Real Estate in the News

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This week’s top real estate news in Ontario and how your real estate business could be affected.

Foreign investors home in on Toronto real estate after BC’s tax measure, chart suggests
Record 2016 immigration and a growing first-time homebuyer population, which is the 25-to-34-year-old demographic, are supporting Toronto’s housing market, says Petramala – but there may be something else at play. “The sales-to-population ratio in Toronto has risen sharply recently, suggesting that foreign investment and speculation are playing a part, albeit likely smaller than in Vancouver,” writes Petramala in a report (PDF).

Mega-projects reshaping Mississauga sprawl
The city is undergoing an unprecedented transformation, with an expected $40 to $45 billion of new construction investment over the next 15 years, according to senior city staff, more than double the recent annual rate of construction investment in Mississauga.

No ‘hard landing’ for Canadian house prices, says Moody’s Analytics
According to the report, Canadian detached single family house prices are expected to increase by nine per cent this year, and by 2.9 per cent annually over the next five years. Meanwhile, condominium prices are forecast to grow by 4.6 per cent this year, and 2.2 per cent per annum over the next five years.

The Case for Diversifying Development
Toronto needs to focus on the “missing middle”—townhouses and mid-rise buildings.We should look to Houston as a model for what is possible with regard to the supply and affordability of family-oriented housing. If the missing middle truly is a problem worth addressing, we could do much worse than emulating that city’s land use rules and freeing our developers to do what they do best.

House prices in Willowdale ‘have gone completely insane,’ says North York Councillor John Filion
Toronto needs a “land speculation tax” on some foreign home buyers, says a North York councillor whose ward has seen some of the city’s biggest price jumps. In Willowdale, costs for detached homes, “have gone completely insane, and it’s fueled very much by money which is coming from other countries,” John Filion said last week.

Condo rents in the GTA soar as demand outstrips supply
Condo rents in the old city of Toronto (not including the inner suburbs), which includes many of the highrises downtown, are even higher than those in the broader GTA. In Toronto proper, the average rent rose 10 per cent from last year to $2,145 per month.

Canadian home sales to fall in 2017, says big bank. Here’s why.
Douglas Porter, BMO’s chief economist is referring to tax and mortgage policy measures that Canadian Finance Minister Bill Morneau announced earlier this month.

Ontario said to be eyeing subsidies to bolster bottom end of housing market, rather than tax to cool top
“We take a lot of pride in being one of the top destinations in North America for foreign direct investment,” Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa told Bloomberg TV Canada last week, adding the province remains “very sensitive to affordability.”

Growth plan fuelling GTA housing prices, developers told
Land supply restrictions resulting from the plan called, Places to Grow, is “the number one reason GTA house prices are rising,” said Benjamin Tal, deputy chief economist for CIBC World Markets.

Oshawa leads the way in increased home values in the GTA
Oshawa had the highest year-over-year percentage increase in housing prices in the GTA, according to a real estate survey.

Average Canadian home cost rises 9.5% to $474,590 in September
Sales may be slowing, but prices continue to increase, driven higher, CREA says, by continuously higher prices in Toronto and Vancouver.

Millennials’ home-buying capabilities to impact long-term economic strength
Millennials might lose as much as 1/5th of their purchasing power under the new mortgage rules.

Q3 brought another surge in Greater Vancouver home prices, but it may be the region’s “final hurrah”
Lower prices have been slow to follow home sales declines because Greater Vancouver inventory levels remain “severely low” while demand is incredibly high. Royal LePage’s prediction that prices could soon start falling is based in large part on the idea that interest from potential buyers is set to fall.

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