Sarah Jones, Shauna Towriss & Kyle Wilson, Clark Wilson LLP
Republished with permission from BCRELinks.com
January 2012
UDI kicked off its 40th year with yet another sold-out Annual Industry Forecast Luncheon. Don Forsgren, UDI President and President of Intracorp Projects Ltd., launched UDI’s “More Homes for More People” initiative, explaining that lack of “affordable” housing, particularly in the lower mainland, is damaging to individuals, families, and business.
Peter Mitham, Business in Vancouver
January 2012
Apartment sales rise
The numbers are in: sales of apartment blocks in the Lower Mainland totalled 110 last year, up from 90 in 2010 and the greatest number of sales since 2007. While the total volume of sales – $577.1 million – didn’t match the tally of $648.5 million achieved in 2005 (when 162 properties changed hands), the per-suite price continued its “relentless climb” to $175,741.
All this is according to apartment brokers David and Mark Goodman at HQ Commercial Real Estate Services Inc. HQ principal David Goodman attributed the activity to low interest rates and investors seeking good returns.
David & Mark Goodman
The final numbers are in! Our report 2011—The Year in Review provides an in-depth analysis of the Greater Vancouver apartment market. We looked at this past year’s performance vs. 2010, published the sum total of all 2011 building transactions, reviewed CMHC’s rental market report and commented on the contentious matter of rent control.
Download the exclusive report here >>
David & Mark Goodman
The matter of rent review/rent control has become a personal fixture amongst BC’s
rental apartment industry. Imposed and modified by previous Provincial
Governments, its implementation has proved anathema to landlords and has long
been regarded as one of the key obstacles to the expansion of rentals by supply
advocates. New purpose-built development remains uneconomic as
politicians find it expedient to shift the onus and the burden onto the backs
of apartment owners with arbitrarily capped rent levels.
Frank O’ Brien/Peter Mitham, Western Investor
January 2012
When Helmut Pastrick took the podium to address Metro Vancouver developers in November, the chief economist at Central 1 Credit Union warned of “considerable headwinds” facing the commercial real estate market in 2012. His outlook for this year was far from inspiring.