You may not be able to tell from looking at the stagnant site and solitary sign at Casablanca Boulevard and South Service Road, but the commitment to bring a GO station to Grimsby remains strong.

“We are all very keen and committed to getting service introduced here,” said Matt Robinson, the director of Niagara Region’s GO Implementation Office.

It’s been just over one year since a weekday train was introduced in St. Catharines and Niagara Falls and Robinson said Metrolinx, the province, the region and the town are all still on board with including Grimsby in the Niagara GO expansion.

Since Metrolinx announced a change in the delivery process of new GO stations in late 2018, whereby it provides on-corridor services (rail) but requires third-party investment for off-corridor facilities (stations, bus loops, parking, etc.), Robinson said they have been working together to solicit third-party investment options.

“There are viable alternatives that are being explored right now.”

Whether funding comes from private- or public-sector partners, or a cocktail of both, he said they are actively discussing to whose interest it would be to invest.

Robinson said the conditions are right and there is a clear path forward to bring investors to Grimsby’s station as quickly as possible.

As for Beamsville GO service, he said they’ve always advocated for four station stops, including the future expansion of an Ontario Street station. What needs to be completed next is a business case.

Asked whether recent developments with Hamilton’s light rail transit project caused any concerns that the province may pull out of the Niagara GO expansion, Robinson responded in the negative.

“There’s been no indication anything’s changed.”

The previous budget commitment was reaffirmed by the current provincial government, he said. The support is locked in and Niagara has been working very specifically within the specified budget for this expansion.

The expansion will provide increased weekday service to Niagara’s stations, he said, with five inbound trains and six outbound trains ultimately set to run between Niagara Falls and Union Station.

When can Niagarans expect this increased service? Well, that’s the million-dollar question.

It’s not as easy as a simple increased schedule, said Robinson. Unlike other areas in the GO network – where GO Transit and Metrolinx actually own the corridor, allowing them to easily ramp up to 15-minute service – the Hamilton to Niagara Falls corridor is owned by CN, adding a unique level of complexity to the process.

Robinson said he’s met with the Metrolinx CEO and they are well aware that the region fully supports their 11-train per day expansion and whatever it’s going to take to bring increased service to Niagara.

“We’re keen to have that as soon as possible.”

Source: Hamilton Spectator News

—

For more information Contact the Findlay Real Estate Team Below:

Sean Findlay – Professional Realtor | Sales Representative

Local Burlington, Hamilton, Stoney Creek, Grimsby & Niagara Real Estate Agent Expert

CENTURY 21 Millennium Inc., Brokerage *
Office: 905-450-8300 | Toll Free: 1 888-450-8301 | Fax: 905-450-6736

Stoney Creek Office Located: 280 Barton St, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 2K6 (by Appointment Only)

Toronto Office Located: 181 Queen St E Brampton, ON L6W 2B3 (by Appointment Only)

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A game-changing project in Hamilton will transform 13 acres in the city’s east end into a $400-million, master-planned community modelled on affordability, adaptability, inclusivity and diversity.

A strategic alliance was forged between the city, City Housing Hamilton (CHH) and Roxborough Park Inc. (RPI), a partnership of Urbancore Developments, Carriage Gate Homes and the Effort Group, to create the community. It will be built on the old Roxborough Park School site and adjacent property that is currently occupied by 107 subsidized CHH 60-year-old rowhouses. The project will address the critical need for more affordable housing in Hamilton and will be a catalyst for the revitalization and diversification of the McQuesten neighbourhood.

When completed in five to seven years, the neighbourhood — to be called Roxboro — will include nearly 800 new, mixed-income units of various types that will be built in up to four phases. These will include about 300 affordable market units including condos plus back-to-back and stacked townhomes; 200 units geared to seniors and small households; more than 300 rental suites with capped rents; and 103 family-oriented units in a 10-storey affordable rental building owned and operated by CHH.

The project has special meaning for Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger. When his family immigrated to Canada from Amsterdam 60 years ago — he was eight years old — they moved into one of the old social housing units. He lived there until he was 19.

“I still live not far away and my childhood memories are of that place. It was a great place to grow up, with a valley in the back to play in and lots of immigrant friends to hang out with,” said Eisenberger.

“I lived in a unit with six family members and it now looks pretty small, but being Dutch, we were used to tiny places. To see it come full circle to a renewal that was absolutely needed that includes geared-to-income housing … it’s very heart-warming.”

Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla was instrumental in bringing the vision together. When he learned that the old Roxborough Park School site was available, he reached out to Sergio Manchia, a developer-planner who helms Urbancore Developments.

“The school was for sale but there wasn’t a lot of interest in it, even though the neighbourhood was screaming for revitalization,” said Manchia. “It wasn’t a typical greenfield site and there were a lot of issues.”

“That neighbourhood was at a dead-end and previously had no access to the GTA or major highways, and had become ghettoized,” said Merulla.

“Sergio saw what I saw, that the site is at the intersection of two of the largest public works projects in the city (the Red Hill Valley Expressway and the coming LRT line).

Originally, the neighbourhood had been the site of the Hamilton Municipal Airport built in 1929 and had small houses for pilots. But the municipal airport closed when a larger one opened in Mount Hope in 1940.

Merulla says the decaying CHH housing would have been a detriment to any new housing on the school site, and the neighbourhood needed a broader mix of housing and incomes. There is an extreme shortage of developable land in the city, and the CHH site was underutilized with only 103 housing units on eight acres. Talks with the city and CHH were initiated and Manchia brought in Nick Carnicelli from Carriage Gate Homes and David Horwood from Effort Group.

“It was a very challenging thing to buy the school with the idea to acquire more land owned by the city for a large, master-planned community that served a wider purpose,” said Carnicelli. “The (social) housing was well beyond its life, the area needed intensification and this was on a bus route, one kilometre from the GO station. It begged for some sort of dynamic thinking,” The community’s location has a WalkScore of 98 and Transit Score of 100.

Horwood said the combined experience he, Manchia and Carnicelli were able to bring to the table, and their shared love of Hamilton, was important. “Without the three of us working together, I don’t think the vision would have been seen by a single home builder wanting to buy the school site.

“We have each been contributing to how Hamilton has been re-imagining itself, and each of us has our own strengths. We started taking a synergistic point of view and the councillor was looking for a legacy project.”

“It will provide a lift for the entire neighbourhood beyond the (site’s) borders,” said Mayor Eisenberger. “When an investment of this scale is happening, other investment will be attracted, as there will be a need for more services. That’s a good thing.”

It took four years to wade through the bureaucracy, to educate stakeholders about the vision and to finalize plans and approvals. RPI will bring a massive infrastructure renewal for the entire McQuesten neighbourhood: thousands of new and existing homes will benefit from new, separated storm water and sanitary sewers. The park will also get extensive improvements, including revitalization of the spray pad, playground equipment and playing fields. New pathways, picnic tables and tree plantings will be added.

Horwood says the residents of the social housing have been kept informed of the process. “We do hope many people currently residing there will move into the new building and we expect some to return, but that’s between CHH and its clients.”

Eisenberger notes there is a backlog of 6,000 people waiting for affordable housing in Hamilton and this project will help ease that. “It’s still a huge challenge for us to overcome. We’re setting a target of 300 units a year in the city. That’s not enough, but it’s all we can afford and we are looking for the provincial and federal governments to step up.”

Construction will begin this fall on a rental apartment building to be owned by HCC and built to Passive House standard (a stringent, international standard of energy efficiency and building performance) plus 164, three-storey contemporary-style townhomes and back-to-back units, each with a garage.

“I’ve been doing this for 30 years and this is one of the most exciting projects I’ve done in my life. Never have I had more community support or lack of negative feedback related to a project,” said Carnicelli. “This is really a lifetime career project for all of us.”

“It came down to people trusting the vision and having courage,” added Coun. Merulla. “The developers saw the vision and invested in it, and I’m appreciative. It’s an official pilot project for the City of Hamilton and is prioritized that way — and this will be applied to other neighbourhoods.”

ROXBORO, PHASE 1

Developers: Roxborough Park Inc. (Urbancore Developments, Carriage Gate Homes and the Effort Group) in collaboration with City of Hamilton, City of Hamilton Housing

Project architect: KNYMH Architects

Housing units: 88 three-storey, back-to-back, two- and three-bedroom townhomes;l 72 three-storey, three-bedroom townhomes with backyards; a 10-storey Passive House rental building for CHH with 103 suites ranging from one-to four-bedroom. Prices from the low $400,000s.

Target market: First-time buyers ages 20 to 37 on low-to-middle income. Combined average gross household income up to $120,000; must be purchasers’ principal residence and purchasers cannot own any other residential property. Purchasers must be individuals, not businesses.

Occupancy: Slated for late 2021/early 2022

To register Contact Sean Findlay  Info@FindlayRealEstate.ca

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Sean Findlay – Professional Realtor | Sales Representative | Digital Marketing Realtor
Proudly Serving Toronto & GTA | Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Stoney Creek,  Hamilton, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, St Catherines, Niagara-On-The-Lake

CENTURY 21 Millennium Inc., Brokerage *
Office Phone Number: 1-888-450-8301 | Fax: 905-450-6736

Toronto Office Located: 181 Queen St Brampton, ON L6W 2B3 (by Appointment Only)
(Located conveniently at the border of Mississauga & Brampton – Major Intersection Steeles & Hurontario st. )

Stoney Creek Office Located: 280 Barton St, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 2K6 (by Appointment Only)

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Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) in a report released in October warned about elevated household debt levels and the implications for the housing markets. The report said that heavily indebted households, the weakest link in the housing chain, might be forced to sell their homes if faced with a “prolonged negative shock” (jargon for long-lasting job losses).

The report also explained how COVID-19 had impacted the economic well-being of borrowers, lenders, homeowners and renters. For instance, if the negative economic impacts of the pandemic were to last beyond the period covered by stimulus-driven relief, loan forbearance and mortgage deferrals, households might be forced to reduce their financial obligations by selling their homes or drawing on their home equity.

The CMHC report compared household debt levels before COVID-19 (fourth quarter of 2019) and during (second quarter of 2020). It further distinguished between non-mortgage and mortgage debt, an increasingly relevant distinction because mortgage deferrals and loan forbearance may have allowed households to transfer spending from servicing debt to the consumption of consumer goods.

CMHC found that non-mortgage debt has declined since the end of 2019 across all major urban areas. The primary driver was the drop in outstanding credit card debt. CMHC believes that a decrease in spending during the pandemic is the reason for the decline.

Spending on restaurants and entertainment plummeted in mid-March, but it simultaneously increased elsewhere as households hoarded consumer goods such as toilet paper and paper towels. The decline in outstanding credit card debt could also have been driven by households having cash on hand to pay their credit card bills as they availed themselves of mortgage deferrals or relied on moratoriums on rental evictions.

But though outstanding credit card debt declined, the report mentioned a 4.4 per cent increase in home equity line of credit debt between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020.

Mortgage debt, on the other hand, increased in most cities, but declines were more pronounced in provinces already struggling with economic growth even before the onset of the pandemic. Thus, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg reported the largest declines in mortgage debt.

The total outstanding debt increased in only four urban regions: Abbotsford-Mission, B.C., Hamilton, Toronto and Vancouver. Abbotsford and Hamilton lie within the commuter shed of Vancouver and Toronto, respectively, where housing prices rapidly increased before the pandemic. This suggests that the increase in total outstanding debt was concentrated in and around the Toronto and Vancouver areas.

The CMHC report also noted that changes in mortgage debt levels are not explained by the decline in employment. The three cities reporting the highest increase in mortgage debt levels also reported higher-than-average declines in employment growth. This led CMHC to conclude that

“changes in employment were not a clear factor in the changes in mortgage debt since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The disconnect between employment growth and mortgage debt levels suggests that job losses have increasingly spared homeowners, and likely disproportionately impacted renter households. The record year-over-year increase in sales during summer and fall in large urban centres suggests that employment uncertainty has not dampened housing aspirations of current and future homeowners.

Similar trends have been observed in the United States as well. TheFederal Reserve Bank of New York reported a “sharp decline in credit card balances” and an increase in mortgage debt in the second quarter of 2020. Unlike Canada, the U.S. experienced a decline in home equity lines of credit.

The record-low mortgage interest rates fuelled mortgage origination in the U.S., and the increase in mortgage origination was driven by credit-worthy borrowers. The report noted that the median credit score for newly originated mortgages in the second quarter was 784, the highest since 2000.

The second-quarter economic data is indicative of the bimodal economic realities in a pandemic-stricken global economy. In Canada and the U.S., mortgage debt has increased even with mounting job losses, suggesting that some sectors of the economy have suffered less under the pandemic than the rest.

TheOctober Labour Force Survey in Canada reported an increase of 84,000 jobs, which is welcome news, but it obscures the drastic increase in long-term unemployment. Of those who were unemployed in October, one in four has been unemployed for 27 weeks or more.

Housing sales have been resilient in the face of the economic downturn. They cannot, however, be immune to it. A continued increase in long-term unemployment is likely to take a bite out of the growing mortgage pie in the future.

The article is now complete | Click To Return Findlay Real Estate Home Page 

Sean Findlay – Professional Realtor | Sales Representative | Digital Marketing Realtor
Proudly Serving Toronto & GTA | Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Stoney Creek,  Hamilton, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, St Catherines, Niagara-On-The-Lake

CENTURY 21 Millennium Inc., Brokerage *
Office Phone Number: 1-888-450-8301 | Fax: 905-450-6736

Toronto Office Located: 181 Queen St Brampton, ON L6W 2B3 (by Appointment Only)
(Located conveniently at the border of Mississauga & Brampton – Major Intersection Steeles & Hurontario st. )

Stoney Creek Office Located: 280 Barton St, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 2K6 (by Appointment Only)

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Stoney Creek

Stoney Creek is relatively close to the hotspots of Southern Ontario, like Burlington, Niagara, Hamilton, and Toronto is not far away either. Being connected to the 403 and 407 Highway, as well as QEW and the Hamilton GO station, commuting is not an issue for Stoney Creek residents.

The Favorite Spots
Stoney Creek is a true tourist attraction with its many unusual and special places people of the world want to see. One of the best-known spots is Devil’s Punchbowl Conservation Area. Its striking name already catches attention, but the scenic views are yet even better. With an upper ribbon waterfall and a lower regular one, as well as a seemingly bottomless gorge that goes as deep as the eye can reach will leave you in awe. It is especially beautiful after rainfall.

Another great gem hiding in Stoney Creek is the Battlefield House Museum which is known for its famous reenactments of the Battle of Stoney Creek that happened 205 years ago. Known as the living history museum, you can peek into the 19th-century life or walk the 32 acres of parkland or visit the Battlefield Monument, a landmark that commemorates the British- American peace (after the 1812 War). Eramosa Karst is also one of the top choices as it features underground caves, forests and streams representing the perfect adventure for all nature lovers.

Residents are very proud to live just steps away from all these little wonders that are perfect for family adventures, hiking,  biking, meditating and recharging batteries.

The Rising Interest In Stoney Creek Real Estate
The recent events in the Hamilton real estate market have shown that Stoney Creek does not only attract tourists but new residents as well. With an average home price of around $520,000 and beautiful homes in all shapes and forms, Stoney Creek is undoubtedly a top location in Hamilton. With amenities that cover all aspects of everyday life and even exceed expectations for a small community, Stoney Creek is probably going to attract even more newcomers who are looking to relocate and settle down. New construction homes are already underway to respond to the increased demand. New semi-detached and townhomes that offer easy access to amenities from parks and shops to restaurants and banks, will be the perfect fit for all those looking for a combination of comfort and style.

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To find out more about Stoney Creek and available real estate, call Realtor Sean Findlay at 905-450-8300 or Toll Free 1-888-450-8301

Sean Findlay – Professional Realtor | Sales Representative | Digital Marketing Realtor
Proudly Serving Toronto & GTA | Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Stoney Creek,  Hamilton, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, St Catherines, Niagara-On-The-Lake

CENTURY 21 Millennium Inc., Brokerage *
Office Phone Number: 1-888-450-8301 | Fax: 905-450-6736

Toronto Office Located: 181 Queen St Brampton, ON L6W 2B3 (by Appointment Only)
(Located conveniently at the border of Mississauga & Brampton – Major Intersection Steeles & Hurontario st. )

Stoney Creek Office Located: 280 Barton St, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 2K6 (by Appointment Only)

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Here’s a closer look at what happened in September 2020 in the Real Estate Market:

Hamilton Real Estate Market Activity

Burlington Real Estate Market Activity

Real Estate Sales Activity

The RAHB reported 1,751 residential property sales for the month, up 37.67% over August and up 53.9% over September 2019.

In a typical year, September is a busy month for the real estate market—but this September was anything but typical. We experienced some of the highest sales activity our market has ever seen.

New Home Listings

Burlington’s new listings were up 18% compared to September 2019, while Hamilton’s new listings saw a 2% year-over-year increase.

Active Home Listings

The number of active listings fell in both cities in September: Hamilton saw a 44% decline year-over-year and Burlington’s active listings fell 25%.

This is an even steeper drop from last month, and with demand for real estate continuing to increase, the lack of active listings is causing prices to skyrocket as homes see multiple offers and regularly sell for over-asking.

Months of Inventory

Hamilton and Burlington both experienced a drop in months of inventory. Hamilton and Burlington now both sit at 0.9 months of inventory.

Average Days on Market

Residential homes sold faster in September 2020 than in a typical fall market, especially compared to September 2019.

In Hamilton, listings spent an average of 19.8 days on the market and Burlington homes typically sold in 19.7 days.

This is definitely in line with what our team experienced during September, as we consistently sold homes at record speed.

Average Prices

From August to September, the average price for a residential property in the Hamilton-Burlington region rose 3.8% to $721,354.

That’s a 19.8% increase in price from September 2019.

In Hamilton, this amounted to the average home price increasing 22%, year-over-year, to $664,330.

Home prices in Burlington also increased year-over-year, rising 18% and bringing the average to $912,794.

A Look at What’s to Come

While we are seeing a steady climb in sales and prices—and an increase in consumer confidence across the country—let’s not forget that COVID-19 cases are also on the rise, which could impact the market as we go further into the fall season.

We will continue to take health and safety precautions with our clients and adjust our strategies as needed to ensure their utmost success.

Overall, the real estate market remains robust and active, and we look forward to achieving even more record-breaking results for our buyers and sellers in the Hamilton-Burlington region as we move forward.

The article is now complete | Click To Return Findlay Real Estate Home Page 

Sean Findlay – Professional Realtor | Sales Representative | Digital Marketing Realtor
Proudly Serving Toronto & GTA | Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Stoney Creek,  Hamilton, Grimsby, Niagara Falls, St Catherines, Niagara-On-The-Lake

CENTURY 21 Millennium Inc., Brokerage *
Office Phone Number: 1-888-450-8301 | Fax: 905-450-6736

Toronto Office Located: 181 Queen St Brampton, ON L6W 2B3 (by Appointment Only)
(Located conveniently at the border of Mississauga & Brampton – Major Intersection Steeles & Hurontario st. )

Stoney Creek Office Located: 280 Barton St, Stoney Creek, ON L8E 2K6 (by Appointment Only)

The post Hamilton-Burlington Real Estate Market Update Fall 2020 appeared first on FINDLAY REAL ESTATE.