The COVID-19 pandemic has many folks on edge and worried about the economy – and the real estate market, in particular. Here are a few things to consider:

We expect the economy to bounce back
If we can believe what they are saying, China is already starting to recover as COVID-19 gets more controlled. The Chinese government has started it’s own ‘stimulus’ plan, so if they can get some momentum going, that will help the world economy get onto the road to recovery. Add to that the huge stimulus package in the US – plus Canada’s, too – and we’ll see some serious money pumped into the economy, which should generate a strong recovery.

The housing market seems stable

The real estate market is still competitive, and multiple offer scenarios are still happening (although that may peter out as time goes on…). The Toronto Regional Estate Board (TREB) recently reported 8,012 home sales through TRREB’s MLS® System in March, 2020 – up 12.3% compared to 7,132 sales reported in March, 2019. That increase was based mostly on just the first two weeks of the month, meaning that if it wasn’t for COVID-19, this March would have been a really fantastic month for Toronto real estate. (Check out my blog for a more detailed breakdown of the March stats soon.)

With all the stimulus, financial supports, mortgage deferral options, etc., it’s unlikely that Canadians will start dumping houses, which would push prices down (as happened in the U.S. during the Global Financial Crisis). Plus, new home construction has declined a bit in recent years. Some believe that builders have been under-producing new housing stock. With the federal government tightening mortgage regulations at the same time, we can be reasonably confident that today’s homeowners (and buyers) are solid enough to get by. So, there’s not really much risk of either over-supply of housing stock *nor* of homeowners defaulting on mortgages, either of which could push market prices down. Because market fundamentals are generally strong, housing is a safe long-term investment, and should be able to weather this storm.

Furthermore, if this ‘quasi-quarantine’ is short, real estate will probably pick up speed quickly. Mortgage rates are at historic lows, meaning now is a good time to lock in a low-rate mortgage. Plus, we’ll have lots of that pent up demand in the real estate market. The bottom line is that, if you were planning to be active in the market this year, you should either be doing something now, or preparing to move fast when life starts to get back to normal.

‘Spring market’ delayed
Whenever things start to get somewhat back to normal, I expect the market to surge (i.e. sales to spike) to ‘catch up’ – if not by summer, then early fall. There will definitely be lots of pent-up demand, and that will likely lead to a hotter market at some point later this year.

Again, if you want to buy or sell this year, be ready – and for you home sellers, now is probably a good time to tackle a few projects around the house (or condo)!

Now is a great time to reach out
We’ve all heard it a million times by now, but it’s true: we can all help each other get through this! Support your friends and neighbours in ways that are responsible, safe and sanitary – while maintaining social distancing! 😉 Keep in touch with friends and family any way you can. Most of us are already doing it, but try to think of somebody you *haven’t* heard from recently, and reach out to say hi – it might make somebody’s day!

Midland Park is a gorgeous neighbourhood of mid-century modern homes built in the late 50s-early 60s. Many existing trees were left intact, and the housing was designed and built to fit the landscape. Today, it’s a quiet, leafy community of wide, winding streets, tall trees and classy homes whose design style has stood the test of time.

Number four Brookridge Dr, just off Midland Ave, sits on the western edge of the development. It’s on a huge lot (50ft by 150ft) that allows for a nice setback from the street, a large private drive, and a fabulous backyard. The interior features three bedrooms, a separate dining room, and a large living/family room at the back of the house that opens onto the deck, patio and yard. There’s hardwood throughout the main floor, a bright skylight in the main hallway, and a side door off the kitchen. Overall, the design and layout are interesting and functional.

The basement is divided into two main rooms: a huge rec room – great for kids or entertaining – and an office/study that has a separate entrance. There are loads of options there!

The local schools are Donwood Park P.S. (St Victor Catholic), David & Mary Thomson C.I. and Bendale Business and Tech Institute (Jean Vanier Catholic). There’s plenty of amenities nearby – shopping, banks, restaurants, etc., and the bus stop is right around the corner. In addition to the school grounds, there’s the West Highland Creek on the eastern side of the development, and Thomson Memorial Park (home of the Scarborough Museum) just on the other side of Brimley, so there’s no shortage of outdoor activity options.

This home has been in the same family for over 50 years. It has been lovingly maintained, and is in move-in condition. If you would like to see this great little house please contact me to book a private viewing.

It took a while (summer is usually a slow time of year), but this great little house is now sold. If you are looking in the area, please drop me a line!

Update: We had over 130 showings booked for this great starter condo, and generated 11 offers! The property sold ‘firm’ on offer night. The condo market is hot!

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The amount of development around Fort York in recent years has been amazing. Not only have loads of great condos gone up, but the area is also benefiting from other projects. For example, there’s a new Fort York Visitor Centre, and most of us have heard about the new Bentway skating trail that runs under the Gardiner Expressway.

Number 231 Fort York Blvd (‘Atlantis Aquarius’) is right across the street from all that action. Unit 1113 is a well laid-out one bedroom unit with a cute little balcony and a great view. (As the western-most building of the project, it has an unobstructed west-facing view of the city, the waterfront and the lake off in the distance.) Features include laminate wood flooring in the living/dining room, stainless steel appliances and a breakfast bar – great for casual eating or entertaining. The unit comes with an owned parking spot, and extra rental parking spots are sometimes available, too.

The building has some great amenities, including a games room, mulit-purpose room, and the Oasis Club – the fitness room, salt water pool, large Jacuzzi, etc. It all makes for comfortable living. And if you want to get out for a run or a bike ride, Coronation Park and the waterfront trail are right across the street.

It’s a short walk to the streetcar (board at Fleet Street, just down at the corner with Fort York Blvd), or the bus; they’ll take you to Union Station or Bathurst Station – and points in between. Or, pop down to the Lake Shore to hit the Gardiner. There are lots of transportation options from here!

This great little spot is perfect for the first time buyer(s) or small investor. Judging by the showing action so far, it’s a hot commodity! If you are interested, or know somebody who might be, don’t hesitate to call me.

It took a while, but patience is a virtue and this beauty is now sold! 🙂 Read on for my original thoughts on it.

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This is a great two-bedroom house with a private drive (2+ spots) just a few blocks from Michael Garron (formerly Toronto East General) Hospital – so it could be the perfect house for somebody who works there! 😉 The local TDSB elementary school is RH McGregor, which features French immersion – another huge benefit at this great location.

Inside, the super spacious main floor is bright and open, with a neat den/office at the back of the house. It has a brand new, custom built (i.e. with custom cabinetry) kitchen with all new appliances. Note that the home also features two wall mounted heat exchangers. They’re not just air conditioning: on coolish days the unit will actually add heat to the house! Very cool.

The basement is also completely re-done: new concrete pad; water-proofing; a completely new bathroom; two new rooms (e.g. flex and/or rec); pot lights and cork floors. The back door leads to the basement (i.e. there’s a separate entrance), and the laundry room is right at the bottom of the stairs.

Upstairs, the master bedroom is large and has his-and-hers closets. (His has built-ins, hers is a small walk-in.) The second bedroom is plenty big enough, too. The comfortably-sized main bath was renovated by the previous owners; it’s quite nice. Basically, this house is move-in ready (for real!).

In addition to proximity to the hospital and RH McGregor, 377 Sammon Ave is walking distance to the Danforth and all that has to offer: shops, pubs, restaurants, services, and the subway. Fabulous Dieppe

Park (playing field, hockey rink and skating pad) is just two blocks away, and the East York Civic Centre (city services, a great farmers’ market, a library, tennis courts) is just a ten minute walk. And, if you want to drive somewhere, you are mere moments from the DVP (via either Don Mills or Pottery Rd). This is a great location in lots of ways.

View loads more pics here.

RE/MAX Hallmark was already the biggest (and best!) RE/MAX franchise in the GTA, and today it’s even bigger (and better)! Ken McLachlan, Broker of Record/Owner, just announced the addition of RE/MAX First Real Estate into the RE/MAX Hallmark family, effective immediately.

RE/MAX First has over 130 realtors in four offices across Durham region, in Pickering, Ajax, Whitby and Brooklin. In the company’s 25 year history, under the leadership of Broker/Owners Ron Gordon and Brian O’Donoghue, RE/MAX First grew to become a dominant leader in the Durham region. This new chapter not only positions them for more growth, but also equips RE/MAX Hallmark REALTORS to seamlessly represent our clients in the Durham region, and makes us the market leader east of Toronto.

Basically, this gives me four new offices that I can use, all the administrative support we need, and opens up a huge new network of REALTOR colleagues who will make buying and selling easier for my clients. So, if you need a REALTOR in Durham, be sure to give me a call!

The most obvious aspect of the September market was the drop in sales volume. Transactions were down 35.1%, from 9,830 last year to just 6,379 this year. At the same time, the number of active listings surged from 11,255 to 19,021, an increase of 69%. This is, broadly speaking, good for the market. For perspective, there were 21,571 active listings in September ’07, and that was down from 26,363 the previous year; the current number is below historic levels. However, it does make for some stark-looking numbers. Still, the average price did manage to eek up 2.6% year-over-year. That means that, despite the wild roller coaster ride that the market experienced in the first half of the year, we are still in positive territory over-all.

The average sale price for the month was $775,546, well down from the fever-pitched levels that we saw in the first quarter of 2017. I don’t usually track same-year stats, but with the way things have gone in 2017, I think it’s warranted. Average price hit a peak of $920,791 in April, and had trended downwards every month since then, quickly giving up the rapid gains seen in the first few months. The August average was $732,292, so September at least showed its usual strength relative to the summer months.

When discussing the condo market, I always make a point of focusing on sales in the 416 area code (separate from sales in the 905). This month, it’s interesting to note the difference in prices for detached homes in the 416. Last month, the average sale price in Toronto was $1,355,234, up significantly from the $1,191,052 average we saw in August. That indicates a strong market, despite the news. In the 905, the August average was $906,592 and rose just slightly to $912,921 in September. Clearly, the decline in the overall average sale price isn’t because of lower prices for detached homes. As TREB noted in its report, “the MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) composite benchmark was up by 12.2 per cent on a year-over-year basis”, which indicates that the ‘decline’ in prices is more due to the mix of home types sold, which is a healthy reaction by the marketplace.

The condo segment was also interesting. Sales in the 416 volume was down 23.2%, but the average sale price was up 24%, to $554,069. Condos seem to have been acting as a ‘relief valve’ for people finding themselves priced out of low-rise dwellings, and the price gap is narrowing in reaction to that….

So, what does it all mean? Who knows! The real estate market has been under constant pressure from the government for a few years now (several rounds of tightened mortgage rules, with more to come; new taxes; enhanced rent controls, etc.) so it’s hard to tease out what’s actually going on. The ‘fundamentals’ are still in favour of a strong, growing market: decent economy, some job creation, historically low interest rates and a growing population. But, with so much meddling by governments, and the natural confusion that causes, the behaviour of the market is not a reflection of fundamentals. It’s probably safe to say that the fundamentals will eventually show through – meaning a resumption of solid price increases – but we may have to wait for the meddling to recede before we see that…. In the meantime, the market is surviving!  😉

Much is being made (e.g. in the media) about the ‘decline’ in sales in Toronto. As I have been saying (writing) for years, it’s one thing for the pace or volume of sales to decline, and another for prices to decline.

It’s true that the volume of sales in May 2017 was lower than sales in 2016. That said, 10,196 transactions is typical for a busy month in the spring market. The number of sales in May 2016 was 12,931, an all-time record for that month. So, we saw fewer sales than the record set last May. Do we have to set a record every month?! I don’t think so.

Also, the average price in May 2017 was $863,910, up 14.9% – or about $112,000 – still a very high increase. It was down from April (which was basically the same as March) because the market was so crazy in the first quarter, and that drove prices up quite dramatically. I’m glad to see that those super-high price increases are behind us.

Much is also being made of the increase in the number of new listings. As noted in the headline, that number is faulty: TREB has double-counted (and in some cases triple-counted) some new listings. Here’s how: a new listing is posted with an eye-catching price. The home-owner wants competition that will drive up that price. Then, due to the slowing activity that we’ve seen in the last six-to-eight weeks, ‘offer night’ comes and goes without a sale. The Realtor cancels the existing listing and posts a new listing with a higher price. TREB (through no fault of its own) can’t yet track that, so that property has appeared twice in the system and gets counted twice. You can imagine that this could easily happen a couple of times with the same property, and it happens all the time across the city. There could be hundreds, if not thousands, of double-counted properties in that “New Listings” number. Clearly, it’s not what it seems.

The better number to track is Active listings, which hit 18,477 last month, up 42.9% over May 2016. This is a good thing! The market has been trapped in a low supply situation for years, and if a bunch of new listings can take off some of the pressure, that would be great. Ten years ago, in May 2007, TREB reported  23,739 active listings (which was down from 26,220 the year before). The city population is higher now, and we are still nowhere near that volume of available listings for all the eager buyers out there. Why would anybody start ringing the alarm bells in conditions like this? My guess is sensationalism. Fear sells, doesn’t it? :/

The supply issue is perhaps more easily understood if one looks at the number of active listings added to sales. That number would provide a sum of the real estate activity for the month. In May 2007 (which I chose as a nice, round ten years ago), there were 23,739 active listings and 11,146 sales, which adds up to 34,885.

Last month there were only 18,477 active listings left at the end of the month and 10,196 sales, which adds up to 28,673, only about 82% of the activity recorded in 2007. With a rising population, solid economy, good job growth and continued low interest rates, we still have less real estate activity now than we did ten years ago. In this supply-constrained, competitive environment, what would cause a correction? There’s certainly a fear factor infecting the market these days, but underneath all that is the relentless supply shortage, and that should absolutely preclude a correction (beyond the simple re-balancing we’ve seen recently).

By the way, looking at the 11,146 sales in May 2007, from that ‘selection’ of 34,885, it’s clear that buyers had a lot more choice then; prices were up a manageable 5% that month. That was a strong market, and we would be lucky if our supply were to increase steadily over the next few months to get us back to that level.

April was another busy month in the Toronto real estate market. New listings finally started to appear (21,630 new listings for the month, up 33.6% over April 2016) giving buyers more choice. Coupled with 11,630 sales for the month (down 3.3% from the 12,016 recorded in April 2016), that allowed available listings to edge up 3% ,to 12,926 by the end of the month.

Price pressure remained in place, though, with the average sale price up 24.5% to $920,791. Note that the average sale price in March was $916,567, meaning prices remained essentially flat month-to-month. So, although we saw another big year-over-year price, this could be a sign that prices are leveling out, which will come as a relief to buyers.

The condo segment in the 416 had an impressive month. Sales volume was up a modest 8%, but prices soared 32.3%, keeping pace with last month’s increase.

The long-awaited increase in the supply of available listings is great news for the market, but it still leaves us far from historical levels. For example, in April, 2007 TREB reported 22,829 available listings, almost double the current level. The average Days on Market (i.e. how long the average listing took to sell) was around 30 days. Last month it was just 9, indicating how short-lived our supply really is. If we are lucky, we’ll get a couple of months of increasing supply, which should bring some balance to the market.

Right now it looks like the price increases are locked in, but it’s important for sellers to note that the market is not the same as it was in Jan-Feb-March. The new supply is taking some of the heat off buyers, meaning they don’t have to put everything on the line for every house that they see. So, while we are still seeing multiple offers on a lot of houses, we won’t get that for every single listing. Marketing – especially pricing – is more important than ever. But, we’ve seen this before; almost every spring, in fact! We make the adjustment, and move on.

The bottom line is that it’s still a great time to sell, and an even better time to buy.

Sometimes I feel like I could just copy-paste last month’s review, update a few numbers and be done! The Toronto market has been reliably consistent for years and years: prices go up. Sometimes the supply goes down and sometimes… well, it always seems to be down these days. 🙁

With the consistently strong demand for Toronto real estate, sales volume in February was up 5.7% to 8,014 transactions (7,583 in Feb ’16). There were just 9,834 new listings, down 12.5% (11,234 in Feb ’16). By the end of the month, only 5,400 listings were left on the market. At the end of Feb ’16 there were 10,902; that’s a drop of 50.5%. With supply dropping by half, it’s no wonder that prices continue to surge. The average sale price (for all housing types) leapt 27.7%, to $875,983.

Do you know anybody who is still dumping on the condo market? Tell ’em that sales in the 416 were up 14%, and prices climbed 18.2%. That’s getting up around low-rise rates of increase…. On the bright side, the average condo price for the month was $515,424, far below the average house price.

There are always multiple factors affecting markets – supply and demand, interest rates, land transfer taxes, the job market, foreign buyers, etc. – but the biggest, most obvious challenge these days is supply (which you know I’ve been on about for a while now). There are lots of qualified buyers ‘out there’, and they are fighting like mad to get the home they need in the neighbourhood they want… and sometimes the neighbourhood they didn’t know they wanted until they got priced out of one or two others! I see it every day, and there’s no getting around it. We need more listings, but there’s no easy solution to that.

This city needs more low-rise housing, better transit and improved infrastructure – I know, *news flash*, eh? Fortunately, there are always people who can cash out of the Toronto market and move to another city. There are lots of good reasons to do that, and I happen to know a couple of people who are doing that this year. Stay tuned! 🙂

There’s an old joke in the real estate business: Nobody gets rich selling real estate (i.e. being a Realtor); people get rich by buying real estate. Now, of course that’s not literally true; lots of Realtors are super successful. The point is that the better play in real estate is as a buyer and long term investor.

Income properties can be a fantastic investment, one I encourage all of my clients to consider. Whether you are a first time buyer looking for extra income to help cover a mortgage, or strictly an investor (i.e. you won’t ever live in the property), you should think about it. Besides the obvious benefit of the income (especially after you retire), in the Toronto market every property owner gets significant capital appreciation, year after year.

Here’s a great opportunity for you: 29 Kintyre Ave, near Broadview Ave and Queen St E, is a large, detached property with three income-generating units. There’s a great 2nd/3rd floor apartment that could be one or two bedrooms, depending upon configuration, with an absolutely fabulous rooftop deck that faces south and gives a sunny view of the area and all the way to the downtown skyline. It really is top notch. The main floor flat is a cozy one bedroom with an eat-in kitchen and a sunny, south-facing walk-out to a porch. The basement unit is a super cute one bedroom, really one of the nicer ones I’ve seen.

You can’t beat the location. Riverside is exploding with new shops, restaurants and condo developments (which means plenty of local foot traffic, which is great for any neighbourhood). Both the Queen St 501 and King St 504 streetcars are a block away. Plus, one could walk up to Dundas to catch the 505 downtown; it goes all the way to Dundas West subway station.

Access to the DVP is right around the corner, and the Gardiner isn’t much further. You can pop down into the Don Valley for a nature walk/run/ride; stroll the local strip; or hike over to Leslieville. It’s no surprise that the walk score is 94, and the transit score is 95 – both “paradise”-like scores!

UPDATE – After one week on the market we generated multiple offers and sold the property to some very happy buyers! 🙂