Developers are seeking approval for two 50-storey towers in the same block where Surrey city council recently gave the greenlight for what will be its tallest building at 67 storeys.
Real eState
Ontario’s real estate industry regulator is ineffective, Auditor-General says
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Ontario Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk speaks during a news conference at Queen’s Park in Toronto on Dec. 4, 2019.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press
Ontario’s Auditor-General says the province’s real estate regulator has been ineffective in policing the multibillion-dollar residential property industry.
In a report released on Wednesday, Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk found the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) does not adequately ensure that the industry complies with the regulations and has failed to do enough to protect consumers.
Topping the Auditor-General’s list of concerns was the fact that RECO does not fully inspect real estate brokerages on a timely basis. The Auditor-General found that 27 per cent of registered brokerages have never been fully inspected.
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As well, the Auditor-General said RECO does not have a consistent process to assess those applying to be realtors and who say they have a criminal history. The report looked at a sampling of 25 professionals who had disclosed a criminal conviction or charge and found that RECO had approved 20 of them and did not provide any documented reasoning for why it did so.
RECO was also criticized for how it deals with ethics violations in real estate transactions. The report said the average fine imposed on realtors was often below the amount of the commission they earned in a transaction, and said the fine could be viewed as a cost of doing business instead of a “sufficient deterrent to future misconduct.”
RECO said it is committed to developing a plan that will address the Auditor-General’s concerns. RECO’s response was included in the Auditor-General’s 51-page report. Under the province’s real estate act, every real estate brokerage, broker and realtor must be registered with RECO.
The Auditor-General identified a host of other shortcomings ranging from RECO’s failure to track and analyze complaints, which would help it identify and address systemic problems, to a lack of protocols to ensure that students do not cheat on virtual real estate exams.
The report said one glaring lack of enforcement occurs after RECO inspectors discover a brokerage is violating rules. The regulator rarely follows up “to confirm that the brokerage has addressed the violations,” the report said.
The report also noted that RECO does not have a process to inspect whether real estate professionals are complying with anti-money-laundering laws.
“It is probable that money laundering is occurring undetected in Ontario’s real estate market,” Ms. Lysyk said in a press release accompanying the report.
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During the pandemic real estate boom, blind bidding was heavily criticized for contributing to the spike in home prices when properties sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the listed price.Lars Hagberg/The Canadian Press
Realtors and brokers are required to report suspicious and large cash transactions to the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), which monitors money laundering.
But over the past five years, when more than one million Ontario properties worth $760-billion were sold, hardly any transactions were reported to FINTRAC. The federal agency received no reports of large cash transactions from 2017 to 2020. Only last year, which was a record period for home sales, FINTRAC received 18 reports of large cash transactions, according to the Auditor-General.
The report recommended that RECO work with FINTRAC to share information. It also recommended that RECO update its procedures to ensure that brokerages’ reporting obligations are properly reviewed.
RECO said it had already begun to “explore opportunities” to share information and collaborate with FINTRAC.
Over all, the Auditor-General had 25 recommendations for RECO and the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery, which oversees the regulator. In the report, both RECO and the ministry said some of the recommendations would be addressed next year when the province’s new real estate rules go into effect.
That law includes a purported change to an opaque real estate sales tactic known as blind bidding, where competing buyers in a multiple-bid situation do not know what others are offering to pay for a home.
During the pandemic real estate boom, blind bidding was heavily criticized for contributing to the spike in home prices when properties sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the listed price.
The real estate industry has repeatedly defended the practice as giving homeowners choice. The new law, which comes into effect in April, includes a provision that will allow the homeowner to disclose the competing offers. However, homeowners are already allowed to sell their homes via an open auction.
The Auditor-General report recommended that RECO work with its overseeing ministry to gather data on which sellers choose an auction process.
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Real eState
More tall towers being proposed, approved and completed in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and Coquitlam
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There are 20 development projects with towers over 45 storeys that are selling condo units, under construction or near completion.
He added that with increased land and construction costs, developers are motivated to use all the density they can get and build taller towers. However, there is also a point where it stops making sense to push higher “because things like the cost of structural systems increase as you go higher.”
Across Metro Vancouver, there are more than 20 towers over 45 storeys that have been approved by municipal governments, according to data from Zonda Urban market analyst Justin Lee. More than half of these are in Burnaby. Five are in Coquitlam and Port Moody, while Downtown Vancouver, New Westminster and Surrey have one each.
After these, there are 40 more tall-tower projects that have been publicly presented to city councils and are in some stage of seeking approval. Most are in Burnaby and Surrey, followed by Downtown Vancouver and Coquitlam.
“We’ll see if economic conditions allow for them to be built,” said Dikeakos, whose firm is working on the new tall tower approved in Surrey and other projects.
In late 2019, Pinnacle International Development made a proposal for a site near the Lougheed SkyTrain Station. It had three towers including one that would be 80 storeys and 250 metres tall. They would be the tallest buildings in Western Canada. Some more details were presented to Burnaby city council in May 2022 for towers of 80, 76 and 73 storeys, but the project has not progressed further with the city.
Metro King by Anthem Properties is a proposal for a 66-storey tower between Kingsway and Hazel streets across from Metrotown that is nearing a final decision by the City of Burnaby.
This pipeline of potential projects is happening as cities have focused on adding density to sites near transit stations and town centres, according to Dikeakos.
“The taller buildings in these types of developments that you are going to be seeing tend to be real, mixed-use ones, meaning they have a commercial base with significant office or hotel use where the first 15 to 20 storeys are commercial even before you get to the residential portion,” he said.
“One of the interesting changes that we’re seeing is that because these developments are being done near transit sites, cities are requiring less parking,” said Dikeakos. “If we had to do the same amount of parking required a few years ago, the depth of these excavations would make them completely unfeasible. (When) we’re not required to do as much parking, it allows us to do these taller towers and still make some financial sense.”
Even though developers are motivated to deal with increasing land and construction costs by building higher, there is a turning point. It will obviously be different for each project, but Dikeakos said that for the Station Square project, it was somewhere at the 52- to 55-storey height.
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An iconic Muskoka resort has just hit cottage country’s real estate market.
For those looking for a new business venture in the summertime hot spot, Windermere House has just been listed for $12M.
The sprawling, long-time landmark sits on Lake Rosseau — one of the “Big Three” Muskoka lakes — and is known for its quintessential Old Muskoka charm mixed with modern luxury and amenities. Beloved by both tourists and local cottagers, the picturesque resort has been synonymous with Muskoka tourism since 1870.
Known as ‘The Lady of The Lake,’ this 56-room resort hotel sits in a prime location in the Village of Windermere, overlooking the stunning lake. Offering a dose of timeless charm, its historic features include original stone architecture, a charming veranda, and classic Muskoka-style windows. The hotel features several food and beverage outlets, full-service spa capabilities, and a 3,200 sq. ft. of function space that ranges from a private boardroom to state-of-the-art conference facilities.
With quintessential cottage country recreation front and centre, the 6.62-acre resort features a heated outdoor swimming pool, tennis court, sand beach, marina, and golf course.
The new owner of the property will have the opportunity to take up residence in Windermere Cottage, the traditional four-bedroom private cottage with a separate entrance from Fife Avenue that can also be rented as an additional resort property. Or, as the listing highlights, there’s also the option to personalize a penthouse “cottage” suite within the hotel.
The Muskoka chair-filled property includes three detached staff houses, an older, staggered row-style 10-plex, and ample on-site parking.
While its price tag isn’t within reach of everyone, considering that most of the sprawling cottages on the lake sell for upwards of $5M — coupled with its inevitable income-generating potential — the property may be considered a steal for someone in the market for a breezy new business venture.
Find the full listing here.
Written By
Erin Nicole Davis
Erin Nicole Davis is a born and raised Toronto writer with a passion for the city and its urban affairs and culture.
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Toronto is getting a new hotel by expanding an old hotel that has spent decades not being a hotel. I know, very confusing, but I can totally explain.
A four-storey building that has stood at the southwest corner of Church Street and Richmond Street East for over 140 years could soon undergo a significant transformation.
The building at 124 Church Street was originally constructed as a hotel in the 1880s, and after 14 decades, a developer has filed plans to bring the property back to its roots with a renovation and expansion supporting a new boutique hotel.
M&G Hotels Limited has big plans for the property, filing a minor variance application that calls for a YY Architecture Studio-designed addition extending the building’s roofline and providing additional space for hotel and other hospitality uses.
This address has been home to McVeigh’s Irish Pub since 1962, and despite major changes on the horizon for the property, it looks like the bar will maintain its presence in the building, and be left practically undisturbed through the renovations.
Plans for the site show little modifications in store for the first two levels of the existing building, aside from a new elevator shaft and other small changes.
The current space occupied by McVeigh’s is listed simply as “existing bar” and “existing kitchen” in plans, a good indication that the establishment will maintain its long-term presence at the intersection.
New floors would be added above the current parapet, bringing the existing four-storey building to an increased height of six levels.
A total of 24 hotel suites are planned on levels three through six, topped by a new rooftop bar and terrace.
The rejuvenated hospitality property will reportedly operate under the branding Clover Hotel, and this will not be the first time that the site or even the current building has been home to a hotel.
Diagram of the proposal showing additional floors and rooftop bar space. Image via City of Toronto development application.
The southwest corner of Church and Richmond has been home to bars and hotels since the mid-19th century, and the current 1882-built structure was originally constructed as a hotel, replacing an earlier timber hotel building dating back to the 1850s.
Opened as the Windsor Hotel and later renamed the New Windsor Hotel in the early 20th century, the building was maintained as a hotel into the 1960s.
Plans to expand the building and open a hotel are just some of the big changes happening to the property.
The existing building at 124 Church Street stands as the lone holdout against a huge condo development now under construction that will soon tower over the property’s south and west elevations.
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