Hot real estate market hits Williams Lake

Real eState

Hot real estate market hits Williams Lake

Published

4 years ago

August 20, 2020

Harry Miller

Talk to realtors in Williams Lake and they will say they have been busy.

“It’s nuts,” said Anita Crosina, who has been in the Williams Lake real estate business for more than 40 years. “I’m going to say it’s been like that for a year or more.”

She said she is not exactly sure why the industry is so busy, except that it is almost impossible to find a rental unit in Williams Lake and there is not a lot of residential building going on.

Properties are selling quickly and if clients are working with a realtor who is keeping an eye out for them and the right listing comes up it is gone in a day or two, Crosina added.

“Of course realtors have access to the listings before the general public does, so if you have got a realtor working for you, you probably have a better chance of getting something than if you are working on your own or jumping from realtor to realtor.”

Clients will get better service if they deal with one realtor, she added.

Susan Colgate has been a local realtor for 13 years and said Williams Lake’s market has always been consistent, but she is seeing more buyers relocating to the Cariboo from the Lower Mainland and other areas.

Rural sales are definitely up and showing stronger numbers, she added.

“There have been some dips, but a lot of good consistent increases, and the other thing that helps is that interest rates are super low and it’s a good time for people to be making changes if they want to.”

Referencing July numbers from the Northern BC Real Estate Board she said average house selling prices are up by 13.4 per cent in July compared to the previous year.

The average home price has gone from $292,000 in 2018 to $347,000 in 2020.

With the COVID-19 pandemic, people are staying more local and reinvesting in their communities, she added, noting there are more people doing repairs and updates to their homes as well.

“Williams Lake is an amazing community and a great place to raise a family, and the secret is getting out,” Colgate said.

“I think a lot of people, maybe from the Coast and other areas, are rethinking living in a townhouse or condo when they could be raising their children on some property.”

The initial shut down at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic did have an impact on the real estate industry, said Tanya Rankin, noting as time went on and Williams Lake slowly opened up, a pent-up buyer demand for housing took on a life of its own.

“It has condensed an active spring selling market to a very condensed seasonal market, meaning you’ve got this real offset of supply and demand. There are far more buyers than sellers, creating a very strong sellers’ market.”

While sellers might want to wait until a safer time to buy, buyers are wanting to have a safe place to live, making for an ‘odd’ market, she added.

A realtor for 30 years, with a small break when her children were young, she described the present market as ‘unprecedented’ and very stressful for realtors.

“If you love what you do, the stress that goes along with it for your buyers and sellers is extremely difficult on them and when you care for people, it affects you.”

For example, she said, everything goes into multiple offers, there is always someone furious at a realtor, or disappointed if they don’t get a home they wanted.

“If you are the listing agent, they cannot help but think they should have had another chance. It’s one of those markets where someone is going to be very disappointed and someone else is going to be very happy.”

Echoing Colgate, Rankin said the prices have been increasing and she attributed that to a lack of supply, and said the COVID-19 pandemic has really compounded it.

The market is also a touch fickle, she said.

“You’ll list something or see something another agent is listing and think ‘oh my gosh that is going to sell immediately,’ and then it hasn’t even had an offer. That makes no sense, but I think that also could just be like anything in the summer. When the weather turns nice, everyone puts their house buying on hold and goes to the lake.”

Pauline Smith, owner/realtor with RE/MAX Williams Lake Realty, agrees any properties that are priced right are getting accepted offers within a few days, and that 2020 is likely even busier than last year due to the market delay caused by COVID-19.

“We’re calling August the new June,” said Smith, noting while prices are going up the cost of owning a home in Williams Lake is still affordable compared to other southern cities in B.C.

She believes the Cariboo is especially attractive because of that affordability factor, coupled with its nearby lakes, rivers, biking trails and new highway improvements which makes the trip to the coast quicker and easier. Of course, the people here are friendly too, she added.

“Williams Lake is a great place to raise a family.”

Her advice to anyone considering buying a home is to have your financing in place and be ready to make a fair, solid offer.

“If you don’t have that in place in can be heartbreaking for both the buyer and the seller.”

Smith, Crosina, Colgate and Rankin said they are seeing a strong mix when it comes to who is buying homes.

Some are from the Lower Mainland, others are from Alberta or back East who may have always dreamed of living in B.C.

Twenty years ago it was unusual to have someone call and say they were thinking of retiring in Williams Lake, whereas now that is not that uncommon.

Locals also make up a good number of the buyers, whether it’s the younger generation being able to buy their first home, or someone wanting to move up or into a different area.

Similar to other sectors, responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, measures are in place to practice social distancing and when going into view a home, realtors are asked to wear a mask, pack hand sanitizer and use it, and encourage clients to do the same.

Before the pandemic, realtors may have drove to a house showing with a client, but now everyone is going in separate vehicles.

Crosina said she does worry about interest rates going up in the future for young people who have purchased higher priced homes.

“The worst I’ve seen it was in 1982 when the foreclosures were ridiculous because interest rates went up to 22 per cent in some cases,” she recalled. “Rates will have to go up sooner or later. Consistently for years and years they were at eight per cent.”

Source:– Williams Lake Tribune

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Calgary's homes market expected to see strong price growth – Calgary Herald

Published

1 min ago

April 25, 2024

Harry Miller

High interest rates provide little incentive for holders of low fixed rates to move, dampening supply and helping to drive up prices.

Published Apr 25, 2024 • Last updated 18 minutes ago • 3 minute read

“The lack of supply (of homes for sale) has driven prices upwards,” says Corinne Lyall, broker/owner of Royal LePage Benchmark. Photo by Jim Wells /Postmedia

Calgary’s already hot resale real estate market is forecast to keep booming for the rest of the year, a new report on price growth suggests. The recent Royal LePage report predicted that the average price of a home in Calgary will jump eight per cent by year’s end, capping off another year of strong growth.

Yet the current real estate boom is different from past ones, says a local realtor.

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“The lack of supply has driven prices upwards,” says Corinne Lyall, broker/owner of Royal LePage Benchmark.

While short supply is not all that different from past boom markets, a key reason for low inventory is, she adds.

“Interest rates having increased in the last two years negatively affected homeowners,” Lyall says.

Typically as prices rise, move-up buyers list their home, but that is not happening to the same extent this time.

“Many may not want to move because they may still be holding onto a low interest rate for their mortgage,” Lyall adds.

Many are likely reluctant to sell because they are locked into fixed-rate mortgages at about two per cent compared with the current market fixed rates at about five per cent.

In turn, they have low motivation to move until rates move lower, she notes.

The overall low supply paired with rising demand from record migration to the city factor into Royal LePage’s prediction that the average price could reach $716,580 by the end of 2024. Already, the average price has grown nearly 10 per cent by the end of March, versus the same time last year, to about $674,000.

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Demand for single-family detached homes remains a notable factor in the market, with Royal LePage highlighting that the average price in March was $774,000, an increase of about 10 per cent year over year.

Other segments are seeing rising demand, too, in part because single-family homes are increasingly pricey, and affordable ones are in short supply, Lyall says.

To that end, the Royal LePage study notes the average condominium price by the end of March was $264,800, up nearly nine per cent from the same time last year. Calgary Real Estate Board statistics from March also reflect rising demand for apartment and row. Both saw the highest percentage gains in benchmark price year over year.

Apartments grew more than 17 per cent to $337,700, while row increased more than 20 per cent to reach $448,700.

All segments are seeing higher prices amid dwindling supply and high demand, marking a shift in focus on affordability amid higher borrowing costs, Lyall says.

Still, single-family detached homes remain the most active segment, accounting for about 44 per cent of all sales in March. Its share is decreasing as prices rise. As of mid-April, for example, the average price was $793,713, up 10 per cent year over year, according to CREB.

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“It’s sort of a chicken and the egg thing,” says realtor Mark Neustaedter with eXp Realty in Calgary.

Inventory is low because of high demand, but it is not increasing because sellers worry about being able to find a home due to low inventory, he further explains.

New listings have been rising, up nearly 13 per cent for all housing types, CREB mid-April numbers show, but active listings have fallen 17 per cent.

Notably in March, housing supply fell 29 per cent to less than one month, the lowest level in more than a decade. Although far below the all-time record of 4,107 transactions in March 2022, the 2,664 resales this year still were the fourth highest strongest for March since 2010.

Yet even amid a strong seller’s market, price still matters because borrowing costs remain elevated, Neustaedter notes.

“Over-priced homes will still not sell, even in this hot market.”

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Developer Sam Mizrahi files lawsuit against Edward Rogers and his real estate fund, alleges $30-million loss – The Globe and Mail

Published

5 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Harry Miller

A condominium at 128 HazeltonAve. in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood. The property was developed by Sam Mizrahi.Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail

Real estate developer Sam Mizrahi has filed a lawsuit against Edward Rogers and Constantine Enterprises Inc., the real estate fund Mr. Rogers owns, escalating a battle between the businessmen amid an alleged $30-million loss on their flagship condo project.

In a lawsuit filed this month in Ontario Superior Court, Mr. Mizrahi alleges Mr. Rogers and his business partner Robert Hiscox, who co-own Constantine, blocked multiple attempts made by Mr. Mizrahi to salvage more value from the two real estate ventures they were jointly developing. After Mr. Mizrahi’s efforts were denied, Constantine requested court-appointed receivers for both projects.

Mr. Mizrahi is suing Mr. Rogers, Mr. Hiscox and Constantine for breach of contract, negligence, and breach of fiduciary duty, among other allegations, and is seeking $100-million in damages.

Mr. Mizrahi alleges his 20-unit luxury condo project developed with Constantine, known as 128 Hazelton in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood, has incurred losses totalling more than $30-million, and that Constantine wants him to share 50 per cent of this loss. Because Mr. Mizrahi has refused, he alleges Constantine blocked his attempts to sell undeveloped land at their other project, known as 180 Steeles or 180 SAW, and also blocked other financing initiatives he put together.

“The defendants refused to realize the profit to be garnered on the 180 SAW project based upon offers Sam solicited, because Sam asserted his legal rights and could not be coerced to agree to indemnify Constantine 50 per cent of its losses on the 128 Hazelton project as a condition of accepting the offers on the 180 SAW project,” the lawsuit alleges.

In an e-mail to The Globe and Mail, Constantine’s Mr. Hiscox disputed Mr. Mizrahi’s narrative, claiming that “in December 2021, Sam, through one of his entities, had agreed, as a 50-per-cent partner in Hazelton, to share equally in the losses of that project. This was documented in the ‘contribution agreement.’”

Mr. Hiscox also wrote: “We are about to enter the 10th year of what Mizrahi represented would be a three-year project,” adding that the project has exceeded Mr. Mizrahi’s original budget by more than $50-million, or almost double the original estimate.

Mr. Mizrahi filed his lawsuit after two major developments. In January, the senior lender to 128 Hazelton, Duca Financial Services Credit Union Ltd., alleged default and requested a receiver for the project.

A month later, Constantine bought out Duca’s debt, then filed its own request for court-appointed receivers for both 128 Hazelton and 180 Steeles, with the hope that a third party would complete sales for each. In an interview with The Globe at the time, Mr. Mizrahi referred to the action as “predatorial” behaviour.

As of January, Constantine and Mr. Mizrahi owned eight units in 128 Hazelton, and in its receivership application Constantine alleged Mr. Mizrahi’s company “failed or neglected to provide its share of the required additional funds necessary to complete and sell the remaining Hazelton project units.”

As for the 180 Steeles project, Constantine alleged it was owed $29-million by Mr. Mizrahi, but had lost confidence in his ability to repay the debt. Constantine was also concerned that Mr. Mizrahi’s company “will continue to fail or neglect to make its required capital contributions to the partnership.” 180 Steeles is located on Toronto’s northern border but is in the preconstruction phase and was put up for sale a year ago.

As the legal battle escalates, both sides have alleged the other has acted in bad faith. In February, for instance, Mr. Mizrahi told The Globe he tried to arrange financing from Third Eye Capital, or TEC, a private lender, to buy out Duca’s loan and sought Constantine’s approval, but later learned Constantine had struck a private deal to do the same itself. “They didn’t tell me, they weren’t transparent,” he said.

In his e-mail Wednesday, Mr. Hiscox wrote, “There were a number of issues with that financing proposal, not the least of which was the cost of the TEC debt being much higher than the existing Duca debt.”

Mr. Mizrahi also brought in Hyundai Asset Management, a South Korean entity, as a potential buyer for the 180 Steeles project, but Constantine would not agree to the transaction, he alleged in his lawsuit.

Mr. Hiscox wrote in his e-mail that the potential buyer “walked from the deal because of the current status of the zoning approval.”

While Mr. Mizrahi battles Constantine in court, another of his Yorkville condo projects, known as The One, is operating under a receiver. The 85-storey project was put into receivership last fall because it owed $1.6-billion to its lenders, is years behind schedule and faces multiple lawsuits. Mr. Mizrahi was recently replaced by Skygrid Construction Inc. as the project manager.

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Final Offer Launches in Canada Bringing Transparency to the Canadian Real Estate Market – Canada NewsWire

Published

6 hours ago

April 25, 2024

Harry Miller

TORONTO, April 25, 2024 /CNW/ – Final Offer, a new online platform for real estate brokerages, agents, home sellers and buyers to leverage the negotiation and offer process, has officially launched in Canada. In partnership with Royal LePage Signature Realty, Royal LePage Your Community Realty and Royal LePage Connect Realty, Final Offer empowers licensed real estate agents to provide a more transparent offer and negotiation experience for the consumer.

Final Offer Launches in Canada Bringing Transparency to the Canadian Real Estate Market (CNW Group/Final Offer)

For decades, Canadians looking to buy or sell a home have looked for greater transparency during the process. With the implementation of the Trust in Real Estate Services Act, 2002 (TRESA), Final Offer aligns itself well to disclose to the public exactly what sellers want for their home, including the price and terms. Potential buyers and their real estate agents receive real-time notifications of any action on the property, including when offers are made. Every buyer gets a fair shot at purchasing the property for its true market value. Sellers are confident they got the best outcome and achieved their goal.

“The way homes have been bought and sold hasn’t evolved in 100 years, until now,” says Nathan Dart, Senior Vice President of Final Offer. “We set out to enhance the way agents, sellers and buyers collaborate in the offer process by ensuring transparency and visibility. This is particularly important during a time of high housing costs in Canada. We’re thrilled to partner with such well respected market leaders in the GTA that are elevating the home buying and selling experience for all parties.”

Final Offer has attracted the attention of top real estate leaders in Canada looking to maximize the value of their sellers’ homes, while also giving their buyers transparency into what it will take to make an offer that will be accepted. Agents submit offers for their buyers on finaloffer.com and an interested buyer can have their real estate agent submit their “final offer” at any time and immediately put the home under contract.

“As an owner and operator of a real estate brokerage, I’ve seen the disappointment of our agents’ clients who lost out on their dream home for only a few thousand dollars or sellers who question if they got as much for their home as they possibly could,” says Chris Slightham, Owner and President of Royal LePage Signature Realty. “The ability to see offers in real time and to set and make a ‘final offer’ creates greater transparency and puts all parties in control. After introducing this platform to our realtors, they are seeing the confidence it gives their clients when making purchasing decisions. I believe Final Offer is going to change how real estate is transacted in Canada and beyond.”

Licensed real estate agents, sellers and buyers can all sign up for an account on finaloffer.com. There is no cost for sellers, buyers, and real estate agents making offers for their clients. Agents representing sellers can subscribe for a monthly fee.

“Realtors play a monumental role when advising clients throughout the home sale and purchasing process,” says Vivian Risi, President and Broker of Record of Royal LePage Your Community Realty. “The expectations clients have of their agent have never been higher. Partnering with Final Offer empowers our agents with the latest technology and data to set a strategy with clients to achieve the outcome they desire.”

Final Offer is currently available in Ontario, with further regions to come. Final Offer’s mission is to bring transparency, fairness and efficiency to the Canadian real estate market by empowering all parties involved to make informed decisions during the complex real estate transaction process.

“Canadians are looking for transparency in their real estate negotiations and Final Offer delivers,” says Michelle Risi, Broker of Record of Royal LePage Connect Realty. “There is no better tool available that our agents can use to deliver clear information and real time offer alerts that buyers and sellers demand.”

About Final Offer:
Final Offer is the sole consumer-centric platform, driven by agents, dedicated to managing and negotiating offers for residential real estate. The platform champions transparency throughout the buying and selling process and includes real-time offer alerts, promoting fairness and equity for all parties involved. For more information, visit finaloffer.com.

SOURCE Final Offer