Woodstock needs condo apartments

In a smaller city like Woodstock (under 40,000), I firmly believe the community has a demand for more condominium apartment buildings because they are a terrific investment for an older single person who can no longer live in a house, but does not want to gradually witness a lifetime nest egg disappear by paying rent. In other words, 50 years of equity in home ownership will evaporate.
Woodstock has many very nice apartment buildings -- 4 on Chieftain, plus Finkle, several in Canterbury/Beale neighbourhood, and even some recently improved older buildings such as Northgate Towers on Admiral Street.
I Have An Idea
While it is impossible to guess exactly what will become of the old Woodstock hospital site, my suggestion would be a 5-storey condo building with underground parking -- apartments for sale (with condo fees, of course) in the $200,000 range (or more), which would all be a minimum of 1200 sq ft.
I'm not a builder, so I can't break down construction costs to see if this would be feasible, but the only real condo apartments for sale in Woodstock currently is the 2-building 4-storey complex on Ferguson Drive, but they lack indoor parking. The Ferguson 3-bedroom condos with 2 4pc bathrooms sell in the $140,000 (approx) bracket based on condition and view. A very good option.
My food for thought for today.
All the best to you and your family for the holiday season, and it is my wish to all for good health and happiness in 2012.
Until then, here's a story from the London Free Press noting that the residential rental vacancy rates are very low currently in London, according to the CMHC.
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LONDON VACANCY RATES OVERVIEW

By HANK DANISZEWSKI, The London Free Press

December 21, 2011

London's apartment vacancy rate has tumbled to its lowest rate in years as students, seniors and "echo boomers" jump into the rental market.

A survey completed in October by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

showed the vacancy rate fell to 3.8%, compared to 5% in the same month last year.

That's the lowest rate since 2007, and a dramatic turnaround after vacancy rates rose for several years and approached the record of 6%.

"We saw the turnaround in the cycle last year," CMHC market analyst Margot Stevenson said Tuesday.

Stevenson said the decline in vacancies is due to a number of factors:

After years of robust apartment construction, activity slowed down last year with only 775 new units coming onto the market to the end of June, the lowest level since 2007. London now has about 650 private rental apartments under construction, the lowest level since 2002.

Despite low mortgage rates, London's 9.8% unemployment -- one of the highest metro rates in Canada -- is also discouraging renters from buying their first home, shrinking the supply of available apartments. "Weak employment growth will limit the number of potential first-time buyers able to make the transition to home ownership," said Stevenson.

There are more young and old folks jumping into the rental market.

The first wave of "echo-boomers," a population bulge made up of the children of baby boomers, is starting to move out of their parents' homes into their own apartments.

At the same time, the first wave of baby boomers are becoming "empty-nesters" and edging into the seniors' rental market.

Seniors in London are more like to rent than in any other major city in Ontario.

Student apartments are also in hot demand again. The lowest vacancy rate in the city was in the area of north London around the University of Western Ontario. It had a overall vacancy rate of 2.1%, with one-bedroom units at 1%.

Western had its largest-ever, first-year enrolment this year, with 5,100 students. Existing student residences are operating at capacity, prompting construction of a new 1,000-bed residence. Sophomore students typically move out of residence into private apartments.

The drop in vacancy rates didn't do much to boost rents, with the price for a typical two-bedroom apartment rising only 0.8% to $881 a month.

Stevenson said rental rates are still being held down by several years of high vacancies.

Many of the same trends will continue into next year, she said. The CMHC predicts vacancy rates will drop again next year to about 3.6%.

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BY THE NUMBERS

London-area apartment vacancy rate:

2007: 3.6%

2008: 3.9%

2009: 5%

2010: 5%

2011: 3.8%