Page 1 april 26th by Irene Adeney

The Ayr News

Subscribe for only $40 per year Contact 519-632-7432 or www.ayrnews.ca

~ Published by the Schmidt family since 1913 ~ North Dumfries • Blandford-Blenheim • Brant • East Zorra-Tavistock • Wilmot

Vol. 120 — No. 17

AYR, ONTARIO, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 26th, 2017

$40 Per Annum — $1.00 each

Fair Housing Plan should not affect local housing market By Irene Schmidt-Adeney Last week, the provincial government announced measures to make housing more affordable for homebuyers and renters, called the Fair Housing Plan. Some of the measures include a 15% tax on homes bought by nonCanadians, non-permanent residents or corporations in the Greater Golden Horseshoe; identifying provincially-owned surplus land for housing developments; rebating some development charges for new rental apartments; and extending rent control to all private rental units including those built after 1991. “This is not going to change our market here. It’s more for the Toronto market,” said realtor Mandy Roth. “There could be a blip or a slowdown if buyers don’t understand the foreign ownership component.” Roth said foreign ownership has not been a problem in this area. “It’s usually a resident of Canada that had to leave for a job, and then has returned to the area.” The hot housing market in Ayr has been the talk of the town with houses seldom available for more than a few days. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Roth who has been in real estate for about 10 years. “Just the other day, there was a house in Ayr that went for about $100,000 over the asking price. It hasn’t closed yet, but it was listed for $599,900 and sold for over $700,000.”

Bidding wars, also called multiple offers, are becoming the norm in local house sales. “There is a strategy out there in the market to incite a bidding war – that is becoming a practice in the industry. That’s not just in North Dumfries, it’s also Waterloo Region, and buyers are getting frustrated,” said Roth. “I think there is a bit of confusion on how the bidding or multiple offers work. In a multiple offer or bidding situation, the buyers aren’t aware of another buyer’s offer when they are bidding. They are made aware that there is another offer, but they are not aware of how much the other bids are.” Purchasing a house has become more complicated because very few houses are going up for sale in Ayr. Roth said that first-time homeowners are really struggling because a smaller single-detached home in Ayr is now around the $400,000 mark. “These are our own children, our own kids that want to get into the market,” said Roth. She said purchasers are being pushed out of Cambridge due to soaring prices, so they try to come to Ayr. Everyone has such a wide area that they are looking into that no buyer can be specific.” On January 1st, the provincial government doubled the maximum Land Transfer Tax refund to $4,000 for first-time homebuyers.

THERE THEY GO – Meghan Gerrie of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry stocks Watson Pond in Ayr with 500 brown trout in preparation for fishing season, which began last weekend. Trout are supplied annually to the pond, each weighing about 100 grams.

North Dumfries Township is on track for a balanced budget

The first quarter report shows a projection of no surplus and no deficit for North Dumfries Township in 2017. “At this time, there are very few changes that would make any significant change to the budget that has been adopted,” said treasurer Shelley Stedall. The 2017 budget did not anticipate engine repairs to the Zamboni at the Ayr Community Centre (ACC) that could

cost up to $10,000, exceeding the budget of $3,000. The unit is scheduled to be replaced in 2019. Stedall said there could be a reduction in the cost of operating the ACC. She said a full report on the operation of the ACC will be coming to council at an upcoming meeting. The 2016 financial statements are expected to come to council on June 5th.

EARTH DAY CELEBRATION - The Ayr Public School held its annual Earth Day Celebration at the school on Saturday. Pictured above is Felix Stotz having fun feeding a goat at the Little Tracks Petting Zoo. More photos of the event on page 24.