Whenever the weather forecast includes the word “windchill,” most of us wonder what it would be like to land that dream job in Hawaii.
But what if you actually get that job? Or what if you get transferred to Toronto, Halifax or even Yankton, S.D.? What will it mean to your quality of life?
A national real estate firm has a tool that could help – an index comparing similar houses in more than 300 markets across North America.
Gary Hockey, president of Coldwell Banker Canada, says the index is updated regularly and published twice a year.
“If you are fortunate to leave Ottawa to go to Maui, for example, you can see what it’s going to cost you for the same type of dwelling,” he said last week.
It gives people an idea whether the same type of housing is available or whether they can buy more house for the same money. On the downside, it can tell them whether they must settle for less house or carry a bigger mortgage.
The survey is designed by Coldwell Banker Real Estate Corp. and is called the Home Price Comparison Index. The houses and neighbourhoods surveyed are typical for corporate management transferees.
The house is a single-family dwelling of about 2,200 sq. ft., with four bedrooms, 21/2 baths, family room and two-car garage.
The list of markets and prices is accompanied by index numbers in which 100 is average. The Canadian market prices are listed in both Canadian and U.S. dollars.
The 2002 figures in the pamphlet give Calgary an index of 97 with a price of $255,225, and Edmonton 94 with a price of $248,000. The index in Toronto is 211 and the price of the house is $555,000.
Halifax has an index of 61, with the house costing $159,200. Winnipeg has an index of 73 and the comparison house costs almost $191,000.
The most expensive market in the Coldwell Banker list is Palo Alto, Calif., and the cheapest is Yankton, S.D. They were listed last year at indices of 434 and 35. The comparison house price was more than $1.2 million – U.S. dollars – in California and $101,000 in the South Dakotan city.
Suddenly, South Dakota doesn’t look so bad.
The Building Owners and Managers Association’s Calgary branch honoured the best in the industry last Saturday at its 20th awards gala. The winners:
* Building of the Year from 500,000 to 1 million sq. ft.: Nexen Tower, Realex Properties Inc.
* Building of the Year, 250,000 to 499,999 sq. ft.: Ernst & Young Tower, Oxford Properties Group.
* Building of the Year, 100,000 to 249,999 sq.ft.: Sovereign Centre, CDCL/Bayview Real Estate Management Inc.
* Building of the Year under 100,000 sq. ft.: Meridian Corporate Park, GWL Realty Advisors Inc.
* Suburban Office Building of the Year: Alastair Ross Technology Centre, Colliers International & Calgary Technologies Inc.
* Mid-Rise Suburban Office Park Building of the Year: Southland Park, Morguard Investments Ltd.
* Renovated Building of the Year: Calgary Tower, Bentall Real Estate Services.
* Single-Tenant Industrial Building of the Year: Evans Consoles Inc., Bentall Real Estate Services;
* Multi-Tenant Industrial Building of the Year: Portland Street Depot Phase II, Remington Development Corp.
* Chief Engineer/Operations Manager of the Year: Colin Score, O&Y Enterprise Real Estate Services.
* Operator of the Year: Tie between Carl Larter, Brookfield Properties Ltd. and Bob McMunn, Oxford Properties Group.
* Operations Team of the Year: Calgary Operations Team, CB Richard Ellis (Alberta) Ltd.
* Service Excellence Award: BGE Service & Supply Ltd. n Innovation Award: GWL Realty Advisors Inc. and HAScheck Inc.
* Property Management Team of the Year: Tie between Fisher Park Property Management Team, GWL Realty Advisors Inc., and Western Canadian Place Property Management Team, Kennington-Neilco Western.
* Agent of the Year: Mike Warner, Royal LePage Commercial Inc.
* Malcolm Bryce Award: Jane Duncalfe, Hanover Property Management Ltd.
Office vacancy rates in Calgary increased to 11.8 per cent in the first quarter of this year, compared to 8.8 per cent in first quarter of 2002, says a new report by Royal LePage Commercial Inc. Asking rents declined about 10 per cent, depending on the submarket and class. Effective rents went down as tenants were offered incentives in order to maintain list rates.
“World events, namely the U.S.-Iraq war, have impacted the local economy, which has hurt activity in the downtown core,” said Alex Brough, vice-president and general sales manager for Royal LePage in Calgary.
The Edmonton office vacancy rate rose to 12.5 per cent from 11.4 per cent a year ago.
