Over the past 10 years, home prices in Canada have gone up a lot, especially in Toronto, Victoria, and Vancouver. However, this growth is kept going by something that is often overlooked: the lack of transparency in the residential real estate sector.

Even though many things, like an imbalance between demand and supply, property speculators, and foreign buyers, are said to be to blame, the opaqueness of the market only makes the already serious problem of housing affordability in Canada worse.

I don't agree that the problem is foreign buyers. Instead, the biggest problems in the market are property speculation and a lack of supply.

A more open market could help a lot with the problem of rising house prices, and this is something that all Canadians should be interested in.

The blind auction method used to buy and sell real estate should be phased out to lower prices. Properties should be sold in a way that makes it easy for potential buyers to quickly figure out how much a home is worth on the market.

Switching to open auctions would be the easiest way to make things clear. People could look at what other people had offered before making their own. People wouldn't be able to offer $300,000 more than the last offer. Realtors couldn't make buyers make a lot of offers by playing on their fears.

This would also stop the common practise of underpricing a property to start bidding wars that raise the price above what it's worth. Even though this change would require a change in culture and may face strong opposition from realtors and some sellers, it would allow market participants to make better buying decisions and stop paying too much.

All Canadians would benefit from a residential real estate market that is open and honest. This could help slow the rate at which house prices go up. The lack of transparency in the market right now is a big problem, and fixing it could help solve the housing affordability crisis.

Bidding wars on real estate

Bidding wars can make the process of buying a home nerve-wracking and very competitive. To avoid these situations, it's important to do thorough research and keep up with the trends in the real estate market. This means looking at recent sales data, looking at what the local market wants, and keeping an eye on the economy as a whole. Stay out of it if other people want to act like clowns and offer $400,000 more than what is being asked. Give it to them.

You can also avoid bidding wars if you have a clear budget and stick to it. If you know exactly how much you're willing to spend on a home, you can be a more confident and knowledgeable buyer. Also, getting pre-approved for a mortgage can show the seller that you are financially stable and increase your chances of making a strong offer without going over budget.

If you have all the paperwork and documents you need and are ready to look at properties as soon as they become available, you have a much better chance of getting the property you want without having to get into a bidding war.

You should also stay away from places like Richmond, Burnaby, and Markham, Canada, where bidding wars happen often.

Hidden expenses

Buying or selling real estate can be a complicated and expensive process. There are often hidden costs that can add up and have a big effect on the total cost of the deal. The list of costs can be overwhelming. It includes things like title searches, title insurance, property surveys, legal fees, home inspection fees, real estate agent fees, property taxes, and moving costs.

When making a budget for a real estate transaction, it's important to be aware of these hidden costs and plan for them. This is especially important because these costs are often big and have a big effect on the total price.

Follow @keylink_homes for updates in housing market.

-Karan Chawla

The Living Shangri-La, which stands 659 feet tall in Downtown Vancouver, is now the highest structure in British Columbia, but a new construction being considered in Surrey will rise 20 feet higher.

The skyscraper, which would be 679 feet tall and be situated at 10227 King George Boulevard in Surrey, between King George Boulevard and Surrey Central Station, is being constructed by Vancouver-based Westland and designed by Chris Dikeakos Architects.

The project was reviewed during last week's council meeting on land use, on November 28, with a public hearing on Monday, January 16, at 7:00 p.m., and the project was given the all clear, a representative from Westland informed STOREYS in September that the development had passed the Advisory Design Panel.

The proposed structure would have 67 stories, 746 residential units, an eight-story platform with retail and office space, and seven additional stories of podium-level residential space. There are anticipated to be 42 three-bedroom units, 122 two-bedroom units, 57 two-bedroom units with dens, 16 one-bedroom units, and 283 one-bedroom units with dens.

The eight, sixteenth, and 66th floors are proposed for indoor amenity spaces. These spaces will have meeting rooms, workstations, multipurpose rooms, game rooms, lounge areas, fitness centres, and other amenities. Many of these indoor amenity spaces will also be connected to outdoor amenity spaces, which will have open lawn space, kid-friendly play areas, outdoor fitness areas, and a variety of eating areas.

The City also emphasised that Westland would be contributing extra Community Amenity Contributions (CACs) to support the residential density they are proposing because the anticipated density is higher than what is permitted in the City Centre Plan. Although the City of Surrey has said that this project will be a Tier 2 Capital Plan Project, with a rate to be determined later, it has set the CACs cost at $2,000 per new residential unit added.

The City of Surrey stated that "the proposed density and building form are appropriate for this part of Surrey City Centre, and form part of an emerging high-density mixed-use and residential hub around Surrey Central SkyTrain Station, Center Block, and Civic Center," in addition to the building being the new tallest structure in the province. The land is now zoned C-8 (Commercial) and has a number of commercial buildings on it; the proposal would combine the lots and rezone the area as CD (Comprehensive Development).

The podium is anticipated to be around one block in length, and the City claims that it has collaborated with the applicant to "maximise the quantity of commercial and office space, given the size of the subject site."

The City "found that the majority of the road and intersections near the subject site would be able to adequately accommodate the anticipated growth at acceptable levels for an urban core context, particularly with the planned new connections and peak hour traffic of approximately 333 vehicle trips," according to the Traffic Impact Analysis (TIA) that the applicants were required to submit. The applicants will also expand or improve a number of nearby roads and walks as part of the project.

The building's design calls for 785 parking spots, which is fewer than the 1,009 needed for the building's density and usage. However, the applicants suggest sharing 25 percent of the spaces between the building's commercial and residential components. However, the number of bicycle parking spaces would satisfy the 925 required spaces.

According to the City, the building's design "achieves an attractive architectural built form, which employs high quality materials, current lines, and unique form." It will also be constructed with a number of sustainability elements, such as high-performance windows, energy recovery ventilators that warm incoming outdoor air, solar panels on the tower's roof, an energy-efficient building envelope, and mechanical systems.

The new tallest skyscraper in Surrey and BC should be finished and open by 2025, assuming everything goes as planned.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Coa2stpPd2X/

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