Alberta Real Estate Market in July 2009-2016

SOLD 西北区Scenic Acres 前置双车库 $519,900

9035 SCURFIELD DR NW c4071897 

买家是过去让我帮助购买第一套房子的年轻IT行业男士，很不错的小伙子，就是当时没有什么合适的年轻姑娘可以介绍。这不，自己找到了，现在要搬到大房子了:)。 

Only minutes walk to schools & the Crowfoot LRT is this warm & inviting former Stepper showhome...a terrific 5 bedroom two storey walkout offering 3 levels of family living in popular Scenic Acres. Built in 1990, this fully finished home boasts newer roof, decorative ceilings & treed South backyard with mature trees & covered patio with hot tub. Simply perfect to raise your family in, this lovely home features formal living & dining room accented by large bay window, South-facing family room with wood-burning fireplace complemented by built-in bookcases, oak kitchen with stainless steel appliances & spacious nook with French door to the backyard deck. Upstairs there a highly-coveted 4 bedrooms up including the relaxing master bedroom with big walk-in closet & ensuite with separate shower & jetted tub with bay window. A 5th bedroom/exercise room is in the finished walkout level along with a huge games/rec room & loads of storage space.

How big can foreigners buy farmland in Alberta?

                                                                                                                   This article was originally published as “Our own land” in  Country Guide

Almost every rural coffee shop has its own version of the same story. Foreigners are buying up Canadian farmland and they’re making land prices soar beyond the reach of local farmers as a result.

But is it true?

Maybe. But not likely. In fact, according to the people with their fingers on the pulse, such stories are usually idle rumours at best. Typically, they’re flat out wrong.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something that needs explaining at the bottom of it all, with many farmers suspicious about the rapid rise in the price of land.

The numbers are dramatic. Farmland and buildings in Canada doubled in value between 2004 and 2014, according to Statistics Canada. Ontario led the way by a wide margin, reaching $9,243 per acre as of July 1, 2014, but the increases in the West were healthy too, with Alberta rising to $2,092 per acre, followed by Manitoba at $1,583 and Saskatchewan at $1,043.

Farm Credit Canada has pegged the average increase of Canadian farmland at 14.3 per cent in 2014, followed by 22.1 per cent in 2013 and 19.5 per cent in 2012.

But FCC’s chief ag economist, J.P. Gervais, says there’s a simple reason for the price gains, and it has little if anything to do with mysterious overseas buyers. Instead, record farm revenues, coupled with record low interest rates, have had the greatest impact on farmland values.

Heading through 2016, Gervais believes Canadian farmland prices will be stable, mainly because he also forecasts stable crop receipts over the next couple of years and steady domestic interest rates.

“The big increases seen over the last few years are behind us, but we will be able to sustain current levels,” Gervais says.

Gervais adds the vast majority of farmland transactions are between farmers. “I’m not denying there’s an interest from an investors’ standpoint, whether domestic or foreign, but in terms of the impact on the marketplace, it’s anecdotal at best,” he says.

Getting heavy with penalties

Despite the reassurances from Gervais, however, and even though foreign buying is heavily restricted, there’s a sense that “everyone knows” that foreigners purchase farmland — possibly through Canadian citizens acting as fronts — and sometimes in large tracts.

In Alberta, non-residents, foreign residents and foreign-controlled corporations can only own the stipulated maximum of two parcels of land with an aggregate area of 20 acres. In Saskatchewan, the amount is a mere 10 acres, and in Manitoba, it’s 40.

No restrictions exist on foreign ownership in Ontario.

But, says the National Farmers Union’s Cathy Holtslander, “To find out the acres owned by foreign purchases would require a detailed investigation of land titles and the titleholders of each parcel. In provinces that permit foreign ownership, there is no monitoring.”

Holtslander points out Sask­atch­ewan has further restricted ownership after passing farmland ownership amendments. The province’s Farm Land Security Board general manager Mark Folk says the board has always reviewed each farmland transaction to ensure it complies with the legislation.

But with recent amendments to the Saskatchewan Farm Security Act, the board gets additional powers and tools to assist with enforcement.

All financing of farmland purchases must be through a financial institution registered to do business in Canada, or a Canadian resident, says Folk.

Also, the new amendments place the onus on the purchaser to prove compliance with the legislation. If they can’t prove they are in compliance, they won’t be able to buy farmland, or will be asked to divest their farmland holdings.

“Fines are also increasing for being in contravention of the legislation from $10,000 to $50,000 for individuals, and from $100,000 to $500,000 for corporations,” says Folk.

The board can also impose administrative penalties of up to $10,000 if, for example, a purchaser doesn’t provide required information in a timely manner.

That story about China

China-origin buying is always near or at the top of the foreign-buying rumour mill. But Tim Hammond, president and CEO of Hammond Realty, believes everyone who has purchased farmland in Saskatchewan over the past few years is a Canadian citizen, Canadian resident, or has an exemption to do so.

“The local coffee shops love to talk about ‘foreigners’ buying Sask­atchewan farmland, but most of it is non-verified chatter,” says Hammond, whose Biggar, Sask., firm specializes in the province’s farm and ranch real estate. “The vast majority of farmland transactions are neighbour to neighbour and farmer to farmer”

Farmland values are primarily driven by farm receipts and net farm income, Hammond says.

“The public perception is that ‘foreigners’ or ‘investors’ are driving farmland values out of reach for farmers. There might be isolated incidents of this, but the vast majority of market movements have been driven by producers,” says Hammond.

Manitoba too has seen farms snapped up by producers, often before they even hit the market.

Realtor Sheldon Froese of Canadian Farm Realty in Steinbach, Man., recalls when most of his business came from European buyers. Before the 2007 to 2009 financial crisis, about 80 per cent of his business came from producers immigrating to the province to farm.

But that changed following the worldwide economic collapse, and then the barrier got even higher when land values raced upward.

“We used to spend about five weeks a year overseas doing seminars, and I think the last time we did that was about five years ago. It just isn’t worth it anymore. That has completely dried up,” says Froese, guessing European buying may not even represent as much as five per cent of his business.

Froese finds that if Manitoba land isn’t going from one local farmer to another, it’s to producers from other provinces like Ontario, B.C., Alberta and even Quebec, where land prices are higher.

“Manitoba and Saskatchewan are still the most affordable places to go for good quality land,” Froese says. “(Buying’s) mainly within country right now.”

Investors look elsewhere

Interest from non-ag investment funds is off too.

“About four or five years ago that was a big thing; there were lots of investment funds buying land and renting it out, but that’s slowed down,” says Froese. “Right now we are in a market where it’s basically farmers buying land to farm.”

In Alberta, the province encourages joint ventures between non-Canadian enterprises and Alberta companies, and Service Alberta’s Foreign Ownership of Land Administration (FOLA) does work to keep on top of who’s doing what.

Whenever Alberta farmland is acquired by a Canadian citizen or a Canadian-controlled corporation, the purchaser is required to provide a statutory declaration that includes a sworn oath confirming they aren’t holding the land as a trustee or on behalf of anyone else.

Even in Ontario, it’s no Wild West. “We are still selling land to foreign buyers, but I think there’s a lot less than what the general public has been led to believe,” says Phil Spoelstra of Remax Farm Ontario Team. “I have sold two farms to Chinese buyers and they were both Chinese Canadians and they live on the farms and rent them out.”

European buying spiked in the 1970s, but has dwindled significantly. “It’s much, much smaller; I would say far less than 10 per cent of our sales,” says Spoelstra.

University of Guelph’s Brady Deaton thinks the percentage of foreign ownership of Ontario farmland is likely very small.

“In a 2013 random survey of southern Ontario farmers, farmers identified approximately one per cent of the land they rented as ‘foreign’ owned,” Deaton says. In the survey, 207 Ontario farmers were asked questions about the largest parcel of farmland they rented, and only two indicated that their landlord was based outside of Canada.

“While this is the result of a small sample and more research is needed, this small percentage parallels foreign ownership of farmland in the United States,” says Deaton, noting the USDA reports show less than two per cent of U.S. forest and farmland is owned by foreign investors.

“Interestingly,” Deaton says, “Canadians are the largest foreign owner of forest and farmland in the United States.”

                                                                                     

SOLD Downtown #203, 817 15 AVE SW, $336,000, one-bedroom-apartment

#203 817 15 AV SW C4063745 

卖方黄先生一听就是个挺讲究、做事认真的男人，不过第二次他再次联系我时，已经是几个月以后的事了。亲自去看了他家在市中心Montana高档公寓的房子，一居室的公寓在二楼，房主当年买时比另外一套可选的地区的房子多花了2万。 

我们挂牌时公寓市场不好，平均在市场上的天数是6个月。而卖家的房子又是高端的房子，不过好在，内部保养的好，2010年的楼，实木地板，又有地下停车。我告诉房主，这种公寓有买家，但是数量相对少些，所以我们在市场上的天数可能会长些。在整个48天内，我们的看房量就几个，不多。我几乎每周给黄先生更新一下，究竟30-35万的房子，不管一居室的、两居室的公寓市中心上市、推出、成交的信息，感觉还是供给太多，买家太少。房主都想干脆给出租算了。 总之，又是上帝给帮了个忙。$346,000的房子，最后售价$336,000。48天内售出。 

我记得最清楚的是，（觉得现在打字时眼睛都有点湿润）房主夫妇在我们房子pending是对我说的话，“我们非常幸运选了你，其实我们前后联系几个经纪人了，但是还是觉得你比较靠谱”。就是这些陌生人的莫大信任，我才能给孩子付大学学费、养家糊口。感谢黄先生一家的信任！

七月份市场统计 - 公寓卖家不好过啊

外来移民人口数量的降低，导致对房地产市场需求的降低

伴随着卡尔加里市人口普查数据显示的移民人口的降低，七月份二手房市场仅成交1,741 套，比去年同期降低了12.6%，同时也是持续第20个月份（快到2年了）成交量降低。

“销售量的持续降低是经济形势不好的标志，” 卡尔加里房地产居首席经济学学家 Ann-Marie Lurie说到。 “失业率持续增加，再加上外来移民人口的降低（不是来的少的问题，而是离开的比来得多的残酷现实），结果就是对房地产市场需求的减弱。”

七月份新挂牌量也降低了，这样缓解了库存可售房源量的增长，也不会帮助促使市场基准价大幅下滑。截至七月底，民宅市场基准价为 $440,000, 和六月份差不多，但是比2015年同期降了 4.2%。

在独立屋市场价格相对均衡的时期，不是所有的房屋产品都那么幸运。原本公管公寓在市场上的平均月份就已经达到6个月了，过多的供给量持续导致价格的进一步下滑。

七月份公管公寓市场基准价为 $277,000，比六月份降了 0.4%，但是比2015年同期降了 6.6%。整个城市独立屋市场基准价最后在 $502,300，比六月份长不多，比去年还是降了 3.4%。同时，duplex和排屋（大部分要交管理费）呈现了超纪录的降幅，分别为 3.1%、 5.5%。价格分别是 $385,200 、$310,300。

“对于持续关注卡尔加里以及周边城镇的买家、卖家们来说，会豪不惊讶地看到销售量还是会继续下滑的，” 房地产居主席Cliff Stevenson讲到。 “买家正期待着成交价的进一步降低，同时卖方依照需求的减缓相应的调低价格。当供需调整到一定时候，我们会看到成交量的增加，但是不会像过去红红火火的那几年了”。