Real eState

LACKIE: Uncertainty in the world creates opportunity in real estate – Toronto Sun

Published

3 years ago

March 12, 2022

Real estate sales in Toronto aren’t going down, despite the pandemic. Photo by Files /Submitted

I spend a lot of time thinking about Toronto real estate, talking about Toronto real estate, and reading all of the things and scrolling all of the tweets to see what others are saying about Toronto real estate.

And that’s when I am not actively selling it.

Opinions are everywhere and consensus is surely limited, but there are a few things that almost everyone seems to agree with: in the span of three decades, Toronto real estate has gone from mostly accessible to increasingly aspirational to broadly inaccessible.

We know that we have insufficient supply of both resale and rental housing.

We know that we have seemingly endless demand — thanks to bold immigration targets, job-seekers coalescing around the country’s business, financial and tech centre, not to mention historically low interest rates that have inarguably driven speculation, the ratio of available properties to active buyers is woefully inadequate.

And while it feels like there may be an ever so slight cool settling into the market in the past few weeks, if two years of forward momentum is any indication, it’s hard to believe this will be anything larger than a blip. But there are some signs. Houses that just weeks ago would have sold in a frenzy of over ten offers are now welcoming just a handful on offer night.

From there it seems to go one of two ways — the house still hits a strong number, likely driven by two motivated buyers battling it out between themselves, or it fails to sell and so is relisted the next day.

I sold a house this past week where we had over 50 showings. Respectfully declined a bully offer on day one, asking instead that they wait until offer night. This was one of those houses in one of those neighbourhoods that was sure to do well as it was the perfect starter home and a way of getting in. The house was adorable. It was staged perfectly. We were priced slightly below market value in order to ensure that we were driving activity and not confusing people about what our expectations were. I answered every phone call, followed up with every agent for feedback, sent out the home inspection report more times than I can count.

The morning of our offer day I started to make my calls to get a sense of who might be coming forward. And I couldn’t believe it — agents who had shown the property two, three and four times were telling me some variation of the refrain that their clients loved the house but were worried it was going to go too high and didn’t want to compete. They were going to sit it out.

In the end we had three offers. And all of them were strong. The buyers who showed up came to play. Gone were the buyers who were simply taking their shot. With all of the discussion about the perils of blind bidding, this was fascinating to me. It wasn’t a frenzy, no one lost their heads, the house sold for exactly what I expected it would.

But I do think the stars aligned for us. I think if my sellers had unrealistic expectations or the house had some challenges, or there had been a blizzard that made the parking situation difficult, we could have had a very different result.

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And based on conversations with my colleagues, my experience this week was not unique. A friend had a similar scenario play out on her listing in the west end. In the end she got a record-setting price, but it was a small handful of offers that got her there. Another didn’t hit her number and they relisted the next day.

What could this mean? Well, for those who have made a full-time gig out of predicting the great crash, they will likely say that this is the sign that a seismic shift is underway. I think it’s a little simpler than that. People are uncertain and unsettled by what’s happening in the world. We are all exhausted. We are coming off of two years of a global pandemic while a hideous and horrifying war in Europe is now unfolding in real time on cable news and social media.

Buyers have been spooked by a lot less. The bump to interest rates was nominal relatively-speaking. Could people be alarmed by an economy grappling with elements we barely understand? Inflation that is clearly not transitory, an energy crisis, and gas prices that seem like typos? Absolutely.

Investors who actually know what they are doing are likely taking a good hard look at what’s driving current inflation and I’ll bet that many are now taking a pause. And I would also bet that there is a solid group of buyers who are now wondering if this is the moment some sanity starts to return to our real estate market. And for their sake I hope that’s exactly what’s happening.

But if recent history is any indication, this is just as likely to be one of those little blips that could actually represent a rare sliver of opportunity before the train powers up once again.

@brynnlackie

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Real eState

Greater Toronto home sales jump in October after Bank of Canada rate cuts: board

Published

3 days ago

November 6, 2024

Anne Joseph

TORONTO – The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board says home sales in October surged as buyers continued moving off the sidelines amid lower interest rates.

The board said 6,658 homes changed hands last month in the Greater Toronto Area, up 44.4 per cent compared with 4,611 in the same month last year. Sales were up 14 per cent from September on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The average selling price was up 1.1 per cent compared with a year earlier at $1,135,215. The composite benchmark price, meant to represent the typical home, was down 3.3 per cent year-over-year.

“While we are still early in the Bank of Canada’s rate cutting cycle, it definitely does appear that an increasing number of buyers moved off the sidelines and back into the marketplace in October,” said TRREB president Jennifer Pearce in a news release.

“The positive affordability picture brought about by lower borrowing costs and relatively flat home prices prompted this improvement in market activity.”

The Bank of Canada has slashed its key interest rate four times since June, including a half-percentage point cut on Oct. 23. The rate now stands at 3.75 per cent, down from the high of five per cent that deterred many would-be buyers from the housing market.

New listings last month totalled 15,328, up 4.3 per cent from a year earlier.

In the City of Toronto, there were 2,509 sales last month, a 37.6 per cent jump from October 2023. Throughout the rest of the GTA, home sales rose 48.9 per cent to 4,149.

The sales uptick is encouraging, said Cameron Forbes, general manager and broker for Re/Max Realtron Realty Inc., who added the figures for October were stronger than he anticipated.

“I thought they’d be up for sure, but not necessarily that much,” said Forbes.

“Obviously, the 50 basis points was certainly a great move in the right direction. I just thought it would take more to get things going.”

He said it shows confidence in the market is returning faster than expected, especially among existing homeowners looking for a new property.

“The average consumer who’s employed and may have been able to get some increases in their wages over the last little bit to make up some ground with inflation, I think they’re confident, so they’re looking in the market.

“The conditions are nice because you’ve got a little more time, you’ve got more choice, you’ve got fewer other buyers to compete against.”

All property types saw more sales in October compared with a year ago throughout the GTA.

Townhouses led the surge with 56.8 per cent more sales, followed by detached homes at 46.6 per cent and semi-detached homes at 44 per cent. There were 33.4 per cent more condos that changed hands year-over-year.

“Market conditions did tighten in October, but there is still a lot of inventory and therefore choice for homebuyers,” said TRREB chief market analyst Jason Mercer.

“This choice will keep home price growth moderate over the next few months. However, as inventory is absorbed and home construction continues to lag population growth, selling price growth will accelerate, likely as we move through the spring of 2025.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2024.

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Real eState

Homelessness: Tiny home village to open next week in Halifax suburb

Published

2 weeks ago

October 24, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – A village of tiny homes is set to open next month in a Halifax suburb, the latest project by the provincial government to address homelessness.

Located in Lower Sackville, N.S., the tiny home community will house up to 34 people when the first 26 units open Nov. 4.

Another 35 people are scheduled to move in when construction on another 29 units should be complete in December, under a partnership between the province, the Halifax Regional Municipality, United Way Halifax, The Shaw Group and Dexter Construction.

The province invested $9.4 million to build the village and will contribute $935,000 annually for operating costs.

Residents have been chosen from a list of people experiencing homelessness maintained by the Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia.

They will pay rent that is tied to their income for a unit that is fully furnished with a private bathroom, shower and a kitchen equipped with a cooktop, small fridge and microwave.

The Atlantic Community Shelters Society will also provide support to residents, ranging from counselling and mental health supports to employment and educational services.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

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Real eState

Here are some facts about British Columbia’s housing market

Published

3 weeks ago

October 17, 2024

Anne Joseph

Housing affordability is a key issue in the provincial election campaign in British Columbia, particularly in major centres.

Here are some statistics about housing in B.C. from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s 2024 Rental Market Report, issued in January, and the B.C. Real Estate Association’s August 2024 report.

Average residential home price in B.C.: $938,500

Average price in greater Vancouver (2024 year to date): $1,304,438

Average price in greater Victoria (2024 year to date): $979,103

Average price in the Okanagan (2024 year to date): $748,015

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Vancouver: $2,181

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Victoria: $1,839

Average two-bedroom purpose-built rental in Canada: $1,359

Rental vacancy rate in Vancouver: 0.9 per cent

How much more do new renters in Vancouver pay compared with renters who have occupied their home for at least a year: 27 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2024.

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