Tag Archive for neighbourhoods

Laurin Jeffrey | July 14, 2011
No comments

Boomers upsetting real estate pattern

Healthy and youthful, they’re renovating rather than selling

By Shellie Chowns, CANOE

Who says just because the kids have moved out you need to downsize? More baby boomers are staying in their family-sized homes, but how will this affect the housing market?

Baby boomers are the healthiest, most youthful generation of retirees to date. Many are capable of, and financially able to, continuing the upkeep on their three or four-bedroom homes.

Normally, empty-nesters downsize and their homes are sold to a new generation of young families. This pattern creates at least two real estate transactions and helps support neighbourhood rejuvenation. Boomers choosing to age in place is causing a shift in the traditional pattern of the housing market.

Instead of re-entering the housing market in pursuit of a smaller home, many baby-boomers are renovating instead of selling. Thanks in large part to boomers, home renovating has grown into a $25-billion industry in Canada.

Outdoor living rooms, gourmet kitchens and spa baths are just a few of the luxury renovations boomers are choosing, and updating the decor and increasing energy efficiency can really refresh a home. Unlike first-time homeowners in the resale market, boomers have big budgets to renovate their big homes with.

On top of home makeovers, we’ll need smart policy changes to follow suit if we want our suburbs to remain vibrant. When homeowners choose to stay in their homes long after their kids are gone, it depletes the neighbourhood of school-aged children, resulting in several school closures over the last few years.

Interestingly, there are several new neighbourhoods full of young families with children but we can’t justify building new schools while others are closing.

This impact to our education system is just one of many that boomers will have on society. We’re already seeing products and services that cater to this discriminating clientele, as this is a generation who will demand change like none before them.

As boomers continue to age, perhaps one of the greatest challenges we face is how to make health care, shopping, amenities and public transit available to seniors still living in the suburbs.

Ideally, aging in place will drive practical policy change that will permit retail and light commercial businesses to come into residential neighbourhoods, creating unique small-scale communities throughout our city. Likewise, a shift in traditional NIMBYism attitudes will also be necessary to permit the transformation.

Aging in place also presents several social and economic opportunities. The province just responded by legalizing the construction of secondary suites. This new legislation will allow the existing stock of large suburban homes to be converted into smaller, separate dwelling units with private entrances.

Some boomers already have children and grandchildren living with them, helping adult children to get on their feet financially after finishing school or when starting a family.

Having a retired or semi-retired grandparent at home also helps working parents with child care, and in some cases, grown children are choosing to move back in with an aging parent struggling with a health concern. A return to multi-generational family units may assist our province with the health care burden we will soon face.

It remains to be seen how the baby boomers will affect the housing and renovation markets over the next 20 years, but we can be sure it will be significant. Fortunately, the home building and renovation industry has always been quick to adapt to market needs and able to provide products and services that help families through times of change.

————————————————————————————————————–

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

————————————————————————————————————–

Incoming search terms for the article:

Category: General Real Estate, Renovation and Maintenance | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Laurin Jeffrey | June 5, 2011
No comments

Pickering council hears plans for Seaton neighbourhoods

Three neighbourhoods proposed for development

Moya Dillon – Pickering News Advertiser

Three neighbourhoods planned for Pickering’s Seaton lands are expected to draw nearly 30,000 residents to the area by 2031.

At a planning and development committee meeting on June 6, Pickering councillors heard proposals for three of six neighbourhoods planned for the proposed Seaton development in the city’s north end.

Neighbourhoods 17 and 20 would include mixed-use residential and employment lands, along with the natural green spaces of the Seaton Natural Heritage System.

“The plan is to have mixed residential with commercial and retail, with a GO Transit route link from the Duffins Heights community and a link to neighbourhood 20 through an internal road system,” said John van Nostrand of the provincial planning alliance.

Located at the intersection of Brock and Taunton roads, neighbourhood 17 is expected to house a population of 6,773 by 2031, and offer 591 jobs. The estimate for neighbourhood 20, which is bisected by Brock Road and includes lands north and south of Hwy. 407 where it links up to Hwy. 7, includes 8,134 residents and 9,807 jobs by 2031.

“We expect that uses will intensify and build up along the 407 corridor and become denser, so in the long run we’re looking to get 11,000 jobs altogether,” Mr. van Nostrand said.

“This is the most unusual neighbourhood in the community as a whole in that it has the most diverse mix of uses you’ll find in any of the neighbourhoods.”

In addition to residential and commercial, neighbourhood 20 will also offer institutional uses in its centre and will have a green road system, designed for pedestrians, linking two elementary schools and one high school.

The proposed neighbourhood 21 would house most of the jobs for the community as part of the planned Pickering Innovation Centre.

“This would be considered generally as employment lands for the other neighbourhoods,” Mr. van Nostrand said.

“There will be another transit station proposed right in the middle of this employment area. We expect 14,374 jobs to be accommodated when that area is built out by 2031 and further density should lead to an increase of about 600 jobs.”

Councillor Peter Rodrigues questioned the veracity of the planner’s employment estimates.

“I know we’ve called a number of these lands ‘employment lands’ and that’s great, but what ensures that these jobs will actually materialize?”

Mr. van Nostrand said planners felt confident the estimated targets could be reached, and noted the bordering 407 corridor would be an attractive asset for employers.

“With the 407 extension this is a major new corridor through the city, there are great sites here with great access to transit and connectivity with the south, and we’re going to market it that way,” he explained.

“It’s not going to happen overnight, but this is an attractive area. We are fairly confident we can achieve these targets from an employment point of view and believe these numbers will happen over time.”

Mr. van Nostrand also explained that both employment and residential build-up would be sequenced to align with each other, and that planners had learned much about the process from past density build-up along the existing 401 corridor.

“We can certainly tie residential development with employment development so both are in sync,” he explained.

“There’s never been a case where either has stopped in the province, and I don’t expect it will, but both will be slowing down and speeding up. We learned a lot from the development of the 401 corridor, because there was nothing there at the time that corridor was built in the 1970s. I think we have a reasonable approach and we are very aware of the need to balance population with job growth.”

The presentation was provided to councillors for information. The proposal will come back to committee for approval at a future meeting.

————————————————————————————————————–

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

————————————————————————————————————–

Incoming search terms for the article:

Category: New Homes, Pickering Real Estate, Planning & Development | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , ,
Laurin Jeffrey | April 28, 2011
No comments

Own home affordable to most

By Anna Vozza, The Windsor Star

Many people are often surprised to learn that the costs of owning a home can be substantially lower or comparable to those of renting. There are also many financing options and a wide variety of choices that can make owning a home more affordable for first-time buyers.

Before you start searching, it’s important to determine how much you can afford to pay. You may learn the modest home you can afford is a far stretch from your “dream home,” but it will be a start and will require a lower down payment.

To determine how much you can afford, enlist the services of a Realtor. A Realtor will help you identify what you want and take you to homes and neighbourhoods that reflect your lifestyle, needs and price range. They will also help you understand property financing, taxes, insurance and the steps you will have to take as a first-time buyer to complete a real estate transaction.

The vast majority of homebuyers lack the funds required to buy a home without assistance from a bank or other lender. Most people will need to arrange a mortgage. Before a lender will give you one, they will need to determine the amount you can afford. A lender will look at how much you will need for the initial purchase of your home, including your down payment and other costs such as legal fees, inspection fees and taxes. They will also look at the ongoing costs of paying back the mortgage, along with monthly costs for utilities, maintenance, insurance and annual property taxes.

Most lenders will not permit a borrower to take on a debt load the borrower can’t carry. That’s why reputable lenders “qualify” potential borrowers. Usually, lenders say your monthly housing expenses (mortgage payment and taxes), plus condominium fee, if applicable, should not exceed 30% of your monthly gross family income. This is called your gross debt service ratio. Lenders also use a second calculation called total debt service ratio.

Generally speaking, no more than 40% of your gross family income can be used when calculating the amount you can afford to pay for mortgage payments and taxes, plus other fixed monthly expenses. These other fixed costs are your ongoing commitments and can include auto, student or personal loans, as well as credit card payments.

The hardest part about buying a home for most first-time buyers is getting that down payment. You may have the ability to keep up with the monthly financial obligation (mortgage payment, insurance, utilities, property taxes, maintenance), but finding the down payment may be a problem. Once you decide what you can afford and find the home you want in the right neighbourhood at the right price, here are some of the sources you can tap into for a down payment.

- Savings and investments: If you have a Registered Retirement Savings Plan, you can withdraw $20,000 per individual ($40,000 per couple) without any tax penalty as long as you pay the amount back within 15 years.

- Mortgage insurance: Until recently, to qualify for a conventional mortgage, a buyer needed to put down in cash at least 25% of the purchase price. But a new law that came into effect last year lowered the level to 20%. To put down less than 20%, a buyer has to qualify for a high-ratio mortgage. By law, this type of mortgage must be insured against default in payment. The cost of this mortgage insurance depends on the value of the house and the size of the loan. Most mortgage insurance companies offer a five% down option. This program insures the mortgage on your home against default in payments for up to 95% of the lending value.

Contacting a Realtor is step No. 1. They will help you understand how all the programs work and ensure that you get the maximum benefit possible. He or she will guide you through the entire home-buying process and explore all your options to get you into your very first home.

————————————————————————————————————–

Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information  -  416-388-1960

————————————————————————————————————–

Incoming search terms for the article:

Category: Buying Real Estate, First Time Buyers, Mortgages | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
« Older Entries