September was an important month for UrbanToronto as we launched an exciting new partnership that will continue to guide our mission of adapting to become a stronger, and more extensive provider of data in the field of development. Reaping the benefits of a longstanding professional relationship, UrbanToronto is the newest sponsor of the Canadian Real Estate Show.
Looking north at Toronto Skyline from Toronto Island Ferry, image by UT Forum contributor Riseth
In the midst of their third successful year of weekly podcasting, the Canadian Real Estate Show has become a go-to source for analysis on Canadian real estate issues through honest, casual discussions with experts in the industry. The show’s hosts, Darryl Frankfort and T.K. Butler, bring a light hearted tone to each episode, but the show is built on a deep foundation of experience in different corners of the industry with a strong desire to learn more, and share their findings on the way.
Frankfort has orbited the business of real estate for 24 years. Managing construction crews and finishing crews, custom home building and marketing, and brokering real estate transactions are just a few of the ways he has learned the ins and outs. His partner, Butler, is a second generation realtor who works throughout the GTA as a Senior Partner at Frank & Leo Associates. Together, the hosts take on questions, concerns, and even conspiracy theories that surround the Canadian real estate scene, always maintaining their easy-going style that makes these topics digestible to everyone.
Both Frankfort and Butler have been users of UrbanToronto resources throughout their careers. “Their forums and their reports are the highest level of education I can have to help my clients navigate the market and development landscape of the city,” Butler explained. In this way, they see the partnership as a way to connect like-minded people with a resource they may not have known was out there. By drawing attention to the depth of information available through UrbanToronto’s subscription service, UTPro, more Canadians will be able to access the information that they need quickly.
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For UrbanToronto, the partnership reflects the drive to continue expanding further into new markets and deliver services through UTPro that are both exclusive and effective in the field of urban development. Reflecting on the partnership, UrbanToronto Co-Founder Edward Skira said, “We’re approaching our 20th anniversary and as an organization we are expanding our reach. UTPro has provided us with a lot of data on development within the GTHA. Partnering with the Canadian Real Estate show is a natural step forward.”
Stay tuned to the Canadian Real Estate Show to see monthly guest appearances with UrbanToronto Economist Ash Navabi, and to learn more about this new and exciting partnership.
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.
