Prices for all property types continued the typical summer pattern in August, with prices for both freehold homes and condominiums lower than in July. Compared with last year, there are some definite positive signs: Prices were higher than last August for both freehold and condo properties. In fact, for the first time this year, prices […]
Interest Rates
Summer Slowdown Has Begun In Toronto
Following the normal seasonal trend, prices and sales in June were lower than in May, beginning the slowdown that typically begins in mid June and continues until late August. Because of our short summer season, many buyers and sellers decide to take a break until after labour day, and the market therefore tends to ‘thin […]
New Mortgage Qualification Rules – More Unintended Consequences
As previously reported here, the B-20 ‘stress test’ mortgage qualification rules (requiring buyers to qualify ‘as if’ the mortgage rate were 2 points higher than it actually is) has resulted in a significant reduction in the number of real estate sales across the country. In turn, this caused an unintended knock-on impact on economic activity […]
Interest Rates Unlikely To Rise In 2019
The latest data from Statistics Canada shows that GDP has actually fallen in four of the past six months, suggesting that, after the longest (if one of the weakest) recoveries ever, we are heading toward a recession within the next year or so. Click to view monthly GDP chart This is why the Bank of […]
First-Time Home Buyer Incentive – Will It Help?
The federal budget included a proposed measure that would see the federal government take on part of the costs of buying a home. The basic elements of the plan are: It will be available only to first-time homebuyers; It will be administered by CMHC and will only be available for CMHC-insured mortgages; Buyers must have […]
Toronto Condo Market Continues to Soar
Toronto area condominium apartment prices continued to move upward last month, with average prices 6% higher than February, 2018. Almost certainly we will see another all-time high for condominium prices before the spring is over. Under-pricing and bidding wars are rampant and buyers are eager (even desperate) to buy condos now before prices go even […]
