City plan puts focus on two- and three-bedroom residential units

Nearly half of new residential developments in downtown Toronto could be made up of two- and three-bedroom units, a new plan for the core just approved by city council outlines.

The city’s sweeping TOcore plan for downtown growth considers many aspects of living, working and being in Toronto’s core, including expanding and improving parks; fostering walking, cycling and transit, and protecting open spaces from shadow.

The Official Plan Amendment and three infrastructure strategies was considered by council late Wednesday night.

The master plan requires new residential developments with more than 80 units to be made up of at least 40 per cent two- and three-bedroom units.

“It’s something that we’re … hoping for, because we’ve been seeing a steady decline since the 1990s in the size of condo units and in the number of bedrooms of condo units,” said Cherise Burda, executive director of the Ryerson City Building Institute.

“At the same time, we’re seeing an increase in the height of condo buildings. And, so, essentially, we’re building small and tall; we’re building small units in tall buildings.”

To create balanced mix of unit types and sizes, the policies approved lay out regulations for developments with more than 80 residential units:

    • At least 15 per cent of units would be two-bedrooms that are at least 87 square metres (936.5 square feet) in size.
    • At least 10 per cent of units would be three-bedrooms that are at least 100 square metres (1,076.4 square feet) in size.
    • An additional 15 per cent of units would be a combination of two- and three-bedroom units, without the same minimum size.
“Making sure that we build a livable downtown means ensuring that we have access to affordable housing, but also means that we have access to family housing, and that means family-sized units,” said Councillor Joe Cressy (Ward 20—Trinity-Spadina) before the vote.

“Not just two and three bedrooms where the three bedrooms are closets, but rather two and three proper-sized bedrooms. And that’s what’s key in TOcore; it provides a percentage that’s required for two and three bedrooms, but also the specific square footage that’s required.”

Douglas Young, an associate professor who teaches urban studies at York University, said the policy is a “very interesting” example of the government regulating the production of housing.

“I think, in this country, there’s always been something of a dance between government and the private sector around housing, with sometimes government getting very involved and other times stepping back,” Young said. “So I see this as a point in time where they’ve decided to step forward and get more involved.”

Young said the regulations are an attempt to reverse the trend of smaller condos being built in Toronto, which are more suitable for singles than families or groups. He added the 87- and 100-square-metre minimums for new units are “big” by today’s standards.

Burda said multi-bedroom units will create opportunities for families to remain downtown, but emphasized that affordability remains an issue.

“We need to get way more innovative and figure out how to create more affordable, family-friendly housing in our downtown, and it doesn’t necessarily require a million-dollar, three-bedroom unit,” Burda said.

The plan adds that, “where appropriate,” residential units would include storage space, operable windows, bedrooms with closets, bedrooms with an operable window on an exterior wall and balconies or terraces.

“They’re acknowledging the fact that the standard of accommodation that the private sector is producing is pretty low, where you can have a space without a window and without a closet and you can call it a bedroom,” Young said.

The downtown plan is a 25-year project that directs the scale and location of future growth in the city centre. It’s the first comprehensive update since the 1970s, when the 1976 Central Area Plan introduced policies to encourage residential growth downtown and avoid inner city deterioration.

“Fundamentally, TOcore is about designing a downtown that is livable,” Cressy said. “Another way of putting it: it’s about ensuring we build neighbourhoods, rather than simply building towers. And, so, central to building neighbourhoods is having a range of ages and families and people that live there.”

Cressy called the masterplan “long overdue and necessary.”

By the year 2041, the population of downtown Toronto is expected to double from 240,000 to 475,000.

Recognizing that growth was outpacing infrastructure, city council initiated the TOcore study in 2014.

The study area is bounded by Lake Ontario to the south, Bathurst St. to the west, the mid-town rail corridor and Rosedale Valley Road to the north and the Don River to the east.

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A looming housing affordability crisis is poised to hit seniors across Canada

Within seven years, the national average for seniors’ home rents could reach $4,000 a month, DBRS report warns

A new cohort is joining young Canadians and others frustrated by sky-high rents and soaring housing costs: seniors.

A looming affordability crisis is poised to hit seniors across the country as the baby boom generation makes its long-predicted shift into its golden years, squeezing the supply of retirement home places and pushing up rents, according to a new report from the rating agency DBRS Ltd.

“For seniors who live on a fixed income or a government pension, they are facing the affordability issue even more,” said Karen Gu, senior vice-president at DBRS and a co-author of the report. “The younger generation at least has the possibility of a regular job and a pay cheque.”

The average rents for seniors’ homes varied across the country in 2017, with Ontario holding the highest at $3,526 per month and Quebec the lowest at $1,678 per month. Should rents continue to grow at the current rate of 4.7 per cent year, the national average could reach just over $4,000 a month by 2025, the report cautions.

The problem comes down to a failure of supply to keep up with demand. By 2026, more than 2.4 million Canadians aged 65 and older will need the “supportive care” offered by retirement homes, including monitoring of medication, regular housekeeping, meal preparation and other services. As more baby boomers turn 65, the number requiring such care is expected to reach “a staggering” 3.3 million by 2046, DBRS found.

More senior housing units are being developed every year, but not enough to meet the anticipated demand. The rate of increase for Canada’s senior population swelled by 21.7 per cent between 2006 and 2016 — more than double the rate of the supply increase.

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“It’s not like we didn’t know the baby boomer bulge was coming, we just didn’t do anything about it,” said Laura Tamblyn Watts, national director of law, policy and research at CARP (formerly the Canadian Association of Retired Persons). “There has been a failure across the entire system to prepare.”

Just as rent levels differ across the country, a patchwork of provincial policies means seniors’ ability to absorb them will also diverge, depending on where they live, she said. While British Columbia and Alberta offer subsidies for retirement home costs, Ontario’s retirement homes rely entirely on private payments.

Meanwhile, a shortage of long-term care beds has exacerbated demand for retirement homes, Tamblyn Watts added, as those seniors unable to secure a place in publicly funded facilities choose the next best option.

“The reality is, we need to make investments now.”

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New Condo Sales 2008 – 2018

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Millennials are the driving force of the real estate market

Canada’s millennials are focused on homebuying and their intentions are driving the real estate market.

A new report from mortgage insurer Genworth Canada reveals that 59% of millennials are already homeowners, with 30% having bought a home in the past two years (including first-time buyers and repeat buyers).

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That means more than three times as many Canadian millennials bought a home in the last two years as older Canadians (9%).

Among non-homeowners 30% say they intend to buy in the next two years.

Millennial finances appear strong

The National Financial Fitness and Homeownership Study was conducted in association with the Canadian Association of Credit Counselling Services (CACCS) from February 8 – March 27, 2018; and asked several questions about financial well-being and intentions.

Among those who said their finances are in good shape are 68% of first-time buyers; 58% of first-time intenders; 59% of repeat buyers; and 62% of repeat intenders.

“It is encouraging to see the high level of financial confidence coming from first-time homebuyers and homeowners. As a company that is committed to providing financial literacy education to aid those looking to achieve homeownership, these results demonstrate that this segment of Canadians are doing the necessary homework to support their financial future,” said Stuart Levings, President and CEO of Genworth Canada.

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DP= Down payment

This week Genworth Canada has a series of educational webinars in celebration of their annual Homeownership Education Week event where industry professionals can learn more about this and other topics.

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Syndicated mortgage investors still out tens of thousands, say Ontario’s new regulations won’t help

Amended regulations will set $60K a year investment cap on some of the risky investments

Margaret Wong, left, and Alexander Wong each invested more than a $100,000 in syndicated mortgages. They’ve never seen a penny of the money they were counting on for retirement. (Chris Dunseith/CBC)

Investors who have likely lost tens of thousands in syndicated mortgages say the Ontario government has “done nothing” for them, and that amended regulations touted in the province’s budget last week won’t do much to help.

The budget outlines changes that will come into effect July 1 to strengthen investor protections and make sure that “potential investors are aware of the risks” surrounding syndicated mortgages.

 

A syndicated mortgage is when a borrower finds more than one private lender to invest money in a property instead of going to the bank.

One big change coming for investors in Ontario is a $60,000 annual investment limit.

It will apply to individual investors in some syndicated mortgages, like the ones a CBC Toronto investigation revealed left 120 investors in the hole nearly $9 million after their money was handed over to a convicted fraudster.

Margaret Wong was one of those investors.

Nearly a year later, the retiree’s no closer to recouping the $200,000 she put into four syndicated mortgage projects with Black Bear Homes.

More than 120 people from the Greater Toronto Area’s Chinese community have likely lost nearly $9 million in syndicated mortgage investments solicited by someone they trusted and then loaned to a convicted fraudster, a CBC News investigation has found. 2:32

“At least we wouldn’t lose as much,” said Wong, about the changes. “But the main point is we would still lose the $60,000, because the government is not doing anything to protect the investor.”

Investment cap, more disclosure coming July 1

In addition to the $60,000 cap, new forms dealing with investor risk tolerance, property appraisals, and disclosure will be created by the Financial Services Commission of Ontario (FSCO), which currently regulates syndicated mortgages.

The province plans to transfer that power to the Ontario Securities Commission down the line.

Wong says the amendments to the Mortgage Brokerages, Lenders and Administrators Act are a “starting point” but don’t address some borrowers’ behaviour.

We need more accountability. The government should go after the borrower.– Margaret Wong

FSCO considers syndicated mortgages to be high-risk investments, but Wong and others who invested in them with Black Bear say they were told the investments were safe and secure.

“What has the government done for us, other than checking our background and limiting our investment?” Wong told CBC Toronto. “We need more accountability. The government should go after the borrower.”

Gary Fraser and Dominic Ha took investors on a tour of properties under development in Crystal Beach, Ont.

In Wong’s case the borrower was Black Bear Homes, a developer in Fort Erie, Ont., which was represented by Gary Fraser, a convicted fraudster.

Most of the projects involved renovating or building houses or townhomes in the Crystal Beach community on Lake Erie.

After examining Black Bear’s syndicated mortgage contracts, ledgers and the investors stories a year ago, a certified fraud examiner told CBC Toronto, in his opinion, “this is open fraud.”

Police close Black Bear investigation

But in the end police disagreed.

York Regional Police closed their investigation into Black Bear syndicated mortgages in October of last year.

“I was pretty disappointed,” said Alexander Wong, who invested $160,000. “We never had any interview. No one that we know was interviewed.”

“By doing so, how can they draw the conclusion this is not fraud?”

In a letter to another investor, police said “it was determined the this matter may fall under civil or regulatory law but not criminal law” and that investigators “provided material” to FSCO to help in their investigation of the Black Bear investments.

A month after CBC Toronto published its investigation last year, FSCO suspended the licence of the mortgage agent who solicited $9 million from Black Bear investors, Dominic Ha.

According to the contracts that investors signed, Ha received 10 per cent of the funds for each syndicated mortgage he solicited for “mortgage orientation, referral, management and consulting fees.”

FSCO hearing cancelled for mortgage agent

After his licence was suspended, Ha requested a hearing to try and restore it. That hearing was supposed to start Monday, but last week Ha withdrew his request, according to FSCO’s website.

“FSCO just dropped the hearing,” said Margaret Wong. “He just doesn’t renew his licence and that’s it? And the whole case is closed? Come on.”

In a statement FSCO told CBC Toronto the licensing hearing was cancelled because Ha withdrew his request. As a result the regulator revoked Ha’s mortgage agent licence last week.

Wong says she knows she and the others aren’t going to get all their money back, but she still wants agents who defraud investors like her to face some consequences.

“Penalize them with a fine … with a big fine,” Wong told CBC Toronto.

Percy Chan says she’s lucky she still has time to work to earn back the money she lost in syndicated mortgages, unlike seniors who were counting on the money in retirement. (Chris Dunseith/CBC)

And she’s not the only one waiting for some action, Percy Chan says this whole experience has felt like a basketball game.

“We are the basketball being passed around,” said Chan. “Nobody wants to help us.”

She says while the the government changes are “better than nothing,” she doesn’t think they they’ll prevent more people from losing money like she did in Black Bear syndicated mortgages.

We are the basketball being passed around. Nobody wants to help us.– Percy Chan

“They might help a little bit,” Chan told CBC Toronto.

“But in the long run I don’t think so because the people who are looking for the bait, for the victim, they will look for the grey area.”

Still Chan counts herself lucky, because she and her husband have time to work and earn back the money they’ve lost. Unlike many retired seniors who invested their savings with Black Bear.

“They won’t see their money before they pass away,” said Chan.

“I can see the hopelessness from their eyes. It really drowns me; it really tears me down.”

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Relief Line: Preferred Alignment Now Includes Unilever Stop

Step by step, the scope of Toronto’s Downtown Relief Line is taking shape. This week, a new round of transit consultations is revealing an evolved alignment for the future subway, with a Queen corridor that includes a station at the Unilever Site near Broadview and Eastern Avenues, preferred by both City Planning and the TTC. Today, the Province also pledged $150 million towards the Relief Line’s planning, following the federal government’s $840 million state-of-good-repair pledge to Toronto transit last month. Though the Relief Line planning process is still in its early stages, the latest plan is an important step forward in setting out a more finalized corridor and precise station locations. Notably, the new plan also presents meaningful revisions to the preferred corridor identified earlier this year.

In March, a preferred alignment connecting Downtown to Pape Station via Queen Street was announced. The City’s initial preferred corridor terminated at ‘City Hall’ station on Queen, bypassing the Unilever site. However, the proposed station at Nathan Phillips Square would not provide direct transfers to either side of Line 1 at Queen or Osgoode stations, requiring transit users to walk long hallways in order to change trains. Meanwhile, although the Unilever station would boost ridership and be a major socio-economic boost to the formerly industrial area, the added cost was cited as a prohibitive factor. The new plan presents a different approach to both issues.

Although the general Queen-Pape alignment is maintained, the “emerging” preferred corridor jettisons the City Hall station in favour of direct connections to Line 1 at Queen and Osgoode. In lieu of the placemaking benefits of a station at—referred to as “the psychological heart of Toronto” by City Planning—direct transit connections are now preferred. Likewise, the plan now includes a station at the Unilever site, facilitating a more complete multi-modal hub, and helping advance one of the country’s largest developments. (A closer look at First Gulf’s plans will be provided in an upcoming story).

As outlined in this week’s consultations, stations are also being proposed at the intersections of Queen and Sherbourne, King and Sumach, Queen and Pape, and Gerrard and Pape. The Relief Line—which may eventually be extended north and west—is set to add five stations to the network, while connecting three existing TTC stops at Osgoode, Queen, and Pape. For each of the planned stations, including the transfer points to Lines 1 and 2, the City and TTC also provide individualized overviews of potential station configurations.

Thanks to photos taken at Tuesday night’s consultation by UT Forum contributor Alex Glista, a full selection of images is available in our dedicated Relief Line thread. While the benefits of transfer stations at Pape, Osgoode and Queen are self-evident, the station at Queen and Sherbourne is presented within the context of the “new street pattern and area redevelopment” in years to come. A future secondary entrance could also be integrated with the proposed 245 Queen East development immediately to the south.

The Queen and Sherbourne station, photo by Alex Glista

At King and Sumach, the planned station “could help stitch two sides of the off-ramp together,” allowing pedestrians connections from both sides of the Richmond/Adelaide/Eastern overpasses. North entrances “would support 514 Cherry and 504 King streetcar transfers,” while the secondary entrance to the southeast beside Underpass Park could provide a direct connection to the growing West Don Lands.

King and Sumach station, photo by Alex Glista

For Queen and Pape, the challenge is in accommodating high population densities in Leslieville to the west without interrupting EMS service located by the station, nor disrupting the neighbourhood.

Queen and Pape, photo by Alex Glista

At Pape and Gerrard, the station would serve an area that’s showing signs of becoming a development hub, with a large proposal currently in the works for Gerrard Square. Here, the station entrances would need to be designed to allow easy transfer to GO services should a GO RER station be built here too.

Gerrard and Pape, photo by Alex Glista

Source : UrbanToronto.ca

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Stats Can releases GDP numbers for February

The Canadian economy, which contracted to start the year, bounced back in February, led by gains in the mining and oil and gas extraction sector.

Statistics Canada said Tuesday real gross domestic product grew 0.4 per cent in February after a slight pullback of 0.1 per cent in January.

The mining and oil and gas extraction sector gained 2.4 per cent for the month as production in the oil and gas sector began returning to normal after a number of issues in January including unscheduled maintenance shutdowns.

Economists had expected an overall increase of 0.3 per cent in February, according to Thomson Reuters.

“The rebound in February GDP is encouraging even as oil drove a good chunk of the gain, as growth was pretty broad based,” Benjamin Reitzes, Canadian rates and macro strategist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a report.

“For the Bank of Canada, this report likely doesn’t change much, but reinforces the theme that the economy is in decent shape and can continue to move slowly but surely higher.”

Overall, 15 of the 20 industrial sectors tracked saw growth.

Goods-producing industries grew 1.2 per cent as manufacturing and construction rose in addition to the rebound in mining and oil and gas extraction.

The manufacturing sector rose 1.0 per cent in February, while the construction sector gained 0.7 per cent.

Meanwhile, the services-producing side edged up 0.1 per cent, hurt by a 0.5 decline in wholesale trade and weakness in the real estate and rental and leasing sector which was affected by mortgage rule changes at the start of the year including stress tests for uninsured mortgages.

The real estate and rental and leasing sector fell 0.2 per cent in February after a 0.5 per cent decline in January, the first back-to-back contractions since the summer of 2010.

The output of offices of real estate agents and brokers fell 7.9 per cent in February after a 12.9 per cent drop in January.

source : The Canadian Press

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