Peng
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Broker
March-April 2013 Volume 03 Issue 02
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Visit Us At: www.TANteam.com
CONTENTS March-April 2013 Volume 03 Issue 02 FEATURED CONTENT pg 4-6
Bank of Canada says it overestimated growth, will keep interest rates low longer
pg 6
Should we wait for the housing bubble to collapse before buying?
pg 8
Home Sales Pick Up Steam Toronto and Vancouver In January
FEATURED PROPERTY LISTINGS pg 12 Indulge On Space! - $ IDQWDVWLF SUHVWLJLRXV &UHGLW 5LGJH SURSHUW\ LQ FUW DUHD EDFNLQJ RQWR RSHQ VSDFH 8SJUG VXFK DV ZLGH SODQN KUGZG WKURXJKRXW PDLQ IORRU RDN VWDLUV Z LURQ EDOXVWHUV IXOO\ ͤQLVKHG EDVHPHQW ODQGLQJV
pg 13 Cozy Private Corner Unit - Lovely executive town house end unit located in a sought after location in the Heart of Erin Mills. Nestled within John Fraser and Gonzaga School District. Backing onto open space with huge deck and private yard...
pg 13 Capacious Space! - /RFDWHG LQ VRXJKW DIWHU DUHD 3URS LQFO QHZO\ ͤQ EVPW ERDVWLQJ DSSUR[ VI Z UHF URRP UPV SF ZDVKURRP +UG ZRRG WKURXJKRXW PDLQ DQG QG IOU QHZ URRIV IXUQDFH $ & VHOHFW ZLQGRZV
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pg 14-17
Market Watch Back To Back
pg 18
The Land of Opportunity That Wasn’t
pg 21
Mortgage Insurance Insights from Genworth
Peng
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Broker
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Royal LePage Meadowtowne Realty™ is a licensed franchise to Royal LePage and is Independently Owned and Operated. :KLOVW HYHU\ FDUH KDV EHHQ WDNHQ LQ SUHSDULQJ WKLV PDJD]LQH 7DQ‡JD]LQH DQG DOO YHQGRUV FRUSRUDWLRQV EXVLQHVV DQG DIILOOLDWHV JLYH QR ZDUUDQW\ IRU WKH LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQWDLQHG KHUHLQ 3RWHQWLDO SXUFKDVHUV VKDOO VDWLVI\ WKHPVHOYHV DV WR DOO PDWWHUV DQG VHHN LQGHSHQGHQW DGYLFH LI QHFHVVDU\ 7KH LQIRUPDWLRQ FRQWDLQHG KHUHLQ GRHV QRW IRUP DQ\ SDUW RI DQ\ FRQWUDFW RIIHU RU UHSUHVHQWDWLRQ $GGLWLRQDOO\ WKLV PDJD]LQH LV QRW LQWHQGHG WR VROLFLW SURSHUWLHV FXUUHQWO\ contracted and/or already listed for sale.
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Tan.gazine NEWS
Bank of Canada says it overestimated gro -XOLDQ %HOWUDPH 7KH &DQDGLDQ 3UHVV January 23, 2013
The Canadian central bank's judgment is that the sharp downturn in growth at the second half of 2012 was due to weaker global markets for Canadian exports, uncertainty about how the U.S. would deal with its short-term budget crisis that kept business from investing, and temporary factors -- such as shutdowns and pipeline bottlenecks in the energy sector. The Bank of Canada said Wednesday interest rates will need to stay at super-low levels longer -likely until 2014, say analysts -- after conceding it misjudged the strength of the economy and reduced its outlook for inflation. For the 19th consecutive decision date, the central bank's policy setting team kept the trendsetting interest rate at one per cent Wednesday, where it has been for almost two-and-a-half years. But the statement and accompanying monetary policy review contained plenty of surprises, the biggest being a new advisory to Canadians and financial markets that the anticipated need to raise rates in the future is now "less imminent." It felt free to issue such an advisory, the central bank said, in part because it is less worried about record levels of consumer debt and the housing market, both of which appear to be moderating. And inflation pressures, with evidence the consumer price index will stay around one per cent for some time, are at the lowest since the recessionary period. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government has already pencilled in weaker growth for the Canadian economy, adding that the lower level of activity is hurting government revenues. "There has been a general slowing of the global economy over the past half-year so it is obviously a concern to us. And...it's going obviously to have some fiscal impact on us, will have some
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impact on the pace of job creation," he said. According to the central bank, Canada's economy inched along at only one per cent in the last three months of the year -- not the 2.5 per cent it had expected. As well, the bank downgraded growth expectations for 2012 and 2013 by three-tenths on both counts to 1.9 per cent and 2.0 per cent respectively. The bank still has faith the economy will return to strength, however, starting this year and picking up speed in 2014, when growth will average 2.7 per cent. Given that the economy is now not expected to return to full capacity until the latter half of 2014, the bank says it needs to keep borrowing costs at stimulative levels. "While some modest withdrawal of monetary policy stimulus will likely be required over time, consistent with achieving the two per cent inflation target, the more muted inflation outlook and the beginnings of a more constructive evolution of imbalances in the household sector suggests that the timing any such withdrawal is less imminent than previously anticipated," the bank said. At a news conference following release of the outlook, governor Mark Carney said despite the more dovish tone of his statement, he still believes that next move by the bank, when it comes, will be to raise rates. "The direction is clear, the timing has shifted," he said. "But that is still ultimate direction." The Canadian dollar ended the trading day down 0.64 of a cent at 100.1 cents U.S. after going as low as 99.96 cents in the morning. Bank of Montreal economist Doug Porter said he believes the central bank will keep interest rates where they are for the remainder of the year. "The prior reason for the seeming disconnect
Tan.gazine NEWS
owth, will keep interest rates low longer between the tough talk and a squishy soft economy was the bank's laser-like focus on the build-up in household debt," Porter said. "With the bank now sending some fairly strong signals that it thinks the path for household debt is moderating meaningfully, the case for rate hikes has receded accordingly." The interest rate statement and accompanying monetary policy report -- a comprehensive analysis of global and Canadian conditions -- constitute of a bit of a climb-down for the bank's forecasting unit, which had been staying with its growth story for the economy as recently as October, when most private sector forecasters were downgrading projections. The bank's latest estimates appear more in line with the consensus of private sector economists, although it remains slightly sunnier than the International Monetary Fund, which released a new forecast Wednesday predicting Canada's economy would advance by 1.8 per cent this year. The Canadian central bank's judgment is that the sharp downturn in growth at the second half of 2012 was due to weaker global markets for Canadian exports, uncertainty about how the U.S. would deal with its short-term budget crisis that kept business from investing, and temporary factors -- such as shutdowns and pipeline bottlenecks in the energy sector. Along with lower prices, the energy sector difficulties trimmed 0.4 percentage points from Canadian growth in the latter half of the year, the bank said. The damage will have lasting impacts. Not only is the economy as a whole lower than it might have been at this point, but it won't return to full capacity until late in 2014. Going forward, Canada's economy can no
longer count household borrowing to spend on homes and consumer goods to sustain growth. The economy will need to earn its success, the bank said, by increasing exports to foreign markets and through investments by the corporate sector. In a change from previous reports, the bank says Canadian household debt is stabilizing at around the record 165 per cent of annual disposable income, and credit growth has sharply declined from a peak of 12 per cent in 2008 to 5.5 per cent in 2012, and 3.0 per cent in the three months to November. Home sales have fallen, as has construction activity, and prices may follow suit. This is a mixed blessing. On the one hand, the trends are exactly what Carney and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty repeatedly requested, given that an overheated housing market and high
penghocktan.com | 5
Tan.gazine NEWS consumer debt puts the economy at risk long-term. On the other hand, the bank worries that too much of a good thing will be the medicine that kills the patient. "If there were a sudden weakening in the Canadian housing sector, it could have sizable spillover effects on other areas of the economy," the bank warns. Still, there was good news in the report. The bank believes there are fewer imminent risks facing global economies, which should boost Canadian exports and business investment going forward. "The bank projects a return to above-potential growth in the Canadian economy through 2013," it says, "supported in particular by rebounds in business fixed investment and exports." It notes, however, that the improvements in these areas will not be major.
Should we wait for the housing bubble to collapse before buying? Christina Quinn - January 07, 2013
Jerry asks: "I keep hearing about a potential house price collapse. Should we continue to rent and wait to buy?" The best time to purchase a home is when you're ready. Purchasing a property should never be driven by emotion. "I love it" is no reason to buy and "I'm afraid" is no reason not to buy; which is where you seem to be right now. My husband purchased his first home in 1989; arguably one of the worst times to buy in the last 60 years. Inside of two years, his entire down payment (all the equity and then some) was wiped out as house prices plummeted and by the time we were married the mortgage was worth more than our home. Surprise! This situation forced us to re-evaluate how we lived and allocated our spending. It taught us that equity growth in our residence is not guaranteed, and as a result, our subsequent homes were purchased with better planning. Our current residence is in an established area and after a great deal of work and unwavering commitment, we are mortgage-free. In hindsight, the 1989 house purchase was (financially speaking) the best thing that could have happened to us. I believe that the best time to purchase a home is when you are ready to purchase a home. Here are several tips to help you decide if you're ready: 1. You have planned to actually "own" the 6 | penghocktan.com
home at some point. This means planning out your mortgage, maintenance, utility and property tax payments over the course of your mortgage term and if you still calculate that you owe more at the end of that initial term, to forecast how long it will take to pay off the home outright. Your mortgage lender makes for a terrible landlord and without this initial planning, you may well remain a "renter" for life. 2. You have built in a contingency to sell the home once it reaches some appropriate threshold of appreciation (or depreciation). This does not mean you will sell once your equity grows or shrinks say 15%, it just means that you would be prepared to do so. Having an exit strategy is key and will help to minimize emotional attachment. You can make any place a home; the actual property you choose to live in should be a financial decision. 3. You have set aside enough money to furnish the place to your standards so that if you are stuck there for a time (if there is a housing market crash) your family's comfort will not be compromised. 4. You have developed a relationship with a real estate agent. She has explained the absolute truth to location, location, location, knows yours exceedingly well and is committed to keeping you informed of the growth/loss in your area and across your city on at least a quarterly basis. Once you lay out all your numbers the answer to the question "to wait "or "not to wait" will become evident and your purchase (or non-purchase) will become purely a business decision.
Tan.gazine NEWS
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RAYMOND DAEZ
Manager, Residential Mortgages
Telephone: (416) 705-3239 Fax: (905) 824-2174
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Tan.gazine NEWS
Home Sales Pick Up Steam Toronto and Vancouver In January 6XVDQ 3LJJ 7RURQWR 6WDU
February 15, 2013
Home sales picked up steam in Canada’s two mostwatched cities in January, outpacing the rest of the country, according to figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association. Toronto saw month-over-month sales increases of 5.6 per cent, followed by Vancouver at 4.7 per cent, both markets that have seen considerable softening since tighter mortgage lending rules took effect last July. Prices held steady in Toronto in January over December, with the average house price coming in at just over $501,000. Vancouver saw a 3.5 per cent pickup after what had been a softening of prices. The average house in Vancouver sold for $746,585 in January compared to $721,028, according to CREA. “Things are becoming more interesting among local markets, with improving sales in Vancouver and
Toronto likely to come as something of a surprise to some,� said CREA president Wayne Moen in a statement released Friday. Year over year, however, sales were down 4.2 per cent in Toronto over January, 2012 which was an extraordinarily strong winter month for sales last year, partly because of unseasonably warm weather. National home sales were up 1.3 per cent in January from December, the first seasonally adjusted gain in five months, but down 5.2 per cent year-overyear. The notable exception was Calgary where sales soared by 20 per cent year over year. New listings were up in many major housing markets, led by the GTA, said CREA. While price gains slipped for most housing types in many major cities, detached houses still sold for about 4 per cent more, year over year, and even condos held steady with prices up 1.2 per cent.
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Tan.gazine NEWS
Homeownership Not Abo %RE $DURQ
February 15, 2013
Sometimes, even the experts get it wrong, or maybe not entirely right. In her new book, Money Rules, financial guru Gail Vaz Oxlade says that buying a home is not for everyone. Her No. 1 rule: Renting is not a waste of money. “Home ownership can be a big ol’ pain in the arse,â€? she writes. “There are moments of joy and pride that come with home ownership, but it’s not for everyone.â€? So far so good. Vaz Oxlade then sets out a list of people who should not own a home. In her world view, they are those people who: ‡ +DYHQ¡W FRPSOHWHG D UHDOLVWLF EXGJHW ‡ +DYH D YDULDEOH LQFRPH ‡ :RUN LQ DQ LQGXVWU\ ZKHUH HPSOR\PHQW LV VHDVRQDO or erratic. ‡ 'RQ¡W KDYH WKH WLPH VNLOOV GHVLUH RU FDVH WR PRQH\ with home maintenance. ‡ :LOO ZLSH RXW DOO WKHLU VDYLQJV ZLWK WKH SXUFKDVH ‡ 3HRSOH ZKR PRYH RIWHQ ‡ &DQ¡W DIIRUG WR RZQ LQ DQ DUHD LQ ZKLFK WKH\ ZRXOG like to live. ‡ $UH QRW ILQDQFLDOO\ UHVSRQVLEOH ‡ /RYH EHLQJ DEOH WR ZULWH D FKHTXH IRU UHQW DQG WKHQ not sweat the details. ‡ &DUU\LQJ DQ\ FRQVXPHU GHEW
Over the years, I have represented many thousands of home purchasers and can honestly say that the vast majority have successfully violated one or more of Vaz Oxlade’s rules, and some have even violated most of them. For most of these purchasers, homeownership has been a rewarding experience. Let’s look at the numbers. Based on Toronto Real Estate Board statistics, average Toronto-area home prices rose every year from 1967 ($24,078) to 1989 ($273,698), again in 1994, and from 1996 to 2012. There was a market slump in the early 1990s, but from 1997 to 2012, prices have gone up every year.
Typical prices: ‡ ‡ ‡ ‡ Clearly, then, those people who sat it out and waited until they could meet Vaz Oxlade’s criteria have suffered financially. My own No. 1 rule is: Don’t wait, and don’t follow Vaz Oxlade’s rules.
Maria Tse, AMP
Owner/Mortgage Broker Licence #: M08004027 CENTUM Direct Financial Inc. 2900 Steeles Avenue East Suite no. 214, Thornhill ON L3T 4X1 T. 416.817.3803 F. 866.612.9959 maria_t@centum.ca www.centum.ca/Maria_Tse
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out Crunching Numbers I have many clients who have made more money from real estate in any given year than from their salaries, despite having failed to meet Vaz Oxlade’s criteria. In an interview last month on the CBC radio program Ontario Today, Vaz Oxlade told host Kathleen Petty, “We have bought the belief that if you aren’t working towards owning your own home you are an underachieving slug.� (So much for empathy.) What she misses, according to Toronto realtor Barry Lebow, is that there are two types of tenants: tenants by choice and tenants by circumstance. Lebow says that most of Vaz Oxlade’s concepts work best for tenants by choice. Some renters easily qualify for homeownership under Vaz Oxlade’s criteria, but choose to be tenants for many reasons. They may, for example, not want to deal with condo board politics, and would prefer to deal with a single property manager or landlord. Others could pay cash for their homes, but just don’t to be tied down, or have other uses for the funds. The bottom line is that the decision to buy or rent is a very personal one, and for many it has nothing to do with money. For those who have either dipped their toes
into the real estate market, or plunged in over their heads, real estate offers attractive features not found elsewhere, including: ‡ $ SULQFLSDO UHVLGHQFH LV WKH RQO\ &DQDGLDQ investment that remains totally free of capital gains tax. ‡ ´2UGLQDU\ &DQDGLDQVÂľ FDQ PDNH KXJH DPRXQWV RI money investing in their own homes or rental units. ‡ (YHQ D KRPHRZQHU ZKR ORVHV VD\ SHU FHQW RI the value of a home, will still recover the remainder. A tenant gets back nothing. For most people, home ownership is about more than dollars and budgets and leaky faucets. Lebow hit the nail on the head when he told me, “Homeownership is about the enjoyment of one’s life, of raising a family and having something that speaks to the world: This is mine!â€?
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6948 Financial Drive, Mississauga, ON L5N 8J4 Toll Free: 1-886-821-3200 2IͤFH Fax: 905-821-8777 KAI MIN Sales Representative & Team Member
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Broker & Team m Leader
LARISSA SARAKAEVA LARIS Sales R Representative & Team Member
Tan.gazine NEWS Greater Toronto REALTORS® Report February 2013 Mid-Month Resale Market Figures February 19, 2013 -- Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 2,823 sales through the TorontoMLS system during the first 14 days of February. This result represented a decline of 8.3 per cent compared to the same period in 2012. “The number of transactions was lower for most home types in comparison to last year, but so too was the number of new listings. This means that market conditions remained quite tight, especially for low-rise home types. The result was continued price growth over last year,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah. The average selling price for TorontoMLS transactions in the first half of February was $509,061 – up by four per cent in comparison to the same time last year. “The annual rate of price growth so far in February has been in line with expectations for 2013. The average selling price in the GTA will continue to grow this year but at a slower pace compared to 2012. The basis of this price growth will be the low-rise segment of the market, for which months of inventory and therefore choice for buyers remains very low,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
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Tan.gazine NEWS Price Growth Continues in February In February, the median price was $510,580 from the $500,249 recorded during February of 2012 Toronto, March 05, 2012
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 5,759 sales through the TorontoMLS system in February 2013 – a decline of 15 per cent in comparison to February 2012. It should be noted that 2012 was a leap year with one extra day in February. A 28 day year-over-year sales comparison resulted in a lesser decline of 10.5 per cent. The average selling price for February 2013 was $510,580 – up two per cent in comparison to February 2012. “The share of sales and dollar volume accounted for by luxury detached homes in the City of Toronto was lower this February compared to last. This contributed to a more modest pace of overall average price growth for the GTA as a whole,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Ann Hannah. “Stricter mortgage lending guidelines that precluded government backed mortgages on homes sold for over one million dollars and the City of
Toronto’s additional upfront land transfer tax arguably played a role in the slower pace of luxury detached home sales,” added Ms. Hannah. The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark price covering all major home types eliminates fluctuations in price growth due to changes in sales mix. The Composite Benchmark price was up by more than three per cent on a year-over-year basis in February. “We will undoubtedly experience some volatility in price growth for some market segments in 2013. However, months of inventory in the low-rise market segment will remain low, resulting in average price growth above three per cent for the TREB market area this year. Our current average price forecast is $515,000 for all home types combined in 2013,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
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Tan.gazine NEWS Greater Toronto REALTORS® Report February 2013 Mid-Month Resale Market Figures March 18, 2013 -- Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 3,594 transactions through the TorontoMLS system during the first 14 days of March 2013 – down 11.5 per cent compared to the same period last year. The number of new listings was up by less than two per cent. “With sales down and listings up slightly, the GTA market was better supplied in the first half of March compared to last year. This fact notwithstanding, there has been enough competition between buyers to promote moderate to strong upward pressure on average selling prices for most home types on an annual basis,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Ann Hannah. “The average price for condominium apartments in the City of Toronto was up over last year. If this price growth continues, it may indicate that conditions are tightening slightly in this segment,” added Ms. Hannah. The average selling price for the first two weeks of March was up by almost six per cent year-over-year to $532,102. Average prices were up for all major home type categories. “Due to tight supply, the average annual rate of price growth for singles, semis and towns continues to far outpace the rate of inflation. The condo apartment segment has been a mitigating factor, which is why our forecast for price growth in 2013 remains at approximately 3.5 per cent or $515,000 for all home types combined,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis.
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Tan.gazine NEWS Price Growth Continues in February In February, the median price was $510,580 from the $500,249 recorded during February of 2012 Toronto, March 05, 2012
Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® Toronto’s additional upfront land transfer tax reported 5,759 sales through the TorontoMLS arguably played a role in the slower pace of luxury system in February 2013 – a decline of 15 per cent detached home sales,” added Ms. Hannah. in comparison to February 2012. It should be noted The MLS® HPI Composite Benchmark that 2012 was a leap year with one extra day in price covering all major home types eliminates February. A 28 day year-over-year sales comparison fluctuations in price growth due to changes in sales resulted in a lesser decline of 10.5 per cent. mix. The Composite Benchmark price was up by The average selling price for February 2013 more than three per cent on a year-over-year basis in was $510,580 – up two per cent in comparison February. to February 2012. “We will undoubtedly experience some “The share of sales and dollar volume volatility in price growth for some market segments accounted for by luxury detached homes in the City in 2013. However, months of inventory in the of Toronto was lower this February compared to low-rise market segment will remain low, resulting in last. This contributed to a more modest pace of average price growth above three per cent for the overall average price growth for the GTA as a TREB market area this year. whole,” said Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) current average price forecast is March 2013 MonthlyOur Resale Market Figures President Ann Hannah. $515,000 for all home types combined in 2013,” said “Stricter mortgage lending guidelines that Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market precluded government backed mortgages on homes Analysis. sold for over one million dollars and the City of
Greater Toronto REALTORS® Report
TBA NEXT MONTH! Kindly Check Back On April 08, 2013
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The Land of Opportunity -DJGHHS 6LQJK 5(0 2QOLQH February 8, 2013
You are driving through a nice neighbourhood and you see an old house sitting on a large piece of land surrounded by subdivision homes. You wonder if you could get a great deal on this property, because depending on the size, you could subdivide the land into three or four lots and still have enough room left to build your own custom home. So you contact the homeowner or better yet, contact a Realtor to put in an offer. In order to make your offer appealing and to “seal the deal”, you put in the “standard” condition of financing. After all, why would you need to inspect anything? The home on the property is old and you are going to knock it down anyways. What is there to check? Not so fast. A lot of subdivisions are being developed in the Greater Toronto Area, and this usually means that the builder has to assimilate land from different owners before a community can be planned. Not every landowner is co-operative with the developer and some decide not to sell. The builder then has to plan around these parcels that are left out of the subdivision. Now comes the job of converting raw land to buildable land. A lot of utility work needs to be done, including laying services such as water mains, sewer pipes, roads, street lighting and gas pipes. In most municipalities, a single developer or a landowners’ group may pay for these developments. Either way, the cost of these improvements have to be recuperated fairly and equitably from all those who may stand to benefit from them. The individual landowners who kept their smaller parcels out of the development also have to fork out money towards these improvements if they wish to enjoy the benefits. Remember that land that you saw and wanted to buy? If you want to subdivide that land into multiple lots and hook up services, you’ll need to pay for all the development costs that are part of your share. Here comes the tricky part: accessing the services. If you own or buy land that is not part of a subdivision, 18 | penghocktan.com
that wasn’t
you can have a tough time and an uphill battle accessing these services. Some builders will keep a narrow strip of land as a buffer in order to prevent access. Usually subdivision agreements governing the various aspects of the development cover such scenarios and provide options in situations where the owner of a “left over” parcel of land may want to access services or develop their parcel into smaller “subdivision sized” lots. However in some cases a municipality may not have the required provisions in place to address this situation. A landowner may find themselves unable to access the services due to these “buffer strips”. There have been instances where owners have been asked to pay as much as half-a-million dollars for a land strip that is merely 10- or 15-feet wide. The developer deserves payment for the services that they have spent money to install. This is called the recovery fee. In certain cases, the subdivision agreements drafted by municipalities have provisions requiring the developer to turn over the buffer land to the municipality after their share of the recovery fee has been paid. Where there is no such provision, the landowner trying to access the services and public roads will find that they not only must pay the recovery fee, but they also have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to the developer to buy a small narrow strip of land that otherwise is useless and holds no value. It leaves the landowner with the sinking feeling that they are being held hostage. So while you need to do your due diligence when buying any developable land, the builder needs to recover their cost of putting in services and the municipalities need to ensure provisions in the subdivision agreements to avoid these situations. Otherwise, our cities end up with sterile land that is not used to its highest potential and left undeveloped because the owners have worked themselves into a negotiation stalemate.
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Mortgage Insurance February 07, 2013
Insights from Genworth
A mortgage is in "arrears" when the borrower is behind on one or more payments. In Canada, arrears statistics typically measure the number of Canadians who are 90 days or more past due on their payments. There’s always something to learn about the mortgage industry in Genworth Canada's earnings announcements. Here are some takeaways from its latest report: A Shrinking High-ratio Mortgage Market: Genworth says that last July’s insured mortgage rule changes “will likely reduce the annual residential mortgage insurance” market for high loan-to-value mortgages “by approximately 15%, as compared to the 2012 market size.” In a report yesterday, National Bank Financial said that Genworth “wrote 16% less new insurance on high loan-tovalue (LTV) mortgages than it did a year ago, mainly as a result of new mortgage insurance rules introduced by the federal government last July that effectively eliminated insurance for refinance transactions.” Fewer Arrears: Genworth’s delinquency rate fell to a scant 0.14% last quarter, versus 0.20% a year earlier.
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