REPORT: Where Are The Most Affordable Places To Buy In The GTA? (By Product Type)

Rachel Rehkopf
other

Would you move further out of the city to secure the type of home you’re looking for within budget?

Given how popular work from home has been in the last few years, the option to choose home type first and city second is opening up to more buyers in Southern Ontario.

In fact, a Zoocasa survey early last year found that the pandemic has led to 32% of Ontario buyers purchasing a property in a location further than what they would have previously considered – and given the consistent price increases recorded across the province throughout 2021, it’s safe to say that trend has continued.

Buyers who have their eye on a certain type of home, whether that’s a condo in the city centre or a townhome with a yard for their dog, can save big if they can be flexible on which city in the Toronto Region they’d like to make their purchase in.

To help prospective buyers narrow down which areas they should consider focusing their house search in, Zoocasa has ranked the top five most affordable cities within the bounds of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board to buy a detached home, semi, condo townhouse, and condo apartment based on November 2021 sales data*. 

In other words, if finding the right type of home at the right price point is more important to you than buying in any particular city, this report is designed to help you discover which cities to consider in your home search.

Brock is the most affordable place to purchase a detached home 

 

Although the average price for a detached home in the Toronto Region hit $1,567,832 near the end of last year the top five most affordable cities to buy a detached home in the greater region all clock in with an average price under a million dollars – a significant savings of more than $500,000.

Brock, the most affordable city on the list, is a small town in the north end of Durham township. As of 2016, the population reached just over 11,000 – making it a great choice for buyers looking for more space and a small-town lifestyle.

With an average price of $774,500, detached homes here are half the price of the region’s average. However, affordability comes with a proximity tradeoff. Brock is located in the Toronto Region’s farthest north reaches, and nearly borders Lake Simcoe. In good traffic conditions, you can reach Union Station by car in a little over an hour and a quarter, but Barrie and Peterborough are both closer cities – meaning you likely won’t want to commit to a daily, downtown Toronto commute if you’re living here.

If you’re looking to live a little closer to Toronto’s core, Oshawa and Orangeville both offer better connectivity to the rest of the GTA, with detached homes still coming in at an average price of less than a million. If you’re looking for small-town living, Essa (near Barrie) and Scugog (near Port Perry) are other options on the list that round out our top 5 most affordable places to buy a detached home in the Region. 

Source: TRREB November 2021

Orangeville is the Most Affordable Place to Buy a Semi-Detached Home

If you’re looking for the spaciousness of a detached home, with a smaller price tag, a semi-detached home can be a great option. When looking at the most affordable places to buy in the GTA, Orangeville tops the list for semis, with the average coming in at $715,000, almost half a million dollars cheaper than TRREB’s average for that same category. 

Although like many of the more affordable places to buy, Orangeville is a smaller community on the outskirts of the Region’s reaches. still a city in its own right with a population of nearly 30,000.

When it comes to commuting, under the right traffic conditions you can make it to Union Station by car in less than an hour. If your company is headquartered in Mississauga, Brampton, or Milton you’ll find yourself well within commuting distance, especially if you’re working in a hybrid arrangement. 

Durham is another region to consider if you have your eye on a semi. Average prices in the cities of Oshawa and Clarington were $761,002 and $818,583 respectively. Next on the list is Simcoe’s New Tecumseth with an average price of $820,167, with Halton Hills rounding out the top five with an average price of $905,500.

Source: TRREB November 2021

Orangeville is Also the Most Affordable Place to Buy a Condo Townhouse

If things like multiple floors of living space and  access to private outdoor space are high on your wishlist,  a condo townhouse might be an affordable option for you to consider. Combining the higher-density building form and ownership structure of a condo, these homes are a great blend of space and affordability, especially for young families.

Regardless of your desired city, the average price in the Toronto Region is $826,475 for a condo townhome, which is well below the average price of all home types. When looking for the most affordable cities to choose from, Orangeville comes out on top again with an average price of $570,625 for this type of home.
The rest of our more affordable options come from Durham Region, with the cities of Oshawa, Whitby, Clarington, and Pickering rounding out the remaining spots on the list.

Source: TRREB November 2021

Oshawa is the Most Affordable Place to Buy a Condo Apartment

 Condo apartments are one of the most affordable home types on the market in the Toronto Region today, with the average price as of November hitting $711,933 – a rate that comes in at over half the cost of the average detached home.

Within this category, you can find options with average prices under $400,000 if you consider moving to Oshawa, where the average price for a condo apartment was just $381,795 near the end of 2021.

Compared to some of the other cities that topped our list of affordability, Oshawa is considerably larger and more connected. With a population of 170,071 you’ll find more big-city amenities than what’s offered in Orangeville and Brock.

When it comes to your commute, you can make it downtown in 45 minutes by car in good traffic conditions, and taking public transit to work is a viable option with frequent GO Train service. 

Other cities that top the list for the most affordable places to buy a condo apartment in the Toronto Region include Orangeville, New Tecumseth, Brampton, and Newmarket 

What Do Buyers Need To Know About Moving Further Away From The City Centre? 

According to Zoocasa Sales Representative, Allyson Neves, many of today’s buyers understand that being flexible on the location of their home purchase can help them check more boxes off of their wishlist

“Lately when I’m working with buyers, they’re coming to me with their top budget and wishlist for their home then asking me where they’ll need to move to marry the two. It becomes my job to help introduce them to new neighbourhoods or smaller towns that they may not have considered previously” she explains. 

When working with buyers with this mindset, Neves starts the process off by understanding the non-negotiables. “It really comes down to knowing your price point first, along with anything else that binds you to a certain general location.”

“Usually buyers will come to me with a general bound for their location. This used to commonly be ‘no more than an hour from the office’. However, with work from home or hybrid options becoming the norm in many industries, I’m more often hearing ‘no more than an hour from my family’, or ‘I’d like to stay north of Toronto’. I compare this request with their budget and talk about which areas would be a fit for what they’re looking for in a property. From there, we start our house hunt. If you’re a buyer with this mindset, it’s helpful to work with an agent who really knows the general area you’d like to purchase in, they’ll be able to introduce you to some of the best places to consider during your search.” 

While this report focused on the most affordable locations to purchase in the GTA outside of the city centre, this same mindset can still be applied for buyers looking outside of Toronto too. Neves, who is based out of Barrie explains, “as an agent that specializes outside of the GTA, it’s been a real pleasure introducing buyers who are new to the area to all that outside-of-Toronto living has to offer. Many are excited to trade city living for more space.”

Considering Buying a Home This Spring?

Find Out Where You Should Start Your Search–
Methodology:

*Since in many smaller cities inventory for condo-style homes is lower, November 2021 numbers were used over December 2021 since overall sales volumes were higher – allowing a larger sample size for these smaller cities. To avoid small sample sizes distorting the results, only cities with more than three sales in each respective product category were included in the analysis. 

© 2015 – 2021 Zoocasa Realty Inc., Brokerage

 

 

 

GTA sees second-best year for new home sales in 2021

Michelle McNally
Livabl

The Greater Toronto Area had its second-best year in history for new homes sales in 2021, capping things off with the lowest count of home inventory ever recorded.

New data from the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) released today shows that new home inventory in the GTA dipped to the fewest properties on record December 2021.

Normally, the month of December sees few project launches. With that, total new home remaining inventory dropped to 8,922 units last month, about 2.3 months worth of supply based on average sales for the past 12 months. Since this dataset started to be recorded in January 2000, this is the lowest level yet. Typically, a balanced market should have nine to 12 months of inventory, BILD explained.

Remaining inventory includes units within pre-construction projects, projects that are currently under construction and those in completed buildings.

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In December 2021 alone, 2,739 new homes were sold. Condo apartments — which includes units in low, medium and high-rise buildings, stacked townhouses and loft units — contributed 2,170 sales to this total, marking the second-highest December for condo sales behind 2016.

The cost of a new single-family home shot up 38.5 per cent over the past 12 months to an average of $1,829,693. New condo apartment prices reported almost a third of that growth, rising 13.5 per cent year-over-year in December to $1,163,924.

“The record low inventory levels and record high benchmark pricing we saw in December illustrate perfectly why housing supply and affordability will rank among the defining issues in this year’s provincial and municipal elections,” said Justin Sherwood, BILD’s senior vice president of communications and stakeholder relations, in a press release.

“Insufficient housing supply is driving the GTA’s housing affordability challenge while exacerbating inequality, slowing down economic growth and threatening our collective quality of life. Voters will demand meaningful platforms and policy ideas from candidates and parties,” he added.

Overall, the GTA new home market had “extremely robust levels of new home sales,” in 2021, marking the second-highest year on record after 2002. In total, 46,651 new homes were sold across the region, 27 per cent above the 10-year average.

Condo apartment sales were strong in 2021, raking in 32,919 units sold last year. This misses the 2017 all-time record by just 125 units, and is 40 per cent above the 10-year average for the GTA.

Single-family homes — including detached, linked, and semi-detached houses and townhouses, but excluding stacked townhouses — accounted for the remaining portion of sales, with 13,732 properties sold in 2021. This was four per cent above the 10-year average.

Altus Group, BILD’s official source of new home market intelligence, provided the data used in the market report.

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Douglas Todd: Trudeaus housing promises still not materializing

Douglas Todd
The Vancouver Sun

Opinion: It’s imperative to monitor how little the prime minister has done to rein in prices that have soared 85 per cent since the Liberals were first elected in 2015.

Few things reveal Justin Trudeau’s unwillingness to seriously follow through on his housing rhetoric than his approach to foreign buyers. (Photo: PM visits housing complex in Ontario on July 20, 2021.) Photo by Cole Burston /The Canadian Press

It’s easy to lose track of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s broken promises on the housing crisis.

 

But it’s imperative to monitor how little he has done to rein in prices that have soared by 85 per cent since his Liberal government was first elected in 2015.

Few things reveal Trudeau’s unwillingness to seriously follow through on his housing rhetoric than his approach to foreign buyers, who most analysts agree have been one of the significant factors jacking up prices.

We can go back more than two years, to the fall election campaign of 2019, when Trudeau strategically came to B.C., where the unaffordability crisis had been brewing for years, to announce a tax on homes owned by foreign buyers.

Yet, when the Liberals won a minority government in October of that year, Trudeau managed to make the foreign-owners tax promise disappear from the public’s mind — despite the Conservatives and the NDP making it clear they would support it.

Then, in last fall’s election campaign, Trudeau again trotted out the same commitment, vowing a one-per-cent tax on under-utilized homes owned by non-resident, non-Canadians.

And when the Conservatives’ Erin O’Toole upped the housing-crisis ante by promising to ban foreign buyers for two years, Trudeau blatantly copied him. He also claimed he would put a tax on property flipping, spend billions on housing supply, and restrict exploitive real-estate agents.

Journalists, as a result, began talking about Trudeau’s “aggressive” new approach to the housing calamity.

But what, actually, has happened? There are, for instance, no signs his dramatic-sounding two-year ban on foreign buyers is about to become legislation any time soon.

And even Trudeau’s mild old promise — a one-per-cent tax on foreign-owned vacant homes, effective Jan. 1, 2022 — is far from reality.

The Liberal government is “diddle-daddling” on the housing disaster, says Brad Vis, MP for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon, and recent housing shadow minister for the Conservatives.

Last June, Vis introduced an opposition-day motion in the House to freeze housing purchases by non-resident foreign buyers. It was passed with the support of Conservative, NDP and Bloc MPs, but opposed by Liberals.

Still, the public would be forgiven for thinking that Trudeau’s meek campaign promise to tax foreign nationals’ under-utilized homes would be running by the beginning of this year, since that’s when it was supposed to go into effect. But, with the Liberals largely avoiding parliament last year, it took until mid-December to even become a legislative proposal.

 

 

It is important to make sure it’s “not easier for foreign buyers, who often possess a taxation advantage over Canadians, to use that advantage to outbid Canadians in the housing market,” says Conservative MP Brad Vis, the party’s shadow minister on the B.C. economy. Photo by Christian Diotte /Christian Diotte, HOC-CDC, 2021

The Liberals have “only tabled the (tax) legislation in an omnibus bill that hasn’t been debated in parliament,” said Vis. “So we could have months of debate and committee study and then have to go through the Senate as well. We’re months away from any kind of foreign-buyers tax.”

A multi-pronged response to the housing tragedy is necessary, Vis said, because Canadians, and young British Columbians in particular, “are having a harder and harder time, even on a six-figure salary, to even consider owning a home. For many, it’s impossible.”

In addition to tackling the ways housing supply, low interest rates and immigration levels impact housing costs, Vis said it is important to make sure it’s “not easier for foreign buyers, who often possess a taxation advantage over Canadians, to use that advantage to outbid Canadians in the housing market.”

Vis is far from alone in his thinking. Even the Liberals’ former secretary of housing, Adam Vaughan, admitted as much last year when he said Canada has become “a very safe market for foreign investment  … but it’s not a great market for Canadians looking for choices around housing.”

With national home prices rising another 26 per cent year-over-year in December, Vis charges Trudeau with “negligence.”

Even the Liberals’ potential bill to tax non-foreign owners reveals significant loopholes. Were it to go ahead, the party wants to exempt non-Canadians who buy what it calls “recreational properties,” including one a family member lives in for just four weeks a year.

Whatever comes of the bill, dubbed C8, it is also a far cry from a two-year ban on all foreign buyers. And it doesn’t come close to Singapore’s recent decision to slap a 30-per-cent surtax on all foreign purchases , as well as a five-per-cent tax on first buys by permanent residents.

The modest bill also would not match the foreign-buyers’ taxes B.C. and Ontario already have in place to cover urban centres. And it doesn’t touch one of the many problems related to foreign capital (as distinct from foreign buyers) that B.C. has tried to address with its 2018 speculation and vacancy tax, which in part targets “satellite families” who earn more than half their income offshore.

Citing the work of former SFU prof. Josh Gordon , Vis recognizes many immigrants, especially professionals, who buy houses in Canada are doing so with equity from their homelands. “I don’t blame them for that,” he said, “but for Canadian citizens, it’s another stoke in the fire” of unaffordability.

To be clear, it is not only Trudeau who has been painfully lacklustre on housing. As UBC prof. Paul Kershaw, founder of Generation Squeeze, said Wednesday, Canadians are now hearing a lot about our inflation woes.

“But it’s surprising that this story is only just taking centre stage when rampant inflation to the largest expense faced by all Canadians — housing — has been the norm for the last 20 years.” Since 2000, he said, average home prices have risen by a “whopping 318 per cent.”

Still, Trudeau, now in his seventh year in power, took until last September’s election to construct his apparent wall of housing pledges. And, unlike the possible tax on non-resident owners, his other verbal commitments are not yet even possible bills.

When Postmedia asked Housing Minister Ahmed Hussen this week about the party’s vows, his media official responded with what has to be called more verbiage, saying the minister recognizes “the dream of home ownership has become out of reach for far too many Canadians.” Hussen was doing all he could to “consult” and “work with every tool” to bring about affordability. No legislative deadlines were offered.

Nevertheless, despite what often seems a Liberal haze of smoke and mirrors, the party keeps winning minority governments by snagging one-third of the popular vote, in part on the strength of Trudeau’s so-far hollow housing promises.

His election machine capped off the September vote by grabbing all but a handful of the 79 ridings in Greater Toronto and Metro Vancouver, where housing costs have long been the worst, not only in Canada, but in much of the world.

Go figure.

[email protected]

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

TD announces major hiring spree

Kevin Orland
other

2,000 are set to come onboard in tussle for talent

 Toronto-Dominion Bank plans to hire more than 2,000 technology workers this year, more than six times the number added last year, pitting the lender against fintech firms in the war for talent.

The hires come as the bank works to become more digitally focused, according to a statement Wednesday, and follow the 300-plus technology roles added in 2021. Toronto-Dominion declined to say how much it’s planning to spend on the hires.

The pandemic accelerated efforts by the Toronto-based company to shift to an operating model that’s more tech-centric so innovations can be quickly introduced to staff and customers, said Greg Keeley, senior executive vice president for platforms and technology.

That’s increased the need for workers skilled in cloud-computing, artificial intelligence and agile project-management — and has put the bank in competition with tech giants, start-ups and fintechs for that talent, he said.

“We’ve recognized that, as the market evolves, as the expectations of our customers evolve, our capabilities need to evolve as well,” Keeley said in an interview.

The bank, which has operations across Canada and along the US East Coast, is looking to add the workers throughout its geographic footprint, he said. The bank has partnerships with universities and organizations such as the Ontario Network of Women in Engineering and the Black Professionals in Tech Network to help with recruitment and ensure diversity in hiring, he said.

Toronto-Dominion also is working to train its current workers on the needed skills, and sees that emphasis on developing existing talent as part of its allure to recruits, Keeley said. He estimates that talent takes up about 30% of his time, and expects his division’s leaders to allocate the same amount of their time to the effort as well.

“It’s a war on talent, but we think we have a differentiating model,” Keeley said. “We’re not going after just the traditional players, we’re going after the modern talent too.”

The bank said in a separate statement that it’s starting a new Equity, Diversity & Inclusion platform to ensure different perspectives and experiences are reflected in the development of its products and services.

 

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

Bank of Canada makes benchmark rate announcement

Fergal McAlinden
other

All eyes have been on the Bank in recent weeks amid speculation of an impending rate increase

 The Bank of Canada has once again stayed the course on its benchmark policy rate, announcing no change to that key rate in its first announcement of the year – but acknowledging that interest rates “will need to increase.”

The central bank said that it was keeping its policy rate steady at 0.25%, belying some economists’ predictions of a January rate hike, but also indicated that it would soon end its commitment to hold its policy rate at the effective lower bound.

While consumer price inflation (CPI) reached its highest level in Canada since 1991 last month, the announcement signals that the Bank is also keeping a watchful eye on the Omicron variant of COVID-19 sweeping the country.

December’s annual inflation of 4.8% represented a 30-year high, according to figures released by Statistics Canada, but the country’s economy also continues to be significantly affected by business closures and other restrictions because of Omicron.

Read next: When will the Bank of Canada raise interest rates?

Still, the Bank sounded a relatively positive note on the Omicron front, saying that it expected it to have milder economic downsides than previous waves of COVID-19.

“The Omicron variant is weighing on activity in the first quarter,” the Bank said in its announcement. “While its economic impact will depend on how quickly this wave passes, it is expected to be less severe than previous waves.

“Economic growth is then expected to bounce back and remain robust over the projection horizon, led by consumer spending on services, and supported by strength in exports and business investment.”

The Bank addressed inflation concerns in its statement, noting that core measures had edged up since October and CPI inflation was “well above” its target range – but also indicating that it expected inflation to “decline reasonably quickly” to about 3% by the end of the year.

“Near-term inflation expectations have moved up, but longer-run expectations remain anchored on the 2% target,” it said. “The Bank will use its monetary policy tools to ensure that higher near-term inflation expectations do not become embedded in ongoing inflation.”

Some economists had expected the inflation issue to push the Bank into hiking its benchmark rate in today’s statement, marking the first of several rate increases over the course of the year.

Read next: Rate hikes, inflation to weigh heavily on household finances – poll

Silvana Dimino, a New York-based economist at J.P. Morgan, said in a note to clients this month that as many as five rate hikes were possible in 2022, with those moves set to push the benchmark rate to 1.5% by the end of the year.

That view was bolstered by employment statistics that saw 54,700 new jobs added to the national economy in December, according to Statistics Canada, far surpassing experts’ predictions of a 25,000 increase that month.

However, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal highlighted the dilemma facing the Bank in an interview with BNN Bloomberg, noting that it was caught between pandemic concerns and the wishes of the business community.

“We are in the middle of the winter. Omicron is still with us. It will be with us throughout the winter. So if you’re the Bank of Canada, do you want to start raising interest rates in the middle of this madness?” he said. “At the same time, the business community is telling you to start moving.”

The Bank of Canada’s next announcement on its policy interest rate is scheduled to take place on March 02, with its next full outlook for the economy and inflation pencilled in for April 13.

 

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

Vancouver population decreases for first time in 45 years

Ryan Garner
Livabl

 Reflecting similar situations in Toronto and Montreal, Vancouver saw its population drop last year as people increasingly left the city for surrounding areas in search of affordable housing.

According to estimates by Statistics Canada, after rising from 664,156 to 700,015 between 2016 and 2020, Vancouver’s population decreased for the first time in 45 years during 2021. It dipped 6,780 for a total of 693,325.

Nearly two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, the population shifts reflect changing priorities as Canadians turn away from major cities, seeking more space to work from home or start a family.

Increased demand for single-family homes and reduced affordability has sent buyers searching for properties in the Fraser Valley. This is away from Vancouver’s higher prices and limited supply.

Surrey led British Columbia in population growth last year. It added 13,004 new residents for a total population to 614,600. Langley welcomed 4,702 newcomers to reach 166,400.

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Housing affordability played a key role in the population shift. The benchmark price for a single-family detached home in the Fraser Valley reached $1,500,000 by the end of 2021. That’s an increase of  39 per cent year-over-year. It is still well below Vancouver’s mark of $1,910,200.

Similarly, Fraser Valley townhouses and apartments reported benchmarks of $765,800 and $549,200. That’s significantly lower than $1,004,900 and $761,800 in Vancouver.

Home construction also reflects a push east across the Lower Mainland. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reports that 5,819 units began construction in Surrey during 2021, outpacing Vancouver (5,464) by six per cent.

Low housing inventory

However, the entire region continues to experience record low inventory. There’s an imbalance of supply and demand. New construction projects have experienced delays due to supply chain issues, labour shortages and red tape.

“Supply of housing in Metro Vancouver has fallen to record low levels and, due primarily to local governments, construction of new homes is not keeping pace with the current population,” said Kevin Skipworth, partner and chief economist at Dexter Realty.

Vancouver’s housing starts mix included 567 single-family houses, 370 townhouses, 103 rowhouses, and 4,410 apartments. Surrey reported 800 single-family houses, 22 townhouses, 1,097 rowhouses, and 3,900 apartments.

It remains to be seen if Vancouver’s population will decrease in 2022. The lack of housing supply is expected to keep upward pressure on prices. This will reduce  affordability and force first-time buyers to look elsewhere if they hope to enter the market.

“A fundamental flaw in the Metro Vancouver and many other real estate markets that we are experiencing right now is a significant lack of homes,” Skipworth said. “Demand side measures clearly are not the long-term answer. At some point there needs to be real effort to increase supply and allow it to be increased in a meaningful way.”

 

© 2020 BuzzBuzzHome Corp.

Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market continued its recovery in the third quarter of 2021

REBGV Staff
REBGV

The increased activity seen in the Lower Mainland’s commercial real estate market in the first half of 2021 carried into the third quarter (Q3) of the year across all categories.

There were 640 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, a 64.1 per cent increase from the 390 sales in Q3 2020, according to data from Commercial Edge, a commercial real estate system operated by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland was $3.250 billion in Q3 2021, a 30.7 per cent increase from $2.487 billion in Q3 2020.

“Commercial real estate activity recovered steadily in the first three quarters of 2021 against 2020 levels as consumer and business confidence returned from the initial uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic caused,” Keith Stewart, REBGV economist said. “In particular, the strength of land acquisition activity points to new development interest across the region.”

Q3 2021 activity by category

Land: There were 228 commercial land sales in Q3 2021, which is a 137.5 per cent increase from 96 land sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of land sales was $1.839 billion in Q3 2021, a 15.5 per cent increase from $1.592 billion in Q3 2020.

Office and Retail: There were 235 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is up 42.4 per cent from 165 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $489 million in Q3 2021, a 41.7 per cent increase from $345 million in Q3 2020.

Industrial: There were 153 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is a 43 per cent increase from 107 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of industrial sales was $544 million in Q3 2021, a 116.7 per cent increase from $251 million in Q3 2020.

Multi-Family: There were 24 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is up 9.1 per cent from 22 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $378 million in Q3 2021, a 26.4 per cent increase from $299 million in Q3 2020.

Download the Q3 2021 Commercial Stats Package

Craig Munn

Director, Communication

Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver

604-730-3146

[email protected]

© 2022 REBGV

 

British Columbia housing market what cooling off legislation could mean

Fergal McAlinden
other

 

The provincial government has proposed new measures aimed at protecting consumers’ rights in the buying process

 As Canada’s housing and mortgage markets heated up to unprecedented levels throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the most notable side effects was the growing prevalence of condition-free offers.

Feverish competition and madcap bidding wars have led many would-be buyers to submit offers without having secured financing, a trend that shows no sign of slowing down with demand set to remain fierce throughout the country for the year ahead.

In British Columbia – one of the country’s two busiest markets, alongside Ontario – the provincial government has recently taken steps to address the frenzied housing situation, announcing its intention to introduce legislation this year that would allow buyers to back out of a sale during a “cooling-off” period.

“People looking to buy a home need to know they are protected as they make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives,” said the province’s finance minister, Selina Robinson, in announcing the proposal.

“Especially in periods of heightened activity in the housing market, it’s crucial that we have effective measures in place so that people have the peace of mind that they’ve made the right choices.”

With the legislation unlikely to arrive until this spring at the earliest, the precise steps it will take to change the current system are still unclear.

Read next: The problem with subject-free offers

However, while the move is broadly intended to provide greater protection for consumers in the purchasing process, some have suggested it has the potential to inadvertently stoke the red-hot BC housing market even further.

Jason Henneberry (pictured top), president of financing firm Fundible, told Canadian Mortgage Professional that he had held discussions with many realtors who felt it could complicate the buying stage and make it more difficult to determine the merits of different offers – particularly if buyers no longer feel it’s necessary to show that they have prearranged finance.

“What a lot of realtors think is… if you can walk away from a purchase for any reason, then you no longer really need to put conditions in there. And so, everybody has the right to walk away,” he said.

“Then what happens is, it becomes more challenging for the listing realtor to make sense of the quality of the offer that they’re receiving.”

If buyers are no longer able to differentiate their offer from the others by having to show financing conditions, Henneberry said, that could lead to bidders either increasing the purchase price of the offer or increasing the size of their down payment – with already sky-high house prices set to climb even further as a result.

Fundible was launched in Alberta and Ontario at the end of November to address some of the current issues in the buying process, offering guaranteed financing so that would-be buyers can write a purchase offer without having a prior financing condition in place.

Read next: Intensified demand propelling Vancouver housing sector

That reflects the company’s belief that lenders have been slow to react and adjust to the fact that condition-free offers have become increasingly commonplace among buyers in the Canadian housing market.

“The lending community hasn’t caught up to buyer behaviour because the process is backwards, and just hasn’t evolved yet,” Henneberry explained.

 “What Fundible does is it takes the underwriting of a buyer and a property and puts its ahead of the purchase contract, whereas traditionally lenders want to see a firm purchase agreement before they spend money, time and resources to underwrite.”

The company enables its realtor partners and their clients to stipulate in the purchase offer that it’s been certified by Fundible, Henneberry said, making it clear that the funding has already been guaranteed.

That means that even in a case where buyers aren’t required to disclose whether they have conditions of financing on an offer, the presence of Fundible certification can help differentiate a particular offer from another.

The company expects its expansion in 2022 to continue, although it’s holding fire on making its first foray into the BC market as it waits to see what form the provincial government’s cooling-off legislation will take.

“We’re just holding back on BC until we fully understand exactly what that new policy and rescission-period legislation looks like,” Henneberry said. “We want to make sure that when we come to market in BC, we’ve kind of tailored the product so that it works as well as possible with that legislation.”

 

Copyright © 1996-2022 Key Media, Inc.

Reliance Properties joins in billion-dollar Colwood build

WI Staff with Times Colonist
Western Investor

Vancouver developer joint ventures with Seacliff Properties on 130-acre waterfront community with 2,850 homes and a commercial core

Vancouver developer joint ventures with Seacliff Properties on 130-acre waterfront community with 2,850 homes and a commercial core

Vancouver’s Reliance Properties has inked a 50-50 joint-venture agreement with Seacliff Properties for the $1.2 billion build out of a massive mixed-use master planned waterfront development in Colwood, B.C., a West Shore community a 15-minute drive from Victoria.

“We are thrilled to partner with Seacliff to develop Royal Beach, which will be our first project on Vancouver Island that is outside of Downtown Victoria,” said Jon Stovell, president and CEO of Reliance Properties, which is developing in both Victoria and Vancouver, including the Burrard Place tower project, a joint venture with the Jim Pattison Group.

 “This is our company’s first joint venture,” said Georgia Desjardins, director of development of Seacliff Properties during a press conference at the site on January 24. “Royal Beach presents a unique opportunity to develop the last significant waterfront lands in Colwood, creating a new local, regional, and national destination.”

Colwood’s development deal with Seacliff Properties to build 2,850 homes at Royal Beach — a plan that includes 50 acres of parks and 1.4 kilometres of ocean shoreline — is a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for any city,” said Colwood Mayor Rob Martin.

“We’re not building piecemeal but with a master plan and a vision of how this community will operate over the next 100 years,” Martin said in an earlier interview with the Times Colonist.

For more than 100 years, the site was a rock and gravel mine, one of the region’s largest employers. It ceased operations in 2008. Seacliff bought the site in 2017, and after years of planning and public consultation, the City of Colwood adopted a new Sub-Area Plan and zoning bylaw for Royal Beach last year.

“Other seaside communities in B.C., like Coal Harbour and Olympic Village, were industrial sites that became coveted, world-class communities in which to live, work, play and visit,” said Desjardins. “Royal Beach will be Vancouver Island’s most distinct waterfront community.”

 The first phase of construction will start this  spring with the construction of a new intersection at the site’s entrance at Metchosin and Latoria roads.

 A village plaza will be built at the heart of the waterfront area as part of the first phase. It will provide space for restaurants, seating, public art and cultural activities, with connections to a waterfront park and beach activities.

The Creekside Trail will provide public access from Metchosin Road to the plaza and shoreline.

“The biggest part of [Royal Beach] is the park system,” said Martin. “It’s 50 acres and the entire waterfront is public realm, for the people to enjoy.”

Royal Beach is adjacent to ongoing Royal Bay development by GableCraft Homes, which covers the largest part of the former quarry. GableCraft is building and selling homes at a rate of about 10 per month.

Royal Bay contains approximately 300,000 square feet of commercial space that will include a 10,000-square-foot Quality Foods store as well as a liquor store and bank.

The province has invested $150 million to build a 200,000-square-foot facility for the Royal B.C. Museum’s archives and collections at the site.

Another 90 acres in the former gravel pit will contain industrial buildings. An 80,000-square-foot warehouse for Seaspan and Victoria Shipyards is going up there, and Martin said announcements on new tenants are expected.

The Capital Regional District’s growth strategy identifies Colwood as a centre for urban growth and densification. Its population is currently projected to increase by approximately 30 per cent by 2038 as one of the fastest-growing regions on Vancouver Island.

© 2022 Western Investor

Commercial real estate sales click over $1 billon a month in Lower Mainland

Frank O’Brien
Western Investor

Third-quarter 2021 transactions were up 64 per cent from a year earlier with land sales leading the curve

 Sold September 20 2021 as a 15,000-square-foot land development deal, 1290 Hornby Street, Vancouver, was bought by Wall Financial for $45 million. Colliers Canada.

Third-quarter 2021 transactions were up 64 per cent from a year earlier with land sales leading the curve

Led by land sales, commercial real estate transactions during a three-month period in 2021 hit $3.25 billion as third-quarter (Q3) sales surged 64.1 per cent from the same period a year earlier, according to the Commercial Edge report from the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

The $1.89 billion in land purchases dominated the action, and land sales continued to roar into the fourth quarter.

In November and December, two of the biggest land deals of 2021 closed in Metro Vancouver: the more-than- $300 million purchase of  27  acres near the Olympic Oval in Richmond, and a $155 million deal for a 14 acres along the Lougheed Highway in Burnaby.

“The strength of land acquisition activity points to new development interest across the region,” said Keith Stewart, REBGV economist..

“Commercial real estate activity recovered steadily in the first three quarters of 2021 against 2020 levels as consumer and business confidence returned from the initial uncertainty that the COVID-19 pandemic caused,” he added.

There were 640 commercial real estate sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, up from the 390 sales in Q3 2020, according to data from Commercial Edge. The total dollar value of commercial real estate sales in Q3 2021 increased 30.7 per cent from $2.487 billion in Q3 2020.

Commercial Edge data includes all commercial real estate transactions in the Lower Mainland of B.C. that have been registered with the Land Title and Survey Authority of British Columbia. It does not include share-sale transactions as they are not registered with the Land Title and Survey Authority.

Q3 2021 commercial real estate activity by category:

Land: There were 228 commercial land sales in Q3 2021, which is a 137.5 per cent increase from 96 land sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of land sales was $1.839 billion in Q3 2021, a 15.5 per cent increase from $1.592 billion in Q3 2020.

Office and retail: There were 235 office and retail sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is up 42.4 per cent from 165 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of office and retail sales was $489 million in Q3 2021, a 41.7 per cent increase from $345 million in Q3 2020.

Industrial: There were 153 industrial land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is a 43 per cent increase from 107 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of industrial sales was $544 million in Q3 2021, a 116.7 per cent increase from $251 million in Q3 2020.

Multi-family: There were 24 multi-family land sales in the Lower Mainland in Q3 2021, which is up 9.1 per cent from 22 sales in Q3 2020. The dollar value of multi-family sales was $378 million in Q3 2021, a 26.4 per cent increase from $299 million in Q3 2020.

 

© 2022 Western Investor