Vancouver home prices fall for fifth consecutive month
OTTAWA — Homes prices edged down 0.2 per cent in February from the month before but were still 6.1 per cent higher than a year ago, according to a well-watched housing index.
The month-over-month decline was the third such retreat in the past four months for the Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index, released Wednesday, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes.
In January, prices rose 0.1 per cent.
Teranet's report showed prices falling from the previous month in six of the 11 metropolitan markets surveyed.
In Canada's two hottest real-estate markets, prices in Vancouver fell 0.3 per cent, the fifth consecutive decline, while prices in Toronto rose by just 0.1 per cent. On a yearly basis, however, Toronto prices were 10 per cent higher.
Nationally, prices were 6.1 per cent higher than a year ago. In January, prices were 6.5 per cent higher.
The data is likely to show up on the radar of Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney, who has repeatedly warned that Canadians are piling on too much debt as they buy homes whose prices keep rising.
At a House of Commons finance committee meeting Tuesday, Carney warned that house prices in relation to income levels are now running 35 per cent above historical norms.
Last week, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported that seasonally adjusted sales in March rose 1.6 per cent from year-earlier levels, although the national average home price declined 0.5 per cent to to $369,677.
"It is a fact that according to CREA (the Canadian Real Estate Association) data for March, five of the 11 markets covered were rather favourable to sellers (Toronto, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Halifax and Quebec City). Overall, the Canadian market is nevertheless balanced," said National Bank senior economist Marc Pinsonneault.
Metropolitan area % change m/m / % change y/y
Calgary / -0.6 % / +1.3 %
Edmonton / -1.0 % / +1.1 %
Halifax / +0.4 % / +2.3 %
Hamilton / -0.8 % / +7.5 %
Montreal / +0.2 % / +4.4 %
Ottawa / -0.4 % / +4.6 %
Quebec / +1.6 % / +5.6 %
Toronto / 0.1 % / +10.0 %
Vancouver / -0.3 % / +6.2 %
Victoria / -1.1 % / -1.7 %
Winnipeg / +0.2 % / +8.2 %
National Composite / -0.2 % / +6.1 %
Source: Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index
Sales activity reported for the Whistler and Pemberton areas for the first three quarters of this year indicates a strong increase in the interest in real estate purchases as compared to the same period in the previous two years. All categories, other than single-family building lots, showed significant increases in unit sales volume as compared to the first three quarters of last year. Sales values continue to consolidate as the lack of buyer urgency and historically high number of properties offered continue to affect price negotiation.
However, as price normally follows volume in our marketplace, the increasing levels of transactions indicate that further market-wide decline in value is unlikely. The current average sales value of a single-family home (after adjusting for outliers) is $1,295,600. For condominium hotels the average sales value is $325,000; for townhomes $649,000 and for quarter-shares $129,730. Single-family lots continue to lack sufficient sales to present a reliable picture of value trends.
Buyers of Whistler properties continue to focus on family orientated properties that they can use immediately, are in good repair, have quality construction, and have low annual ownership costs.
As lifestyle considerations are the primary motivation for the purchase decision, it is just as important to sell the experience of Whistler as it is to sell the features of the home.
The Pemberton market activity continues to be affected by the large amount of employee-orientated housing provided in the last two years in Whistler, although more rural properties and acreages continue to attract interest from both Whistler and Vancouver residents. The average sales volume in the area of a single family home is $473,800; a condominiums is $220,000; and a townhouse is $305,000. Pemberton continues to offer the best prices for a homebuyer in the Sea to Sky corridor.
Whistler Market statistics are heavily influenced by 'outliers' in activity that occur either in the bottom five or top five per cent of represented values. For the purpose of this article, the outliers have been removed from the analysis to give a better description of the general market.
Submitted by Pat Kelly, Broker/President, The Whistler Real Estate Co Ltd.
Greater Vancouver housing market sees typical spring activity in April
VANCOUVER, B.C. – May 3, 2011 – Greater Vancouver saw a typical, solid month of residential home sales on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in April, in contrast to the near record pace witnessed in the two preceding months.
The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver reached 3,225 in April 2011, an 8.2 per cent decrease compared to the 3,512 sales in April 2010 and a 21 per cent decline compared to the 4,080 sales in March 2011.
Looking back further, last month’s residential sales represent an 8.8 per cent increase over the 2,963 residential sales in April 2009, relatively unchanged compared to April 2008, and a 4.8 per cent decline compared to the 3,387 sales in April 2007.
“While it continues to be a seller’s market in Greater Vancouver, last month’s activity brought greater balance between supply and demand in the overall marketplace,” Rosario Setticasi, REBGV president said. “The year-over-year decline in April sales can be attributed to a less active condominium market on our MLS®, as there were more detached and townhome sales this April compared to last year.”
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,847 in April 2011. This represents a 23.5 per cent decline compared to April 2010 when 7,648 properties were listed for sale on the MLS®, which was an all-time record for April. Compared to March 2011, last month’s new listings total registered a 14 per cent decline.
At 14,187, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 8.2 per cent in April compared to last month and declined 10 per cent from this time last year.
“There’s considerable variation in activity within the communities in our region. This is causing home price trends to differ depending on the area,” Setticasi said. “Your local REALTOR® is a valuable resource for obtaining the most accurate, up-todate market evaluation.”
The MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver over the last 12 months has increased 5 per cent to $622,991 in April 2011 from $593,419 in April 2010.
Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in April 2011 reached 1,402, an increase of 2.3 per cent from the 1,370 detached sales recorded in April 2010, and a 17.8 per cent increase from the 1,190 units sold in April 2009. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 7.4 per cent from April 2010 to $879,039.
Sales of apartment properties reached 1,201 in April 2011, a 21.3 per cent decrease compared to the 1,526 sales in April 2010, and an increase of 1.9 per cent compared to the 1,179 sales in April 2009. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.9 per cent from April 2010 to $409,242.
Attached property sales in April 2011 totalled 622, a 1 per cent increase compared to the 616 sales in April 2010, and a 4.7 per cent increase from the 594 attached properties sold in April 2009. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 2.4 per cent between April 2010 and 2011 to $514,670.
Troubled development went into receivership in December, records show
West Vancouver's troubled Evelyn development is up for sale.
A Supreme Court order to place the property into receivership was made in December after the developer, Millennium Evelyn Properties Ltd., defaulted on a $72 million mortgage. Now creditors are awaiting its sale to collect their debts. That court decision had been sealed until earlier this week.
The Sentinel Hill development has been appraised at $100 million, but David Bowra, president of the Bowra Group, the newly appointed receiver for the property, said he's not sure how much it will actually sell for.
"I have no idea what it's worth; it's worth what someone will pay for it," said Bowra.
"I mean, it's a big chunk of real estate and it's a lot of money. There are probably a fairly limited number of people who could acquire a piece of property like that. And it's not just acquiring the property, it's developing it as well."
The City of Vancouver, which is owed money from Millennium Development Corp.'s Olympic Village project, is listed as one of the charge holders against Evelyn, but Bowra couldn't confirm whether or not the city will receive any money.
"I don't know if they're actually owed money or if their mortgage has been assigned, but . . . there are a lot of other people who would have to get paid ahead of them," he said.
As for the buyers who have pre-purchased 31 of Evelyn's 109 condominium units, their money is safe in a lawyers' trust, according to Bowra. And while they're free to get it back, most of them appear to want to see the project through, he said.
"The vast majority . . . are still very interested in buying a unit in the development; I think the number I heard was 80 per cent," he said.
"I'd like to think in the next 30 to 60 days, we'll have some definitive news for them, one way or another."
The District of West Vancouver is also eager to see the long-awaited project get rolling.
"I think the receiver, his job will be to deal with the property very quickly, as quickly as possible. So that, I would say, bodes well for moving ahead," said Geri Boyle, manager of community planning for the municipality.
"The community worked hard to come up with an agreement working with a developer and I think they've been disappointed to see it sit as sort of a construction site for so long."
In response to Millennium's claims that municipal approvals took longer to achieve than anticipated and "land lenders lost patience with the long process," Boyle partially agreed.
"It was a complicated process, certainly getting through the zoning probably took longer than they anticipated," she said.
No building permits have been issued to date, but if a new developer were to buy the property they could proceed under the approved master plan.
Millennium Development Corp. is behind both the Evelyn Drive project and the Olympic Village development, which is also in receivership. The latter first ran into problems when its financial backer, Fortress Investment Group, pulled out in 2008 and was replaced by the City of Vancouver. The city has yet to recover its $740-million loan.
Real estate market calm expected to follow hectic 2010 in Metro Vancouver
Home sales forecast to increase modestly across B.C. as prices stabilize
VANCOUVER - If there's one sentence to sum up B.C.'s real estate picture in 2011, it's probably "Let's take a breather."
While Metro Vancouver prices rose fairly sharply over the past year, the same wasn't true in the Interior and other parts of the province where prices were flat and sales stalled.
A combination of low interest rates, relatively stable prices throughout the province and a gradually improving economy helped by the 2010 Winter Olympics brought buyers -- especially first-time buyers -- back into the market after a recessionary slump.
Those conditions are expected to continue in 2011, although interest rates are predicted to gradually rise.
That may keep a lid on housing prices, which are also expected to rise a bit, although less than in 2010.
However, there will be no repeat of 2010's price bump.
"When you look at 2010, we saw fewer sales than 2009 [across B.C.]," Cameron Muir, chief economist for the B.C. Real Estate Association, said in an interview. "Since [July], we've seen a modest increase in consumer demand."
Muir said he expects the province will see that continue into 2011, although the sales numbers aren't expected to post any records or rise above the 10-year average.
"I'd expect housing sales to be around 80,000 to 82,000 units in 2011. We're likely to see a six-to seven-per-cent increase in housing sales this year compared to last year."
Muir said job growth and rising incomes will underpin demand, although higher interest rates in the second half of the year will partly offset the benefits of more economic activity.
"There will be a much more gradual increase in consumer demand and less volatility. There will be more stable market conditions this year."
Robyn Adamache, senior market analyst for Metro Vancouver with Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., said in an interview that she doesn't see any huge changes this year over 2010.
"We're expecting a slight increase in sales, about five to six per cent, for 2011.
"For 2010, we were around 31,000 sales.
"For 2011, we're expecting 33,000 sales."
However, Adamache said Metro Vancouver should see much less price growth in 2011.
"In 2010, we saw a 14-percent increase in prices.
"We're calling for a three-percent increase in 2011."
Adamache said she expects that mortgage rates will creep up later in 2011, although not dramatically. "So, that will put a bit of a damper on sales."
Tsur Somerville, director of the centre for urban economics and real estate at the University of B.C.'s Sauder School of Business, said he doesn't like forecasting the future, but nevertheless believes that 2011's real estate picture will be largely determined by the speed of the recovery and the Bank of Canada's action on interest rates -- and how that reflects on mortgage rates.
Ron Antalek, a realtor with ReMax Ridge Meadows Realty, said in an interview that he's seeing an uptick in buyers who believe interest rates are heading north.
He believes there will be a modest increase in both pricing and demand this year.
"The vast majority of buyers are convinced that prices won't decline and that interest rates will rise.
"So, they feel their investment is safe.
"Sales are picking up." Mike McDougall recently took possession of a new detached home in Maple Ridge after moving to B.C. from Alberta.
"Hopefully, it was a good time to purchase," McDougall said in an interview.
"From what I hear, it was. I think there's still potential for rates to go up."
McDougall, who moved into his new home on Jan. 12 with his wife and two small children, said he was also comfortable with the price he paid.
A prominent Chinese-Canadian fears his ethnic community is being unfairly tarnished by the protest of Asian condominium owners against a proposed hospice at the University of B.C.
“People are afraid that the entire Chinese community is being painted as uncaring and afraid of a facility that would provide good for the entire community,” said Tung Chan, former CEO of the Vancouver-based immigrant services group Success.
Dozens of Asian residents in an upscale condominium highrise on the UBC campus are protesting a proposal to build a hospice next door, near Thunderbird Stadium.
The ethnic Chinese homeowners have complained that proximity to death brings bad luck in their cultural tradition. They also fear the hospice could lower their property values.
Chan’s comments were echoed on Sunday by several Asian UBC residents interviewed by The Vancouver Sun on the campus.
Most did not want to be named, for fear of causing friction among neighbours, but most agreed the controversy is painting the entire ethnic community in a bad light.
Stanley Hee said the condominium residents opposing the hospice are a relatively small group. “We don’t have this strong feeling about that,” Hee said. “They say there are some cultural differences, but I don’t think so. That’s not a good reason [not to build the hospice]; I don’t agree with that.”
Like Chan, Hee and the other residents said they feel the objections are a classic not-in-my-backyard response, similar to the response to proposed recovery houses or homeless shelters in other neighbourhoods.
Some of those surveyed said they felt there were better — more peaceful and scenic — locations for the hospice, but were not opposed to its being on campus.
Chan said many Chinese-Canadians are worried the hospice protest will convince people that Asian immigrants are unwilling to accept the values of their adopted country.
“They fear that people would then say: ‘If that is what Chinese-Canadians believe, then they don’t fit into this society.’
“And that’s a shame.”
Chan said news reports about the “culture clash” behind the protest has “brought out negative comments towards our entire group.
“Whereas the protest only involves a small group of people and is based on Nimbyism. The Chinese community is much more diverse than that, and many Chinese are very supportive of hospice facilities.”
Chan believes the protest is more about economics than culture. “People take whatever excuse they can dream up and say that they don’t want it to be in their backyard.
“If it’s in someone else’s backyard, then it’s fine.”
Chan rejected the notion that being close to dying people is taboo in Chinese culture.
He said Success facilitates visits by volunteers to hospices. “We teach people how to deal with dying people in a more sensitive way.”
The hospice, proposed by the Order of St. John and the UBC faculty of medicine, would be a 15-bed palliative care facility operated by Vancouver Coastal Health.
The site near Thunderbird Stadium was selected after a four-year process — and is considered the best of 12 possible sites on campus because of the need to link with the UBC faculty of medicine for academic and research purposes.
“The integrated research component and the proximity to the UBC faculty of medicine provide a rare service to improving health services to the most vulnerable,” said Order of St. John spokesman Peter Hebb.
There is no other hospice on Vancouver’s west side that is physically separate from a hospital, he added.
Hebb declined to discuss the protest by condo owners.
Joe Stott, director of campus and community planning at UBC, said a plan to bring the hospice proposal to the UBC board of governors in February has been postponed due to a request from the University Neighbourhood Association, for more consultation.
Average BC home price hits record high of $505,178 in 2010 BCREA: Sales fell 12%
VANCOUVER - The average price for a home in British Columbia reached a record high of $505,178 in 2010, the B.C. Real Estate Association says.
Home sales fell 12 per cent last year to 74,640.
The BCREA cited fewer active listings and increased consumer demand in a news release this morning.
"Tighter credit conditions and expended pent-up demand curbed home sales during the first half of 2010,” Cameron Muir, BCREA chief economist, said in the release.
“However, low mortgage interest rates and improved economic conditions buoyed home sales in the latter half of the year.”
"The inventory of homes for sale peaked at 53,375 units in May before declining 14 per cent to 46,000 units by December,” added Muir. “The combination of fewer active listings and increased consumer demand has improved market conditions in many areas."
Below is the district-by-district breakdown of average home prices in BC:
BC Northern: 192,971, down 5.8 % Chilliwack: 264,266, down 13.8% Fraser Valley: 444,258, down 0.5% Greater Vancouver: 700,773, up 11.7% Kamloops: 288,009, down 5.5 % Kootenay: 256,013, down 8.4% Northern Lights: 175,403, down 19.5% Okanagan Mainline: 393,512, down 3.6% Powell River: 275,732, up 19.8% South Okanagan: 282,308, down 19.3% South Okanagan: 282,308, down 19.3% Victoria: 496,814, down 4.9%
Greater Victoria single-family house assessments are expected to climb from 1.3 per cent in Langford to 12.6 per cent in Sidney, says a company that crunches B.C. real estate data.
The predicted numbers were calculated by Landcor Data Corp. of New Westminster. B.C. Assessment will release official figures on Dec. 31.
B.C.'s real estate market is "still pretty stable," Rudy Nielsen, Landcor president, said Friday. "I predict sales of $48 billion for B.C. this year. Last year, we were at about the same. B.C. is holding its own. Best year we have ever seen was 2007 with $64 billion."
Many factors can influence assessments. If a large number of similar new housing units is developed, particularly over a number of years, that tends to balance out percentage increases, Landcor said. In Langford, for example, builders have been busy in recent years putting together large small-lot subdivisions.
Compare that to long-established and smaller Sidney which has not seen the same boom in housing construction.
Like B.C. Assessment, Landcor numbers refer to assessed values of properties as of July 1, so they do not necessarily reflect a property's current market value. The percentage difference compares 2010 with 2009.
To determine values, a range of criteria is used such as location, nearby sales, a home's age, quality, condition, recent improvements, finish and more.
In Greater Victoria, the average sale price for a single-family house was $636,634 in November, with a median of $530,000.
Landcor forecasts that the city of Victoria will see assessments rise by 12 per cent for single-family homes, and by 2.4 per cent for condominiums.
If a community has a high number of condos available for sale, that would tend to limit percentage changes, Landcor said. The capital region experienced a boom in multi-family construction before the recession hit in the fall of 2008.
Lake Cowichan's assessments are predicted to drop the most on the Island, by 28.5 per cent. That community has lacked a major employer since the Youbou mill closed in 2001.
Around B.C., upscale West Vancouver will likely have the largest percentage increase for detached houses, at 27.7 per cent, Landcor predicts.
John Barry, B.C. Assessment's communications manager, said assessments covering 1.9 million properties, will be mailed Dec. 31. People who signed up for electronic delivery could receive notices that day.
B.C. Assessment's website (bcassessment.bc.ca) will start showing assessments Jan. 1 to 3, allowing property owners to see basic information, he said.
Assessment notices include a personal access number allowing property owners to go online to obtain detailed information on up to eight properties. A wide range of information relating to the latest assessments will also be posted on the website.
SALES on the troubled Evelyn Living project in West Vancouver have been suspended after financial backers filed to push the developers into receivership last week.
"For the time being, sales are suspended," said Lesli Boldt, a spokeswoman representing Rennie Marketing, the company that has been conducting pre-sales for the luxury development project.
Boldt said the real estate company has got in contact with the 31 buyers who have put down deposits and informed them about the court action. She said the deposits have been kept in a trust account and "are safe."
Last week, financial backers of the project including Peoples Trust Company, bcIMC Construction Fund Corporation and bcIMC Specialty Fund Corporation filed petitions in B.C. Supreme Court seeking a declaration the developers have defaulted on their $75-million mortgage. In the lawsuit, the backers ask the court to appoint a receiver and grant an order giving the backers control over the property to recoup their loans.
Tsur Sommerville, director of the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at U.B.C.'s Sauder School of Business, said it's not clear yet what the receivership petition means to the future of the development, but "it's clearly a project that's in trouble."
Typically, a receiver will seek out a company that can take over the project the run it in the interests of the lenders. Usually that will mean proceeding with the project, but often dropping the price on the units to generate sales.
The first phase of the Evelyn project includes 109 units. But sales on the high-end units -- which range in price from $650,000 to $1 million -- have stalled in recent months.
Grant McRadu, chief administrative officer for the District of West Vancouver, said on Friday the municipality is aware of the petition filed by Millennium's backers, but hopes to see the development go ahead.
The financial problems with the are taking the troubled project in a new direction, as the owners go into receivership. “This agreement gives us stability,” said Vancouver city councillor Geoff Meggs.
“Now, the milestone payments don’t have to become a recurring crisis. If (the developer) lacks the capacity to pay each time, the damage to the asset will be greater, compared to an orderly approach.”
The City of Vancouver has negotiated an agreement with the owners of the Millennium Water development to put the project into receivership and hand over management to accounting firm Ernst and Young.
Millennium recently failed to make a scheduled loan payment, which raised serious concerns about how the company will pay back its loans on the $1 billion project.
In August, Millennium was supposed to make a $200-million payment, but the city received $192 million and by Sept. 20, a total of $197 had been received. The next payment of $75 million was due from Millennium in January.
“They were facing another deadline in 60 days, which was problematic,” said Meggs. “We always had the option to force them into receivership, but we decided to negotiate an agreement for consensual receivership.”
The owners of Millennium Southeast False Creek Properties, Shahram and Peter Malek, agreed to go into receivership to avoid pending legal action.
The city was preparing to go to the B.C. Supreme Court to petition Millennium into receivership. Receivership is a form of bankruptcy in which a company can avoid liquidation by reorganizing with the help of a court-appointed trustee.
There are a total of 1,108 units in the Millennium Water project. The marketing company hired by Millennium has managed to just sell 259 units out of 737 market sales units, about 35 per cent of the total. This number includes 223 pre-sales units that were sold last year.
The agreement allows the receiver to make immediate decisions about a new marketing strategy and is designed to secure the payment of about $740 million dollars that is still owed by Millennium to the City. The loan for construction represents about $560 million.
“First, we will sit down and produce a marketing plan that makes adjustments to price,” said Meggs “As part of the agreement, Millennium has pledged other types of security that will be used to close the gaps in the repayment program.”
According to Meggs, cutting prices could reduce the amount of revenue that was anticipated from the sale of the units and create a payment gap.
Almost half of the unsold units left on the market are priced at less than $1 million, but another 24 per cent of these units are priced between $1 million and $2 million. Twenty eight per cent cost more than $2 million. About 60 per cent of the 119 market rental units have been rented out.
The city is working with a non-profit housing operator to manage 252 social housing units.
New York-based Fortress Investment Group, which was the developer’s original lender, stopped financing the project.
This move forced the city to buy out the building loan to better control costs and finish in time for the 2010 Winter Games.
BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Chief Economist Cameron Muir discusses the October 2010 statistics and an in depth look at the BCREA Fall Housing Forecast.
VANCOUVER — Two local developers are proposing a landmark $500-million mixed-used project that would include a 48-storey residential tower just north of the Burrard Street Bridge.
The joint proposal by Jim Pattison Developments Ltd. and Reliance Properties Ltd., called the Burrard Gateway development, is one of the largest projects proposed for downtown Vancouver with the main tower 102 feet higher than is now allowed under existing city bylaws.
However, the site is one of six identified by the City of Vancouver where developments could potentially go higher than currently allowed if they add such amenities as significant architectural interest, a high degree of sustainability and not impact view corridors.
The six sites include three in the central business district, two near the north end of the Granville Street Bridge and one near the north end of the Burrard Street Bridge.
“We feel we’re delivering on the expectations set out by council,” Reliance Properties president Jon Stovell said Tuesday at a news conference held to release details of the 774,000 square-foot project, promoted as a significant gateway project on the Burrard Street corridor and a dramatic entrance to downtown Vancouver as people crest the Burrard Street bridge heading north. “The city has said that this and five other sites are suitable for this height.”
He said the project team will now submit a rezoning application to the City of Vancouver, with the public hearing process getting underway in the spring.
“This is the beginning of the process,” added Stovell, who believes the project could be finished by 2014 if it gets the go-ahead. “And we think there’s a lot of support. It’s of city-wide interest [and] we want to engage the public.”
Located on Burrard and Hornby streets, north of Drake Street, the rezoning would involve 23 separate city lots, 14 owned by Reliance Properties and nine owned by Jim Pattison Developments. The project would include a flagship “glass cube” Toyota dealership, replacing the one that’s now there.
As proposed, the development consists of three towers of 13, 36 and 48 storeys, another seven-storey residential/commercial building fronting on Hornby Street, a 50,000-square-foot three-storey Toyota dealership (including four levels of service facilities below ground) with a total space of more than 750,000 square feet. Uses would include market strata and rental housing, office and retail space, the Toyota dealership and several community amenities including a 5,200-square-foot daycare centre, a car-share program, parking for nearly 800 bikes, community gallery space, and money for rental housing in the Downtown Eastside.
There would be about 600 residential units in the project, designed to achieve LEED gold status with an emphasis on energy savings.
According to the proposal, the current height limit of 364 feet for the main tower would be increased to 466 feet — as tall as One Wall Centre — and the permitted floor space for the project increased from 379,500 square feet to 774,318 square feet.
Jim Pattison Auto Group president Bill Harbottle said the project would establish a new standard for auto dealerships. “This represents an opportunity to launch the next generation of urban automobile dealerships. It’s a vertical operation over seven floors, with a glass showroom.
“We believe it will be Toyota’s flagship location in North America.”
James Hancock, associate director of the project’s architect, IBI/HB Architects, said the project would be a “significant architectural development” that would become the “heart” of the local neighbourhood.
“The view corridor to the Lions has been respected.”
According to a City of Vancouver release, the proposal to allow higher buildings stems from a desire for more housing and job space in downtown Vancouver, along with public benefits.
The city said that while the buildings would be visible in the skyline, they would not impact protected public views of the mountains.
It said the proposal for higher buildings came forward in January 2010 after the Vancouver Views study concluded the public would accept a change as long as mountain views are maintained.
According to the developers, the rezoning process will involve public open house meetings, a public hearing with Vancouver City Council and review by Vancouver’s tall building design panel, including two internationally recognized architects from outside of Vancouver.
OTTAWA -- Canada's housing market should return to "more normal" conditions this fall following a summer slowdown, a report from real estate firm Re/Max said Tuesday.
The company, which overseas real estate agents throughout the country, said despite some improvement in the housing sector this fall, sales in most markets are unlikely to return to the brisk pace seen late last year.
Re/Max said the threat of higher interest rates, stricter mortgage regulations and new harmonized sales taxes in Ontario and British Columbia - elements commonly cited for recent sluggishness in residential real estate - had just a "nominal impact" on the housing market.
"Economic uncertainty played a much greater role on softer housing conditions over the summer months," the company said in a statement.
But despite slower overall sales in recent months, Re/Max said demand remained high for luxury homes. It said sales of "upper end" homes were up at least 20 year cent, year-to-date, as of August in all the 19 major markets it tracks.
For this period, Re/Max said home sales are up in more than half the markets, and prices have risen in all. The highest average home prices were seen in Vancouver ($667,227), Toronto ($430,055) and Victoria ($495,993).
Home values continued to edge upward in November as demand in the Greater Vancouver housing market remains well above seasonal norms.
Over the last 12 months, the MLSLink® Housing Price Index (HPI) benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver increased 12.4 per cent to $557,384 from $495,704 in November 2008. This price, however, remains down 1.9 per cent from the most recent high point in the market in May 2008 when the residential benchmark price sat at $568,411.
“This unseasonably high level of demand can be attributed in large part to low interest rates, but it also speaks to the diverse range of housing options available in Greater Vancouver,” Scott Russell, Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) president said. “Prospective homebuyers today have more options at different price levels than ever before."
The REBGV reports that residential property sales in November were the third highest volume ever recorded in Greater Vancouver for that month. Sales in the region totalled 3,083 in November 2009, an increase of 252.7 per cent compared to November 2008 when 874 sales were recorded and a 16.8 per cent decrease compared to the 3,704 sales recorded in October 2009.
“We are experiencing a brisker than normal market for this time of year, although we have begun to see a reduction in the number of homes listed for sale, which is normal as we head into the holiday season,” Russell said.
New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 3,653 in November 2009. This represents a 21.3 per cent increase compared to November 2008 when 3,012 new units were listed, and a 26.6 per cent decline compared to October 2009 when 4,977 properties were listed on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in Greater Vancouver.
At 11,039, the total number of property listings on the MLS® decreased 8.6 per cent in November compared to last month and declined 39 per cent from this time last year.
In contrast to this year, note that November 2008 was the lowest selling November in Greater Vancouver in 27 years.
Sales of detached properties increased 261.5 per cent to 1,164 from the 322 detached sales recorded during the same period in 2008. The benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for detached properties increased 13.6 per cent from November 2008 to $757,209.
Sales of apartment properties in November 2009 increased 240.5 per cent to 1,396 compared to 410 sales in November 2008. The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 11.6 per cent from November 2008 to $381,945.
Attached property sales in November 2009 are up 268.3 per cent to 523, compared with the 142 sales in November 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 10.2 per cent between Novembers 2008 and 2009 to $469,686.
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