OUR BLOG

Let's ignore all the negative headlines in the news AND the overly positive ones too, and let's just get into the facts. Let me give you my take on what I see in the first quarter of 2023 for the GTA Real Estate Market, and how it performed for the month of February, with an increase of 5.5% month-over-month in terms of the average price and over one and a half times the previous month's sales volume.

Let's also look at the shortage of new listings, resulting in bidding wars. Are they here to stay?

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In this podcast, we sit down with Andrew Dryer of Outline Financial to discuss the current state of the economy and how it's impacting the Canadian real estate and mortgage industries. We dive into the differences between the Canadian and US economies, the recent rate increases, and the impact of bond yields on fixed rate mortgages. Our guest also explains how Outline Financial sets itself apart by working as a team to help clients with difficult deals and staying up-to-date on industry developments. Tune in to gain valuable insights into the Canadian mortgage market and the broader economic landscape.

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Home ownership rates are declining in Canada. In Ontario, they fell -3.1% to 68.4% over the past decade, yet in Toronto, the percentage of renter households were up by +25.1%. To add to it, housing supply is shrinking with a pause on new development demand and supply. Home ownership affordability is at an all-time high, household debt ratios are through the roof.

So where do you think are we going to house all these newcomers?

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Join our seasoned professionals to go over the current economic outlook for Toronto's housing market and what roadblocks you may encounter. We are going over common concerns and strategies to ensure that you are still successful in this wild market. Plenty of time for Q&A at the end.

Location: Online Zoom Webinar

Date: Tuesday, February 28th, 2023

Time: 5:30PM to 6:30 PM EST

Cost: Free

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What are some opportunities in today’s real estate and mortgage market? Ryan Dennahower and I explore who is qualifying for mortgages, how to get approved, and what the process is. We talk about how people are dealing with the high carrying costs in today's high interest rate environment.

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You may have seen in the news recently how the Toronto homeowners have had their homes sold without the home owner’s consent. Whether it’s identity theft, mortgage fraud, or organized crime, real estate fraud has been given the spotlight in the media. You may be wondering, how can this happen? More importantly, how can you protect yourself? How are these fraudsters getting away with it?

Join industry veteran Mitch Korman, principal lawyer from Korman and Company as we discuss how to protect yourself from real estate fraud.

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The number of home sales in December is down by -48.2% year-over-year, new listings coming to the market are at an all time low of -21.3%, and the average selling price is down by -9.2% overall.
OFSI is contemplating new lending rules, and they have not touched the stress test. Inflation is running wild. Interest rates are high. Unemployment is low now, but what happens if we have a hard landing?

The Bank of Canada overnight lending rate is now 4.75%, with a +0.25% rate increase. How will this impact the housing market?

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British Columbia is the first Canadian province to require a three-day cooling period for buyers. This means that after a purchaser has signed an agreement buy a home, they can back out of a residential resale deal within 3 business days.

What does this mean for the industry? Do you think this is fair for sellers? Will it make an impact on housing affordability?

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Toronto recently proposed legislation that will allow (licensed) rooming houses and come in to effect as soon as March 2024. They would all have to undergo annual inspections by staff from Toronto Fire Services and Municipal Licensing and Standards to ensure safety.

What are the impacts of this, and could this make a difference for housing affordability?

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Most people that think they have lost their chance to build wealth in real estate, but there is still opportunity to win in this market. You just have to get a little creative.

Does it have to be one house, one family anymore? Will sellers buy down mortgage rates? Developers putting in second dwelling units? How about seniors with lots of equity in their homes? Tenants in non-rent controlled buildings?

There are so many possibilities given our current landscape. It's no wonder why Glenn calls it a crisis and an opportunity at the same time.

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I got invited to speak on a round table on CBC The National, our national public broadcasting station. It was such an honour to be there representing the landlord’s perspective.

It’s such a polarizing issue, they had to cut it down to 11 minutes but we could have gone on for hours. We did actually, off camera.

So here we are, discussing the very same topic with the team. It’s an honest conversation from both sides of the spectrum, as we have renters, owners, landlords, and combinations of the mix at this table. We are becoming a renter nation, and a handful of landlords are having to bear the rising cost of housing. Tenants on the other hand, find that landlords are taking advantage of their situations, gouging them for the right to live. These are the extreme views of course, so let’s discuss.

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Everybody goes and says, “I built equity in my house. I bought this house". A year later, it's worth $400,000 more. Sure. So you ask them or her, “what did you do to the house?" What have you done to the house to make it worth $400,000 more?”

Who put that? Who put that money inside that house? The government, obviously the government, through quantitative easing. It's diluting money, making it worth less great inflation. Sure. And inflation. That house belongs to the government. That equity belongs to the government. If they want to take that money back, they're taking it back right now.

As we are in an environment where interest rates are rising the quickest in history, times are getting tougher economically for everyone and it's top of mind. What can we do in this scenario?

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Toronto is a rapidly growing city. We are seeing approximately 100,000 new immigrants to the city every single year, yet we are limited by the lake and the greenbelt. So what's the impact of all this intensification that's happening around us?

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Doug Ford just recently announced his plan for more housing. We need 1.5 million houses in Ontario in the next decade. And traditionally that's 150,000 units per year. In 2021, we've delivered 100,000 housing completions, but that’s an all-time high. We’ve typically only built around 40,000 to 60,000 units per year. So we need to be super aggressive on building these homes. Today, we are going to be talking about how to convert single family homes to triplexes, and whether or not you should.

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Let’s talk about the current state of the market, and try to answer the big question: are we near the bottom of the market?

I’ve been in the real estate business and in the real estate market as an owner for almost two decades. I've seen a lot of ups and downs, and I want to share with you my thoughts on whether or not we're near the bottom. So let’s talk though it.

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The real estate brokerage business is changing. The pandemic has forced people to adopt the progression of the internet, and more realtors are helping their clients buy and sell homes without ever having to step into a real estate office. Some other brokerages have actually closed their physical offices and moved to a purely online presence. Is this the future of the brokerage industry? Or will there always be a place for in-person brokerages?

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As a single parent in an expensive city, often the dream of home ownership is out of reach. But with careful planning and some creative strategies, it IS possible! In this video, I sit with Michelle Fairburn and her daughters Kamaia and Amoi to discuss the sacrifices they had to make to get on the home ownership train. We also talk about investing with other people's money, and how to make it big in real estate investing.

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There are four main ways to make money in real estate. In this episode, Kenneth Yim and Michael Ng discuss each one of them and some basic principles on how you can get started.

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