Canadian home sales slip lower in January

Home sales slipped lower in January for the second month in a row. The Canadian Real Estate Association says sales through its multiple listing service in January were down 2.0 per cent compared with a year ago. Compared with December, January's sales were down 3.1 per cent.
The national average price for a home sold in January was $401,143, up 3.1 per cent from a year ago.
CREA says it was the smallest year-over-year increase since April 2013.

Source: http://www.ctvnews.ca/business/average-price-for-a-home-in-canada-is-401-143-crea-1.2239839

Rent Control in Ontario

You’ve survived several months in your rental unit and have managed to transform your rental unit into a home. You’re probably wondering about the amount of rent you’ll have to pay if you remain living there. You have no clue what the rent will be like next year if you decide to stay in your rental unit (you also have no clue about what you’ll wear tomorrow but that’s a whole different story). Here are a few guidelines that will satisfy your curiosity about rent control in Ontario.

After 12 months have passed since you first moved in (or since your last rent increase), your landlord can (and more than likely will) increase your rent once every 12 months. Once the 12 months have passed, you’ll be happy to know that your landlord cannot surprise you with an increase of rent without first notifying you. In fact, the landlord must give you a written notice of rent increase at least 90 days before the day the rent increase is to start. Why 90 days? Well, if you don’t like (or can’t afford) the new rent, it will allow you enough time to give the landlord proper notice of termination and find another suitable place to call home.

Regarding how much your landlord can increase your rent by, in most cases your landlord will follow rent increase guidelines set annually by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing. The Ministry isn’t inventing random numbers but relying on the Ontario Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a measure of inflation calculated monthly by Statistics Canada. For 2014, the rate of allowable rent increases is 0.8%.

For example, if your monthly rent ($900) of an apartment began on September 1, 2013, then 12 months later on September 1, 2014, your landlord could lawfully increase your rent by 0.8 percent. Of course, proper written 90 days’ notice should have been provided to you. Therefore, your new rent amount from September 1, 2014 would be ($900 x 0.008 = $7.20) $907.20. Now here’s where it can get complicated. If your rent increases by more than 0.8% then it’s probably because the law allows landlords to apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board for an increase above the rent increase guideline for operating costs related to security services, for eligible capital expenditures, or if their costs for the municipal taxes or utilities have increased by more than the guideline plus 50 per cent.

The only silver lining with all this talk about rent control is that the interest rate on the deposit for the last month or week that you gave to your landlord before you began your tenancy is the same as the rent increase guideline.

Source: Matthew Wilson, real estate and land development lawyer

http://lernersrealestate.ca/blog/post/rent-control-in-ontario?&utm_source=Mondaq&utm_medium=syndication&utm_campaign=View-Original

Gone downtown: 2015 real estate trend

According to a new report produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Urban Land Institute, homeowners who choose the convenience of city life over the more generous living space in suburbia are driving Canada’s real estate market.

The most recent numbers available show that the population of urban centres grew 7.1 per cent between 2006 and 2011, according to Statistics Canada.

Much of this is due to changing demographics as young families and millennials forgo the white picket fence and house in the suburbs to take advantage of downtown living, where properties are smaller but offer more conveniences.

Meanwhile, an expected rise this year in interest rates from historically low levels may also influence demand in the housing market. Developers responding to the needs of downtown dwellers by building more mixed-used properties, which include residential and retail space.

Source: http://metronews.ca/news/canada/1196234/gone-downtown-2015-real-estate-trend/

Immigration boosting real estate in Canadian cities

Immigration numbers in Canada have been underestimated by around 100,000 and the sector is playing a greater role in supporting the housing market in some of its largest cities, according to CIBC. Non-permanent residents — students, temporary workers and humanitarian refugees who are currently residing in Canada – play a key role in demand for new housing and in the rental market, particularly in Toronto, Vancouver and Calgary, says the CIBC’s latest Economic Insights report.

New immigrants make up 70% of the increase in Canada’s population and as half are aged 25-44, they represent the country’s economic engine with the highest employment levels and the most likelihood of starting families.
In 2013, non-permanent residents (NPRs) rose 22,000 to 774,000, with an annual flow equivalent to a record-high 30% of new immigrants the country gets each year.
The number of Canadians aged 20-44 rose by 1.1% in 2013, the fastest pace in more than two decades and almost double the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development’s growth rate. Despite some concerns of overbuilding in the current housing boom, the ratio of housing starts to household formation – the rate at which people move – is not far from its long-term average of 1.03, indicating no signs of froth.

The ‘echo generation’ – the children of baby boomers – are buying fewer homes and with foreign workers set to face more barriers to come to Canada, the demand for new housing is likely to slow in future, although it will be partly offset by the country’s plan to raise the immigration quota by 20,000-30,000 a year, with an increased focus on labour market needs.
CIBC, which is Canada’s largest bank, says while it still sees some moderation in the growth of homebuilding, it expects an average rate of 190,000 starts per year up to 2016, more than 10,000 higher than its previous prediction.



Source: http://www.opp-connect.com/25/11/2014/immigration-boosting-real-estate-in-canadian-cities-says-bank/

Canada's Largest Industry Is Real Estate

According to StatsCan, the real estate industry is the industry that most contributed to economic growth in Canada since 2000. It should be noted that real estate does not include the construction and development of buildings, that activity falls under construction, the second largest contributor to GDP growth.

Real estate industry also surpassed manufacturing in 2008 as Canada's largest industry. Since 1997, the construction industry has jumped from seventh largest industry, to fourth. The second largest industry, manufacturing, is the only industry that had a negative contribution to GDP growth since 2000.


Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/greg-sward/canadas-largest-industry-_b_6227344.html

Restrictive covenants - What are those?

Long before municipal zoning by-laws existed, restrictive covenants were used as an effective community planning tool. A restrictive covenant is simply a contract between two neighbouring landowners. In a restrictive covenant, the landowner who obtains the benefit under this contract is called the covenantee, who is anxious to maintain the saleable value of the property. The covenantee acquires the right to restrain the covenantor, the landowner who assumes the burden of the promise, from putting the neighbouring land to certain specified uses.

Restrictive covenants are typically present in most new housing subdivisions under the building scheme. They affect every lot in a subdivision, and are actually a private scheme of town planning. All the parties living in that subdivision possess a common interest to preserve the character and value of all the land in the subdivision. In certain subdivisions, one cannot plant a particular tree on one's property because of the tendency of that particular tree to seek out moisture and eventually grow into a neighbour's basement.

It is important to remember that all restrictive covenants affecting your property would be found on title to your property. Ask your lawyer about any restrictive covenants that may be affecting your property before you decide to purchase a home or paint your current home bright pink.

Source:  http://www.mondaq.com/canada/x/344190/real+estate/Can+I+Paint+My+House+Bright+Pink

Lest We Forget

Every year on November 11 Canadians come together for Remembrance Day to reflect and acknowledge the men and women who served or continue to serve their country during times of war, conflict and peace.

The City of St. Catharines observes Remembrance Day at City Hall November 11 by laying wreaths at the Honour Rolls and the Watson Memorial before joining the Royal Canadian Legion Branch 24 at the Cenotaph at Memorial Park on St. Paul Street West.

For schedule of events and other Remembrance Day Ceremonies please visit:
http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/Remembrance-Day.asp