Real eState

Montreal real estate: The appeal of a tiny home – Clinton News Record

Published

5 years ago

January 29, 2020

There is no room for nostalgic clutter, impulse purchases or unitasking kitchen tools.

Kenton Zerbin made the switch to tiny home living four years ago when he moved into an off-grid home in Edmonton that he designed and built himself.

Early Rain Studio / Postmedia

With prices rising quickly in Montreal, those in search of affordable homes are increasingly shopping for condos or fleeing for cheaper outlying suburbs. But there’s another way to shrink your housing costs: buy or build a tiny home.

By “tiny” I don’t just mean small. Many tiny homes are 500 square feet or less — sometimes a lot less. Aficionados of small-space living can find examples on websites like tinyhouselistings.com that are just 200 square feet. The small-footprint homes typically cost much less than a conventional property and are less expensive to heat and maintain.

It may seem like a stretch if a 700-square-foot apartment seems cramped to you. Then again, even a 4,000-square-foot cottage in the ‘burbs can feel small if you cram it full of stuff.

For tiny home evangelist Kenton Zerbin, one of the big benefits of choosing to live in a tiny home is that it forces you to zero in on the things in your life that matter most to you. There is no room for nostalgic clutter, impulse purchases or unitasking kitchen tools.

“A tiny house is a means to an end,” Zerbin said. “It’s a way for your house to enable your life, instead of living for your house.”

Zerbin made the big switch to tiny home living four years ago when he moved into an off-grid home in Edmonton that he designed and built himself. Now the former high school teacher is touring Canada to promote a lifestyle he characterizes as more sustainable, including building smaller, more energy-efficient homes, incorporating edible landscaping and living in balance with nature.

Kenton Zerbin offers workshops on the ins and outs of tiny home construction.

Early Rain Studio /

Postmedia

Zerbin’s road show came to Montreal in November, but it was popular enough to organize a return engagement just a few months later. He’ll be explaining the ins and outs of tiny home construction in a $399 workshop on Feb. 7-9 at Bâtiment 7, 1900 Le Ber (Suite 201). (Full details about the workshop are on Zerbin’s website at kentonzerbin.com.)

The workshop focuses on the ins and outs of tiny home design and construction, but Zerbin said the information is practical for all homeowners to know, whether or not they really intend to build or buy a tiny home.

“A lot of people don’t understand the guts of a house, what actually makes it tick, how to reduce their heating bill, how insulation really works, and where your money is best spent on this stuff,” Zerbin said.

While it is possible for some skilled and resourceful DIYers to build a tiny home on wheels for as little as $30,000, Zerbin said it’s more realistic to expect a budget of $80,000 or more, depending on the type of home you choose.

Although tiny homes are growing in popularity, municipal regulations often limit where people can build, Zerbin said. Rules vary from province to province and city to city. Some places like Vancouver are embracing the potential to provide more affordable housing options as well as infill housing to increase density in single-family neighbourhoods. In some municipalities, however, minimum size requirements limit how tiny a home can be.

Many tiny home enthusiasts have responded by building souped-up RVs on trailer chassis even if they don’t expect they’ll ever roll away on those wheels. Others have found — or founded — purpose-built tiny home enclaves where municipalities have been willing to amend bylaws to expressly permit these homes.

According to Josée Bilodeau, owner of the Napier-based “minimaison” specialty building company Ilo (ilotinyhouse.com), while tiny homes are less common in Montreal, there are several tiny home projects underway on the outskirts of the city in places like the South Shore.

In other Canadian cities, there’s a trend to building tiny homes on the same lot as a pre-existing single-family home, either for family members to live in or to act as a mortgage helper. While it’s still uncommon in Montreal, Bilodeau said it’s starting to happen here, too.

“There are people who have succeeded to do it in Montreal, but you have to be very persistent, very tenacious,” she said.

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Real eState

Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

Published

5 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

3 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

4 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

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.

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