Jane Darville has said that healthcare is in her DNA. By this, it seems she means that she has always been drawn to it as a career—for certainly, it is the trajectory in which her decades of work have run. Two years after its opening, Darville became the Executive Director of Toronto’s groundbreaking AIDS hospice Casey House which recently became the first and Canada’s only stand-alone HIV/AIDS specialty hospital with outpatient programming, and later served as the Vice President of Clinical Services at York Central Hospital—now the Mackenzie Richmond Hill Hospital—as the Executive Director for Vancouver’s Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, and as the Vice President of the health care consulting firm CSI Consultancy. Now retired, she is still involved in healthcare on a volunteer basis, as well as chairing the Patron’s Committee of the National Ballet of Canada.

Much of your career has taken place in Toronto. What is your connection to this city?

I was born and raised in Brantford, which is about seventy miles southwest of Toronto, and I moved to Toronto after high school when I started my post-secondary education. So from about age 18 on. Many of my strong friendships are here…and my career grew here, my life grew here. So I actually think of Toronto as ‘home’.

What drew you to health administration as a career?

Well, originally I trained as a nurse.. and after I finished training and I got a diploma in public health nursing I started off in community work. Working for VON [Victoria Order of Nurses] actually, back in the 70s in downtown Toronto. I was a visiting nurse and had walking areas. It was great; a young, exciting thing to do when you’re 22—as I was with my first job. And I just sort of naturally fell into doing more administrative things—being a team leader. And then I went to work for the Homecare program—it’s now called the CCAC, but at that point, it was the Homecare program. They had coordinators based in hospitals to arrange for people to go home, who needed care—nursing, physio, all that sort of stuff.

And so I was their coordinator back in Toronto General [Hospital] where I trained. That was really more of a management job because you were coordinating services, you weren’t doing care. I mean, I haven’t done physical nursing care since I was probably 25. And then I went back to school and got other degrees in administration. I just liked that work. But I also liked being in healthcare. So I just gradually got other jobs that were more administrative, and there you go.

How did you become involved with Casey House?

When I was a manager at Metro Homecare—it was in the early to late 80s—when people living with AIDS were really sick, and no one really knew what was going on, and people were frightened. And people in healthcare were a bit frantic. Anyway, we were bringing these men (they were mainly men at the time) onto the program, I was given the project of seeing how to do that, and what to do so that we could bring them home out of the hospital and take care of them.

So I was involved in that project, and June Callwood and her group had just started to meet about the potential of creating a hospice for people with AIDS, and somehow I got invited to—I think probably their second meeting—to talk about whether Homecare could help in this situation.

Casey House

I went to the meeting, and in June’s inimitable way, if you went to a meeting you were IN the meeting. You were at the next meeting and the next meeting. So from about the second or third meeting I was just involved in the whole development of the program, and the whole hiring of staff, and everything. I was one of the original members of the Steering Committee. So that was in the mid-80s.

And then we transitioned from the Steering Committee to the first Board, and I was on there for a few years, and then I actually went to work at the Ministry of Health and came off the Board because—being a Ministry employee—I couldn’t be on the Board.

So I was off for about four years or so, and in the meantime, they had gone through a couple of executive directors. It was a difficult time, you know, still people weren’t funding it properly…anyway, they were looking for an executive director and they called me, and I didn’t know if I could do all the external stuff because I’d never done it. I went down to some event there and thought ‘well, maybe I can do this job’. So I applied and got it.

What are your most enduring memories of your time at Casey House?

You know, I think being on the original Steering Committee. That first year of trying to develop—out of nothing—what you thought a program might look like. There weren’t free-standing hospices in Ontario at the time, there wasn’t real policy around it. And it was a unique circumstance and an emotional circumstance. It wasn’t easy. So that was intellectually interesting to me because I had never been involved in anything like that. None of us had been. We were really on the cutting edge of a lot of things.

And I guess it was interesting to watch the evolution of how AIDS went from something that was frightening and not acceptable to where people were becoming more accepting of it and understanding it more. That was a great time to be involved, actually, and there was a transition from having difficulty getting donors to support the hospice (although we had government funding), to it being a more interesting charity to support.

Did you ever run into prejudice in those early years because of your involvement with Casey House and AIDS?

Yeah. Probably from some people who may have wanted to date me. But not career-wise, because it did start to change and become more acceptable, so career-wise, actually, it was a good move. Personally, my women friends and more enlightened male friends thought it was great that I was doing what I was doing. It was the only hospice in Canada, we were getting more publicity, and people thought that it was doing such a valuable thing, that I sort of rode on the coattails of that, actually, when it started to change.

[clickToTweet tweet=”It was interesting to watch the evolution of how AIDS went from something that was frightening and not acceptable to where people were becoming more accepting of it and understanding it more. That was a great time to be involved.” quote=”It was interesting to watch the evolution of how AIDS went from something that was frightening and not acceptable to where people were becoming more accepting of it and understanding it more. That was a great time to be involved.”]

What does the Executive Director of a hospice do?

Oh God… well, you know, it’s a small healthcare organization, so you have to be a jack-of-all-trades, for lack of a better word. So you’re responsible for the solvency, the quality of the care that is given, the policies, the interaction with the Board, and in places like Casey House, you also have a very external face. You have to be able to represent the organization. Well, all CEOs or Executive Directors do. You have to be able to explain the organization, you have to be able to be the public face and the public spokesperson for it.

You also worked at Canuck Place. A lot of people would find it very depressing working in a palliative care or end-of-life setting with children.

Palliative care covers a broad range of things, end of life being one part of it. So at Canuck Place, the definition of that is; that the children, because of the disease that they have, won’t live into adulthood. So their life expectancy is probably sixteen or seventeen at most and for some not even that. So a big part of the program in the children’s hospice was providing respite care at intervals as their disease progresses. You know, you’d see them over long periods of time, with some of their syndromes, and they would be in for respite for periods of time as you would… you know, watch their disease progress, basically. And of course, there’s the end of life there, as well. It’s sad some days. It’s terribly sad.

Where do you think healthcare is being done the best now?

I don’t know if I can say where it’s done best… there’s just so many different components to healthcare. There are areas where we aren’t doing as well as we should. There are still issues around mental health. Wwhen you look at reports that were written a decade or so ago they would often refer to mental health as the orphan of healthcare. Now, in the last few years, that’s changing a bit, and there’s more and more focus being given to mental health. I think there’s still a lot to be done in terms of preventative care; we talked for years—since I was first a nurse—about the importance of prevention, and how we should be giving it more money, and that story still hasn’t been told. It’s still the case that in Canada, and in a lot of places, the money that we spend on healthcare is the money we spend when we’re already sick. That’s the way it is right now.

[fvplayer src=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD1pNnThkic&feature=youtu.be” splash=”https://torontoism.com//images/2018/02/Screen-Shot-2018-02-16-at-11.59.54.png” width=”780″ height=”461″ caption=”Compassion lives here”]

Are there particular changes you’d like to see made to hospices or palliative care in Canada?

It needs more money. To be blunt. I don’t know what the current stats are, but you know, in my day (which wasn’t all that long ago) if you looked at the percentage of people across Canada who had access to specialized palliative care, the percentage is low. It used to be way less than 50 per cent. More like 30. I don’t know what the current number is, but probably not that much more.

What are some of the biggest improvements you’ve seen in healthcare over the course of your career?

I think there’s certainly been improvements in acute care, surgical techniques, less invasive surgeries, more research being done. So there’s a lot of progress in health, and I think there’s a lot of respect amongst the different components of healthcare. We all know what each other does, and what we can do and what we can’t do, and I think there’s been more of a realization of how we’re interdependent—or I like to think there is.

I guess when you look at community stuff, there’s still work to be done in terms of access across provinces to a certain level of home care. Provision of palliative care. And we all know that healthcare is related to socio-economic status and education and poverty, and that’s still out there. It seems like ever since I’ve been in healthcare we’ve been talking about child poverty, and we’re STILL talking about child poverty, and what can be done.

[clickToTweet tweet=”We all know that healthcare is related to socio-economic status and education and poverty, and that’s still out there. It seems like ever since I’ve been in healthcare we’ve been talking about child poverty, and we’re STILL talking about child poverty, and what can be done.” quote=”We all know that healthcare is related to socio-economic status and education and poverty, and that’s still out there. It seems like ever since I’ve been in healthcare we’ve been talking about child poverty, and we’re STILL talking about child poverty, and what can be done.”]

You were awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal in 2003. Looking back, what do you see as some of your most satisfying accomplishments?

It just has to be Casey House. And close behind would be Canuck Place. But I had great jobs. When I was working for Homecare for many many years I had lots of accomplishments there—to know that what you were doing allowed people to be at home and get better or not get better.

But in terms of jobs for me that really made me grow, and were interesting and crazy and wild at the same time, it would have to be the two hospices, and Casey House in particular, because I was so involved in the early stages with Casey House, and through that whole sort of societal thing around AIDS. It wasn’t just about Casey House. It was about the whole AIDS issue.

Donate to Casey House | Donate to Canuck Place

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TREB just released their Market Year in Review and Outlook Report for 2018. In compiling and analyzing the data, TREB worked with Ipsos, Altus Group, C.D. Howe Institue, Toronto Region Board of Trade and Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis.

We had a look at TREB’s stats with Jim Burtnick, Broker, SVP-Sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada and Rizwan Malik, Sales Representative at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. Here is our review of the 2017 Toronto Real Estate Market and predictions and expectations for 2018.

Looking back to 2017

In 2017, the total number of sales reported through TREB’s MLS System was 92,394—which represents an 18.3 per cent drop compared to the record set in 2016. The average selling price of $822,681 in 2017 was a 12.7 per cent increase compared to 2016.

During the last two-thirds of 2017, the prices started to drop as the number of listings increased. The total number of new listings in 2017 was 178,489—up 15.7 per cent compared to 2016.

In the first quarter of 2017, home sales were up by 11.5 per cent compared to the same period in 2016. The inventory was low, especially in the detached segment, which has lead to the accelerating pace of growth in average price, peaking in March 2017 at 30 per cent compared to the same period in 2016. At the time, the average price was $916,567.

In April, after the Ontario government announced the Ontario Fair Housing Plan (OFHP) with its rent controls and Foreign Buyer Tax, the market has slowed down. However, this wasn’t due to high foreign buyers activity. Multiple sources confirmed that the foreign buying activity was low before OFHP and remained low afterwards. An Ipsos survey has shown the foreign buyer share to be 4.9 per cent (plus/minus two percentage points). Studies by Statistics Canada and land registry estimates released by the Ontario government were also in this range. The drop in sales after the announcement of OFHP was indeed affected by the OFHP, but analysts agree the impact was only psychological, with many would-be home buyers deciding to wait and see what happens to the market.

Jim Burtnick, Broker, SVP at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada also agrees that the Foreign Buyer Tax (FBT) effect was entirely psychological:

I felt this way when it was implemented and I feel the same way today. Whenever there is government interference into a free marketplace, buyers and sellers step back to see what effect this government disruption will cause. It is to be expected anytime this type of intervention occurs. Add to that the “perceived boogeyman” of foreign buyers that the press has blamed for increasing prices and well, you get a psychological overreaction to the FBT. The same thing occurred in Vancouver when they implemented their FBT and its effects eventually waned too.

The FHP effect was one of the reasons behind the lower number of sales and the higher number of listings on the market at that point in 2017. But if you expected the prices to drastically go down, you were wrong. Although the buyers had more choice, with more listings on the market from a historical perspective, that didn’t affect the home prices as much. The always more expensive detached home segment experienced a slower price growth, but the prices were still growing towards the end of the year. The condo segment prices, however, continued to experience double-digit growth rates throughout 2017, with more buyers opting for condos.

Rizwan Malik says that it wasn’t OFHP that slowed down the market and agrees that the plan had a psychological effect only:

Once the new rules, aimed at targeting foreign buyers, were announced in April 2017 it was as if the real estate tap turned off. Buyers almost used it as an excuse to halt immediately and to see what would happen to the market. Since foreign buyers accounted for less than 5 per cent of the pie, the market started to pick back up again. I do not believe that the OFHP cooled the market, people’s perception and expectation did. However, once they realized that the market was picking back up again it was business as usual and buyers started offering again, but with a little more caution.

As the Foreign Buyer’s Tax effect started to wane, the market picked up significantly. It was also the announcement of the OSFI mortgage stress test, which means that borrowers will now have to qualify for their mortgage at the greater of their contract rate plus two percentage point, or the posted five-year fixed rate as reported by the Bank of Canada (5.14 per cent at the time when this report was published) that helped the situation. Buyers rushed to close deals before January 1st when the new mortgage rules were to come into effect.

Rizwan says he had clients who wanted to close before December 31st, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker for them:

They all still wanted the “right house for their needs” rather than a last-minute scramble to settle for anything.

Jim says he noticed that it was mostly first time buyers who were in a hurry to close deals before the year’s end:

I would not say I had a “lot” of buyers in the fall trying to take advantage of mortgages before the OFSI stress test kicked in. However, anecdotally I would say that I noticed that there were more first time buyers trying to make a deal before the year ended. And if they did not make a deal by then, they were sure to get their mortgage pre-approval commitment letter extended into the new year to give them some additional time to make a deal before having to qualify under the new OFSI stress test rules.

The Rental Market

While the homeownership market has experienced some relief in terms of supply, the opposite was true for the rental market. Every year CMHC publishes the vacancy rate for purpose-built rental apartments and investor-held condominiums. For both of these markets, the vacancy rates were down in 2017 compared to the same period in 2016. While purpose-built rental apartments dropped from 1.4 per cent year-over-year to 1.1 per cent, the condo apartment vacancy dropped from 1.1 per cent to 0.7 per cent year over year. The low supply combined with strong demand resulted in double-digit annual rates of growth for the average price of rent in 2017.

Rizwan remembered the bidding wars on rental properties that Toronto has experienced last year:

There is a very low vacancy rate in both the condominium market and the purpose-built market. This was especially evident this year when there were bidding wars on rental properties. I think as a bigger picture, Toronto is becoming like other large metropolitan cities. People will gravitate towards renting downtown and buying properties in the country. It will take us a while to get there but I feel we are on our way.

According to TREB’s Rental Market Report, the average rent for a one bedroom apartment in the GTA increased from 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 to 10.9 per cent in the 4th quarter in a year-over-year comparison, amounting to $1,970 at the end of the year. The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment increased from an annual rate of approximately 7 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 to almost 9 per cent in the fourth quarter, resulting in $2,627 on average in the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Ontario Fair Housing Plan also addressed the problems of the rental market, as one of its points was installing rent controls again, but TREB reminds, as we did in one of our recent articles, that this could have unintended negative consequences. Rent controls could help further constrain the supply of rental units, pushing the vacancy rates to even lower numbers.

Jim agrees with TREB:

I agree wholeheartedly that OFHP rent control rules will indeed have the opposite effect. It will cause vacancy rate to go even lower than its already too low rate, drive up new rents well above inflation, and cause tenants to stay longer in one place. They will also force landlords out of the market—which will result in even less rental inventory—because their controlled rents are in fact causing them to lose more and more money every year as costs (maintenance fees, taxes and mortgage payments) continue to increase well above the amount that the OFHP will allow them to raise rents.

If an investor is faced with a limit on rent increases but with no limits on annual cost growth, they may be less likely to invest in rental properties and could look elsewhere for returns on their money. Furthermore, when it comes to investor-held condo rentals, if the condo owners choose to take advantage of significant double-digit increases in condo prices over the last year and sell their properties rather than rent them out, we could soon be facing even worse inventory levels. Jim Burtnick predicts there is trouble on the horizon:

This was really the worse aspect of the OFHP and in my opinion, it was just added because the current government has an election coming up this spring and there are far more tenant voters than landlord voters. But mark my words, this aspect alone will cause an already serious vacancy issue into a full-blown crisis.

Was Ontario’s Fair Housing Plan a good idea?

Looking back at the announcement of OFHP in April 2017, it doesn’t seem it has made a lot of difference in Toronto’s real estate market. Toronto is still facing low home affordability, low inventory and the government’s plan didn’t bring any relief. If anything, it brought a lot of confusion and yes it has slowed down the market activity, but it was about to slow down anyway, says Jim:

The market was already beginning to cool when the OFHP was announced on April 20, 2017. March numbers were unsustainable and the marketplace was naturally reacting by slowing down. All the OFHP did was quicken that dampening for reasons stated above.

He also expects the said effects of the OFHP to wear down very soon:

The OFHP was an effort by the current government to be seen doing something (especially slaying the foreign buyers’ bogeyman which never existed). It was simply optics and just like the Foreign Buyer’s Tax put in place in Vancouver. The psychological effects will wear off in about a year since the plan was announced in April 2017.

In their report, TREB also says the impact is only temporary and when it fades, we’ll be left to face the real problems of the market—the supply, both in the ownership and the rental market:

Senior government officials have acknowledged publicly that the impact of the OFHP was psychological. When the short-term effects of the OFHP recede, just as the effects of the foreign buyer tax did in BC, we will still be left with a supply problem in the GTA—for both ownership and rental housing.

Predictions for 2018

According to Ipsos Home Buyer Survey conducted in November 2017, 26 per cent of responders indicated that they were very likely or somewhat likely to buy a home in 2018. One-quarter of respondents felt that they would not qualify for a mortgage if their qualifying rate increased by two percentage points, which also explains the fact that the drop in buying intention was most significant among first-time buyers. In the fall of 2016 more than a half of intending home buyers were first-time buyers.

TREB estimates that under new mortgage stress rules, borrowers would have to qualify at $450 over $950 more per month than their actual payment, depending on the home type, “with the upper end of the scale in the detached market segment and the lower end for condominium apartments”. This doesn’t mean that people will stop buying. Some of them will, but others will choose to buy in a less expensive neighbourhood and perhaps buy a condo instead of a house.

First-time buyers have already recognized condos as a better choice—due to lower prices, low-maintenance, proximity to work and entertainment and lower living costs—and that will not change anytime soon, says Jim:

Condos are the most affordable category of housing available. First-time buyers generally do not want to commute long distances from home to work and will seek housing in close proximity to their jobs.

The New Mortgage Stress Test Effects

Other than the increased market activity at the end of 2017, we still haven’t really seen all of the effects the new mortgage stress test will have on Toronto. Jim Burtnick expects a few effects of them to come into force in the second quarter of 2018:

The effects will include about 20 per cent less borrowing power for mortgagees using the five big banks to finance their purchases and it will generally affect first-time buyers the most. Most upsize/downsize buyers have considerable equity in their homes already. We’ll also see more buyers using credit unions and private lenders for mortgages as they are not subject to the OFSI stress test rule.

This will change the nature of the market as well, with fewer people able to buy and looking for different solutions for their housing situation, but Jim sees it as a positive change for the consumers:

We’ll see more people staying in their houses longer and choosing to do renovations and/or additions instead of moving. (This also avoids the two Land Transfer Taxes). Overall, I think the new stress test rules will give more stability to the residential real estate market as we move away from the record low-interest rates than some might argue consumers have gotten too comfortable with.

Rizwan predicts that the new mortgage stress rules will also have only a psychological effect on the market:

The new mortgage stress test will definitely impact the market as the OFHP did, but again it will all be psychological. I predict that by the third quarter it will be business as usual and these new lending policies will be the new norm.

Sales & Average Price 2018 Forecast

The strong Canadian economy, income growth above the rate of inflation combined with an increased immigration target will help the demand in 2018, but TREB says this will still be affected by the impact of government’s policies and higher borrowing costs:

When we consider the combination of solid demographic and economic conditions versus the impact of higher borrowing costs and various government policies, the latter will win out in the short term.

TREB predicts between 85,000 and 95,000 transactions for 2018. The inventory will stay between 2.5 and three months over the course of 2018—up from 2016 and first quarter of 2017, and in line with the second half of 2017.

The balanced market conditions are expected to result in mid-single digit increases in the average price, which TREB expects to accelerate in the second half of 2018. The forecast range for the overall average selling price is between $800,000 and $850,000.

Rizwan predicts:

I think we will be closer to the lower estimate that TREB put out for the number of transactions in 2018. I think this will be a strong year but not a record-breaking year!

Jim adds that we’ll see the most action in the centre of Toronto:

I agree with TREB’s forecast overall. When you drill down into the micro level, I foresee the 416 area outperforming the entire GTA. Proximity to public transit, work, schools and local amenities like shopping, restaurants and community centres will become more and more desirable and therefore sell at a premium above these predictions. Location, Location, Location to the city centre will be the name of the game.

With the market changing and the buyers’ attention shifting from detached homes to more affordable alternatives, it’s time to once again have a look at Toronto’s issue with the lack of middle housing options.

The Missing Middle

According to the Missing Middle research by The Canadian Centre for Economic Analysis (CANCEA) Toronto has a problem with people living in inadequate housing. At the moment there are over 5 million spare bedrooms in Ontario, which represents 25 years worth of construction. Over 400,000 homes in Ontario have three or more empty bedrooms, representing almost 1.3 million empty bedrooms in family-sized homes.

In the whole of GTA, approximately 45 per cent of all housing types are single-detached homes and 35 per cent are apartment buildings. The “missing middle” housing makes 20 per cent of the whole market.

The “missing middle” segment includes semi-detached homes, row homes, townhomes, multiplexes and courtyard apartment. This type of housing presents a more affordable ground-level (or almost ground-level) housing, without having to live in small, family unfriendly condos in a high-storey building.

CANCEA research shows that the housing affordability in Toronto could improve over the next 15 years by steering people to right-size and make developers build adequately-sized units. CANCEA predicts that if this would happen, the sales in the region “would grow by 67,500 to 94,500 over ten years”, representing an annual increase of 7.1 per cent to 10.1 percent in sales.

For this to happen, more “missing middle” housing types need to be built. At the moment a significant portion of the city only allows detached homes. Approximately 40 per cent of the city is zoned this way.

Toronto is a very diverse city, if not the most diverse city in the world. Jim Burtnick adds it’s time for its housing stock to become more diverse as well:

One part of the solution that has been talked about for some time is allowing laneway housing in Toronto. All the infrastructure is already there. Stop talking about it and allow it to happen already! Another quick remedy would be to allow a certain percentage of duplexes, triplexes and multiplexes into detached single-family neighbourhoods. Again, all the infrastructure and services are already in place. These areas just need to become a little more heterogeneous (like our City).

Right-sizing would also help buyers get out of “over-housing”, which happens when people are living in much bigger homes than they actually need, cutting the access to good housing options for bigger families.

CANCEA estimates that at the moment, 30 per cent of all households in the GTA are either under-housed or nearly-underhoused. Of the under-housed, they are “short” by nearly half a million bedrooms; at current construction rates, it would take over two years to construct the housing to accommodate these families. As we already mentioned, nearly two-thirds of Ontario homes are over-housed, holding 5 million spare bedrooms, which represents 10.5 times the number of bedrooms the under-housed are short.

A solution, which would help solve the problem and help improve housing affordability, would be building more appropriately sized housing—the missing middle, and encouraging current households to right-size to more appropriate housing. Toronto is changing and its citizens are leading very different lives today than they’ve lead a few decades ago. The city needs to finally adapt to the people, instead of having people adapt to the city and housing is a big part of that change:

People do not spend as much time at home as they once did and do not require big detached houses like they once did. Let’s adapt our housing inventory to reflect these societal changes too.

What are your expectations for 2018? Are they different from what we’ve written in this article? Let us know in the comments below.

And if you need help navigating the market and you have questions you can’t find answers to, contact us at , we’d be happy to help you!

For many of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the allure of tropical climates can be enticing, especially in these winter months.

Many people long for the option to move to warmer regions like Florida or Mexico, but property prices there are rising and foreigners are prohibited from buying property in tourist regions of Mexico. That’s causing some people to look further afield.

Michelle Lyons of Belize Sotheby’s International Realty is one of those people. She and her husband had always dreamed of moving to Mexico from their home in Idaho but were deterred by the idea of learning Spanish. But seven years ago they discovered Belize, just south of Mexico, where the language barrier wouldn’t be a problem.

It took a while to convince me that English was really the national language, and that made so much more sense than Mexico.

The couple made the move seven years ago, and both stayed in the same line of work they were doing in the United States, him as a general contractor and her in real estate. “We just do it without any snow,” she jokes.

Buying Property

There are a few differences between buying a home in Canada and Belize.

For one, attorneys handle the closing by doing the title search and facilitating the transfer of ownership. But that means the initial purchase documents are simple, says Lyons. All the real estate agent does is connect the buyer with the seller, facilitate a meeting of minds on the property’s price, and set a closing date.

Canadian buyers will likely also be struck by the closing cost. As Lyons points out, property taxes in Belize are one of the biggest differences. Where in Canada, homeowners pay a monthly tax, in Belize they collect what is called a “stamp tax” or “stamp duty.” The stamp tax is about eight per cent of the home and land value and is collected up front. After that is paid, the cost of owning property falls to about US$50 per year, Lyons explains.

So if you look at the upfront cost of buying property, it’s completely offset by 30 years of next-to-nothing in taxes.

Owner Financing

Another big difference in Belize is that you don’t necessarily have to pay all cash up front. Lyons explains that many sellers today originally purchased their homes in the 80s and 90s, so the place has been completely paid off.

Purchasers can offer a 20 or 30 per cent down payment, and pay the rest off monthly directly to the owner. The sale is registered through an attorney and with the government as a legal transaction, so buyers don’t need to be concerned with the property being sold out from under them. However, an important thing to know if you want o buy a property in Belize is that the ownership doesn’t transfer until the home is paid off, so the seller is protected as well. This gives the seller a guaranteed income, while also giving new residents a little more money to get situated with.

Oceanfront Casa Del Mar for sale at $525,000

Is Belize Real Estate A Good Investment?

Many signs point toward Belizian property as a good investment. Some professionals say property prices rose 30-to-40 per cent between 2015 and 2017, but it can be a difficult number to nail down as there are no official house price figures. The region was hit hard by the global economic crisis, with values falling by as much as 30 percent, but 2012 saw a rebound that continues today.

A recent tour boom, coupled with the passage of the Retired Person Incentive Act in 1999 has been drumming up more buyer interest in the country. According to GlobalPropertyGuide.com, prices along coastal and tourist areas rose by as much as 30 per cent annually, while inland prices rose by about 15 per cent annually.

These days, in the more expensive regions like Belize’s famous islands or in the Placencia region, it’s not uncommon to spend a million dollars on a home. But if you’re content with something more off the beaten path, there are great deals to be had says Lyons.

People are usually really pleasantly surprised. Especially on the mainland. You can get 30 acres with three houses and a thousand coconut trees for US$230,000.

The jungle and mountain areas are even more affordable, where fifty acres of farmland with two houses, a stream, and a cenote can be had for $500,000.

So you can get a bit more bang for your buck on the mainland as opposed to venturing out onto an island.

And if you’re looking to make a little extra cash, you can always rent out part of your property on Airbnb. There doesn’t seem to be any restrictions against using the service in Belize.

Casa Royale Belize for sale at $429,900

Cultural Differences

There are some things that folks from Canada might not be used to. For instance, because of the way property taxes are collected, the roads aren’t maintained as well.

It can also be difficult to find some American or Canadian products, but Lyons says that’s one of the main reasons people live in the Caribbean—to escape the consumerism. Part of the draw is to have a simpler life. “If you can’t find it here you probably don’t need it or there’s a substitute for it,” she says.

But in a country where the average coastal temperature ranges between 24°C to 27°C, giving up a few creature comforts can seem worth it.

“Even when it rains it’s not cold, it’s just wet,” says Lyons. “Leaving the snow behind was our big draw.”

General Advice

Lyons suggests that people be open-minded about where they live. Many people are fixated on buying on an island, but there are many other options and climates, including islands, beaches, mountains, and jungle.

Don’t listen to other expats because each person that you talk to will try to convince you that the area that they live in is the very best. So you may come here thinking that you need to live in a beach community because that’s what someone told you, then you realize that you’re much more suited to the climate in the jungle areas.

The Great Blue Hole, Belize

Be Aware…

Of course, there are some things to keep an eye out for.

For one, buyers should be extra careful choosing an agent since there’s no licensing requirement to sell real estate in Belize.

If you’re interested in buying a condo rather than a house, it’s usually better to deal with an owner-owned condo association rather than an outside management company, according to this New York Times piece. Management companies often take a hands-off approach to the property, but when the condo owners handle things themselves they tend to handle them with more care.

Safety concerns are natural when moving to a place like Belize. Certain areas are more dangerous than others. As the United States Overseas Security Advisory Council says, “there is no indication that foreigners are broadly targeted, although tourists can be easy targets when not displaying situational awareness.” It is recommended that people exercise extreme caution when visiting Belize City.

As we’ve seen just in the last year, hurricanes are a major concern in the region around Belize. Since 1930 there have been 16 hurricanes in Belize, eight of them major. The deadliest occurred in 1931, killing 2,500 people. Most storms hit Belize in the months of September and October, but you’re less likely to see the effects of a hurricane in Belize than you are in certain regions of the US. According to the Belize Magazine, the odds of a hurricane landing in Belize in a given year is just 17 per cent, while in Florida the odds are 68 per cent.

Still, storms in that part of the world appear to be getting worse with each year, so buying insurance is highly recommended. Coverage can be bought—known as “all peril” insurance—that ensures against storms, hurricanes, fire, and more.

Getting Started

Lyons says you should contact a local realtor if you’re interested in buying real estate in Belize. The realtor can send links and pictures of properties while the buyer is still in Canada. In fact, there are a number of Belizean properties already listed on the Torontoism website.

Belmopan Estate for sale at $780,000

Realtors can help out with a rental car and lodgings when they come down to look at potential properties. The realtor will set up the initial offer and then introduce them to an attorney. Those attorneys can also help with importing pets or setting up a business in Belize.

The only requirement is that you have a valid passport and a downpayment to buy property in Belize. The closing can be done as quickly as 60 days or set for six months while the buyer gets their affairs in order back home.

Belize is an untapped resource for many people looking to buy a home in warmer climates. It’s a safe and secure option, but also offers a bit of adventure.

“Like my mom told me, if you go down there and decide it isn’t for you it’s not like we’re going to close the door, says Lyons. “You can always come back home but at least you will have tried.”

Available properties in Belize:

[property type=”international” status=”available,sold-conditionally” orderby=”price” area=”Belize”]

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One of Jim and Richard’s listings was featured as a Done Deal in the Globe and Mail. The four-bedroom row house at 642 Wellington St. W hit the market in November and sold in 9 days for $250,100 over asking price. Here is the article posted in the Globe and Mail.

642 WELLINGTON ST. W., TORONTO

ASKING PRICE: $899,900

SELLING PRICE: $1,150,000

TAXES: $4,245 (2016)

DAYS ON THE MARKET: NINE

LISTING AGENTS: Jim Burtnick and Richard Silver, Sotheby’s International Realty Canada

The action: When this four-bedroom row house hit the market in November, there were few comparable houses to compete with it in the highly desirable niche neighbourhood west of downtown. Seven visitors submitted offers, including one that added $250,100 to the list price.

“I didn’t go crazy to underprice it,” said agent Jim Burtnick.

It’s a classic home in a triple A location right downtown. There are a lot of people who don’t want to go in a condo, so this is an opportunity to take a house and put your own touches on it.

What they got: The brick façade and stained glass windows of this 1,798-square-foot Victorian are prominent features dating back to 1892. The formal living and dining rooms have crown mouldings and tall baseboards.

For 80 years, the same family occupied the dwelling. They had replaced the roofing, some windows and wiring, and maintained a second kitchen on the upper floor above the main one. The latter has access to the basement, back deck and 15-by 64-foot grounds.

The agent’s take:

The thing that really lends itself to renovation was it has a full three storeys with high ceilings on each floor. And the other redeeming feature was the original staircase banisters that could be restored nicely, so I could see a nice mix of old and new in there.

Originally posted in the Globe and Mail, written by Sydnia Yu.

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Here lies Walter Fielding. He bought a house, and it killed him.

In the classic Tom Hanks movie, the Money Pit, Hanks’ character Walter and his wife buy a dilapidated mansion with the plan to renovate the property and move into their dream home. After an abundance of escalating setbacks, the renovation nearly ruins their marriage and leaves them homeless. Indeed, the above quote nicely sums up how a lot of people feel about buying a fixer-upper. Months of stress and hard work could grind to a halt with little to show for all the work.

But with the right amount of planning, a decent budget, and a reputable contractor, a fixer-upper can be a viable option for many potential homeowners.

According to real estate professionals like Richard Silver and Jim Burtnick, whether you’re planning on selling the property in the future or remaining there to live, if you’ve got the time and money, a fixer-upper can be a great way to get more value for your cash.

The Right Kind Of Person

It’s difficult to say just how many fixer uppers are on the market at any given time. After all, the definition of what needs updating can vary widely depending on the buyer and seller, but most people agree there’s value to be found out there.

Still, many real estate professionals warn that it takes a special type of person to take on such a project. According to Jim Burtnick, Broker, SVP of Sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, the fixer-upper in this market is where the oportunity lies: 

The fact of today’s society is that people are so busy with their work life, their family life, that not a lot of people have the stomach or the inclination to take on a fixer-upper project. They’re just too busy. So there is less demand for those types of properties. So with less demand obviously you get it at a better price.

A lower price isn’t the only reason for homes that may require some extra attention. As Richard Silver of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada points out, one of the main benefits is that you can customize the building to your standards.

You can change it inside to be very traditional, you can make it very modern, you can put in a brand new kitchen and bathroom and all the things. So there are benefits.

Planning Is Key

If buyers decide to fix up a home, there are a number of things to consider first, depending on what they’re trying to achieve. If the goal is to flip the house, concentrate on areas that are going to add the most value. An updated kitchen will add a lot more value than a new HVAC unit, according to Burtnick.

Burtnick says the first thing owners should do is sit down and determine the scope of the work.

Are they renovating everything or just the bathrooms? Which items will require professionals? Kitchens and bathrooms usually involve specific expertise like plumbing and electrical work, but if you’re putting up a fence or deck, that’s probably something you can do without consulting a professional.

Make sure to set a budget. Burtnick says he’s seen too many people blow through their money and over-capitalize the property. Otherwise, you may end up with an aesthetically lopsided home.

You want to have a consistent type of finish throughout the house so there’s no sense in having a brand new, ultra-modern kitchen and a bathroom with old vinyl flooring and fixtures. You want to make sure you have a consistent feel throughout the house.

Before beginning the renovation, make sure to look into building permits as well. In the City of Toronto, it’s the homeowners’ responsibility to make sure they’re following all the applicable building codes. All of that information can be found on the City of Toronto website.

The Right Person For The Job

There are a lot of risks that go along with fixing up a home. According to Silver, one of the best ways to mitigate that risk is by finding a decent contractor:

I think there’s a lot of people out there who could take advantage of you, so you really have to know the marketplace. Or you have to find somebody you can trust.

One issue now though, according to Burtnick, is that the best contractors are often booked as much as a year in advance. In Toronto, the renovation business has proven to be a strong marketplace so there are more new entrants vying for business. That can make it difficult to judge their skill and experience level.

To do this properly, you’re going to spend a lot of time interviewing contractors.

It’s up to the homeowner to do their due diligence, according to Burtnick. They should make sure to get referrals from friends who have gone through renovations, obtain references, and make sure the contractor is properly insured.

Also, make sure contractors aren’t subcontracting out the work, according to Burtnick. While it’s not illegal to farm out jobs to other workers, it can create major headaches for the homeowner.

What you’ll get is one contractor coming into bid on the business, but he doesn’t indicate to you that he’s just winning your business and sub-parceling it off to other contractors. You want a contractor who is responsible for all of the job and has direct control over that. When they start subcontracting it out they’ve lost control of it.

Contract With the Contractor

Making sure there’s a strong contract in place will help things run smoothly.

Outline the work that needs to be done, says Burtnick. That may include sketches, blueprints, or CAD drawings. It should include an estimate for the entire project, a payment schedule, and a clause to cover any extra expenses.

If you’re going through the project and decide you want to use granite instead of the ceramic tile that was agreed upon that, you’ve got a clause covering the extra costs that are bound to come up.

The contract should include the full legal name of the contractor’s company, their business address, HST registration number, phone number, and City of Toronto contractor license number. The homeowners’ full name and the job site address should all be included.

Burtnick says you always want to have an estimated start and finish date within the contract as well. But don’t worry if those move around. In general, he says double the amount of time you think it will take you to finish a job.

Those have to be somewhat flexible because things come up such as weather. But just a general guideline is important.

Prepare For Stress

Both Burtnick and Silver warn that renovations aren’t for the weak-willed. They take a lot of patience and planning. If not dealt with properly, they can be detrimental to relationships and even end marriages. 

If you don’t want to end up like Walter Fielding, plan ahead and make educated decisions.

Indeed, for many professional couples, a fixer-upper probably doesn’t make sense, says Richard:

If you have a husband and wife and they have a couple children and both work, they’re not going to have the time to do a fixer-upper. It just doesn’t make sense for them to put in the time.

Silver says he has some experience with this, having taken on a similar project himself in the mid-80’s.

I bought from a builder. I made some changes. He started building and I was on that site every day. I became somebody who yells and I never yell. But I learned to yell.

If you’re in the market for a fixer-upper but don’t think you have the stomach for it, Richard says there are other options. A new construction home that hasn’t been built yet isn’t necessarily the same thing, but buyers do have a bit more control over what the home will look like.

But fixing up a house can be nerve-racking, asserts Silver.

You don’t know if you’re doing the right thing, you don’t know what the market wants, and you don’t know if the market’s going to change and you could be caught.

In Toronto’s current housing market, finding good value can be a challenge. Prices continue to rise, properties get smaller, and every day more people are seemingly priced out of the market. For many buyers, a fixer-upper may be the last vestibule of hope for finding property in the city. That is if they can stomach it.

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TorontoStoreys.com asked a couple of Toronto real estate agents, including Richard, about their wishlist for Christmas. The question was:

If you could ask for one thing in GTA real estate, what would it be?

So what does Richard want this year? It’s more about what he doesn’t want.

At a time when we need more rental properties to be built in the marketplace, the provincial government’s move to insert rent controls will stifle the building on new rental properties. I would hope that they would lift any restrictions on rent control. They have always caused more negative damage than positive change.

The government needs to streamline the building process so that more units can be built. More supply usually helps to smooth out the market in terms of price. Forget rent controls and encourage building … that will be more positive for the marketplace.

Rent controls and their potential impact on the market are a very hot topic in the city. We wrote about it in our of our recent articles, you can find it here.

Read the rest of TorontoStorey’s article here.

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