Anna Asi, M.A.

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

Cat: Vancouver Real Estate

Vancouver Real Estate Market Monthly Newsletter by Anna Asi - March 2012

• Official Market Type Downtown: Sellers market with a 24% Sales Ratio translating to 1 in 4 homes selling
• Downtown is hot! Sales up 39% and Buyers paid 1.5% off list price on average keeping prices virtually unchanged
• Most Active Price Band +/- $1 mil: $300,000 to $400,000 with 2 in 5 homes selling; $1 to $1.25 mil with 1 in 5 homes selling
• Buyers Best Bet under $1 mil: Coal Harbour homes between $800,000 - $1 mil with 1 in 10 homes listed selling
• Hottest Neighbourhood: Yaletown with 3 in 10 homes selling

Vancouver West Side (House):

• Official Market Type Westside Detached: Balanced market with average 19% sales ratio (2 in 5 selling)
• Westside is feeling a spring chill. Sales & average sale price take a breather as Buyers also catch their breath slowing things
• Most Active Price Band: $1.25 to $1.5 mil (almost 50/50 selling); $2 to $2.25 mil (3.5 in 10 selling)
• Buyers Best Bet: Homes in Oakridge, SW Marine and Shaughnessy valued $3.5 mil and greater
• Sellers Best Bet: Homes to sell in Dunbar, Kitsilano, Southlands and University

Vancouver West Side (Apartment):

• Official Market Type Westside Attached: Balanced market continues with 2 in 10 homes selling
• Buyers are making Sellers dreams come true paying on average 11% more than February and above list price (100.3%)
• Most Active Price Band +/- $1 mil: $300,000 to $500,000 (3 in 10 sell); $2 to $2.25 mil and $2.75 to $3 mil (1 in 3 sell)
• Buyers Best Bet: Real estate between $500,000 to $600,000 and $1.75 to $2 mil in Cambie, Shaughnessy & University
• Sellers Best Bet: Real estate to sell in Kitsilano, Marpole and Point Grey

Vancouver Real Estate Market Update by REBGV - March 2012

Increased selection helps maintain balance in Greater Vancouver housing market

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that residential property sales in Greater Vancouver reached 2,874 on the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in March 2012. This represents a 12.9 per cent increase compared to the 2,545 sales recorded in February 2012, a decline of 29.6 per cent compared to the 4,080 sales in March 2011 and an 8.4 per cent decline compared to the 3,137 home sales in March 2010.

March sales in Greater Vancouver were the second lowest total for the month in the region since 2002 and were 16.8 per cent below the 10-year sales average for the month.

“Home sellers have been more active than buyers the first few months of the year, but we continue to see a relative balance in the total supply of homes for sale and current demand in the marketplace,” Eugen Klein, REBGV president said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 5,843 in March 2012. This represents a 5.2 per cent increase compared to February when 5,552 homes were listed and a 14 per cent decline compared to March 2011 when 6,797 homes were listed for sale on the region’s MLS®.

Last month’s new listing total was 4.5 per cent above the 10-year average for listings in Greater Vancouver for March.

At 15,236, the total number of residential property listings on the MLS® increased 8.4 per cent in March compared to last month and increased 16 per cent from this time last year.

“The total number of properties for sale in Greater Vancouver has increased each month since December, which means there’s more selection to choose from as we enter what’s traditionally the busiest season of the year in our market,” Klein said.

The MLS® HPI benchmark price for all residential properties in Greater Vancouver currently sits at $679,000, up 5.3 per cent compared to March 2011 and an increase of 1.1 per cent compared to February 2012. The benchmark price for all residential properties in the Lower Mainland is $607,700, an increase of 4.8 per cent compared to March 2011.

Sales of detached properties on the MLS® in March 2012 reached 1,183, a decline of 34.1 per cent from the 1,795 detached sales recorded in March 2011, and an 11.5 per cent decrease from the 1,336 units sold in March 2010. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 9.2 per cent from March 2011 to $1,056,400.

Sales of apartment properties reached 1,191 in March 2012, a decline of 26.6 per cent compared to the 1,622 sales in March 2011, and a decrease of 4.9 per cent compared to the 1,252 sales in March 2010.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 2.2 per cent from March 2011 to $375,100.

Townhome property sales in March 2012 totalled 500, a decline of 24.6 per cent compared to the 663 sales in March 2011, and an 8.9 per cent decrease from the 549 townhome properties sold in March 2010. The benchmark price of a townhome unit increased 0.9 per cent between March 2011 and 2012 to $480,900.

Full Report:

No housing crash but a correction coming in Canada Housing Market

Cat: Vancouver Real Estate

Group-on Concept For Vancouver New Condos

Cat: Vancouver Real Estate

Overseas investors are buying properties in Vancouver

Rich Asians Buying B.C. Real Estate By Helicopter

Cat: Vancouver Real Estate

General price declines in B.C. make province 'nation's new weak spot,' according to report

Canada's housing market is not a bubble, it's a balloon. And unlike the catastrophic decline the U.S. housing market experienced in 2008, the market in Canada will deflate slowly rather than pop, according to a report by BMO Capital Markets.

The sole possible exception is Vancouver, where the number of unoccupied condominiums is high due to building the Olympic Village, economists Sherry Cooper and Sal Guatieri wrote in "Will Canada's Housing Boom Forge On, Fizzle Out, or Flame Out?"

But generally, the report says that despite rising household debt, low interest rates and rising home prices, it is unlikely that a sudden correction will take place.

"The main take-away is that the national housing market appears some-what pricey, but is far removed from bubble territory," the report stated.

It compares average resale prices with median family incomes and finds the ratio is 4.9 nationally, compared to 3.2 a decade ago.

In Vancouver, though, where house prices have gone up 159 per cent in the last 10 years - compared to 104 per cent nationally - the ratio of price to income is 10, nearly double what it was a decade ago, the report said. Victoria is also high, at 5.7, but not as high as Toronto, which has a price to income ratio of 6.7.

Montreal has also seen prices rise dramatically - by 153 per cent - and its price-to-income ratio double, but that ratio remains low at 4.5.

Despite rising home prices in most of Canada's major cities, the growth doesn't seem to be excessive, the report said. But elevated valuations could lead to trouble in the event of a shock.

For example, if interest rates were to spike by about four percentage points, the affordability of homes would quickly drop throughout the country. A severe recession would also affect affordability.

But the chance of either of those events happening is unlikely, the report authors stated. Also, except for a few markets, the national housing boom has already cooled.

And British Columbia is now "the nation's new weak spot, with prices generally declining," the report said.

Some of that decline reflects fewer sales of high-end homes.

"[But] some real underlying softness is at play, and will likely continue until valuations improve," the report stated.

Tsur Somerville, director for the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at the Sauder School of Business at UBC, said BMO's report is one of many predicting slight drops or slight increases in the housing market rather than a major correction.

"The kinds of things you need to get major corrections, like oversupply or radical change in the financing environment, just aren't there," Somerville said.

And just because the overall market will be flat, it doesn't mean that certain portions of it - such as areas that have had higher run-ups in prices over the past few years - aren't in for a correction, he said.

Helmut Pastrick, chief economist with Central 1 Credit Union, believes that while there may be a soft landing at some point in the future, it won't be in 2012.

"The market is holding up generally well and it looks like 2012 is going to be fairly similar to 2011 in terms of overall unit sales," Pastrick said. "Housing prices will go up by some amount, sales will also increase by a small amount."

And while the economy isn't booming, it is growing, interest rates are low and there is job growth, he said.

"So the conditions to me aren't ripe for a correction."

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that Canada's banking regulator fears that Canadian lenders are loosening standards on mortgages that are similar to U.S. subprime loans, posing an "emerging risk" to financial institutions.

Banks and other lenders are becoming "increasingly liberal" with mort-gages and home-equity credit lines that don't require individuals to prove their income, according to documents obtained by Bloomberg under freedom of information law request from the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

"Non-income qualified" lending has been added to a list of issues to be considered by OSFI's "emerging-risk committee," Bloomberg reported the documents showing.

Pastrick disputes this finding.

"We're not subprime, not by a long shot," he said.

Lenders in Canada have "credible lending criteria and standards." And while lenders will lower rates to grab market share "credit isn't easy like it was in the U.S.," he said.

Somerville believes the problem is with home equity lines of credit which have become more popular over the year and don't always require income verification.

Not only are lines of credit given out without the same level of super-vision or the same standard of care that is applied to mortgages, they are also junior in seniority to mortgages, Somerville said.

With a file from Bloomberg

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

Picture by: All rights reserved by JOHN CORVERA

RBC Global Asset Management on lower 5-year mortgage rate to record low

Cat: Canada Mortgage Rates

Surrey rated B.C.'s hottest housing investment market

Surrey is the hottest market for housing investment in British Columbia, according to a rating by Real Estate Investment Network.

REIN, a leading real estate research organization, ranked Maple Ridge/Pitt Meadows No. 2, with Kamloops holding the third spot.

Vancouver was ranked No. 11, after No. 10 Prince George.

REIN said its report, Top British Columbia Investment Towns 2011, looks at the prospects for real estate investment opportunities across the province, and identifies the top regions that will outperform in the coming decade.

REIN said in a news release that the report looks at such factors as:

Is the area's population growing faster than the provincial average?

Are new infrastructures being built to handle that growth?

Is the area creating new jobs and taking steps to maintain current employment levels?

Will the area benefit from an economic or real estate ripple effect?

Has political leadership created an economic growth atmosphere?

Are there major transportation improvements in the works?

The top towns ranked in the report are:

No. 1: Surrey

No. 2: Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows

No. 3: Kamloops

No. 4: Abbotsford

No. 5: Fort St. John

No. 6: Dawson Creek

No. 7: Kelowna

No. 8: Comox Valley

No. 9: Penticton

No. 10: Prince George

No. 11: Vancouver

Cat: Surrey Real Estate

© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun

Photography by Lyon's photostream

BC Real Estate Association (BCREA) Chief Economist Cameron Muir discusses the October 2011 statistics.

Cat: Vancouver Real Estate

CREA Updates - Canada Resale Housing Forecast

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) has made a small revision to its forecast for home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations for 2011 and 2012.

Activity came in broadly in line with expectations across much of the country in the third quarter of 2011 with the exception of Ontario. Sales there came in stronger than anticipated in a number of regions over the summer, but were held aloft mostly by Toronto activity as the third quarter ended.

Stronger than anticipated sales in Ontario pushed up national activity in the third quarter, and prompted CREA to raise its annual sales forecast for 2011 from 0.9 per cent to a revised 1.4 per cent.

Cat: Canada Real Estate

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver Housing Market Update for October 2011 with REBGV president Rosario Setticasi.

Cat: Vancouver Real Estate

CREA revised Report on Resale Housing Forecast 2011-2012

National sales activity is forecast to reach 450,800 units in 2011, up less than one per cent from levels in 2010. Erosion in affordability due to higher prices has prompted a small downward revision to the outlook for sales in 2012.

The Canadian Real Estate Association has revised its forecast for home sales upward for 2011, citing stronger-than-expected sales and prices in the second quarter and ...good momentum entering the second half of the year.

But economists warn Canadians should expect a gradual slowdown in the housing market to begin next year, as sales in Toronto and Vancouver cool and interest rate hikes eventually kick in.
The association also revised its estimate for 2012 sales to fall seven tenths of a percentage point to 447,000 housing units.

“Less favorable economic fundamentals, combined with new mortgage rules in place, are beginning to clip the wings of the Canadian housing market activity,” TD economist Sonya Gulati wrote in a note.

Average home prices are expected to moderate in the second half of the year following an unusually high surge of expensive Vancouver home sales.

Sales in July stayed flat in Toronto and fell slightly in Vancouver, according to CREA, and national housing prices were at their lowest level since January 2011 last month, at $361,181.

“Going forward, a correction is ripe for these cities in order to bring both markets in line with balanced territory. However, we expect such a retreat in prices and sales to be gradual in nature taking place over several quarters, with the brunt occurring in late 2012 into early 2013,” Ms. Gulati wrote.

CREA said Tuesday it expects activity will increase by less than one per cent this year compared with 2010, up slightly from its previous forecast of a one per cent decline in sales. National sales are expected to reach 450,800 homes in 2011, the association said, and average sales prices will be 7.2 per cent higher than the previous year.

“While there had been some talk of potential interest rate increases, that hasn’t happened,” Gary Morse, the association’s president, wrote in a statement. “In fact, rates have actually come down, and are now expected to remain low for the remainder of this year and into 2012. It’s a great opportunity to purchase a property with financing at very favourable rates.”

Cat: Canada Real Estate

Canada home price index rises for 6th month in May

TORONTO, July 27 (Reuters) - Home resale prices in Canada notched their biggest monthly rise in May since last July, according to the Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index released on Wednesday.

The index, which measures price changes for repeat sales of single-family homes in six metropolitan areas, showed overall prices were up 1.3 percent in May from April, the second straight monthly gain of 1 percent or more. It was also the sixth straight monthly gain.

Vancouver and Toronto, already expensive markets, were the price-gain leaders, up 1.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively.

The Vancouver market was especially heated in the spring as buyers tried to get in ahead of the implementation of tougher mortgage rules in mid-March.

Time lags between the actual home sales and their entry into public land registries may account for the large gains in April and May after the mortgage rules were already in effect, the report said.

"This spike in activity is now behind us. Therefore, the recent large monthly rises in home prices in Canada should not be a lasting trend," said Marc Pinsonneault, senior economist at National Bank Financial.

Data from the Canadian Real Estate Association for June showed slowing sales in Vancouver and a trend toward slower sales nationally.

Economists at TD Bank and Royal Bank of Canada have recently forecast cooler housing markets over the next year or two, a view that is widely held by market watchers as the stricter mortgage rules and the anticipation of higher interest rates dampen demand.

Other Canadian markets in the Teranet index registered strength in May. Montreal prices rose 0.7 percent from April and Ottawa was up 0.5 percent. Calgary prices were up 0.6 percent, and Halifax eked out a 0.1 percent rise in the month. Overall prices were up 4.4 percent from a year earlier. The report did not provide actual prices.

Cat: Canada Real Estate

West Vancouver Real Estate Boom

Cat: West Vancouver Real Estate

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.

Real estate market stable at year-end

The Greater Vancouver residential housing market entered three distinctive phases in 2010. Continued buoyancy from the post-recession recovery began the year, followed by a summer lull and, throughout the fall, a sustained period of stability.

The Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) reports that total sales of detached, attached and apartment properties in 2010 reached 30,595, a 14.2 per cent decrease from the 35,669 sales recorded in 2009, but a 24.2 per cent increase from the 24,626 residential sales in 2008. Last year’s number of housing sales was 10.3 per cent below the ten-year average for annual Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) sales in the region.

The number of residential properties listed for sale on the MLS® in Greater Vancouver increased 9.7 per cent in 2010 to 58,009 compared to the 52,869 properties listed in 2009. Compared to 2008, last year’s total represents a 7.3 per cent decline compared to the 62,561 residential properties listed in 2008. The number of properties added to the MLS® peaked in April and generally declined for the remainder of the year.

“The last two years have been a bit of a rollercoaster for the real estate market. However, sales over the past six months have definitely shown a trend toward stability. We think that’s good news for home buyers and sellers,” Jake Moldowan, REBGV president said. “The Greater Vancouver housing market experienced a modest increase in home prices in 2010, and a continual decrease in the number of properties being listed for sale.”

Residential property sales in Greater Vancouver totalled 1,899 in December 2010, a decrease of 24.5 per cent from the 2,515 sales recorded in December 2009—an all time record for the month—and a 24.3 per cent decline compared to November 2010 when 2,509 home sales occurred. 

More broadly, last month’s residential sales represent a 105.5 per cent increase over the 924 residential sales in December 2008, a 0.1 per cent increase compared to December 2007’s 1,897 sales, and a 12.6 per cent increase compared to the 1,686 sales in December 2006.

The residential benchmark price, as calculated by the MLSLink Housing Price Index®, for Greater Vancouver increased 2.7 per cent to $577,808 between Decembers 2009 and 2010. However, prices have decreased 2.6 per cent since hitting a peak of $593,419 in April 2010.

“Although we saw some pressure on home prices throughout the year, home values in 2010 remained relatively steady in the region compared to the last few years when we witnessed much more fluctuation,” Moldowan said.

New listings for detached, attached and apartment properties in Greater Vancouver totalled 1,699 in December 2010. This represents a 21.1 per cent decline compared to the 2,153 units listed in December 2009 and a 43.9 per cent decline compared to November 2010 when 3,030 properties were listed.

Sales of detached properties in December 2010 reached 769, a decrease of 14.8 per cent from the 902 detached sales recorded in December 2009, and a 121.1 per cent increase from the 348 units sold in December 2008. The benchmark price for detached properties increased 4.0 per cent from December 2009 to $797,868.

Sales of apartment properties reached 811 in December 2010, a decline of 29.7 per cent compared to the 1,154 sales in December 2009, and an increase of 94.5 per cent compared to the 417 sales in December 2008.The benchmark price of an apartment property increased 1.2 per cent from December 2009 to $387,115.

Attached property sales in December 2010 totalled 319, a decline of 30.5 per cent compared to the 459 sales in December 2009, and a 100.6 per cent increase from the 159 attached properties sold in December 2008. The benchmark price of an attached unit increased 2.7 per cent between December 2009 and 2010 to $490,869.

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.

Sales levels in Lower Mainland real estate markets remain somewhere between the highs of 2009’s market rebound and the lows of 2008’s sales collapse, reports from the region’s major real estate boards show.

In Metro Vancouver, realtors recorded some 2,337 sales in October through the realtor-controlled Multiple Listing Service, which was down almost 37 per cent from the frenetic pace of the same month a year ago, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver reported Tuesday.

However, October’s 2,337 sales were some 71 per cent higher than the recessionary October of 2008, and board president Jake Moldowan said agents have “seen a lot more consistency and less volatility” in sales levels and pricing over the past few months.

“As we enter the final two months of the year, buyer demand is in closer alignment with supply than we’ve seen for most of 2010,” Moldowan said. “Those buying today recognize that they

still have a chance to enter the market with near-record-low interest rates, while gradual reductions in inventory have eased downward pressure on prices.”

In the Fraser Valley, realtors made 1,014 MLS sales in October, down 40 per cent from the same month a year ago, but 32 per cent higher than the doldrums of October 2008.

“With help from near-record-low mortgage rates and a steady decrease in the supply of homes, we’re getting back to what I call a ‘normal,’ balanced market,” Deanna Horn, president of the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board said in a news release.

In the area of Metro Vancouver covered by the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, the benchmark price (an average of typical homes sold) for detached homes hit $796,833, which was up 6.3 per cent from the same month a year ago.

For townhouses, the benchmark price hit $487,530 in October, up four per cent from the same month a year ago.

For condominiums, the benchmark price reached $390,074 in October, up 2.4 per cent from the same month a year ago.

In the Fraser Valley’s board area, which includes Surrey, the benchmark price for detached homes hit $505,759 in October, up three per cent from October 2009, but down 0.3 per cent compared with September of this year.

For townhouses, the $319,058 benchmark was up 2.2 per cent compared with the same month a year ago, but down 0.9 per cent compared with September.

The benchmark for Fraser Valley condominiums reached $240,542 in October, up 0.2 per cent from a year ago and was 0.4 per cent higher than September of this year.

Sometimes it feels good to be surprised, but Tuesday’s anticipated announcement by the Bank of Canada that it is maintaining its target for the overnight rate at 1 percent was a relief.  The global economic recovery is entering a new phase, and the Bank of Canada is now expecting weaker-than-projected recovery across the board, especially in the United States.  Canada is not an exception in this shift in projections since July’s Monetary Policy Report, as the Bank continues to expect the economic recovery here will also be more gradual.

Corresponding to the overnight right maintaining at 1 percent, the Bank Rate is set at 1 ¼ percent and the deposit rate is set at ¾ percent.  Growth rates in Canada are expected to be 3.0 percent in 2010, 2.3 percent in 2011, and 2.6 percent in 2012.  Although a portion of this more subdued profile is a result of the more gradual global recovery, it also takes into account a more subdued expectation for Canadian household spending.  The projections around household spending come from the decline in housing activity, and as a result, the increased focus on household debt considerations.

Instead of focusing on household and government expenditures, the composition of demand in Canada is expected to shift towards business investment and net exports.

Inflation in Canada has remained slightly below the July projections of the Bank of Canada, but the expectation is that the economy will return to full capacity by the end of 2012 instead of the previously forecasted beginning of that year.

It was a combination of all of these factors that the decision was reached to maintain the target for the overnight rate at 1 percent.  This new announcement continues to keep considerable monetary stimulus in place to continue to achieve the 2 percent inflation target during a time when Canada is coping with a significant excess of supply.  Given the transition in the global recovery, the weaker U.S. outlook, constraints beginning to moderate growth in emerging-market economies, and Canadian considerations that are expected to slow spending and housing activity in Canada, the Bank would need to carefully consider any further reduction in monetary policy stimulus.

Although this announcement is driven by a weaker global economy, the management of the painful current global reality within the confines of the Canadian economy should create a sigh of relief for the real estate and mortgage industry, as there is not any new pressure being pushed onto the industry after a painful 2nd quarter in 2010.