Sick of being forced to work from home 100 per cent of the time? You're not alone: Some 64% of Toronto office employees indicated in a Nanos survey six months ago that they were already ready to ditch their sweatpants for business-casual attire again, at least a few days a week. Now, roughly 16 months into the pandemic era, people are further feeling the impacts of WFH isolation, physical stagnation, and frustration over trying to conduct business while construction crews... [read more]

Some Canadian homebuyers are taking a hit to their purchasing power as the government’s updated mortgage stress test comes into effect in an attempt to cool the country’s scorching housing market. The stress test update is expected to cut homebuyer’s budgets by about four or five per cent That purchasing power reduction is not for all buyers, only for those who are at the max, at the margins, for the qualifying process. So the market could have a bit of a cooling... [read more]

How Canada’s Big Banks Are Responding To The COVID-19 Pandemic Panic   Here is Mortgage update: Last night the big banks announced a collaborative effort to allow for six month deferrals of mortgage payments and other credit. We do not know the specifics yet, I expect all lenders to follow suit, and we will know later this week how this will play out. Morneau just said a $50B package is available to banks & lenders. Very important. If your clients are asking... [read more]

Did the Spring Market Ever Really End? REALTORS always like to talk about the spring and fall markets, traditionally the busiest seasons in Toronto real estate. In 2019, the spring market took forever to start, but it continued strong throughout the summer months. In July, the Toronto Real Estate Board stats reflected a 24% increase in sales activity too.  Will high summer sales slow down the fall selling season? I don’t think so. I think we experienced a busier-than-usual... [read more]

Building your dream home takes time, money and courage.  Not everyone is prepared for the amount of work, planning and time it takes to make your dream into a reality.  That said, it is entirely possible, and it starts from the ground up.  House plans are the life blood of your project, and without the proper plans, your dream home may not come into fruition. What You Want Before you start ordering or hiring a contractor to draw up your house plan you need to know what... [read more]

You are planing to own dream home but before you’re sold on a home’s granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances, consider that a previous owner could have cooked up a lot more in the basement, bedrooms or even the family room.   Buyers need to know that a dream home that was formerly used for a grow-op, may hold a stigma when it comes to resale and quick repairs made to cover up damage that occurred in the marijuana growing process may leave the home... [read more]

  Canadian real estate is going to have mortgage capital throttled, and it may have a serious impact on capital flows. Numbers sent to us from the Bank of Canada (BoC) give us one of the most comprehensive looks at mortgage borrowing behaviour. Borrowing the absolute maximum, is one of the most popular strategies homebuyers in Canada use. This means new mortgage stress testing is going to have a huge impact on the way buyers shop for homes. A Quick Refresher On Mortgage... [read more]

Before becoming a new homeowner, it can be easy to get caught up in the shopping experience. But you’re not just looking for a home in a charming neighbourhood. You’re also shopping for a great mortgage rate and your first step should be seeking a mortgage pre-approval. Do apply before house hunting: The homebuying process shouldn’t start with contacting a realtor. First, apply for a mortgage pre-approval. You don’t want to find your dream home and then get... [read more]

Planning to buy a home and not sure where to begin? Maybe it’s your first home, or it’s been a while and you’re ready to move up to a larger property. Here are six homebuying hacks to help you prepare.   1. GET WITH THE PROGRAMS There are various government programs available to help you buy a home. HOME BUYER'S PLAN (HBP): The HBP allows first-time buyers to withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSP to put toward a down payment on a home. You have up to 15... [read more]

The $500,000 home still exists in Toronto, but it's generally quite small, and it almost certainly won't be in the neighbourhood of your dreams. If half a million dollars is what you're working with, and you're dead set on avoiding condos, your options right now include a lot of two bedroom bungalows on the outskirts of town. Here's what a $500,000 house looks like in Toronto. $549,000 in Oakridge Just steps from The Danforth, this well-maintained starter... [read more]

The Greater Toronto Area's real estate market is off to a very hot start in 2017.  The table below shows the average price for a detached house in January 2016 vs 2017 for every municipality in the GTA. Aurora tops the list as the hottest neighbourhood where prices increased 55% from $914,061K in January 2016 to $1,415,649 last month.  Newmarket saw a 52% increase in the price for a detached home and five other municipalities saw prices climb over 40%. It's... [read more]

I know what you’re thinking: “That can’t be true.” And it is, even though it isn’t. Because for any property that comes onto the market without an actual offer date posted on MLS, the offer date, is now. The offer date is asap, because properties are selling in mere minutes. We’re two months into 2017, and this is the craziest market I have ever seen… I was going to try to avoid delving into the “big... [read more]

Read it and weep, prospective Toronto home buyers. Economists don't see the red hot real estate market cooling off anytime soon. After initially estimating a jump of 10 to 15 per cent in Toronto house prices over 2017,TD Economics now puts that number at 20 to 25 per cent. The updated figures follow a sizzling start to the year that's witnessed 22 and 28 per cent increases in January and February respectively. According to TD... [read more]

In The 10+ years have been selling real estate, I have never ever experienced this kind of craziness in real estate market. You might say “this is great for the seller” and you are mostly right. However, it can be stressful and terribly disruptive for the seller. Imagine having different couples, with their agent tagging along, going through your house dissecting every corner, all day for a couple of days in a row, it’s like a stampede. Considering that the market is slated... [read more]