for November. 

Why is Vancouver housing market bouncing back faster than expected ? (click the link to read full article)

 Here’s my 2 cents:

 Canada on the global stage: Canada is not big brother, the global politicians don’t respect our Prime Minster, our stock market is not significant.  All of these sounds negative but in fact, it is very positive to our real estate market.  Immigrants and global investors come here to enjoy an undisputed nation.  Both Hong Kong & Huawi Meng Wanzhou are part of the political chess game between US and China.  It has never been the so called 5G security.  It’s all about power struggle between democratic and communist countries.  Comparing to Hong Kong, Canada is insignificant in this game. We are considered a very stable both politically and economically country.  As prosperous and powerful as China is, there is so much under current complicated matters that many Chinese (Hong Kong, China and Taiwan) would still like to immigrate to country like Canada while all other developed countries are tightening their immigration policy.  I have been to Hong Kong 4 times since the beginning of the crisis in June.  There is no doubt many of our 320,000 non resident Canadian is coming back.   

 Local market:

 We all know the lending stress test is the major reason for the market downturn which disqualified 10% to 20% of the home buyers who have 20% down payments.  95% of real estate market is local market.  It’s been 2 years and it shown all 3 levels of governments combined efforts to crack down the housing price has been successful.  The market has absorbed and digested all the adjustments so the local market is BACK!  The rebound isn’t just in the urban areas, it also applies to the suburb like Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows.  Multiple offers are definitely back.  I experienced multiple offers in Vancouver, Burnaby, Port Coquitlam and Squamish areas.  One shocking case was 4777 Shepherd St in Burnaby.  A lot value house sold $376,000 over asking with 38 offers! That’s a record in a soft market.  This craziness doesn’t happen everywhere but multiple offers are back for sure.  This just tell us the market has bottom out and no more “deals” can be found.  Even though NDP is in power, the global political environment is very different from the 1990s.  Canada is in good place, prime city like Vancouver for sure is in demand.   

 Luxury market is where the deals still exist:

 The luxury market (5m and up) sales is still soft.  2017: 322 sales; 2018: 172 sales; 2019 so far: 125 sales.  There is no doubt Chinese buyers from Mainland China are main buyers for this price range.  China capital control certainly is a main reason why the luxury market is suffering however, there is a will, there is a way.  As a Chinese buyer, they need to be aware that they have to take the risk that if they purchase double digit millions properties, their personal privacy could be exposed by the local medias.  Vancouver medias have been aggressively targeting Chinese buyers.  Will the luxury market bounces back?  I personally think it will. Vancouver’s beauty definitely has made our view luxury properties as one of the best if not the best value in the world.  This is the BEST TIME to buy!

 General observation: Investors have gradually digested different type of taxes in the city and aware of all the prime cities in the world have similar taxes.  Should they wish to buy, they are willing to pay for it, at least my out of town buyers are willing to pay the empty home and speculation & vacancy home tax.      

 Hidden power: International Students and Silicon Valley North

 

1. Federal government set a 450,000 international students goal for 2023 and in 2018, it reached 494,525 students, almost 50,000 surpassed the original goal.  Vancouver housed at least 150,000 of them in the lower mainland.  Read the image below.
2. Vancouver has always been viewed as a retired resort community.  Well, think twice.  The recent news on Vancouver is set to become Amazon’s unofficial HQ2 as well as a concentration of San Francisco Bay Area business have started looking north for new headquarters in the past 12 months.  Those companies believes Vancouver is a great place for talent because of its highly rated universities.  Our best outdoor activities are another reason why the young talents would like to work in Vancouver.  Click and read full article of Why so many Silicon Valley companies are moving to Vancouver?    Believe me or not, Vancouver is soon to be housing a lot of IT talents.   

3. The above 2 sectors will continuously put pressure on housing demands on top of the 40,000 annual new immigrants.  Federal government immigration goal is to welcome more than 1 million new immigrants by 2021.  Developers have pulled back developing just like they did back in 2008.  As a result of that, it created pent up demand.  History will repeat itself.  Chinese has a saying: Rather buy up but don’t buy down!  The bottom is over and it’s inching up.  Time to get back to the market.  Call me if you wish to have further discussion!  Let me know if I can assist any of your friends/families in their real estate needs.

Bank of Canada says interest will rise and more bankruptcies will happen

Neil Sharma
Mortgage Broker News

The Bank of Canada may not have raised its benchmark rate last week, but when it does—and it will—expect a rise in bankruptcies too.

“We’re acutely aware that our decisions affect everybody — they affect the financial well-being of everybody and many Canadians are carrying a high debt load,” BoC Governor Stephen Poloz told reporters last week. “I don’t have to work hard to remind myself of that. I get daily correspondence from people explaining to me what their situation is.”

Buoyant through most of 2018, Canada’s economic outlook is cause for enough concern that the central bank held its benchmark rate at 1.75%. However, during his address last week, Poloz reminded analysts that rate hikes are unavoidable, notwithstanding the inevitable headaches that will result.

“On bankruptcy statistics, I understand they have picked up,” said Poloz. “My understanding of the data points is that they’ve picked up from an extraordinarily low level. So, there is, in any point in time, always a certain number of unfortunate folks who may lose their job, or what have you, and go through this process.

“And it wouldn’t be surprising to see things pick up a little bit when interest rates have risen.”

Indeed, it has already begun. In October 2018, consumer insolvencies in Canada rose nearly 10% over a 12-month period, according to the Canadian Association of Insolvency and Restructuring Professionals. By November, it only rose 5.1% over November 2017, but Alberta had the highest regional increase (20.9%).

“Personal insolvency growth continues as a result of consumer credit stress. With rising interest rates compounded by increased consumer spending, individuals and families are struggling with overwhelming debt and increasing debt carrying costs,” said Chantal Gingras, Chair of CAIRP.

According to the Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy, business insolvencies rose 8.9% in November 2017 over a 12-month period, 42.2% of which was in the construction sector alone.

“It’s an increasingly unforgiving business environment due to rising interest rates and economic uncertainties,” said David Lewis, a CAIRP board member.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media

Higher rents, lower vacancies, bigger returns will continue to characterize Metro Vancouver?s multi-family rental sector into 2020

Lance Coulson
Western Investor

What does the future hold for the rental apartment market in 2020? We predict that certain trends from 2019 will carry through to the new year. 

For the first half of 2019, multi-family sales activity throughout Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria lagged, affected by several governmental policies implemented in 2017-18. Following this period of adjustment, sales activity surged noticeably in the latter part of 2019. 

Between August 1 and November 1, more than $400 million in transactions and nearly 1,400 rental units traded in Metro Vancouver, accounting for nearly 60 per cent of 2019 sales to date in the region. Most notably, two prized concrete highrise towers and several large-scale low-rise complexes have traded to both local and national investors during this period. This is a true testament to the underlying strength and desirability of the multi-family asset class as investors across Canada continue to seek product in B.C.’s rental market.

With more clarity established, and interest rates projected to hold at investment-friendly levels, we expect this momentum and sustained demand to carry through into 2020. 

Renter demand

With the Metro Vancouver vacancy rate fluctuating in the range of 0.7 per cent to 1 per cent, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC), the shortage of rental housing is well documented. 

With the Lower Mainland projected to welcome 40,000 net new residents annually to 2041, and the number of renter households to grow by 9,400 per year in the medium term, rent demand will intensify. 

With supportive government initiatives, accretive returns and a weakened condo market, private developers are increasingly shifting their efforts and capital towards purpose-built rental apartment buildings. As reported by Urban Analytics, about 6,800 new rental units are currently planned across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. 

We are likely to see construction starts of rental apartments versus condos to become more balanced, and there will be ample amenities within these new purpose-built rental developments. 

Rising rents 

CMHC reports that Metro Vancouver has seen a cumulative 18.5 per cent increase in average rents between 2016 and 2018, in line with a 21 per cent increase across Canada in the same period. RBC Economics estimates that 11,300 rental units are required in a two-year period – which exceeds the current pace of construction – just to achieve a 3 per cent vacancy in Vancouver. Average rents will continue to trend upwards. 

As local and institutional investors look to achieve economies of scale, the inventory of existing, under-construction and planned rental products of scale will become more appealing investment opportunities. We anticipate more partnerships between local rental developers and institutional capital, such as real estate investment trusts.

Capitalization rates 

With a lack of development land in core areas and growing appetite for multi-family assets in prime locations, we anticipate Metro Vancouver capitalization rates for quality assets to remain in the sub-three per cent range. For assets that are larger-scale with high equity requirements, assets that require a substantial amount of capital upgrades or assets that are currently under-achieving in terms of rental income, we anticipate capitalization rates may experience a slight uptick. 

One of the major drivers keeping cap rates at lower levels is the interest rate. If the Bank of Canada holds or decreases the interest rate, cap rates for multi-family assets will remain relatively lower compared to all other asset classes.

Real estate investment firms across the region have shifted away from low initial-yields on existing apartments for the most part, and the notion of overpaying for apartments as land-holds has all but  diminished. 

In 2020 we anticipate investors will continuously modify their buying criteria to better align with their investment strategies. For example, if buyers are trying to gain a certain return, they may not buy a building that needs an amount of work, or that has a lower cap rate.

There are solid reasons for optimism about the multi-family market into 2020. The desire to live and work in Vancouver and the emergence of its tech sector will keep the investment market competitive. Investors, both locally and nationally, believe in the strong economic fundamentals in both Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria. 

Combining the effects of population and employment growth, a residential market that looks to be rebounding, the low interest rate environment, and the various firms looking to dedicate capital towards rental development and investment, we expect the positive momentum to carry through into 2020. 

Copyright © Western Investor

Speculation and Vacancy Tax increased to 2 percent

Gerv Tacadena
Canadian Real Estate Wealth

British Columbia’s Speculation and Vacancy Tax will increase from 0.5% to 2% starting 31 December, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The new tax rate will be applied to all foreign owners and satellite families and will be due by July next year.

“Based on the data from the first year, we see the tax is working as it was designed to: capturing speculators, foreign owners and people who own vacant homes, while exempting more than 99.8% of British Columbians,” said Finance Minister Carole James.

The tax was introduced last year, with the aim to target homes in the most populated areas in BC that were not declared as a primary residence or were not rented out for at least three months annually.

Since the implementation of the tax, the government has collected $115m, which was used to fund affordable housing projects.

Aside from the tax rate, the changes will provide an exemption for property owners who are members of the Canadian Armed Forces while in active service. Canadians who own properties accessible only through water will also be waived from paying the tax.

Meanwhile, the exemption for rental-restricted strata will now end by 31 December 2021.

On the other hand, the exemption for foreign owners of vacant land will be lifted starting next year.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media Pty Ltd

EIi Technologies uses AI to review real estate documents

Steve Randall
REP

The use of technology to review contracts is already rising fast in the legal services industry but a Vancouver firm hopes to find traction in the real estate industry.

Eli Technologies has claimed a world first with its artificial intelligence (AI) powered condo and strata document review platform which helps real estate professionals to review and uncover potential issues.

Using machine learning, the Eli Report platform can review years of documents and data within minutes.

“We recognize that buying a condo is one of the largest and most important purchases an individual can make, especially first-time home buyers,” says Jamie Hankinson, CEO of Eli Technologies. “A proper review of the strata documents can be very time consuming and complex, but is an essential part of the condo purchase process. We are excited to launch Eli Report in B.C. so real estate professionals can use the platform as a second set of eyes to identify potential concerns, allowing them to elevate their level of service, and better inform their clients.”

The platform has been in beta testing since last year but now has over 500 realtors across 75+ brokerages in Metro Vancouver and Victoria registered and is now available to all realtors, mortgage brokers and property managers throughout British Columbia.

Copyright © 2019 Key Media Pty Ltd

BCREA December 2019 Report

BCREA

The British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA) reports that a total of 6,616 residential unit sales were recorded by the Multiple Listing Service^® (MLS^®) in November, an increase of 27.5 per cent from the same month last year. The average MLS^® residential price in the province was $746,939, an increase of 5.5 per cent from November 2018. Total sales dollar volume was $4.94 billion, a 34.4 per cent increase from the same month last year. 

“After several months of strong gains, home sales are now firming around long-run averages,” said BCREA Chief Economist Brendon Ogmundson. “We expect 2020 will be a much more typical year for markets compared to the volatility of recent years.”

MLS^® residential active listings in the province were down 6.6 per cent from November 2018 to 31,310 units, and down for a seventh straight month on a seasonally adjusted basis. Overall market conditions remain balanced with a sales-to-active listings ratio of 21 per cent.

Year-to-date, BC residential sales dollar volume was down 6 per cent to $50.23 billion, compared with the same period in 2018. Residential unit sales were 3.9 per cent lower at 72,106 units, while the average MLS^® residential price was down 2.2 per cent year-to date at $696,574.