When a new condo is purchased, HST of 13% must be paid, as only resale real estate is exempt from HST. In most cases, the builder includes the HST in the purchase price, so the buyer doesn’t have to come up with a huge cash payment to CRA in addition to their down payment. In… Read More
What To Do Before You List Your Home For Sale
July 15, 2018 By 2 Comments
Today’s market presents some very unique opportunities for buyers. With affordability near record highs and interest rates near record lows, many homeowners are making the decision to move up or on. Here a few simple tips to take into consideration when listing your home for sale. 1. Curb Appeal: Buyers make snap judgments about each… Read More
Toronto Market Remains Strong in June
July 9, 2018 By Leave a Comment
For the first time this year, both sales and selling prices in the GTA were higher than the same month in 2017, ending six months of ‘lower than last year’ comparisons. This is because the market has been steadily improving throughout this year, while the market fell steeply from May, 2017 onward, after the Ontario… Read More
Home Ownership: Marriage vs Common Law
June 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Do you assume the house or cottage you share with your life partner belongs to both of you, or are you positive you understand who holds legal ownership? Assumptions can be expensive when it comes to money and real estate. “The garden is as much mine as yours,” yelled one homeowner to his spouse when… Read More
What You Should Know About Buying and Selling Real Estate If You’ve Been Out Of The Market For A Long Time
June 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
If you’ve owned your current home for many years, you may find that a lot has changed in the real estate world. Understanding what has changed can come in handy when you’re entering the market for the first time in a while. Here are a few of the key ways the real estate marketplace has… Read More
Co-Ownership Becoming Popular
May 20, 2018 By Leave a Comment
As house prices and interest rates continue to rise, and millennials despair of ever being able to afford a house, the idea of sharing the cost of buying real estate is becoming more and more attractive. On the surface the idea is very appealing – pool your resources with one or more friends and you… Read More
Toronto Market Continues to Normalize
May 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment
For the third month in a row, average selling prices have increased in the Greater Toronto area. While prices are still significantly lower than this time last year, they are very much in line with the historical trend that existed before the aberrational late 2016/early 2017 bubble came and went. For example, year-to-date average… Read More
Mortgage Rate Games
April 25, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Since last week, four of Canada’s ‘Big Six’ banks have raised their posted mortgage rates: TD Canada Trust by 45 bps (from 5.14% to 5.59%) and the other three by 10-30 bps. These rates aren’t ‘real’ in the sense that they are typically about 2% higher than the actual 5 year fixed rate that you… Read More
Millennials Look To Smaller Cities For Dream Homes
April 15, 2018 By Leave a Comment
A recent ranking of the top “millennial hot spots” in Canada had some surprising results. The country’s biggest cities — Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal — didn’t make the top five, despite their standing as employment and cultural hubs. To determine the best Canadian cities for millennials, research by Point2Homes looked at nine factors: housing affordability,… Read More
Improve Your Chances of Obtaining a Home Mortgage
March 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
Securing financing to purchase a new home is one of the most important, exciting, and nerve-wracking financial steps most people will ever take. The government has tightened mortgage lending rules several times in recent years, and banks have become increasingly cautious about making mortgage commitments. Does this mean that you won’t be able to get… Read More
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