No oversupply of condos; we may even need more...by Jamie Henry

Far from being oversupplied the condo market needs more units to cope with the immigration inflow. That’s the view of CIBC’s economist Benjamin Tal who says that for now the high level of condo building in our major cities is just supplying the demand from immigrants who make up 70 per cent of Canada’s population

growth. Figures show that around half of those moving to Canada are in the prime demographic for home purchasing, but CIBC’s report says the numbers are underestimated. That’s because the official figures exclude temporary immigrants such as students, short-term workers and refugees. Last year the level of immigrants in the 20-44 year age group, who would typically make up a large percentage of home buyers, grew at the fastest pace for twenty years. Read the full story.

Property prices in Toronto to continue rising says CMHC

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation presented its outlook for the Toronto property market today and predicts no slow down in the rise of prices. CMHC regional economist Ted Tsiakopoulos said that homeowners shouldn’t be in any hurry to sell and forecast that prices would continue to rise through to 2016 with the average hitting close to $600,000.

Commercial property costs rocket in Vancouver

Businesses looking for property in the Metro Vancouver area are finding prices have increased substantially over the last two years. A new report from Colliers International shows that the cost of developing commercial property in Vancouver is 18 to 26 per cent higher now than it was in 2012. A lack of commercial land is just part of the equation with land prices varying across the area. Changing regulations have also added to costs and the report notes that property taxes are higher than many surrounding alternatives adding an annual burden on top of the initial set-up costs. Read the full story.

Halifax office vacancy rate rises

With more construction taking place landlords in Halifax are concerned of oversupply in the office sector. Figures from CBRE show that the year will end with a vacancy rate of 13.7 per cent; 700,000 square feet of available office space. This year almost 400,000 square feet of space will have been added to the central business district in the city. Bob Mussett, senior vice-president at CBRE, says that until population growth increases in Halifax there will be an underperformance downtown. Read the full story.