REal Experts Inc. Blog

How to Beautify Cityplace in Downtown Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Fri, 1 Apr 2011 06:26:00 -0700

I used to think that architecture, in a Toronto context, was governed solely by city guidelines, land site constraints, and the market reality that developers need to sell 80% of a building before it gets built.

Essentially, design has to be formulaic across Toronto in order for a condo project to move forward quickly.

As I was writing my bo0k on the preconstruction condo buying process I became engrossed in the idea that there could be a better way....but what was it?

I then came across an interesting blog article by Ingrid Fetel. Ingrid, author of the upcoming book The Aesthetics of Joy, researches how people emotionally react to things.

For example, Ingrid found was that surface treatments with colour, like stripes, can be used to create feelings of abundance.

How can this be applied to Cityplace?

This long stretch of wall at Harbour View Estates is a great example why people hate the buildings. It's bleak, lacks character and it screams suburbia.

Adding a little colour is a simple thing we could do if we demanded a higher standard.

Thanks to Ed from UrbanToronto and D Hussey Properties for the inspiration to write this.

Cadillac Fairview Betting Big on Downtown Montreal

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 31 Mar 2011 06:41:00 -0700

Cadillac Fairview has invested $150 million buying land around the Montreal Bell Centre and plans on building a similar style development to Maple Leaf Square in Toronto (See here). Maple Leaf square, following in the footsteps of LA Live in LA and Victory Park in Dallas, is a hugely successful development that capitalizes on the brand of pro franchises in Toronto. This bodes well for the proposed Montreal development since there is no stronger brand there than the Habs.

Here's a quick Comparison to the Actual Maple Leaf Square and proposed development in Montreal:

Transit
Maple Leaf Square: Next to Union Station
Proposed Montreal: Lucien-L'Allier Station

Office Component
Maple Leaf Square: 10 Storey
Proposed Montreal: 27 Storey

Residential:
Maple Leaf Square: 872 units between two buildings (54 and 50 Storeys)
Proposed Montreal: 700 units between three buildings (Two 44 Storey buildings and one 25 Storey building)

Cost:
Maple Leaf Square: $500 million (2005)
Proposed Montreal: $400 Million

Prices at Maple Leaf Square started at about $450 psf with a 25% deposit structure. This was much higher than competition from nearby Montage at Cityplace. Montage was about $300 psf with a more flexible deposit structure. Expect this project to charge a premium over others as well.

Worth it?

While Montage topped out at about $500psf....Maple Leaf Square approached $700psf this year.

People saw good value living at Maple Leaf Square and units were sold quickly. I expect to see the same thing when Cadillac Fairview starts the sales in Montreal later this year.

Anecdotally, from the Real Estate agent community, i've been told that a huge component of the buyers at Maple Leaf square were overseas investors. Wonder if the same will hold true in Montreal.

Greatest Real Estate Marketing Video Ever

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 09:07:00 -0700

EMBED-Epic Home Sale Commercial - Watch more free videos

Thanks to the folks at BuzzBuzzHome and CondoChris for bringing this video to my attention.

The principals of Neo Property, Ian Adams and Adrian Jenkins invested a huge production budget into making an action packed real estate marketing commercial...and it's damn well entertaining.

To create this video here are some of the line item for costs:

Producer's Fee
Director's Fee
Actors wages
Production crew fee (including equipment, make up and production team)
Props and costumes (helicopter, guns, uniforms, lingerie)
Permits to the city
Catering for production crew
Post production costs (editing, music and graphics)

The high costs make it a dangerous game to continue making more, but if they have a solid marketing plan behind it, I can definitely see it working out.

Despite the critics from Thought Catalog calling it a "terrible ad" this video will be sure to go viral. Already with 14,000 views on Youtube (16 days after uploading), this video will make Neo Property the number one luxury brokers in the mind of Australians.

To me, it also illustrates the point of how people sell real estate. It's all sizzle and no steak.

The production company, Platinum HD, definitely understands how real estate sales works. They purposely eliminated all silly adjectives (awesome, stunning, etc) , numbers, and cliche's ("in the heart of the best neighborhood").

To them, it's all about creating an experience to the buyer and sellers.

In Memory of Paul Oberman

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 17:46:00 -0800

I'm sure we've all met people who we knew were world class. For me, Paul Oberman was that special type of person.

I’ve known Paul for almost 6 years. I first met him while I was teaching his nephews physics and math at a private school. After some time talking to the family about how much I love real estate, they finally introduced me to him.

Since then, he always treated me like family. I'd make it a point to have lunch with him every quarter to talk about opportunities in the city, how to structure deals, and where Toronto was going.

Toronto was Paul's favorite subject. Paul was extremely passionate about making the city look and feel world class. His never ending motivation was inspiring. I fondly remember that after I won the audition to host Inside Toronto Real Estate, Paul was one of the first people I told. We immediately brain-stormed different topics we could discuss on air.

Sadly, Paul only appeared once.

On his appearance, Paul's passion for urban design was so powerful, he was the one questioning the other guest, Councilor Adam Vaughan. Even though I was the actual host of the show….who actually should be leading the discussion, I let him go. How could you stop him?

I always asked him, these debates you have are not income generating, and most of these properties you want to see changed you don't even own, why do you care? He told me it was too much of an injustice to let things stay the way they are and he wanted to set an example if you build a city the right way, it is actually profitable.

Simply put, Paul was a pit-bull. He will fight for what’s right and won't stop until it happens....and he wanted a better Toronto.
It’s ironic that the day we had that conversation was during the time of the airshow. A CF-18 flew by his office, we stopped talking instantly. I found out that we had something else in common: we both loved planes. It’s devastating to know that he was actually killed flying one.

The whole city of Toronto, myself included, will dearly miss him.

http://pauloberman.ca/obituary/

Paul Oberman's Memorial Service

Memorial Service:
The Design Exchange
234 Bay Street,Toronto
Friday March 11, 2011 @ 11:00 AM

REal Experts Condo Report December 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 3 Mar 2011 17:10:00 -0800

The numbers are in for December 2010.

Top 5 projects selling projects

5. Garden Villas 3(Stacked) by Great Gulf Homes (Eglinton and Winston Churchill - Mississauga)

Total: 94 Units
Sales: 23 (including those in the 10 day rescission period by the end of Dec '10)
Average Price $239 psf

4. DNA3 - Tower A & B by Canderel Stoneridge (King St W and Dufferin)

Total: 536 Units
Sales: 24 (including those in the 10 day rescission period by the end of Dec '10)
Average Price $560 psf

3. Stonebrook II by United Lands (Lake Shore and Southdown - Mississauga)

Total: 225 Units
Sales: 25 (including those in the 10 day rescission period by the end of Dec '10)
Average Price $369 psf

2. Limelight - North Tower by Daniels (Mississauga City Centre)

Total: 353 Units
Sales: 31 (including those in the 10 day rescission period by the end of Dec '10)
Average Price $454 psf

1. Treviso Condos by Lanterra (Lawrence Ave W and Dufferin - North York)

Total: 411 Units
Sales: 41 (including those in the 10 day rescission period by the end of Dec '10)
Average Price $471 psf

Observations:

With 20,349 sales, 2010 is the 2nd best year in record for sales (next to 22,408 in 2007)
December sales within historical range of 600-700 units
Year over year price appreciation is 13.4%

REal Experts Conclusion:

Fastest selling units are in the former City of Toronto shows a "flight to quality" as investors focus near transit
Affordability will soon push first time buyers outside areas heavily served by transit
Will see more woodframe style products being built to maintain affordability

Sources: Realnet and The Lyon Report

Toronto Real Estate Bubble Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 17:47:00 -0800

Is Toronto in a real estate bubble? This is the question I'll aim to answer here.

So the common complaint is that Canadians are stretched and taking on too much debt. From the below chart we see that household debt-to-income is climbing.

Yes this is very bad, and I hope the trend slows down because if it continues it would handcuff our economy in the future. Does this mean we are a nation that is not credit worthy like the US. Short answer is no.

As we can see from the above chart, asset growth is high. Assets include everything from stocks, bonds, savings, and yes, your home.

I can feel the argument, well if prices fall, then a huge chunk of our assets would be wiped out. This will cause a cascade throughout the market with panicked sellers right?

I'll answer that question with another question: If prices fell 20% would you rush out to sell it and lose all your equity because you're afraid it will fall further?

Of course not. Your not stupid, and generally no one else is that stupid. You will sit and hold out until things get better.

How can we measure our ability to hold out? We have to measure our ability to service the debt we have.

From the below chart, we can see that even though debt to income is high, our ability to service the debt is within historical norms.

OK ya, I can hear the argument, our ability to service debt is easy now because rates are so low.

What if rates go up? Everyone paying debt with low interest rates would be bankrupt right?

That would make sense if everyone was servicing debt with these very low rates.

From looking at the below chart Canadians are not dependent on low rates. The interest rates people are paying is still well above the bank rate (which gives us a buffer even if rates rise).

The reason why the buffer exists is that the rates people are actually paying didn't go down as fast as the bank rate.

Another argument I hear is that prices are just too high, and what goes up must come down.

The way we should measure house prices is how much of your income goes towards housing. Like my good friend Calum Ross says, you don't buy a house, you take on a payment.

For the average priced of a home in the Toronto Real Estate board, based on current average incomes, the percentage of income going towards housing is still relatively low historically. Meaning that if either rates, property taxes, prices or utility costs go up, we are still buffered.

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Additionally, how do we measure if people are teetering on the brink of losing their home? A good way is to see how many mortgages are 3 months in arrears. That number is at 0.5% of all mortgages in Canada.

Another thing, The Toronto job market is stable, jobs are being created modestly and population growth to the GTA is high.

So the only way prices are to fall 20%+ is if rates go up massively, incomes go down drastically, if suddenly there is a mass migration out of the GTA, or there is huge calamity that causes people to lose their jobs.

If you think that's going to happen you might as well buy a bunker and stock up on canned tuna.

Save Transit City

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 6 Jan 2011 10:24:00 -0800

Here is a great infographic from the Toronto Environmental Alliance on the bang for buck of transit dollars.

Access to transit is an absolute necessity for real estate values to grow in a city. For examples, of what not to do, go visit cities in the States where barriers because of poor transit and poor urban planning cause massive ghettos where people are forced to live in an area because of poverty.

I blogged about this previously here. It's sad to see that Toronto is following down the path of many major cities where the rich live close to transit and the poor do not (see recent work from Dr Hulchanski from U of T here). If this trend continues, you will see property values neighborhood drop.

Tell Rob Ford and Toronto City Council we want Transit City. Sign and Retweet!

http://t.co/KXFKvOQ

REal Experts GTA Condo Report: August

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 05:37:00 -0700

Project Developer District #Units Sold $/PSF
Bisha Lifetime King/Spadina 334 100 $743
Chaz on Charles Edenshaw Yonge/Bloor 324 77 $663
Ventus 2 Metrogate Tridel Kennedy/401 314 56 $430

In July there were 861 sales (down 33.4% year over year)
Year to Date 2010 - 12,193 sales (up 78.4% from last year)
Unsold Inventory - 14,657 units (down 3.5% last year)

Observations

Significant drop is sales from July 2010 and August 2009 (HST?)
YTD sales still much higher than last year. This is still a fantastic year and ranks only behind 2007 in volume
Index pricing up 9.4% this year and up 50% over the past five years
Opening month is not going as well as previous years. Bisha at #1 sold 29% of its units.
Tridel doing a great job working the broker channel selling Ventus II
Big drop off from the top selling project to the 5th best selling project
Developers have stepped up market efforts and doing a great job with being innovative
Lots of broker anticipation for Tableau and Backstage this month should cause a sales uptick for October. After November, real estate agents and buyers historically start slowing down

Conclusions same from last month:

29+ launches set for fall, REal Experts expects to see sales fall and incentives to go up

Source: Real Net and the Lyon Report, pic from UrbanToronto (taken by udo)

Debt Loads in Canada a Cause for Concern

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 07:13:00 -0700

Latest TD report: Canadian Household debt a cause for concern indicates that Canadian household debt has tripled from 50% to 150% from the mid-1980's and has reached US levels.

How has this happened:

Bank of Canada decline in interest rates to combat inflation
People feeling secure and confident to take on debt because of prosperity and job creation (created for the most part by low interest rates)
Home ownership rates higher
Culture of now: buy today even if you can't afford it.
Credit availability to younger Canadians (consider Tuition fees in Ontario have 207% since 1991 to 2007)
Credit availability in general (Canada does have securitization of debt instruments and Banks know that line of credits are "sticky" products.)

TD feels that Canada won't reach a US style housing collapse but are concerned carrying higher debt loads will cause difficulty for many people to weather the storm of a double-dip in the economy.

Why retail at the base of condos in Toronto are not successful

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 08:08:00 -0700

Anyone who has a little knowledge on the Toronto condo market knows that our city loves towers with podiums. The thinking is that with the space at podium will make the street scape more lively (differing uses will keep the people traffic high throughout the day).

Developers have long complained to the city that this not the best use of land and this is why the store fronts are vacant. Retailers, in turn, say the developers need to start building quality product and the tenants will come.

What retailers know, and residential developers haven't fully understood yet, storefronts need a different approach. All too often developers build residential style condo store fronts. This leads to the following:

inefficient loading and delivery capability
hard to store garbage
low signage height (need 16')
residents not liking certain uses (bars and restaurants)
too many columns within the space
not environmentally friendly to keep costs down (i.e. LEED certification)
low ceiling heights
not enough parking

Fixing these problems adds considerably to construction costs for residential developers. Smart builders have to look at retail as an opportunity.

Take Lanterra joint venturing with Cadillac Fairview to add office, a hotel, restaurants, retail shopping and a grocery store to Maple Leaf Square. The differing demands caused significant construction overruns, which they have now learned to deal with for the future, but has made the development successful.

With the Peter Freed and Minto project coming up at Bathurst and Front starting with attracting quality retail in mind, its evident that developers are starting to catch on.

Look for Target to open urban stores in Toronto

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 07:36:00 -0700

At the recent International Council of Shopping Centres event in Toronto, Target announced its plans for its 200 store push into Canada.

Like many other cities, Torontonians loathe big box stores (see: Wal-Mart Leslieville). If Target's past history in the States are indications of what we are going to see in Canada, we will no doubt see more retail locations coming into downtown's of cities across Canada.

Target has has 35 multi-level stores in the US. Some of these stores have underground parking, and has one in Brooklyn that has no parking. I expect this to be a growing trend of condo developers partnering with Target and other retailers in the style of Queen and Portland.

With the success at Longo's at Maple Leaf Square, this will be a pretty cool for residents.

Development Charges for Pre-construction Condos and Townhomes

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 07:53:00 -0700

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Want to know why condo prices are going up to crazy levels?

Land prices up: yes
Lots of well financed developers: yes
Lots of willing buyers: Yes
Construction costs up: Yes
City and Provinces taxes up: YES AND YES

Development charges are charged by regions and municipality to recoup costs for providing services for new developments (transit, water, sewage, gas and hydro). According to Building and Land Development Association, from 2001 to 2008 Development charges have increased 342%. During this time, most would argue that services haven't kept pace

As a case study, the Altus Group provided an insight into City of Toronto and provincial charges that go towards condo buyers bottom line:

Studio/1 Bed
Land Transfer Tax $1,200
Parkland dedication $4,000
City Development Charges $4,731
School Board charges $544
Realty taxes in construction $300
Section 37 $3,000
Building Permit $1,250
Misc Fees 500

HST on sales $15,000

Total $30,525 or 10% of the sales price

2 Bedroom or bigger

Land Transfer Tax $1,700
Parkland dedication $5,750
City Development Charges $7,613
School Board Charges $544
Realty taxes in construction $400
Section 37 $3,000
BuildingPermit $1,700
Misc Fees 500

HST on sales $22,000

Total $43,207 or 10% of the sales price

Townhouses

Land Transfer Tax $1,250
Parkland dedication $4,100
City Development Charges $9,340
School Board Charges $544
Realty taxes in construction $300
Section 37 $3,000
Building Permit $2,600
Misc Fees 500

HST on sales $43,000

Total $64,624 or 13% of the sales price.

With the new taxes, hidden as metropass requirements and green roof requirements, expect prices to increase further.

Markham has got it right...Brampton you suck

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 7 Oct 2010 05:49:00 -0700

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For many readers of this blog know that I love writing about how more lively neighborhoods make real estate more valuable. Well a recent study by CMHC has statistical proof on why. The New urbanism movement is a subdivision planned around:

Better access to daily destinations, such as public open space, institutional and commercial/retail destinations
More pedestrian routes and connectivity
More housing choice
Less land per housing unit
Less car use for weekday urban travel
More walking and bike use for daily destinations
Greater use of public transit

In the CMHC study, the conclusion is that people living in a new urbanism community are happier than living in a traditional subdivision.

The study reported that people are happier for the following reasons:

Very happy with the physical design of streets, landscapes and facades of in their neighborhoods
Very safe and pleasant for walking
Very convenient to walk or bike to amenities
More social interaction with neighbors
More likely to use public and green space

So while Markham is well on its way in building downtown Markham....Brampton is plugging away with the old model in Castlemore and along along Countryside (remember when we thought Steeles was too far?)

Where do Economist Predict Rates are Going?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Wed, 6 Oct 2010 06:53:00 -0700

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I chose a dang scary picture for today's post.

As of September 8th the Bank of Canada has set the Overnight Rate is 1%
Where do banks predict the overnight rate will by this time next year:

Scotia Bank: +0.75% (9/2/10)
CIBC: +0.5% (9/30/10)
TD: +0.63 (10/4/10) - This the annual average for the end of 2011
BMO: +0.58 (10/1/10)

Money is still going to be relatively cheap next year, so this will keep the real estate market buoyant.

What will cause a collapse

- Massive Jobs losses
- Credit Crunch and no lending
- People teetering on the brink of insolvency or have very little equity on their property (i.e Those in arrears in their mortgages)
- Big daddy of SARS or swine Flu

I think I'll take my chances buying right...especially since the volatility index of stocks is very high

REal Experts Pre-construction Condo Analysis: July

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Tue, 5 Oct 2010 04:59:00 -0700

Project Developer District #Units Sold $/PSF
First Home Brampton Daniels Sandlewood/Bovaird 150 150 $251
Park 570 Vandyk Dundas/Cawthra 180 137 $328
Ventus 2 Metrogate Tridel Kennedy/401 314 113 $438

In July there were 1,222 sales (down 10% year over year)
Year to Date 2010 - 10,981 sales (up 103% from last year)
Unsold Inventory - 14,157 units (down 11.4% last year)

Observations

No launches downtown meant Mississauga, Brampton and Scarborough did well
Large drop in sales - 32% from the previous month (average drop June to July 15%) - may have been due to HST
Number of projects increasing and absorptions are falling

Conclusions same from last month:

29+ launches set for fall, REal Experts expects to see sales fall and incentives to go up

Source: Colliers, pic from UrbanToronto (taken by Jasonzed)

The Greater Fool; Garth Turner

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Mon, 4 Oct 2010 04:58:00 -0700

Read a blog post from Garth posted in December 2008 (Where Risk Lies)

Here are some of Garth's predictions:

Falling house values until at least 2010
Banks suspend dividend payments to stockholders
Reduced exports and corporate failures as the US tries to protect jobs
Fewer services as governments at all level struggle with a funding crisis
Bankruptcy of major Ontario homebuilders
Scaling back of 2010 Olympics in Vancouver
Canadian dollar falls with oil into 60-cent US range
Ottawa suspends social benefits. Pensions, child benefits etc. only for needy
Widespread shortages of food, gasoline, home heating fuels
Mass migration from urban, suburban areas, especially in GTA, as people flee crime and seek self-sufficiency

Obviously, none of these happened....not even close.

So does that mean, after the lack of physical proof Garth would ease up on his beliefs?
From his latest blog post...no?

So what does one do when they lack physical proof? They seek out social proof.

The principle of social proof states: The greater the number of people who find an idea correct, the more the given individual will perceive the idea as being correct.

Interesting to see that Garth is doing 9 Speaking Engagements in the next 5 weeks.

Save me from buying this crappy condo

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:46:00 -0700

Reading the latest tweet from a smart realtor Andrew LaFleur I got inspired to write about doing due dilligence on a resale condos.

We know it's important to review the status certificate and condo by-laws, but very few people take the time to review the condo board minutes. From my experience, reading the condo board minutes will give you valuable information on the building state of repair and how the condo board operates. This information will could save you a tremendous amount of money and stress.

So what do you look for when reviewing the condo board minutes?

Thomas Beyer, a specialist in doing condo conversions in Alberta, gives great advice:

Look for:

Discussion of major items in minutes of the condo board meetings, i.e. water leaks, new roof, bed bugs, plumbing issues, structural issues, windows, rotten balconies etc.
Potential cash-calls/special assessments and why
Reserve fund health vs. age of building (get help with an experienced property manager or lawyer on this)
If a newer building: discussion of significant maintenance fee increases
If a newer building: any disputes with developer or pending Tarion issues
Any special meetings outside the usually annual AGM for major decisions
Any budgeted / future major expenditures and anticipation of funding these same expenditures through reserve fund or special assessment (i.e. you think it is a good deal .. but in 2 months you're on the hook for a $35,000 special assessment to bring reserve fund current and fix all windows and a new roof )

Keep your eyes open

Would Toronto be more safer with no last call?

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 13:07:00 -0700

Night life in Toronto is a hundreds of million of dollars industry. If Toronto extended last call until 5a or staggering last calls over a longer period of time for certain neighborhoods, this may do two things:

People will not be as drunk. Imagine that their is no mad dash to the bar before 2a. You wouldn't over consume by buying too much before cut off
City will be safer: There won't be a mad dash of people on the streets looking for their cars or fighting for cabs. When you mix too many drunks in a small area nothing good could happen. By extending last call may cause people to leave at different times so club/lounge closings are more orderly

Toronto would definitely become more profitable and welcoming place for people to visit.

REal Experts Condo Market Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Wed, 8 Sep 2010 13:52:00 -0700

Picture from Urban Toronto

Project Developer District #Units Sold $/PSF
Five Condos Graywood & Mod Downtown Core 493 320 $603
Tango Concord Adex Sheppard Corridor 384 218 $458
One Valhalla Edilcan Group Etobicoke 216 163 $403
King Edward Dundee & Skyline Downtown Core 145 143 $729
Four Seasons Catalia Richmond Hill 201 55 $402

In June there were 1,764 sales (down 0.9% from last year)
Year to Date 2010 - 9,934 sales (up 142% from last year)
Unsold Inventory - 14,498 units (down 15.6% last year)

Observations

Commonality -Top 5 developers are active in courting the brokerage community
Lots of sites competing for buyers.
Developers continuing to buy sites at top dollar (e.g. Freed Developments purchases 2.4 acre site at 578 & 580 Front Street West (on the corner of Bathurst) for $42 million!)
Toronto is now largest Hi-Rise Market in North America
Prices are up from last year (2010 Avg $486 psf vs 2009 $430/psf - this stat is an average and really means nothing - have to see what's going on in your local market)
Banks still tight on construction financing, most projects still require 20% down for the majority of their purchases

Conclusions

29+ launches set for fall, REal Experts expects to see sales fall and incentives to go up

Canada is Just a Rounding Error when Compared to the US

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Mon, 6 Sep 2010 10:03:00 -0700

Reading the latest news on foreclosures from Lender's Processing Services, I'm amazed at the size of the US housing collapse when comparing it to Canada (via the Canadian Bankers Association).

US - 7,041,987 loans are either delinquent or in foreclosure
Canada - There are a TOTAL of 4,064,446 loans

US - 2,473,067 mortgages are more than 90 days delinquent
Canada - 17,090 mortgages are more than 90 days delinquent (or 0.69% of the total US mortgages more than 90 days delinquent and 0.42% of the total amount of Canadian mortgages )

Hence, Canada is just a rounding error when compared to US

Move to suburbs can’t offset condo sales slump

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:33:00 -0700

Recent article in the Star, Tony Wong states:

the Greater Golden Horseshoe Growth Plan, which touts higher densification for the 905 region, combined with affordability issues and a greater acceptance of highrise living, have made condos desirable for many suburban buyers.

Is this actually occurring?

Of the cities mentioned in the article. Here are the year to date sales (YTD)

Markham 95 sales
Brampton 85 sales
Pickering - To small to be in its own category - Considered part of other areas which total 233 sales

Mississauga is not really that dense with 323 sales this year (explains why Christopher Hume sees the city as a lost opportunity)

So where is densification occurring

Toronto 3,483 sales or 53% of the market
North York 1,119 sales or 17% of the market
Etobicoke 622 sales or 10% of the market

Thanks to Blackjet Inc the rendering of the Toronto Skyline of the future

Trees and Real Estate Values

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 05:38:00 -0700

Urban forests makes cities more liveable in the following ways:

Came across a great website in that highlights the obvious benefits (shamelessly copied and pasted)

Environmental Benefits

Moderate temperature of road surface increasing their life span
Reduction of air pollutants
Urban Forests Protect Our Water
Urban Forests Can Increase Traffic Safety

Sociological Benefits

Trees have the potential to reduce social service budgets, decrease police calls for domestic violence, strengthen urban communities, and decrease the incidence of child abuse according to the study.
Residents who live near trees have significantly better relations with and stronger ties to their neighbors.
Researchers found fewer reports of physical violence in homes that had trees outside the buildings. Of the residents interviewed, 14% of residents living in barren conditions have threatened to use a knife or gun against their children versus 3% for the residents living in green conditions.
Studies have shown that hospital patients with a view of trees out their windows recover much faster and with fewer complications than similar patients without such views.
A Texas A&M study indicates that trees help create relaxation and well being.
A U.S. Department of Energy study reports that trees reduce noise pollution by acting as a buffer and absorbing 50% of urban noise.

Real Estate Benefits:

Trees can increase property values 5%-15% (Adding and maintaining trees - especially if Mature - are expensive. So a sustainable way must be found)

Environmental Vision for Toronto

Lake Ontario Park - One of the Largest Urban Parks in North America to be built in Toronto
Will Silva Cells help improve Toronto's urban forest? - Great article on seeing how Toronto is moving forward. Concepts that show trees on Bloor between Avenue and Church really looks great.
Money does grow on trees -The reasons for planting a canopy overshadow today’s trend toward tiny trees. 109,000 to 110,000 trees are planted a year in Toronto. Today the canopy covers 20 per cent of the city; the goal is 30 to 40 per cent coverage.

Making Sugar Beach Lively - Just add Rum

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:47:00 -0700

Reading a great article in the Globe about Sugar Beach in Toronto.

The author, Mark Schatzker, raised a great point about allowing the serving of Rum (among other alcoholic beverages). Allowing rum will definitely make Sugar Beach a destination point.

Bringing in more people throughout the day and evenings for a drink or to be with friends who may want to drink but end up hanging out and enjoying the sites.

Bringing in people for different reasons adds diversity to the area, which makes an area more lively organically.

Like I've said in the past: a diverse city is a lively city, a lively city makes more people want to be there, more people demanding to be there increases real estate values.

So how would alcohol make Sugar Beach more lively?

Well for one, its not a beach, its just a spot to spend a few minutes watching the lake and then you get bored and leave. Schatzker, correctly point this out when he said:

"There’s a risk that Sugar Beach, which is small to begin with, will suffer the same fate as Yorkville Park – lauded by design types, but underappreciated by everyone else."

There is a huge problem with neglected spaces: it actually breeds crime. Think about it, if no one has a reason to be at Sugar Beach, there will be nobody around, and nobody around will make the area a great place to do a drug deal or hire a prostitute.

Toronto's 'Clubland' no longer booming

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 06:14:00 -0700

I know some Torontonians are upset with the club district changes.

As mentioned in a recent article in The Star, at the beginning of the decade Toronto's club district was one of the densest in the world. This density created resulted in the lack of diversity disease which is not good for a city.

Symptoms of lack of diversity disease in clubland:

Crime: drunkenness, fighting, heavy policing costs, familiar smell of urine in alleys, trash on people's homes and businesses
Inefficient use of land: thousands of party goers Thursday through Saturday nights, dead during the days. More diverse and lively areas have people spread out through the day
Area becomes a fad as people get tired of the "scene"

Solution: Diversity

How to spur diversity organically

Increase population density (adding condos was a good move)
Have a diversity of uses (adding jobs i.e. The Score, Hotels to bring tourists, restaurants/clubs, shopping, tourist attractions, theatres, concert halls etc - Bell Light Box)
Regulating so there is not too much of one thing. Shouldn't allow too many clubs or too many condos
Slow re-development to keep interesting spaces in older buildings that will have cheaper lease rates than what can be afforded in a brand new building.

More people want to be in a lively area and lively areas are diverse areas. Lively cities will always be a great tourist attractors and make real estate more valuable

Hot Toronto Neighborhoods as of June 2010

noreply@blogger.com (Brian Persaud) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:46:00 -0700

Here are the top 10 neighborhoods for single-detached homes in the GTA: