So your rent keeps going up every year, your place needs repair but the landlord keeps putting you off, and you can’t do anything to make your apartment your own… Maybe you’re starting a family or you’ve worked hard to pay off your student loans and you’re ready to start on a new adventure: home ownership! Making the transition from tenant to homeowner can be scary, but it can also be exciting! In this article we take some of the scare out of first-time home... [read more]

Getting a mortgage can be tough, especially with the price of houses these days. But over the past year-and-a-half or so, borrowers have had an even tougher time securing a mortgage all thanks to the “mortgage stress test.” To pass the test, anyone who wants to apply for a mortgage must prove that they’ll be able to continue making their mortgage payments even if rates increase at some point in the near future.   What is the Mortgage Stress Test? In the past... [read more]

Whenever cancelled condo projects make the news, utter panic spreads out amongst those who’ve already invested. Steve Jelenic of Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd. and Christie’s International attempts to assuage those worries. What do you do if the pre-construction condo project you invested in gets cancelled? This literally comes down to legalities. It comes down to the agreement of purchase and sale, which you signed with the builder and which 95 per cent of people don’t... [read more]

Condo prices in Toronto jumped 10.1% year-over-year to $569,812 in the fourth quarter of 2018, along with the rate of appreciation for most other types of homes throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The increase is slightly above the rise in aggregate price for a home in the city, which went up 8.8% over the same period to $901,280, according to the house price survey released by Royal LePage on Friday. “Despite sluggish sales in the city’s core, sellers are often able to... [read more]

Shaky stock markets, Brexit turmoil and trade disputes that rattled consumer confidence in Canada’s high-end real estate market last year will continue into 2019. But the strong employment and above-average population growth in Toronto mean the region is poised to weather global forces better than most cities, says Brad Henderson CEO of Sotheby’s International Realty Canada. The company’s 2018 year-end report, released Thursday, points to looming financial volatility... [read more]

TORONTO, January 4, 2019 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported a total of 77,426 residential transactions through TREB's MLS® System in 2018. This result represented a 16.1 per cent decline compared to 92,263 sales reported in 2017. Total new listings entered into TREB's MLS® System were down by 12.7 per cent over the same period to 155,823. The overall average selling price for 2018 transactions, at... [read more]

The size and sheer volume of GTA condo cancellations in 2018 sent shockwaves through the industry and left thousands of purchasers stunned and upset. According to condo analytics firm Urbanation, from January 1 to mid-December, 2018, 4,202 units (or 12 buildings across nine developments) were cancelled. That’s staggering, considering that in 2017 there were 1,678 cancelled units in eight buildings and just 379 cancelled units across three buildings in 2016. “You can usually... [read more]

GTA REALTORS® Release Monthly Resale Market Watch Report TORONTO, December 5, 2018 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced the continuation of moderate price growth in November 2018 compared to November 2017. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 2.7 per cent year-over-year. The average selling price was up by 3.5 per cent year-over-year to $788,345. Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 6,251 residential transactions through... [read more]

In most of the country, townhouses are an in-between option for home buyers: bigger than the most affordable condo apartments, but smaller and more affordable than the average detached house. When researchers talk about the Greater Toronto Area’s “missing middle,” odds are they are talking about townhouses. Given that the market still has significant affordability challenges, it may be surprising to learn sales of new townhouses in the Toronto area are now on a two... [read more]

A new report from the Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada says a Canadian housing collapse is unlikely. According to the CPA, the Canadian housing market isn’t as similar to the 2008-09 American housing market as many think. “Beyond prices and debt levels, Canada shares far fewer similarities with the U.S. than you might think. This becomes very apparent when you look at just one measure; credit quality,” Francis Fong, CPA Canada’s Chief Economist said in... [read more]

If you’re looking for a mortgage on a home purchase — or to renew one on a home you already own — is a mortgage broker or a bank your best option? The main difference is a bank mortgage officer represents only the products their institution offers, while a mortgage broker is an intermediary who works with multiple lenders and is paid a referral fee by the lenders. Mortgage brokers are regulated in Ontario by the Financial Services Commission and require a licence. While... [read more]

Housing sales across the Greater Toronto Area rose last month, compared with a year ago, as prices also climbed, helped by strong sales in the condo and higher-density lowrise markets. The Toronto Real Estate Board says there were 7,492 sales in October 2018, up six per cent versus a year ago. On a preliminary seasonally adjusted basis, sales were down one per cent compared to September 2018. Meanwhile, the average sale price was $807,340 in October, up 3.5 per cent from $780,400... [read more]

Nestled in the lush treed neighborhood of St Andrew Winfields, in the suburb of North York in Toronto, sits a Frech Chateax Mega Mansion.  This 24000 Sq. Ft. State of the Art Luxury home was built to resemble Versailles and has been dubbed "La Belle Maison".  With 14 bedrooms and 16 bathrooms, this mansion has everything your heart desires including Golf Simulator, Wine Cellar, Banquet Hall, Indoor/Outdoor Swimming pool and so much more.  The foyer is inspired by... [read more]

Have you considered purchasing a property for rental income. It can be a lucrative proposition IF done correctly. Here I will walk you through the math behind one rental income propertie to hopefully shed some light on what makes a good investment vs a bad one. Lets take Sam as an example. Sam purchased a 1+den condo downtown Toronto for $650,000. Sam had $130,000 as a down payment (20%). Sam now has a mortgage of $520,000 with a 25 year amortization at 3.34% interest rate. ... [read more]

Pot is legal and it feels as though not much has changed. However, while the future may be green, just how legal pot at home will impact the real estate industry remains a bit uncertain with buyers and sellers. That’s because, despite the drug’s newly-minted legal status, questions linger over how personal use and cultivation may impact the value, desirability, and even the insurable status of homes for sale. According to a new national survey conducted by Zoocasa that polled... [read more]

By 2023, the number of millionaires in Canada is expected to rise 54% to nearly 2 million people   The number of millionaires in Canada will jump by more than half in the next five years, a faster growth rate than other developed countries like the U.S., according to a new wealth report from banking giant Credit Suisse. Canada had 1.3 million millionaires in 2018 and that's expected to rise by 54 per cent to nearly two million people by 2023, the Global Wealth Report 2018... [read more]

As cities decide how to build for the future, they might start looking squarely at Toronto. Two years ago, Google created a startup called Sidewalk Labs to "accelerate innovation in cities around the world." The company has been weighing potential locations for a massive feasibility study that could be used as an example of what future cities could look like. On Tuesday, Sidewalk Labs and the city of Toronto announced that they'll transform a section of the metropolis's... [read more]

New King Condos by Westbank and Allied and Bjarke Ingels Group Architect 489 King Street West is a mixed-use condominium development proposed for Toronto’s Fashion District by Westbank Corp and Allied. A unique design that reaches a maximum of 16 storeys 489 King Street West Condos has an occupancy date of 2021. This Fashion District condominium will occupy almost an entire block on King Street between Portland Street and Spadina Avenue. It includes the current buildings ranging from... [read more]

TORONTO, ONTARIO, October 3 , 2018 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 6,455 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in September 2018 – up 1.9 per cent compared to September 2017. The average selling price for September 2018 sales was up by 2.9 per cent over the same period to $796,786. The MLS® HPI composite benchmark price was up by two per cent year-over-year. New listings entered into... [read more]

When it comes to making money in real estate investing, there are only a handful of ways to do it. Though the concepts are simple to understand, don't be fooled into thinking they can be easily implemented and executed. Grab a notebook and pencil, because, in the next ten minutes, I'll walk you through a brief overview to help you understand the basics of real estate and how successful real estate investors work to maximize their earnings. The Three Primary Ways to Make Money from... [read more]

TORONTO, October 18, 2018 -- Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that the average selling price for condominium apartments reported sold by Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® through TREB's MLS ® System in the third quarter of 2018 was up by 8.4 per cent year-over-year to $552,269. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Apartment Benchmark Price was up by 10.1 per cent year-over-year to $506,300 in September 2018. The highest average condominium apartment selling... [read more]

A premium new high-rise condominium community is on its way to Toronto’s popular Yonge-Eglinton corridor. Branded as Line 5 Condos, the project is a joint venture between two of the GTA’s most trusted developers, Reserve Properties and Westdale Properties. It is being designed by the renowned professionals at Graziani + Corazza Architects, which is widely recognized as one of Canada’s most accomplished design studios. Line 5 Condos at 117 Broadway Avenue will add signature... [read more]

Renting a condo in Toronto keeps getting more expensive. The average monthly rent for a condo in the city jumped 7.6 per cent in the third quarter from a year ago to a record high $2,385, according to Urbanation Inc. While the number of new condo rental leases signed grew slightly in the third quarter from last year to 8,186, the market still remains exceptionally tight. Average lease prices in purpose-built rental buildings completed since 2005 in Toronto surged 17 per cent to $3.09 per... [read more]

Drake is a courtside kind of guy. So it makes sense that he’s building a basketball court in his new Toronto castle. But not just any basketball court — an NBA-sized basketball court. Drake’s new Toronto pad is under construction now. And according to the Degrassi alum’s building permits filed with the City of Toronto — and TMZ, the go-to celebrity news source — his new mansion will be pimped out. Drake’s new home will have a 15,000 square foot... [read more]

Toronto rent is high. It’s unlikely that anyone renting in Toronto needs a report to confirm this. But it’s not just that the rent is high. It’s that it keeps going up. Affordable housing has reached a crisis. And it’s not just in Toronto, but the Greater Toronto Area suburbs as well. GTA suburbs are among the fastest rising rental markets in Canada. At the forefront of this upward trend: Oakville, Etobicoke, and Mississauga. What’s more, rental rates are... [read more]

The Supreme Court of Canada’s refusal to hear an appeal from the country’s largest real estate board enables its member real estate agents to publish home sales data on their websites, setting a precedent that could usher in a new era of transparency for home buyers and sellers nationwide, industry experts said Thursday. Canada’s top court announced Thursday it has dismissed the application from the Toronto Real Estate Board, which represents more than 50,000 Ontario... [read more]

Some days it feels like there’s more development happening in Toronto than New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles combined. By one standard that measures development, that’s true. A July study from international real estate consultancy Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) counted the number of cranes in 13 major cities in the United States and Canada, most in use for home construction. The “Crane Index” demonstrates how fast cities are growing, said Joe Pendlebury, who leads... [read more]

New Zealand is happy to welcome the world’s tourists, but it doesn’t want visitors to get too comfortable. The government of New Zealand has banned most foreigners from buying homes as it tries to tackle runaway housing prices. Previously the housing market was open to investors worldwide, but the government on Wednesday passed legislation that allows only New Zealand residents to buy homes. In recent years, there have been many anecdotal stories of wealthy foreigners from... [read more]

Let me be clear. Toronto suburbs are not going anywhere. They are still growing. Many people still dream of owning their own house, which is much more attainable in the suburbs. Something is changing though. And it’s changing fast. Some suburbs are becoming more like cities. Toronto’s inner suburbs of the future will be much more like cities of today. Specifically: Etobicoke, Scarborough and North York. You know, the “ex-burbs” that were once their own municipalities... [read more]

Canada’s real estate buying spree may be over, but paying off the debt has barely begun. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the Crown corporation in charge of housing research, teamed up with Equifax to crunch the numbers on the average payment due. Larger debt loans and higher interest rates pushed the average monthly payment for housing much higher in Q1 2018. The large increases are just the beginning as interest rates continue to push towards normalization. Average... [read more]

Vancouver has North America's least affordable housing market ... and its lowest property tax rates.   Many Vancouverites may be frustrated that homes in their region — already the least affordable in North America — are being slapped with new taxes, but data shows homeowners in the city have actually been getting a very good deal. An excellent deal, really. In a new study from home listings site Zoocasa, the city has the lowest property tax rate among Canadian... [read more]

July 2018 numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board showed that both sales activity and the average selling price of homes in the city have seen strong growth, thus keeping up Toronto’s status as the most vibrant housing market nationwide. “We have certainly experienced an increase in demand for ownership housing so far this summer. It appears that some people who initially moved to the sidelines due to the psychological impact of the Fair Housing Plan and changes to mortgage... [read more]

While the rest of the Canadian housing market slowly adjusts to the effects of rising interest rates and stricter mortgage rules, Toronto’s new condo market continues to perform well. But a lack of supply is pushing sales downwards.   Condo starts reached a record 7,981 units last quarter, while sales plunged 56 per cent year-over-year, according to a new report from Urbanation.   “The drop in sales can be attributed to a slowing of project openings, and... [read more]

While foreign investment has often been overestimated as a factor in high Canadian real estate prices, Chinese buyers continue to be attracted to the Canadian housing market, according to a new report from Chinese real estate website Juwai.com. A primary reason is the country’s relative affordability, in comparison to the United States, according to Juwai.com CEO Carrie Law.   “The Canadian dollar is up more than 6 per cent against the Yuan since its recent low point in... [read more]

Oakville, Ont. is home to tony boarding school Appleby College, the famous Glen Abbey Golf Club and lakefront mega-mansions, including one listed for $65 million in 2016. Its average household income of $162,000 is the 10th highest in the country and the value of the average primary residence is $1.2 million, the 13th most expensive in Canada. Many would look at those facts and conclude Oakville sounds like a great place to live—for rich people. But mayor Rob Burton says those numbers... [read more]

Toronto’s tech scene is so hot the city created more jobs than the San Francisco Bay area, Seattle and Washington, D.C., combined last year, while leapfrogging New York in a ranking of “talent markets.” Toronto was the fastest-growing tech-jobs market in 2017, according to CBRE Group Inc.’s latest annual survey, released Tuesday. The city saw 28,900 tech jobs created, 14 percent more than in 2016, for a total of more than 241,000 workers, up 52 percent over the past... [read more]

Rents continue their rapid rise in Toronto-area condominium leases in the second quarter of 2018, according to new data from analysts at Urbanation Inc. Urbanation calculates that for an average-sized condo apartment (732 square feet), the monthly rent for new leases signed this spring hit $2,302, an increase of 11.2 per cent over similar leases signed in the same period in 2017. And there’s no signs of the trend slowing down: “The $231 average increase over the past year was the... [read more]

While the Toronto residential market has seen the median cost of its housing shrink in Q2 2018, price growth accelerated in other major Ontario locales such as Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast. The average price of a standard 2-storey home increased by 8.9% annually across the region (up to $515,733) in the second quarter of the year. Meanwhile, the median price of a bungalow grew by 6.2% year-over-year (up to... [read more]

Toronto is currently the most constrained industrial market in North America Canada is not just running out of residential real estate in its key markets — the country’s commercial and industrial real estate is also filling up fast. Availability of industrial property across the country fell to a historically low level of 3.9 per cent in 2018, while supply tightened in eight of the 10 major commercial real estate markets, according to CBRE Group, Inc., the real estate services... [read more]

Rents for condominiums in the Toronto area skyrocketed in the second quarter amid a slump in leasing activity and a severe lack of supply. Average rents rose 11.2 per cent in the second quarter compared to the same period last year, hitting $2,302 for an average unit of 732 square feet, according to Urbanation Inc., a firm that collects and analyzes data on the Toronto condo market. New condominium project registrations or units recently completed – a strong source of new rental... [read more]

The slowdown in the Toronto region’s housing market that began last year continued through the first half of 2018, but two big industry players suggest that buyers and sellers are ready to shake off the malaise with a return to normal later this year. Although 2018 “was a spring market that never blossomed,” Royal LePage CEO Phil Soper says he sees change on the near horizon after 14 months of government intervention, higher interest rates and new mortgage... [read more]

Toronto real estate may not be what it was one year ago, but it’s still a battle for home buyers. In fact, it’s often a war. A bidding war. This is not just in Toronto, it’s happening in Vancouver too. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), the Crown corporation in charge of mortgage liquidity, recently conducted a massive survey of 30,000 recent buyers in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. It found that 55 per cent of Toronto and Vancouver real estate buyers... [read more]

The Toronto real estate market is in flux. Depending on the article you read, predictions vary between unbridled optimism claiming the market is about to take off (again) and worrisome naysayers expecting an implosion. Is the Toronto real estate market truly heading for a correction or are the headlines of the Toronto rental market being unaffordable cries for attention? From a global perspective, 2017 was an incredible year for the financial world, including real estate. Global... [read more]

Like many Torontonians in search of a home, Katy Schuyler would do almost anything to secure a coveted one-bedroom apartment downtown. Nevertheless, she doesn’t think handing over a record of her last 30 bank transactions should be part of the deal. “I don’t even bother scheduling appointments with places like that because that’s beyond intrusive,” Schuyler said. “You don’t need to see what I spend my money on.” Schuyler joins a growing... [read more]

New data from the Toronto Real Estate Board, as mapped by Zoocasa, gives us an insight into the most desirable places in the city to live in right now. We can infer this because the data shows how many days condos and detached houses are on the market before they sell. This is done using an indicator called "days on market" (DOM) where the average DOM for condos in Toronto is 16. Coming in at only 8 DOM is a collection of neighbourhoods that includes Davenport Village, the... [read more]

RYCOM and Blackpoint Team Up To Make Smart Tech Safer for Commercial Real Estate TORONTO and BALTIMORE, June 7, 2018 /CNW/ - RYCOM Corporation and Blackpoint Cyber (Blackpoint) announced today that they have signed an exclusive partnership agreement to ensure commercial real estate is both Smart and cyber-secure. At the center of the partnership is a cyber defence platform which will assist in protecting the networks and technologies needed to make commercial buildings Smart, convenient and... [read more]

If you're on the hunt for the perfect summer hideaway, be prepared to spend more on your cottage, camp or cabin this season. The average price of a recreational home in Canada is expected to rise 5.8 per cent to $467,764 by the end of September, according to a new survey by Royal LePage. That's up from $442,239 in the same period last year. Retiring baby boomers and gen-Xers are driving recreational home sales as they look toward retirement or for a secondary home to raise children,... [read more]

Analysts are predicting a cooler housing market in 2018, with falling prices in the first few months of the year. But what is it that will pull prices downwards? It’s impending mortgage rule changes that are to blame, according to a recent Reuters poll of Canadian analysts. Beginning January 1, a new mortgage stress test will require all uninsured mortgage borrowers to qualify against the Bank of Canada’s five-year benchmark rate, or at their contract rate plus an additional 2... [read more]

Jennifer Johnson felt she didn't have time to wait. The single mom of two children, she watched as house prices in her Ajax, Ont., neighbourhood soared year after year. "When houses were starting to go up 20 per cent each year, I was worried about my kids' futures," says Ms. Johnson, a global bid manager and proposal writer. So, in 2014, with her own house paid off, she decided to take the real estate plunge again, buying her son, Braden, then 10, a home in Ajax for... [read more]

For the seventh consecutive year, Toronto’s Bay Street has been named Canada’s most expensive in JLL Canada’s annual Most Expensive Streets for Office Space in Canada Report. With a four-per-cent increase in average rent from $67.31 per square foot in 2016 to $70.14 in 2017, Bay Street once again outranks other major city streets. Vancouver’s Burrard Street remains the second most expensive street at $61.52 per square foot, while Montreal’s Des... [read more]

RE/MAX VOTED CANADA’S MOST TRUSTED REAL ESTATE BRAND Market research firm BrandSpark surveyed 5,000 Canadians for their “Most Trusted Awards,” which looks at Canada’s major services and retail categories, and the votes are in! RE/MAX is named the “Most Trusted Brand for Real Estate.” We did it! It may not come across as a surprise to all of you, but it sure feels good to be recognized. RE/MAX won by the largest margin of any of the brands in the... [read more]

With tighter mortgage regulations coming in January, some uncertainty surrounds the real estate market in 2018. Real estate expert Karyn Filiatrault spoke with CTV’s Your Morning on Monday, to share the five real estate trends she expects in 2018: Condo popularity will surge: “We have baby boomers that are downsizing and are liking the low-maintenance lifestyle,” she said. “We have families that have been priced-out (of the household) market--they’re moving... [read more]

OTTAWA -- Foreign buyers make up a minuscule portion of the overall housing market in this country, new research shows, but what they own is more expensive and newer than the average Canadian homeowner. And there are indications foreign buyers are moving out of the traditional bases of Toronto and Vancouver and into new cities. Non-residents owned 3.4 per cent of all residential properties in Toronto and 4.8 per cent of residential properties in Vancouver, according to new housing statistics by... [read more]

With home prices on the rise in Toronto and Vancouver, buyers are looking to other Canadian cities where they can get more bang for their buck. According to the RE/MAX 2018 housing market outlook report, smaller cities in Ontario and BC have seen a surge of demand in the past year. “Buyers leaving the GTA and Greater Vancouver have contributed to increased demand and considerable year-over-year average price increases in Kelowna (9 per cent), London-St. Thomas (18 per cent),... [read more]

  1. Less Competition You’re not the only homeowner who’s considered taking your home off the market during the holidays—most don’t want the hassle. And most new sellers will decide to wait until the first of the year or even springtime to put their homes up for sale. That’s great news for you because you won’t have to compete with dozens of other homes just like yours to get buyers’ attention. Reduced inventory means more buyers checking... [read more]

In the unfortunate circumstance that a homeowner is past-due on their monthly mortgage payments, they pave the way for a “foreclosure” on their property. In today’s market, banks and other lenders do not turn to foreclosure to take away the homes of homeowners who are in arrears. Instead, they perform a "Power of Sale" which is wholly different from a Foreclosure. What is a Foreclosure? Foreclosures are laborious, grueling, and costly to both the... [read more]