When the sale of a waterfront Southlands acreage that was partly willed to a Vancouver man eventually sold, he got $7.5 million, about half of the listed value.
Byron Stanley put the blame on his realtor’s negligence, for what he said was overpricing of $13.8 million of the four-acre property with equestrian stables and paddocks in one of the most exclusive areas of Vancouver, according to recent decision in B.C. Supreme Court.
Stanley has filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court, asking for about $1.6 million in damages from the realtor and his company Angell Hasman and Associates.
The suit said that by the time the property was sold, “Mr. Stanley was in financial distress, resulting in his selling (the property) at a discount,” and as a result was seeking $1,150,000, the difference between the fair market value and what he sold for, according to the lawsuit.
Stanley was also seeking damages to compensate him for the $45,000 a month in interest charges he paid on his loan for the estimated 10 extra months the property took to sell because of delays he said were caused by the realtor.
Many years and much litigation later, first in Supreme Court, where he lost his lawsuit against realtor Grech, and in the B.C. Court of Appeal, where his appeal was dismissed and the Supreme Court decision upheld, Stanley was left with a fraction of the $12 million he had hoped to make on the sale, according to court documents.
Skolrood noted the Supreme Court judge found that Grech had breached his duty by failing to get legal advice or to recommend Stanley do so, but he held the “breach did not cause Mr. Stanley’s damages.”
The Supreme Court judge said there was no evidence to show that Stanley lost money because of that breach. And the earlier judgment found Stanley had collaborated with Grech on the asking price.
Skolrood dismissed the appeal on the grounds that Stanley failed to identify a legal error in the lower court decision and that he said he lost money from the high listing price but didn’t appeal the judge’s finding that Grech wasn’t negligent in recommending the list price.
And Skolrood wrote that if Stanley had received legal advice about development limitations on the land and assumed as a result wouldn’t have lost the money is “mere speculation” presented without evidence.
Stanley had grown up in Southlands and his mother had been a friend of Reid’s and her husband, who predeceased her. For 35 years Stanley was like a son to her and called her his aunt, according to the Supreme Court judgment.
Stanley had lived at the property during her last years, caring for her while she lived with dementia and caretaking the property.
After Reid died in 2016, Stanley couldn’t afford to buy the property even at half its $9 million value, so he borrowed $4.5 million plus $1 million for other expenses, including interest payments on the loan that he obtained from a private lender because he didn’t qualify for a conventional bank loan.
He hired Grech and the property was listed the day Stanley’s purchase of the home completed on Feb. 27, 2017, and the house was listed at $13.8 million.
The property was part of a two-lot strata after Reid created one to accommodate the sale of a second house, which meant any development on the property needed unanimous consent from all strata owners. The existing first house was a modest 2,000 square feet and a house up to 7,000 square feet was permitted but it would require using the limited common property.
Such strata restrictions make sales more difficult and the owners and others flagged this to Grech, who told Stanley during the sale period, according to the judgment.
Grech, who primarily worked on the North Shore, wasn’t familiar with strata restrictions and Stanley assured him several times his property could be developed without consent of the other strata owners, Skolrood wrote.
The asking price was dropped as offers were made and countered, and then dropped by the buyers, and eventually it was the owner of the other strata unit who bought the property on April 21, 2018. As owners of both strata lots, they could build the 7,000 square foot house that now exists on the property.
TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.
The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.
“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.
“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”
The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.
New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.
In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.
The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.
“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.
“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”
He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.
“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.
“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”
All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.
Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.
“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.
“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
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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