Who do you know that might want to purchase a home, but is reluctant to get into a multiple offer situation, commonly known as, the dreaded, “bidding war”. Did you know that we often represent a Seller client that wants to sell their home but not quite yet.  However, they instruct us, that if we happen to hear of someone that may be interested in their house and they are willing to pay a fair price, they would sell now, without going on MLS. The bonus to the Buyer, they... [read more]

Recent studies have shown that the old adage of buying the worst house on the block may not offer the best rate of return. Often it is the worst house, and priced accordingly, for good reason. As an investment strategy one is often better off focusing on the neighborhood itself, with an average home in a hot neighborhood often doing far better than the ugly duckling in a less desirable area.   [read more]

Home ownership continues to be a great investment and remains very important to the majority of Canadian households. As we move through 2017, we expect the demand for ownership housing to remain strong, including demand from first-time buyers who, according to a recent Ipsos survey, could account for more than half of transactions this year. However, many of these would-be buyers will have problems finding a home that meets their needs in a market with very little inventory. That's where we... [read more]

Principal Residence Exemption For the 70% of Canadians who own a home, it is a place to live, raise a family, and connects them to their community. Due to Canada’s tax system’s Principal Residence Exemption, when we sell our homes, any increased value or “capital gains” are not taxed. This tax break matters to Canadian homeowners. Collectively, we have about $3 trillion in home equity and our homes are often our largest financial asset. However, starting... [read more]

Real Estate Prices Moderate The average selling price in the Toronto area was $890,284 through May 14, up 17 percent from a year earlier, yet down 3.3 percent from the full month of April. The annual price gain is down from 25 percent in April and 33 percent in March. Toronto has seen yearly price growth every month since May 2009. The last time the city saw gains of less than 10 percent was in December 2015.  Bloomberg News [read more]