Looking to go all-in and purchase a home in Ontario but can’t quite afford the hefty price tag that comes with it? A home that just hit the market in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) could be what you’re after — even if it’s just half a property.
Real estate broker Bob Van de Vrande said he came up with the idea to sell the four-bedroom farmhouse-style home in Lynden, Ont. as two parts after he listed the property back in May for roughly $1.5 million.
“We weren’t getting sufficient interest,” Van de Vrande told CTV News Toronto over the phone on Saturday, citing an ever-changing housing market and high interest rates as the main reasons for the cool reception.
“I thought, maybe there are people who are looking in the 600s (thousands) or 700s and would be interested but they have to sacrifice a bit by doing it jointly with someone else.”
And while the concept of home co-ownership in expensive markets isn’t a new phenomenon, properties aren’t typically listed as halves.
So how does it work?
In the case of 86 Lynden Road, the first buyer would pay $648,000 for 50 per cent ownership of the home while the second buyer picks up the cost for the other half.
86 Lynden Road is seen in this undated image. (Bob Van de Vrande/Apex Results Realty Inc.)
Both parties would get a chance to meet each other before signing off on what’s called a co-ownership agreement drafted by a lawyer, which spells out who is responsible for what aspects of the property, how decisions are made, and — most importantly — what happens if one party wants out of the arrangement.
“It’s basically a prenuptial agreement for joint buyers,” Van de Vrande explained.
As for the types of people he sees living in the home, Van de Vrande said the property is “ideally suited” for two families.
“Two young families perhaps, or two young couples who are looking at having a family.”
86 Lynden Road is seen in this undated image. (Bob Van de Vrande/Apex Results Realty Inc.)
Because of that, Van de Vrande believes this co-ownership option presents an appealing alternative to those currently renting or thinking of purchasing a more affordable property without sacrificing size.
“It’s a large enough house that you can do that without bouncing off each other,” he said.
As for whether he thinks this method of selling real estate will take off in the near future, Van de Vrande believes it will become more common in an expensive market like the GTHA, but will not become “the new thing.”
“I think for some buyers, it will be the ideal way to do it. But, I still don’t think it will appeal to the majority of buyers, for a number of different reasons.”
86 Lynden Road is seen in this undated image. (Bob Van de Vrande/Apex Results Realty Inc.)
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.
