Toronto Condo Renters Hurting From City’s Red-hot Housing Market

Prospective homeowners in Toronto aren’t the only ones getting burned by Toronto’s red-hot housing market.

According to a new report by Urbanation, a real estate consulting and market research firm, the average rent in the city jumped by a record rate of 11.7 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2016, thanks to a shortage of listings.

This marked a “dramatic acceleration” from the same period last year, which saw rates jump by 4.2 per cent.

On the back of this spike, monthly rent for a typical 719-square-foot unit reached nearly $1,990 in the Greater Toronto Area.

Rents saw the biggest rise in Toronto downtown core, as the average price for a condo was $2,134, up 12 per cent from the fourth quarter last year.

Meanwhile, the average rate in the suburbs of Etobicoke, North York and Scarborough rose by seven per cent to $1,857. Rent in the 905-region was also up six per cent to $1,739.

The data, which was released Monday, indicated that rents have climbed, in part, thanks to rising resale prices for condos, which jumped 15 per cent during the same period, enticing owners to sell their units rather than use them as rentals.

At the same time, Urbanation said that there has been less turnover as fewer renters have been willing to move as they take note of the high cost of renting in the open market.

Urbanation said the number of condo units in the GTA that were rented through the Multiple Listing Service system in 2016 declined for the first time since it began tracking the data in 2011, falling 2 per cent to 26,602 units.

The real estate research firm also noted that the share of the total inventory of rental condos dropped from 9.3 per cent in 2015 to 8.5 last year, while units that were resold climbed from 7.1 per cent to 8.1 per cent.

This trend was particularly evident in the fourth quarter of 2016 as final closings for new condos surged by 34 per cent year-over-year, while total rental listings fell by 8 per cent, dragging down lease volumes by 4 per cent annually.

“The undersupply of rentals in the GTA continued to worsen throughout the year, causing rents to surge alongside home prices and further deteriorating housing affordability across the region,” wrote Shaun Hildebrand, Urbanation’s senior vice-president.

Occupancy delays for condos under construction also contributed to the slowdown in rental activity, according to Urbanation.

The growth in renters also seems to be spurring developers to build rental units, rather than condos.

Urbanation found that applications for rental apartments jumped by 7,586 units in the fourth quarter to 27,812.

Despite this upcoming boost in stock, Hildebrand said there needs to be a greater focus on developing rental units.

“While less pressure on rent growth may arrive in 2017 due to a temporary rise in new apartment completions, it (has) become clear that more attention needs to be paid to building rentals over the longer-term,” he wrote.
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Downsview Park Built For People and Nature, Combines a Park and TTC Subway and Urban Infrastructure

Does Downsview Park have a future as Toronto’s version of New York City’s Central Park?

This idea was shown to me — literally — on a recent tour of the park in a golf cart. We were there, planting trees for the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute (check it out at hohtribute.ca) on one of the beautiful, clear days we’ve had this past fall.

David Anselmi, a director with Canada Lands Company, the crown corporation in charge of the park, offered to drive me across the 291-acre swath located in northwest Toronto, at Sheppard Ave. and Keele St. For nearly 50 years it was the military base CFB Toronto before closing in 1996.

Canada Lands has invested $45 million in a new chapter for the park that will make the property into a multi-purpose urban centre. In its 20 years as a city park, progress has been quiet. Among Downsview’s biggest achievements was hosting 800,000 in 2002 for Pope John Paul II’s World Youth Day. Today, things are quieter but progress is underway with some iconic features such as the Lake, the Meadow and the Mound. And Anselmi is clearly proud of it. This past year, 125,000 visited the park that hosted 22 major events.

One of the first things on our tour that I spied were new public washrooms. “OK — good start,” I thought. If I’m going to visit a public park, I want washrooms and I want the doors to not be locked as they are so often are in places like this. 

Next: The Orchard, a variety of 400 specially chosen apple trees. This wonderful idea reminds me of a similar park in Strathcona, AB., where large planters of edible flowers and vegetables include a sign that reads: “Help yourself.”

Then we motored over the hill to a magnificent view of a nine-acre man-made lake. This is actually a stormwater retention pond that serves more than 400 surrounding acres of land. The lake is full of waterfowl, water plants and has a walking/running path that goes around it. 

Other features of the new Downsview Park:

WILLIAM BAKER WOODLOT: This 27-acre park is the perfect place for kids to play and adults to absorb some oxygen. The 1856 homestead of the Boakes family was located here, and the forest provides a reminder that the property provided a real home to real people long before it became an Air Force base in the late 1930s. 

LOVE SPORTS? Chances are you will find a sport to your liking at the park’s Hangar Sports Complex. Soccer, basketball, volleyball, ball hockey and other recreational sports activities are all accessible to the public. Details at hangarsportevents.com

LOVE WILDLIFE? This park is teaming with wildlife. The lake provides a magnet for much of it, but everywhere in the almost-300 acres there is evidence that Mother Nature is making a home here for herself. Song birds and beneficial insects are enjoying the substantial wetland areas that have formed naturally through a disciplined approach to development of the land.

LOVE TO WALK, RUN AND/OR BIKE? The Circuit Path stretches 2.7-kilometres along the outer ring, with paths criss-crossing through it, to The Meadow in the middle. Most of the paths are well lit and wide enough a baby-stroller, a runner and a bicyclist to share.

TREES: As well as the mature trees in Boake’s Grove, thousands of new trees have been planted across the property. Nothing man-made can match the contribution trees make to our social and recreational while also enhancing the health of our natural environment. The only problem is that they need time to grow. And time will make this park spectacular.

LIVING THERE: Mattamy Homes is building there now, in their Stanley Greene community. Many more units are to come over the next 10 years. 

Will Downsview become to Toronto what Central Park is to New York City? A few comparisons:

• Central Park is 843 acres. Downsview is almost 300 acres.

• Central Park has a 22-acre lake.

• Central Park took 25 years to build and is now 160 years old. That is, give or take, about seven generations.

I have no doubt that in seven generations Downsview Park will hold a significant place in the hearts of Torontonians. While the park is not currently well known and not travelled nearly as much as it could be, the new subway station at the park (on the Toronto-York Spadina extension) and growing awareness of this gem will change all of that.

As all of us are told when we try and grow up too fast: “It takes time.” The pre adolescent Downsview will no doubt grow into a beauty.

 
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The Legend of Late Toronto Biker Johnny Sombrero AKA Harry Barnes Lives On

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of Johnny Sombrero, the larger-than-life leader and founder of the Black Diamond Riders Motorcycle Club who died last week at age 81.

Hundreds of mourners packed a Toronto funeral home Saturday to pay their respects to Johnny Sombrero, the larger-than-life leader and founder of the Black Diamond Riders Motorcycle Club who died last week at age 81 after a lengthy battle with diabetes and heart disease.

“The legend lives on,” said one grey-haired biker wearing a BDR patch who attended the visitation and service on Weston Rd., not far Sombrero’s north Toronto stomping grounds.

The remembrances were attended by members of several affiliate clubs including the Houston-based Amigos MC, with some travelling from the U.S. to offer their tributes. Also known as Harry Barnes, Sombrero is survived by his wife of 58 years, Maire Barnes, five children and seven grandchildren.

While he had brushes with the law decades ago, including a court case over his storage of a gun collection, friends and colleagues remembered him as an old school throwback to the day when bike gangs were about freedom and rebellion and showed respect for one another.

News reports in 1963, however, described the then 28-year-old as a “beefy, tough-talking” leader of a 200-strong gang of thrill-seeking riders that “terrorized high school dance halls, staged brawls and administered serious beatings to whoever was considered an opponent.”

The article also reported on a series of “lightning police raids” on BDR headquarters that saw Sombrero jailed for three months on a liquor charge.

As well, BDR riders took part in a clash in the early 1990s with rival Canadian motorcycle club the Satan’s Choice after a reported attempt to encroach on the gang’s Sudbury territory resulted in a melee in the parking lot of a hotel.

And the Star described a “motorcycle gang battle” that resulted in charges against Barnes, who the report described as a plumber by trade, after a bar fight left a man with a brain injury that required surgery.

A reputation had built up around Sombrero and BDR as evidenced by a reference in the 1980s Blues Brothers film that was a nod by actor Dan Aykroyd to the club from his home province.

Despite the notoriety, Sombrero’s daughter, Sabrina Robinson, said he was loved by many, including the children in north Toronto who would gather around the leather jacketed biker’s Indian motorcycle when he rode into their neighbourhoods.

“A lot of people have an idea what a biker is,” Robinson said. “But he wasn’t like that. He never smoked, didn’t do drugs,” and he didn’t like tattoos.

“He was colourful and he definitely had an independent streak,” added Toronto lawyer David Costa, who defended the then aging biker in 2011 against unsafe firearms charges that were dismissed after a gun expert for the defence testified Sombrero met or exceeded the requirement of safe storage laws.

“He didn’t like to be pushed around,” Costa said, noting as well that Sombrero was an expert collector and gunsmith who provided firearms consulting services to Hollywood moviemakers.

Sombrero’s daughter said her father’s life as Supreme Leader of the BDR began when he founded the club 60 years ago in his late teens, inspired by a love of guns, bikes and the open road.

She said the BDR club and charter continue to exist, although original members who are still alive are mostly in their seventies.

Robinson said her father should be remembered as a uniquely Canadian “cultural icon” and a patriot, noting that his body was adorned with a poppy at the open-casket viewing. She said he lived life to the fullest and stuck to his credo — no guts, no glory.

“He was true to his principles and absolutely loyal to everyone around him.”

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Toronto Star offers new coffee delivery service

After a difficult summer that saw the newspaper lay off more than 50 employees and reveal that it posted a $24.3 million loss in the second quarter of 2016, the Toronto Star is hoping to capitalize on a traditional morning routine to change its fortunes.

On Monday, the country’s second-most read daily newspaper announced that it is launching a new service called Headline Coffee, which brings its readers in the Greater Toronto Area “high-quality, ethically-sourced ground or whole-bean coffee,” each month at the cost of $20.

“Toronto residents love their coffee and they love reading the news,” states the press release.
“Now, the Toronto Star is matching coffee lovers and one of their favourite pastimes with the launch of Headline Coffee."

The newspapers said 75 per cent of its readers enjoy a cup of a coffee while enjoying the Star's content.

The service promises to bring its users a new coffee from a different part of the world each month.
The Star is likely looking to capitalize on Canadian’s coffee culture.

According to a study released earlier this month by global marketing research company Euromonitor, Canucks trail only the Netherlands and Finland in terms of litres of java consumed per capita.
The venture from the Star comes on the heels of the announcement in August that it was slashing its ranks by 52 jobs.

It also revealed in July that it posted a $24.3 million loss in Q2, in part because of costs related to the shuttering of its printing plant in Vaughan, Ont.

The newspaper industry in Canada has been struggling as a whole, as readership has migrated online and advertising revenues have dwindled.

Research has shown that daily paid circulation as a percentage of Canadian households has dropped from just under 50 per cent in 1995 to 20 per cent in 2014.

Meanwhile, the Star saw its average weekday paid circulation drop from 237,141 in 2014 to 192,084, according to Newspapers Canada.

Some experts have even predicted that there will be “few, if any, printed daily newspapers” in Canada by 2025.

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Affording a home in Toronto harder now than it has been in 25 years: report

Maybe we should stop letting so many people immigrate into this country until we get our house in order? Just a thought.
 
Keeping a roof over your head making you feel like you’re in the poorhouse?

It's not your imagination.

It’s now harder to afford a home in the city that at any point in the last 25 years, according to a study released Tuesday by RBC.

The study tracked housing affordability through a measure that looks at the percentage of median household income being spent on mortgages, utilities and property taxes. The higher the number, the more people are being squeezed to afford their homes.

At about 60 per cent, the number is the highest it’s been since about 1990 — right before a housing bubble burst in Toronto — and represents a 2 per cent increase in the last five years.

A lack of supply and overwhelming demand is driving the surge, said RBC senior economist Robert Hogue.

“The thing is people still want single detached homes,” he said.

And, there simply aren’t enough of them to go around.

But there's a bit of a difference from 1990 in terms of condos. “Condo prices continue to rise at this stage but no where near as much as with single detached homes,” said Hogue.

Hogue said condos are still a “relatively affordable” option in the city, especially compared to Vancouver, where property values have gone up by 30 per cent in the last year.

“That’s clearly not sustainable,” he said.

“In Toronto, I would argue it’s probably not sustainable either, but it’s not as extreme, and there’s probably more room for a soft landing scenario to unfold.”
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How hot is a TTC subway car in Toronto?

This is what happens when the government tries to run something. Privatize.

It is hard to say exactly when Bianca Spence reached her breaking point because the points were many. Maybe it was the day she stepped on a subway car in Toronto’s west end in early July, as she does every other work day, then got off at her destination, soaked through with sweat and feeling wilted and wondering: why is this happening to Toronto subway commuters?

To people riding the east-west subway line, where one in four cars are without air-conditioning, but not north-south, where the city’s newer subway trains are operating and commuters from some of the tonier neighbourhoods in Canada’s largest city are travelling in cool and delicious air-conditioned splendour?

Or maybe it was the day, not so many days after the first, when Spence woke up extra-early to curl her hair for an important work meeting, before enduring another hell ride on one of the transit system’s now infamous “hot cars.”

“It had been pointless to even bother trying to look good because when I got to work I was a sweaty mess,” says Spence, who works in publishing and, for a few days this week, was on vacation and staying in an air-conditioned apartment in Ottawa.

“So I threw it out there on Twitter after that, and kept going with it, and the longer he didn’t answer me, well … ”

He is Toronto Mayor John Tory. Thanks to Spence’s personal crusade on social media — she repeatedly challenged His Worship to ride a “hot car” with her — she has a subway date (time to be determined) with the politician.

“I hope we do it soon,” she says. “The kids are going back to school, so the cars will be even more crowded. It will be an entirely new rush-hour reality.”

But what is the reality? How hot is the Toronto subway “hot car” hot?

Consider: Tokyo has subway pushers, cramming passengers into cars like sardines; Buenos Aires has pickpockets and no air-conditioning; Moscow has derailments and suicide bombings; and yet commuters in other places somehow soldier on.

When Toronto sweats, people start crying about how inhumane it is to perspire on public transit or worse, detect the scent from others who have.

I am from Toronto, not born here, but I have lived here, more or less, since the age of three. I cringed when I heard my fellow citizens bellyaching over the hot-car mess, since didn’t they understand that it is exactly what the Rest of Canada expects from Toronto?

We waft along on our cloud of self-importance (ROC would say), suffer from Toronto as centre of the universe delusions (ROC would say) — and then when it snows we call in the army — see Mayor Mel Lastman, January 1999 — to fight a blizzard because we’re soft and spoiled. Now we’re too sweaty? Good gravy.

Further research was required. I needed proof. (I commute by bike during spring, summer and fall. There are cars aplenty, but no hot subway cars.) So, I drank three large glasses of water, bought a thermometer from the dollar store near our offices and descended into the Sherbourne subway station at 1:03 p.m. Tuesday.

The air was humid, but not uncomfortably so. I was dressed in shorts, a T-shirt and sandals. The thermometer, which I tucked in my pocket, registered 24 C.

A subway appeared. I stepped aboard and was hit by a wall of … air conditioning. The next car had air conditioning, too, while the passengers, including a giggling wee tot in a stroller, appeared happily sweat-free.

Next car? Bingo. The air was still, unpleasant. Hotter than the 28.4 C Environment Canada was reporting at street level at 1 p.m.

Sarah, a university student, sat across from me, sipping on a juice, eating a green apple. Her advice: “Stay hydrated. It gets awful in here.”

At 1:30 p.m., my thermometer registered 30 C. The woman beside me was wearing purple socks. Her eyelids drooped. A man two seats over had his eyes closed and hands clasped on his knees, as though in prayer.

A fresh-faced teen in pants and a Blue Jays jersey produced a chilled bottle of water from his backpack. “Is that cold?” his friend asked.

The mood in the car was subdued. Sweat beaded at the back of my neck. On some lower inner-belly level, I felt nauseous. The kid with the ice water took another swig. I began to hate that kid.

At 2:05 p.m., I was done. Out. Off. My nether regions were uncomfortably warm, my armpits ripening, my thermometer was registering 34 C — and rising.

A voice crackled over the public address system. There was a service disruption at Old Mill station to the west. Commute times would be longer than normal.

There was no mention of the heat.
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Three youths arrested amid disturbances at Toronto CNE’s Youth Day

Will the police or media publish the names and photos of these thugs? I wonder what their father have to say about this?

Three youths have been arrested after trouble broke out at the Canadian National Exhibition Tuesday night.

The CNE closed down nearly three hours earlier than scheduled on Youth Day due to safety concerns.

A 16-year-old girl, and a boy, also 16, have been charged with assaulting a police officer, while another male, 17, has been charged with drug possession, according to Sgt. Steve French.

Police were initially called after 9 p.m. for reports of gunshots, which they later confirmed were false.

The skirmishes were mainly pushing and shoving, staff Sgt. Andrew Stinson said.

“The CNE is experiencing one of the busiest nights of the Fair as a result of the popularity of Youth Day,” said the CNE in a statement.

“CNE organizers are winding down operations early as a proactive measure to curtail overcrowding and ensure the safety of our guests.”

David Hart, who was visiting the Ex with his friends, said he saw a group of about 60 youths running through the park earlier in the night.

“They all just started running in one direction, scared the crap out of everybody, nobody knew what was going on, and then 20 minutes later, the same thing in another direction,” Hart said.

“Just scared the hell out of everybody.”

Hart was in line for a ride, he said, when a “frantic” employee told him that the grounds might be shut down in the next 10 minutes.

Around 9:30 p.m., all the lights and rides were shut off.

Ryan Daly said he arrived at the Ex with his fiancée and two children around 8 p.m. He said there were groups of teenagers “running around all over the place, having little fights all over the place,” adding he kept hearing about small scuffles from family members who were in different parts of the CNE.

Metrolinx spokesperson Anne Marie Aikins said Tuesday night that officers were on scene assisting with crowd control as the people tried to depart at once.

“There are more people than can be accommodated on each train,” she said, adding that riders were being very patient.

The CNE will be resuming regular hours Wednesday, said French.

According to French, the 17-year-old male will appear in court Wednesday morning. The other two have been released.

This isn’t the first time the CNE closed early due to the popularity of Youth Day. Last year, operations were shut down an hour early.
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Toronto CNE shuts down early due to 'overcrowding' , reports of fights by black people Black Lives Matter BLM

Here we go again, black youths causing more trouble. This is why many white people don't go to the CNE like they once did, and "the EX" is paying for it financially.
 
The Canadian National Exhibition shut down a few hours earlier than planned on Tuesday night due to overcrowding and fighting inside the fairgrounds.

The CNE said on its website that it was experiencing one of its busiest nights due to the popularity of Youth Day, when the price of admission was reduced to $6 per person after 5 p.m.

It said the early closure was a "proactive measure" to curtail overcrowding and ensure the safety of guests.

Police said there was no risk to public safety, but officers on horseback and others were deployed to the lakefront facility to disperse the large crowds.

Const. Craig Brister said there were a number of fights inside the grounds but no injuries were reported and there were no arrests.

CNE shut down because of this fight. #CNE #CNEFight pic.twitter.com/dW0W2LChD7

— Ali Binesh (@AliBinesh) August 31, 2016

The CNE gates close usually at 10 p.m., but rides and other attractions continue to operate until midnight for those already inside.

Virginia Ludy, the general manager of the CNE, told television station CP24 the trouble began with some "large groups of youths" on the midway.

"Their behaviour became a little bit undesirable and started running through the midway and just for public safety reasons, we made the decision in consultation with the Toronto Police Service that we were going to shut the fair down," Ludy said.

"The issue is the behaviour of a few. A few have ruined it for a larger group of folks who were down here tonight just to enjoy the fair."

The CNE is Canada's largest fair and has been staged at Toronto's Exhibition Place for 138 years.
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Black Lives Matter hijack Pride Toronto town hall meeting

Were you expecting anything different from black racists? 
 
TORONTO - Hundreds of members of Toronto’s gay community packed the Daniels Spectrum in Regent Park Tuesday to discuss where Pride Toronto goes from here following months of controversy.

The dialogue was supposed to be "respectful" -- or at least that was how Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam put it to the crowd -- about what to do following the controversial move by Black Lives Matter, Pride's honoured group, to disrupt the July 3 parade with a sit-in that led to the recent resignation of executive director Mathieu Chantelois over allegations he'd subjected staff to racist and sexist comments and sexual harassment.

But in a move reminiscent of their Pride Parade tactics, BLM members and their supporters quickly hijacked the Town Hall, using the platform to rail against police and shout down any viewpoints other than their own.

Speaker after speaker argued BLM was right to want the police out of the parade and anyone who dared to disagree was shouted down, jeered and called racist.

Gary Kinsman, who was part of the first lesbian and gay pride committee in 1981 following the infamous Bathhouse raids, suggested to the crowd that 2016 has been a year of "very virulent anti-black racism" and as long as any members of Toronto's gay community are "under attack" by the police, the community should not collaborate with them.

A woman named Jocelyn said the police are not needed at the parade and that the gay community can keep itself safe.

"Police harass and kill some members of our community," she said to sustained applause.

When community member Joe Clark dared suggest he filed a complaint to Pride's dispute resolution process about BLM's tactics in the July 3 parade, he was jeered and bullied with taunts of "f---ing racism"; "it's a racism zone" and orders to the meeting's facilitator Tanya De Mello (who tried her best to keep order) to throw Clark out for allegedly being racist and violent.

Elizabeth Plukhovska was also mocked and accused of being racist when she suggested that police should not be banned from the parade.

"Allowing the police to participate shows how far we've come," she said, adding that Pride Toronto should not "tolerate aggressive behaviour" even from its honored group, a comment went over like a lead balloon in the emotionally charged meeting.

It seemed the die had already been cast at the meeting's start, when co-chair Alicia Hall told the crowd Pride Toronto had signed an agreement to work with BLM on their demands.

She said the ban on police participation in the parade -- the most "contentious" demand -- will be sent to Pride’s dispute resolution process for a decision.

A DRP panel will be announced next month, she added.

The DRP process was the same means used to declare that Queers Against Israeli Apartheid did not disseminate hate and was fine to march in the parade.
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Video released in slaying of Toronto grandmother Peggy Ann Smith

TORONTO - Newly-released blurry video of two men running away after the Riverdale laneway shooting that killed a grandmother may not seem like much.

But it’s better than nothing.

And Toronto Police investigators will no doubt build on the brief video and possibly find clearer images of suspects as they hunt for Peggy Smith’s killer.

“In my opinion, it was a cowardly act,” Det. David Dickinson said Tuesday, while standing in the laneway where Saturday’s deadly shooting occurred .

“We are lucky that there weren’t more injuries,” he added.

Based on security video collected so far, he said two men walked south down the laneway, known as Don Mount Crt., at 6:11 p.m. on Saturday.

The killers approached a group of men standing near where Smith, one of her daughters and two of her young grandchildren were enjoying the evening.

Suddenly, the men opened fire, letting loose a barrage of at least 10 bullets.

When the shots rang out, Smith’s daughter, granddaughter, 11, and grandson, 7, ran up the steps into a townhouse. Smith didn’t make it.

Her family members returned moments later when the shooting had stopped and found her at the bottom of the steps.

“I believe this shooting was targeted,” Dickinson said. “However, I do not believe Peggy or her family present at the time were the intended targets.”

He said the gunmen were likely aiming at the group of about five young men who were steps away from the murder victim.

Dickinson said investigators have spoken to a few of those men, but the others have yet to come forward and remain unidentified.

“I need these men to contact me,” he said sternly.

Dickinson refused to say why the men near Smith might have been targeted or if any of them have ties to the victim’s family members, which include three grown daughters and 13 grandchildren.

After the shooting, the gunmen bolted up the laneway and were last seen on foot at Dundas and Hamilton Sts., just west of Broadview Ave.

Several of Smith’s family members were on hand as Dickinson spoke and were less than impressed by the grainy 12-second video.

“That’s all they got?” said Loretta Smith, the victim’s daughter.

Dickinson admitted the quality of the video is “not great,” but he said it “provides a narrative” of what happened.

A visitation will be held for Smith on Friday, from 4-8 p.m., at Giffen-Mack funeral home, 2570 Danforth Ave. A funeral service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Giffen-Mack.
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