Toronto real estate market news & info
In the past, the typical pattern was for the real estate market to slow down as the July 1 holiday approached, with both buyers and sellers making plans to enjoy our relatively short summer season. Not this year — COVID-19 has thrown a large monkey wrench into the normal seasonal pattern. After the sharp lockdown-induced… Read More
Prices for both condominium and freehold properties continued upward in February, following the trail blazed in early 2017. The market for condominium apartments, in particular, is on fire, with prices 22% higher than last February and 8% higher than the most recent all-time high reached last November. Prices for freehold properties (mostly detached homes) also… Read More
The ‘stress test’ for mortgage qualification in Canada requires that homebuyers must qualify for a mortgage as if the mortgage interest rate were higher than the actual rate they will get. The idea is to determine that the applicant will be able to keep up with the payments if interest rates should rise. That ‘higher… Read More
Largely because of the Novel Coronavirus and the resultant ‘flight to safety’ among investors, Government of Canada bond prices are being bid up, and this means that the corresponding interest rates are falling (bond prices and interest rates move in opposite directions). The major banks’ fixed mortgage rates are tied to these bond rates, and… Read More
Prices for all property types continued the typical summer pattern in August, with prices for both freehold homes and condominiums lower than in July. Compared with last year, there are some definite positive signs: Prices were higher than last August for both freehold and condo properties. In fact, for the first time this year, prices… Read More
Following the normal seasonal trend, prices and sales in June were lower than in May, beginning the slowdown that typically begins in mid June and continues until late August. Because of our short summer season, many buyers and sellers decide to take a break until after labour day, and the market therefore tends to ‘thin… Read More
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
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
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 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
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