A three-building rental apartment complex in Westboro has sold for $267-million in what is likely the largest residential real estate transaction in Ottawa history.
Homestead Land Holdings purchased Island Park Towers at 185, 195 and 200 Clearview Ave., just west of Island Park Drive, in a deal that closed last week. CBRE, which helped broker the sale, said the previous owner was a private developer from Montreal that had owned the buildings for more than a decade.
According to LinkedIn, the previous property manager was Montreal-based Acmon Inc.
Nico Zentil, senior vice-president of capital markets at CBRE’s Ottawa office, said a residential transaction of that size in the city is unprecedented.
“It’s extremely rare you would see something of this scale and quality ever surface in a market like Ottawa, which is pretty tightly controlled,” he told OBJ.
The buildings contain 642 suites and two commercial units. According to Homestead’s website, the apartments are being upgraded with new cabinetry and stone countertops as well as new appliances, lighting and flooring.
Homestead did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
Zentil said CBRE’s Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal offices started marketing Island Park Towers in May. He said the properties were “hotly pursued” and attracted multiple bidders, calling the price “a testament to the strength of the Ottawa residential market right now.”
While Ottawa’s rental vacancy rate more than doubled to 3.9 per cent last year as a flood of new units came online at the same time as the city’s population of students and new immigrants – groups that typically rent rather than buy – plummeted in the wake of the pandemic, Zentil predicts the market will bounce back quickly.
“The appetite for large Ottawa multi-res deals seems to be pretty consistent,” he said, adding that institutional investors tend to view the city as a “safe haven” for capital due to its steady economy and comparatively large student population.
Zentil said the volume of commercial deals in the capital is also starting to pick up as confidence in the economy slowly rebuilds.
“We’ve had a bit of a sleeper year,” Zentil said. “I think that by the end of 2021, we’re all going to be pleasantly surprised at the level of investment volume that we’ll see in this city.”
HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.
Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.
Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.
The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.
Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.
They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.
The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.
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.
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.
