Brampton third most expensive city in Canada to own a home, study finds, in January, 2023

Majority of affordable homes approved under federal program not yet constructed, in January, 2023

The federal government has set aside billions of dollars to quickly build affordable housing across the country, but delays in construction suggest many of the projects approved for funding are missing their deadlines.

The Rapid Housing Initiative is a federal program launched in 2020 that provides funding to cities and non-profit organizations to build affordable homes for vulnerable Canadians, including those experiencing homelessness.

The federal government offered $2.5 billion during the first two rounds of project funding, with the condition that approved units must be built within 12 months in most places or 18 months in northern or remote communities.

But a document put together by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. in response to a written question from a member of Parliament shows the majority of units approved have not yet been constructed............

How was the Greater Toronto Area new housing market's performance in 2022?, in January, 2023

Selling a home? How to know if you qualify for a capital gains exemption in January, 2023

When selling a home, Canadians may be exempted from paying capital gains tax on a residential property if it is determined to be their principal residence. A capital gains tax is normally applied to 50% of your profits made from selling an asset for a profit.

However, the CRA is a bit vague when defining one’s principal residence, and several factors could either help or prevent you from qualifying for the principal residence tax exemption.

Below, I’ll explain more about how the CRA determines principal residence and answer some questions about what types of properties may be eligible for the tax exemption...........

3 charged after allegedly selling home they didn't own in Toronto in January, 2023

Three people have been charged after they allegedly sold a house in Toronto that they didn't own and tried to collect the proceeds.

In a news release on Friday, Toronto police say they have charged a Markham woman, 41, and two Toronto men, both 22, in a title fraud scam investigation.

The woman has been charged with fraud over $5,000, possession of proceeds obtained by crime over $5,000, laundering proceeds of crime, personation with intent to obtain property and uttering a forged document. The men have both been charged with fraud over $5,000.

All three are due in a Toronto courtroom on Monday.

According to police, the two men and a woman pretended to be the owners of a Toronto property in January 2023 while the real owners were out of the country.................

Impersonators posing as homeowners linked to 32 fraud cases in Ontario and B.C. in January, 2023

Mortgage and title fraudsters who impersonate homeowners and tenants have targeted at least 32 properties in Ontario and British Columbia, investigators and official warnings suggest.

Insurance investigator Brian King, president and CEO of King International Advisory Group, said his firm had received 30 such claims in Ontario.

They include six instances of "total title fraud" in which con artists pose as homeowners to list properties for sale............

Couple whose Toronto home sold without their knowledge says systems failed to protect them in January, 2023

When Stephanie logged online to pay her monthly bills last year she noticed something strange.

The mortgage she shared with her husband, Derrick, had disappeared from the home screen of her Canadian bank account. After making some calls, she found out her mortgage was closed.

"We knew something was wrong. We weren't the ones to close our mortgage," said Stephanie.

"But we didn't know the extent of it.".........

Toronto & Vancouver Real Estate Are Correcting in 2023

Toronto and Vancouver real estate didn’t quite make the extremes, but they aren’t immune to the correction. A typical home in Toronto has dropped 18.4% (-$245,200) since peaking in March 2022. Over in Vancouver, prices are down 10.5% (-$133,100) from the April 2022 peak. It’s worth mentioning that Vancouver prices didn’t experience as large of a boom as Toronto over the past two years. However, these are still 6-figure losses in less than a year.

The Canadian real estate price correction is widely blamed on interest rates. Those play a big role when it comes to financing, and profitability for investors, helping to cool demand. However, it’s worth noting that prices peaked in March—before interest rates had a substantial impact on buying power. Most buyers would have a buyer pre-approval that would have limited the impact of the rate hike on absorption.

Some banks have argued this reinforces the belief that sentiment was driving growth. Sentiment-driven price growth tends to produce the largest bubbles and sharpest corrections........

Are you ready for Toronto's new vacant home tax? Deadline to declare is Feb. 2, 2023

Toronto residents who own an empty home will soon be taxed for it, as the city pushes forward with a fee it says will help increase housing supply and raise as much as $66 million a year.

City hall's new vacant home tax will start in the new year and the deadline for all property owners in the city to declare whether their home is vacant or not is Feb. 2. The lone councillor who voted against the tax says he's already receiving complaints about the "heavy-handed" notices issued by the city to alert homeowners to the need to make a declaration.

Stephen Holyday, who represents Ward 2, Etobicoke Centre, said he's received numerous calls about the message, its tone and the complexity of the new system.

He says it's struck a nerve........

Canada Bans Most Foreigners From Buying Homes in January, 2023

A ban on foreigners buying residential property in Canada took effect Sunday, aiming to make more homes available to locals facing a housing crunch.

Several exceptions in the act allow individuals such as refugees and permanent residents who are not citizens to buy homes.

In late December, Ottawa also clarified that the ban would apply only to city dwellings and not to recreational properties such as summer cottages.

The temporary two-year measure was proposed by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during the 2021 election campaign when soaring prices put home ownership beyond the reach of many Canadians.

"The desirability of Canadian homes is attracting profiteers, wealthy corporations, and foreign investors," his Liberal Party said in its election plank at the time.

"This is leading to a real problem of underused and vacant housing, rampant speculation, and skyrocketing prices. Homes are for people, not investors."........
 

Where Ontario's housing market is headed in 2023

The price of buying a home in Ontario dropped from its lofty heights during the past year, and the question for 2023 is whether the downward trend will continue.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) benchmark price of a home in Ontario — a measure that combines sale prices of condominiums, attached and detached houses across all markets in the province — peaked at $1.08 million in March of 2022.

That was a staggering 64 per cent leap in just two years, from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CREA's benchmark figure for Ontario has since fallen by nearly 20 per cent, but even that sharp decline only takes prices back to the level they were at in September of 2021. .........

It’s choking me’ - This homeowner’s mortgage payments have shot up by more than $1,000 a month, in January, 2023

During the height of the real estate frenzy during the pandemic Briand Melanson felt like superman.

The variable rate mortgage on his primary and investment properties reached historic lows of 1.5 per cent. The monthly payment for his primary residence sat at around $730 (he bought it in the 2010) and his rental property payments came in at around $1,100 (he bought it in 2021).

But now rates are soaring and his variable mortgage payments have shot up, leaving Melanson in a financially difficult situation.

His properties both face mortgage rates of around six per cent. It’s resulted in his primary residence payment soaring to $1,165, and his rental apartment to $1,775. That means, Melanson is now paying $1,110 more a month in mortgage payments for both properties — he is currently making up the difference for his renter who has fixed rent for the yearlong lease.

“It’s choking me,” Melanson says. “It’s choking more than I thought it was going to.”............

Change is hard but necessary to build 1.5 million needed new homes in January, 2023

The housing challenges in the GTA are often portrayed in the media as a struggle between builders and developers and GTA residents. The builders and developers, so the story usually goes, want to build and make money, while residents want to protect their communities from unwanted change

The hundreds of thousands of hard-working families hoping to buy a home in the GTA in the near future are all too easy to overlook because they are not yet voters or taxpayers. The voices of some existing residents who resist change can seem more urgent and important. Meanwhile, many of those who would be voices for change are forced to leave the region altogether to find homes they can afford.

Change is difficult but it is absolutely necessary. Given the rate at which the GTA and the province are growing, we need to build 1.5 million new homes in Ontario in the next decade. The regulatory and policy decisions we make now will determine whether we succeed.......

Canada housing market outlook 2023 - Here’s what buyers and sellers can expect in January, 2023

After years of frenzy in Canada’s housing market during the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 saw a reversal across much of the industry as the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes cooled down the residential real estate sector in cities from coast to coast.

Most economists and experts who spoke to Global News say they expect that cooling to continue into 2023, citing prohibitively high mortgage rates, low inventory on the market and uncertainty about where the Bank of Canada’s interest rate cycle will finally peak.

But where will price declines in the Canadian housing sector bottom out? And will all markets and property classes be hit evenly?.......

GTA real estate caught between high interest rates, low supply, analyst says in January, 2023

Opposing forces will be at work on the Greater Toronto Area’s real estate in 2023.

Jason Mercer, chief market analyst for the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), said the impact of short supply and growing population will put more pressure on home prices over the medium- to long-term.

“We’re still going to have a hangover from the higher borrowing costs that we’ve seen come online this year… That will continue to have an affordability hit on the housing market that would-be homebuyers are going to have to come to terms with,” Mercer said. “But on the opposite side of the coin, we’re also going to continue to see an accelerating pace of population growth on the back of immigration. And all of these new households are going to require a place to live and that’s whether you’re talking about the ownership market or the rental market.”..........

Toronto home prices closed 2022 down 9.2 per cent year-over-year in January, 2023

The average selling price for all Greater Toronto Area homes saw another drop in December to close 2022 – a year in which the region's housing market started strong before being tempered by interest rate hikes.

On Thursday, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) released December's housing numbers, showing the average price across all properties was at $1,051,216 – a decrease of about $28,000 from the previous month's figure of $1,079,298.

The number was a 9.2 per cent decline from the $1,157,837 recorded a year ago..........

Toronto’s housing correction set to stabilize, prices to continue dropping in 2023 in January, 2023

Toronto real estate was definitely one of the hottest topics in 2022 with a major housing correction hitting the market in the spring, resulting in plummeting home sales and prices.

But after a year of consistent interest rate hikes by the Bank of Canada and limited housing stock across the nation, 2023 is set to be a different market story that is leaving many homeowners, prospective buyers and renters wondering what’s to come.

“I think the big question that people will be asking around the dinner table over the holidays is, you know, what do I want to do in 2023?” Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) President Kevin Crigger told CP24 on Friday........

Toronto home sales plummet year-over-year in November, 2022 in December, 2022

Toronto home prices fell in November as higher borrow costs continued to weigh on market in December, 2022

The average selling price of a Toronto home decreased by roughly $10,000 last month as the increased cost of borrowing continued to weigh on the city’s real estate market.

The latest data from the Toronto Region Real Estate Board (TRREB) shows that the average resale price across all property types was $1,079, 398 in November, compared to $1,089,428 in October.

Home prices in Toronto have now fallen by an average of 5.5 per cent compared to November 2021, however TRREB points out that the declines have been more pronounced in the “more expensive market segments,” such as detached (11.3 per cent) and semi-detached homes (13.9 per cent).

The condo market has proven to be more resilient with resale values down only 0.9 per cent on average, compared to this time last year.....

How to protect yourself against 'renoviction' as rental markets heat up in December, 2022

With Canada's already-hot rental market expected to come under even more pressure in 2023, experts say tenants should guard against "renoviction" by educating themselves about their rights.

The term renoviction is used to describe a situation when a landlord cites the need for major renovations as the reason behind an eviction. While most Canadian jurisdictions have rules in place to protect tenants — such as limiting the types of repairs that justify requiring renters to move out, or specifying how much notice a landlord must give — tenant advocates say the practice still happens regularly.

For example, a recent report from Ontario's Advocacy Centre for Tenants (ACTO) found there has been a 294 per cent increase in landlord applications to evict tenants for renovations or conversions at the province's Landlord and Tenant Board since 2015-16..........

Rent in Toronto continues to rise as the average rental price in Canada hits record high in December, 2022

Toronto continues to be the second-most expensive rental market in Canada, while the average rent across the country is up 12 per cent from last year, reaching a record-high of $2,024 for all rental types.

This according to the latest data from Rentals.ca and Urbanation – a real estate research firm – which revealed that the steepest rent increases in the country, both month-over-month and year-over-year, have largely been in and around Canada’s two most expensive cities; Toronto and Vancouver.

“Among major markets in Canada with populations over one million, average rents for purpose-built and condominium apartments increased fastest for the most expensive cities, with Vancouver and Toronto rents up 24.3% and 23.7% [compared to last year], respectively,” the report read.

“One-bedroom rents averaged $2,661 in Vancouver and $2,551 in Toronto, while two-bedroom rents averaged $3,707 in Vancouver and $3,363 in Toronto.”.......................

Toronto Real Estate Prices Are Down $245k, City Fell Nearly 2x Faster Than Burbs in December, 2022

Greater Toronto real estate prices continue to fall, but City prices may have just taken a nosedive. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows composite home prices fell in November 2022. The price of a typical home has dropped nearly a  quarter-million dollars since peaking earlier this year. With higher interest rates still to come, along with City prices falling at nearly double the rate of the region—this trend appears far from over.

Greater Toronto real estate prices continue to spiral lower as higher rates knock the exuberance out of them. The price of a typical home across TRREB fell to $1,089,800 in November, down 0.8% (-$8,400) from a month before. Compared to last year, prices are now 5.5% (-$63,300) lower— yes, they’re lower year-over-year now.

Real estate prices in the City of Toronto started to accelerate the decline last month. The price of a typical home fell to $1,074,300 in November, down 1.5% (-$15,900) from a month before. Nearly twice as large as the decline across Greater Toronto, as the floor gives out beneath City prices. Compared to last year, home prices are down 4.3% (-$47,700) — slightly less than the TRREB benchmark, but it would catch up fairly fast at this rate. .........

Toronto housing market decline continues as Toronto home sales drop 49 per cent from year ago in December, 2022

The Toronto Regional Real Estate board (TRREB) said Tuesday that November, 2022 home sales activity was down by about half from last year, following a similar trend seen in recent months.

November’s 49 per cent decline from last year to 4,544 sales came as rising interest rates continue to put pressure on affordability and the real estate market, the board said.

TRREB said the total of 8,880 new listings for November was about a 12 per cent decline from a year earlier, and was also down from the previous month.

Listings slowed for the month in part as sellers hold off over fears they won’t make as much as they would have 10 or 12 months ago when the market was moving at a torrid pace.

The average price of a detached home was down 11.3 per cent to $1.39 million, while the average price of a condo was down 0.9 per cent to $709,000..........

Interest Rate Hikes Drive Down GTA Home Sales and New Listings in November, 2022

Homeownership market activity in November continued to be influenced by the impact of higher borrowing costs on affordability. Sales were down markedly compared to the same period last year, following the trend that unfolded since the commencement of interest rate hikes in the spring. New listings were also down substantially from last year, and at a very low level historically. The fact that the supply of homes for sale has remained low, has supported average selling prices at the $1.08 to $1.09 million mark since August.

Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 4,544 sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in November 2022 – down 49 per cent compared to November 2021, but remaining at a similar level to October especially after considering the recurring seasonal downward trend in the fall. New listings, at 8,880, were down on both a year-over-year basis and month-over-month basis..........

GTA Home Prices Slide 7% in November, 2022 New Listings Hit Historical Low in December, 2022

November marked yet another gloomy month for real estate activity in the Greater Toronto Area, with both home sale and price declines growing more entrenched — a trend the region’s real estate board attributes to the sharp sting of higher interest rates.

A total of 4,544 homes traded hands last month, down -49% on an annual basis and -8.4% from October, reports the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). Home prices dipped by -7.2% YoY to an average of $1,079,395, though remained roughly flat on a monthly basis, down just -0.9%.

However, the $1M-price floor remains supported by very scant supply — new listings fell “substantially” from last year with just 8,880 homes brought to market (down -23.1% YoY and -14.5% MoM), marking a historical low.

While that’s keeping current market conditions from collapsing into buyers’ market territory, it spells trouble over the long term, once interest rates — and market demand — normalize, says TRREB President Kevin Crigger.........

The Canadian Real Estate Bubble Is Popping As Mortgage Rates Throttle Credit in December. 2022

The Canadian real estate bubble got a big boost from low rates, and prices are correcting as rates soar. Home prices climbed aggressively as cheap credit flooded the mortgage market until March. As rates increased, credit was throttled, and the opposite effect began to appear. Home prices are now down significantly and likely to slip further as rates rise even more.

Canadian real estate prices took a sharp drop as the market psychology collapsed. A typical home’s price fell to $735,400 in October, down from the March 2022 peak of $868,300. A 15.3% drop wiped out nearly half the gains made since interest rates were cut in March 2020.

Canadian mortgage rates have also been surging since home prices peaked. A borrower has seen a 32.2% decline in borrowing power today, in contrast to the February 2022 low. Reduced mortgage leverage and lower home prices aren’t a coincidence..........

Rising interest rates, falling sales pushing some investors out of Toronto's condo market in December, 2022

For nearly a decade, new condos have been regarded as sound investments in Toronto but rising interest rates coupled with the flattening of average sales prices since March, 2022 mean some investors are facing an increased financial burden — even struggling to close on projects nearing completion.

Those who invested in preconstruction condos in particular are in increasingly challenging positions. In some cases, they're unable to finance the closing of a property due to lower than expected appraisals and interest rates that are significantly higher than when they bought the units.

"Preconstruction condos for the most part that were purchased in 2019 through 2020, after commissions, after fees, those individuals are not making any profits on this side. They're probably actually taking the loss," said Jordon Scrinko, CEO of Precondo, a firm that handles mainly preconstruction projects. He says it's been a busy few months for his firm..........

Ontario millennials need to save for over 20 years for down payment on a home in December, 2022

After analyzing CREA’s data and comparing it to Statistics Canada’s data for annual income, the report concludes prices should stall “for many years ahead – or even continue to fall moderately.”

“The number of years of work required to save [for] a 20 [per cent] down payment on average priced homes has grown in alarming ways in many regions,” the report reads.

Across Ontario, average home prices were just shy of $900,000 last year.

Meanwhile, average income of Ontarians between the ages of 25 and 34 years has stayed nearly the same for decades, lingering at an average of roughly $50,000 a year. According to the latest data from StatsCan, the yearly income was $50,800 in 2020.

“It takes 22 years of full-time work for the typical young person to save a 20 [per cent] down payment on an average priced home,” the report reads, which they say is 17 years longer than when “today’s aging population” were their age. The report did not clarify what age groups fall under this definition............

 

 Apartment at Canada’s Tallest Residential Tower Hits the Market for C$35 Million in December, 2022

A full-floor apartment at The One in Toronto, the tallest residential building in Canada, that offers panoramic skyline views and a slew of luxury amenities, hit the market Thursday for just under C$35 million (US$26 million).

It’s currently the most expensive listing in Toronto, followed by a penthouse in the tower that was listed for C$32 million last week, listing records show.

The apartment on the 80th floor has 8,758 square feet of living space with eight bedrooms and eight bathrooms. By comparison, the penthouse atop the 85-story, 1,100-foot tower has approximately 8,000 square feet across three bedrooms and six bathrooms, according to the listings.

“The demand has continued to stay strong for luxury condominium buildings throughout Toronto,” Mr. Torkan said in a statement. “With little competition at the top, this is a one-of-a-kind condo for a unique buyer who wants nothing but the best.”........

Toronto condo market slowdown? Not at these projects in December, 2022

However, 8 Elm, a 69-storey, 819-unit condominium being built near Yonge-Dundas Square has sold over 80 per cent of the units released to market at an average of $1,775 per square foot. That is substantially higher than what the market averaged even before the Bank of Canada began hiking its overnight lending rate and caused buying activity to decelerate.

“A few things went into that and one is the location. The location is truly exceptional,” said Carlo Timpano, president of Capital Developments, which is developing 8 Elm with Reserve Properties.

He added the Elm Street project offers respite from the square’s bright lights and bustling activity..........

Doug Ford’s housing bill has ‘nothing’ to guarantee more affordable housing in December, 2022

Toronto city staff have a scathing new assessment of Premier Doug Ford’s key housing-creation bill, saying it does “nothing” to address affordability while destroying the city’s ability to fund services for new residents.

When the new city council meets Thursday, it should urge the Ford government to put Bill 23 on ice until at least Jan. 31 so it can be fixed, and to scrap plans to reduce development charges the city can levy on homebuilders, the report says.

The assessment by officials including chief planner Gregg Lintern, made public Tuesday, sharpens and expands upon a city staff briefing note issued last week that warned the “More Homes Built Faster Act” could harm the city’s ability to build new affordable rentals and homeless shelters.........

GTA Home Sales and Listings Trend Downwards in July, 2022

TORONTO, Aug. 04, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- There were 4,912 home sales reported through the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) MLS® System in July 2022 – down by 47 per cent compared to July 2021. Following the regular seasonal trend, sales were also down compared to June. New listings also declined on a year-over-year basis in July, albeit down by a more moderate four per cent. The expectation is that the trend for new listings will continue to follow the trend for sales, as we move through the second half of 2022 and into 2023.

Market conditions remained much more balanced in July 2022 compared to a year earlier. As buyers continued to benefit from more choice, the annual rate of price growth has moderated. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 12.9 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price was up by 1.2 per cent compared to July 2021 to $1,074,754. Less expensive home types, including condo apartments, experienced stronger rates of price growth as more buyers turned to these segments to help mitigate the impact of higher borrowing costs............

Toronto Home Prices Fall for Fifth Month as 'Significant' Rate Hikes Dent Sentiment, in August, 2022

New Toronto condo sales slump, but prices keep climbing: survey, in August, 2022

New condominium sales in the Greater Toronto Area declined in the second quarter of 2022 as prices climbed to a record high in April, May, and June, 2022.

The data collected in a recent market research study by Urbanation Inc. showed that 6,792 units were sold in Q2 in 2022, marking a drop of 19 per cent from the first quarter and 24 per cent year-over-year.

At the same time, prices for those new units rose to a historic $1,453 per square foot, which the firm says is partly the result of an increase in inventory in higher-priced projects in the city.

And those sky-high prices aren’t expected to come back down any time soon, something Urbanation attributes to the number of prospective renters in the market..........

Cancelled listings, turning homes into rentals more common as housing market cools in August, 2022

The fall has been attributed to interest rates, which are rising at a faster pace than some anticipated and pushing up the cost of a mortgage, and inflation, which recently hit a 39-year high.

Both have made it routine for properties to sit for weeks or months, pushing sellers to make tough decisions.

Since she wasn’t getting much interest on her listing, Tebb terminated it and turned the loft into a rental property instead.

“Everyone was saying, ‘nobody’s going and looking at anything,’ so then we lowered the price...and we had a few walk-ins but nothing, no offers.”..........

What’s next for Toronto’s housing market? Why experts are predicting the biggest slump in 40 years, in July, 2022

For the past two years, pretty much anyone who owned a home could sell it for an outlandish asking price. Decrepit bathrooms, haunted attics, remote locations — no matter. Everything sold. In some rural areas, a new-found escape for urbanites with remote-work set-ups, home values grew by more than 50 per cent.

Now, that red-hot market feels like a distant memory. Since March, when the market peaked, national home prices have fallen 3.3 per cent while some Ontario cities have reported drops of 10 to 15 per cent.

Housing downturns are to be expected when interest rates rise, but the speed at which rates are climbing — with the central bank hiking rates at the fastest pace since 1998 — has economists and market-watchers projecting the largest real estate downturn in modern Canadian history..........................

Reality check when it comes to new home statistics in July, 2022

We’re slowing getting back to a new normal which in many ways is a more stable market.

As new home and condominium sales ebb from the frantic pace of the past couple years, the media are bombarding us with negative news that may have some potential buyers shying away from acting. In fact, we in the industry are still busy – very busy.

So far in 2022, in every month from January through April, new home and condo sales have still been above the 10-year average. Yes, things have changed, but people will always need to buy homes.

Newcomers to Canada, people moving to the GTA for jobs, families expanding, empty nesters looking for more compact living quarters … the list of market sectors is long and active. Frankly, if there are 5 people in line for a specific home or condo instead of 15, the news is still good.......

Putting the real estate market into perspective in July, 2022

Readers and viewers, however, should look at the big picture and put news in perspective. We hear a lot about rising interest rates and the slight slowdown in the housing market, including dramatic predictions of a crash. This is all greatly exaggerated.

The market is strong and more balanced than it was last year, especially in pre-construction. Where a home may have had 20-30 offers, agents are now dealing with 2-3, which is a healthier scenario and far from the buyer’s market some are predicting.

The current situation is far different from 2008. Even then, there were deals to be had in good neighbourhoods where prices didn’t drop and in fact, came back some months later with a vengeance...........

Toronto Real Estate Market Faces Economic Conditions Not Seen Since 90s in July, 2022

“Inflation is a persistent rise the in the average level of prices over time.”  - The Bank of Canada

Prices typically rise over time, but the BOC’s goal is to have prices rising in a range between 1 to 3%. But we all know that the cost of the things we buy and consume, from food to gasoline, have been rising far more rapidly than 1 to 3%.

The BOC measure of inflation shows that prices are rising closer to 8% per year, and some experts even think this estimate is low.

So why is a high inflation rate bad?

For households, it means that the monthly paycheque doesn’t go as far in covering living expenses and without a rise in income, this can strain household finances........

Condo rents reach record high in Toronto despite weakening housing market in July, 2022

As the housing market continues to show signs of weakening, the cost of rent in Toronto is on the rise.

New data released by the Toronto Region Real Estate Board for the second quarter of 2022 shows that the average rent charged for one-bedroom and two-bedroom condominiums has now reached a new record high, after plunging earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The average one-bedroom rent was up 20.2 per cent year-over-year to $2,269 per month while the average two-bedroom rent was up 15.3 per cent to $2,979.

Smaller bachelor units were up a staggering 25 per cent to $1,829 per month but have not yet reached the peak reached in the third quarter of 2019........

Rising mortgage rates driving Ontario homeowners to move in search of affordability in July, 2022

High home prices, exacerbated by rising mortgage rates, are forcing some homeowners in Ontario to sell and find more affordable digs, new research from a real estate industry website suggests.

Affordability issues are pushing 32 per cent of Ontarians who own homes to plan a move in the next year, according to a survey from LowestRates.ca. It’s an escalation of a trend: over the past two years, 20 per cent have had to move to lower their costs, the survey said.

Housing affordability remains a major issue in Ontario. Though prices are climbing less quickly year over year, and even declining on a month-over-month basis, they are still sitting at eye-watering highs across the province, clocking in at $881,475 in June, a 2.8 per cent increase from the same time last year, according to data from the Ontario Real Estate Association. At the same time, high inflation has forced the Bank of Canada onto an aggressive interest rate hiking path, pushing mortgage rates to heights not seen in years.........

Ontario home sales activity still slowing down in July, 2022

New home sales in Ontario continued to ease in June, a trend that was especially apparent in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), according to Altus Group and the Building Industry and Land Development Association.

A total of 1,694 new homes were sold in the GTA in June, representing a significant annual decline of 56%, and hovering 52% below the 10-year average for that month. New condo home sales totalled 1,519 units, down by 44% annually and 36% below the region’s 10-year average for the asset class.

Single-family home sales fell by 85% year over year, accounting for just 175 units sold.

The number of new homes remaining in the market was 11,639 units, comprised of 9,717 condominium apartment units (3.5 months of inventory) and 1,922 single-family units (2.7 months of inventory).

Benchmark prices stood at more than $1.8 million for new single-family homes (up by 31.2% annually) and at nearly $1.2 million for new condo apartments (up by 12.4%)..............

'Historic' correction grips Canada's housing market, RBC says, July 2022

The housing market correction that’s taking hold in Canada could turn out to be its biggest in recent history, according to a new forecast from the country’s largest bank.

Benchmark home prices could fall more than 12 per cent through early next year from the market’s peak, a bigger decline than any of the four national downturns of the past 40 years, according to a report Friday by Royal Bank of Canada economist Robert Hogue.

Sales are also expected to slump 23 per cent this year and 15 per cent next year, RBC said. That total decline of 42 per cent since early 2021 would outrank the 38 per cent drop in 2008 and 2009........

You need over $226,000 yearly income to afford a house in Toronto, July 2022

Toronto faces unprecedented rent price growth for the fifth straight quarter, July, 2022

For the fifth consecutive quarter, the city of Toronto has experienced another record pace in annual rent price growth - this time at 16.7% - according to a new report from Urbanation.

Specifically, the average per square foot condo rent price has climbed 5.9% compared to the previous quarter, to $3.57. Urbanation said the GTA rental market had “fully recovered” from the dampened market at the height of the pandemic, with the smallest and least expensive units posing the most significant growth.

Units with one dens and two dens also saw the largest increase in rent at 6.4% and 9.4%, respectively, compared to their value in 2019. This could point to rising demand for more space inside the home as more people adapt to a work-from-home setup.......

The froth is off: Canadian houses now selling at $200K discounts, July, 2022

The plunge is merely a correction of a Canadian real estate market that has long operated beyond any reasonable notion of economic fundamentals.

The once-red hot Canadian real estate market is beginning to witness a trend that would have been unthinkable just months ago: Homes are starting to sell at a discount.

The Toronto suburbs, in particular, are yielding a near-daily stream of homes sold at discounts of more than $100,000.

A detached home in Mississauga, west of Toronto, went on the market in April at $1.6 million. After two months, the sellers let it go for $1.38 million.

A four-bedroom mini-mansion in Brampton, 40 km northwest of Toronto, hit the market at $1.8 million but ultimately sold for $1.5 million, a price reduction of $300,000.  A similar Brampton home spent 35 days on the market at a list price of $1.4 million before sellers accepted an offer that was more than $250,000 lower.........

Interest rate hikes are reigning in the GTA's "feisty" condo market: Strata, July, 2022

The Bank of Canada’s recent interest rate hikes have begun to reign in the GTA’s “feisty” condo market.

The impact of the 2.25% rise is “reverberating” across the region’s housing sector, says Jenelle Tremblett, a real estate agent with Strata, with condo prices dropping significantly.

Currently at $832 per square foot, prices in the GTA have declined 12% since March. Buyers are now paying an average of 1% below asking; during the February peak, they paid an average of 15% above the listed price. Inventory, too, has plateaued in recent months.

“The region overall is in a mild buyer’s market,” Tremblett noted.............

The Canadian Real Estate Bubble Was Just Delivered Its Final Blow - BMO, July, 2022

One of Canada’s largest banks is calling the housing market’s time of death — 10am Wednesday July 13, 2022. That’s basically the message from a BMO Capital Markets note to investors on Friday morning. Canadian housing affordability was already stretched to the limit, requiring price cuts to keep moving . Add this week’s rate hike, and mortgage payments are now past the late 80s — Canada’s most extreme bubble. That last bubble also unfortunately resulted in the country’s most extreme price crash.

“Wednesday’s 100-bp rate hike by the Bank of Canada might be a TKO for the housing market (at least for anyone that had any doubt a correction is underway),” warns BMO senior economist Robert Kavcic.

“The simple arithmetic makes it so,” he adds before comparing the absurd valuations............

Landlords struggle to evict tenants who turned Toronto homes into rooming houses, owe rent, July, 2022

Marissa Andersson and Oksana Kravchuk both own properties on the same Toronto street but didn’t know one another until they say they discovered a troubling connection.

Their tenants, who told the landlords they were in a relationship, built extra bedrooms in their homes without their knowledge, leased them out to other occupants and haven’t paid rent in several months, according to allegations filed with Ontario’s Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB).

The two landlords say Saeed Aldairi and Melissa Tulshi combined owe them nearly $120,000 in unpaid rent and utilities, property damage and legal costs…………

LACKIE: A big week for the Bank of Canada, July, 2022

One of the problems with doing what I do and spending time with the people I spend time with is that pretty much all I ever seem to talk about is real estate. Prices. Market slowdowns and rebalancing. Bank of Canada rate hikes. Doom and gloom, optimism and exuberance. Even by real estate-obsessed Toronto standards, it’s a bit much.

So I must admit that it came as a complete shock to me last week when I ran into some old friends who revealed themselves to be completely oblivious to what feels to me like a seismic shift underway in our market. It felt like all anyone was talking about was the interest rate hike yet there they stood before me with zero clue.

It reminded me of a tweet I read recently that said that the vast majority of Canadians will not begin to engage with the current reality of steadily-increasing borrowing costs until it comes time for their mortgage to renew. Likewise for the vast majority of people living in their homes, happily going about their daily lives. For many, in spite of all of the press coverage, any talk of a housing correction has yet to actually permeate in any meaningful way………

Home prices fall for the fourth straight months, July, 2022

Average home prices in Canada fell for the fourth consecutive month in June, while home sales were down in three-quarters of all markets.

The average (not seasonally adjusted) home price fell to $665,850 in June, according to data from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). That’s down 6.4% from the previous month and nearly 18% from February. Compared to a year ago, prices are down 1.8%.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the MLS Home Price Index, which strips out month-to-month volatility, fell for the third consecutive month. It was down 1.9% month-over-month, but remains 14.9% higher compared to last year.

Meanwhile, sales were down 5.6% from May, falling in three quarters of all markets and in 7 out of 10 provinces………..

Canada real estate: Home sales, prices plunge from highs as interest rates rise, July, 2022

The Canadian housing market continued to cool in June, with sales and prices falling in the wake of rising interest rates.

The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) said on Friday that sales in June fell 23.9 per cent compared to last year. Declines were across three-quarters of all markets in the country, led by the most populated areas, including the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), Greater Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Hamilton-Burlington. Sales fell 5.6 per cent compared to last month, marking the fourth straight month of decline, although June’s drop was more moderate than the ones seen in April and May.

The price of an average home has also fallen. CREA says the average price of a home in Canada fell 1.8 per cent compared to last June, coming in at $655,850. While that marks a moderate decline compared to 2021, the average price of a home has fallen sharply since the record highs hit in February. Prices have dropped more than $150,000, or more than 18 per cent, from February, 2022 to June, 2022……..

Homeowners rush to renew mortgages to stay a step ahead of the BoC, July, 2022

More Canadians raced to get ahead of the curve by renewing their mortgages in the lead up to Wednesday’s startling interest-rate hike by the Bank of Canada.

Homeowners moved to secure their borrowing rates in June at the fastest pace since January 2021, according to a report from online mortgage lender Nesto Inc., which found Canadians were spurred on by the central bank’s June 1 increase and its well-telegraphed intention to continue hiking to tame runaway inflation.

And they were right to take the Bank of Canada at its word.

Governor Tiff Macklem announced a 100-basis-point hike that resulted in an increase in the benchmark lending rate to 2.5 per cent from 1.5 per cent. The central bank also indicated that it wasn’t done hiking, and would continue to do so until inflation is under control……..

“Unprecedented”: Terminated condo listings in the GTA surge 643% in six months, July, 2022

An “unprecedented surge” in the number of terminated real estate listings is the latest indication that Toronto’s housing market is slowing down.

According to Strata, there were 380 terminated condo listings across the Greater Toronto Area in January. In June, though, there were 2,822 – a 643% increase in just six months.

“Many sellers are still operating under the impression that this is a seller’s market, so they are listing too high and not seeing any action,” said Alex Hood, a realtor at Strata.ca, in the report.

“At the same time, rising inflation and interest rates are making buyers feel uncertain about the trajectory of the market, which is causing them to be more conservative with their bids.”……….

Would-be homebuyers should confirm mortgage pre-approvals, says broker, July, 2022

Prospective home-buyers should ensure they are still qualified for the mortgages they have been pre-approved for, said one mortgage broker, after interest rates were pushed higher by 1 per cent on Wednesday, July 14, 2022.

With rates pushed up by 1% on Wednesday, July 14, 2022. people considering jumping into the real estate market need to do their homework.

“It’s been busy with the announcement today. We’ve got a lot of clients calling. But most people were expecting this,” Zlatkin said.

“We notified some clients ahead of time, so that alleviates some of the panicked calls.”

With inflation pushing 8%, the Bank of Canada is raising interest rates to cool demand for goods and services……….

How the Bank of Canada’s 1 per cent rate hike will impact mortgages, loans and spending, July, 2022

The Bank of Canada increased its key interest rate by one percentage point Wednesday, July, 14, 2022, in the largest hike the country has seen in 24 years.

The move indicates the central bank will take a more aggressive approach to tackling inflation, which sits at a 39-year high of 7.7 per cent and has made groceries, vacations and other purchases more pricey.

The hike to 2.5 per cent will also impact mortgages, loans and spending habits.

Mortgages

Commercial banks and other financial institutions usually raise or lower their mortgage rates in tandem with the Bank of Canada’s interest rate hikes……….

Real estate downturn sparks buyers’ remorse, July, 2022

The rapid downturn in Canada’s housing market is restoring a sense of calm to buyers who no longer need to fear being sucked into the whirling vortex of bidding wars. But now that prices are sliding, some buyers regret the outlandish bids they made during the early spring frenzy.

Claire Fan, economist at Royal Bank of Canada, says demand is cooling fast in cities across the country, pushing markets that once favoured sellers into a more balanced zone.

Ms. Fan notes that the slowdown in June was particularly acute in areas where markets were strongest – and prices were highest – during the pandemic.

In Toronto and Vancouver, consumers have proven more sensitive to the Bank of Canada’s early interest rates increases because average home prices are richer and mortgages are larger, she points out…….

5 luxury real estate trends to expect in the GTA this summer, July, 2022

Summer real estate season is well underway in the GTA but that can look different when it comes to the high-end properties.

Andy Taylor and Jodi Allen, both senior vice presidents of sales at Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, have the details when it comes to Toronto’s most coveted homes. They chatted with Daily Hive to discuss their predictions and trends for this season’s real estate market.

Here’s what to expect.

1. Fewer listings

Since most people escape to the cottage during the summer, this season is often considered a slow time for luxury real estate……..

Toronto Area House & Condo Prices Fall Again – Market Update, July 2022

Latest market numbers show that Toronto’s house and condo prices falling up to 20% from peaks earlier this year though staying slightly up year-over-year.

House sales in June are down 42% over last year and down slightly when compared to last month.

The average price for a house in June was $1,373,325 down from the most recent peak of $1,679,429 in February, but up 5% over last year; the median house price in June was $1,200,000, down from $1,485,000 in February, but up 5% over last year.

New house listings were up 1% compared to last year, but well below previous years, while the number of houses available for sale at the end of the month, or active listings, at the end of June was up 46% over last year.

Condo sales were down 40% in June over last year and below pre-Covid sales volumes for the month.

The average price for a condo in June fell to $766,839, down from $840,444 in March, the most recent peak. The average price is up 9% over last year. The median price for a condo in June was $705,000, up 10% over last year, but down from $777,000…….

Even Toronto Real Estate Is Averaging $1,200 In Losses Per Day, July, 2022

The index for the country’s largest market (Greater Toronto) shows home prices peaked at $1,303,900 in March 2022. This was an increase of 58.0% ($490,000) from March 2020. Toronto went from one of the most affordable big cities in North America to being declared one of the world’s biggest real estate bubbles in less than a decade. World. Class.

Toronto home prices have since fallen 5.5% ($73,200) since peak, wiping out about 14.9% of gains made since March 2020. That’s a loss of about 1 in 7 dollars gained since the Great Rate Cuts of 2020. Or put another way, prices are falling an average of $1,200 per day. It’s the country’s 10th worst performing market.

Falling interest rates provided fuel for speculators, sending prices soaring. Now that rates are rising, the speculative mindset has broken. It’s too early for higher interest rates to have throttled capital so much in these regions. However, seeing some losses has shown people that home prices can’t continue to rise at the rate they did, and market participants are now engaged in price discovery………..

Kitchener-Waterloo Real Estate Is On Track To Reverse All Gains By Next Year 2023, July, 2022

Kitchener-Waterloo, a commuter suburb of Toronto, saw the third biggest drop. Home prices peaked at $957,900 in February 2022, rising 74.1% ($408,800) since March 2020. It’s also in Southern Ontario, if you didn’t notice. Sensing a pattern here?

Since the February 2022 peak, Kitchener-Waterloo home prices contracted sharply. In May 2022, it was down 11.4% ($109,300) since hitting the February 2022 high. The market has rolled back 26.8% of gains made over roughly two years.. If this keeps up, the market should be back to where it started by the start of next year — do over. ……….

Toronto is in the midst of a housing crisis. So why are the charges passed onto developers set to go up by nearly 50 per cent? July, 2022

The cost of building housing in Toronto will soon rise by tens of thousands of dollars per unit as the city hikes development charges by nearly 50 per cent.

The fees, which are charged to developers and help pay for the associated capital investments required to support new development, are evaluated every five years using a long-standing formula.

City officials maintain that even with the increases, Toronto will still have cheaper development charges than several neighbouring municipalities, including Markham, Mississauga and Vaughan……….

LACKIE: Now’s the time for prudence in Toronto real estate July, 2022

As someone who works full-time selling real estate and has been noting the mounting (albeit sometimes subtle) signs of a shifting market in these columns since March, it has taken some time for concrete data to land that loudly tells us this isn’t just something being made out of nothing.

Now, to be fair, for as long as the market has been doing well there have been countless voices warning of unsustainability and calling for imminent collapse. Of course that collapse has never come to pass. Dips and blips to be sure, but nothing even remotely resembling the decimation of the early 1990s.

It feels like a lifetime ago but many may have forgotten that when COVID first hit CMHC predicted an 18% decline in the subsequent 12 months, a projection breathlessly reported by everyone, everywhere, if only for a break from coverage on the actual virus…………

WILD: February home sales remain strong, despite cooler start to 2022 in March, 2022

Interest rates, even with the bump, remain at historically low levels and lower than they were pre-pandemic.

The impact of this week’s rate hike will definitely make mortgages more expensive (very roughly, 0.25% will translate to $38/month on a current 5-year fixed-rate $300,000 mortgage amortized over 25 years to $64/month for a $500,000 mortgage over the same period).

However, that won’t pose much of a hurdle for many buyers……….

GTA home prices up 28% from last year as supply remains hampered: TRREB in March, 2022

There was no relief for Greater Toronto Area homebuyers last month as the average home price crept up nearly 28 per cent when compared with last year as a lack of supply continued to hamper the market.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate board said Thursday the average selling price for a home in the region surpassed $1.3 million last month, up from just above $1 million last February and more than $1.2 million in January of this year.

The average price of a detached home hit more than $1.7 million last month, with semi-detached properties at $1.3 million, townhouses at $1.1 million and condos nearing $800,000…………

Average selling price of Toronto detached house pushes $2M mark in March, 2022

For the first time, the average selling price of a detached house in the City of Toronto has pushed past the $2 million mark, even as barely perceptible signs of a cooling wafted across the region’s sweltering housing market in February.

Although it was the second busiest February on record for home sales, there were 16.8 per cent fewer transactions compared to last year’s record-setting month — an even greater decline than the continuing drop of house and apartment listings, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reported on Thursday.

But real estate board president Kevin Crigger acknowledged that the change in sales activity would have been imperceptible to consumers as competition among home buyers continued to push prices to record levels in many areas………..

Interest rate hike won’t cool Canada’s housing market, say experts in March, 2022

Housing experts say prospective homebuyers hoping Wednesday’s interest rate hike will cool the country’s heated real estate market will likely be disappointed.

They believe pent-up demand for homes is so high and supply still so scarce that the Bank of Canada’s decision to hike the rate to 0.5 per cent won’t take much of an edge off the real estate market.

“In the past, when there was an interest rate increase coming, people would be like ‘maybe it’s not the time to buy,’ but it’s the opposite,” said Michelle Gilbert, a Toronto broker with Sage Real Estate Ltd……….

Is the Toronto Housing Market (Really) Starting to Cool in March, 2022?

At first, it seemed a whisper on the wind, a faint rumour, a nearly-imperceptible shift: the last two weeks of February in the Toronto housing market seemed, well, slower.

Agents, who had spent months, if not the past two years, coaching clients through some of the toughest GTA market conditions ever seen, suddenly realized there were fewer participants at offer night. Bully offers made a comeback. And buyers — many of whom had been searching endlessly only to experience rejection after rejection — were getting in.

Chatter began to circulate on real estate Twitter among listing agents who were receiving far fewer showings for their properties — a marked turnabout from January, which kicked off the year with the second-highest ever sales volume for the month, despite historically low inventory…………

Toronto’s most pet-friendly neighbourhoods ranked in February, 2022

A Canadian rental community and listing site, liv.rent, has ranked Toronto’s most pet-friendly neighbourhoods.

The rankings are based on factors such as proximity to parks, off-leash dog areas and pet shops.

The website noted that Toronto was recently ranked as one of the 10 most dog-friendly cities in the world.

“It’s not hard to see why — the city is home to over 230,000 dogs, has over 114 pet shops and 65 off-leash dog areas, and affords easy access to plenty of trails and parks,” noted the website………………

LACKIE: Despite all the hate mail good realtors still valuable in January, 2022

And week after week, no matter the topic — it could be something as simple and straightforward as monthly market stats or as controversial as hypothesizing about how the government might slow the proverbial freight train down — the comments and emails roll in with people absolutely ripping on real estate agents.

It would seem that some sincerely believe we are where we currently find ourselves (you know, in the midst of an affordability crisis and the tightest housing market on record) almost entirely because of an industry populated by sleazy agents and their corrupt practices…….

House Price Index rose 26% in 2021, fastest pace on record in January, 2022

The Canadian Real Estate Association’s House Price Index rose by 26.6 per cent in the 12 months up to December, the fastest annual pace of gain on record.

The group, which represents more than 100,000 realtors and tabulates sales data from homes that listed and sell via the Multiple Listings Service, said the supply of homes for sale at the end of the month hit an all-time low.

After pausing for a few weeks in the early days of the pandemic, Canada’s housing market has been on an absolute tear for the past two years, as feverish demand from buyers wishing to take advantage of rock-bottom interest rates has drastically outpaced the supply of homes to buy…………..

Toronto Market Update: Looking Back at the Year That Was 2021 in January, 2022

Rich people are scooping up Toronto’s luxury homes faster than ever – blogTO in January, 2022

It was a sizzling hot year for housing markets across Canada’s largest metropolitan areas. No stranger to skyrocketing home sales and prices, the Greater Toronto Area was once again an extremely competitive place to buy in 2021.

Stratospheric housing prices in the region may be a deterrent to some, but it turns out that the rich and ultra-rich are not shying away from the GTA’s high-priced housing, the region outpacing every other Canadian market in luxury home sales.

GTA home prices still forecast to rise 11 per cent in 2022 even with expected interest rate hikes: Royal LePage

Real estate brokerage Royal LePage says that the expected rise in interest rates in 2022 “may not be enough to offset the significant upward price pressure” on homes, especially in the Greater Toronto Area where it expects the cost of the average property to go up by double-digits once again.

The brokerage said that the aggregate price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area increased by 17.3 per cent in 2021 to $1,119,800 as demand continued to outpace supply.

It is forecasting that in 2022 prices in the GTA will rise by another 11 per cent, with the aggregate home price reaching $1,243,000 by the fourth quarter………

Scarborough bungalow sells in four days for $410K over asking in January, 2022

The Toronto real estate market is unprecedentedly competitive, and motivated buyers looking to snag a property are resorting to bully offers well over asking, as was the case for a recently sold bungalow.

The home, located at 63 Joanna Drive in Toronto’s Wexford-Maryvale neighbourhood, hit the market with an asking price of $999,998. It sold just four days later after receiving an early offer of $1,410,000.

“We did have an offer date set but received a pre-emptive offer,” listing agent John Perioris told Daily Hive.

The house is a three-bedroom, three-bathroom bungalow with updated appliances, spacious rooms, a sizeable backyard, and a finished basement with its own kitchen and bathroom, meaning it has the potential for rental income………..

GTA luxury real estate market soared 224% in 2021

The GTA real estate market soared sky-high in 2021, and the luxury market was no exception to that.

In fact, according to a new report from Sotheby’s International Realty Canada, the number of luxury properties in the GTA sold over $4 million shot up a whopping 224% compared to 2020 with a staggering 805 properties changing hands.

“Canada’s real estate market was redefined in 2021,” said Don Kottick, President and CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. “There has been a transformative change in Canadians’ perceptions of the importance of their homes as an investment in lifestyle and pleasure, physical sanctuary and security, as well as financial stability and generational wealth.”………

Toronto house sells in three days for $521,000 over asking in January, 2022

Toronto real estate prices shot so far out of control over the past year that what would have previously been astronomical prices no longer cause a stir. But even in Toronto, when a house sells in just three days for a whopping $521,000 over asking, it makes you sit up and take notice.

The house in question, located at 119 The Westway Road in Etobicoke, hit the market on December 27 with an asking price of $999,000. It sold three days later for $1,520,000………

Only 3,200 homes are left for sale on Toronto’s market after record year in January, 2022

TORONTO, a city of more than 6.5 million people, has just 3,200 homes left for sale to start the year after a real-estate frenzy fuelled by low interest rates drove the market to record levels.

More than 121,000 homes were sold in Canada’s biggest city in 2021, up 28 per cent from the previous year and smashing the previous high set in 2016, according to data released on Thursday (Jan 6) by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board.

Buyers competed for the dwindling number of properties by bidding up prices: the average selling price for the year was nearly C$1.1 million (S$1.17 million) in Toronto, also a record and up 18 per cent from a year earlier. Sales weakened in the second half as supply dried up. A year ago, there were about 7,900 homes for sale. This will add urgency to a growing debate on addressing housing cost, which is spiralling out of reach for many in the largest cities………….

Toronto Real Estate Had its Biggest Year on Record in 2021

December capped off a record year for real estate in the Greater Toronto Area — both in sales and price.

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), 121,712 sales were reported through its MLS® System in 2021 — up an astounding 28% from 2020’s already hot market and some 7.7% over the previous record high set in 2016.

The real estate market as a whole was marred by severe lack of supply throughout 2021, with new listings up just 6.2% — a far lesser annual rate than sales. As such, the incredibly tight market led prices to jump a further 17.8% over 2020’s record ($929,636) to reach an average sale price of $1,095,475……..

Toronto home sales lead to record 2021 despite weaker December in January, 2022

TORONTO — A resurgence in demand for Toronto homes contributed to record residential real estate sales and prices in 2021 despite a dip in December.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said Thursday a record 121,712 homes were sold through its MLS system last year, up 28 per cent compared with 2020 and 7.7 per cent above the previous 2016 high of 113,040.

The average selling price set a peak of $1.095 million, up 17.8 per cent from the high the prior year of $929,636 as new listings didn’t keep pace with sales………

Toronto’s scorching housing market just broke an all-time high price record – blogTO – in January, 2022

Purchasing a home in Canada’s largest metropolitan area isn’t such an accessible option these days, and it’s only getting harder to buy into the Greater Toronto Area housing market as prices climb ever higher.

And 2021 saw the market reach new highs, with a record level of sales average prices cracking the previous all-time high record.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reports that over 121,000 homes were sold across the region in 2021, a 7.7 per cent jump over the previous 2016 high of 113K, and a massive 28 per cent leap over 2020’s sales figures.

Though sales have increased, new listings failed to keep up the pace, only rising 6.2 per cent, and underscoring a supply issue that’s been fueling rising home prices for years…………

Pricey detached homes to push GTA buyers towards condos in 2022

The 2021 real estate market saw month after month of record high home prices as buyers fought over limited inventory. But with detached homes now well out of reach for many GTA buyers, an en masse shift towards condos is likely in store for the near future, according to a new report from Strata.ca.

“Throughout this pandemic, detached home values have sprinted like a hare, while condos have moved like a tortoise,” said Strata.ca Broker Cliff Liu. “But condos will likely become the dark horse in 2022, especially among those who missed out last year.”……..

Toronto saw record-breaking increases in home prices in 2021 but things are looking a bit different for 2022.

Toronto’s real estate market put home purchases way out of reach for millennials over the past 12 months and, unfortunately, most experts are predicting housing prices will continue to grow next year.

Canadian home values are expected to rise strongly again in 2022, however at a slower pace compared to 2021, according to the Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast.

The median price of a single-family detached property is expected to rise 10 per cent to $1,564,200, while the median price of a condominium is forecast to increase 12 per cent to $763,800 by the end of 2022…….

The Toronto Real Estate Bubble Now Has 1 in 59 Workers Selling Homes In December, 2021

The Canadian real estate boom has produced a gold rush, and now everyone is trying to sell you a home. It’s a country-wide phenomenon, as people see a low barrier of entry and large commissions. However, nowhere has taken to the trend like Toronto, which now has more Realtors than teachers. A lot more.

Not even global real estate hubs like NYC and LA come close to the concentration of Realtors in Toronto. It might seem harmless, but experts say this is typical of a bubble. The same experts also found the surge in Realtors also amplifies housing corrections.

Looking south of the border at global real estate hubs like New York City and Los Angeles is sobering. In New York City, 1 in 164 labor force members is registered to sell you a home. Los Angeles, a notorious real estate hub, has 1 in 257 labor force members working as agents or brokers. Global real estate Meccas have fewer agents per worker than Canada……..

How Ontario should tackle the high cost of a home, according to the opposition parties in December, 2021

The soaring cost of buying or renting a home in Ontario — and what to do about it — is likely to be a major theme in the 2022 provincial election campaign.

The premier has a housing summit with the mayors of Ontario’s 29 largest cities scheduled for January, he’s urging municipalities to speed up development approvals, and the PCs’ polling firm has been surveying voters on what the government should do to make housing more affordable.

The latest figures from the Canadian Real Estate Association show the average home in Ontario selling at a price 44 per cent higher than it did two years ago, and forecast to rise another 11.5 per cent in 2022.

While the Ford government is focused almost entirely on boosting the supply of new housing as the way to rein in those skyrocketing prices, the opposition New Democratic, Liberal and Green parties are floating a range of other ideas as well. …..

LACKIE: Speculation tax won’t rein in Toronto housing market in December, 2021

Councillor Mike Colle proposed a new speculation tax at Toronto City Council on Dec. 15.

With the goal of making housing in Toronto more affordable, the thinking appears to be that a new levy (in addition to the already existing capital gains tax) to the sale of homes that are not principal residences would deter speculation and eliminate “home flippers” from the tightest, most competitive housing market on record.

According to Colle, “These people are just essentially blowing up the market in Toronto … There are other factors, but this is one factor that I want the provincial government to wake up and look at.”

Speculation in Toronto real estate has probably been underestimated for too long as a significant force contributing to the current housing crisis. It is now estimated that a full quarter of the buyer pool is made up of investment buyers. Such investors compete with end users and drive-up prices……..

Angry NIMBYs are making Toronto’s housing shortage worse with campaigns to block developments in December, 2021

A proposal to turn one house into two is all it took to transform the quiet Toronto neighbourhood of St. Andrew-Windfields into a battlefield..

Neighbours flooded local authorities with letters pleading to be saved from the “lot division nightmare,” denouncing it in all caps and insinuating the dangers it could pose to local school children. They hired a lawyer, commissioned a planning study, and enlisted their city councillor to stop the project. The crux of the opposition was that homes in St. Andrew-Windfields are large, and the two that Farrokh Zahedi and his wife proposed to build in place of their current one were small. This, the neighbours charged, would negatively alter the neighbourhood’s character……

Toronto real estate board opposes investor tax intended to suppress skyrocketing prices in December, 2021

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is opposing councillor Mike Colle’s motion to implement a speculation tax on investment buyers who are driving up property prices and making the city impossible for first-time home buyers trying to gain a footing.

“A speculation tax could primarily impact small-scale ‘mom and pop’ investors who also happen to be a key source of supply for an already tight rental market,” said TRREB president Kevin Crigger, painting a quaint picture of the investors bidding up prices in the Toronto real estate market. The average price for a home was $1,163,323 in November, with detached 416 homes averaging $1,807,983. “Experts, including TRREB, agree that policies aimed at the demand side of the market will not have any sustainable long-term benefits.”

In an open letter directed to Colle, TRREB warns that a speculative tax could chase away independent investment property owners putting homes on the rental market……….

LACKIE: Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force must address supply in December, 2021

For those curious about how seriously our government is taking housing affordability, one need only look to the recently announced Ontario Housing Affordability Task Force.

According to the government, the members, formally announced earlier this month, represent a “diverse range of experts” in not-for-profit housing, indigenous housing, real estate, home builders, financial markets and economics.

To read their bios, it’s quite a group. If the goal is to turnaround quick, practical advice on concrete steps that can be considered ASAP to get the ball rolling on the decades of delayed housing construction in this province, I am all for hearing from the people who specialize in the doing.

The critics wasted no time in turning to Twitter to voice their indignation. Evidently experts from the real estate and development industry were overrepresented in the nine, while voices with expertise in co-op and social housing were wholly lacking………

Condo price gains seen outpacing detached homes as market rebounds in GTA in Decembr, 2021

The condo market in Toronto took the hardest hit of any city in Canada when residents fled in the early days of the pandemic. Listings soared, prices fell and a flood of vacant units sent rents downward. Now they are not only rebounding, they are also expected to outstrip the price gains of much-coveted detached homes in Canada’s biggest city.

Royal LePage’s 2022 forecast, out this morning, predicts that the median price of a condo in Toronto will rise 12% to $763,800 by the last quarter of next year, beating the 10% gain that will take a detached home to $1,564,200.

The Greater Toronto Area is the only region in the country where condo gains are seen outpacing detached homes, but the gap is narrowing in other centres…….

Skyrocketing real estate prices leaving some buyers struggling to find a home in December, 2021

Skyrocketing costs for real estate during the pandemic are hitting Canadians hard, turning finding a home into an ordeal.

The excitement of shopping for their first home this past year quickly turned into a daunting task for Kathryn Quirk and her partner Tom.

“[We] started booking appointments for viewings, going to two or three a day, and very quickly realized that half a million dollars does not get you what you imagined in your head,” Quirk told CTV News.

The couple, who live in Waterloo, Ont., kept encountering what’s become a common occurrence: finding homes listed within their price range that would then go on to sell for $100,000 or $200,000 over asking……….

Housing sales to moderate in 2022, but prices to remain high – CREA in December, 2021

The Canadian Real Estate Association says housing sales will moderate next year in 2022, but prices aren’t expected to ease any time soon.

The association said in its 2022 forecast released on Wednesday that it expects tightening supply conditions to push housing costs even higher in 2022.

“While price growth is not expected to be as extreme in 2022, many of the conditions that supported it right up until the end of 2021 will still be there on New Year’s Day,” the association said in a release.

CREA’s forecast indicates that the heated conditions that have plagued the country for years and been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic won’t fully subside soon………

LACKIE: Insatiable demand, low housing supply means records continue to be set in December, 2021

Now that we’re into December and 2021 is almost behind us, it seems only fitting that this wild, record-setting year of Toronto real estate is winding down with more records being set.

The November, 2021 sales figures, released last week by Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, will come as no surprise to those who have been even casually following this market. Inventory remains low, prices continue to rise, and in the absence of any strong and decisive moves on the interest rate front, there is little indication that much will change any time soon. With 9,017 sales, the most, in fact, ever reported by TRREB for the month of November, the seasonal slow-down that once characterized our market appears to be a thing of the past.

Eager buyers, evidently keen to lock in limited-time-only rock-bottom interest rates, don’t appear to have the option to take a break.

Thus, demand remains insatiable while the supply of new listings, an essential component of any healthy and balanced marketplace, is far below adequate……..

Housing affordability should be a municipal concern, not just a national one in December, 2021

Discontented would-be homebuyers often take out their frustrations with housing markets on federal or provincial governments instead of municipal governments, but the dynamics of real property markets are inherently local, in that prices might rise in one part of the country, but remain steady or decline in other regions.

Nevertheless, the rapid escalation of housing prices emerged as a hot national issue during the federal elections held in September. Critics of the incumbent Liberals were quick to point out the average housing price had risen by almost 70 per cent since 2015 when Justin Trudeau first assumed power in Ottawa.

Housing affordability is also likely to surface as a critical concern in provincial elections, and incumbents will face similar criticism for not being able to cool off the market. Realizing this, the Ontario government recently announced an expert panel to identify ways and means to address the issue……..

Canada opens door to immigrants, adding fuel to hot housing market in December, 2021

OTTAWA, Dec 9, 2021 (Reuters) – Canada hopes more immigration can boost economic growth and allay a worsening post-pandemic labor shortage, but new migrants could pour gasoline on that red-hot housing market that the central bank has warned was stoked by “a sudden influx of investors.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration is on track to meet this year’s goal of 401,000 new permanent residents and is set to revise up next year’s target of 411,000, a government source said.

Canada’s successive governments have relied on immigration to drive economic growth in the face of a declining fertility rate, which hit a record low last year. With the pandemic triggering early retirements among aging Canadians, attracting immigrants has grown more important. Also, the country targets high-skilled immigrants who tend bring in money and earn enough to compete for desirable housing……..

A majority of Toronto’s Generation Z have given up on the dream of owning a single-family home in December, 2021

As Toronto’s real estate market remains hot with prices rising and home sales hitting new highs, a new report is claiming that more than half of the city’s ‘Generation Z’ residents have given up on the dream of ever owning a single-family home.

The report, released Wednesday by Sotheby’s International Realty Canada and Mustel Group, surveyed 1,502 Canadians between the ages of 18 and 28 living in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal.

According to the report, 52 per cent of the Toronto residents surveyed do not believe they will ever buy a single-family home.

This is higher than in Montreal and Calgary, where 48 and 39 per cent, respectively, of young residents share the same sentiment, but lower than in Vancouver where 56 per cent of respondents reported having given up on the idea of single-family home ownership………

Toronto Real Estate Prices Soared $44,000 Higher Last Month As Growth Goes Parabolic in December, 2021

Greater Toronto real estate prices are moving at one of the fastest rates in history. Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) data shows home prices hit a new record in November. The result was home prices soared by tens of thousands, printing a fifth of annual gains in just 30 days. Excess demand, driven by easy monetary policy to entice investors, has put a big strain on supply.

Greater Toronto real estate prices are soaring again and doing it at a record pace. The TRREB benchmark (i.e. typical) home reached $1,172,900 in November, up 3.92% ($44,300) from just a month before. Composite home prices across the region are now 28.31% ($258,785) higher than last year. This is a record high for prices in the region and nearly a record for the rate of price growth…….

GTA home prices climb 22 per cent in record November, posted in December, 2021

Home prices hit another record average last month, soaring 22 per cent annually as the 9,017 transactions also marked a new November sales high, says the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

The average selling price for a resale house or condo rose to $1.16 million as this year’s shortage of listings persisted into the late fall, pushing up prices, the real estate board said on Thursday.

That compares to last November’s average of $955,889 and a month-over-month gain of about $8,000……..

Toronto-area home sales top November record, prices reach all time high in December. 2021

TORONTO — The Greater Toronto Area’s heated real estate market further intensified last month as home sales topped a November record and average selling prices reached a new all-time high.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board reported Friday that 9,017 homes changed hands last month, up three per cent from 8,728 during the prior November.

The average home price in the region stretched to $1,163,323, an almost 22 per cent jump from $955,889 in November 2020……..

Investors Remain Active in the Hot Canadian Housing Market in November, 2021

Perhaps you have been wondering how a young family living in a detached home in Toronto or Vancouver can afford it. It could be that they already own another home. In fact, they may possess multiple homes as part of their investment strategy, new research has discovered. It’s no secret that the red-hot Canadian housing market has been driven by a number of factors including enormous demand, tight inventory and historically low borrowing costs. And in some markets, investors are a bigger factor than in others, with federal proposals to rein in accelerating prices.

Are investors making it more difficult for first-time homebuyers to get their foot in the door, amid sky-high valuations and bidding wars? For now, the industry is processing the data to determine how the situation is unfolding across Canada……..
 

Toronto City council approves motion forcing developers to build more affordable units in November, 2021

Council members on Tuesday approved a motion that would force developers to build more affordable units. City staff say the move could result in more than 17,000 new affordable units on the market by 2026.

The Inclusionary Zoning Policy would require developers to make between five and 10 per cent of new units affordable in 2022. By the year 2030, the bylaw requires as much as 22 per cent of new units to be affordable. The city estimates roughly 42,000 units are under construction right now.

The new rules would focus on three zoning areas in the city. It applies differently to buildings with a minimum development size of 100 units.

Under the plan, rental and ownership prices will be based on an individual’s household income rather than average market costs………

Experts say archaic and exclusionary rules are fuelling Toronto’s housing crisis in November, 2021

Everyone seems to think they have an answer to the housing crisis and runaway prices plaguing Toronto, and one group in the building industry is proposing a much easier way to fast-track new housing that doesn’t even require new construction.

Politicians imposing taxes to dissuade foreign real estate investment investment, rules forcing developers to build affordable housing, and most recently, promises of task forces to study a much-studied problem have all been touted as solutions to a mounting issue.

But what if the fastest path to cheap, quick housing has been hiding under our noses on Toronto’s plentiful quiet, tree-lined side streets all along?……..

RBC Economist says lack of homes for sale to “keep prices under intense upward pressure in near term” in November, 2021

RBC Economist doesn’t see Canadian homes becoming cheaper anytime soon.

To the contrary, a report by bank economist Robert Hogue anticipates that residential properties are going to get more expensive, at least in the near term.

It’s all got to do with the lack of homes for sale.

Hogue’s report is partially titled “Wanted: homes for sale”, which basically says everything.

Sifting through October 2021 market reports by real-estate boards across the country, Hogue noted that inventory dropped eight percent…….

Even With a 50% Correction, Toronto Housing Prices Would Only Return to 2014 Levels in November, 2021

It’s been established that Toronto’s real estate market is, by and large, buoyed by seemingly indomitable fundamentals rather than being propelled by irrational exuberance — although those signs do exist — but with such enormous valuation increases, there’s a persistent feeling that everything inevitably has to come crashing down.

“If prices doubled in seven years, that’s about 10% a year,” Scott Ingram, a realtor and chartered accountant in Toronto, said. “The Toronto and Vancouver markets have become more detached from the traditional fundamentals. We’ve been in a historically low interest rate period for the last seven years. Money is cheaper and people are throwing it into housing.”

Toronto and Dallas-Fort Worth keep jockeying for the mantle of North America’s fastest growing city, and with arguably the most imperative fundamental, population growth, showing nary a sign of abating, the city’s well-documented supply and demand imbalance will persist. That resultantly means housing prices will keep escalating, but doesn’t logic dictate that there has to be a cap?………

Toronto Home Prices Soar to New Record as Buyer Competition Heats up in November, 2021

Home prices across the Greater Toronto Area were sent skyrocketing once again, as lack of supply created competition among potential homebuyers.

According to data published by the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) on Wednesday, a total of 9,783 properties traded hands in October, marking an 8% increase from the month before, but a 6.9% drop from October 2020, as a tighter inventory was unable to keep up with demand.

The number of new listings slumped 13% month-over-month, and compared to October of last year, inventory was down 34%. Market conditions remained tight across all home types last month, with prices sustaining significant double-digit growth, once again. “The only sustainable way to address housing affordability in the GTA is to deal with the persistent mismatch between demand and supply. Demand isn’t going away. And that’s why all three levels of government need to focus on supply.” said TRREB president Kevin Crigger…….

Housing market shows little indication of cooling anytime soon in November, 2021

Another month down, more of the same.

Or rather, more of the same elements continuing to drive an already challenging marketplace into the tightest market in decades, and one that shows little indication of cooling anytime soon.

October 2021 market data, released last week by Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, revealed last month to be the second-strongest October on record.

With an average sale price of $1,155,345, up nearly 20% from October of last year, only 11,740 new listings came to market, down 34.1% year-over-year.

So, to break that down to the simplest possible terms, we have just over two-thirds of the inventory as last year driving prices 20% higher over that same period……..

October home sales down 7%, new listings fell by 34% from last year: Toronto board in November, 2021

TORONTO — Prospective homebuyers in the Greater Toronto Area found dramatically fewer homes on the market last month than they did a year ago, pushing sales down and prices up.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board said Wednesday that 9,783 homes in the region changed hands last month, down nearly seven per cent from a record 10,503 in October 2020.

Despite the fall, the result was still the second highest level for the month of October even as the number of new listings fell by about a third compared with a year ago.

.TRREB interpreted the numbers as a sign of tightening conditions in a market that is already among Canada’s most expensive and prone to some of the country’s most fierce bidding wars……..

Toronto Condo Market Experiencing Resurgence as Demand Picks Up Steam in November, 2021

After taking a breather during the height of the pandemic, it’s been full steam ahead for the Greater Toronto Area’s condo market ever since.

Demand for condominium apartments — both resale and new — is up, with sales for both condo segments up notably year-over-year during the third quarter, according to industry leaders.

During Q3-2021, GTA realtors recorded 7,819 condominium apartment sales, a 10.6% year-over-year increase, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB). At the same time, Urbanation says new condominium apartment sales in the GTA totalled 7,773 units, increasing 22% year-over-year from the previous Q3 high in 2020 of 6,386……

New condo sales, prices in Greater Toronto hit Q3 record high in November, 2021

Sales of new condominiums in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) hit a record for the third-quarter as buyers continue to flock back to the high-rise segment of the housing market.

The latest data from market research firm Urbanation show 7,773 new condo units were purchased in the GTA in the three-month period, up 22 per cent compared to the same time last year, marking a new all-time high for the third quarter.

According to Urbanation, the suburbs accounted for more than half of the total sales, but the City of Toronto saw stronger overall sales growth at 40 per cent……

Active market forecast for fall, 2021 for luxury properties in the GTA in October, 2021

Pandemic-related influences continue to fuel growth in luxury real estate market numbers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), according to Sotheby’s International Realty Canada fall market report released this month.

Consumer confidence is rising, the report says, and that translates into rising confidence in city living. However, constraints on top-tier supply have tightened the screws on sales across multiple market segments, leading to short sales cycles and price gains.

Toronto developer Brad Lamb says supply constraints are particularly keen in the detached home luxury market in such neighbourhoods as Forest Hill, South Hill and Rosedale……..

Toronto Rental Market Hot as Average Rents Up 19% in Past 7 Months in October, 2021

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rental market shows signs that the pandemic’s volatile days are well in the past, as average rents throughout the region have increased for the sixth straight month in a row in September.

While the month-over-month increase is minor, up just 0.9% to $2,116 from $2,097, it shows that the GTA rental market is making a comeback after hitting a two-year low of $1,971 in March, according to the latest Bullpen Research & Consulting and TorontoRentals.com Toronto GTA Rent Report.  

Despite the monthly increase, average rents are still down 0.7% year-over-year, but this is a significant improvement from just eight months ago when GTA rents were down a staggering 17% annually……..

Condo market booming back after slump during COVID-19 pandemic in October, 2021

After condo sales cooled off at the start of the pandemic, sales are once again through the roof.

It’s another obstacle for first-time buyers who may have turned to condos as a relatively affordable option, while semi-detached and freestanding home prices across the GTA show no sings of slowing.

There has been a 71 per cent increase in sales between January and August 2021 over last year. During 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led many homebuyers to look for detached homes with more space………

These are the cheapest downtown Toronto condos to sell in October, 2021

When it comes to buying condos in downtown Toronto — something that’s no small (or cheap) feat — it’s nice to know what’s available on the lowest possible end of the price spectrum.

With prices climbing higher and higher, it can start to feel like an impossible market to break into, especially when there are fierce bidding wars for units listed on the lower side.

“My clients looking downtown are still finding the competition tough for well-presented units,” said Nathaniel Hartree-Hallifax, a realtor at Strata.ca. “There’s still strong demand driven mainly by lack of inventory. So even if demand has fallen off due to higher prices, it hasn’t dropped as much as supply. So there’s still strong competition for prime, well-presented units.”……

Toronto rents keep on rising while the supply of available apartments tightens – blogTO in October, 2021

After lockdowns prompted a mass exodus of people from Toronto to nearby towns or cheaper Canadian cities — which in turn spurred a drop in average rents and a rise in vacancy rates in the city — the city’s rental market has been on the upswing for some weeks now, even though many residents are still considering leaving.

The latest data from the industry experts at Urbanation proves that the time to rent an apartment for a bargain price in Canada’s biggest metropolis has indeed come and gone, with prices continuing to climb quarter-over-quarter this year amid declining supply.

The overall vacancy rate among GTA purpose-built rental apartment buildings has, as of Q3 of 2021, dropped to three per cent (from 5.1 per cent in Q2 and 6.4 per cent in Q1), according to the firm’s latest market survey………

 

The making of a community called CityPlace – Toronto Sun, October, 2021

It’s the combination of community infrastructure and public space that are making it work.

Located on 55-acres of land, the odds of a residential complex called CityPlace turning into a massive example of urban blight seemed quite possible when Vancouver-based developer Concord Adex first submitted its ambitious plans to the city in the late 1990s.

With a proposal that would include 31 residential towers once all were built – 29 exist now – an estimated 12,000 units, critics of it at the time ranged from architects and urban planners to municipal politicians.

During a recent webinar organized by the Toronto chapter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), Lynda Macdonald, director of community planning with the city, said that at the time, there was a “negative response from the community at large……

Toronto real estate is biggest bubble risk in North America – UBS in October, 2021

Swiss investment bank UBS might think twice about lending out $4 million for that Toronto bungalow, since the multinational deems the city’s real estate market the second biggest risk in the world.

The UBS Global Real Estate Bubble Index ranks Toronto just behind Frankfurt, Germany among major urban markets with overpriced housing that is not supported by incomes and demands outsized mortgages.

As a result Canada, alongside Hong Kong and Australia, has seen the most significant increase in debt-to-income ratios.

The index gives markets with a fair value a score between -0.5 and 0.5, and overvalued homes a score between 0.5 and 1.5, which is where New York (0.54) and Los Angeles (1.2) land. Higher than 1.5 is deemed a bubble risk. Vancouver is at 1.6 and Toronto is 2.02, not far behind Frankfurt at 2.16…….

Ontario Homes Are Selling Way Over Asking & Here Are Cities To Avoid To Save Your Wallet in October, 2021

Ontario homes are currently selling for way over the asking price in some cities and it might hurt your wallet if you’re looking to buy.

The top five cities in Ontario where homes are currently selling for way over asking are Ottawa, Whitby, Windsor, Oshawa and Ajax.

Ottawa is the worst, with an average price spike of 27.88% and average listings of $523,842 selling for $669,874.

Meanwhile, Whitby has seen an average list-to-sold increase of 16.42%, with listings of $938,831 selling for over $1 million, on average.

“Notably, three of the top-five markets are located in the Durham Region, long considered a hot alternative to the City of Toronto, at a commutable distance,” an excerpt from the report reads……

Interested in buying a ‘haunted’ house? There’s lots to consider — including some potential benefits in October, 2021

Historical homes associated with paranormal tales may not be for everyone. But there can be benefits for those who are brave enough to take on the eerie and the unknown.

If a property is believed to be visited by otherworldly forces, it may be considered “stigmatized” by some potential buyers. In the context of real estate, a stigma can be defined as a non-physical, intangible attribute of a property that may elicit a psychological or emotional response on the part of a potential buyer. Something may have occurred in or near the property that does not affect the property’s appearance or function but might be considered by some as emotionally unnerving……..

WILD – Toronto real estate market still ‘highly vulnerable’ in October, 2021

When the economy begins to fire on all cylinders, buyers tend to show more interest in the housing market.

And over the past several months, the gradual reopening of the economy, high vaccination rates, historically low interest rates and government support programs have all fueled job recovery, savings and propelled many more buyers into the market.

Toronto mansion from Schitt’s Creek for sale at $21.8 million in October, 2021

Before falling on hard times and moving to Schitt’s Creek, the Roses lived in the lap of luxury.

The mega-mansion featured on the hit show is for sale in real life for $21,888,000. It was listed for sale for less in April at $19,880,000 before the owner took the listing off the market. Property taxes will set the buyer back $62,000 a year.

It’s located in Toronto’s swanky St Andrew-Windfields neighbourhood.

The cheaper list price on this piece of Canadian TV history from April might be considered a ‘steal’, as long as one is among the ultra-rich, of course.

La Belle Maison is a massive 24,000 square foot building with three storeys, and sits on half an acre. No wonder the rundown Rosebud motel just wasn’t cutting it……….

This $4 million mid-century modern house in Toronto is an architectural gem in October, 2021

Anyone who’s a sucker for mid-century design is going to fall in love with this home.

Originally built in 1958 this home was possibly one of the early Don Mills homes, or at least that’s what Colin Graham, the current owner and architect, thinks.

Graham bought the house 16 years ago and renovated it to his taste.

“I like to work with what’s there and expand on it. You can pull quite a bit of inspiration with what remains,” he told blogTO……..

Over A Quarter Of Toronto Real Estate Is Bought By Investors With Multiple Properties in October, 2021

Investors are taking over Canadian real estate markets, especially in Ontario. Teranet, the private operator of the province’s land registry, looked at buyers from January 2011 to August 2021. Their analysis shows the largest segment of buyers is now multiple property owners. Armed with cheap money, these investors now represent one in four Ontario home buyers. The share is even higher in Toronto, where first-time buyers dominated the market just 10 years ago.

Ontario Real Estate’s Biggest Buyer Is Owners With Multiple Properties

The largest group of home buyers in Ontario already have at least one other home. Multiple property owners represented nearly 25% of Ontario home purchases in 2021. This was a new record, with their share of the market advancing 8 points over the past decade, about a 50% increase. That’s right, one in four Ontario property buyers already owns at least one other home………

Detached homes in Toronto reach record-high selling prices in October, 2021

The average price for a detached home in the Toronto real estate market is higher than ever.

That shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone browsing local listings, where a Scarborough bungalow sitting on a large lot is pegged at $3.2 million (this is not hyperbole).

According to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), the average selling price for a detached home in the 416 area reached a record high $1,778,928 in September, which is a 19.5 per cent year-over-year increase and a six per cent jump from the month prior.

The average selling price for a semi-detached home in the 416 rose seven per cent since August to $1,304,504, which is a 13.9 per cent per cent year-over-year increase but below the record high of $1,326,153 in May………

Toronto’s housing market saw a hot September, 2021

Toronto’s housing market is heating up, with resales climbing for the first time in five months as “fierce” competition for houses in the suburbs pushes prices higher.

There were 9,046 home resales in the Toronto region in September, down 18 per cent from the same period last year. But it was the first month-over-month increase in activity since March, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board, or TRREB.

Across the Toronto area, the average selling price of a home was $1,136,280, an 18-per-cent jump over September of last year. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the average price was 1.8 per cent higher than in August………

What an end to blind bidding for real estate could look like in October, 2021

Critics of the blind bidding process for real estate are pushing for what they say are viable alternatives that could create a better system for both sellers and buyers.

In provinces across Canada, blind-bidding is the default practice when a home attracts multiple offers. In this scenario, buyers compete to offer the highest purchase price on a home without knowing the dollar amount of the other bids.

“I think there are serious issues with the way we are conducting things right now,” said Murtaza Haider, a professor of data science and real estate management at Ryerson University.

Haider says an end to blind bidding could have some impact on volatility in housing prices, but more importantly, “greater efficiency and transparency would bring more trust to the industry, and that should be a priority for the real estate sector.”……..

Toronto home sales and prices up, but new listings down in September – TRREB in October, 2021

Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says the market kicked off the fall selling season with an 18 per cent increase in homes sold in September and a 34 per cent drop in new listings.

The Ontario board revealed Tuesday that 11,033 homes changed hands in the region last month, up from 9,046 last September.

The uptick in sales is typical when autumn arrives, but the board said this year’s spike was the third-highest on record for September and signals that the market is still facing tightened conditions.

Demand has remained incredibly robust throughout September with many qualified buyers who would buy a home tomorrow provided they could find a suitable property……..

TABLE – Toronto home prices rise in September from August, listings drop in October, 2021

Oct 5 (Reuters) – The average selling price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area jumped in September from August, as the fall market picked up steam and a lack of supply led to more competition from buyers for all types of housing, the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said on Tuesday.

The average price of a resale home jumped 6.1% in September from August, and was up 18.3% on the year. Sales rose slightly on a month-over-month basis, but fell 18% on the year as new listings plunged 34% from a year ago.

With new listings in September down by one third compared to last year, purchasing a home for many is easier said than done. The lack of housing supply and choice has reached a critical juncture

LACKIE – Creative solutions needed to solve housing affordability dilemna in October, 2021

It feels as though when it comes to Toronto real estate lately there are few subjects gathering as much attention as our worsening affordability crisis.

he eye-popping average sale prices. The dearth of inventory. Bidding wars on everything, even crummy rentals. And not just downtown but throughout the GTA and well into the surrounding markets.

We now read stunning projections of how long it would take today’s average family to save the bare minimum down payment to qualify for a mortgage. How much of their income goes to rent and childcare rather than savings……..

Toronto real estate is facing a significant downturn says CMHC in October, 2021

The Greater Toronto Area real estate market, where a two-bedroom bungalow in need of TLC is listed for $2 million, remains at a high degree of market vulnerability, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).

According to the CMHC’s latest Housing Market Assessment, price acceleration and overvaluation as home prices keep rising above income levels is leaving the entire real estate market in Canada at a high degree of vulnerability. That means Canadian real estate is primed for a significant downturn with big consequences. And it’s primarily the hot real estate markets in Ontario like Toronto and Eastern Canada that are pushing the entire country to the current high degree of vulnerability.

Toronto, Hamilton, Ottawa, Halifax and Moncton have all been at high degree of market vulnerability for a while. They are now being joined by Montreal, which recently moved from moderate to high, with sharply rising prices. Vancouver, on the other hand, went from a moderate to low degree of market vulnerability…….

Toronto housing market highly vulnerable as more evidence of overheating found in September, 2021

The Toronto housing market is highly vulnerable as more evidence of overheating was found during the second quarter of the year, according to the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s (CMHC) latest report.

Market conditions all across the GTA have tightened, CMHC says, with demand remaining highest in suburban areas as buyers continue to favour larger homes to accommodate teleworking. Although low inventory levels have been an issue in Toronto over the past year, the sales-to-new-listings ration for all house types dropped even further during the second quarter of 2021……

‘High Degree of Vulnerability’ in Toronto’s Housing Market – CMHC in September, 2021

Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation (CMHC) has finally acknowledged a high level of vulnerability in the national housing market.

According to CMHC, the degree of vulnerability in the Canadian housing market moved from moderate to high during the second quarter — a direct result of national price acceleration and persistent overvaluation imbalances.

he federal housing agency says the high level of vulnerability felt across the country reflects the problematic conditions in several local housing markets throughout Ontario and Eastern Canada, including Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal, while Vancouver’s level is low…….

Toronto’s Housing Market is Tighter Than it’s Been in Years… Don’t Expect That to Change in September, 2021

The Toronto real estate market has dialled back the record-breaking drama we saw earlier in the year.

And, while that has some breathing a sigh of relief (well, almost, at least), it may be wishful thinking to confuse a cooling market with a lack of interest — or significantly falling prices.

It’s Toronto, after all. And it’s returning to life in all of its pricy glory as the pandemic recovery continues.

The reality is that the Toronto market remains tighter than it has for years on the supply front and many would-be homebuyers have simply given up on it, as evidenced by the drop in frenzy and headline-making bidding wars. But the minimal supply of inventory in Toronto is currently keeping prices high — although not drastically increasing — in the notoriously pricey city. This lack of supply is relentless and, likely, lasting. …….

Will the iceberg house trend continue in Toronto in September, 2021?

Hogg’s Hollow residents Shannon Rancourt and Laura Lamarche knew something strange was happening in their neighbourhood after a heritage home was demolished without a city permit during the May 24 long weekend.

“It really rattled us that things like that could easily happen,” Rancourt said.

Then one day in July, while they were both walking their dogs, they noticed some activity happening at 7 Knightswood Rd. — a home Rancourt said has been abandoned for about five years.

A massive 200-year-old sugar maple tree, which she said is likely the oldest tree in the heavily green neighbourhood, had been cordoned off on its way to being cut down.

Soon, Rancourt and Lamarche embarked on their own investigation that Rancourt describes as “peeling an onion.”…….

14-ft-wide Toronto home hits the market for $1.7 million in September, 2021

Toronto real estate is known for making the most out of tight spaces, and a 14-ft-wide home that just hit the market really shows that off.

The property, located at 716 Adelaide Street West, spans a total of just 14.4 ft, putting it on the narrower side of things. On it sits a five-bedroom, three-bathroom townhome that came on the market last week with an asking price of $1,699,900.

Although 14 ft may sound restrictive, the listing photos show that the home makes the most out of the space. It has three storeys above ground with two full kitchens, living space, and three bedrooms. There’s also a finished basement with two additional bedrooms……

All in the family – Toronto Sun in September, 2021

Housing costs, COVID fears drive demand for multi-generational housing.

It’s described as a “house within a house” – a multi-generational design that strikes the balance between “privacy and proximity.” As the idea of several generations living under one roof returns, “it’s an idea whose time has come.”

Builder Craig Marshall predicts demand for the house-within-a-house concept will grow as families choose options other than retirement or nursing homes. Marshall Homes’ multi-generational design, the Flexhouz™, resonated with buyers when it was recently included among potential designs in a Pickering enclave……

How the housing landscape could change under a newly re-elected Liberal government in September, 2021

The dust has settled on an election that did little to change the parliamentary makeup in Ottawa, as the federal Liberals again take their seats as a minority government.

One of the cornerstone campaign issues was the housing crisis. But it is not a new issue. Many have argued there was little improvement under the previous government, and are skeptical it will be any different under the new one.

According to the Canadian Real Estate Association, the average price of a home in this country has gone up more than 50 per cent over the last five years. And it’s not slowing. Nationally, the average home price in August was up 13.3 per cent from the same month last year…….

Toronto broker laughs at Liberals’ plan to improve housing affordability in September, 2021

A Toronto-area real estate broker laughed when asked about what a third-term win for the federal Liberal government means for affordability in Canada’s housing sector.

John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty, said he thinks the Liberal policies proposed during the election campaign about housing will likely stimulate more demand than is already present.

And it could lead to higher prices in the future, at a time when inventories and listings are the tightest they’ve ever been in major cities across the country, he said.

“I don’t think anything’s making sense in terms of bringing affordability,” Pasalis said in an interview Tuesday. “Our population is growing a lot faster than our ability to build homes and that’s really what’s causing this sort of rapid acceleration we’re seeing in prices.”…….

Suburban Toronto homeowners can’t wish illegal rooming houses out of their neighbourhoods in September, 2021

Costs of rental housing in Toronto have increased, waiting for subsidized housing can take close to a decade, and all but a handful of private rentals are unaffordable for social assistance recipients.

Yet practical and viable private sector solutions exist that could use but don’t require government subsidies.

One such solution is the legalization of multi-tenant dwellings, also known as rooming houses, coming up for a city council vote in early October.

Rooming houses exist throughout Toronto, but are only legal largely in the city’s core.

Toronto besieged by tightest real estate market in recent memory – Lackie, in September, 2021

Following a relatively slow summer, the real estate market has reawakened, with buyers and their agents zooming from showing to showing, sellers and their agents prepping houses to bring to market, all while everyone else is doing their best to keep the calm.

Managing expectations while leaving room for the market to work its alchemy is pretty much the name of the game these days.

Even with the welcome surge of new activity, Toronto is still besieged by the tightest real estate market in recent memory. Active listings are at a 25-year low while demand, bolstered by record-low interest rates, remains fierce. These market conditions don’t bode well for those clinging to the hope that prices will come down any time soon……..

TECH TALK WITH MIKE – How to optimize your Google My Business listing in September, 2021

Initially known as Google Places for Business, Google My Business is an important tool for businesses looking to leverage location-based marketing. It is a free marketing tool from Google that enables business owners to manage the visibility of their business on search engines. GMB is best suited for businesses looking to improve their brand awareness and visibility to local clients.

However, like other digital marketing strategies, making the most from Google My Business goes beyond setting up your account and waiting for results. You should optimize your business listing to enable search engines to display your business as part of the search results. Below is a guide on how to optimize your GMB and its benefits.

Google My Business is part of Google’s Knowledge Graph. This is a service that businesses and individuals can optimize to position their services on the first page of Google search results. Knowledge graph displays various information, including phone numbers, operational hours, address, customer reviews, offers/promotions, and photos…….

Google Confirms 11th Chrome Zero-Day Attack, Releases Urgent Fix in September, 2021

Chrome users beware, just days after I warned attacks on Google’s browser are increasing, another critical hack has been confirmed.

Google published the news in a new blog post, where it revealed Chrome’s 11th ‘zero day’ exploit of the year has been found (CVE-2021-37973) and it affects Linux, macOS and Windows users. A zero-day classification means hackers have been able to exploit the flaw before Google could release a fix, which makes it significantly more dangerous than most security flaws. Google confirmed this saying it “is aware that an exploit for CVE-2021-37973 exists in the wild”.

In response, Google has released a critical fix. The company warns all Chrome users will get it at the same time, but to check if you are protected navigate to Settings > Help > About Google Chrome. If your Chrome version is 94.0.4606.61 or higher, you are safe. If the update is not yet available for your browser, keep checking regularly for the new version. …….

Canadian home sales expected to drop 20% in 2022 in September, 2021

After a prolonged home-buying frenzy lead to month after month of record-high sales all over the country, the Canadian real estate market is expected to slow down significantly next year.

RBC released its Macroeconomic Outlook for September and in it, predicted that the number of Canadian home sales will decline by 20% in 2022. Even with this sizeable drop, though, the number of sales would still be above the 10-year-average……..

Home prices in Toronto rise to record levels and here’s what experts say will happen next in September, 2021

The frenzied pace of home buying Toronto experienced in 2020 has waned but prices continue to increase.

As anyone searching for a home knows, it is difficult to find a decent home under $1 million unless you want to live in a shack or run-down bungalow.

And it is not just in Toronto. Across Canada, home sales dipped -0.5 per cent from July and -14 percent compared to 2020’s scorching summer market but it’s still the second-best August in history for real estate transactions, according to a new report from Zoocasa.

“Canadian housing markets appear to be stabilizing somewhere in between pre- and peak-pandemic levels – which is to say, still extremely unbalanced,” said Canadian Real Estate Association senior economist Shaun Cathcart ………

Why home prices keep climbing even though sales are falling in September, 2021

Home sales in Canada fell a significant 14 per cent year over year in August, the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) reported Sept. 15. Great news, right? If sales are down, doesn’t that mean demand is weakening?

Not when it comes to Canadian real estate at this strange juncture in history. While some buyers may indeed be stepping away from the market with a mixture of frustration, sadness and disgust, the sales dip can largely be attributed to the lack of homes for sale.

New listings in August were 22.2 per cent lower than they were a year ago. That works out to about 18,000 fewer homes on the market — for just one month. So long as the number of houses for sale keeps shrinking, prices have only one way to go…….

Home sales cool in August, but average prices still well up from last year in September, 2021

Canada’s housing market continued to show signs of a slow cool-down in August, as the number of sales ticked lower even as selling prices still headed higher compared to where they were a year ago.

The Canadian Real Estate Association said Wednesday that 48,379 homes changed hands in August, down 0.5 per cent from July — and down by about 14 per cent compared to the number of sales clocked this time last year.

About half of all markets are seeing more houses change hands, while the other half are seeing fewer. Shaun Cathcart, chief economist for the group that represents more than 100,000 realtors across the country, said the market seems to be moving into a new phase.

“Canadian housing markets appear to be stabilizing somewhere in between pre- and peak-pandemic levels — which is to say, still extremely unbalanced,” he said in a release……..

Fall real estate market in Toronto area off to slow start as homeowners seem hesitant to sell in September, 2021

The rush of new listings that typically signals the start of the fall real estate market in the Toronto area is behind schedule this year.

Homeowners seem hesitant to list their properties for sale, agents say, and prospective buyers looking for fresh supply aren’t seeing the influx they were hoping for.

One week after Labour Day, broker Christopher Bibby sold a downtown condo unit that had been listed for 45 days. The unit, with an asking price in the $1.5-million range, is located in a luxury building in the King Street West neighbourhood…….

Toronto Market Update – Only 4,001 Houses for Sale in Aug As Listings Drop in September, 2021

The summer came to a close showing strong signs that in the fall we will continue to see a competitive market for homes in the Toronto area.

While house sales were down 30% on a year over year basis, sales were well above the pre-COVID levels in 2018 and 2019 for the month of August.

The big factor that is keeping Toronto’s housing market very competitive is the declining number of homes coming on the market for sale. New listings were down 46% over last year and well below levels in 2018/19.

At the end of August, the Toronto area had only 4,001 houses available for sale, a 56% decline from inventory levels last year and well below the 11 to 12,000 active house listings that are more typical for the month of August. ……

Latest threats of rising interest rates and high inflation may shift real estate outlook in September, 2021

Popular outrage at the soaring price of Canadian housing has a fix that almost no one is talking about — certainly not those aspiring to be Canada’s prime minister.

While they have not framed it specifically as a method of curbing Canada’s property sector, central bankers are the exception to that rule. Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem insists he is preparing to push a lever expected to have a real effect on the escalating price of houses: hiking interest rates.

People with a stake in Canada’s diverse housing sector, including homeowners, investors and those aspiring to buy, will be paying close attention to Wednesday’s latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association.

They will also be watching Canada’s inflation numbers coming out on the same day, expected by economists to hit 3.9 per cent. If so, that will be the highest Canadian inflation figure since 2003………

RESCON – Blame slow approval process for lack of housing supply in September, 2021

There’s an abundance of zoning bylaws in this country that restrict the supply of homes and too many agencies involved in the approval process.

Famed theoretical physicist Albert Einstein is credited with saying that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
 He was right. If we are to get a handle on the current housing crisis in Ontario, we need to think out of the box and find new ways to boost supply.

The current way of doing things is not working. We have the lowest number of housing units per capita of any G7 nation. To match the average ratio of the G7, we would need to build 1.8 million homes. That will not happen, as we have averaged 188,000 home completions a year for the last decade……..

Election 2021 – Where the parties stand on housing, rent and mortgages in September, 2021

Real estate has become a key issue in the upcoming federal election, with all three parties tossing out ideas and committing to boosting housing supply and finding ways to make accommodations in overpriced cities like Toronto more affordable.

The Liberal Party promised to introduce a home buyer bill of rights that would banish blind-bidding (which caused some commotion in Toronto real estate circles) and ensure access to home inspections. They also want to implement a two-year ban on foreign investors, to prevent people from parking their money in Canadian real estate and driving up prices.

The Conservatives want to follow a similar tack, but also encourage foreign buyers to invest in rental housing instead. Meanwhile, the NDP wants to implement a foreign buyer tax, much like the one that is already applicable when purchasing homes in the Golden Horseshoe area. NDP leader Jagmeet Singh has also promised to crack down on “renovictions.”……..

LACKIE – Housing affordability crisis unlikely to improve any time soon in September, 2021

This election cycle, housing affordability has emerged as one of the most unifying yet paradoxically most polarizing issues among Canadians.

We have all watched housing prices skyrocket over the past decade, many of us shaking our heads in amazement as real estate markets inexplicably powered on through the uncertainty and instability of a global pandemic.

With Vancouver and Toronto now among the world’s most unaffordable cities, it’s not alarmist to call this a crisis……..

WILD – Incentives will help, but won’t cure housing supply or affordability problems in Sptember, 2021

The long, hot days of summer brought yet another month of cooling as August sales in the GTA were down about 800 units from the month before — a trend that has continued since May.

While the market definitely took a summer break, it’s clear that demand for home ownership remained strong and average sale prices continued to hold steady.

At the same time, the supply of listings showed a downward trend which resulted in tighter market conditions and sustained competition between buyers…………

Average Toronto real estate selling price hits lowest point since February in September, 2021

A two-bedroom bungalow at North York’s northern edge is listed for $1.685 million, which is roughly the average price for a detached home in the city according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB).

The listing for the cozy and renovated home at 70 Abitibi, near Willowdale and Steeles, boasts its “premium” location in North York, a separate entrance to an unfinished basement and a detached garage. For that, sellers are asking for slightly more than the average.

Detached homes averaged a $1,674,641 selling price in August, which is up three per cent from July and 11.2 per cent from last year but down from some of the peak levels we saw earlier this year (the average was $1.75 million in March, 2021)………

Toronto area housing prices continue to climb as supply hits decade low, real estate board finds in September, 2021

TORONTO — The Toronto Regional Real Estate board says August home sales slowed from the frenzied pace seen earlier in the year, but market conditions have tightened as supply plummeted by 43 per cent and prices rose yet again.

The Ontario board said Friday that 8,596 homes were sold in August, a 19.9 per cent drop from 10,738 at the same time last year and an eight per cent fall from 9,368 in July.

New listings in the region fell to 10,609. That was down 43 per cent from 18,599 last August and 15 per cent from 12,551 in July, 2021………