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Sustainable growth in Kitchener Waterloo

Grand River Hospital

In 1973 Waterloo Region had about 268,000 people. Today we have 535,000. Our population has about doubled in forty years. In about another twenty years we are predicted to be at about 735,000. That’s good news. Good news for out local economy, housing market and lifestyle; if you’re like me and you like the vibrancy and opportunities of living in a city.

It was reported last week from information obtained from the 2011 census that Kitchener Waterloo are on track to reach our intensification targets. We are doing well at slowing the pace of urban sprawl and intensifying land use. Currently, about 55% of all new residential development occurs within existing neighbourhoods.

The province’s Places to Grow Act has set a clear target for both Kitchener and Waterloo — 200 people or jobs per hectare in their downtowns by 2031. At that level, urban planners say, light rail transit and rapid transit can be supported.

Kitchener Waterloo are doing a good job at refurbishing old manufacturing plants, turning them into housing and with connecting the new neighbourhoods to regional public transit.

The City of Kitchener was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. Waterloo was incorporated as a village in 1857 and became the Town of Waterloo in 1876 and the City of Waterloo in 1948. Cambridge became a city in 1973, when the City of Galt, Towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair were amalgamated.

Waterloo Region which includes Waterloo, Kitchener and Cambridge, and the townships of Wellesley, Woolwich, Wilmot, and North Dumfries is the tenth largest Census Metropolitan Area (CMA) in Canada and the fourth largest CMA in Ontario.

As we continue to grow, we have the advantage of learning from the mistakes some of Canada’s biggest cities made. It’s hard to imagine what it was like to live here in the 1970′s. But it’s becoming clear to see what it’ll be like in the 2030′s.

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Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, editorial, general news by Keith Marshall
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Cambridge’s Corporate Sustainability Plan

Cambridge ushered in a new style of planning and decision making, embracing the four pillars of sustainability: cultural, economic, environmental and social. The first Corporate Sustainability Plan (CSP) represents an opportunity to integrate the four pillars of sustainability into the day-to-day work and long term planning of Cambridge.

Cambridge, sustainability refers to “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.

Previous to this, Cambridge seemed to have a random style of planning or complete lack of planning.

Filed under: general news, neighborhood update by Keith Marshall
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Waterloo Region School Rankings 2011

The Waterloo Region School rankings for 2011 were released earlier this week and as always I was keenly interested in my kids school as well as other schools around the region. There are too many to keep track of in my head, but at open houses and with people moving into Waterloo Region the questions often come up “How’s the local school?”, “Is it a good school?”, “Where is the best school in Waterloo Region?”.

There have been many changes again this year compared to 2010, and 2009 although some schools moved up and some moved down the list, to a large degree top schools remain at the top and not so good schools still languish near the bottom.

Elementary Schools in Waterloo

In the City of Waterloo the top five Elementary Schools are: Mary Johnson, St Agnes, Laurelwood, Mere Elisabeth Bruyere and Lexington. All of these schools are up from their position ranking last year. At the top of the top five, Mary Johnson is ranked 9, up from 8.2 last year. At the bottom of the top five, Lexington is ranked 8, up from 7.6 last year.

In Waterloo at the bottom of the list we find Empire, Sir Edgar Bauer, Westvale, Sundown and Lincoln heights. All have fallen in the rankings. Their rankings range from 6.8 to 5.2.

Elementary Schools in Kitchener

In Kitchener the top five Elementary Schools are: Smithson, Cardinal Leger, Lackner Woods, St Anne and Blessed Sacrament. Like the top schools in Waterloo, they are all up in rankings from last year. Smithson is at 8.2, up from 6.7 last year.

At the bottom of the Kitchener list we find: Alpine, King Edward, Rockway, Queen Elizabeth and Pioneer Park. Their rankings range from 4 to 2.6

Elementary Schools in Cambridge

In Cambridge the top five Elementary Schools are: St Elizabeth, Woodland Park, Hillcrest, Mother Theresa, and Blair Road. They rank 8.1 to 6.7.

At the bottom of the list are: St Margaret, Central, Stewart Avenue, St Michael, and St Peter, ranging from 3.7 to 1.3.

Secondary Schools in Waterloo Region

In the Waterloo District School Board’s Secondary Schools, we find a wide range with Sir John A Macdonald in Waterloo ranked at the top again this year at 7.9 and Jacob Hespeler at the bottom with 4.9. The top five high schools in Waterloo Region are: Sir John A Macdonald, Elmira, Waterloo, Bluevale, and Preston.

In the Catholic Board, there are only five Secondary Schools. They are ranked: Resurrection, St David, St Mary’s, St Benedict, and Monsignor Doyle.

The Frazier Institute

Every year, the Fraser Institute reports on Schools and Hospitals across Canada. For a complete list of schools and where they rank please vista their website. The Fraser Institute’s motto is “If it matters…measure it.”

Many people, including myself, believe that a good education is important for the future of our children. If your children are of school age and you’re moving into Waterloo Region, or if you already live in the region, choose a home near a good school. It’s worth it.

Filed under: Around Kitchener Waterloo, general news, neighborhood update by Keith Marshall
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Mortgages, prices and real estate trends to watch – This week in KW real estate – March 31

Mortgages, prices and real estate trends to watch

It was widely thought that the Bank of Montréal (BMO) would discontinue its 2.99% fixed rate on five-year mortgages as advertised yesterday. However, The Bank Montréal now says it will extend the rate until April 19. Most of the other major banks raised their own rates effective on March 29, which means BMO is now offering virtually the same product for 50 basis points less. Of course, as mentioned last week, banks and other lenders will always hold the rate for pre-qualified customers for 90 days. RBC holds the rate for 120 days.

If shopping for a new house this spring, visit your bank or other lender as soon as you can. This should be your first step. You can save yourself a lot of money (or buy a bigger house).

Unfortunately, if you’re buying a condo it might be harder and harder to qualify. The Banks are not only tightening their lending criteria for condominium buyers, they are making it more difficult for builders and developers to get cash. The banks are requesting higher percentage of pre-sales and larger deposits from condominium builders. Some banks have been asking construction firms to put more equity into new projects. Other lenders have been raising the percentage of the the number of units that have to be pre-sold and demanding higher deposits as conditions for financing. Some of the country’s biggest banks have completely stopped lending to less established real estate developers.

Finance Minister said as recently as March 5 that he is concerned that some condominium markets are over heated. These measures are all aimed at cooling down the market, creating a soft landing, (instead of popping the bubble).

Across the country, albeit slower than last year house prices continue to rise. Year over year in January, Toronto’s was up 9.9%, Calgary up 1.6%, Vancouver up 7%, Montreal up 5.6%, Ottawa 5.4% and Halifax 1.8%.

Building Around Kitchener Waterloo

We live here so we don’t really notice it but visitors from out of town always comment on how much building is going on in Kitchener Waterloo. At 260-264 Regina Street North it looks like we might be getting the one of the ugliest housing developments yet. Check out this perspective drawing, map and site plan from our friends at Wonderful Waterloo. If you’ve been up to Rim Park recently you’ve noticed the townhouses going in beside the soccer fields. The developer has an unusual marketing style.

New Listing

We have a new listing in Kitchener’s East Ward. If you’re looking for a beautiful and fully updated home on a leafy street in Kitchener’s East Ward, this is truly a unique opportunity. 241 Simeon Street, Kitchener. Open House Sunday April 1st, 2:00-4:00pm

Links I like

Which is better, a 10-year or a 5-year mortgage

How to renegotiate your mortgage

Pub owner buys Forwells

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This week in KW real estate:

Filed under: general news, interest rates, mortgage, open house, this week in real estate by Keith Marshall
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Victor Hussein: What’s the difference between a condominium and a co-op?

QUESTION: We have been looking into purchasing a “co-op condominium” and are wondering if this is the same thing as a “condominium”? I have been told there is no real difference between the two, is this true?

ANSWER: Co-op Condominium’s, or Co-operative Condominium’s, are different from what are generally known simply as Condominium’s. There are several differences between these types of housing, however, perhaps the two biggest differences are:

1) Share Ownership: Rather than owning real property, as is the case when purchasing a condominium, in a co-operative condominium (“co-op”) situation, you are actually purchasing shares of the corporation that owns the condominium project.

As a shareholder, and, once you own the required number of shares, you can reside in one of the units of the condominium project. However, do not mistake that as being your owning that particular unit. You do not.

As an additional caution, most co-op’s also have an approval process before you can purchase any shares of the corporation. In this way, the owners of the corporation, and therefore, the residents of the co-op, can control who will be their neighbours. By having an approval process, co-op’s can control and offer certain lifestyle environments, such as no children, exclusively seniors, or even, singles only. The latter being more common in the United States.

2) Getting a Mortgage: Getting financing to buy into a co-op is somewhat different than your typical mortgage. The complication arises from the fact that you will not be owning any real property. In other words, you will not be able to put your name on title to any particular parcel of real property since none is actually being purchased. This poses difficulty since your lending institution will not have anywhere to register its “mortgage”.

In a typical home or condominium purchase situation, most lenders, when approving a mortgage, will look at the borrower and the property being purchased. If: i) the borrower is deemed financially sound; and,

ii) the property being purchased has an appraised value that satisfies the lender that its funds will be secured;

then the loan, or mortgage, is advanced.

However, in the case of purchasing shares in a co-op, the lender must take a different approach since no actual real property is being purchased to secure the loan. Therefore, when deciding to lend money to someone who wishes to buy into a co-op, lenders follow a different approval method and usually also set different criteria for the borrower to meet.

First, the borrower must not only be deemed financially sound, the borrower is also usually expected to invest a much higher down payment than normal. The down payment can range and can be as high as 60 – 70 percent of the total share purchase price.

Second, the lender will also take a very close look at the corporation into which you wish to buy shares. This is to ensure, among other matters, the corporation is financially sound, and is managed well.

The lender may also look at other factors, each lender having its own set of guidelines. Only after these criteria and guidelines are satisfied, will the loan be approved.

Finally, before buying into a co-op, do your research. Your research should include such steps as meeting with the other shareholders (or residents) of the corporation — ask them how they enjoy living there, do they find the environment too controlled, and so on; review the rules and regulations, the by-laws, etc. very carefully – you will be governed by them; find out how easy it is to sell your shares and leave the co-op if you so decide. By doing your research, you can ensure your needs will be met and you will be protected from any unexpected surprises. Best of Luck!

More from Victor Hussein as he talks about: