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PAGE 14. WHITY FMEEPBES, WEDNESDAY, JUJJY 12,1989ý Thle ho.usigmarke By Debbie Luchuk <With the recent rise in infla- tion and interest rates, it. has been noted that the housing mar ket bas decreased, at leastfrein its unprecedented levels -of sales and prices. 1Whitby, and Durham Regio!n in general, are still "hot» placés te buy, with many Toronto-*resi- dents looking for lower-priced housing and good return on their investment, according te Oshawa and District Real Estate Board chairman Dave Tonkin. 1 The board is a regulatery organizational body. for reaf estate cempanies. in Durhamr Region that belong te Ontaric andanadian real estate asso ciations. As such they are concerned niainly witb re-sale properties. .Hewever, Tonkin says the housing market in the, reion resembles the market ta existed before the housing boom of theaIset two years. MTe volume 'of housing sales is down, but there. is ne signifi- *cant drap in prices.' Last year,> the board led ahl of Canada in value increases (the numbar of sales and dollar value),» Tonkin- '«Me market -that we've had bere bas been very active ini the hast two years. «Since March of this year (however) there has bean an in- crease in interest rates, and media focus on the ecenomy, two bard.budgets." Despite the decreasa in the market, Tonkin says, «We'ra stili in a growth area, witb a good industrial base." "The market is net dead, it's just now there is more of a normal market, and the deals are a bit taugher te maka, Buyers are expecting a botter deal." Tonkin has ne clear idea of what wilhappen> with the hous- ingj market in the latter haîf of 189. "We're projecting a normal market (for the rest of this year), but things are generally quiet durin~ th e summer months. Wel ave a btter idea'in the faîl.- "The market is readjusting. If the builders decide net te build (in the near future), then there will bo more of a resale market." However, Tonkin says if, inter- est rates nise and the economy «takes a tailspin," then the future of the market wilh be more difficult te predict. He notes however, that com- mercial, industrial and land pur- chases are still quite active, and there is a demand for good pro- parties. "There's- a little less activity, the desire for good land is'quite "Durham is a big region and there is a lot of agricuturaf land that off'ers the greatest growth potential of any region. We have Areturn tw to wnho'-us"es lots of services, 'and we have :& ~ great communities." Are moe regon residents k k lookng e aeaseast' of the «Tere are people moving& east, V. but the reasons are variable for exmle, retirement,» says ion- ki.ýdontthink it will have a major effect on this market." . Some homeowners have taken '*kz. to selling' their own hiomes to avoid .the costs of commission to a real estate agent. But Tonkin 'feels this is a temporary trend, because it was easier to seli .,"',k home a few months ago, and therefore those with littie experience could seli their own rkkv home. "There are more. people trying to seil privatel during an active market period. Butwhen it's slow, most need the assistance of the real estate industry.» Ha notes that multiple listing services offer an excellent means of contacting potential buyers, and that the deals are just get- ting more difficuit te make on the homeowner's own steam. «There are a lot of opportun> " ties for a deal to go- bad (when privately negotiated),' and it s nice to have an agent to lay some respoibility on.» Pces in, the housing market Tonkin admits, prove difficuit for the first-time homeowner to afford. "It's considerably more dfficult for the first-tiine buyer, and there's no question that interest rates are exceeding important. However, there are stili houses in this area that are afl'ordable k k whereas in Toronto, prices have gone beyond the buyer's abilhty fie ntes that it generally takes two incomes to buy a home. MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDED: HERREMA Durham Region chairman' Gary Herrema is Iess optimistic about developmnent and housing in general. .«Housing costs are too high for the average industrial wageý ear- ner. Obviously, the officiai plan review will have te incorporate variable- p rioedhousing." "rm afaid we will out-price ourselves soon,» Herrema says. He adds that if housing prices do net go down, industries will locate elsewhere, in search of more affordable hosuing for their employees. Hierrema believes the slow- clown in t'-he housing market will probably cause developers te change their agendas. "(The housing market) will probably go bac k te, the small home, link homes, townhouses.» He feels the. Region has a responsibility te, put more land on. the market for affordable housing. cWere going te, have te, put more land on the market, and we're gong te, have to identify areas ofigrowth and encourage them. "Te igdeelpers are con- trolling tL market and are squeezing out the smaller develo- pers. We need te, be building .1, 400-sq. ft. (homes) rather than 2,400.»« Herrema proposes what some may term a «revolutionary» idea to, solve the "variable" priced housing Rroblem. «We- (Region), as a govern- ment, may h ave te buy land and saîl te, developers with (our) architectural control. But *we hope we won't have te, do that. It seems te be the dream of the 1980s to, have big lots, big homes. «I think more and more people will build their own home, for example, Viceroy and Heritage homes, medular homes, ta save the extra cost and tax (12 per cent) on their home.»' By 2020 Herrema for.aees BowmanvilÎa, Oshawa, Ajax, Pickering and Whitby becoming one large «metro,» with the northernmost boundary being the future Hwy 407, and the land north of that open space and agricultural. ATTEhRSLEY OPTEIISIC ABOUT FUTURE Whitby MaLyor Bob Attersley is reptimistic about the future in Whtby. He pointed, to recent figre .onbuil?~ge)përmita issued te . date (Jne, which UROWTH TREND MAIN'TAINED: SHORT Whitby planning director Bo3b Short says the rate of growth--for the town has been 5 per centVper year. "We're seeing the consistent, steady rowth trend -being mpml*- tained.'v The recently released buildfing permit figures reýflect «a product that was sold in late 1988, early 1989." RECYCLINO ONE j gTON 0F NE WSPA PERS 19 TREES WI Housing market now favors buyer:e Laze.nby- By Debbie Luchuk, Adecrease in the frenzy of boue buyinginthe region has meant a bigger selecion fer the buyer te choose frein, accordinq te County Town Raalty's John Lazenby. - There s been a bit of a decrease, but'notbing to e gratly noticad. It just means thera is a bigger inventery te loak over now for housing. «What's for sale now normally wouhdn't beoeut until thefal A buyer's market bas been created.» Durham Region,. ha às1ays,ý is easily sold. te buyers frein Toronto and parts west because of its amenities. "We have an attractive ares., and* its close te Toronto, with accessibility te go anywhere you want.» Lazenby bolieves that. the high price of housing teday is-- relative to that ofr the p ast. «Prices may bo higher here (than elsewhere), but if yeu consider the whole thing, ît's still reasonable te thosa in, the workforce. "People are making more money. The nuxnbers scare them, but income is just keepingpc with inflation.» Buying property is stil a good'investinent, ha says, adding Lhat Canadians are much more fortunate than most in that thayecan stili buy property and build their own homes. Wahave a rîd en opportunit y. We c an buy a property and build a ouse.It takeshard work teget what you want.»ý And, he adds, 'TImere is stihh affordable housmng in Wbitby. It's ail relative (te the past).» Lazenby bas noticed that soe home sellers have been selhing their homes privately, rather than througb a real estate -'Ihere a a lot of people doing it on their own, but tbey don't understand the market now. Prices hâve droppad 30 v~er cent from tbrae months ago. «Wa feal we can do it faster. Sometimes you've go ,t te get the vendort articipate, and use creative financing. Property wilh sali wit te proper financing and marketing.» County- Town Realty opened at the end of June, and specializes min residential bousing, commercial and land deve- lopinant real estate thirougbout Durham Region. « The County Town naine is due te Wbitby's raIe in the past asthe county tewn, and we work around that. Our hetterhead shows the Centennial Building. We'ra happy about bhat.» Currently, the realty employs six amployees, with «room for 21"Lazanby says. 'ih'bZreay is opn from 9 a.m. te 9 p.m. five day s a week, anmd 9 a.m.t 5 p.m.Saturday, mmcl ýi oatd$tBoc.N., show, an increase of a proxi- mately 200 permits (resil>til. commercial and industrial)-com- pared te, the siame time'last year. "The market'.is very séteady. I was expectinég ,-drop-off,7 but it hasn't happened-yet. -. «Pin very. happy with the growth of dversifld imdustries, and we've put a drive on in ,the last nine years te get a. lot of good, smailindustries.» >On «affordable» housmng, Which Attetséley. prefers to cail «vari- able-priced *housing, hie says: «What we've got te, learn in Canada is thaât we don't.under- stand the value of- a piece Of property. *Wepva got* te compare (the price) worldwide. "In Metro (includinq Whitby), the price of property is increas- ing ini value because it's becom- ing asmaller cemmodity. : "The price of a house hasn't increased as much as we're led te believe. It ( the increase i.npr ice) is in the cost of servicing it.1 Attersley notes that he . and other Wlutby officials have in- vited People and industrv' te locate in theregion. "We can't put a, fence around Whitbv. Weè invited thein.»