Month: December 2016

TELUS GARDEN at a Glance

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TELUS GARDEN at a Glance

TELUS Garden Quick Facts

The anticipation is growing as the opportunity to cultivate a new way of living in one of 428 new homes at TELUS Garden (at Richards and Robson) grows near. Jointly developed by TELUS and developer Westbank (Woodward’s re-development, Fairmont Pacific Rim, and Living Shangri-La), the one-million square foot development will be an amenity-rich building with environmentally sensitive design.

With architecture by Vancouver-based firm Henriquez Partners Architects, TELUS Garden will transform and revitalize the Robson block with this development, which includes a new 24 floor, 500,000 square foot signature office tower and a new 53 floor, 450,000-square foot residential tower, with a three-level retail podium with shops, services, and amenities, plus a public plaza.

TELUS Garden will offer a spectrum of homes from affordable one-bedrooms to luxurious Signature Suites and Penthouses featuring contemporary design and open concept interiors by The Design Agency, Miele-equipped kitchens and Terrazzo-tiled baths. Residents will enjoy TELUS’ advanced communications technology, including TELUS Optik TV, Optik High Speed internet and home phone services as well as tranquil gardens. An expansive wellness centre will also be on site with a gym, swimming pool and yoga facilities.

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Lego-like modular housing in Vancouver

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Lego-like modular housing in Vancouver

The City of Vancouver is a few pieces closer to finishing its Lego-like modular housing pilot project at the corner of Main Street and Terminal Avenue.

Work crews hoisted finished sections of the 40-unit building into the air Wednesday, lowered them and snapped them into place, fleshing out a structure that the city had previously announced. The bulk of the building is formed from moveable, modular housing units that have a 30-40 year lifespan and are intended to be rented out at affordable rates.

Among those on hand to watch the construction — and speak to reporters — was Vision Vancouver Coun. Kerry Jang.

“People need a place that’s decent, that’s clean and warm and gives them dignity … a place to be stable and to start to heal,” Jang said before touting the merits of modular homes.

“(T)his ain’t no trailer park,” he said.

The city is underwriting the $3.5-million project, which is expected to be completed in mid-February. Most of the units are 250 sq. ft., though the first floor has larger, wheelchair-accessible homes. Vancouver Sun

Nearly %50 of B.C.’s most expensive homes secretly owned

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Nearly %50 of B.C.’s most expensive homes secretly owned

Critics say the B.C. government must work to close loopholes that allow homeowners in the province to hide their identities behind false fronts such as shell companies.

NDP housing critic David Eby and Green MLA Andrew Weaver called for changes after reading about a Transparency International report that slams Canada for failing to close loopholes that allow homes to be owned through shell companies, trusts and nominees. The report shows almost half of Vancouver’s 100 most expensive houses were bought using shell companies or other methods that obscure the identity of the owners.

Report author Adam Ross found that use of tactics to obscure ownership has increased in the past five years in B.C.  He also concluded the prevalence of opaque ownership in B.C. luxury real estate makes it impossible to measure how much offshore cash is invested in B.C. homes, even though B.C. is attempting to collect data on foreign ownership.

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A Quick Review on 2016 Vancouver Real Estate Year

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A Quick Review on 2016 Vancouver Real Estate Year

From soaring values, to shadow flipping, to foreign buyer tax and much more – it has been an incredible year. Here are the real estate news highlights of 2016

 

Phew! What a year it’s been for Vancouver and BC real estate stories. From soaring values, to shadow flipping, to foreign buyers tax, to tough new mortgage policies and then Donald Trump’s US presidential election win… 2016 has seen it all. Here are the highlights of our local year in real estate.

January

January real estate news is always dominated by the New Year’s BC Assessment figures, which shocked everyone in January 2016. The value of residential real estate in Vancouver compared with the previous year went up by 16.96 per cent – far greater than the already-high 9.5 per cent of the previous year but only the fourth steepest increase in BC, according to BC Assessment figures released January 4. Lions Bay in West Vancouver saw the province’s highest rise, at 17.96 per cent year over year, followed by Squamish at 17.33 per cent and Burnaby at 17.07 per cent. However, the most expensive properties in the province were to be found on Vancouver’s West Side – check out this separate story here about the 2016 roll’s top-valued homes (but first, take a guess whose house made the list again…).

In other January news, Royal LePage came out with its annual outlook, predicting that home prices in Vancouver would rise another nine per cent across 2016. The ensuing super-hot spring market, combined with the summer and fall’s drop in sales and detached-home prices, means that this prediction could turn out to be fairly accurate – albeit not necessarily for the expected reasons.

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First-time buyer zero-interest loan program potentially make the B.C.’s real estate market hot again

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First-time buyer zero-interest loan program potentially make the B.C.’s real estate market hot again

British Columbia’s new assistance program for first-time home buyers has the potential to bolster a segment of the property market that has stayed strong in the midst of sliding sales, according to one market observer.

“The net impact (of the program), it does draw more people into the market, into the condo and town home market,” said Bryan Yu, senior economist with Central 1 Credit Union.

However, while sales have dropped off in the market for pricier single-family homes, Yu said the more affordable condominium and town home segments of the market have remained more active.

And that additional demand could push “upside pressure on pricing,” Yu said, because the multi-family housing sector is still struggling with a lack of supply to meet demand.

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B.C. government offers down payment loans to first-time homebuyers

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B.C. government offers down payment loans to first-time homebuyers

VICTORIA — The B.C. government will loan first-time homebuyers some of the cash they need to afford their down payment, Premier Christy Clark announced Thursday.

The program will provide a government-backed loan of up to $37,500, or five per cent, of the purchase price of a home for qualified buyers, starting Jan. 16.

The goal is to match part of a person’s down payment to help them afford to buy their first home, as long as they already qualify for a mortgage under federal rules and the home is worth less than $750,000.

“What we know is for many first-time home buyers qualifying for a mortgage is hard, but getting past that down payment and scraping together the $25,000 or $50,000 you might need to be able to get into your first home is just impossible,” said Clark.

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% 50 hike in the assessed value of houses expected for 2017

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% 50 hike in the assessed value of houses expected for 2017

The 50-per-cent hike in the assessed value of houses expected for 2017 in Metro Vancouver is likely going to prevent increasingly more people from claiming the homeowners grant.

Regional politicians are renewing calls for changes to the provincial grant so that fewer owners whose houses worth over the $1.2 million eligibility cutoff will lose the $570 property tax break.

The province intended for 91 per cent of homeowners to be eligible for the tax break but only half that percentage in Metro Vancouver can take advantage of it, said Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, who also chairs Metro Vancouver.

He said the inflation of house prices past $1.2 million is making it difficult for owners on fixed incomes to pay their taxes.

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REBGV: Home Sales in Greater Vancouver Once Again Steady with Previous Month

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REBGV: Home Sales in Greater Vancouver Once Again Steady with Previous Month

Residential transactions still considerably down compared with 2015’s banner November, but totals are recovering towards 10-year norms, says board

Residential real estate transactions for the Greater Vancouver area in November were only slightly lower than October sales,although a little lower than the 10-year average for the month, according to the latest market statistics published by Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV) December 2.

Home sales in the region dropped 37.2 per cent year over year, but by less than one per cent compared with October 2016, the board reported.

The report added that total transactions were 7.6 per cent below the 10-year average for November (see infographic below) – which is a recovery from the previous month’s sales dip of 15 per cent below historical norms.

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City of Vancouver looks to reduce building permit waits as citizens suffer

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City of Vancouver looks to reduce building permit waits as citizens suffer

The City of Vancouver’s notoriously sluggish permitting process, which has drawn heavy criticism from councilors, builders and homeowners, and now the head of the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, may be in for an overhaul.

City staff have been meeting with industry stakeholders for the past four months in a bid to improve the system, said Kaye Krishna, the city’s general manager of development, buildings, and licensing.

“I do think that we can cut our times, and I do think we can turn this around,” Krishna said, adding that improving the permitting process was one of her top priorities.

After holding four meetings, the city is now preparing recommendations on process and regulatory changes that should be ready for council consideration by next spring.

Among the things Krishna and other staff are considering are faster processes, a risk-based approach to decision making and an audit to find out where to better focus resources. They’re also trying to drive willing developers online so they can avoid long waits at the city’s new development services centre.
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