March 2012 Ontario Economic Fundamentals

[Ally]

Basement Apartment Retrofit



In a city like Toronto, where the apartment vacancy rate is low and real estate values are high, many people rely on the rental income from a basement apartment to give them the edge they need to own a home. But is it a `legal` apartment? If not, how can it be made `legal`? In the process of legalizing the apartment, will I be inviting `trouble`? What if the `city` prescribes improvements that are prohibitively expensive? What if the `city` decides that I can`t have an apartment?





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Lawyer admits he was 'tool or dupe' in Junction real estate deals




Ontario`s legal regulator has suspended a second lawyer for his role in a series of unusual real estate deals in The Junction area after he acknowledged being a `tool or dupe` and found guilty of professional misconduct.




The Law Society of Upper Canada ruled recently that veteran real estate lawyer Nelson Garcia won`t be able to practice law for three months starting April 1 and must pay $15,000 in costs for proceedings against him.




Garcia admitted he breached several rules governing professional standards of a lawyer on four house deals between 2003 and 2005.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Toronto condos lose investment lustre




It`s just one month, but a new set of numbers from Toronto builders showing condo prices climbing just 2% on a year-over-year basis could make investors think twice.




The condominium market in the city, the biggest of its kind in North America for that class of housing, is largely based on a capital appreciation. Most investors finance their units knowing that they will be unable to carry them on a cash-flow positive basis based on present rental rates.





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[Ally]

Ontario's green dream was just a fantasy




The other evening I got a robo-call. It was an automated poll. The recorded voice told me to press `1` if I approved of wind turbines, and `2` if I disapproved. I pressed `2` ` hard. So have a lot of other people in Ontario.




Across the countryside outside Toronto, wind turbines are spreading like a plague. They are being built over the strenuous objections of folks who live in rural towns, whose rights have been stomped on by the province. They`re chewing up birds. Worst of all, they`re chewing up billions of taxpayer dollars in the name of a green dream that`s nothing but a fantasy.





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[Ally]

LRT best option for Sheppard Avenue, advisory panel concludes




An above-ground light-rail line is by far the best way to expand transit on Sheppard Avenue East, according to an advisory panel whose much-anticipated final report will be made public Friday.




`Having completed a detailed evaluation of options, the panel concluded that Light Rail Transit (LRT) is the recommended mode of transit across Sheppard Avenue East,` the report`s covering letter reads.





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[Ally]

Toronto bidding wars are back




Toronto homebuyers, brace for another spring of bidding wars.




Real estate listings remain so tight that half of detached homes in the `coveted` $600,000 to $900,000 price range in high-demand Toronto neighbourhoods are selling over the asking price ` and the peak spring season hasn`t even begun.




`Bidding war fatigue` has already forced some would-be buyers to retreat from a market that could be even hotter this spring than last, according to a new report from ReMax that points to unusually strong activity this early in the year.





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[Ally]

Toronto condo towers now city's tallest buildings




Canderel`s sleek new condo building sprouting from the ground at Yonge and Gerrard Sts. has a title that`s just waiting to be toppled ` Canada`s tallest residential building.




When all 78 storeys are complete, Aura will tower 272 metres and ` for a while at least ` surpass everything in the city except the CN Tower and First Canadian Place.





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[Ally]

Laurier buys up $59 million buildings




WATERLOO ` Wilfrid Laurier University has become a student landlord with a $58.9-million purchase of 12 apartment buildings adjacent to its main campus.




`It`s an important piece of property, and it`s a significant size,` said Jim Butler, vice-president of finance and administration.




The deal, which closed on Thursday, includes 10 properties on Ezra Street and one on Bricker Avenue, south of Laurier`s Waterloo campus. It also includes one on Hickory Street West in the Northdale area, north of the campus and beside the former Northdale Public School, which the university already owns.





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[Ally]

Toronto names second best city worldwide: Report




Toronto ranks number 2 in the world as a city of opportunity, according to a new report from PriceWaterhouseCoopers.




Trumped by New York City, Toronto stood out among the world's "metro powerhouses" in the areas of finance, tourism, livability and innovation - and was the only Canadian city to make the cut.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Moving on up in regent park




The social engineers and their media cheerleaders were positively tripping over each other in early 2005 to describe the daring new vision to raze and rebuild the socially isolated Regent Park into a mixed-income, mixed-use community.




There were claims the $1-billion, six-phase, 15-year development plan to breathe new life into the 50-year-old Toronto Community Housing Corporation (TCHC) housing project would pave the way for other such re-dos ` not just in Toronto, but across the country.




The poor would be `fully integrated into the fabric` of the surrounding Dundas and Parliament neighbourhood and for the first time in many years, commercial tenants would move back in.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Growth in condo sector prompts legislative review




The Ontario government is reviewing the Condominium Act amid `significant change and unprecedented growth` within the sector since the 1998 legislation came into force.




While the Ministry of Consumer Services could not commit to a timeline, a spokesperson recently said the review would be a priority in the months ahead ` though critics contend it is already long overdue.







`We support modernizing the Act and will be reviewing the legislation to see how it could better reflect the growth of condominium housing and the lessons learned over the last decade,` ministry spokesperson Sandra Bento said, noting the review would seek input from a host of interested parties, including the Canadian Condominium Institute, the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario, owners, builders and the legal community.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

Record February from home sales in the Barrie region



Residential property sales recorded through the MLSÂ System of the Barrie & District Association of REALTORSÂ Inc. numbered 371 units in February, rising 31 per cent from year-ago levels. This is the first time on record that sales have topped the 350 mark in the month of February.





As a result of the strong demand in February, seasonally adjusted sales activity jumped 24 per cent on a month-over-month basis.





Within the city of Barrie, sales activity was up by less than the overall trend for the region. The city of Barrie saw 243 residential sales in February, up 25 per cent from one year earlier.





On a year-to-date basis, sales activity was running 23 per cent ahead of the first two months of 2011, and stands roughly on par with the record for this period set in 2007.





Read the full article here.

 

[Ally]

The Hamilton real estate market



Local realtor Judy Marsales was recently interviewed by Canadian Real Estate Wealth magazine, which is doing a short feature on Hamilton, describing the market to investors in other parts of the country. Here is what Marsales had to say in response to questions from reporter Kit Kadlec.





The REIN recently ranked Hamilton first as the best real estate location for investment in Ontario, noting the city has shed its image of a steel town. How would you describe Hamilton`s new image to residents and investors?





For whatever reason, the perception of Hamilton seemed to have been stuck in the 1960s when the industrial base defined what people thought of when they mentioned Hamilton. Again, this image was also steeped in the misconception of polluted skies together with a `lunch bucket` population. However, the reality in the past 10 years is that health care and education were the No. 1 employers and the dominance of the once mighty steel industry was lessened. Over this period of time, there was also an increase in the appreciation for the beauty of the Hamilton geography: a) the wonders of our portion of the Niagara Escarpment with the magnificent views, walking paths, and gorgeous foliage. b) Hamilton Harbour which offered everything from wonderful vistas, biking paths, picnic areas, and many music festivals. The City is very much a work in progress.





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[Ally]

Auto sector accelerates despite strong dollar



EDMONTON ` According to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair, Ontario`s manufacturing-driven economy is in dire shape, and it`s all because of Canada`s soaring, oilsands-driven petrodollar.





There`s just one hitch with this tidy little narrative. It`s not true.





As I noted in Tuesday`s column, the lofty loonie is just one of many factors ` including the rise of China and the decline of the U.S. ` that bushwhacked Ontario`s factory-fuelled economy in recent years.





Moreover, when you pay nearly 79,000 civil servants $100,000 or more a year ` as McGuinty`s spendthrift government does ` well, it`s hardly a surprise that you wind up with an expected $15.3 billion deficit for 2012.





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