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Reported real estate flipping has opposition blasting Quebec housing minister

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One of Quebec’s opposition parties, Québec solidaire, has blasted the province’s housing minister after reports surfaced late last week that she was involved in real estate flipping with a business partner who now lobbies the provincial government.

“She herself is part of [what] is causing us to live in a housing crisis,” said Québec Solidaire (QS) MNA and co-spokesperson candidate Ruba Ghazal on Saturday.

“The phone in my riding never stops ringing with people getting evicted and having no place to live.”

The reports first surfaced on Thursday, when La Presse, Ricochet and its French counterpart Pivot revealed that the CAQ’s housing minister France-Élaine Duranceau’s recent business partner, Annie Lemieux, has an active lobby mandate with the housing ministry.

Lemieux is president of a company that owns hundreds of rental apartments, according to Ricochet and Pivot’s reporting, and she and Duranceau flipped an apartment building together and made close to $2.5 million.

This is the same ministry that just tabled Bill 31, a legislation that would end tenants’ right to make lease transfers, which is a means of informal rent control in a province where the population is increasingly struggling with the cost of housing, especially in Montreal.

The bombshell reports revealed that Minister Duranceau, who herself is a former realtor, and Lemieux have been business partners on several projects, including the 2019 purchase of a two-storey Montreal building on De Chateaubriand Avenue in Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie.

They allegedly bought the building for $517,000 and then renovated and converted it into five luxury condos dubbed “Le Briand.”

The units sold for between $400,000 and $800,000 each. La Presse reported that they made about $3 million in total on the sale of the condos. The project listed both women as administrators and Duranceau as a shareholder.

“What bothers me about this is realizing that our politicians are close to the elite. They’re not close to the issues Quebecers are dealing with,” said former QS MNA and another co-spokesperson candidate, Émilise Lessard-Therrien, on Friday after the controversial story surfaced.

Québec solidaire has consistently advocated for tenants’ rights and affordable housing in Quebec and has been vocal about being against renovictions and real estate flipping.

“Is [she] the minister of the real estate industry, or a minister with the common good at heart” wrote QS MNA Andrés Fontecilla in a Twitter statement. “Her past alleged real estate practices show us that the interests of tenants are not her primary concern.”

“[This news] is dripping with contempt for citizens who are doing what they can in the face of the housing crisis,” said another QS MNA Christine Labrie.

Legault stands by his minister

On Monday, Premier François Legault commented on the story and reiterated his support of Duranceau, saying, “Listen, people in real estate buy and sell, it’s part of what goes on in the industry. It’s [known] that France-Élaine Duranceau has a past in [that sector].”

He continued by saying that it’s a “a plus” that the housing minister knows the real estate sector, and that it’s her responsibility to develop affordable housing as fast as possible.

“If someone can successfully manage those projects and be innovative, it’s her,” Legault said to reporters on Monday. About the lobbying appointments between Duranceau and Lemieux, the premier said they were discussing the construction of a seniors’ residence.

“It had nothing to do with their dealings in the past.”

Bill 31

This comes after Duranceau apologized earlier last week for remarks she made during an interview on Quebec’s Noovoo television network where she defended Bill 31, saying tenants can’t “use a right that isn’t theirs, to assign a lease to someone else, on terms they decide on when it’s not their building. Any tenant who wants to do that has to invest in real estate and take the risks that go with it.”

After that quote was called tone deaf and offensive, the minister said she was “sorry if it seemed insensitive. It was a legal and economic description of things. On the contrary, I’m very sensitive to what’s happening in housing.”

If Bill 31 is adopted, landlords will have the right to refuse and terminate lease transfers. The current law requires that landlords must have a “serious reason” for doing so.

The bill has been described by housing advocates as a setback to tenant rights and a further step to reduce access to affordable housing.

Global News reached out to the housing minister’s office for comment by email and by phone but did not hear back.

— with files from The Canadian Press

 

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

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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

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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

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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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