There’s good news for the home renovations industry, especially for Atlanta-based Home Depot, which operates more than 2,500 stores in Canada the United States, and Mexico. The company reported that its first-quarter net income rose 18 per cent. For the first time since 2008, Reuters reported, sales to contractors and housing professionals were higher than sales to ordinary do-it-yourself homeowners, a further sign that the housing market in the US is recovering. During the financial crisis of 2007–2009, Home Depot saw its sales drop more than 20 per cent in markets such as Florida and California. Home Depot, which calls itself the “world’s largest home improvement specialty retailer,” earned more than had been predicted for the quarter, despite bad weather in much of Canada and the US in the early spring. According to a statement from the company, the “core interior project business” remained strong. People, in other words, still ... Read More »

Ontario’s building industry wants to see changes to the Ontario Building Code that would allow the use of woodframe construction in buildings up to six storeys. At present, the height limit for wooden buildings in Ontario is four storeys. The proposal is set out in a report, titled Unlocking the Potential for Mid-Rise Buildings: Six Storey Wood Structures. The report was commissioned by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD), the Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) and the Canadian Wood Council. The report, which was written by Toronto urban planner and professor Paul Bedford, argues that changing the Code would facilitate a solution to the problem of inadequate affordable housing in the province. Building in the mid-rise range becomes more expensive when the building is more than four storeys tall, according to the president of the Ontario Home Builders Association, Leith Moore. “If the Ontario Building Code allowed ... Read More »

Fewer Torontonians bought low-rise homes in April, or, as the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) put it, “consumer confidence in the GTA’s new homes market is still low.” RealNet Canada, BILD’s source of research and analysis for the new home market, reported 987 new low-rise homes sold in April. It was the lowest number of low-rise sales ever recorded in the month of April. Low-rise includes detached, semi-detached and townhomes. Year-to-date numbers in combined low-rise and high-rise sales are also down, coming in at 30 per cent below the long-term average. It was the second lowest April on record for all types of home sales combined. The high-rise sector does look better by comparison, however. April sales were “close to the long-term average,” and there were positive signs. RealNet reports that 38 per cent of new condo openings were sold out in the first month. That is an ... Read More »

Turned down by the bank for a mortgage? Credit problems? Bankruptcy or consumer proposal? No bank qualification? No problem. Ideal for immigrants, the self-employed and the divorced. You can own the home of your dreams in just 90 days! Does this sound like a pitch for one of those payday loan companies? Not quite. This is language from a fairly typical ad for a company offering rent-to-own services. They promise that none of the above problems can stop you from renting-to-own the home you want, and you can be in that home in as little as seven weeks. And if you think it all sounds a bit seedy, a bit too good to be true, you’re not alone. The perception that rent-to-own schemes are just that—schemes—is widespread. MSN Real Estate has a piece titled “Is rent-to-own a scam?” Not necessarily, the MSN piece concludes, but you do have to be ... Read More »