No "doom and gloom" in store for Canadian real estate – Royal LePage’s Soper

by Ephraim Vecina29 Jul 2020


Sustained market strength, subject to supply constraints, will be the predominant dynamic in the Canadian housing sector for the rest of the year, according to Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper and Sotheby’s Canada CEO Don Kottick.


In a joint interview with The Financial Post, the two executives highlighted the major role that housing inventory will play in the period immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic eases.

Soper said that home prices largely rely on the balance between supply and buyer activity.

“There are a lot of people who are looking to put roofs over their heads,” Soper said. “We just don’t see the number of homes for sale, the supply side of this, climbing to the point where home prices will collapse.”

Royal LePage’s latest predictions have placed annual growth by year-end at 2.5%.


https://www.canadianrealestatemagazine.ca/news/no-doom-and-gloom-in-store-for-canadian-real-estate--royal-lepages-soper-331927.aspx

MORTGAGE RATE FORECAST......BCREA


As the year ends, it's worth reflecting on how significantly the Canadian interest rate environment has changed in just twelve months. One year ago, the Canadian yield curve was its usual upward sloping shape, with markets expecting gradual rate increases by the Bank of Canada. Based partly on those expectations, Canadian mortgage rates were climbing. However, within 8 months the yield curve in Canada had inverted, bond yields tumbled, and Canadian mortgage rates were once again heading lower.


https://www.bcrea.bc.ca/economics/mortgage-rate-forecast/


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West Vancouver to consider tree cutting rules

Residents petition council for protections

District of West Vancouver council is looking to silence the chainsaws – although maybe not as fast as some would like.

A group of West Vancouver residents appeared as a delegation before council Monday night to request the district acknowledge there is a problem with sweeping clearcuts of mature trees on lots and challenge council to develop a policy that would be “win-win” for tree-loving West Vancouver residents and property owners looking to rebuild. The district currently has no bylaws protecting trees on private property.

“We believe there needs to be a combination of both disincentives as well as incentives with a view to encouraging the right type of decision-making as well as behaviour from our residents,” said Nic Tsangarakis, a 17th Street resident.

Beyond reining in the destruction of mature trees, Tsangarakis also asked council to help replenish the supply of trees that had been lost. He pointed to the City of Vancouver’s example of aiming to plant 150,000 more trees by 2020, which should up the city’s tree canopy density by more than 20 per cent.

“I think that is a wonderful goal, an auspicious goal and I think we can be doing something similar,” he said.

Tsangarakis and his supporters had also gathered 273 signatures for a petition. While council was largely receptive to the ideas, residents will have to wait until the fall before they can get a look at some proposed bylaws that would target tree retention on private property.

For some on council, however, the fall can’t come fast enough. Coun. Bill Soprovich questioned whether council could put in place a moratorium on tree cutting until the new policy is finalized. Council didn’t opt for Soprovich’s chainsaw ban, but others did note that while they deliberate and consult, more trees are being lost.

Coun. Craig Cameron referenced a letter and photos of a yard looking like a clearcut that had been delivered by a resident.

“It just underscores the urgency of the problem because while we mull these things seemingly endlessly – certainly for a longer period of time than I would like – this is what happens and so there’s a real cost to delay,” he said, adding that many of the felled trees were outside the building envelope and therefore did not need to be cut. “I’m really very concerned about the time this is taking us to come to this issue and I want to see something substantive and enforceable in a period of weeks or a month or two, not six months or eight months.”

Still, a measured process is better than a knee-jerk response, argued Coun. Michael Lewis.

“There is substantive community consultation that’s taking place around this issue and our response will be measured and well thought out, as identified, early this fall. I think we mustn’t forget the potential for unintended consequences – the issue of property rights,” he said.


© 2016 North Shore News - See more at: http://www.nsnews.com/news/west-vancouver-to-consider-tree-cutting-rules-1.2178399#sthash.f84WHw7u.dpuf

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