Resale Homes

Resale Homes

Sold & Offered

Recently, the Free Press ran a clever editorial cartoon depicting a home floating over the horizon attached to a balloon. Without having to say so, this cartoon represented the concern for housing prices currently taking place in Vancouver and Toronto.

There should be concern. The rapidly increasing home prices in those two major urban centres are quite astounding. According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, for the month of April, home prices were up more than 25 per cent year over year in Vancouver and more than 12 per cent in Toronto. Starter homes are increasing at an even greater pace.

Some are blaming this situation on foreign investment and are calling on the federal government to limit this influx. Others are calling for economic action. However, and quite rightly so, the federal government is not taking any knee-jerk actions.

As you may recall, the previous Conservative government reduced amortization periods from 40 years to 25 years. Recently, Finance Minister Bill Morneau has increased the minimum down payment for homes priced above $500,000, requiring a 10 per cent down payment for the portion over that figure. Neither action seems to have cooled these two markets.

Some have suggested a capital gains tax or a tax on flipping houses in an effort to target foreign investors. In Australia, foreign investors can only purchase new developments and not existing homes.

Many see these measures as too restrictive as Canada has always encouraged foreign investment. However, the recent budget designated $500,000 for Statistics Canada to develop methods for gathering data on purchases of Canadian housing by foreign homebuyers.

New permanent residents don’t appear to be the problem as these numbers have been consistent for the past six years. However, the number of non-permanent residents has been all over the board, particularly with respect to students and work permit-holders.

When there is a shortage of existing housing, prices go up. It’s a simple supply-and-demand issue. Some economists have offered the federal government would be better served by encouraging the construction of new homes in an effort to maintain ample inventory. There have been 30 per cent fewer residential building permits approved in Toronto and Vancouver in the past year and prices have skyrocketed, severely hindering the prospective first-time homebuyer, the most price sensitive of buyers on the market.

Although the problem appears to be centred in these two municipalities, the concern is national. Federal and provincial governments seldom make policies for two cities. If they try to manage the problem through legislation, the impact on every other Canadian city could be extremely negative. We are a vast country with many different economic and social cultures.

A one-size-fits-all solution may just cause more problems.

Mike Moore is the president of the Manitoba Home Builders’ Association.

September 3

Resale Homes

A look at recently sold and offered homes in and around Winnipeg

When it comers to real estate, square footage can be misleading. Homes often seem either smaller or larger than their listed size.

The Ventura Custom Homes show home found at 129 Larry Vickar Dr. West in Devonshire Village falls into the latter category, said Evald Frederiksen (Quest Residential Real Estate), sales representative for the two-storey, 1,657 sq. ft. design. "Ventura’s design team has done a lot of good things with the available space in this home (The Stradford)," said Frederiksen. "Even though the home is 1,657 square feet, it seems much bigger than it is. It’s just a very efficient design from the ground floor on up."

Right from the get-go — which would be the home’s L-shaped foyer — the Stradford’s layout is well thought out. Not only is the foyer spacious, but a hallway to its left contains — this is going to be a recurring theme — a pair of spaces that are a good deal larger than might be anticipated.

"There’s a main floor powder room and a laundry/mud room," he said. "They’re well-placed in the sense that they’re nicely hidden, not exposed. Both spaces are accessible, yet are out of the way. And the laundry/mud room is absolutely huge; people just love how big it is. There’s also a door that provides access to the attached double garage, as well."

Unlike many new-home designs, the Stradford isn’t totally open in its conception, Frederiksen said. "The home isn’t wide-open from the foyer. There’s a short (about six-foot) hallway that leads into the great room — it just allows you just a peek of the great room. When you arrive in the great room, you find one, large integrated space."

Thanks to feedback from past customers, a front-oriented dining room was eliminated. Instead, there are three distinct spaces in the great room: kitchen, dining area and family room. "We found that the need for dining rooms had fallen off, so Ventura’s designers designed a very comfortable, functional area," he said. "The island kitchen is a good size, you can fit a table for six to 10 in the dining area, and the family room is bright and spacious. A nine-foot ceiling makes the area even bigger, while a patio door behind the dining area and large picture window in the family room let in tons of natural light."

The nine-foot ceiling isn’t the only standard design feature in the great room, either. Under-cabinet lighting, a pantry and two-tone assembled thermofoil cabinets with crown mouldings come standard, as well.

"People love the fact that the cabinets (white chocolate and cappuccino thermofoil) are stylish, but aren’t an upgrade. They offer a nice contrast, and go beautifully with the (standard) taupe countertops. They look great, and are more affordable and user-friendly than quartz or granite, which need to be sealed. All you need to do is put down a trivet, and you’re good to go."

While Ventura didn’t go overboard in decking out the Stradford with all kinds of flashy, optional finishes, it does contain a few upgrades: a taupe glass-tile backsplash in the kitchen, fireplace/entertainment centre in the family room and wide plank-laminate flooring that runs through the great room and foyer.

"We spend a lot of time with people talking about options and where the best value is," Frederiksen explained. "In this case, the backsplash costs about $635, the fireplace with cantilevered entertaining unit is about $6,700 and the laminate flooring is about $3,500. The laminate flooring is a good choice because it’s one surface, and doesn’t break up the great room, and is very durable. A lot of people will go without the fireplace and leave the cantilever for their entertainment unit."

Given the main floor’s efficient layout, it’s no surprise that the Stradford’s upper level makes sense from an ergonomic standpoint. The stairwell that leads up to it is extra wide, there’s little in the way of hallway space, and all four spaces — main bath and three bedrooms — are all (again) more spacious than expected.

What you see is what you get, said Frederiksen. "Take the main bath, for example. What you see here are standard features: a nice vinyl soaker tub/shower unit, thermofoil vanity, laminate countertop, smart vinyl floor and high-quality toilet. The bathroom is also very spacious, as are the two secondary kids’ bedrooms."

In the case of the master suite, you actually get more than you’d expect, he added. "It’s absolutely huge at 15 feet by 13 feet — you’ll see lots of bigger homes that don’t have a master this size; you just don’t expect it in a 1,600 sq. ft. home. You also don’t expect an oversized walk-in closet (the size of a small bedroom) and spacious, three-piece ensuite."

Downstairs, there’s about 670 sq. ft. of livable space that can be utilized to further increase the Stradford’s already high level of utility. "You can put a fourth bedroom, full bathroom and nice-sized rec room down there," said Frederiksen, adding that the home can be purchased for about $375,000 with basic finishes. "This is a well-designed home in a great area that delivers all kinds of good surprises."

lewys@mymts.net

August 27

Resale Homes

Sold / offered

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When it comes to unique new home designs, there tend to be two types. One is unique just for the sake of being unique, and may lack function. The other, while also unique, is expressly built to seamlessly weave function into its design. The designers at Broadview Homes made a concerted effort to accomplish the latter with the Cottonwood model at 331 Stan Bailie Dr., said Broadview Homes’ new homes sales consultant, Reinhart Wittmaier.

"It’s nice for a new home design to be different, but it has to be practical, too," he said. "Broadview’s designers did a great job of designing this home. It’s different, yet functional. It proves a home can have plenty of style and personality, yet be very livable."

Those three characteristics are evident the moment you walk through the front door. Whereas many new home designs feature a good sized foyer with hallway leading directly into the great room, the Cottonwood’s generous foyer opens to a partially-exposed formal dining room with a pair of cut-outs on its rear wall that add style and let in light from the adjacent family room.

"The floor plan is open, but maintains a sense of privacy," said Wittmaier. "The intention was for it not to be open-concept, but to be open enough to create a sense of space while retaining privacy. For example, when you have dinner with company, you’re separated from the family room, yet the cut-outs in the wall allow you to be able to monitor kids watching TV in the family room. The dining room also has an oversized transom window over the hutch area that lets in all kinds of natural light."

Speaking of natural, the wide-plank walnut hardwoods (or so they appear to be), which run through the entire main living area (foyer, hallway, dining room, kitchen, dinette area and family room) are, to say the least, striking. "We’ve had a lot of complements on them, and actually, they’re high-end vinyl plank flooring not hardwoods. They look and feel like real hardwoods because of their (distressed) texture, and variation in colour. While they’re an upgrade, they’re a very worthwhile one," he said.

Move from the dining room into the great room proper, and you find a design that’s equal part style and substance. The substance comes from a floor plan that features three well-proportioned spaces: an island kitchen, (surprisingly huge) dinette area and spacious living room. The kitchen features an eight-foot by four-foot white quartz island with double sink, eating nook for three to four, white cabinets, white subway tile backsplash and corner pantry defined by burnt orange paint.

Meanwhile, the adjacent dinette area —which was placed next to sliding patio doors and a huge window on the nearby wall — easily holds a table for four. And the family room is notable for a burnt orange feature wall with ribbon-style gas fireplace, TV niche, built-in cappuccino maple shelving and large picture window. It’s a great room that’s as bright as it is stylish, said Wittmaier. 

"The design gives you the best of both worlds — a perfect combination of openness, separation and plenty of natural light. It’s a very functional area with little in the way of wasted space," he said.

Another clever design feature — a sunken side entrance set down a hallway to the right of the foyer — adds to the home’s already high level of function. "You can use it as a separate entrance for a renter or relative to access a suite downstairs, or you can simply use it to gain quick access to the backyard. Putting the door in actually raised the home one foot out of the ground, which allowed for large windows downstairs. The result is a basement that’s naturally bright," Wittmaier said.

Head upstairs via an extra-wide staircase, and you find an imaginatively-designed, well-laid-out second level with three bedrooms, a loft and second floor laundry. "Use of space here is exceptional. There’s basically no hallway space, which allowed for a loft (next to the stairs) two kids’ bedrooms with (shared) Jack-and-Jill bathroom in between and a large, private master suite with three-piece ensuite and huge walk-in closet."

The wall facing the loft — which features two white bi-fold closets — is also loaded with utility. "One closet is a huge linen closet, while the other is a true laundry room that’s not just a laundry closet, there’s storage space, and you can actually walk in to do your laundry," said Wittmaier.

While the upgraded show home version of the Cottonwood is selling for just under $460,000, one with basic finishes — plus the handy side entrance — can be purchased for considerably less. "We can get a family into a home with basic finishes, side entrance, driveway and piles for approximately $411,174, and that includes land and GST," he added. "If you don’t need the side entrance, the price goes down to about $401,000. There’s another 537 sq. ft. of livable space that can be developed into a fourth bedroom, rec room, bathroom — plus a storage area that’s not included in the livable square footage."

The Cottonwood is a very versatile design, said Wittmaier. "It’s affordable, functional and stylish — a great home for a young family, or multi-generational family."

lewys@mymts.net

July 9