On June 6, the Ontario Government passed new legislation to deal with the housing crisis through a five point plan: 1. Speed: cut out government bureaucracy that slows down the development process; 2. Cost: encourage developers to build more housing by reducing the layers of permits, government approvals and charges by municipalities and making these… Read More
New Mortgage Qualification Rules – More Unintended Consequences
May 12, 2019 By Leave a Comment
As previously reported here, the B-20 ‘stress test’ mortgage qualification rules (requiring buyers to qualify ‘as if’ the mortgage rate were 2 points higher than it actually is) has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of real estate sales across the country. In turn, this caused an unintended knock-on impact on economic activity… Read More
Interest Rates Unlikely To Rise In 2019
April 23, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that GDP has actually fallen in four of the past six months, suggesting that, after the longest (if one of the weakest) recoveries ever, we are heading toward a recession within the next year or so. Click to view monthly GDP chart This is why the Bank of… Read More
Canada Is A Haven For Money Laundering
April 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
There’s a lot of ‘dirty money’ in the world, and many complex schemes to ‘launder’ this money and convert it into ‘clean’ funds. Real estate is a very popular venue for such laundering, particularly in Canada, as we have some of the weakest laws in the world to defend against money laundering. A recent report… Read More
First-Time Home Buyer Incentive – Will It Help?
March 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment
The federal budget included a proposed measure that would see the federal government take on part of the costs of buying a home. The basic elements of the plan are: It will be available only to first-time homebuyers; It will be administered by CMHC and will only be available for CMHC-insured mortgages; Buyers must have… Read More
Toronto Considering Land Transfer Tax Increase
March 15, 2019 By Leave a Comment
In early 2007, the City of Toronto instituted a Toronto Land Transfer Tax (on top of the Ontario Land Transfer Tax) as a way to increase revenues while avoiding large (and politically unpopular) increases in property taxes or decreases in expenses. This tax applies only to properties in the “Old Toronto” 416 area code. For… Read More
Toronto Condo Market Continues to Soar
March 7, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Toronto area condominium apartment prices continued to move upward last month, with average prices 6% higher than February, 2018. Almost certainly we will see another all-time high for condominium prices before the spring is over. Under-pricing and bidding wars are rampant and buyers are eager (even desperate) to buy condos now before prices go even… Read More
Torontonians Say The City Isn’t Doing Enough To Increase The Supply Of Housing
February 18, 2019 By Leave a Comment
In a recent survey, Forum Research found that 69% of Toronto residents feel that the City should be doing more to increase the supply of rental housing across the city. As previously reported, there is a rental housing crisis in Toronto due to the influx of new residents, declining affordability (forcing would-be buyers to rent),… Read More
Financial Don’ts When Getting Ready To Buy A Home
January 19, 2019 By Leave a Comment
If you’re in the process of buying a home, you’ve probably already met with a lender who advised you on what to do and what not to do during the escrow process. But if you’re just getting ready to buy or plan on doing so in the near future, following a few financial tips can… Read More
Toronto Market Ends 2018 On A Quiet Note
January 5, 2019 By Leave a Comment
Toronto area sales and prices were down in December, as they always are at year-end, closing out a positive and mostly uneventful year when the real estate market returned to quiet stability after the chaos of the 2016/2017 bubble inflation and collapse. For the year as a whole, average GTA prices were down 4% vs… Read More
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