And it seems both people and builders want to be more environmentally-conscious, sustainable, and eco-friendly, whether that’s capitalizing on government rebates like the Greener Home Grant, using sustainable building materials, or even just making more of an effort to recycle.
The living room.
And if any house is set to take top prize for being energy-efficient (and beautiful), it’s 1B Marowyne Dr.
The dining room that opens up to the back deck.
“Constructed using passive house building principles, this all-electric, net-zero, Scandinavian home in the heart of North York is luxury, comfort and healthy living at its finest,” writes realtor Jennifer Chen.
A family room with a picture window.
To give you an idea of just how green this house is, passive home building is the highest standard of energy efficient construction.
Net-zero designation meaning it produces as much energy as it consumes while being up to 80 per cent more energy efficient than a conventionally-built home.
The open concept main floor.
How’s that for overachieving?
A little window nook.
Listed for $3,899,000, 1B Marowyne Drive is also very forward-thinking when it comes to the design.
A home office.
For example, the house has a centralized fresh air system with HEPA filtration that gets rid of all the gross allergens, microbes, and pollution in the air.
An ensuite bathroom.
This house has cleaner air than the Rocky Mountains!
The solar panels on the metal roof.
It also has solar panels on the roof, two Tesla power walls, triple-glazed windows, and two electrical vehicle charging plugs in the garage.
A custom Scandinavian kitchen.
But beyond the shiny environmentally-friendly bells and whistles, this home is stunning.
A bedroom.
The open concept layout pulls from Scandinavian and Japanese design, resulting in decor that’s clean, simple, and calming.
The foyer.
The wide-plank oak floors, warm wood tones, and abundance of natural light all work together in harmony to create a relaxing and tranquil living space.
The main floor.
The open plan layout also makes it great for entertaining.
The primary bedroom.
The home boasts four bedrooms, five bathrooms, and a separate basement suite, which has been soundproofed.
The primary bedroom ensuite.
The bedrooms and bathrooms remind me of a high-end spa.
The back deck.
And while the backyard might just be a patch of grass, the Japanese inspired Shou-Sugiban deck is pretty cool.
The back of the house.
The only blemish on this otherwise idyllic home is the fact that it’s right next to Leslie St. and Sheppard Ave. E and only a few blocks away from the 401 highway.
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.
