LAND AHOY! Unfettered by many local or federal restraints Canadian builders are pressing ahead with projects in their southern rivals’ backyard. Privately held Mattamy, the largest Canadian homebuilder, with annual revenue of over $1-billion, made its biggest land purchase ever with a 9,600-acre (38.9 square kilometer) buy in Florida this year. It also operates in Minnesota, Arizona, North Carolina and other parts of Florida. Landmark Group, one of Alberta’s largest homebuilders, has bought land in Phoenix, Arizona, to build its first condominiums in the United States. It plans to expand into Texas, California and Georgia. Calgary, Alberta-based Brookfield Residential said it will start developing several new projects this year, well ahead of an initial 2016 schedule, thanks to the strength of the U.S. market. The company expects its U.S. operations to contribute half of its total revenue by the end of 2015, up from 43% at the end of 2013, Chief Executive Alan Norris said. Ironically, part of the U.S. market’s appeal is abundance of cheap land. Canada is the world’s second biggest country, but most of it is sparsely populated and building activity focuses heavily on big cities such as Toronto and Vancouver. Parcels of land in Florida were available this year for as little as US$3.50-4.50 per square foot whereas land prices for condominiums in parts of Toronto would fetch $55 per square foot. Itll be interesting if Scotia Bank, RBC or any of the other Canadian banks also start aggressively soliciting for mortgage financing?
Posted on: Mon, 01 Sep 2014 02:25:19 +0000
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