What the BoC rate hike means for mortgages, Ontario’s cottage country and the Home of the Week: Canadian real estate news for the week of Oct. 30

This week: a Gothic church from the 1800s becomes a home in New Brunswick, and what the Bank of Canada’s rate hike means for mortgages. Plus, a B.C. inn gets a vibrant, $25-million refresh with technicolour wallpaper, thousands of antiques and maximalist touches.

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Real Estate Rates

Bank of Canada rate hike expected to slow sales in slumping housing sector

Canada’s residential real estate market is expected to slow further after the BoC raised its main interest rate on Wednesday for the first time in three years. The 25-basis-point hike to 2.5 per cent will make more mortgages more expensive and add to the general malaise among buyers, writes real estate reporter Rachelle Younglai.

Interest rates for fixed-term mortgages, which are based off yields on government bonds, are higher than earlier in the year. Now, the interest rate on variable-rate mortgages, which normally moves in lockstep with the central bank’s benchmark rate, has started to go up.

Done Deal

Custom-built family home sells for over asking in two days

Despite the trend of a slowing market, this Toronto home recently sold for $2-million – fetching $101,000 over the asking price of $1,899,000. A highlight: the three full bathrooms on the second floor alongside the home’s four bedrooms, something listing agent Nutan Brown of Royal LePage called “unheard of.”

Ms. Brown believes the sale happened so quickly due to the size and design of the roughly 25-year-old home, which has about 1,840 square feet of living space. “Because the owner’s father was a reputable and renowned builder in the community, he built above and beyond what most people had at the time,” she said.

See inside the home, equipped with cathedral ceilings, a Juliet balcony and a basement apartment.

This week’s lowest fixed and variable mortgage rates in Canada

Rates shown are the lowest available for each term/type and category (insured vs. uninsured) as of market close on Thursday, Oct. 29.

The next move

Some bright lights, but many cottage sellers see dim prospects

In Ontario’s cottage country, buyers and sellers often aim to have a deal in place before the clocks turn back and the first dusting of snow descends. This fall, many of the properties changing hands are in the upper tier, where buyers with deep pockets may be less swayed by fluctuations in the economic outlook and financial markets.

Reporter Carolyn Ireland spoke with real estate professionals in the area for an update on the market. Agents say some sellers are becoming more willing to negotiate or cut the asking price as the season winds down.

Anita Springate-Renaud, a broker with Engel & Völkers Toronto Central, points to a swathe of land on a secluded bay on Lake Rosseau that sold for $8.699-million in late September. The 11.3-acre property with 602 feet of shoreline, a four-bedroom cottage and a two-storey boathouse was listed in early spring with an asking price of $8.999–million. It was reduced to $8.699-million in August.

Paul Crammond, a broker with Chestnut Park Real Estate, said he’s seeing purchasers on the larger lakes – Rousseau, Joseph and Muskoka – buying for the first time and paying top dollar. “At that level, the buyers are usually extra-sharp and looking for fair value.” He recently worked with first-time cottage buyers who paid above the $10-million mark for a large family cottage with a garage and boathouse.

Design corner

A storied B.C. inn gets a $25-million maximalist refresh

Victoria is well-known for its quaint, British-inflected downtown core. But across the Johnson Street Bridge, just west of the city centre, are the equally pretty Victoria West and the township of Esquimalt. The area’s sense of community, lush waterfront parks, charming old houses and thriving small businesses are all easily accessible from Rosemead House, a splashy boutique hotel owned by developer Lenny Moy.

For years, this property was known as the Old English Inn, a storied, time-worn institution that Moy bought in 2016. Since then, he has invested $25-million into a vibrant, maximalist refresh. Think reams of technicolour William Morris wallpaper, claw-foot tubs and thousands of antiques. Most have been purchased by Moy himself at auctions of goods from British hotels the Dorchester and the Savoy, including everything from minibars to writing desks to light fixtures. “We buy pieces, have them shipped here, and then do refurbishment,” says Moy, who maintains a nearby warehouse to stash his luxurious loot.

Overall, the feeling is extravagance or bust, an ethos that extends to creature comforts like deluxe mattresses from the Swedish company Duxiana. Looking for more design inspiration? Read the full story by Adrienne Matei.

Home of the Week

A century-old former church is transformed into a spacious home

348 Rockland Rd., Saint John – Full gallery here

“I went out on a limb for this one,” said property developer Martin McNamara. “A house I can do with my eyes closed; I know who the target audience is. This is a whole different ball game.”

The Gothic structure, finished in 1892 and located in Saint John had been a Catholic church, then a non-denominational place of worship and most recently a wedding and concert venue. Other than some whitewashing of the dark wood in the nave, new pale-coloured flooring and some decluttering, the space was largely preserved as it had been.

There are two sitting areas, a bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchen and a dining area. The previous owners had boarded up the church’s elaborate stained-glass windows, but Mr. McNamara had them re-exposed. “Stained glass does give a glow versus direct light,” he said, adding that they offer a lively hit of colour in the mostly monochromatic space.

“The issue with churches is, people don’t present them as being full of potential,” said Mr. McNamara. “They just present them as being an empty church; they don’t bother cleaning them up.”