global real estate

CMHC releases report on foreign ownership

“The really interesting thing about this report is the insight it provides into foreign ownership of condominiums in Canada by age of structure. For example, in the downtown core of Toronto, we know that, in buildings completed since 2010, about 10 per cent of those units are owned by foreign buyers,” Bob Dugan, chief economist, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, said. “This compares to about 2.3 percent for units completed during the 1990s. This represented another piece in the puzzle of foreign investment in Canada. It remains a top priority for CMHC to continue to get more information on foreign investment in Canada’s Housing market.”
The report found that foreign ownership is most prevalent in new condo buildings in Toronto and Vancouver.
In Toronto about 10% of newer buildings (built after 2010), compared to 2% of those buildings built in the 1990s.
A similar trend was found in Vancouver, where 6% of units in newer buildings are believed to be foreign-owned.
Highlights from the report include;

  • In the Toronto CMA, the share of foreign ownership is less than 2% for buildings completed before 1990 and 7% for newer constructions completed since 2010. This effect is even more pronounced in Toronto Centre where about 10% of the newer stock is owned by foreigners.
  • In the Vancouver CMA, foreign buyers’ share rises from less than 2% for properties built before 1990 to about 6% for those completed since 2010.

The stats were pulled from a fall 2015 survey.
To read the full report, click here.

Two-tower condo project a 'landmark development'

A two-tower condo project with 319 residential units is coming to the west end of downtown Calgary.8120226.binGrosvenor and Cressey Development Group plan to build the towers – one 24 storeys, the other 18 storeys – at the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street S.W., with construction expected to start late this year or in early 2014.
Sales for the Avenue project will be launched in the coming weeks, said Michael Ward, vice-president of Grosvenor in Calgary.
The latest downtown condo development was revealed as construction on another – Qualex Landmark’s MARK on 10th project – began blocks away with a ceremonial ground breaking on Tuesday.
MARK on 10th, located at 10th Avenue and 8th Street S.W., will be a 35-storey building.
The Calgary Real Estate Board said year-to-date sales in the condo apartment category, to March 18, are up almost 10 per cent from the same period a year ago. The average sale price has risen by 6.5 per cent to $290,048.
Grosvenor is also building the 17-storey, 135-unit Drake tower in the Beltline neighbourhood, at 15th Avenue and 7th Street S.W. Construction will be completed there in October.
“Watching Drake and watching the sales there it’s been quite good,” said Ward.
“That project is almost sold out now and that sort of gave us the confidence to move with the next project which is Avenue,” he said.
The Avenue partnership between Grosvenor, a privately owned property investment and development group, and Cressey, a residential and commercial development company, will redevelop the corner of 5th Avenue and 10th Street S.W. into what it calls a “landmark development.”
Ward said the development will be located on one of the few remaining parcels of land in Calgary’s west end.
Work has also started on Smith, a new multi-family project located adjacent to Drake.

Mario Toneguzzi, Calgary Herald

Published: Wednesday, March 20, 2013