Thursday, June 26, 2008

Condo developer's bet: $10-million in Calgary

CALGARY, TORONTO -- A Calgary developer is betting that the high end of the city's real estate boom is far from bust.

Arcus Developments Inc. unveiled plans yesterday to build a $125-million, 35-storey luxury apartment building, called the Astoria on Tenth, in the west end of the downtown core.

While the building's crown jewel will be an opulent penthouse suite, only the uber-rich need apply. Arcus has slapped a $10-million price tag on the property, making it easily the most expensive condo ever seen in Alberta.

"Calgary has really come into its own from an economic perspective," Gerry Mendyk, president of Arcus Developments, said in an interview. "The environment here is very strong, with oil and gas prices where they are at. While North American [real estate] markets are struggling, Calgary's is very robust."

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Montreal house sales down

MONTREAL - The latest Greater Montreal Real Estate Board's Multiple Listing Service system showed a 9-per-cent decrease in transactions last month compared to May 2007, with 4,544 sales.

That represents a year-to-date decrease in sales of 4 per cent compared to the same period last year.

But the median price of a single-family home rose by 5 per cent in comparison with a year ago.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Canadian real estate boom over, statistics indicate

The real estate market has run out of steam, a report from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) suggests.

"Canadian housing market activity continued to slide in May, confirming that the six-year housing boom has, indeed, fizzled, and the poor winter results were not just weather- and holiday-related," Bank of Montreal economic analyst Robert Kavcic said in a commentary.

He based his comment on the CREA monthly report on 25 major markets, released Friday, which shows that volumes and prices are slowing or falling compared to May 2007.

Monday, June 9, 2008

'Normal market conditions' returning to real estate sales

Real estate sales in Greater Vancouver and in the Fraser Valley dipped more than 25 per cent in May compared to the same month a year ago while the number of new listings climbed.

The increase in listings combined with the slowing sales has cooled price increases which are now mostly in the single digit range across the two real estate boards. Abbotsford is the exception, where the average price for single-family detached homes rose more than 11 per cent in May compared to May 2007.

Sunday, June 1, 2008

The Montreal real-estate market

Montreal real-estate market is coming in for a smooth landing this year and next with a moderate slowdown in both resale and new construction activity, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corp. said yesterday.

CMHC predicts fewer resale transactions in the greater Montreal region in 2008 and 2009 compared with record levels in 2007. But sellers will remain firmly in the driver's seat and prices will rise. Condominiums will be the only segment where the number of transactions are expected to remain stable as buyers seek affordable accommodation.

In the residential construction sector, housing starts are expected to fall but remain at historically strong rates.

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