Ontario real estate conditions can vary greatly, depending on the city or town you’re considering. From expensive markets like Toronto to affordable markets like Cornwall, as a real estate investor, each market offers different benefits and challenges.
Interest rates are at the lowest they’ve ever been, following a series of interest rate cuts by the Bank of Canada to bolster the economy during the Covid19 pandemic. Those who have job security could find that now is a good time to make an investment in Ontario real estate.
While open houses have taken a back seat during the pandemic, homebuyers and sellers have relied on technology to buy and sell homes. The key to success for real estate investing is choosing the right strategy and not overextending yourself financially.
Anybody can be a real estate investor. If you decide to invest in real estate and you do it right, you have an opportunity for a big payoff. Here’s how to invest in Ontario real estate.
Joint Investment
If you want to take advantage of current market conditions, but don’t have the capital to make an investment on your own, consider finding a partner and pool your resources. Ensure the partner you choose doesn’t overextend themselves financially and has good credit. Have a lawyer draw up a legal contract to outline the details of the partnership.
Rental Properties
Investors in the Ontario rental market have generally seen their property values increase over the years, all the while leasing their property to a renter in order to earn income. Look at desirable areas near public transit, employment and education hubs, where demand for rental units is high and consistent. If you do the math correctly and you continuously have tenants paying rent, you will have the cashflow to help cover your mortgage payments. Ensure that the rent you charge your tenants is enough to cover your mortgage payments and maintenance fees.
The Greater Toronto Area has been a popular area for people using this investment strategy. Since it is a highly desirable place to live with many lifestyle amenities, job opportunities, and proximity to public transit. Be strategic when choosing the right properties to increase your chances of renters being interested.
House Flipping
There’s no shortage of house flipping shows on tv that have popularized this real estate investment strategy. If done correctly, this can be a solid investment, but you may have to get your hands dirty. House flipping starts with finding properties in the province that are priced under market value. These properties may be undervalued because they need upgrades and require renovation. To flip a home, you need to see the potential of what the home could be.
If you swoop in and secure a property at a reduced sale price, to successfully flip the home, you will need to either do the renovations yourself or hire a contractor to do them. Strategic upgrades to key areas such as the kitchen and bathrooms will increase the value of the home. To be a successful house flipper, make sure you stay within budget. Under the right market conditions, when you sell the home it will hopefully be at a higher sale price than the amount of money you invested in it.
Buy and Hold
For homebuyers who are looking for an opportunity to dive into the market, starting the home-buying process while home prices are down could be a smart move – providing prices rebound again. The pandemic put a temporary pause on home sales in April 2020, however activity across Ontario real estate markets has picked up again quickly, and prices have remained resilient. With that being said, there are plenty of markets offering great investment opportunities.
An investor can purchase a house or condo that is priced below market value and hold onto it for the long term until the value increases again – and in Ontario, long-term values have been on an upward trajectory. During the time you maintain ownership of the property, you can have tenants rent it, and used the income to cover the mortgage payments. Eventually you can sell the property and get a high ROI from the increased value. By then, a good portion of your mortgage would have been payed off using rental income. Patience is key to this investment strategy!
Determining how to invest in Ontario real estate can be challenging. You can choose a straightforward buy-and-hold approach or undertake a renovation project and do a house flip. Consider your finances, the amount of time you would like to spend on the investment, your risk tolerance, the local economy and appetite for rental properties in the area. Take the right steps to do your research to choose the right investment strategy for you.
TORONTO – One expert predicts Ottawa‘s changes to mortgage rules will help spur demand among potential homebuyers but says policies aimed at driving new supply are needed to address the “core issues” facing the market.
The federal government’s changes, set to come into force mid-December, include a higher price cap for insured mortgages to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
CIBC Capital Markets deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal calls it a “significant” move likely to accelerate the recovery of the housing market, a process already underway as interest rates have begun to fall.
However, he says in a note that policymakers should aim to “prevent that from becoming too much of a good thing” through policies geared toward the supply side.
Tal says the main issue is the lack of supply available to respond to Canada’s rapidly increasing population, particularly in major cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 17,2024.
OTTAWA – The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of homes sold in August fell compared with a year ago as the market remained largely stuck in a holding pattern despite borrowing costs beginning to come down.
The association says the number of homes sold in August fell 2.1 per cent compared with the same month last year.
On a seasonally adjusted month-over-month basis, national home sales edged up 1.3 per cent from July.
CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart says that with forecasts of lower interest rates throughout the rest of this year and into 2025, “it makes sense that prospective buyers might continue to hold off for improved affordability, especially since prices are still well behaved in most of the country.”
The national average sale price for August amounted to $649,100, a 0.1 per cent increase compared with a year earlier.
The number of newly listed properties was up 1.1 per cent month-over-month.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
MONTREAL – Two Quebec real estate brokers are facing fines and years-long suspensions for submitting bogus offers on homes to drive up prices during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Christine Girouard has been suspended for 14 years and her business partner, Jonathan Dauphinais-Fortin, has been suspended for nine years after Quebec’s authority of real estate brokerage found they used fake bids to get buyers to raise their offers.
Girouard is a well-known broker who previously starred on a Quebec reality show that follows top real estate agents in the province.
She is facing a fine of $50,000, while Dauphinais-Fortin has been fined $10,000.
The two brokers were suspended in May 2023 after La Presse published an article about their practices.
One buyer ended up paying $40,000 more than his initial offer in 2022 after Girouard and Dauphinais-Fortin concocted a second bid on the house he wanted to buy.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 11, 2024.
