119-year-old Toronto post office for sale as mid-rise condo opportunity in June, 2021
A 119-year-old post office on Queen Street West recently hit the Toronto real estate market, and is now being marketed as possible mid-ride condo development opportunity.
The more than 11,000 sq ft former post office is located at 1117 Queen Street West in Toronto’s Little Portugal neighbourhood. And according to Colliers Canada, who is listing the property, it’s in a “prime location.”
The property is zoned for a wide variety of uses including apartment buildings, a seniors’ home, a parking garage, a park, a community centre, some retail and service shops, offices, or a hotel.
But marketing materials for the property emphasize the possibility of condos, showing three possible development concepts for the lot, which include “conservative,” “progressive,” and “aggressive” design plans.
The conservative plan — which has the lowest height and number of units, calls for seven stories and 80 units. The progressive calls for 10 stories and 107 units, and the aggressive calls for 13 stories and 130 units……
The federal government must stop stimulating soaring prices in June, 2021
Rapidly rising prices for residential real estate in Canada, whether in Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver, has very tangible consequences for the middle class. In Vancouver, the average price of a house is now $1.7 million, and it’s over a million dollars in Toronto. Meanwhile, potential buyers in Montreal are also faced with an overheated sector characterized by bidding wars. What explains this?
“The first thing to understand is that the supply of new properties is not rising as quickly as the demand. The situation has worsened over the past year as Canadians’ savings grew significantly,” points out Miguel Ouellette, Director of Operations and Economist at the MEI. “One solution would be to build more housing, which means more flexible zoning rules and an end to regulations aiming to impose the construction of social housing in residential towers. Indeed, these measures just drive up the prices of the other units, making them less affordable for the middle class,” adds the economist.
“The federal government also put measures in place in 2019 to make access to housing easier for first-time buyers. Even though the intention was good, this just pushes prices higher and makes buying more and more difficult,” explains Olivier Rancourt, Economist at the MEI.
“Extremely low interest rates also mean that people are ready to buy more expensive houses than before. We need to remember that interest rates have been at historic lows for more than ten years now. In short, with municipal governments slowing the construction of new housing and a federal government stimulating prices, there’s nothing surprising about the current situation. But it could well prove untenable, or at least very difficult for the middle class,” concludes the economist………
| It’s still a renter’s market in Toronto and landlords are offering some unreal deals in June, 2021 |
Toronto is considered one of the most expensive cities to live in, but for those looking to rent in Canada’s largest city, right now is one of the best times to be home-hunting in recent memory.
With more and more people leaving Toronto over the past year due to the pandemic, and an increasingly remote workforce, there’s suddenly an overabundance of empty apartments throughout the city with desperate landlords looking for tenants.
These deals aren’t just limited to the outskirts either, many can be had downtown in new buildings, and for one and two-bedroom apartments or condos.
Among the perks offered on Rentals.ca and Rentfaster.ca over the past month are gift cards worth up to $1500, a new 128GB iPhone 12 Pro, a stocked wine fridge, two months free rent, and $1,200 in value of 1GB Rogers internet…….
Toronto residents hoping for a cool-down in June, 2021
Seller expectations remain sky high as real estate market cools in June, 2021
For the majority of my decade in real estate, it has seemed that all one needs to do to sell a house in this town is stick a sign on the lawn and wait for a herd of crazed buyers to appear.
In what can euphemistically be referred to as a “seller’s market,” the imbalance produced by low inventory coupled with strong demand has simply been our reality in Toronto for longer than it hasn’t. And the COVID-19 pandemic has only made it more pronounced.
Buyers abruptly confronted by a whole new reality, both in and outside of the home, suddenly found themselves motivated in ways we haven’t before seen, spurring such intense demand that prices shot right up.
Almost overnight, those lucky enough to own property in this city found the value of their biggest asset had substantially increased, and with it their financial landscape.
And after a year of seeing frantic bidding wars on houses that in many cases could honestly be described as objectively unremarkable, it’s a safe assumption that anyone deciding to sell right now is doing so because they too would like to get in on this moment…..
In Toronto, a bewildering landscape for would-be buyers in June, 2021
Buyers and sellers in the Toronto-area real estate market need a sound strategy and the ability to maneuver quickly in a market that has become unpredictable.
“It has been such a changing market – there’s no consistency,” says Mr. Bibby, broker.
After an eye-watering run-up in prices during the coronavirus pandemic and manic sales in the early months of 2021, the market seems calm – with sporadic outbursts.
Mr. Bibby recently took clients to see houses in desirable neighbourhoods such as Wanless Park and Davisville that sat on the night reserved for viewing offers without drawing a bid.
A week later, a house in Bedford Park sold with 16 offers for $505,000 over asking.
That kind of volatility can be bewildering for buyers, he says. But most are extremely educated about the market these days and that’s why they refuse to bite when an asking price is too rich……
TRREB Agents Are Increasingly Transacting Outside of Their Board in June, 2021
Toronto real estate agents are becoming very familiar with parts of Ontario outside of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) confines.
As migration continues out of the GTA and into other parts of the province, realtors are doing more transactions outside of their board.
Jason Mercer, Chief Market Analyst of the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), says that the total number of transactions outside of the TRREB Market Watch Geography — namely, the GTA, plus south Simcoe County and Orangeville — are growing and have been for some time.
“This is part of the broader trend we’re seeing not only during the pandemic, but in the years leading up to it. Homebuyers were looking further afield than the GTA proper into the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH),” says Mercer……
After more than a decade of debate, Toronto could legalize and regulate rooming houses city-wide — with a cap of six rooms in most areas — by as early as fall of 2022, a new report says.
Right now, rooming houses, which are also known as multi-tenant or dwelling houses, can only legally operate in the former cities of Toronto, Etobicoke and York. In York, they don’t require a licence. And despite bans in other areas like Scarborough, many homes operate illegally.
In the report, staff point to financial strain on Toronto’s low-income tenants — including those on social assistance — as a reason residents rely on illegal and sometimes unsafe homes. Where an average bachelor unit costs more than $1,100, they wrote, a room can cost as little as $400…….
The Canadian property bubble reached the contagion phase, spreading to other areas. Real estate bubbles often spread from the city center to the suburbs. Investors move to regions with cheaper prices, often looking for bigger gains. As the issue becomes more widespread, the odds of a financial crisis rises. It’s no longer a city issue, but impacts whole economic regions.
That is the phase Canada is currently in, even highlighted in the Bank of Canada research. They found home prices in Toronto and Vancouver suburbs are growing at a faster rate than in the city. The assumption is that the pandemic changed consumption habits, and this time is different. Except newspaper archives are filled with articles on urban flight during bubble peaks. Apparently, People suddenly feel the need for more space during every bubble. It’s always different this time. Except when it isn’t.
Canadian mortgage rates are forecast to rise over 40%, with the posted rate hitting up to 7%. Desjardins released its forecast range over the next few years. It shows mortgage rates are more likely to rise than fall within 3 years. This is especially true if the economy keeps its booming pace of growth. While no one has ever paid the posted rate, it can impact things like the penalties and the stress test. Since the posted rate rises with the discount rate, borrowers are likely to pay more as well……..
Toronto Market Report: May Sales Up YOY But Down from March Peak in June, 2021
While house sales of 7,825 in May are up 157% over last year, sales volumes have been trending down since their peak of 10,068 in March. House sales typically increase on a month-over-month basis as we move into the spring market, but the effects of COVID-19 reversed this traditional seasonal trend.
This change is largely due to the fact that COVID-19 pulled a lot of demand forward in 2020, meaning that buyers who were planning on buying a home in 2021 moved up their home buying plans and bought in 2020. There were a number of factors behind these accelerated home buying decisions including 5 year mortgage rates falling to the mid 1% range and renters wanting to leave their cramped dense apartments in favour of more spacious houses with outdoor space.
This resulted in a very competitive market during the second half of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, but the surge in demand is slowly unwinding………
Stagers share their secrets for prepping homes for maximum appeal in June, 2021
“There are many moving parts when it comes to staging,” says Kori Marin, a managing partner. “I would say the jumping-off point is the seller’s overall comfort with it. Some are happy to have their homes staged from end to end. Others hope we can use some of their existing furniture and artwork so they don’t have to move all of the contents out of their homes. Still others are only interested in some light styling so they can live at their property while their home is on the market. As you can imagine, a vacant property is basically the dream.”
Once a seller’s parameters have been established, Marin says, an even more important player enters the equation: the potential buyer. Who that may be, she explains, “is determined by location, type of building, size of home and the demographics of an area.” In this regard, staging is to some degree a chicken/egg proposition, since the look of a staged home will be geared toward the people likeliest to visit it, whatever their typological similarities………
Agents Seeing Signs of Fatigue in Toronto’s Once Feverish Real Estate Market in June, 2021
After months of fierce competition and a flurry of activity, Toronto’s once feverish real estate market is finally starting to show signs of slowing down.
Following 2020’s record-setting year for real estate, 2021 started exceptionally strong — both on a local and national level — as hopeful homebuyers regained confidence in the housing market after months of uncertainty amid the pandemic.
While demand returned to pre-covid levels, housing stock remained low, leading to steadily rising housing costs that continue to leave many buyers priced out of Toronto’s market. Subsequently, offer fatigue, buyer frustration, and a lessening of urgency to purchase amid the pandemic have taken hold…….
The underdog of the pandemic housing market is quietly making a comeback in June, 2021
The condo market, battered by the flight from the city early in the pandemic, is showing signs of recovery, and that could be a good thing for Canadian housing overall.
In the latest data out yesterday, benchmark condo prices were up 10.6% from the year before – the strongest gain since 2018, says TD economist Rishi Sondhi.
“Though overshadowed by the superheated detached market, condos are quietly making a comeback,” said Sondhi. Benchmark prices have climbed month on month for almost a full year, with the gains in the past three months the strongest since the housing boom in 2017.
“Should condo sales consume a rising share of the market moving forward (as we expect), downward pressure on average home prices from these lower-priced units would be applied,” he said…….
Toronto condo prices have risen by 44% since 2017’s housing peak in June, 2021
Bad news for those looking to get into Toronto’s booming real estate market, but good for those who bought a few years ago — condo prices keep getting higher.
Condos took a hit early on in the pandemic when the average price of a GTA condo fell to $610,000 in the fall of 2020.
That drop quickly rebounded a few months ago, however, with the average condo selling price coming up to nearly $700,000.
Prices started to soar this spring with condos seeing record prices and bidding wars.
Of course, you can find condos for much lower — there are several one-bedrooms listed for under $500,000. You can also go much higher with condos priced at anywhere from an $8.9 million condo with an infinity pool to a $15 million penthouse……..
What Canadian homebuyers need to know — but often don’t in June, 2021
More than two in five Canadians (41 per cent) say they’re not knowledgeable about buying or selling real estate, a recent Re/Max survey found.
Considering there were 551,000 home sales in Canada last year, those transactions may have included an awful lot of people flying blind into the biggest purchase of their lives.
“People read the news. They hear that the market is competitive, so they’re aware of that. But they’re not necessarily aware of how the process works,” says David Oikle, president of the Ontario Real Estate Association.
“We have first-time buyers who have never gone through the process. We have older buyers who are selling their properties who haven’t been in the market for 25 years,” Oikle says. “Both of them need a lot of education.”…..
Royal Bank of Canada has revised its housing forecast higher, predicting home prices will rise 13 per cent this year and saying policy makers have done little to cool the frenzied real estate market.
The bank now expects home resales to climb 16 per cent this year, to 636,700 units, and predicts the RPS House Price Index, which measures appraised values, will jump 13 per cent, to $697,400. The bank’s previous forecast had home resales increasing 6.5 per cent and prices rising 8 per cent.
“Canadian policymakers mostly ignored calls for forceful action,” RBC senior economist Robert Hogue said in a note on the updated forecast.
Qualifying for a mortgage became slightly tougher in June, and more homeowners listed their properties for sale, but Mr. Hogue said those two factors would not make a difference to buyers “who continue to try to outbid each other amid exceptionally low inventories and fast-rising prices.”……
Could Canada’s high-flying housing prices come crashing down in June, 2021
Royal Bank of Canada’s regulatory filings for the second quarter of 2021 contain most of what you’d expect, including several best-case/worst-case scenarios that help the banking giant illustrate how much risk the company is exposed to.
It can make for pretty bland reading, but there’s usually a hint of spice when it comes to projecting the worst possible outcome for real estate. And RBC hasn’t disappointed in that area — by saying home prices in Canada could fall by a massive 30 per cent, under certain conditions.
But what are the chances of that happening? Put another way, it’s a question on the minds of most housing market watchers: Can real estate prices in Canada fall as fast as they’ve been rising?……
CREA, real estate association revises sales forecast down as prices continue to rise in June, 2021
High vaccine take-up and falling COVID caseloads are cooling the country’s fevered pandemic real estate market, prompting the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to adjust its still record-breaking sales forecast down slightly for 2021.
But there’s no price relief in sight, says CREA, which is predicting a slightly steeper climb of 19.3 per cent to an average price of $677,775 this year, up from its original March forecast of a 16.5 per cent rise this year to $665,000.
Citing fallen month-over-month sales in April and May, the association said Tuesday there is “anecdotal evidence of offer fatigue and frustration among buyers.”………
Can home buyers avoid the mortgage stress test in June, 2021
While Canada’s banks are mandated by OFSI to enforce the mortgage stress test, provincially regulated credit unions and alternative lenders are not, which can pave the way for would-be buyers to side-step the process, according to the loan comparison platform Loans Canada.
Some alternative lenders offer faster mortgage approval, even to borrowers with low credit scores and high debt-to-income ratio. The drawbacks, however, include higher interest rates, smaller loan limits, and potential hidden charges…….
| Toronto is getting two massive skyscrapers that will have room for 1110 new homes in June, 2021 |
Always on the precipace between too many freaking condos and yet not enough (affordable) housing for its residents, Toronto is about to become home to yet another megadevelopment if the latest application for two highrises near the ever-evolving Yonge-Bloor intersection is approved.
The towers at 25 St. Mary Street will be unignorable not just because of their stark white exterior, but also due to their sheer size: 59 and 54 storeys with a total of 1,143 new units between them.
Thankfully, at least some of these units will be dedicated rentals, though this is due to the fact that the buildings will be taking the place of an existing rental complex from the ’60s that currently houses more than 250 people and families……..
Why Toronto and Vancouver real estate is slowing but prices aren’t falling in June, 2021
Fewer homes are being sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and Vancouver areas compared to previous months, but prices still haven’t come down as a result.
A few things have to happen before prices start to fall, which are up 30 per cent or more in some areas.
We’ve been getting monthly updates from the ground floor from Realosophy Realty’s John Pasalis and Oakwyn Realty’s Steve Saretsky, who help make sense of it all, with advice for anyone buying or selling a home……..
Toronto, June 15, 2021 — Increased costs to purchasers, decreased new housing supply due to market distortions, and a flawed approach unique to Toronto Inclusionary Zoning (IZ)** are the key findings in a new report released today on the City of Toronto’s (City) proposed IZ policy by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD). The report summarizes four independent studies that found deep flaws in the City of Toronto’s proposed approach to building affordable housing units.
“Using this approach, the City of Toronto is essentially requiring purchasers of market rate housing units to subsidize affordable units at the rate of $65,000 and $116,000 per rental unit over the lifetime of the unit,” said Dave Wilkes, President & CEO, BILD. “Helping to provide affordable housing is everyone’s responsibility and under this proposal the City is placing the burden solely on the back of purchasers of new homes. This, at a time when housing supply is already under great pressure and affordability is more elusive than ever.” ……
Toronto Home Sales Slow for Second Month Under Lockdown in June, 2021
Toronto’s housing market recorded its second consecutive month of slowing sales in May, as reduced supply and a lingering lockdown to contain the coronavirus helped to cool off the market.
The number of homes that traded hands in Canada’s largest city fell 8.9% in May from the month before, according to data released Thursday from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. The seasonally-adjusted average selling price for a home in the Toronto region still rose 1.1% from April, to C$1,061,987 ($882,300).
“While sales have trended off the March 2021 peak, so too have new listings,” Jason Mercer, the real estate board’s chief market analyst, said in a statement. “People actively looking to purchase a home continue to face a lot of competition from other buyers, which results in very strong upward pressure on selling prices.”…….
Toronto’s downtown condo market slips again in June, 2021
Toronto’s downtown core condo sales continued to suffer in May.
Condo listing site strata.ca reports GTA condo sales dropped for a second straight month in May with the biggest declines in the downtown core, down by 19%.
That’s certainly not the alarming 62% decrease recorded in April 2020 immediately following Ontario’s state of emergency that came on March 17, but the drop continues the downward trend after the market’s April plateau.
The number of condos sales was actually up this May compared to May 2020, just a few months into the pandemic, but compared to March 2021 numbers were down 23%.
Strata.ca says May’s decreased activity reflects those who already bought to avoid the new mortgage stress test……..
Greater Toronto Area real estate cooled in May with 13% sales drop – TRREB, in June, 2021
The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market is showing signs it may have peaked in March.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) says 11,951 homes were sold in May, which is more than twice as many in May 2020 when a cloud of uncertainty blanketed the market. But sales fell 13 per cent compared to the previous month.
TRREB says May is usually the most active month. However this year, March was the busiest with 15,646 homes changing hands.
“There has been strong demand for ownership housing in all parts of the GTA for both ground-oriented home types and condominium apartments. This was fuelled by confidence in the economic recovery and low borrowing costs,” said TRREB president Lisa Patel……..
Here’s how to become a luxury real estate agent in Toronto in June, 2021
If you ever thought you’d be great at selling any one of Toronto’s many luxury properties (or just want a job where you can oogle jaw-dropping homes all day), then becoming a luxury real estate agent may be the thing for you.
But getting into the luxury real estate game can seem difficult and confusing, especially for anyone with no experience in the field. So, Daily Hive asked two experts, Naz Sala, broker for Royal LePage Terrequity, and Bryan Nunes, co-owner of ListingsTO and sales representative at Right at Home Realty, to share their insights on how to break into the industry……….
Toronto Housing Market Activity Continues to Cool, But Prices Hit All-Time High in June, 2021
Resale activity in the Toronto region’s housing market continued to cool for the second month in a row in May, as buyer fatigue seems to have kicked in. Despite this, prices rose to an all-time record.
There were 11,951 home resales in the Toronto area last month, which was above the 10-year average for May but 12.5% lower than April and 23.6% lower than the record-setting month of March, according to the latest data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).
However, despite the ebb in sales over the last two months, market conditions remained tight enough to push the average selling price to a record of $1,108,453 in May.
The board says May’s sales were more than double those recorded a year prior — when the world was still just in the second full month of the pandemic. However, May 2021 sales were below the May 2016 record of 12,789. Often, May is the strongest sales month in any given year; however, 2021 results “bucked” this trend, with sales for the month below the 15,646 deals reported during the housing market peak in March………
| More people in Toronto rent out part of their home than anywhere in Ontario in June, 2021 |
Toronto has long been known for its severe lack of affordable housing, but a new study puts into perspective just how desperate tenants in the city are for rental units — and how desperate homeowners are to help pay off their untenable mortgages.
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has released what is the first-ever detailed look at basement apartments, laneway homes and other secondary suites across Ontario, with data showing that a high proportion of homeowners in Toronto rent out a part of their property.
The report states that 15.4 per cent, or almost one in six “ground-oriented” homes in the city includes a secondary unit, making for the highest ratio in the province by a long shot with 74,752 total.
Most of these are located in the central southwest of the city, from east of Etobicoke through High Park, Parkdale and bleeding over Dufferin, as seen in the heat map below. Trinity-Bellwoods, Roncesvalles and Little Italy specifically were found to have the highest concentrations…….
This $17 million mansion in Toronto looks like a luxury hotel in June, 2021
A mansion listed for sale in Toronto looks more like a luxury hotel than a home.
For those who can afford it, Toronto mansions come with extravagant features most of us can only dream about. There are homes that come with private forests, 12-car garages, elevators and dreamy backyards.
The mansion at 139 Dunvegan Road in Toronto is listed for nearly $17 million and comes with many of the sought-after features. Located in Forest Hill, this custom home sits on a 100-foot lot.
The home is formal with a circular drive around carefully manicured gardens, hidden from street view with a large hedge for privacy.
There are 16 rooms in total in this hotel-like home. If you like your alone time, you could spend days in this place and never run into the rest of your family……..
Wish for moderation in Toronto’s real estate market granted in June, 2021
The May numbers for the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board were released last week and, as anticipated, the raging inferno we’ve been witnessing in the Toronto market appears to have given way to a steady burn.
And thank goodness — we’ve been begging for a little moderation to return to the market and it would seem that our wish has been granted.
With just shy of 12,000 sales in the month of May, sales declined by almost 13% from April and over 23% from March. Nothing sudden or abrupt, just a slow and steady loss of the momentum that powered us through the pandemic and drove our market to its peak in March……..
While most consumers are ratcheting back on their credit card debt, homebuyers have pushed new mortgage volumes to unprecedented levels according to Equifax Canada’s most recent report on consumer credit conditions. New mortgages are up 41.2 per cent in Q1 compared to Q1 2020 and the average limit on new mortgages grew by 20.5 per cent to $326,930.
Overall consumer debt now stands at $2.08 trillion, up 0.62 per cent from last quarter and up 4.78 per cent from Q1 2020. Much of the new mortgage growth adding to the overall debt was driven by B.C. and Ontario, which saw jumps of 59.2 per cent and 44.3 per cent in volume respectively compared to Q1 2020.
“Low interest rates and speculation around U.S. inflation impacting our interest rates has fueled mortgage volumes as consumers fear future interest rate hikes,” said Rebecca Oakes, AVP of Advanced Analytics at Equifax Canada. “Competition among homebuyers is fierce in many markets across the country. We’ll monitor whether the new mortgage stress test helps to cool off the hot housing market.”…….
When is the best time to sell a property in the Greater Toronto Area in June, 2021
April 2021 marked an exceptional month for the Greater Toronto Area’s housing market, with home sales activity surging more than four-fold from the same time last year, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s (TRREB) figures.
Home sales topped 13,663 during the month, far exceeding the 2,957 deals closed in April 2020 – the first full month since the COVID-19 pandemic struck. Sales numbers last April were also 36.6% higher than GTA’s 10-year average for the month, TRREB’s data showed……..
Which home renovations increase my Toronto property value?
As Toronto’s housing market continues to rise, some homeowners are looking to renovate their homes before putting them on the market in order to increase its appeal and value. However, a home renovation can be a big commitment, so you should focus your attention on these areas to increase your resale property value.
Not all renovations provide the same range of return. For example, building an in-ground swimming pool in your backyard seems like a fun way to enjoy your summer. However, it can sometimes restrict your home’s appeal to certain buyers, and subsequent resale value.
The main focuses of any home renovations should be your kitchen, bathrooms, and basement…….
RBC Still Sees Canadian Real Estate Dropping 30% In The Worst-Case Scenario in May, 2021
Canada’s largest bank still sees home prices making a steep drop in a worst-case scenario. RBC regulatory filings for Q2 2021 show the bank’s forecast for risk planning. Currently, they see price growth slowing from current levels, but still advancing. If housing surprises to the upside, they see home prices advancing a little more quickly. If housing surprises to the downside, they forecast home prices could drop up to 30% in the worst-case.
Macroeconomic Scenario Assumptions
Financial organizations are required to disclose risk using unbiased and realistic outcomes. As mentioned earlier this week with BMO, they do it by creating forecasts for key indicators. They usually split the forecast into three — a best case, base case, and worst-case scenarios. One of those indicators is housing, and that’s what we’re looking at today……
The Canadian Property Bubble Reached The Point Where Few People Can Actually Buy in May, 2021
Canada’s property bubble is reaching the point where few people in the country can buy. Home price growth is still surging across the country, but sales are falling. The odd combination made us curious how many households can still afford to buy.
To the surprise of no Millennials, very few people can afford to buy anywhere across the country. We looked at the National Bank of Canada (NBC) affordability index for Q1 2021. Using their minimum income to carry a mortgage, we found less than a third of households can afford a home at these prices.
Only A Third Of Canadians Could Afford To Buy Any Type Of Home
Less than a third could afford to buy a home across Canada. A composite home across Canada requires at least an annual household income of $130,921. Fewer than 28.9% of households make enough to clear that barrier……..
Moderation may be on the way in T.O. real estate boom in May, 2021
Well, we’ve been wondering when things were going to let up in this bonkers real estate market, and while I don’t want to get ahead of myself, based on what I am seeing out there, it really does seem a trickle of that eagerly awaited moderation may now be setting in.
We still have a few days to go to close out the month, but soon we will have Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s May market stats and I cannot wait to see if the cooling we observed in April, following the hottest March on record, holds…….
This is what $1 million gets you in GTA real estate in May, 2021
The average selling price for a home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate market is $1,090,992, according to the most recent numbers from April. What that could get you ranges from a two-bedroom downtown condo to a three-bedroom executive home in Innisfill.
According to an Ipsos survey commissioned by the Ontario real estate association (OREA), nearly one-in-five (19 per cent) of us plans to buy a home in the next year. Sixty-three per cent of prospective buyers plan to purchase a detached house and 28 per are looking for a home that is larger than 2,500 square feet, which, if your budget is closer to the steep average selling price in the GTA, will most certainly mean you’ll be part of the urban exodus looking for new digs in Pickering, Brampton or Innisfil…….
What to look out for when buying a new home in May, 2021
It’s no secret that buying a house in Toronto is an investment. In the midst of a global pandemic, the market has skyrocketed, with the average home in the city selling at a record-breaking $1 million. But not every home in the market actually lives up to its price tag. If you’re house hunting, these tips will help you make sure you get your money’s worth.
Think beyond the list price
The cost of a house doesn’t start and end with the list price. Things like renovations, remodelling, and repairs can quickly add to your expenses. Talk to your Toronto mortgage broker about whether it makes sense to make a sizeable down payment to secure great mortgage rates and conditions or pay down less upfront and pour the extra cash into upgrades. ……
A guide to laneway housing in Toronto in May, 2021
Laneway housing has long been touted as a key component to gently increase density – or as planners put it, a “missing middle” housing solution. However, prior to 2018, building laneway housing in Toronto was a logistical nightmare.
“Our planning bylaws heavily favour single family development,” says Philip Kocev, a broker and managing officer at iPro Realty Ltd who has been advocating for more multi-unit dwellings similar in scale to single-family and detached homes. “You could take a piece of land and build a big monster house; you can take your historic bungalow and put two levels on it super easily. But the minute you go into two or more units, it’s really challenging to go through the city process.”
Toronto finally passed a bylaw in 2018 to make laneway suites much easier to build for developers (“suite” is the key word there; redefining laneway houses as suites allows them to be considered detached secondary units whose services are still connected to the main unit). Shortly after, the city started its own laneway suite project to work on expanding housing options…….
Is Investor Demand for Condos Already Up Again in May, 2021?
We can see that the difference between ownership costs and average rents fell after the first quarter of 2020 in the onset of the pandemic due to a decline in condo prices and interest rates — despite the fact that average rents also fell over the same period.
Urbanation’s difference of over $700 during the first quarter of 2021 is above our calculation of $669 due to methodological differences. Firstly, Urbanation uses average rents and sale prices for all properties while we focused exclusively on those bought by investors. But more importantly, the average sale price in our analysis will likely be lower than Urbanation’s because many of the condos that closed during the first quarter of 2021 were actually purchased during the fourth quarter of 2020 when prices were much lower.
So how prudent is it to buy a rental property that is expected to fall short over $700 per month in covering all carrying costs when rented out, before even factoring in vacancy and turnover?…….
The Canadian Property Bubble Is Pushing Rents Higher As More Apartments Sit Empty in May, 2021
One of Canada’s frothiest market indicators surfaced — rents are rising with vacancies. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data from their 2020 rental survey shows a sharp uptick in vacancies. Normally this is expected to bring prices down, but not in a property bubble. Rental prices continue to rise along with increasing vacancies. In some cases, multi-decade highs for rental vacancies are seeing price growth accelerate.
Toronto Rental Vacancies Hit An 18 Year High, Prices Growing 50% Faster Than Normal
Toronto rental vacancies saw a fast jump, pushing to the highest level in over a decade. The rate of primary rental vacancies reached 3.4% in 2020, an increase of 126.7% from the year before. This is the highest vacancy rate since 2005, and the biggest jump since 2002. A whole generation of the city has never seen vacancies this high. About 1 in 29 apartments were sitting empty at the time of the CMHC’s survey……..
What Would a Canadian Real Estate Bubble Burst Actually Look Like in May, 2021?
Given the dramatic scene that’s unfolded this past year in Canada’s red-hot housing market, the word “bubble” has been tossed around in many a conversation.
With its jaw-dropping bidding wars and record-breaking home prices, the Canadian real estate market – especially in places like sizzling southern Ontario – has accelerated at what many consider to be an unsustainable pace for much of the past year. (See: tens of thousands of dollars in price increases per month.)……
Home ownership is becoming more and more of a dream-like fantasy for young Torontonians, on par with becoming a rock star or joining the circus — both of which are actually probably easier right now for a talented arts industry worker than buying a house in Canada’s largest city.
The newly released results of Maru/Blue survey commissioned by Right at Home Realty, a Toronto-based real estate brokerage, suggest that 51 per cent of all Ontario residents are “feeling left behind” in the current housing market……
Stop living paycheque to paycheque — for good in May, 2021
No one likes to scramble to make ends meet. It’s stressful and it’s next to impossible to get ahead financially. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Break the cycle of living paycheque to paycheque permanently with these five steps.
1. Master the budgeting process
Anyone can make a budget. Download a template, scribe in the numbers — money in and money out — and look at what’s left over, your bottom line, then make promises to yourself about doing better. To stop the paycheque to paycheque cycle, you’ve got to live within your means. That means spending what you have and nothing more. The only way to do that is to get darn good at tracking where your money is going, daily……..
Foreign Investors Are Scooping New Condo Supply In Toronto And Vancouver… Again in May, 2021
Toronto and Vancouver condos are starting to attract foreign buyers again… at least the newer inventory is. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) data show a mixed movement in 2020. Toronto’s total rate of non-resident condo ownership declined, while Vancouver’s increased. Both cities are still seeing non-resident ownership of new supply climb though.
Foreign Buyers Own Over 1 In 20 New Condo Units In Toronto
The City of Toronto saw a decline in the total number of condos held by non-resident owners last year. Non-residents owned 3.1% of the city’s condos in 2020, down from 3.3% the year before. In terms of condo units, non-residents owned 9,686, down 2.4% over the same period. It would appear older supply is being sold off at a faster rate than it’s being bought…….
Canadian Real Estate Is Seeing Home Buyers Fall Faster Than Sellers in May, 2021
The Canadian real estate market has been very tight in terms of supply, but that’s beginning to change. The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) made a sharp decline in April, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Declines were seen at both the national level, as well as the majority of major markets. For the past few months, the number of buyers has dropped much faster than sellers.
Sales To New Listings Ratio (SNLR)
The sales to new listings ratio (SNLR) is the number of home sales compared to new listings. It’s one way to gauge the strength of supply and tells us how quickly inventory is being replaced. Better-supplied markets, where inventory grows much faster than buyers, often see prices fall. Likewise, a tight market with few sellers and many buyers will see prices rise……
Aluminum Wiring Needs Repair by Specialists to Reduce Insurance Costs in Toronto in May, 2021
Aluminum wiring was popular in Toronto in the 1960s and the 1970s as it was a much cheaper alternative to copper wiring. Aluminum wiring is still in use in many older homes in Toronto, but the homeowners pay more for homeowners’ insurance or even face some insurance companies that will not cover their properties. Aluminum wiring showed problems and that became an issue in the past decades. The issues were not horrendous, but all aluminum-wired homes must now pass an Electrical Safety Authority of Ontario inspection before a property will be insured……
What’s driving up real estate prices in Toronto in May, 2021
To illustrate how much house values have increased in the Toronto region, real estate agent Mr. Rowlands recently created an infographic comparing the average prices for homes sold in the city between the end of 2010 and the end of 2021.
Based on the graphic, someone planning to buy a detached home in 2021 would need to shell out nearly three times as much as they would have 10 years ago. Prices of semi-detached dwellings have spiked 130%, while condo prices have risen more than two-fold in the past decade.
“Long story short, if you bought any property in Toronto 10 years ago, you’ve likely more than doubled your money, built a fair amount of equity and likely have a mortgage payment well below the average rental price in the city,” Rowlands wrote in an Instagram post featuring the infographic…….
What the future of roming houses could look llike in Toronto in May, 2021
For a city like Toronto, where even those making decent wages struggle to afford a home, the need for affordable housing becomes more and more important.
Multi-tenant rooming houses are an important part of affordable housing, allowing everyone from students to low income workers to live in a shared space at a fraction of the cost of most housing within the city.
Now, the city is looking to modify the framework on these rooming houses allowing for expanded zoning, and better health and safety protections for tenants in these residences…….
Growing mortgage debt making Canada’s economy vulnerable, central bank says in May, 2021
The Bank of Canada said on Thursday that high household indebtedness and imbalances in the housing market have intensified in the last year, leaving the economy more vulnerable to economic shocks.
The remarks were the most expansive commentary the central bank has made about the risks posed by a hot housing market since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic early last year.
Canada’s housing market boom and the corresponding rise in mortgage debt support economic growth in the short-term but also increase the risk to the economy and financial system over the medium-term, the central bank said in its annual review of financial systems……
If it sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.
A new trend in the Toronto real estate market, in which realtors are listing residential homes in the Greater Toronto Area for only a dollar, has left some buyers with questions.
Listings such as 16 Kenrae Rd. and 15 Rebecca St. are examples of the trend, in which realtors opt not to disclose the actual value of the property.
Just because a property is listed for a dollar, it certainly doesn’t mean that buyers will pay that much, though.
Toronto real estate agent Mr. Poliszot currently has a property at 15 Rebecca St. listed for one dollar. While he’s doing it as a means to attract attention to the property, he says listing prices have not reflected actual property value for some time……..
Canada to tighten mortgage lending rules as central bank frets over housing market in May, 2021
Canada said on Thursday it would tighten rules on mortgage lending starting next month after the Bank of Canada earlier warned that the hot housing market and high household debt levels had left the economy more vulnerable to economic shocks.
The country’s financial regulator and the Finance Department said separately that borrowers of both uninsured and insured mortgages must show that they can afford loans that are the higher of their current rate plus 200 basis points, or 5.25%.
New mortgage stress test rules are from June 1, 2021
Canada’s federal banking regulator is tightening rules on mortgage stress tests for homebuyers with uninsured mortgages starting June 1.
The minimum qualifying rate for uninsured mortgages – residential mortgages with a down payment of 20 per cent or more – will rise to either the contracted rate plus two percentage points or 5.25 per cent, whichever is higher.
As it stands, any buyer whose down payment on a home is one-fifth of the purchase price or more has to show they can afford mortgage payments if the interest rate was two percentage points higher than what the bank is offering them or the five-year benchmark rate published by the Bank of Canada, which sits at 4.79 per cent — whichever is higher……