Canada Archives - Amora Escapes https://amoraescapes.com/category/canada/ Property 101 Thu, 02 Nov 2023 15:50:19 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://amoraescapes.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Amora-Escapes-Favico.png Canada Archives - Amora Escapes https://amoraescapes.com/category/canada/ 32 32 Cabot Begins Real Estate Sales At Revelstoke Property In Canada https://amoraescapes.com/2023/11/10/cabot-begins-real-estate-sales-at-revelstoke-property-in-canada/ Fri, 10 Nov 2023 14:45:17 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4880   The Cabot Collection has launched real estate pre-sales at its first mountain property: Cabot…

The post Cabot Begins Real Estate Sales At Revelstoke Property In Canada appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

The Cabot Collection has launched real estate pre-sales at its first mountain property: Cabot Revelstoke in British Columbia.

Set amid Canada’s Monasheee and Selkirk Mountain ranges, Cabot’s second Canadian property will include six chalets offering 79 residences that range from two to five bedrooms. Called the Residences at Cabot Revelstoke, the properties are surrounded by river and mountain vistas and are inspired by European ski chalets of the Dolomites, Austria and Switzerland. Pricing begins at $2.5 million.

The golf centerpiece at Cabot Revelstoke is an 18-hole course (Cabot Pacific) being designed by Whitman, Axland & Cutten that’s scheduled to open in 2025, joining Cabot’s golf offerings in Cape Breton, the Highlands of Scotland, St. Lucia in the Caribbean, and Citrus Farms in Florida. Overlooking the Columbia River, the course will have public access similar to Cabot’s original Cape Breton property.

Revelstoke is a year-round alpine destination, however, set in an alpine haven known as the “heli-skiing capital of the world.” At the base of Revelstoke Mountain, Cabot’s newest property is located at Revelstoke Mountain Resort, which has North America’s greatest vertical drop at 5,620 feet.

“I was in awe of the remarkable landscape from the moment I first walked the site and knew it was perfect for Cabot’s second Canadian property and our mountain golf and ski debut,” said Cabot co-founder and CEO Ben Cowan-Dewar. “We are thrilled to add to this already spectacular destination.”

All chalets will feature shared outdoor areas complete with a hot tub and barrel sauna. A homeowner experience manager will be available to homeowners 24 hours a day to prepare the residences, coordinate tee times for golf, or arrange offsite adventures. Among the notable holes forthcoming at Cabot Pacific, a long par 3 over a gorge that demands a carry of just over 250 yards from the back tees.

Source : Forbes

The post Cabot Begins Real Estate Sales At Revelstoke Property In Canada appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Edmonton City Council Approves Tax Subclass to Crack Down on Derelict Properties https://amoraescapes.com/2023/10/20/edmonton-city-council-approves-tax-subclass-to-crack-down-on-derelict-properties/ Fri, 20 Oct 2023 13:15:29 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4806   Mulai tahun 2024, Kota Edmonton akan memiliki kemampuan untuk membebankan tarif pajak yang lebih…

The post Edmonton City Council Approves Tax Subclass to Crack Down on Derelict Properties appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

Mulai tahun 2024, Kota Edmonton akan memiliki kemampuan untuk membebankan tarif pajak yang lebih tinggi kepada pemilik rumah di lingkungan yang sudah matang yang propertinya dianggap terlantar.

Dalam rilis berita yang dikeluarkan Rabu sore, pemerintah kota mengumumkan bahwa dewan kota telah menyetujui subkelas pajak baru untuk menangani properti tempat tinggal yang “menunjukkan tanda-tanda pengabaian yang serius, bobrok, mengalami kerusakan parah atau tidak dapat dihuni.”

“(Ini) adalah alat baru dalam perangkat kota untuk mengatasi dampak berbahaya yang dapat ditimbulkan oleh properti perumahan yang terlantar dan bermasalah,” kata Cate Watt, manajer cabang penilaian dan perpajakan kota tersebut. “Mengelola properti terlantar sering kali menimbulkan biaya tambahan bagi kota dan tarif pajak yang lebih tinggi akan membantu menutupi biaya tersebut sekaligus mendorong pemilik properti untuk membersihkan rumah terlantar.

“Kami berharap hal ini akan berperan dalam meningkatkan semangat lingkungan yang sudah matang dalam jangka panjang.”

Kota tersebut mengatakan studi kasus terhadap 31 “properti bermasalah” yang berakhir pada tahun 2020 menemukan bahwa properti tersebut menghabiskan biaya sekitar $1,3 juta bagi kota tersebut untuk hal-hal seperti inspeksi dan penegakan peraturan, inspeksi kebakaran, kode keselamatan dan inspeksi kepatuhan pembangunan serta inspeksi dan tanggapan polisi.

“Itu kombinasi dari Edmonton Fire Rescue Services, EPS, peraturan daerah, kepatuhan pembangunan, pajak yang belum dibayar,” jelas Coun. Ashley Salvador. “Hal ini benar-benar berdampak buruk tidak hanya pada lingkungan sekitar, namun juga pada dompet kota.”

Pemerintah kota mencatat bahwa “properti bermasalah” didefinisikan secara berbeda dari “properti terlantar,” dan hanya beberapa dari 31 properti yang dianggap terlantar. Properti bermasalah dianggap sebagai properti yang menimbulkan risiko sosial atau keselamatan, seperti terkait dengan aktivitas kriminal atau risiko kebakaran.

“Keadaannya menjadi sangat buruk,” kata Salvador. “Dalam periode enam bulan menjelang pemilu, terdapat 281 kejadian terkait kebakaran di tipe properti tersebut.

“Dengan semua tindakan yang kami ambil sejauh ini, kami telah melihat 89 pembongkaran, 308 pengamanan, 238 perintah dikeluarkan dan penurunan drastis jumlah kebakaran di komunitas ini.

“Tindakan yang kami ambil telah berhasil dan saya pikir penambahan subkelas pajak properti untuk properti terlantar akan mendorong hal tersebut lebih jauh lagi,” kata Salvador.

Christy Morin, direktur eksekutif Arts on the Ave, berpendapat bahwa perubahan perpajakan akan membantu  menindak properti terlantar  di lingkungan Alberta Avenue dan di seluruh Edmonton.

“Mereka benar-benar merupakan bencana bagi lingkungan sekitar,” katanya. “Mereka menarik orang-orang yang salah dan sering kali justru menjadi sarang narkoba.”

Arts on the Ave adalah organisasi nirlaba yang bekerja untuk membantu menjadikan 118 Avenue sebagai distrik seni komunitas.

Morin mengatakan masyarakat telah “secara agresif meminta” dewan kota dan pemerintah selama bertahun-tahun untuk menemukan cara yang lebih efektif untuk mengatasi masalah ini.

“Kami telah melakukan revitalisasi kota selama 18 tahun. Dan 18 tahun yang lalu, kami melihat ada kota-kota – Atlanta – di Philadelphia, dan tempat-tempat lain yang benar-benar berusaha keras mengenakan pajak kepada pemilik properti terlantar ini dan hal ini membuat perbedaan besar dalam komunitas inti di kota-kota tersebut.”

Salvador mengatakan Edmonton adalah negara pertama di Kanada yang mengembangkan sub-kelas pajak untuk properti perumahan terlantar, namun mengakui yurisdiksi lain di AS telah melihat keberhasilan dengan pendekatan tersebut.

Perubahan UU  Pemerintah Kota di tingkat provinsi  beberapa tahun lalu juga membantu, kata Morin. Pada tahun 2017,  Alberta mengubah  undang-undang tersebut untuk memudahkan pemerintah kota mendorong pembangunan kembali properti brownfield – yang terkontaminasi, kosong, terlantar, atau kurang dimanfaatkan.

“Selain itu, terdapat satuan tugas yang dibentuk oleh Kota Edmonton untuk mampu melakukan tindakan tegas terhadap properti-properti terlantar ini dan kami telah melihat kesuksesan besar dengan ditutupnya properti-properti tersebut.

“Tetapi sekarang langkah selanjutnya adalah memberikan pukulan berat kepada mereka dengan pajak, dan memberi tahu mereka bahwa kita adalah komunitas yang hebat. Komunitas-komunitas ini tidak pantas membiarkan properti terlantar berada di lahan mereka selama bertahun-tahun,” katanya.

Setelah itu, Morin ingin melihat pendekatan serupa untuk mengatasi properti komersial yang terlantar.

“Ini hanya akan menjatuhkan bisnis Anda ketika Anda mempunyai tetangga sebelah yang duduk-duduk dan tidak melakukan apa pun.

“Seluruh gugus tugas ini dimulai pada tahun 2021, ketika komunitas kami di distrik Alberta Avenue mengalami lebih dari 200 kebakaran dan banyak di antaranya terjadi di properti terlantar ini.”

Salvador mengatakan dia ingin melihat hal ini diperluas melampaui lingkungan yang sudah mapan – di seluruh kota hingga ke semua properti perumahan dan komersial yang terlantar.

“Tidak dapat dipertahankan jika properti-properti ini terus berdiri di lingkungan kita dan menimbulkan risiko yang signifikan bagi masyarakat dan terus merugikan kota sebesar jutaan dolar.

“Tujuannya di sini adalah untuk memastikan bahwa properti tersebut mematuhi peraturan, dipertahankan, atau dijual kepada seseorang yang mau melakukan sesuatu dengannya,” kata anggota dewan kota.

Pemerintah kota mengatakan pada hari Rabu bahwa mereka memperkirakan akan memberi tahu sekitar 300 pemilik pada musim gugur ini bahwa properti mereka berisiko dianggap terlantar.

“Semua penilaian properti akan dikonfirmasi pada Januari 2024 ketika pemberitahuan penilaian dikirimkan melalui pos ke lebih dari 400,000 pemilik properti di Edmonton,” kata kota itu.

“Agar suatu properti dianggap terlantar untuk tujuan perpajakan, pemerintah kota harus menilai kondisi fisik rumah di properti tersebut, mencari bangunan yang kosong, ditutup papan, dianggap tidak layak huni atau ditinggalkan di tengah proses konstruksi atau pembongkaran. .”

Sumber: Berita Global

The post Edmonton City Council Approves Tax Subclass to Crack Down on Derelict Properties appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Property Experts Remind Saskatchewan Residents About Winter Home Prep https://amoraescapes.com/2023/10/15/property-experts-remind-saskatchewan-residents-about-winter-home-prep/ Sun, 15 Oct 2023 12:29:29 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4791   As the winter season approaches, experts in both insurance and home repair are encourage…

The post Property Experts Remind Saskatchewan Residents About Winter Home Prep appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

As the winter season approaches, experts in both insurance and home repair are encourage Saskatchewan homeowners to start prepping their homes for the change of weather.

Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is encouraging residents to clean out the eavestroughs on their homes.

“The eavestrough system is an important one to keep the water away from your home, and if you don’t get that cleaned out and maintained before winter, it can’t do that job,” said Jeremy Pilon, SGI communications consultant.

According to Pilon, unclean eavestroughs create potential for water to back up and form ice build-up when the temperature hits below freezing. As a result, moisture can get into ceilings and walls, posing a risk of damage to the home.

“Once that snow falls, you’re going to find that it gets frozen in place, and then it becomes hard if not impossible job to get rid of,” Pilon said.

Pilon stressed that safety should come first for those taking the time to clean out their own gutters. Use gloves and a garden hose to flush out debris, and have a sturdy ladder. He also suggested hiring specialists.

Another way property experts recommend homeowners to prep for winter is by checking their furnace filter. As the furnace is likely to be on to keep warm for most of the season, homeowners are encouraged to change the furnace filter every one to three months, depending on thickness.

“If you have pets, you might have to change them out more frequently. It doesn’t hurt to have your furnace tuned up every couple of years, or get your ducts cleaned,” said Brandon Mcallister, estimator for restoration company, Winmar.

According to Mcallister, his company receives between 45 to 50 claims a month during winter because homeowners are not prepared.

Source : GlobalNews

The post Property Experts Remind Saskatchewan Residents About Winter Home Prep appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Why is Everyone Moving to Alberta? A Real Estate Perspective https://amoraescapes.com/2023/09/25/why-is-everyone-moving-to-alberta-a-real-estate-perspective/ Mon, 25 Sep 2023 01:07:12 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4716   Alberta’s Economic Stability The Alberta economy is not just about oil anymore. It has…

The post Why is Everyone Moving to Alberta? A Real Estate Perspective appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

Alberta’s Economic Stability

The Alberta economy is not just about oil anymore. It has undergone significant diversification in recent years, making it less susceptible to the volatile global energy market. Sectors like technology and innovation, finance, agri-food, and renewable energy have grown and attracted a highly skilled workforce. Compared with other provinces, Alberta has a thriving job sector that drives its economic stability.

A strong economy with a stable job market creates a consistent demand for housing. People who move to Alberta for employment opportunities require accommodation, increasing the demand for rental and owned properties. By offering secure employment opportunities and supporting a high standard of living, Alberta ensures a continuous demand for real estate.

Affordable Real Estate Market

Property prices in Alberta are generally more affordable than in provinces such as British Columbia and Ontario. Cities like Edmonton and Calgary offer particularly good value for money. Currently, Edmonton has an average home price of $412,334, while Calgary has an average of $552,273. This is a considerable decrease from more popular cities like Toronto and Vancouver, where the average home price is over 1 million dollars. Home prices in Alberta have been increasing but are rising more slowly than the national average, making its housing market more accessible for first-time buyers and investors.

Alberta also experiences indirect impacts on their real estate. Despite the cold winters, utility costs in the province are relatively low due to the local availability of natural resources. This, combined with competitive markets for services such as electricity and gas, helps keep living costs down. Alberta is also the only province in Canada that does not have a provincial sales tax, which results in significant savings on day-to-day expenses. When people can afford to live comfortably, they are more likely to invest in real estate, whether their primary residence or an investment property.

Investment Opportunities in Alberta’s Real Estate Market

Alberta’s real estate market is not just for homebuyers; it also presents many opportunities for investors. Its robust economic growth and a relatively affordable yet steadily appreciating housing market create an environment conducive to real estate investment.

While Alberta’s housing market is currently more affordable than many other provinces, it’s also demonstrating strong potential for future growth. Historical trends suggest a steady appreciation of property values over the years. The expectation of continued economic growth and the influx of people to Alberta supports the prediction of ongoing property value appreciation, making real estate investment potentially lucrative in the long term.

Alberta’s thriving job market and high quality of life attract more people to the province, creating a strong demand for rental properties. Both Calgary and Edmonton have substantial populations of students and young professionals who prefer renting, making buy-to-let investments a potentially profitable venture in these cities.

Alberta’s growing population is spurring new residential and commercial development projects. Investing in these new developments can provide excellent opportunities for real estate investors. These new properties often attract premium rental rates and can appreciate in value more quickly than older ones.

The Future of Alberta Real Estate

The prospects for Alberta’s real estate market look promising. The continued influx of people to the province bears testament to the growing appeal of Alberta, solidifying its position as a thriving real estate hub in Canada. While property values in Alberta are expected to appreciate, they are likely to remain more affordable than many other major Canadian cities, making Alberta an attractive market for first-time buyers and investors. As Alberta continues to evolve and adapt, the province’s real estate market is expected to remain dynamic and resilient in the years to come.

Source : REMAX

The post Why is Everyone Moving to Alberta? A Real Estate Perspective appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Canada Shares in Real Estate’s Global Value Dip https://amoraescapes.com/2023/08/27/canada-shares-in-real-estates-global-value-dip/ Sun, 27 Aug 2023 01:55:10 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4631   The global value of professionally managed real estate fell by 4.1 per cent last…

The post Canada Shares in Real Estate’s Global Value Dip appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

The global value of professionally managed real estate fell by 4.1 per cent last year relative to 2021, representing a USD $600 billion year-over-year drop. Canada’s weight in those holdings likewise fell, slipping to ninth among the 37 countries MSCI tracks in its annual summary of global and regional market size.

For 2022, MSCI pegs the professionally managed real estate universe at USD $13.3 trillion. Canadian inventory contributes USD $403 billion (CAD $532 billion) to that total, down by USD $44 billion since 2021. After ranking eighth in 2021, Canada was surpassed by Hong Kong last year. Meanwhile, the United States expanded its dominance atop the chart with a USD $90 billion increase, pushing the value up to USD $5.375 trillion or 40.3 per cent of the global professionally managed market.

After the U.S., China, Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany are the next largest markets. These five collectively make up two-thirds of the global market size, while France, Australia, Hong Kong, Canada and Switzerland round out the top ten, accounting for roughly another 17 per cent of the total.

Inflation, rising interest rates and strengthening of the U.S. dollar against 34 of 36 other national currencies in the survey are all cited as reasons for the general drop in value. Just four countries — the U.S., Australia, South Korea and Ireland — registered year-over-year gains. On the flipside, the United Kingdom suffered the steepest drop in value, at USD $132 billion, and Japan, Sweden, Germany and Spain also logged greater losses than Canada.

Globally, the acquisition of investment properties fell off by nearly 20 per cent last year. The global turnover ratio, which measures transaction volume relative to market size, shrank from 10 per cent in 2021 to 8.7 per cent in 2022. Canada’s 7.7 turnover ratio was among the 22 countries falling short of the global average, while the U.S. posted a ratio of 11.7 per cent. Nevertheless, MSCI analysts theorize that the U.S. outperformance may not last into 2023.

“The decline in activity feels more intense as it comes on the back of a record 2021, when the U.S. in particular saw a surge of deals. From the second half of 2022 onward, however, we have recorded declines in deal volume of more than 50 per cent in all three global regions,” René Veerman, MSCI’s head of real assets, notes in the introduction to the report. “A slowdown of this scale inevitably impacts valuations, but whereas we have seen transactions consistently decline globally, valuations have adjusted at different speeds from country to country. The U.K. led the price adjustment, followed by continental Europe, but the U.S. and Asia Pacific, particularly, have lagged.”

Source : RemiNetwork

The post Canada Shares in Real Estate’s Global Value Dip appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Okanagan Real Estate Market Cools in July https://amoraescapes.com/2023/08/26/okanagan-real-estate-market-cools-in-july/ Sat, 26 Aug 2023 01:51:19 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4628   The Okanagan’s residential real estate market sales activity tapered off slightly during the month of July, according to the Association of…

The post Okanagan Real Estate Market Cools in July appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

The Okanagan’s residential real estate market sales activity tapered off slightly during the month of July, according to the Association of Interior Realtors.

1,337 residential unit sales were recorded across the Association region last month, a 9.5-per cent jump in sales from this time last year. However, that’s a drop from June of 2023, when the region saw 1,656 units sold.

“Seasonally, it is characteristic to see sales activity cool during the hot summer months, which, given the slight dip from activity in June, isn’t surprising,” says Association of Interior Realtors President Chelsea Mann.

“It is promising to see some typical market activity, despite high interest rate hikes creating a challenging climate for buyers and sellers.”

There was a small 2.3-per cent increase recorded in new residential listings compared to last year. The total number of active listings increased by 12.7 per cent compared to July 2022. The South Okanagan saw the highest percentage increase in active listings for yet another consecutive month with a total increase of 36.8 per cent.

The North Okanagan, South Okanagan and Shuswap/Revelstoke regions saw single-family homes decrease in year-over-year comparisons. The Central Okanagan saw a small increase of 0.9 per cent to $1,063,700. The North Okanagan and Shuswap saw townhome and condo increases, while the Central and South Okanagan saw decreases.

“While inventory is gaining momentum, low supply is still an issue and a primary factor driving price growth,” said Mann.

“With consumers feeling pinched by high mortgage rates, some buyers have gravitated towards eyeing other geographical regions with more affordable options,” says Mann.

“It is important to consult a local real estate professional who works and lives in your desired community to help navigate any regional specific market conditions.”

Source : GlobalNews

The post Okanagan Real Estate Market Cools in July appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Lower Mainland Real Estate: Sellers Will Soon Need to Disclose Multiple Bids https://amoraescapes.com/2023/07/27/lower-mainland-real-estate-sellers-will-soon-need-to-disclose-multiple-bids/ Thu, 27 Jul 2023 18:18:51 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4532   Would-be homebuyers in the Lower Mainland will soon have a little more transparency around…

The post Lower Mainland Real Estate: Sellers Will Soon Need to Disclose Multiple Bids appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

Would-be homebuyers in the Lower Mainland will soon have a little more transparency around sales with multiple offers.

Starting later this month, the three real estate boards in the region will formally require listing realtors to disclose the number of offers on a sale.

Currently, that disclosure is done on good faith.

Under the new requirements, the selling realtor will be required to provide a form to all parties who summited offers within 24 hours of the seller accepting a bid.

“Over the course of the pandemic when there was a lot of multiple offer situations emotions run high, and we heard those anecdotal stories about people not having great experiences about it,” said Craig Munn, vice-president of communications for the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

“We want to make it a better experience for homebuyers in this market.”

Munn said the new rules will ensure homebuyers get consistent communication, and will create evidence on paper of what transpired in the offer stage.

The form will list all brokerages that made an offer and the date it was made, though it won’t list details such as bid prices.

Munn said that’s important because just because an offer has been accepted doesn’t mean it will necessarily close.

“We want to respect the negotiating rights and positions of both the home seller and the homebuyer,” he said.

“It wouldn’t make sense that buyers have to disclose how high they were willing to go, nor should sellers have to disclose how low they would be willing to go to sell their home.”

Vancouver realtor Steve Sartestsky said the new regulations were needed, and that more transparency in the market is always welcome.

“Essentially it’s an honour system we’ve been relying on, and I think we’ve seen over the years that there are unfortunately a few bad apples so to speak that kind of ruin it for everyone else,” he said.

But Saretsky said he’d have preferred to see the regulations go further, and require a real-time disclosure of the number of bids, rather than after the fact.

“In Toronto they have a process where when you submit the offer you have to register … so everyone can kind of see that hey, seven bids have been registered on this property and it creates a bit more clarity up front. I think that’s something that’s unfortunately missing from this,” he said.

“Obviously you’re going to make a different offer most likely whether there’s two offers on the table and 10 offers, your price is probably going to be different.”

Metro Vancouver planner and developer Michael Geller agreed that learning about how many bids there were after the fact is less helpful than being aware beforehand.

But he said the regulations could provide a different advantage to the buyers who made the successful offer, thanks to new “cooling-off period” legislation that took effect in B.C. in January.

Under that legislation, successful bidders have a three-day “rescission period” to decide whether they want to withdraw their offer, though if they do they must pay a 0.25-per cent fee on the offer price.

Geller said the offer disclosure rules could help those buyers decide if they’ve overpaid for the home.

“Someone may make an offer thinking, ‘Oh there’s going to be so many offers, I hope I am high enough,’ and then when they find out they were the only one … they then have that rescission period to decide whether or not they want to proceed or not,” he said.

The new regulations will take effect July 17, and will cover the areas regulated by the Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley and Chilliwack real estate boards.

Source : GlobalNews

The post Lower Mainland Real Estate: Sellers Will Soon Need to Disclose Multiple Bids appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Province Retracts $580K Property-Tax Levy on Irving Crude-Oil Tank Farm https://amoraescapes.com/2023/07/06/province-retracts-580k-property-tax-levy-on-irving-crude-oil-tank-farm/ Thu, 06 Jul 2023 01:39:56 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4358 Provincial property taxes of nearly $600,000, levied on Irving Oil’s deep-water crude-oil tank farm back in…

The post Province Retracts $580K Property-Tax Levy on Irving Crude-Oil Tank Farm appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>

Provincial property taxes of nearly $600,000, levied on Irving Oil’s deep-water crude-oil tank farm back in March, was an error that did not signal an end to a four-decade-old tax exemption on the site, according to the New Brunswick government.

Instead, the exemption has been reactivated and the tax bill retracted.

In a series of emails explaining why provincial property-tax amounts charged to the tank farm appeared in March, but have since disappeared, the director of communications for Service New Brunswick said the property briefly lost its tax exemption classification in an inadvertent internal computer incident.

“There was an activity to the property account that reset the classification,” wrote Jennifer Vienneau.

“It has been manually reset to the original classification.”

A building with lots of windows with a sign on the lawn in front of it that says "Service New Brunswick"
Service New Brunswick operates the province’s property registry and says an error caused Irving Oil’s Canaport oil terminal switch from ‘provincial rate excluded’ to ‘fully taxable’ in its system in March. (Karissa Donkin/CBC)

In March, the province issued property tax bills to all landowners in New Brunswick and for the first time in 42 years, it charged Irving Oil for provincial property taxes on a number of parcels that make up its Canaport crude-oil terminal.

All commercial and industrial properties in New Brunswick, from corner stores to nuclear plants, pay two property taxes, local and provincial, unless specifically exempted by legislation.

The tank farm pays full municipal property taxes to Saint John, but in 1981 it was awarded an exemption from paying provincial property tax by the former government of Richard Hatfield.

The facility sits on Mispec Point, next to Repsol’s LNG terminal at the edge of the Bay of Fundy.

It has a storage capacity of six-million barrels and receives shipments from ocean-going tankers that arrive from around the world multiple times each month. The tank farm feeds the crude to Irving Oil’s Saint John refinery, about eight kilometres away by pipeline.

The property-tax exemption was meant to help Irving Oil weather a significant drop in North American petroleum consumption, caused by the 1979 oil crisis. Those troubles resolved themselves long ago, but the tax exemption has persisted.

A white screen that says "Property" in the top left corner. In the middle, it says "01609085 - 4 CRUDE TANKS | MISPEC | 450 - Saint John | 2023 Assessment | 2023 Tax Levy 357,070.25"
In March, Service New Brunswick posted a combined provincial and municipal tax levy of $357,070 on one Irving Oil property containing four crude-oil tanks at its Canaport terminal. Provincial taxes have since been removed, and the tax bill has dropped to $213,915. Other properties at the site have undergone similar reductions. (Service New Brunswick)

In its most recent 2021 accounting of the cost of exempting Irving Oil’s crude-oil tank farm properties from provincial property taxes, the New Brunswick Department of Finance valued it to be worth $674,929 to the company.

However, since 2021, provincial tax rates on business properties in New Brunswick have been reduced, and the value of the exemption in 2023 is closer to $580,000.

According to the finance department, the exemption’s purpose remains to “support the competitiveness of infrastructure that is important for economic development.”

A man in a suit smiling. A woman wearing a blue blazer stands in the background.
Richard Hatfield was on record opposing special tax treatment for Irving Oil’s Canaport oil terminal, but the former premier’s government granted it a property-tax exemption in 1981, as sluggish petroleum markets in the U.S. caused the company financial trouble. (CBC NEWS)

There have been calls for the exemption on the tank farm to be terminated in the past, but action has yet to be taken.

In 2016, then opposition leader Blaine Higgs said the exemption should be reviewed and potentially cancelled, since the crisis it was created to help Irving Oil survive resolved itself in the 1980s.

“A lot of policies in government start for a good reason, but they never end,” said Higgs.

“There’s no exit clause, so it just doesn’t hit the radar again.”

In 2018, the New Brunswick Green Party put the cancellation of the property-tax exemption on crude-oil storage tanks into its election platform, but has been unable to effect that change in the legislature.

In March, Green Party Leader David Coon applauded what appeared to be the end of the exemption, when Service New Brunswick began showing full taxes being charged at the site. He said he is disappointed to hear that has been undone.

“It’s surprising,” said Coon in an interview this week.

“It seems unlikely they made a mistake, but maybe it was. It’s time for Irving Oil to pay their fair share on all of their properties.”

Two men standing facing each other with a TV screen behind them
In this December 2016 interview with the CBC’s Harry Forestell, then opposition leader Blaine Higgs said he would support ending a provincial property-tax exemption on Irving Oil’s Canaport oil terminal, if a review showed it was no longer needed. (CBC)

Irving Oil did not respond to a request for comment about the tax change and whether a property tax exemption at the tank farm is still required by the company.

Irving Oil does not publicly report its financial results, but in 2022 oil companies across North America posted record financial returns.

Refiners like Valero Energy Corporation, which operates refineries in both the U.S. and Canada, and PBF Energy Inc., which refines and sells petroleum into eastern U.S. markets, each reported pre-tax profits in 2022 close to $3,000 US per barrel of their refining capacities.

Results like that, if duplicated by Irving Oil, would have produced more than $1 billion in pre-tax 2022 earnings.

Source: CBC

The post Province Retracts $580K Property-Tax Levy on Irving Crude-Oil Tank Farm appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Saskatoon Property Taxes Could See 13 Per Cent Hike as City Confronts $75M Revenue Gap https://amoraescapes.com/2023/06/11/saskatoon-property-taxes-could-see-13-per-cent-hike-as-city-confronts-75m-revenue-gap/ Sun, 11 Jun 2023 08:23:28 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4345   Significant property tax hikes may be needed to cover a funding shortfall, according to…

The post Saskatoon Property Taxes Could See 13 Per Cent Hike as City Confronts $75M Revenue Gap appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
 

Significant property tax hikes may be needed to cover a funding shortfall, according to City of Saskatoon administration.

In 2024, the city is set to face a $52.4 million funding gap. The next year, in 2025, a $23.2 million revenue gap is projected.

Clae Hack, the city’s chief financial officer, largely attributed the gap to inflation.

“Nobody’s happy presenting these numbers. Administration’s not happy. We don’t expect residents, businesses or city council to be happy with where the numbers are at right now,” Hack told reporters at city hall, in front of a screen projecting the city’s gloomy financial figures.

Hack said “it’s pretty unprecedented” for the city to see this high of a funding gap.

“It’s probably close to double where we’re typically starting these conversations,” Hack said.

To make up the money, Hack said “everything is on the table” — including raising property taxes and adjusting city service levels.

During the media briefing Wednesday morning,  Hack presented a chart showing potential 2024 tax increases and how much money the city would need to slash from its budget to acheive them.

At the lower end of the spectrum, the city would need to find nearly $35.5 million in savings to hold property tax increases to six per cent.

The highest number Hack floated was a 13 per cent increase — which would still require almost $15.7 million in cuts.

“It’s difficult to say where the property tax will end up,” Hack said.

If the revenue gap isn’t confronted, the city would be faced with a 18.56 per cent property tax impact for 2024 and 6.95 per cent the following year.

Hack said administration is “not recommending anything” at this time, but rather simply presenting the numbers.

It will be up to city council to make the tough decisions about how to address the funding shortfall.

Hack used fire trucks as an example of how the city is battling inflationary pressure. A fire truck costs about $1.5M today, but two years ago it was $900,000.

He also pointed to certain projects putting pressure on the budgets — such as a spike to snow clearing costs, extending Saskatoon Transit services and the opening of Recovery Park.

Recovery Park is a waste diversion facility, next to the landfill, that will accept materials such as appliances, construction and demolition waste, and rigid plastics.

Budget meetings with city councillors and committees are scheduled throughout the summer.

Source: CTV News

The post Saskatoon Property Taxes Could See 13 Per Cent Hike as City Confronts $75M Revenue Gap appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>
Canadian Housing Market Slowly Heating Up Again as New Zoning Ordinances in Toronto https://amoraescapes.com/2023/06/03/canadian-housing-market-slowly-heating-up-again-as-new-zoning-ordinances-in-toronto/ Sat, 03 Jun 2023 02:56:15 +0000 https://amoraescapes.com/?p=4220 While a tight and expensive housing market is pricing out much of would-be American buyers,…

The post Canadian Housing Market Slowly Heating Up Again as New Zoning Ordinances in Toronto appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>

While a tight and expensive housing market is pricing out much of would-be American buyers, amid low inventory and rising mortgage rates, the Canadian property market is steadily heating up again, with residents in the country’s biggest city – Toronto – calling for more homes to be built in the city, even if it means fewer parking spots or detached homes.

Following a recent poll by Liaison Strategies for the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada, more than 69 percent of Torontonians have voiced their support for building more multi-family homes in the city, with a mere 7 percent opposed to the idea.

The poll is the second part of a larger census about the upcoming mayoral race, after current Toronto mayor, John Tory unveiled ambitious zoning plans back in December 2022 that will look to increase the number of multi-family homes in the city.

With the country’s national population expected to surpass 40 million this year, there’s little secret over whether Toronto will see similar expansion in the coming years as well.

The city has experienced a mass influx of new residents in the post-pandemic era, driving up prices and flushing out available inventory.

Across much of the city, voters and single-family buyers are now finding themselves in the midst of a housing crisis, as prices continue to climb on the back of soaring mortgage rates as the central bank continues to hike up interest rates in a race to dampen stubbornly high inflation.

In the past, many buyers, both domestic and international, took advantage of low borrowing costs and cheap prices, scooping up affordable single-family homes and condo units across the city and hiring property management companies to manage their rental properties.

Even with prices rebounding somewhat since their pandemic slump with the average Toronto home now priced around $1.15 million, according to the latest figures by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, new zoning ordinances introduced by Mayor Tory and several opponents, efforts could help bring back potential buyers and investors, to extend more flexible use of residential buildings in and around the city.

An Eye On The Toronto Property Market

While Toronto’s once-red-hot property market has cooled somewhat in recent months, the Canadian Real Estate Association said that overall national home sales jumped by 11.3 percent between March and April 2023, as the real estate market started to slowly heat up again.

A closer look however showed that while more buyers are slowly re-entering the market, renters in Toronto are having a hard time having to deal with sky-high rent prices. Over the last year, average asking rents across Canada have grown by $196, with Toronto seeing an annual rent growth of 22.4%. Average rent in the city hit $2,818 in the first half of the year.

Other research by Toronto-based consulting firm, Urbanisation, revealed average rent for purpose-built rentals is now more than $3,000, marking a record high.

A mix of factors is driving up prices across the city, as rent prices jump by double digits. The city has in recent years following the pandemic seen a steep influx of new residents moving to the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).

Local migration and foreign immigration targets mean that a growing number of people are driving up demand for affordable rental units in the city.

Toronto comes in first place as being the most expensive city to live in for Canadian families, with the average family spending roughly 30.5 percent of their net monthly income on rent. Second is Vancouver, with households spending around 29.8 percent on rent each month.

On the back of higher rent prices, Statistics Canada revealed that the renter population in the country is growing at 21.5 percent, more than double the 8.4 percent growth rate of homeowners.

The problem might be the sky-high prices, but an overall shortage and a growing population of residents and renters are putting the local government under pressure to find practical solutions that could see the majority of new purposeful built homes ending in the hands of residents, and not necessarily private investors or hedge fund managers.

Perhaps the political pull here might fall in favor of mayoral candidates that have posed several suggestions that aim to help solve the city’s growing housing shortage.

On the one side of the spectrum, we could see new zoning ordinances bringing more multi-family homes to the city, eliminating single-family homes, minimizing available parking, and even changing the appearance of some of the city’s most iconic neighborhoods.

On the other side, however, it would also mean that droves of investors could scoop up rental units, in an already hot market, and leave many in a space where new multi-family units are not necessarily rent-controlled.

Whoever holds the seat, whether it’s current Mayor Tory, or opposition, Olivia Chow, who launched her campaign in mid-April this year, there’s a lot of work up ahead if they look to bring affordable housing to Toronto buyers and renters in the coming years.

Changes Can Bring Opportunities

In the past, developers and hedge fund managers insisted on the future of single-family homes in the GTA. However, as economic indicators started changing, and demand continued to grow, conditions are steadily swinging in the opposite direction as new proposed zoning regulations could soon change the face of Toronto neighborhoods.

At the end of April 2023, the city council held a public meeting on their Multiplex study, one of the components that make up the City’s Expanding Housing Options in Neighbourhoods (EHON) initiative.

With the study and EHON, the city aims to permit the erection of residential multiplexes, containing up to four units across the city’s low-rise neighborhoods. This would see purpose-built multi-family duplexes, triplexes, and fourplexes going up in areas that are currently dominated by single-family homes.

Converting existing areas, and bringing new additions to the city, scattered across several pre-selected neighborhoods, the city could add multiple new homes, as it aims to alleviate some of the pressure currently experienced within the city’s property market.

Many are on the fence about these proposed initiatives, claiming that they could introduce investors to new opportunities for scooping up affordable units. Investors and hedge fund managers with the cash and influence to pay higher mortgages, in a turbulent economy could only pull would-be buyers even further out of the market.

There is however the possibility for some of these investors to step down from this sort of buying strategy, especially in times where interest rates continue to escalate, and wider macroeconomic conditions remain largely unstable.

Instead of throwing their cash into real estate development projects, which could take several more years before the first stone is laid, might just cool down their appetite for new rental opportunities in the city.

Another factor that investors and hedge fund managers have been weighing in, is that south of the border, and largely across much of North America, more residents are moving to tax-friendly cities and regions, whether it’s within or outside of Canada.

Many of those that have moved in the post-pandemic real estate market have been relocating to warmer areas such as Florida or Texas, as the states not only offer them better weather conditions, but also increased quality of life, relatively affordable housing, and more attractive tax jurisdictions.

This would mean that these conditions driven by pent-up demand could leave investors looking elsewhere in different markets, instead of honing in on places such as Toronto.

Investors are continuously placing their bets in regions that offer more attractive growth opportunities, but at the same time, it does leave many would-be buyers in an extremely competitive market, fueled by ongoing demand, supply shortages, and rising prices.

There’s a lot of consideration that comes into the eye’s view, even for large-scale institutional investors. Either risk buying into a market priced well-above average on the back of soaring mortgage rates or rather lower exposure and look elsewhere in places that offer both attractive market conditions and forward-looking growth.

The Bottom Line

Although real estate remains a long-term investment opportunity for average buyers, real estate investors, or hedge fund managers, wider market conditions often make it hard for many involved players to properly execute their position.

In a tough economic climate, where interest rates are continuously going up, prices are in flux, and low inventory levels, running the risk at a large-scale, especially for investors could turn into more catastrophic problems that would cost them in the long term.

However, weighing out different options, whether being a single-family buyer or even an investor could help give a better indication of where the next potential opportunity may present itself, and how relying on older tactics could leave traditional buyers left standing in the dust.

Source: Barchart

The post Canadian Housing Market Slowly Heating Up Again as New Zoning Ordinances in Toronto appeared first on Amora Escapes.

]]>