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Garry Marr
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The country’s most expensive market is either red hot or still recovering. It depends on your vantage point.

If you compare the market to a year ago, the recovery is spectacular. September Vancouver sales climbed 63.8% from a year ago. Compare those same 2,483 September sales to a month earlier and they are down 1.2%.

“While sales are up considerably from last year, it’s important to note that September 2012 sales were among the lowest we’ve seen in nearly three decades,” said, Sandra Wyant, president of the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, in a statement.  “Home sale and listing activity this September were in line with the 10-year average for the month.”

In fact, last month’s sales in British Columbia’s largest city were 1% below the 10-year average for the month. New listings for the month were also 3.5% below the 10-year average.

The total number of properties currently listed for sale in Greater Vancouver last month was 16,115, a 12.2% drop a year before but a 0.5% increase from August.

“It’s important to remember that stronger sales activity does not necessarily equate to rising home prices. In fact, home prices have not fluctuated much in our market this year,” Ms. Wyant said.

The board’s composite benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver was $601,900, a 0.7% decline from a year ago but a 2.3% increase since January, 2013.

© 2013 National Post

2013 forecast: Another business-as-usual year for housing in B.C. and Metro Vancouver.

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About a year ago, in January 2012, I read an article in Maclean’s Magazine entitled What happens when Canada’s housing bubble pops? “The signs of a bubble are unequivocal,” the author wrote. A year later, the same magazine released another article: Great Canadian Real Estate Crash of 2013: The housing bubble has burst, and few will emerge unscathed. Both articles attempt to make a tenuous link between the emotive and provocative titles that they carry and the reality of facts on the ground – particularly as far as the Vancouver housing market is concerned.

So what exactly did occur in the Vancouver housing market over the past year and what does a “burst bubble” look like, as bearish commentators such as Maclean’s like to suggest? More importantly, for new homebuyers, what can you really expect to see in the Metro Vancouver market in 2013?

The latest BC Assessment values released earlier this month indicate that almost every municipality in Metro Vancouver demonstrated gains in assessed residential values for 2012. Residential assessment values in the City of Vancouver increased by 2.2 per cent, in the City of Burnaby they increased by 3.99 per cent, in the City of Surrey values increased by 5.15 per cent and in the Township of Langley values increased by 3.13 per cent.

However, the City of Richmond did not follow the trend of increasing values across Metro Vancouver in 2012, and experienced a decline in overall assessed values of 0.64 per cent – hardly a bubble bursting by any measure. As well, a very marginal decline in the value of some high-end single family homes in that municipality masks the fact that the assessed value of condos in Richmond has actually increased by up to 5.1 per cent over the course of 2012.

What remains clear for current and future homeowners in Metro Vancouver, is that the underlying fundamentals of the housing market remain strong. Homeowners in 2013 are receiving assessments confirming that the value of their properties continue to increase incrementally, and at the very least, are remaining stable. It’s slow and steady according to the BC Assessment roll for most of the Vancouver area.

The year ahead is likely to be a lot like the year just passed, in UDI’s view. Acknowledging that total home sales have declined in B.C. year-over-year by about 12 per cent (based on the latest available quarterly figures from Landcor Data Corp.), this has evidently not translated into bubble-bursting price declines. It has ensured, however, that price increases have been limited and will remain stable throughout 2013 in a more competitive and normalized market.

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) – the Canadian government’s provider of mortgage insurance – also specifically addressed the bubble issue as recently as November 2012, saying: “Overall, demographic and economic factors continue to support the Canadian housing market including growth in employment and net migration.” Indeed, according to BC Stats, the net population increase in the province is approximately 43,000 each year and all those people will need a home to live in.

Meanwhile the urban development industry in B.C., which the Urban Development Institute represents, is building about 25,000 new homes annually. Should, for whatever reason, construction in B.C. slow and new housing supply fail to keep up with that demand, then upward pressure on home prices is more likely than any decline. Reliable signs point to a business-as-usual year for B.C. and Metro Vancouver housing. The bubble is non-existent. The sky is still there.

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2-year build-out for 24-storey tower; demand will set timeline for other highrises

Christine Lyon
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THE District of North Vancouver has given the OK for the first of three highrises to break ground in the Seylynn neighbourhood.

On Monday, district council approved granting a development permit for a 24storey residential building. The tower is part of a multi-building development proposal east of Mountain Highway and north of Fern Street, which includes three highrises measuring 24, 28 and 32 storeys.

The first building, located at the southeast corner of the site, will have 201 residential units, 249 underground parking spaces and a four-storey podium element that will include amenity space, five townhouses, storage and bicycle parking.

Al Johnson, a senior associate at DA Architects + Planners, which designed the building, was on hand Monday to review the architectural character of the asymmetrical concrete, wood and metal structure.

“The character of the building is represented by a series of strong horizontals. Deep eyebrows and balconies serve as shading devices on the south side,” he said.

The building features a rooftop lantern, which Johnson said will disguise mechanical equipment and emit a warm light.

The 24-storey building was well-received by councillors, who have long debated the contentious development.

“I really like the lantern feature on the building and I think it’ll be quite a nice sight coming over the Ironworkers Bridge and also coming down Mount Seymour Parkway,” said Coun. Doug MacKay-Dunn.

“I see this as a really great divergence from what we’ve come to expect in the Coal Harbour, Yaletown areas,” said Coun. Alan Nixon, who also complimented the building’s spacious balconies and wheelchair accessibility.

“I still have some reservations about the height,” said Coun. Mike Little, “but I think that the treatment that they’ve come up with is about as attractive as it could be for a project of this scale. I think the street-level experience is going to be really great on this project.”

Both Little and Coun. Lisa Muri expressed concern about the future potential for rooftop cellular antennas, which Little said have created an unattractive “castle turret effect” on top of other North Vancouver towers.

Staff said applicants hoping to install visible cellular antennas would have to first come before council.

The anticipated build-out of the first tower is two years. Keith Road will be extended in conjunction with this initial phase of construction. The timeline of the entire development will depend on the real estate market.

“Much of this will be driven by demand for the first tower,” said district community planner Michael Hartford. “If that sells quickly then I think it’s to be expected that the developer would move relatively quickly on the following phases of the project.”

The entire project includes 790 residential units. The development deal complies with the district’s green building requirements and includes an amenity package that completes the Lynnmour Connector Trail. The development must also include a childcare facility and approximately 1,000 square metres of commercial space.

© Copyright (c) North Shore News

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Something cool going down in Chinatown

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