This week’s top real estate news in Ontario and how your real estate business could be affected.
Canadians are actually to blame for housing crisis – developer official
“Have you voiced your displeasure with the greenbelt, restrictive municipal planning policies, NIMBYs? All of these factors result in high land costs and a lack of affordability,” Ben Myers wrote scathingly. “My industry can’t build you your dream house in the suburbs for a reasonable price if the price of land is skyrocketing due to building restriction and urban containment policies.”
National home sales fall for fourth consecutive month
Actual (not seasonally adjusted) sales activity increased 10.2 per cent year-over-year in August 2016, with sales up compared to one year ago in about three quarters of Canadian markets, led by Greater Toronto, while Greater Vancouver posted the largest year-over-year sales decline.
How Toronto real estate hit a new low in August
Based on a count of GTA builders’ inventories, 1,379 new low-rise homes were on the market at the end of last month. That’s the fewest on record, says the report, based on Altus data and published by the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) this week.
Home renovation spending in Ontario is set to increase
Current estimates find that the average homeowner equity in Ontario has grown by 14 per cent since 2012. Most of this growth is concentrated among older households. When rising prices boost home equity, households feel wealthier, inspiring them to invest in their homes. Also read “Adults living with their parents are helping fuel Ontario’s reno boom, report suggests“.
Ontario real estate associations oppose taxing foreign buyers in Toronto
In letters penned to the provincial and municipal governments last month, the Toronto Real Estate Board and the Ontario Real Estate Association argue that instituting a tax on foreign homebuyers would do little to address affordability issues in Toronto’s housing market. Instead, it could cause house prices to soar in regions surrounding Toronto, thus pushing prices in Toronto even higher, the groups argue.
Foreign investment in Metro Vancouver real estate down dramatically since introduction of new tax
Released September 22nd, the data shows that from August 2nd to 31st only 0.9 per cent of residential real estate transactions in Metro Vancouver involved foreign buyers. Those transactions were valued at $46.9 million, and as a result of the new tax generated $2.5 million in revenue for the BC government. In contrast, foreign buyers were involved in just over 13 per cent of Metro Vancouver residential real estate transactions from June 10th to August 1st.
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