Toronto Real Estate Blog

A suggestion for affordable housing would be a tax on the development of condo and apartment projects, say developers.

Vanessa Lu – Toronto Star

Any plan that forces a set percentage of affordable housing units in new condo or apartment projects would be essentially a tax, developers say.

“It would be a false economy,” said Stephen Dupuis, who heads the Building Industry and Land Development Association, which represents property developers. “If a unit has to be provided at less than market cost, where does the money come? It’s got to come from the balance of the units.”

The Star’s Your City, My City blog is exploring ways to improve the city, and one reader has proposed mandating “inclusionary zoning,” whereby 5 per cent of units in any new condo or apartment building exceeding 100 units would be allocated toward rent-geared-to-income housing.

Michael Collins-Williams, director of policy for the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, said such a move would turn it into a private-sector obligation to provide affordable housing. “It essentially does end up being a tax on development,” he said. “It’s an odd policy in which you do create a few affordable units, but then you make the rest of the units less affordable.”

NDP MPP Cheri DiNovo (Parkdale-High Park) plans to reintroduce a private member’s bill in May on inclusionary zoning that died when Premier Dalton McGuinty prorogued the Legislature. Her bill would change the provincial Planning Act to permit municipalities to require developers to set aside a certain percentage of new housing units for affordable housing.

“We have to step in and come up with some novel ideas,” said DiNovo. “We have to look at the greater good.” She argued such a policy would not cost any tax dollars, and that developers would be able to sell larger units, aimed at families, that are typically harder to sell.

DiNovo added it would be no different than the funding developers currently give to communities, called Section 37 money, for common-good projects such as playgrounds or parks. The amounts contributed by developers are generally dependent on the negotiating skills of individual councillors.

Collins-Williams said developers fear this would be another tool for municipalities to gain benefits from developers, on top of Section 37 funds.

He argued that inclusionary zoning would raise the average cost of new homes. “It’s asking new home buyers, or renters, to bear the cost of the social subsidy,” he said. “It’s inequitable because it’s a narrow segment of society that bears the cost of the social initiative.”

Developers favour a mix of solutions to improve the supply of affordable housing, including rent supplements, whereby individuals would use government money to help pay rent in private buildings.

Another way to expand the supply of affordable units is to permit basement apartments or second suites in houses. Some municipalities ban second suites, including Peel Region, where the waiting list for affordable housing for families is about 20 years.

Builder Frank Giannone says he believes it’s good policy to mix varying incomes in a building, but “it’s wrong to foist it on people who are going to buy their first unit.” He said such a move would amount to another development charge.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

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Housing starts accelerate to 196,700 units, topping expectations, while poll says home-buying intentions are also on the rise

Tavia Grant – Globe and Mail

Housing activity picked up speed last month, topping expectations as builders broke ground on condominiums and other multiple-unit dwellings.

Starts rose to 196,700 units in February, on a seasonally adjusted annual rate, from 185,400 units in January, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Monday.

Home building has revved back to life after the recession caused housing starts to fall below 120,000 last spring. Low borrowing costs and a rush to beat a provincial sales tax in some provinces are spurring demand – and builders are responding accordingly.

“It appears that the new homes market is slowly coming back to life and may finally be benefiting from the resurgence in overall housing market activity,” said Ian Pollick, economics strategist at TD Securities. “Housing still remains a bright spot in Canadian economic activity.”

The pace of advance, however, may not continue in the latter half of this year as interest rates rise and demand tapers off, he cautioned.

February’s gain in housing starts was concentrated in the multiple starts segment, particularly in Toronto, said Bob Dugan, chief economist at CMHC’s market analysis centre. Multiple units include condos, town houses and duplexes. CMHC doesn’t break down which aspect of multiple construction is rising fastest.

Urban multiple starts, which tend to be more volatile, jumped 19.1 per cent while single urban starts rose 0.5 per cent.

Ontario led the country’s starts, with a 28.6-per-cent increase. They rose 14.3 per cent in Atlantic Canada, 10.8 per cent in the Prairie region and 8.0 per cent in British Columbia. In Quebec, they fell 14.1 per cent.

Economists polled by Bloomberg had expected 190,000 starts in the month.

Home-buying intentions remain strong, according to a poll by the Royal Bank of Canada released Monday. The portion of Canadians who are very likely to purchase a home in the next two years has risen to 10 per cent from 7 per cent two years ago, according to RBC’s home ownership study. Younger Canadians – aged 18 to 24 – will lead demand this year, with those very likely to buy almost doubling to 15 per cent from 8 per cent in 2009, it said.

Most Canadians also believe house prices will rise this year. Six in 10 think prices will go higher, up from 25 per cent in 2009. And nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, believe mortgage rates will be higher over the next year, up from 33 per cent in the last survey.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

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Lofts are getting more popular every year. Studios are now at their finest in Toronto, and the market is prospering. There are literally hundreds of apartments being built in Toronto. It is becoming grueling as the search begins so early, as many of us are getting fascinated by buying living space in a new developed apartment.

Toronto and other major metropolitan centers are seeing an increased demand for loft developments due to the convenience offered by a do it yourself, unrestricted space. Bear in mind when looking for Toronto Lofts that they are much more in demand than ever ; combined with the natural property prices in the Toronto area this means that apartment seekers cant expect their space to come cheaply. Most terraces are similar in price to condominiums.

One tough reason to discover a terrace is fifty percent of loft developments are sold before the building is mentioned on the public market. This also does mean that folks who wish to buy a studio must do a lot of study and try and secure a flat before construction is finished. Many residences in the Toronto area increase in worth on the day that they are placed for sale on the public home market.

Although technically a Toronto loft is understood to be a commercial space which has been converted for residential occupation – and is mostly assembled within old factories, churches or other commercial spaces, there are basically 2 definitions of Toronto residences. Hard lofts are typically called residential space which has been assembled within older buildings that were formerly used as factories, warehouses, college and other commercial ventures. Soft lofts are new structures which have been purposefully built to are like the unique characteristics of renovated lofts by incorporating design features like the high ceilings, giant windows and open concept design of an authentic Toronto lofts.

Toronto studios differs so much from Toronto apartments for features like exposed ductwork, exposed beams and columns, few interior walls, and high ceilings. Theyare really open spaces, commonly two stories high and have plenty of original features that set them aside from other houses on the market.

People see residence in two classes, one is the true terrace which is the sole kind having a harder edge of either concrete construction or development of exposed brick and original wood posts, beams and floors. The atmosphere and authentic detail can be counted as everything. And the other one is the soft residence implying the newly assembled residences ; in most situations folks say apartments with high ceilings are soft apartments. There are many superb more recent buildings in Toronto with some loft-style features.

There are many unique lofts available in each new Toronto development which is priced dependent on size and features. The low-end cost for a Toronto Lofts for sale starts about $300,000, but you can spend upwards of $600,000 or more depending on the loft you select. You are well advised to start early whether you seek the quirky design of aloft conversion, or a more condo-like soft loft. The right loft for you could be already another ones fantasy.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

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Mark Weisleder – Yourhome.ca

Real estate home or condominium agreements may be the largest contractual obligation that a buyer and seller may ever sign. It is a serious obligation and both buyers and sellers must understand the consequences of changing their minds once the contract has been signed and accepted.

Most offers written in Ontario provide that the deposit is to be paid within 24 hours of acceptance of the offer by the seller. That means that if a seller accepts the offer at 4 p.m. on March 15, then the deposit must be paid to the seller’s listing brokerage no later than 4 p.m. on March 16. The only way to extend this deadline is if there is an agreement by the seller and the buyer in writing.

However, I have heard of many situations where buyers have had a “change of heart,” during this 24-hour period and decide that they will not pay their deposit and that will be the end of the matter. Not true. By not paying the deposit, the buyer has breached the agreement. The seller can then bring an action to sue them for any damages they may incur.

For example, let’s say a buyer puts in an offer today for $300,000, which the seller accepts. Then the buyer changes his or her mind and refuses to pay the deposit. Now the seller states that the buyer has breached the agreement. The market changes and the seller resells the property to a second buyer for $280,000. The seller can then sue the original buyer for the $20,000 loss. Sellers can conduct such a lawsuit by themselves in Small Claims Court, because the limit in Small Claims Court in Ontario was increased on Jan. 1 to $25,000. Nevertheless, sellers should always seek legal advice before embarking on any legal process.

Now let’s use the same example, an agreement to sell for $300,000, but it is the seller who has a change of heart and refuses to either accept the buyer’s deposit or just refuses to close the deal altogether. The buyer can now start legal proceedings to tie up the seller’s property and sue for specific performance of the agreement.

This means that the buyer is asking the court to force the seller to sell the property at the original agreed upon price of $300,000. This court case can take years to resolve and if the buyer wins, he or she will get the property for $300,000 as well as most legal fees paid. The seller will not be able to sell the property to anyone else during this time period.

What this demonstrates is that buyers and sellers need to be properly prepared and obtain the right advice before they even think of signing or accepting any agreement. Sellers must hire the right listing salesperson to make certain they know what their property is worth and ensure the property is marketed to reach the most potential buyers before considering any offer.

For buyers it means working with a buyer salesperson to make sure that they also know what the property is worth, not only so they don’t overpay, but also to make sure they are protected from any surprises about the property after closing, such as hidden defects.

By being properly prepared in advance, there will be no need to change your mind later.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

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Mark Weisleder – Yourhome.ca

I have received a growing number of complaints since writing about how condominium boards operate.

These include:

Inexperienced property managers who keep poor records, are delinquent in collecting common expense payments or enforcing condominium rules and procedures.

Systems falling apart because they were not maintained properly.

Budgets not being prepared in a timely fashion.

A small group of owners who fight any attempt to raise the common expenses, even if it means that systems fall into disrepair.

Unfortunately, there is very little government regulation as to who can be a condominium property manager. Yet the property manager, in most cases, has a tremendous impact not only on the condominium building being properly maintained, but on the actual resale value of the inside condominium units.

For example, if reserve funds are depleted to deal with unanticipated repairs and replacements, this will make any potential buyer wary of investing in that building.

The Condominium Act of Ontario requirements for a condominium director are that you be over 18 years of age, not be bankrupt and not be declared mentally incompetent.

That is hardly sufficient qualifications for the responsibilities of being a director who will be overseeing and approving budgets that could total millions of dollars and affect hundreds of unit owners. There are no other real educational or financial requirements.

Many condominiums look to retired accountants, who are owners, to appoint as directors. But not all buildings have these types of resource people who both live in the building and have the time to devote to being a board member.

The good news is that there are some things boards can do immediately to assist themselves.

They can join the Canadian Condominium Institute and attend educational programs that are offered during the year, to remain up to date on industry developments and obtain referrals for reputable professional managers.

There is also an interesting website called www.condoinformation.ca, which offers useful practical tips for condominium owners, such as how to deal with bicycles, bike racks and security – given that bikes are usually not permitted in the elevators, dealing with the number of pets in the building and preventing owners from endangering others by throwing things off their balconies.

Don’t just wait for the government to get involved because that may take years. Every unit owner needs to take some responsibility as to how his or her building is being run. The decisions made not only impact your rights to enjoy your common area facilities, they will also have a large impact on the resale price that you can expect to get.

For potential buyers, find out who is managing the building you are interested in. How many years have they been in business and do they manage multiple buildings or just this one?

What is the business background of the directors of the condominium corporation and how long have they been in the position?

Ask all of these questions in advance so that you are not surprised after closing.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

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