Canada's 'housing bubble' deemed close to bursting

[rofina]

Love your Mid Century vibes. Looks amazing! Congrats and enjoy!

[SignalHillHiker]

Thanks, guys!

Quick update RE: the $90K house. 19 offers, and it's selling for $130K. That feels reasonable given it doesn't really have a kitchen. If they spend $25-30K, that'll put it reasonably close to turnkeys in its area (e.g. mine was $167).

[Nashe]

It's funny. Growing up, I kinda HATED mid-century modern because... I guess it was the 70's and there was a lot of it. Now... I think it's one of if not my favourite style.

Not to mention the fact that when done well, they are very durable. My current L-shaped, red brick, hip-roofed, tall-chimney, garage-under mid-town c. 1959 is an absolute BUNKER compared to my last home, which was a c. 2011 modular 2-storey.

[SignalHillHiker]

I'm similar, Vorkuta - though, apparently, younger (). I like just about everything as long as the overall atmosphere is clean, colourful, and not cluttered (which, to me, excludes wall art). I'm least fond of traditional and post-modern, most fond of Art Deco and Mid Century Modern. I think 80s is my most hated as that's when I grew up and I haven't come around to it since. I'd still gladly take a pink squiggle mirror or curved, tubular couch, though. My mother had a "chandelier" in the entrance that was just a giant lightbulb - it was huge, probably the size of one of those cars for kids. I'd kill to have that in my hallway. Everything else, though, was red velvet 80s or Queen Anne and I don't want any of it anywhere near me lol

[Nashe]

80's/90's was bad for a lot of reasons... both my wife and I hate split-entrances, for example. and those "half in the basement" boxes that they were usually part of. So boring, though efficient on space. Ironic that the 80's and 90's were quite "experimental" for music, but less so for consumer architecture.

The DOWNSIDES of mid-century architecture was that it often got a bit TOO experimental. Problems arose from:

1) glass panels everywhere with a million caulk joints that needed to be tended or your house would leak and rot
2) exotic woods or carpet applications that were untested in some environments (shag in the bathroom, anyone?)
3) stairways and windows and ledges that were absolute nightmares for safety (children, specifically)
4) funky structural bits that made maintenance difficult or impossible
5) while they were becoming more "open" in concept, they had some especially horrible kitchens and bathrooms

My one exception in the style department is when it comes to kitchens. I'm a function over form guy there, as I love cooking (and make a mess doing it).
I like a white, clean kitchen with some stainless and tile. Lots of cabinets, lots of storage. Easy to wipe everything down. No wood-grain (other than butcherblock) or rough surfaces.

I really DON'T like the current trend back to brass/gold fixtures. Gag. Flashbacks to the 80's I think...

[1ajs]

nothing like having 5 houses i need to finish renovating one of these days property taxc bill hurts now

[Denscity]

Ya Sig great colours. 👍

[SignalHillHiker]

Originally Posted by Vorkuta

My one exception in the style department is when it comes to kitchens. I'm a function over form guy there, as I love cooking (and make a mess doing it).
I like a white, clean kitchen with some stainless and tile. Lots of cabinets, lots of storage. Easy to wipe everything down. No wood-grain (other than butcherblock) or rough surfaces.

I really DON'T like the current trend back to brass/gold fixtures. Gag. Flashbacks to the 80's I think...

My budget doesn't allow me to have much of an opinion about kitchens beyond colour I do prefer them as the most open room, though, in terms of area to walk around and cook, etc.

I don't mind aged brass fixtures, but the shiny stuff I hate - though, to be honest, shiny gold doesn't bother me any more than the shiny silver that's been normal (and that I still have currently lol).

[Wigs]

Will the price increases end when someone buys a War time era 900 sq ft "dollhouse" bungalow for $900,000 and is left "holding the bag"?



https://www.mcgarrrealty.com/market-report

There's now 4 municipalities in Niagara with avg housing price over $1M: Grimsby, Lincoln, Pelham, and Niagara-on-the-Lake

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

B'ys, I'm done. So friggin' excited. I moved in at the beginning of October, and I've finally finished the entire house. Last night I finally got the bulky, ugly chair I wanted for the reading area in the office so that's every room, done. I mean, I'm sure I'll change a few more thermostats and faucets and whatever but that's it! Hopefully doesn't read too tacky to people not in downtown St. John's, , because it fits well here and I NEED it colourful. New Yorker owned the house before me and put everything matte white. Must've cost as much as the house, that paint is expensive.

A few before/afters now that it's finished...

So, I think I've managed to do this for a little over $5K by thrifting, buying Wayfair "Open Box" returns, etc. To be honest, I think the most expensive thing was new doorknobs throughout and new hinges for the kitchen lol

The entry/hallway before:



After:





The living room before:







The living room after:









The kitchen before:





The kitchen after:







The upstairs hallway/bathroom before:







Upstairs hallway/bathroom after:











Bedroom before:





Bedroom after:







And, finally, office before (this is the last room, it's just a two-up, two-down):





And after, I'm DONE!

Cheers B'y

[p_xavier]

I'm surprised people don't do more crimes. Cells in prisons are bigger than condos nowadays plus you got free food, cable, and many activities planned.

[Coldrsx]

Report today that Calgary is up ~30% y/y

[Wigs]

Originally Posted by Coldrsx

Report today that Calgary is up ~30% y/y

Both Calgary and Edmonton markets have been basically rubbish since oil tanked about 8 years ago.

And Niagara is completely out of whack thanks to so many people from the Greater Toronto Area selling their properties and moving here, paying full asking price, over asking, or getting into bidding wars with locals.

[MonkeyRonin]

Canadian mortgage debt now worth 103% of GDP - the highest rate ever recorded and the first time it's exceeded 100%: https://betterdwelling.com/canadians-are...ortgage-credit-after-hitting-103-of-gdp/

Meanwhile in the GTA, the benchmark price for a new condo is now sitting at $1,177,739, while for single-family houses that's $1,858,713: https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toron...e-again-shattered-record-highs-february/

[thewave46]

Originally Posted by MonkeyRonin

Canadian mortgage debt now worth 103% of GDP - the highest rate ever recorded and the first time it's exceeded 100%: https://betterdwelling.com/canadians-are...ortgage-credit-after-hitting-103-of-gdp/

Meanwhile in the GTA, the benchmark price for a new condo is now sitting at $1,177,739, while for single-family houses that's $1,858,713: https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toron...e-again-shattered-record-highs-february/

At least we can keep interest rates low forever. It's not like inflation is becoming a problem.

Oh wait....

[Coldrsx]

Originally Posted by Wigs

Both Calgary and Edmonton markets have been basically rubbish since oil tanked about 8 years ago.

And Niagara is completely out of whack thanks to so many people from the Greater Toronto Area selling their properties and moving here, paying full asking price, over asking, or getting into bidding wars with locals.

Edmonton's most recent avg. price is $411,000... so a significant jump over that chart from Jan.

[whatnext]

Gee, I was pretty sure shrill voices were telling us foreign money had no impact on Canadian housing:

Bank of China’s mortgage lending soars in Ontario, wanes in B.C.
RACHELLE YOUNGLAI REAL ESTATE REPORTER
PUBLISHED YESTERDAY

Bank of China’s residential mortgages soared in Ontario over the past six years, a new analysis shows, suggesting more Chinese lending shifted to Ontario’s housing market as B.C. cracked down on foreign real estate purchases.

The Beijing-based commercial bank, which has operations in Canada that cater to Chinese clients, reported its total outstanding mortgages in Ontario reached $1.05-billion in the fourth quarter of last year, an increase of 650 per cent compared with $139-million in the first quarter of 2015, according to the bank’s filings on its website and an analysis by Andy Yan, director of Simon Fraser University’s city program.

In B.C., the bank’s outstanding residential mortgages totalled $121-million in the fourth quarter of 2021, an increase of 200 per cent compared with $39.6-million six years ago.

“Data suggest that the various actions by the B.C. government to deal with foreign money has had an effect,” said Mr. Yan, adding that although the Chinese bank represents a tiny fraction of Canada’s total mortgage market, the lending provides a window into the flow of foreign capital...

... In B.C., non-residents owned 3.2 per cent of all residential real estate in 2020 compared with 3.1 per cent in the previous year. In Richmond, the B.C. city with the highest foreign ownership rate, non-residents owned 6.8 per cent in 2020 compared with 7 per cent in 2019.....

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business...ge-lending-soars-in-ontario-wanes-in-bc/

[someone123]

NS housing minister has announced 9 "special planning areas" around Halifax where 22,600 housing units will be approved: https://twitter.com/Tim_Bousquet/status/1507386861358047234

Planning will be supported by the province. They will still be subject to municipal permitting and fees. Curious to see if the province somehow accelerates those steps.

[p_xavier]

I can't believe the Feds still want to add 1M new residents on 3 years, it's just insane. Plus cities don't want to add density, it's a recipe for disaster that affects everyone's quality of life.

[Hali87]

Originally Posted by someone123

NS housing minister has announced 9 "special planning areas" around Halifax where 22,600 housing units will be approved: https://twitter.com/Tim_Bousquet/status/1507386861358047234

Planning will be supported by the province. They will still be subject to municipal permitting and fees. Curious to see if the province somehow accelerates those steps.

It'll be interesting to see what comes of this. The numbers seem bizarrely unambitious at first glance (Penhorn Mall, which is a major transit terminal, seems like it could handle way more than 950 units if Park West Plaza is projected for 3000 and Mumford is projected for 5000+)

It seems more like these were already-planned, mostly greenfield subdivisions that are just being expedited. They don't seem particularly dense compared to what we've been seeing over the last 5 years and I doubt that many (any?) of these areas will end up being "affordable". On the other hand there could be a lot of other units going up simultaneously at Mumford, Park West, Shannon Park, Cogswell, Bridge Terminal, etc.