Even by the sky-high standards of Monaco, a penthouse at the top of the Odeon Tower is set to fetch a vertiginous price, according to developers.

Tour Odeon, which is under construction and when finished will be the principality’s first skyscraper since the Eighties, will be topped with a five-floor penthouse that would cost a potential owner 300-million euros ($440-million), making it the most expensive in the world.

The penthouse will have several swimming pools, including a large infinity pool with a slide leading from a dance floor in the rooms above.

The 35,000 square-foot apartment will also come with a private chauffeur, a caterer, three staff bedrooms, a 24-hour concierge service and access to a health centre.

Tour Odeon, which will house 36 more luxury flats, will be Monaco’s first skyscraper since Prince Rainier banned tall buildings on the shoreline to avoid overshadowing the city. Instead he encouraged the development of wider, lower buildings built on an extension into the sea. His decision was reversed in 2009 by his son and successor, Prince Albert, and plans for the 560-foot Tour Odeon were drawn up.

One in three of Monaco’s 38,000 residents is a millionaire, according to a study by Spear’s magazine and WealthInsight.
Irene Luke, of Savills, the estate agency, who moved to Monaco in 1990 from London, said it was becoming increasingly popular with wealthy Britons.

“It’s becoming more and more like London by the sea,” she said.

Tax changes in some areas of Switzerland are also “making Monaco look like a very safe, stable place,” Miss Luke added.

The penthouse is expected to go on the market next year. So far, 26 flats have been sold.

Source: The Telegraph and Financial Post

Sales of existing homes in Canada rose in July to their highest level since March 2010, notching their sixth straight monthly increase after a slow winter, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said today.

CREA, the industry group for real estate agents, said sales were up 0.8% last month from June, surpassing June’s downwardly revised 0.6% increase. Actual sales for July, not seasonally adjusted, were up 7.2% from July 2013.

Canada’s housing market has roared back to life after an especially brutal winter that hurt home building, sales and prices. The bounce-back has been bolstered by low mortgage rates, which are not expected to rise significantly until 2015.

“The (recent decline in mortgage rates) will prove to be the more important determinant over the rest of the year,” Mazen Issa, senior Canada macro strategist at TD Securities, said in a research note.

“While we do expect that higher rates will curtail housing market activity, the magnitude remains small,” he added.

“The true catalyst will be the next stage of the policy normalization process by the Bank of Canada, which we do not expect will happen until the second half of 2015,” Issa said.

CREA’s home price index rose 5.3% from July 2013, little changed from June’s 5.4% gain. The national average price for homes sold in July, not seasonally adjusted, was $401,585, up 5% from the same month last year.

“Low mortgage interest rates continue to bolster home sales activity,” Gregory Klump, CREA’s chief economist, said in a statement.

“With the Bank of Canada widely expected to hold interest rates steady until next year, mortgage financing will remain attractive over the second half 2014 and continue to support Canadian economic growth, while waiting for Canadian exports and investment to improve.”

The national sales-to-new listings ratio was 53.6% in July, little changed from 53.4% in June and firmly entrenched in what is considered balanced territory.

There were six months of inventory at the end of July, unchanged from June and May, but half a month below the inventory level at the beginning of 2014, CREA said.

Source: Andrea Hopkins, Reuters

With mortgage rates near all-time lows and the government of B.C. saving first-time buyers up to $7,500 by increasing the First Time Home Buyer’s Property Transfer Tax limit from $425,000 to $475,000 (and partial savings up to $500,000), now could be the perfect time to finally take the plunge into home ownership.

If you are thinking of obtaining a loan of any kind, like a new mortgage, vehicle loan or any other loan, it is important to understand how the banks think. By setting up your finances as optimally as possible, you can increase your chances of getting approved instead of declined. Here are some tips for increasing your borrowing power in 2014.

Also, having all of your documents ready may allow you to make a more competitive offer on a timesensitive deal like a foreclosure in real estate. Here are some of the documents you will likely need: Two years of T1 Generals (tax returns filed to the CRA); Two years of Notice of Assessments (document sent back from the CRA once income taxes have been filed); Job letter and paystubs if an employee; Mortgage statements and lease agreements if you own real estate; And more, depending on your circumstances.

Find out what your credit score is

It is always a good idea to obtain a copy of your own credit bureau report ahead of time. Every time a lender does a credit inquiry, your credit score will take a small hit. Learning ahead of time whether your credit score is good or bad will allow you to prepare and fix anything that may appear on your credit rating.

You can obtain a copy of your own credit rating yourself at Equifax.ca.

Get pre-approved

If you plan on purchasing real estate or a vehicle in 2014, it would be a good idea to discuss your options with your broker or bank to learn more about what you qualify for. You don’t want to be wasting your time looking at making a major purchase only to find out you won’t qualify for the loan you need to make that purchase.

If looking to obtain a mortgage, get a pre-approval so that you will have a sense of what your borrowing cost will look like and lock in your interest costs.

Investigate RRSPs

If you are a first-time homebuyer, you can pull out up to $25,000 per person out of your RRSPs to be used towards the purchase of your first home. Important points about the first time homebuyer plan are: The $25,000 is tax free, but must be repaid into the RRSP over a 15-year period.

The funds have to be in the account for 90 days before you pull them out, so make sure if you plan on buying a house in the spring, you make an RRSP contribution this fall.

You can create “money out of thin air” by making an RRSP contribution shortly before purchasing because of the tax refund.

Example: If you deposit $20,000 into your RRSP and earn between $30,000 and $62,500 annually, you will get an approximate $6,500 tax refund once your taxes have been filed. You will now have $26,500 available for the down payment, not $20,000.

Filing your taxes

Generally, the sooner you file your taxes, the better. There are some exceptions, however.

Lenders will generally use either your minimum guaranteed income (common for salaried employees) or what you have averaged for the past two years on your income taxes (the net income on Line 150 on your taxes).

So, if you had a very good year in 2013 and have a variable income (self employed, or a large amount of your annual income is derived from commissions, bonuses, etc.) you should file ASAP. However, if 2013 was a very poor year, you can still get away with using your 2011 and 2012 income taxes to qualify for a mortgage or other loan until the summer. If you had a bad year, you may want to buy in the first half of 2014 instead of waiting.

Presales completing in 2014

If you have a presale completing in 2014, it is important to prepared ahead of time. The developer will usually give you an idea of the estimated closing date well in advance, but the dates often change.

Make sure you are prepared in advance. Once the developer is ready to close, they usually only give about 10 business days’ official notice which means you should already have your financing arranged. Rates can be held for 90-180 days depending on the lender (most lenders are 90-120 days) so start early to make sure you get the best possible rate by the completion date.

If you are buying a new presale that doesn’t complete until after 2014, make sure you find out if the developer has arranged a rate hold guarantee with a bank. The rate will usually be higher than current market rates but it’s important to have a worst-case scenario. Financing is harder than it has been in a long time. Make sure you get the update on what is new and how some of the new rules may impact you. Particularly for real estate investors, it is much more difficult to qualify for rental properties.

Source: Kyle Green is a mortgage broker with Mortgage Alliance Meridian Mortgage Services Inc.

The number of homes sold in Canada’s most expensive market topped 3,000 in July, marking a fourth straight month sales have hit that level.

The Vancouver sales market has not been this strong in three years, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver.

“The Greater Vancouver housing market continues to see slightly elevated demand from homebuyers, steady levels of supply from home sellers and incremental gains in home values,” said REBGV, in a release.

Residential property sales in the Greater Vancouver area through the Multiple Listing Service reached reached 3,061 last month, a 3.9% increase from a year earlier. Sales were also 3.8% above the 10-year average for the month. Sales were down 10.1% from a month earlier.

Prices also continue to rise with the board’s MLS Home Price Index composite benchmark price for all residential property reaching $628,600, a 4.4% increase from a year earlier.

“Today’s activity continues to put Metro Vancouver in the upper reaches of a balanced real estate market,” said Darcy McLeod, the board’s president-elect, in a statement.

The sales-to-active-listings ratio reached 19.6% in Metro Vancouver in July, having hovered between 18% and 20% over the last four months.

New listings reached 4,925 in July, a 1.5% increase from a year ago. However, it was a 7.8% decline from a month earlier.

The total number of properties currently listed was 15,617, a 6% decline from a year ago and a 2.5% decrease from a month earlier.

Source: Garry Marr, Financial Post