Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - May 4, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba I i by via a a free press realtors split on amount of outside buying by Ingeborg Boyens optimistic Winnipeg realtors contend continued aggressive buying by out of province speculators will Likely de plete the City s housing Supply and drive up prices. But some of their associates warn that accounts of non resident investors Are nothing More than talk and their purchases Are neither typical nor threatening. Ron caste Lane of Debro real estate describes the investors As Sharp intelligent operators and most Are Fel lows who have made a Good Dollar and believe in the Worth of real estate investments. Caste Lane contends Western Specula tors want Winnipeg houses for invest ment purposes. They have created a Market he said. I say amen to the Western caste Lane said non resident inter est has benefited Winnipeg by stimulating the housing Market. For several years Winnipeg houses were retailing at mediocre prices he said. On the other hand Gordon Swail president of the Winnipeg real estate Board maintains there is More talk about out of province buyer than actual buying. It s not having any he said. Housing sales have jumped 100 per cent in the first 1981 com pared with the first three months of 1980. Prices in lucrative areas of the City have risen 10 to 15 per cent during the last few months. Winnipeg s Market was overbuilt in the mid-1970s with new developments in the suburbs. Buyers have now been found for most of those Homes. Swail pointed out last week that vol ume sales this year Only match 1979 Levels and Mark a return to Normal Levels. There s no huge positive increase being created by demand. All 1 can Tell you is people Are asking More for the House than they were asking six months he said in an interview. A number of realtors say that for the first time non Manitoba investors Are buying Winnipeg s single family houses. Lured by Promise realtors who Point to the wave of out of province buyers say most of the investors Are from Vancouver and Cal Gary where House prices have doubled and tripled in the last year. They Are lured to Winnipeg by the Promise of a cheap investment and Active Advertis ing by local realtors. According to the Canadian real estate association the average Price of a Home in Winnipeg is in Vancou ver the typical House costs Winnipeg real estate observers say the Impact of out of province buy ing will become More apparent when fewer houses Are available in the City. James Lorimer Toronto publisher and author said outside investors mov ing into a Market can t help but affect prices. It s a new kind of however he said in a weak Market like Winnipeg it would take longer for the demand to take effect. Mark Claydon sales agent for Adrian Stevens realty limited agreed out of town investment tends to push up prices and limit housing Supply. As a Salesman it is hard for me to sell a family the Nice three bedroom Bungalow they Are looking Claydon said cars with British co Lumbia licence plates can be spotted outside Winnipeg s listed houses and apartments with the Drivers scribbling Down the agents numbers. Tim Sale social planning Council of Winnipeg executive director said speculation is bound to have an Impact on the City s Long stagnant Market. And when prices Rise a greater portion of the population is unable to afford the Price of a House he said. Sale said As Long As individuals continue to buy most of the single family houses the Market will not be seriously distorted. Rarely organized Allan Poapst president of the Mani Toba real estate association said the buyers Are rarely organized nor Are they particularly sophisticated. You would t find major investors doing it because it takes so Many units to make new owners often find themselves unhappy Absentee landlords he said. John Nikiforuk a Vancouver agent with household finance said Winnipeg is still one of the lower priced places in Canada in which to make a Quick i certainly think it is a Wise invest Nikiforuk said a Vancouver resident could buy three Homes in Winnipeg for the Cost of one in the . City. If the House appreciates in value by in one year the Invester has already made a 100-per-cent return on a Down payment. Nikiforuk said he placed an advertisement in the Vancouver Sun in a last ditch attempt to sell a House which had been on the Winnipeg Market for three years. Steven Carroll of the Winnipeg of fice said there has been no response to the and which ran a week ago. Doreen Musick of area realty also sent her advertising dollars to the Van Couver paper with the thought of attracting a buyer for a fabulous Cus Tom built Bungalow just minutes from Winnipeg. She said she hoped Western buyers would not be put off by the House s Price tag. Although the property is still listed Musick was convinced of non resident interest. They Don t buy one they buy a half dozen she said. But Swail in t alone in his belief that there Are few purchases by out of town investors. The Odd person comes into town but that s said Poapst. Guy Hobman president of the Home builders association said there has been Little demand from outside the province for new construction. Winnipeg development planning offi cer Bob Ward said out of town buying would have to account for about 15 to 20 per cent of sales to have a real Impact on the Market. Winnipeg free press. Monday. May 4. 1981 3 High Rise Cracker this 30-ton Riser Cracker unit at the Shell St. Boniface refinery on Panet Road is being added to the Side of a 55-metre d1stilling Tower As part of a upgrading and maintenance program to be completed by May 24. The refinery undergoes a major overhaul every two years. Borowski goes on hunger strike against proposed rights charter former nip highways minister Joe Borowski has launched a three month hunger strike As a last drastic step against the Federal government s pro posed charter of rights. I Don t give a Damn about my life dead through abortions in Canada to one life As a sacrifice is a he said in an interview Satur Day. Borowski 48, started his hunger strike thursday night after a chinese dinner cooked by his daughter. He said besides objecting to the Char Ter of rights failure to protect the unborn he opposes prime minister Trudeau s intention to impose the Char Ter and an amending formula for the Constitution without the support of most provincial premiers. Trudeau was elected in 1980 because he advocated cheap not constitutional change Borowski said in reference to Liberal opposition to the 18-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax proposed by the former conservative govern ment. Although saying he does t expect Trudeau to Bat an Eye about what i m Borowski said he Hopes the Public will try and Stop the prime minister s constitutional plans. He said he chose the three month period to strike because after 60 Days there is a risk of death and the Federal government will have to consider that Factor. Health food mixture he said he plans to live on a liquid health food mixture of Cayenne Pepper Lemon and a couple of other ingredients which refused to disclose for fear someone not in shape for a hunger strike May try to use it. He said he has hot eaten meat since Ash wednesday in february and received a clean Bill of health from his physician last month. More help a senior official of the United Church of Canada s Manitoba conference says the provincial government should make improved living conditions for native peon1" priority. Rev. John Nesbitt chairman of a Church in society committee said the plight of native people was the most important concern raised in a Brief presented to the provincial Cabinet. He said the 19-Page Brief presented during a meeting with Cabinet Friday urged the province to improve social services and health programs and make greater efforts to create Long term employment for Manitoba s native people. The Brief suggested the Church and native organizations be involved in planning future Hydro development in Manitoba. The Brief also urged the government to ensure human care is not lost in technological advances in Medicine that More Money be provided for pasto ral care in hospitals that care of the elderly receive a higher priority in hospitals and that non profit nursing Homes receive licensing preference Over profit making institutions. Rev. Nesbitt is associated with the North Kildonan United Church. Borowski said that a number of years ago he Felt he May have to go on a hunger strike eventually so he went to Texas in 1976 to learn about it and lived for 25 Days on distilled water. He also said he went 10 Days without food last May for health reasons. He said he became interested in hunger strikes while Reading a biography of Mahatma Gandhi and denied a suggestion he is striking now because of the publicity Given Irish Republican army Leader Bobby Sands. Borowksi conceded the fact he oper ates a health food store will present special temptations. But he said his wife Jean also 48, plans to join his fast for three weeks so there will be no cooking problems Borowski resigned As highways and Public works minister in the new democratic party Cabinet in september 1971, Over the Issue of abortion. He has refused to file income tax forms since 1972 for the same reason. Update a weekly follow up to the news bringing readers up to Date on stories that have appeared in the free press. Yellow pages to be separate Winni Eggers will receive two Tele phone directories this year. Manitoba Telephone system will spend an additional to print two directories one the Normal White Page listings and a separate Book of yellow pages Steve Sta Stook its directory manager said. The two direct ories also will increase its distribution costs. Sta Stook said its decided to split the directory because printing and binding capabilities were nearing capacity. Winnipeg is one of the last major centres to convert to two directories. With the two directories. Its has decided to include a Blue pages Section in the White Book which will include Federal provincial and civic govern ment Telephone listings Sta Stook said. Customers now will receive two directories for every single Telephone Book they received in 1980, he said. Lodge work set work is to begin immediately on the second phase of renovations to Minaki Lodge in Northwest Ontario. Ontario government officials have announced a contract for the second phase of construction designed to turn the Lodge into a world class resort and wilderness facility. The contract was awarded to Gate Way construction Ltd. Of Thunder Bay. Eight companies bid on the contract. The second phase which is to be completed by january includes renovations to the main Lodge and construction of conference facilities. The work is expected to provide Between 50 and 125 new jobs. Gateway handled the first phase of construction which included moving and repairing Cabins which will be used by construction workers. The Ontario government expects to spend Between and million for renovations to the stately Lodge North West of Kenora about 50 Kilometres North of the trans Canada Highway. Contracts for a new 120-room guest Wing and landscaping and recreation facilities still have to be awarded said Peter Barber spokesman for the on Tario ministry of natural resources. The Ontario government has spent million on Security and maintenance since the Lodge which is expected to reopen in 1982, closed in 1974. Inquiry continuing ramp Are continuing an investigation into complaints that a Nashville tenn., worm company failed to live up to promises to Market Manitoba worm growers products. An ramp commercial crime spokes Man said information is being compiled on National worm growers Exchange inc. And will be submitted to the Crown attorney s office. An investigation into another company National environment renewal Manitoba Ltd., has been completed the Case closed and no charges Laid said the spokesman. Litter staff doubled the doubled its staff to 10 from five this year to Deal with an increased problem of wind blown paper litter on City streets a spokesman for the City s works and operations depart ment said. Meanwhile Spring cleanup operations on regional and District residential streets Are virtually Complete the spokesman said. The sidewalk cleanup program is 98-per-cent com plete. Crews have cleaned residential streets at least once he added. Circus elephant tramples Trainer shrines Parade downtown saturday in the prelude to the 48th annual Khartum shrine. Circus an animal Trainer narrowly escaped serious injury yesterday afternoon when an elephant trampled him during the opening performance of the shrine circus. Wayne Pilz is resting in Good Condi Tion in health sciences Centre with undetermined injuries. A Hospital spokesman said Pilz was Lucky to survive the incident and will Proba Bly Only need to stay in Hsc Over night. About shocked spectators watched As Pilz walking alongside an elephant during the final act of the afternoon was knocked to the ground and apparently seriously injured under the animal s feet. A Spectator who declined to be identified said she saw the incident but thought it was a Dummy being thrown around i did t realize he was a real Pilz an elephant handler who joined the circus last Spring was said to be conscious and Lucid after the incident. Several Hundred stunned spectators remained quietly in their seats while Pilz lying motionless and face Down was attended to by first Aid personnel. Pilz unmarried was not moved until an ambulance arrived inside the Winnipeg Arena about 10 minutes later. According to Reggie Armor a spokesman for Hubert Castle International three ring circus which put on the show Pilz apparently was attempting to fix a Blanket on the elephant s Back when the Blanket fell off and became tangled in the Ani Mal s feet. Armor said the elephant panicked and kicked out knocking Pilz to the ground. The elephant named Marie is about five years old and the Youn Gest of the four or five elephants used in the show he said. The animal is Well mannered and Pilz is Well liked by the All the elephants Armor said. He said elephants Are deathly afraid of falling Down because they Are so big and that is probably Why it Armor said he doubted any changes would be made to the show which runs until saturday As a result of the incident. It was just a Freaky kind of ;