JULY RESALE HOUSING MARKET FIGURES - Toronto

Real Estate Board President Tim Syrianos announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,921 residential transactions through TREB’s MLS® System in July 2017. This result was down by 40.4 per cent on a year-over-year basis, led by the detached market segment – both in the City of Toronto and surrounding regions.

What you need to know before using an escalation clause

What you need to know before using an escalation clause - RECO Website

Escalation clauses, also known as ‘escalator clauses’, are designed to edge out competing offers by automatically raising the offer price by a pre-set amount when a higher bid comes into play. 

Kitec Plumbing Can Cause Problems

Kitec plumbing is a type of pipe that is
vulnerable to premature failure, and
REALTORS® should be aware of this
product, which may damage a home and result in
costly repairs.

Life is 'more rewarding' in the US!


It's time again for the annual "Stella Awards"!
For those unfamiliar with these awards, they are named after 81-year-old Stella Liebeck who spilled hot coffee on herself and successfully sued the McDonald's.
That's right; these are awards for the most outlandish lawsuits and verdicts in the U.S. You know, the kinds of cases that make you scratch your head. So keep your head scratcher handy.
Here are the Stellas for 2016:

Ontario's Fair Housing Plan April 20, 2017 9:00 A.M.




Ontario's Fair Housing Plan introduces a comprehensive package of measures to help more people find affordable homes, increase supply, protect buyers and renters and bring stability to the real estate market. The plan includes:
Actions to Address Demand for Housing:

REALTORS® on the move safety needs

Being a successful real estate professional means being constantly on the move - meeting with clients, looking at properties & running errands. For many REALTORS®, their car is their second home, & nowadays even a second office. Safety needs to be a priority for anyone on the move this much.

HOW TO FINANCE A HOME RENOVATION; FOR PERSONAL RESIDENCES OR FOR RESALE OR RENTAL

Renovations can mean a new kitchen, bathroom, upgrading furnace or electrical, to fully gutting the property and installing new drywall, pot lights, tiling, trim, painting, windows, doors, stairs, hardwood flooring, ceramic sinks, stainless steel appliances, roof, landscaping, finish basement, add an addition to the house, and much more.

Dear Friends, More of the same, with no end in sight!

March 2017

Dear Friend,

More of the same, with no end in sight!

That pretty much sums up the Toronto real estate market. Record level sales, record level prices as 8,014 residential homes sold in February through the Toronto Real Estate Board MLS system.

Devious tenants must be stopped from gaming system

House-gavel

Anyone interested in becoming a landlord in Ontario could learn some lessons from a recent court case which demonstrates how an unscrupulous tenant was able to live rent-free for 18 months.

Agent Disciplined ~ No Home Inspection Condition

Agent Disciplined ~ No Home Inspection Condition: The Liability of an Agent for Failure to Recommend a Home Inspection Condition in the Offer Recently, the Court of Queen’s Bench in Ne ...

IMPORTANT Changes to Toronto LTT APPROVED - Effective March 1, 2017

February 16, 2017 -- City of Toronto Council has approved changes to the Toronto Land Transfer Tax that mean additional Toronto Land Transfer Tax costs for some home buyers with a closing date on or after March 1, 2017, when it will be harmonized with the provincial LTT.

The following changes to the Toronto Land Transfer Tax were considered and approved by Toronto City Council on February 15, 2017. The changes are effective AS OF MARCH 1, 2017, for real estate transactions closing on or after this date:

February 2017 Newsletter

February 2017

Dear Friend,

With the sale of 5,188 homes, January 2017 became the most active January in the history of the Toronto real estate board, just outselling January 2007’s 5,175 sales and January 2008’s 5,075 sales.

It’s no surprise that the annual rates of sales growth were higher for condominium apartments than for low-rise home types. As prices continue to increase and first time buyers (estimated to account for half of the sales) can no longer afford low rise type homes, it’s natural that they turn to condominiums as well as those communities outside of Toronto where prices are more reasonable. We have already seen and will continue to see price increases in those “bedroom communities” an hour outside of Toronto
  
The big challenge continues to be low inventory. The demand is so strong that homes are snapped up as they hit the market. Unfortunately, there does not appear to be an end in sight to this trend.

A strong economy, large immigration, international investors and job seekers from other provinces all put pressure on the real estate market, and that means prices will continue to increase.

It truly is a difficult market for buyers as they scramble to buy something affordable as prices continue to escalate. More than ever before, it’s critical to have a full time, experienced professional looking after your real estate needs. With every house experiencing multiple offers and bidding wars, it’s simply not enough to just throw in an offer. There is a lot more that goes into looking after the best needs of your client, proper research and consultation to know what price to offer in a constant changing market. That is where my expertise comes in.

Give me a call if you are considering purchasing or know of a friend who is, and I will put my experience and expertise to work for you.
  
Have a great February,
  
Your Friend in Real Estate.

Steven Maislin, Broker, IRES, ABR, SRS, SRESText/Cell:  416-518-7701
Office:      416-782-8882
Direct:      416-410-6000
1-800-567-LIST    (5478)
Steven@Maislin.com
RE/MAX Realtron Realty Inc., Brokerage
Toronto, Ontario, Canada

The Toronto Real Estate Board is warning against a Vancouver-style tax on offshore home purchasers.



Don't blame overseas investors for the high price of housing in the Toronto area, says the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB).

The board is releasing new research Tuesday showing fewer than 5 per cent of the 113,133 residential real estate transactions in the Toronto region last year involved foreign buyers.

More than half of those foreign buyers were purchasing homes for themselves or to house family members, according to a November Ipsos survey of TREB agents, who acted on behalf of those buyers.

About 25 per cent of the homes purchased by non-Canadians were bought as rental investments.

Related: Housing conditions problematic in several Canadian cities including Toronto, CMHC says


Vancouver Real Estate Board releases 2016 home sales figures

Toronto house prices climb more than 22 per cent

The data suggests that a foreign buyer tax such as the 15 per cent implemented in Vancouver last summer would be misguided, says TREB.



A similar tax here could have "unintended consequences" — potentially pushing up prices in communities outside the Toronto area where there is no such tax. It could also further reduce the tight supply of rentals and discourage immigration to the area, said the board.

The survey also found that fewer than 2 per cent of TREB realtors had acted in a sale in the Toronto area that was pushed east by the Vancouver tax.

The cost of a home in the Toronto region is expected to rise substantially — between 10 and 16 per cent — again this year.

That would mean the average price of a home in December of $730,472 would grow to $825,000 on average this year.

That cost was up 20 per cent in December over the same month in 2015.

"Detached and semi-detached houses and townhouses will experience the strongest annual rates of price growth, but the condominium apartment market segment will remain tight as well," said a TREB press release.

An Ipsos survey of home buyers found the average purchaser expects to put down 27.6 per cent on a home this year, with first-time buyers expected to put about 24 per cent down on their purchase.

While fewer consumers are expected to buy a home this year than was indicated in the previous survey, the number of first-timers expecting to enter the market increased slightly to 53 per cent from 49 per cent.

Buyers indicated they are using various sources for down payments including savings, RRSPs, gifts from family and equity from their existing homes.

TREB said it expects a third consecutive year of more than 100,000 sales forecast but with slightly fewer this year.

The lack of supply will be the biggest impediment to those wanting to get into the market, said TREB officials.

"Active listings at the end of December were at their lowest point since before 2000. It is unlikely that the shortage of listings will improve to any great degree over the next year," said Jason Mercer, the board's director of market analysis.

TREB is also expected to release research on Tuesday showing that home values will rise as much as 12 per cent depending on their proximity to GO Transit's Regional Express Rail improvements that are expected to provide 15-minute, two-way service in many areas. © Copyright Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. 1996 - 2017


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First-time home buyers are now eligible to get $4,000 off the Canadian dream

First-time home buyers are now eligible to get $4,000 off the Canadian dream and we need your help to help spread the word. 

New Ontario LTT Rebate 

Effective January 1st, 2017, Ontario has doubled the land transfer tax rebate for first-time home buyers from $2,000 to $4,000. That means that a first-time home buyer will pay noprovincial tax on homes sold for $368,000 or less. 

Ontario REALTORS® lobbied hard for the improved rebate and we're very proud to promote it to first-time buyers. 

www.FirstHomeRebate.ca 

To help promote this new rebate we've created a website www.FirstHomeRebate.ca with an informative video and calculator that can help your clients figure out how much tax relief they can claim on their first home. 

We’ve also equipped the site with tools and information you can share with prospective buyers to encourage them to get into the market. 

REALTORS® and the Canadian Dream 

As REALTORS®, we know home ownership is part of the Canadian Dream. It's a source of financial security, drives economic activity and binds communities together. The benefits of home ownership are why OREA fights so hard to protect it and make it more affordable for young families. 

So take a minute and visit www.FirstHomeRebate.ca, share it with your clients and be proud that Ontario REALTORS® are fighting to make home ownership more affordable. 

Yours sincerely,
Steven