Real eState

Opinion: Commercial real estate and the climate challenge – BCBusiness

Published

5 years ago

February 19, 2020

Credit: Mike Benna/Unsplash

By the end of this decade, B.C. will have cut greenhouse gas emissions from commercial buildings by 40 percent. Guess how the province will do it?

CleanBC, the province’s climate action plan, outlines a range of policies and actions intended to drive down greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and help bring B.C. closer to its target of reducing carbon pollution 40 percent below 2007 levels by 2030.

It’s an ambitious and commendable goal, and reaching it will require sweeping changes across the economy, with implications for almost every industry. The CleanBC plan touches natural gas producers, new-vehicle dealers, and trucking and freight companies, to name just three sectors.

But one industry has largely escaped regulatory attention, and it’s not exactly a niche: commercial real estate. This sector contributes $3.5 billion to the provincial economy each year and employs 37,000 people, according to the Building Owners and Managers Association of British Columbia (BOMA BC).

When it comes to improving the performance of existing buildings, so far the province has focused on carrots. The $24-million Better Buildings BC program, co-funded with Ottawa through the federal Low Carbon Economy Leadership Fund, offers the owners and managers of commercial and multi-unit residential buildings incentives for energy assessments and upgrades.

But on the climate file, Victoria means business. CleanBC spells out several goals for the commercial real estate sector. By 2030, the province intends to reduce overall emissions from buildings by 40 percent, through a combination of:

Higher energy performance for new buildings, through the BC Energy Step Code, which requires all new buildings to be net zero-energy-ready by 2032;
Major retrofit initiatives to boost the energy efficiency of existing homes and buildings; and
Fuel switching to get at least 40 percent of our commercial space onto clean electric heating, including increasing heat pump usage by 15 times today’s level.

All tiers of government will be rolling out building policy and incentive programs in the months ahead. According to the province, voluntary action and incentives—with an extra nudge from the carbon tax—yielded a 6.5-percent emission reduction from commercial buildings between 2007 and 2016. However, all of the measures outlined in the CleanBC plan, across all sectors, only bring the province within 75 percent of its target.

Over the coming years, the government will be looking for opportunities to squeeze another 6.1 megatonnes of carbon out of the economy. Given the significant GHG contribution of existing commercial buildings, and the dearth of regulation to date, the sector won’t likely escape Victoria’s attention.

For a glimpse of where things may end up in Metro Vancouver, we can look to New York City. Last April, it enacted a law that forces the owners of thousands of commercial buildings to slash their greenhouse gas emissions. Besides capping carbon pollution on buildings with more than 25,000 square feet of floor area, the law requires companies to cut reduce their GHGs 40 percent by 2030.

NYC’s reg has teeth, too: companies will face fines of US$268 a year for every excess tonne of carbon they emit, which could translate into penalties in the range of millions of dollars annually. Clearly, it’s in industry’s interest to join the conversation. Smart property owners will get out front, and fully understand their carbon exposure and the incentives available to them.

Fortunately, Building Benchmark BC, a new voluntary pilot program, hopes to make the disclosure process a little easier. Several of the province’s fastest-growing local governments have thrown their weight behind the pilot, as have leading property owners and managers such as Colliers, Concert Properties, QuadReal Property Group and Shape Properties Corp.

Building Benchmark BC aims to show property owners that energy benchmarking can be easy and effective. Participants will gain valuable insights into their energy and carbon performance relative to their peers. And comprehensive building-by-building performance data can inform effective policy, incentive program design and capital deployment.

One way or another, the province will meet its climate goal. And as the New York City example shows us, getting there while ensuring the sector’s ongoing health will almost certainly involve some combination of effective policy and enabling incentives. Every businessperson knows how critical good data is to decision making, and Building Benchmark BC is an opportunity to help make sure that regulators get it right the first time.

Our message to property owners and managers across the province: What are you waiting for?

Donovan Woollard is CEO of OPEN Technologies, which develops building energy-performance software, and Dave Ramslie is vice-president of sustainability for Concert Properties. Both are participants in the Building Benchmark BC pilot.

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

Published

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

Published

2 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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Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

3 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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