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COVID-19 era creating hot real estate market, sellers focusing on renos, staging – TheChronicleHerald.ca

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Atlantic Canada’s real estate market is heating up.

Given the lockdown measures that were implemented in mid-March, spring was uncharacteristically quiet. Yet with the easing of restrictions, it’s been on an upward trajectory.

As Costa Poulopoulos, chairman of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), states in a recent summary, “Realtors across Canada are increasingly seeing business pick back up.”


Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, buyers continue to snap up properties. This farm, in Kensington, P.E.I., was one of them and sold in July. – SaltWire Network

Statistics from CREA reflect this reality: home sales recorded over Canadian MLS Systems in June 2020 rebounded by a further 63 per cent, returning them to normal levels for the month – some 150 per cent above where they were in April. Additionally, the number of newly-listed homes climbed by another 49.5 per cent in June compared to May. As with sales activity, gains were recorded across the country.


We are in a very hot sellers’ market


The outlook is very promising, according to Yasser Khalaf, a Bedford, N.S.-based realtor with RE/MAX nova, who serves the Dartmouth, Halifax and Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) areas.

“The real estate market has been very active. Compared to the number of sales at this time last year, there has been a five to six per cent decrease, but this dip can be attributed to low inventory levels. The demand for homes is up, and prices have gone up ten per cent.”


Katherine Elsinga is a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Parker Realty in P.E.I. – SaltWire Network

Katherine Elsinga, a Grahams Road, P.E.I.-based real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Parker Realty, has noticed a similar trend.

“We are in a very hot sellers’ market. There are a lot of buyers and not nearly as many properties for sale,” she states, adding she covers the Island from one end to another.

“Recently, I did something I had never done before: I went out and got the listing paperwork all done up for a house; went home that evening; made one phone call, and got it sold the next day. I handed in the sales paperwork before the listing paperwork,” she says incredulously.


Many of my listings sold within a couple of days


Conor Stack, a St. John’s, NL-based realtor with Royal LePage Property Consultants and lawyer, can relate.

“The real estate market through late spring and early summer was extremely active. Many of my listings sold within a couple of days and received multiple bids at or above the listing price.”

COVID effect

According to Stack, in addition to buyers needing or wanting new homes, whether due to changing family or economic circumstances, life under lockdown has led to a new category of buyers.

“Additional buyers were created by people spending more time in their homes, including working from home, and realizing that properties with more functional indoor and outdoor spaces may be worth the investment now rather than later.”

With COVID-19-related jitters factoring into the equation, he notes pricing has been a major consideration as well.


Conor Stack is a realtor at Royal LePage Property Consultants and a lawyer in NL. – SaltWire Network

“Listing prices appeared a bit more realistic and competitive – perhaps due to vendors’ desires to sell quickly, or due to long-term economic anxieties.”

With house hunting on the rise in Atlantic Canada, Elsinga is noticing an increased demand for starter homes. She’s witnessing an influx of buyers from elsewhere in Canada, but primarily from Alberta and Ontario, in addition to international buyers from Brazil, Vietnam, and the United Arab Emirates.

“People are looking for anything affordable: large building lots; smaller acreages; and of course, the elusive hobby farm. There’s a real need for homes under $200,000. I believe a lot of people are starting to look at ‘winterizing’ cottages on seasonal and private roads, so they can actually have an affordable place to live,” she says, mentioning buyers are eager to snap up a variety of dwellings, such as a log house she’s currently showing in North Granville, PEI.


This single-family home bungalow, with a basement in-law suite in the St. John’s, NL area, was listed on May 4. An offer was accepted on May 5, with a closing date of June 4. – SaltWire Network

Khalaf is noticing a diverse demographic of buyers searching for properties as well.

“My clients range from young professionals, to couples, families, and international buyers, such as from India, China, and the Middle East. Detached and semi-detached houses are doing well, but because the demand is so high, new buyers are steadily gravitating toward new constructions.”

As for Stack, who primarily serves the greater St. John’s area, his clients range from first-time home buyers to young families looking for their ‘forever’ homes, and empty-nesters looking for a bungalow with a garage and few stairs. He notes there’s a strong demand for approximately 2,000-square-foot homes in the Churchill Square neighbourhood of St. John’s, which are coveted by young families.

Renovation value

If you’re thinking of selling your home, renovations are likely something you’ve considered. Typically, homeowners direct their focus on kitchens and bathrooms in order to get their homes market-ready. According to the Appraisal Institute of Canada, you can expect to recover anywhere from 75 to 100 per cent of your investment.

“It’s beneficial to have an updated kitchen or bathroom, as such renovations can further increase the value of your home,” Khalaf says.

Elsinga stresses such undertakings really depend on the individual homeowner and their current situation.


Yasser Khalaf is a realtor with RE/MAX Nova in the Halifax Regional Municipality. – SaltWire Network

“There are a lot of different factors that go into this, such as time, money and capability. It also depends on if I perceive the issue to be serious or cosmetic, but we price the house accordingly.”

Agreeing renovating kitchens and bathrooms are generally good places to see a return on investment, but acknowledging the investment is much higher, Stack emphasizes the importance of having a conversation about any potential renovations before listing your home.

“I caution my clients if they’re going to redo their kitchens or bathrooms before listing, to please do them well. The risk being if you do inexpensive upgrades, buyers may still want to tear them out, and they’ll see no value in the money you’ve spent. Ultimately, it depends on the property and the clients’ willingness to commit to redoing those rooms properly.”

Staging factor

Stack encourages his clients to consider investing in low-cost solutions, like fresh paint, and having their homes professionally-staged. He’s worked with Sasha Hutton and Sam Follett from the Newfoundland Staging Co. for that purpose.

Studies have demonstrated that home staging is an effective and expeditious way to sell your home for the best possible price. As Follett points out, “No matter what your listing price or square footage is, you need to properly prepare your home for the market.”


Real estate agent Katherine Elsinga (left) is pictured with new homeowner Alison Griffin. She bought this two-storey house in July in Rustico, P.E.I. after moving back from Nunavut. – SaltWire Network

The designing duo is keen on elevating the appeal of the homes they take charge of. For their ‘occupied’ home staging consultations, they’ll walk through the properties and make suggestions regarding furniture placement, de-cluttering, and paint, whereas for the ‘unoccupied’ ones, they stress the importance of staging.

“Most people can’t visualize themselves in an empty house. They find it difficult to picture where their furniture would go; whether or not it would fit; what the layout would be like; and how it would look. Staging provides a scale for the space,” explains Follett, adding they also hang art on the walls; place rugs on the floors; décor on the tables; dress the beds; and layer the furniture with throws and cushions.

In terms of a design aesthetic that’s gaining widespread appeal, it’s clean and contemporary.

“We’re seeing a lot of white walls, white kitchens, and black finishes,” says Follett. “When you decide to sell something, you want to show it at its best; there’s no exception when it comes to selling your house. We help you prepare your home for the market, so that it reflects its full potential.”

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Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

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Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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B.C. voters face atmospheric river with heavy rain, high winds on election day

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VANCOUVER – Voters along the south coast of British Columbia who have not cast their ballots yet will have to contend with heavy rain and high winds from an incoming atmospheric river weather system on election day.

Environment Canada says the weather system will bring prolonged heavy rain to Metro Vancouver, the Sunshine Coast, Fraser Valley, Howe Sound, Whistler and Vancouver Island starting Friday.

The agency says strong winds with gusts up to 80 kilometres an hour will also develop on Saturday — the day thousands are expected to go to the polls across B.C. — in parts of Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

Wednesday was the last day for advance voting, which started on Oct. 10.

More than 180,000 voters cast their votes Wednesday — the most ever on an advance voting day in B.C., beating the record set just days earlier on Oct. 10 of more than 170,000 votes.

Environment Canada says voters in the area of the atmospheric river can expect around 70 millimetres of precipitation generally and up to 100 millimetres along the coastal mountains, while parts of Vancouver Island could see as much as 200 millimetres of rainfall for the weekend.

An atmospheric river system in November 2021 created severe flooding and landslides that at one point severed most rail links between Vancouver’s port and the rest of Canada while inundating communities in the Fraser Valley and B.C. Interior.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

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No shortage when it comes to B.C. housing policies, as Eby, Rustad offer clear choice

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British Columbia voters face no shortage of policies when it comes to tackling the province’s housing woes in the run-up to Saturday’s election, with a clear choice for the next government’s approach.

David Eby’s New Democrats say the housing market on its own will not deliver the homes people need, while B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad saysgovernment is part of the problem and B.C. needs to “unleash” the potential of the private sector.

But Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University, said the “punchline” was that neither would have a hand in regulating interest rates, the “giant X-factor” in housing affordability.

“The one policy that controls it all just happens to be a policy that the province, whoever wins, has absolutely no control over,” said Yan, who made a name for himself scrutinizing B.C.’s chronic affordability problems.

Some metrics have shown those problems easing, with Eby pointing to what he said was a seven per cent drop in rent prices in Vancouver.

But Statistics Canada says 2021 census data shows that 25.5 per cent of B.C. households were paying at least 30 per cent of their income on shelter costs, the worst for any province or territory.

Yan said government had “access to a few levers” aimed at boosting housing affordability, and Eby has been pulling several.

Yet a host of other factors are at play, rates in particular, Yan said.

“This is what makes housing so frustrating, right? It takes time. It takes decades through which solutions and policies play out,” Yan said.

Rustad, meanwhile, is running on a “deregulation” platform.

He has pledged to scrap key NDP housing initiatives, including the speculation and vacancy tax, restrictions on short-term rentals,and legislation aimed at boosting small-scale density in single-family neighbourhoods.

Green Leader Sonia Furstenau, meanwhile, says “commodification” of housing by large investors is a major factor driving up costs, and her party would prioritize people most vulnerable in the housing market.

Yan said it was too soon to fully assess the impact of the NDP government’s housing measures, but there was a risk housing challenges could get worse if certain safeguards were removed, such as policies that preserve existing rental homes.

If interest rates were to drop, spurring a surge of redevelopment, Yan said the new homes with higher rents could wipe the older, cheaper units off the map.

“There is this element of change and redevelopment that needs to occur as a city grows, yet the loss of that stock is part of really, the ongoing challenges,” Yan said.

Given the external forces buffeting the housing market, Yan said the question before voters this month was more about “narrative” than numbers.

“Who do you believe will deliver a better tomorrow?”

Yan said the market has limits, and governments play an important role in providing safeguards for those most vulnerable.

The market “won’t by itself deal with their housing needs,” Yan said, especially given what he described as B.C.’s “30-year deficit of non-market housing.”

IS HOUSING THE ‘GOVERNMENT’S JOB’?

Craig Jones, associate director of the Housing Research Collaborative at the University of British Columbia, echoed Yan, saying people are in “housing distress” and in urgent need of help in the form of social or non-market housing.

“The amount of housing that it’s going to take through straight-up supply to arrive at affordability, it’s more than the system can actually produce,” he said.

Among the three leaders, Yan said it was Furstenau who had focused on the role of the “financialization” of housing, or large investors using housing for profit.

“It really squeezes renters,” he said of the trend. “It captures those units that would ordinarily become affordable and moves (them) into an investment product.”

The Greens’ platform includes a pledge to advocate for federal legislation banning the sale of residential units toreal estate investment trusts, known as REITs.

The party has also proposed a two per cent tax on homes valued at $3 million or higher, while committing $1.5 billion to build 26,000 non-market units each year.

Eby’s NDP government has enacted a suite of policies aimed at speeding up the development and availability of middle-income housing and affordable rentals.

They include the Rental Protection Fund, which Jones described as a “cutting-edge” policy. The $500-million fund enables non-profit organizations to purchase and manage existing rental buildings with the goal of preserving their affordability.

Another flagship NDP housing initiative, dubbed BC Builds, uses $2 billion in government financingto offer low-interest loans for the development of rental buildings on low-cost, underutilized land. Under the program, operators must offer at least 20 per cent of their units at 20 per cent below the market value.

Ravi Kahlon, the NDP candidate for Delta North who serves as Eby’s housing minister,said BC Builds was designed to navigate “huge headwinds” in housing development, including high interest rates, global inflation and the cost of land.

Boosting supply is one piece of the larger housing puzzle, Kahlon said in an interview before the start of the election campaign.

“We also need governments to invest and … come up with innovative programs to be able to get more affordability than the market can deliver,” he said.

The NDP is also pledging to help more middle-class, first-time buyers into the housing market with a plan to finance 40 per cent of the price on certain projects, with the money repayable as a loan and carrying an interest rate of 1.5 per cent. The government’s contribution would have to be repaid upon resale, plus 40 per cent of any increase in value.

The Canadian Press reached out several times requesting a housing-focused interview with Rustad or another Conservative representative, but received no followup.

At a press conference officially launching the Conservatives’ campaign, Rustad said Eby “seems to think that (housing) is government’s job.”

A key element of the Conservatives’ housing plans is a provincial tax exemption dubbed the “Rustad Rebate.” It would start in 2026 with residents able to deduct up to $1,500 per month for rent and mortgage costs, increasing to $3,000 in 2029.

Rustad also wants Ottawa to reintroduce a 1970s federal program that offered tax incentives to spur multi-unit residential building construction.

“It’s critical to bring that back and get the rental stock that we need built,” Rustad said of the so-called MURB program during the recent televised leaders’ debate.

Rustad also wants to axe B.C.’s speculation and vacancy tax, which Eby says has added 20,000 units to the long-term rental market, and repeal rules restricting short-term rentals on platforms such as Airbnb and Vrbo to an operator’s principal residence or one secondary suite.

“(First) of all it was foreigners, and then it was speculators, and then it was vacant properties, and then it was Airbnbs, instead of pointing at the real problem, which is government, and government is getting in the way,” Rustad said during the televised leaders’ debate.

Rustad has also promised to speed up approvals for rezoning and development applications, and to step in if a city fails to meet the six-month target.

Eby’s approach to clearing zoning and regulatory hurdles includes legislation passed last fall that requires municipalities with more than 5,000 residents to allow small-scale, multi-unit housing on lots previously zoned for single family homes.

The New Democrats have also recently announced a series of free, standardized building designs and a plan to fast-track prefabricated homes in the province.

A statement from B.C.’s Housing Ministry said more than 90 per cent of 188 local governments had adopted the New Democrats’ small-scale, multi-unit housing legislation as of last month, while 21 had received extensions allowing more time.

Rustad has pledged to repeal that law too, describing Eby’s approach as “authoritarian.”

The Greens are meanwhile pledging to spend $650 million in annual infrastructure funding for communities, increase subsidies for elderly renters, and bring in vacancy control measures to prevent landlords from drastically raising rents for new tenants.

Yan likened the Oct. 19 election to a “referendum about the course that David Eby has set” for housing, with Rustad “offering a completely different direction.”

Regardless of which party and leader emerges victorious, Yan said B.C.’s next government will be working against the clock, as well as cost pressures.

Yan said failing to deliver affordable homes for everyone, particularly people living on B.C. streets and young, working families, came at a cost to the whole province.

“It diminishes us as a society, but then also as an economy.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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