Lender says it won’t relax construction loan standards for condo developers hit by sales downturn - The Globe and Mail

Police are investigating after a shooting at a money lending business near where Mississauga and Brampton meet. Peel Regional Police say the shooting and robbery happened shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Thursday in the area of Morning Star Drive and Jolliffe Avenue in the Malton area of Mississauga, not far from the Brampton border.

A major Ontario condo construction lender says it won’t relax its loan criteria for developers despite a sharp drop in projects and industry calls for more support. In the fourth year of the real estate downturn, developers have been shelving or postponing condo projects because mom-and-pop investors are no longer interested in buying preconstruction units. Individual investors used to account for the vast majority of preconstruction condo purchases in the Toronto region. The lack of investors means that developers cannot sell the amount of units required to qualify for construction financing. Lenders typically require 70 per cent of a project’s units be sold before they will provide the developer with financing to launch construction. “The 70 per cent remains a good metric,” said Kevin VanKampen, head of business banking with Meridian Credit Union, the province’s largest credit union that has been providing condo developers with loans for at least two decades. With condo prices falling, Mr.