Herald Article:

CALGARY — A Toronto residential tower condominium developer is proposing three projects for Calgary, attracted by the city’s wealth and style.

Brad Lamb, head of Lamb Development Corp., said Wednesday his company will partner with Fortress Real Capital on the first project, a 30-storey, 230-unit condo at 10th Street and 6th Avenue S.W.

The project is expected to cost about $62 million to build and its residential units and ground level retail to sell for around $80 million, he said.

“I’ve been looking at Calgary for five years trying to find the right opportunity,” he said.

“And I believe now is right for Calgary.”

Lamb said he believes Calgary is the most affluent city in Canada and, furthermore, that the downtown region between the Beltline and the river is ripe for high-density development.

“You can feel the wealth in Calgary,” he said as he prepared for a meeting with potential investors on Wednesday evening.

Lamb said his second project will be a hotel and condo combination and the third will be a highrise but its details can’t be revealed as yet.

The downtown Calgary market for residential towers has come back from 2008 when the shrivelling economy dealt a death blow to the four-tower Arriva project by Torode Residential Ltd.

In August, Vancouver-based Mike Bucci of Bucci Developments Ltd. said his company was shifting focus to Calgary, with two new projects, because the economy is more promising than in the company’s home town.

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. reported Tuesday that multi-family starts in the city are up 70 per cent for October and five per for the first 10 months compared with last year.

The numbers are being driven by the highest number of apartment unit starts since May 2008, it noted.

dhealing@calgaryherald.com

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

By Eva Ferguson, Calgary Herald October 16, 2011

 Motorists are frustrated but so are residents of communities experiencing speeders and drivers taking shortcuts

Suddenly the calm was broken and a speeding van darted through a stop sign, rolling onto its side, ending up in the front yard of a walk-up apartment.

“It was scary, that unmistakable sound, the impact, the broken glass.

“We rushed over with blankets and a fire extinguisher. It was a young couple. They were injured, but luckily not seriously.”

Dating back more than 15 years, that bright blue van lying on its side remains an awful memory for McDermid, now the president of the Crescent Heights Community Association.

But high-speed, cutthrough traffic continues to be a daily reality for residents in the historic innercity community, straddling Centre Street North just minutes from downtown.

According to police traffic counts for 2010, Crescent Heights recorded one of the highest numbers of traffic collisions at 406 incidents.

Numbers include cars versus cars, pedestrians, light standards and anything else they can run into.

Other communities such as Albert Park/Radisson Heights, Acadia and Shawnessy also scored in a similar range.

They are among several communities that face higher collision rates than others for a variety of reasons – congestion, careless speeding, and being surrounded by busy thoroughfares that get clogged up forcing cut-through traffic along residential streets.

McDermid says much of the problem for older, innercity communities is that they’re built on a grid. While grids are great for the walkability of a neighbourhood, streets that run straight, intersecting each other, offering several ways in and out of the community can enable cut-through traffic. And for Crescent Heights, the problem is magnified with several major collectors surrounding it, including Centre Street, 16th Avenue and Edmonton Trail.

“Almost all of our streets are on a grid. When traffic stacks up on the major surrounding streets, we get the cut-through traffic. Some days we can’t even believe the speeds in here.”

McDermid says it seems those who cut through who aren’t Crescent Heights residents are the worst offenders because they don’t respect the community.

Crescent Heights underwent a traffic study in 2000, which resulted in several traffic-calming measures including four-way stops, posted speed reductions, curb bulbs and even some full street closures to reduce cut-through traffic and slow the speeders.

But McDermid says much of the calming that occurred is now a decade old, and new shortcutting issues have come to light. Yet Crescent Heights now seems to be a lower priority.

“Because we had the study, we’re deemed to have had our issues resolved. But nothing is ever perfect. We need further measures and we’re not getting buy-in from the city. We’re at the bottom of the list.”

Area Ald. Druh Farrell says more communities than ever before are coming forward with requests for traffic studies.

It’s not just communities that are on a grid that are experiencing high traffic collision counts, she says.

Many newer communities such as Shawnessy, with only two exits onto Macleod Trail northbound, are also facing congestion problems, particularly during the morning rush.

Community leaders there say that in an effort to create a district without cutthrough traffic, congestion has become the alternative.

“I’ve heard a lot of comments from people saying it can take a really long time to get out in the morning,” says community president Paula Kendrick. Shawnessy tallied 445 traffic collisions in 2010.

Still, other communities such as Albert Park/Radisson Heights, which offer a mix of grids, winding roads and cul-de-sacs, are also dealing with high-speed, cut-through traffic.

Les Burton, association past president, says Albert Park/Radisson Heights has a host of challenges, surrounded by major roadways – 17th Avenue to the south, Memorial Drive to the north, 36th Street to the east and Barlow Trail to the west.

The community had 632 collisions last year. City police were unable to provide the locations of collisions so it’s not clear how many occurred within the community or on the periphery along major routes. But Burton says cutthrough traffic continues to be a problem, particularly along Radcliffe Drive/28th Street S.E. which has several schools and soccer fields inviting high volumes of intermittent traffic and illegal parking.

“People are coming into the community for soccer or whatever, and they’re parking all over the street.

“You can’t see as well driving along those streets with all the cars. It’s bad at the LRT station, too. And more and more people are just cutting through.”

In Acadia, which saw 586 traffic collisions last year, cut-through traffic continues to be a major headache as rush hour traffic along Macleod Trail and Southland Drive gets worse.

“I don’t even go near them. Macleod and Southland are horrible, horrible,” says Lindsay Sangster, president of the Acadia Community Association.

“You can either sit on Macleod Trail for hours, listen to your radio and smoke a whole pack of cigarettes, or you can just get onto Acadia Drive and get home.”

Sangster adds that several schools in the community, as well as other cut-through arteries such as Bonaventure and Fairview Drive, add to volume, driver frustration and collisions.

Acting Inspector Michael Watterston of the Calgary Police Service says traffic problems exist in a variety of communities, no matter what their design is. The challenge is driver attitude.

But police advise that if there are repeat offenders, they should be reported.

Police will lay a charge if the complainant is willing to stand up in court.

“People aren’t usually willing to go that far. But they need to know, if there is a legitimate concern, and they get a licence plate and a description, we will make a call.

“People need to know if they’re worried about traffic safety in their neighbourhood, they do have the power as a community, to do something about it.”

But some experts say community design can sometimes play a role in increasing safety.

 This is an excellent article that explains why our real estate market is strengthening, particularily at the higher end. Essentially, as hiring is happening in the oilfields, the local economy strengthens, confidence returns to consumers who then are willing to buy higher priced items, such as homes.  In August of 2010, there were 67 MLS sales over $700k, this year there were 104.  I also see strong activity in the New Home sector where a building/lot sale price can easily top that price level and many builder sales don’t get posted through the MLS system, making the sales numbers even stronger.

There is also good activity at the low end of the market as savy investors pick up properties for rental.
Georgina

STRENGTHENING OIL SECTOR TO BOOST REAL ESTATE

Where oil goes, so goes Calgary.

As much as we like to say the city isn’t as dependent on black gold for its health and prosperity, the fact is, we are.

With oil prices regaining strength and with hiring happening in the oilfields, the economy is beginning to strengthen – and it’s pulling consumer confidence along with it.

A real estate axiom says that when the economy is good, the pace of home sales at the higher end of the market increases.

People in those income brackets aren’t likely to buy if there is an indication the economy is headed south.

“That’s probably true,” says Norb Park, managing broker with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. “The businessminded are probably saying the economy is heading in the right direction, the oilpatch is in good shape, so this isn’t a bad time to deal.”

Resale housing statistics from the Calgary Real Estate Board tend to agree.

From the start of the year to the end of August, 948 homes priced at $700,000 and more changed hands, up from 779 for the same eight-month period in 2010.

In August, sales in that price range totalled 104 compared with 67 for the same month a year ago.

“There’s a mindset that when oil is doing well, then the economy must be good,” says Park. “That, in turn, increases consumer optimism – and right now, people are feeling positive.”

But not all of us can afford homes that expensive.

Matter of fact, nearly 50 per cent of single-family homes sold this year and last were priced between $300,000 and $450,000.

“With Calgary’s energy sector slated to grow, it is expected to lift the city’s employment, income and in-migration – and in turn help contribute to growth in the resale market,” says Sano Stante, president of the Calgary Real Estate Board. In-migration refers to the migration of people to the city.

“We expect price growth to improve as we approach the end of 2011 and move into 2012,” he says, adding the market is seeing a boost in sales at both ends of the market.

“Improving economic conditions, coupled with affordability and price stability, has given Calgary a boost in buyers for upperend homes and entry-level condos,” he says.

CREB also reports the average price for singlefamily resale homes reached $468,051 by the end of August, a one-per-cent increase compared to last year.

Taking a page from the RBC affordability reports, Stante says: “When looking at Canada’s major cities, Calgary is one of the most affordable regions for homeownership in the country. Buyers are benefiting from improved selection at all price ranges in the market.”

The single-family home market had 1,106 sales in August, an increase of 28 per cent when compared to the same month last year – which, by the way, was the lowest for August since 1994.

Sales of 9,485 for the start of the year to the end of August are 10-per-cent higher than the same period last year.

Condo sales totalled 468 units in August 2011, with a year-to-date total of 3,885 – similar to levels recorded in the first eight months of 2010.

MHOPE@CALGARYHERALD.COM

I love this article! While this report isn’t trying to say we have the least expensive housing prices in  Canada, it is making the point that based on the average household income, once a family pays for their monthly mortgage payment, property taxes, and utilities, they have used up 38.5% of their pre-tax income as compared to a family in Toronto where it takes 61.4% of the household income.  This confirms home ownership is much more affordable in Calgary and reinforces the terrific buying opportunity that is still out there for first time home buyers. The time to buy is now!

Georgina

How long it’s going to last is anybody’s guess – but for now, Calgary is the most affordable city in Canada in which to buy a home, says a report.

More than that, Alberta is the most affordable province, says the most recent housing affordability report issued by RBC for the second quarter of this year.

“In Calgary, it is the most affordable it has been in six years,” says Bill McFarlane, Calgary-based RBC sales manager for Prairie builder markets.

For the average two-storey home in the city, the portion of a family’s pre-tax income required to cover monthly mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities is 38.5 per cent. Provincially, it costs 36.4 per cent.

“Compare that with places like Toronto, where it takes 61.4 per cent – and Vancouver, where it’s more than 95 per cent of household income, and you can see how well off we are,” says McFarlane.

Closer to home, Edmonton sits at 39.1 per cent.

Affordability was helped by a weaker than expected rebound in resale activity, he says.

“After posting two successive increases, resale activity edged down in the April-June period,” says McFarlane. “This had the effect of keeping price pressures at bay.”

Among the provinces, the next closest to Alberta in terms of affordability was the Atlantic region at 38.5 per cent.

Ontario sat at 48.6 per cent and B.C. was 76.6 per cent.

The benefits to the Calgary market of such “attractive affordability have nonetheless been slow in coming,” says the report. “Homebuyer demand has been stuck in low gear up to this point, with existing home sales. new home construction and home prices continuing to exhibit flat month-to-month trends.”

But with industry players and watchers all expecting an upward blip in business, those benefits are likely to improve.

“Going forward, attractive affordability, robust growth, and rising employment and migration will act to improve confidence in the market,” says McFarlane.

mhope@calgaryherald.com