More boomers to buy condos...

The year 2010 ended on a high note for Toronto's condo market, according to statistics released in January by Urbanation. The fourth quarter of the year (October to December 2010) showed 6,280 new condominium sales, up from 3,805 in the quarter before.

"There was a huge jump in sales and that was directly relatable to the fact that we had 29 new projects and 6,500 units that launched in the fourth quarter," says Ben Myers, executive vice-president and editor of Urbanation, which tracks the Toronto condominium market. "A lot of those were large-scale projects and a lot of them did fairly well."

Investors are continuing to drive the market, he says, making "the bulk of the sales" for newly released condo projects before sites even have their grand openings to the public. But once that surge of sales is over, end users are the prime buyers; Urbanation tracks those existing new projects already on the market, too, where sales continue at the same average pace as they have for the past five to six years. "For the end users, that level hasn't changed, just the level of investor activity has improved," Mr. Myers says.

With a seven per cent to nine per cent increase annually in the price per square foot of condos in the city, it's no wonder investors are continuing to buy. Price per square foot rose from $352 in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $374 per square foot in the fourth quarter of 2010. "Increases like that provide investors with returns," Mr. Myers says.

While investors may be looking for returns, another buyer group — baby boomers — is considering something else: condo lifestyle. A certain segment of boomers is starting to see condos as a viable option, according to a recent report by TD Canada Trust, which tracked housing trends among boomers throughout Canada. The TD Canada Trust Boomer Buyers Report showed that while 61% of the boomers surveyed planned to look for a detached house with their next move, the next largest segment of the population — 24% — were looking at condos, citing the lack of maintenance, better security and amenities as deciding factors.

"We've seen so many condo developments, especially in Toronto, that you're at least seeing these boomers talking about condos, where in the past they haven't at all talked about them," says Farhaneh Haque, regional sales manager for the Mobile Mortgage Specialist area of TD Canada Trust. (Not that all of the boomers surveyed were convinced: 61% didn't like the idea of living in a condo because they didn't want to give up their backyard or garden, and 57 per cent didn't want to pay condo fees.)

So what does 2011 promise? According to Mr. Myers, Toronto can expect a slowdown compared to 2010 numbers — although with the 16,000 new condo sales he predicts within the city limits this year, sales certainly won't stop completely. "I still think it's going to be a pretty solid year," he says. "Based on quarter four, we may even have higher results than the 16,000—but I'll stick to my prediction for now."

http://www.househunting.ca/montreal/Condos/More+boomers+condos/4378845/story.html
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Canada Post back-to-work bill clears House

A Conservative bill ordering 48,000 Canada Post employees back to work cleared the House of Commons on Saturday night after a marathon debate and several failed opposition efforts to win changes.

The House gave third reading to the bill shortly after 8 p.m. by a vote of 158-113 and then adjourned for summer.

The bill, which imposes a four-year contract and certain wage increases on the workers, now goes to the Senate, which has been called to sit at 11 a.m. ET on Sunday.

The back-to-work order would go into force 24 hours after receiving royal assent, Labour Minister Lisa Raitt told MPs.

While opposition members expressed fear for the rights of organized workers, Prime Minister Stephen Harper called the three days of round-the-clock debate over the bill "a completely unnecessary delay."

But Harper said he was pleased that "soon Canadians will again have access to their postal service, particularly small businesses and charities."

Third reading came at the end of a 58-hour filibuster, during which the opposition tried to either hold up or modify what it called a "draconian" bill — and after talks between Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers collapsed again.

The Crown corporation locked out the employees on June 14, after the union conducted 12 days of rotating strikes.

Workers face binding arbitration

The back-to-work bill, introduced last Monday also imposes a form of binding arbitration in which each side would table its final offer and the arbitrator would pick one or the other. This provision and the imposed wage increases provoked the most debate.

Late Saturday afternoon, the House gave second reading to the bill, which then moved into committee-of-the-whole, the stage where the Opposition NDP and Liberals had hoped to propose changes.

At the opening of the committee debate, Raitt told MPs the postal dispute was expected to cause a "measurable" impact on the Canadian economy, with losses of between $9 million and $31 million a week.

"The parties in the dispute have tried again and again and again … and indeed there is no agreement in sight," she said.

But MP Thomas Mulcair, the deputy leader of the NDP, accused the Conservatives of rolling back the collective bargaining rights of workers.

"It's an indication of what's to come for other public service workers who are unionized," Mulcair said. "But it's also a signal from the Conservatives to all employers — in a union setting or otherwise — that it's an open bar. They can start going after the acquired rights of their workers."

As MPs voted on individual sections of the bill at the committee stage, it became clear the Conservatives weren't going to accept any changes.

One amendment sought by the NDP would have removed clauses forcing the two sides into final-offer selection by an arbitrator to end the dispute.

Another would have removed the salary provision of the bill, which the NDP said proposes a wage increase lower than what Canada Post had wanted to offer the union.

The Liberals favoured similar changes to end the "stubborn ideological debate" between the government and Opposition on the issue.

"The sterile and hopelessly polarized debate between left and right cannot go on forever," Bob Rae, the Liberal interim leader, said in a statement. "It's time for parliamentarians to put an end to this shambolic debate and find a solution to the impasse."

The New Democrats began the filibuster Thursday evening as MPs were scheduled to start their summer break. The non-stop stall continued all day Friday, with a setback for the NDP as Conservatives and Liberals joined to defeat a procedural motion.

Record for non-stop debate

The NDP had introduced a "hoist" motion to put off second reading for six months but failed to win approval after the Liberals joined the governing Conservatives to defeat it by a vote of 160 to 74.

MPs have set a record for non-stop debate on back-to-work legislation. The Conservative government says the old record of 27.5 hours was set in 1989.

Talks between Canada Post and the union collapsed late Wednesday, with pension issues at the heart of the stalemate.

Canada Post said there were discussions on Saturday morning, but they broke off and the two sides were still "far apart."

CUPW national president Denis Lemelin, who was seen mid-Saturday leaving Parliament Hill with other union officials, would not confirm whether talks had resumed.

With files from The Canadian Press