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Two provinces have seen a surge in foreclosure proceedings

Foreclosure proceedings in Alberta have more than doubled in two years, according to data provided by the Alberta Justice Department - from 2,510 in 2006-2007 to 5,300 in the first 11 months of 2008-2009.

According to statistics provided by the British Columbia government, the province has seen a similar surge, with nearly 2,100 foreclosures filed between April and December of 2008 - more than the 1,900 that were filed in the entire previous fiscal year.

Despite having just a share of about 7 per cent of the national market, subprime lenders in Alberta accounted for 56 per cent of the foreclosures in 2008. In British Columbia, the tiny subprime market laid claim to 42 per cent of the province's 2008 foreclosures. In comparison, Canada's five largest banks accounted for 33 per cent of the foreclosures in Alberta in 2008, even though the country's chartered banks account for about two-thirds of Canada's total outstanding mortgages. (The remainder of the lenders in the mortgage market are made up of credit unions, trust companies and insurance firms).

The Globe and Mail's analysis shows that several cities have an extremely disproportionate share of subprime lenders who have started foreclosure proceedings, compared with traditional, prime lenders. Edmonton had 330 foreclosures in the calendar year 2008 - 60 per cent of which were initiated by subprime lenders. "Oh, it's here. For sure it's here," said Larry McTaggart, an Edmonton realtor who is often enlisted to sell homes for lenders who have foreclosed on properties. "I don't know where it came from... it's not the Bank of Montreal or the Bank of Nova Scotia or Toronto-Dominion" Mr. McTaggart said. "It's the 'B' lenders." The 90,000-person city of Red Deer only had 36 foreclosures in 2008, but 32 of them were launched by subprime lenders such as Accredited Home Lenders, Wells Fargo and the subprime lending division of HSBC.

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Just when Calgary's identity is bordering on becoming akin to 100 suburbs in search of a city, along comes the giant perimeter to reel in the far-reaching corporate tentacles of developers - the almost mythical Ring Road.

I will venture to say that no road in the history or future of Calgary's transportation infrastructure will impact the city as positively as this.

The very existence of this corralling corridor should have core homeowners jumping for joy as real estate will have no where to go but up. And although transit infrastructure is often connected to real estate value, no project can boast such a targeted impact.

"When development is curbed, that generally increases the value of flanking properties because there is only so much land in which they are allowing to be developed," said Melanie Tennant, Real Estate Investment Network research manager.

A?2007 REIN?report contended Calgary transportation improvements will deliver a 10 to 20 per cent enhancement of property values in regions most affected by projects such as Ring Road.

So, reports of Calgary's bid to halt green space development announced days after the draft agreement for the southwest leg of the Ring Road gives officials a handy scapegoat to push Transit Oriented Development investments in the wake of any perceived public outcry.

In this case, timing couldn't be better for backers of Plan It Calgary.

Plan It's reported capacity to sustain another 2.3 million citizens without viral development, perfectly timed with the last piece of the Ring Road puzzle, puts the writing on the wall.

The storied Ring Road and nurturing Plan It initiative will go hand in hand.

It's a perfect irony.

- Chris Phalen has contributed to Avenue magazine, the Prince Albert Daily Herald, the Globe and Mail and various magazines; This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Despite huge drop in house prices B.C. city comes out on top, while Quebec City had the lowest average net worth in 2008

Vancouver is still Canada's wealthiest city despite a huge drop in real estate values, according to a new study by Pitney Bowes.

Although house prices in Vancouver fell an average of 11 per cent in 2008, or nearly $57,000, the city's average household net worth was $592,851, still $30,000 greater than in its nearest rival, Toronto. Cities with high real estate values were ranked highest in the study, despite also having the most debt.

Calgary was hit hardest by the stock market crash, because it has the highest rate of stock ownership in Canada, at 14.4 per cent of households, and the highest average value of equity investments. Those investments, if they mirrored the decline in the TSX, shrank by nearly $30,000 in 2008 to just under $55,000, the study says.

Quebec City had the lowest average net worth at $169,202, followed by St. Catharines, Ont., Montreal, London, and Halifax. Oshawa, Ont., a city hit hard by the failing auto industry, ranked fifth with an average household net worth of $404,409.

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Filled with optimism and ready to buy, first timers are dominating the market

Julie and Grant Wethers would like to bolster the number of sales in the Toronto real estate market. They just can't find a house they want to buy.

The couple have been searching for about six months now, since returning from Calgary last fall.

And while prices in the Toronto area have slipped, they haven't tumbled the way many buyers were anticipating.

"That's been a relief to a lot of people, but not to us," Mr. Wethers says.
Grant and Julie Wethers check out a home with real estate agent Thomas Neal.

The shift from a seller's to a buyer's market in Toronto has created a paradox: Homeowners are reluctant to list their properties because they fear they won't sell for a good price.

Meanwhile, buyers such as the Wethers become increasingly frustrated by the dearth of quality homes to choose from.

"It creates a lot of inertia in the market," Mr. Wethers says.

While the overall number of listings is high, agents are complaining about a scarcity of alluring houses in the middle of the market. Meanwhile, properties listed higher than $800,000 or so are finally starting to move after months of stagnation in that slice of the market.

Thomas Neal of Royal LePage Estate Realty has been helping the Wethers in their search.

He knows other homeowners who would like to take advantage of the market softness to move up, but they can't find good "product," as agents sometimes call houses.

Mr. Neal, who specializes in the Beaches neighbourhood, says consumers are still feeling uncertain about job security and the outlook for the economy.

Those who do sell usually have a reason to do so - perhaps they are moving out of the city or retiring from their jobs. People who don't have to sell are choosing to stay put, he says, which means that buyers are finding few mid-range listings in the Beaches.

Houses listed for less than $500,000 are still selling fairly quickly, Mr. Neal says, while those sellers asking between $500,000 and $800,000 often have to take a hit.

At the top end, many high-priced new houses have been on the market for some time. The developers paid too much for the properties and now the new houses are just sitting while they try to get back what they invested, he says.

Generally prices in the area are about 6 to 10 per cent lower than they were last year, which brings them in line with those in early 2007.

"The gains of 2008 have definitely been wiped out in the Beach," he says.

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