Keeping a cool head

If you thought 2016 was a roller-coaster year, 2017 is shaping up to be more of the same. Given the already high prices in Toronto, it’s natural that the lower prices in surrounding communities have drawn off a lot of the traffic, and news reports have now caught up to the boom in 905 and the other parts of southern Ontario.

Our chart (above) shows that the first two months’ of sale prices have already eclipsed the peak moments of 2016. Our dotted-line “projection” suddenly looks highly unlikely. If there are any winners, it may be the older home owners on fixed incomes who now have a chance to make a windfall gain.

For buyers today, the main thing is to keep a cool head and do some serious thinking about what really matters. For many millennials, the imperatives of starting a family are becoming a top priority. Where can they find space to live, commute, and bring up children?

If you’re a buyer, you need to be prepared. With your mortgage pre-approval and a strong understanding of the market, you’ll be able to make smart decisions. You may not win on your first time bidding, but the best-prepared buyers have a strong edge in this market.

If you’re a potential seller, things look easier. But you still need a real estate agent who puts your needs first, ahead of just making an easy sale.

In a rapidly changing market, you need smart, timely advice, whether you’re a buyer or a seller. We’re available to help… You can email us, or ask for James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

What’s driving the demand?

Each new year tends to mark a fresh beginning in real estate, but 2016 is clearly something special. Take a look at the chart above, and you’ll see how the gap in year-over-year prices started widening in March and April, 2015. Since then, double-digit increases have been reported in various categories of the market, both in the 416 and 905 areas.

Which kinds are going up the most?

By 2015, price increases outside the City of Toronto started to be steeper than those within the city. And as of the first half of this month, it’s clear that the greatest percentage increases are in the most affordable categories. In the 416, the average townhouse is 22% up over this time last year. In 905, semi-detached homes are up 15%, and detached homes are up 19%. These are all categories where first-time buyers can hope to purchase a home on the ground, in the broad range of $500,000 to $800,000.

Condo apartments are somewhat different. The mix is changing to include more new units, often smaller than the older ones. Even so, lower prices are drawing more buyers to condos in parts of the 905, with the result that average apartment prices are now rising four times faster in the suburbs, compared to the 416.

In this context, the price increases for detached homes would appear to be levelling off. There are parts of the city, however, which are experiencing the most explosive price increases ever in 2016. Inner suburbs like Don Mills, with bungalows built on large lots in the 50s and 60s, are seeing price increases of over 20% this year. Meanwhile, a shortage of resale homes in the core neighbourhoods of the old city has guaranteed bidding wars on just about any listing.

You need a plan

Whether you’re in the market for a house or a condo, you need a smart team to plan and execute a winning strategy. We’re available to talk… If you’re ready to start a conversation you can email us, or ask for James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

New down-payment rules

The new down-payment requirements will affect thousands of home buyers in Toronto and the GTA.

The new rules affect all home purchases where the down payment is less than 20%, and the sale price is between $500,000 and $1,000,000. Purchases up to $500,000, or over $1 million, will not be affected. The changes take effect on February 15, 2016.

Specifically, a buyer will need to provide a minimum down payment of 5% on the first $500,000 of value, PLUS a minimum 10% down payment on the remainder of the price, up to $1 million. (Buyers of properties over $1 million are already required to provide a 20% down payment.)

As an example, a house purchase of $700,000 will require a minimum down payment of $45,000 (up from $35,000 currently.)

A big deal for houses (condos not so much)

The new rule will have the strongest impact on buyers of low-rise homes. 53% of all low-rise home sales across the GTA would have been in the affected category in 2015. First-time buyers looking for a house in the City of Toronto know how few actually sell below $500,000. Condo buyers will probably not be affected, since only 13% of condo apartments are selling in the affected price range.

Family help

This holiday season, first-time buyers who’ve been saving up for a 5% down payment may want to have “the talk” with family members… Is it okay to stay off the property ladder until you can save up more, or is there a justified case for a little family gifting, to speed up the process?

Contact us if you’d like to get objective advice from a mortgage professional… we can connect you with some excellent people!

There’s lots more to know…

If you’re in the market for a house or condo, there’s lots you should know. We’re available to talk… If you’re ready to start your home-buying campaign you can email us, or ask for James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

 

Mayfair in Rosedale Park – May 8th and 9th

Wednesday is the last day to buy Ride-All-Day passes for Mayfair! There will be more rides than ever, including the amazing Cannonball drop ride.

The Ride-All-Day pass costs $40. It’s good for all the mechanical rides at Mayfair. The rides will be running this Friday from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm, as well as all day Saturday, 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.

You can purchase the Ride-All-Day passes at Summerhill Market, 446 Summerhill Avenue, and at Mooredale House, 146 Crescent Road. You receive a voucher, which you exchange for a wrist bracelet at the park.

For more Mayfair info, call Mooredale House, 416-922-3714, ext 103.

Toronto’s legacy towers

Jane Jacobs was not a believer. She was confident that the futuristic suburban developments of the 1960s and 70s would not produce the kind of connected neighbourhoods she advocated.

Decades later, the concrete slabs have not done well. “Tower renewal” has become the watchword for a branch of urbanism that is trying to grapple with the problems of Toronto’s inner-suburban highrise apartments. “Powers of Towers” is a beautifully-shot 12-minute documentary that profiles some of the best minds currently trying to turn these legacy projects into livable communities.

Please like, tweet or share...

SOLD – OVER ASKING
This stately 1920’s home in Toronto’s #1-ranked family neighbourhood has been sensitively updated by the current owners. It’s located on an unusually wide lot, with a double garage and a deep private garden.
Go to http://www.308stclairavee.com for details, or click on the photo to see the Virtual Tour – we have some great photos of the staircase and the stained glass!

Mayfair 2014 Ride-all-Day Bracelets

Mayfair in Rosedale Park will be on May 10th this year. You can get Ride-all-Day bracelets, good for all the mechanical rides, but only during the advance sale period…

April 23rd to May 7th

You can purchase vouchers for the Ride-all-Day bracelets at Summerhill Market, 446 Summerhill Avenue, and at Mooredale House, 146 Crescent Road. The vouchers will be on sale from April 23rd to May 7th only. Then redeem your voucher at the park on Saturday, May 10, when you will receive your bracelet.

Mayfair’s Eve – Bonus Rides

All the rides will be running for four hours on the night before Mayfair, from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm on Friday, May 9th. You can come to Mayfair on the Friday night, redeem your voucher and try out the rides — then come back Saturday for a full day of fun!

Stay for Friday dinner in Rosedale Park

The whole family’s invited on Friday night! The Mayfair beer garden and BBQ will be up and running Friday May 9th, 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. We’ll be serving Steam Whistle, and Summerhill Market is bringing their famous gourmet ribs! (Weber’s burgers and Life Choices hot dogs will also be on the grill.) A great time to hang out with friends, at a really big neighbourhood barbecue!

GTA Market Update – Dec. 17, 2013

Setting the stage for 2014: What do rising prices and volumes mean?

Home buyers were busy across the Toronto area this fall. Prices were up for low-rise homes and for condos. The number of sales was also up, in both categories. In the first two weeks of December, the average sale price for a home in the GTA was $520,379 – up 10% over the same period in 2012.

We think it’s remarkable that this level of action is taking place in the 905 area as well as in the City of Toronto. The average sale price of a home in the 905 went up $53,000 since last December (about 11.5% in 12 months.) While low-rise homes are the dominant part of the housing supply outside the City, condo apartments are now growing in importance in the 905.

Signs point to a busy year ahead

Builders are pulling back on new projects. One economist projects a 37% drop in housing starts for 2014, and 28% fewer sales of new homes. Thousands of new buyers are poised to enter the market for a first home in 2014. Finding the right properties for all of them will be a challenge for all of us in the real estate business.

If you’re thinking of selling your home, let us help you with your strategy. We can give you a clear idea of what is happening in your neighbourhood, and we have the marketing expertise to help you take advantage of the demand for housing. You can email us, or call James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.

Toronto’s governance: Where we are now

After three years of propping up Toronto’s incompetent but popular Mayor, Rob Ford, the City’s councillors stepped up this month to do what they could. They voted to reallocate office resources and administrative procedures at City Hall, making the Mayor effectively a figurehead. Council worked with the City’s legal staff to ensure that the motions passed were legally appropriate and in line with the fiduciary obligations of elected councillors. Observers around the world are getting the message that the City of Toronto intends to get back to business.

A little constitutional background…

The steps taken by City Council in November 2013 move Toronto part of the way back from The City of Toronto Act and closer to the situation of The Municipal Act, which had governed Toronto until 2007, and which continues now to govern all other Ontario municipalities. Canadian cities historically work under a “weak mayor” system, in which council is the body with authority, and the mayor acts as a chair. In Ontario, political parties stay behind the scenes and are not represented on the floor of council in any formal sense.

The problems created by Mayor Ford show that The Toronto Act needs at least some level of amendment. The Act needs to envisage a situation that would not be able to occur in other municipalities, or in the other levels of government. Provincial Premiers and the federal Prime Minister hold office subject to the confidence of their legislative chambers, following the British parliamentary tradition. Other mayors (and Toronto’s mayor, prior to 2007), while popularly elected, receive almost all their authority from their councils.

Can Council make it work?

The level of cooperation among the councillors has been refreshing, and hearkens back to the better traditions of Toronto’s civic governance. Most centre-right and right councillors were understandably in awe of the success of Rob Ford’s 2010 election campaign – despite the fact that most of them knew before 2010 that Ford had few leadership skills, and troubling personal flaws. The gradual peeling away of those councillors was evident in 2012, and was only hastened by the increasing unraveling of the Mayor’s situation in the last six months.

The historic mode of Toronto’s city councils has been one of partnership and accommodation between left- and right-wing councillors. Councillors have supported each other as each advocated for interests in their ward. They have worked together in standing committees to oversee the work of the various departments, and to cobble together programs and budgets. The post-amalgamation stresses of balancing downtown with suburban interests have been a continuing challenge. This was aggravated by the provincial downloading of social costs that occurred at the same time, in 1997. In hindsight, it is remarkable that councillors have done as well as they have.

A new charter for cities

A number of thinkers, including Don Tapscott and Richard Florida, have called for an improved system of governance for Toronto. Both Tapscott and Florida see signs of crisis in cities across North America and around the world. Tapscott argues that traditional, or “broadcast democracy” is not up to the challenges we face. He proposes a new set of principles, based on a version of “participatory democracy,” which would create some modern checks and balances to promote integrity and collaborative democracy. Among his values is Interdependence, which he describes as “elected officials and the public recognizing that the public and private sector have a role to play in sustaining a healthy society.”

Richard Florida argues that there is no returning to the days before Toronto’s amalgamation: “The amalgamated city reflects the underlying integration of the economy and provides the scale and scope that are needed for growth. It forces us to deal with our very real divides and not sweep them under the rug.” What is needed, says Florida, is a new charter: “[T]he basic idea would be to create a new kind of federalism, which extends from the provincial government through the city and all the way down to the varied communities and neighbourhoods that make it up. The council could be streamlined and made more manageable around the key communities that comprise the city. This could go beyond the hybrid structure of New York’s borough presidents.”

The current City of Toronto Act was conceived as a partial step towards more effective governance. Can we blame the framers for failing to anticipate the “black swan” event that was Rob Ford? The challenge now is to move forward with the broader conversation.

Planet Toronto

 

Here’s a fascinating new video from Ryan Emond. He showcases the diversity of the Toronto cityscape, with some dramatic angles you won’t have seen before.

Some of the classic landmarks are here, and there’s some great nighttime video taken during Nuit Blanche. Enjoy!

Remember those pianos this summer?

Toronto’s electric soul

Toronto band Falling Androids took advantage of the Street Pianos installed across Toronto this summer. Their latest video was shot entirely at piano-friendly locations across TO, including the island ferry.

Great music, guys! You can find more of their songs here.

A condo townhouse with highrise amenities

A condo townhouse unit offers great value and convenience, but many buyers want the indoor pool, fitness, and other features of a high rise. We’ve listed a one-bedroom townhouse unit at “Windermere By The Lake” that has all those features and more!

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Indoor pool and waterfront trails

This townhome at the foot of Windermere Avenue offers more than you’d expect. The gardens are magnificent, the Park Lounge and Lake Club Fitness facility on the main floor of the tower are ahead of their class. There’s a Members’ Lounge with complete kitchen, workout area, virtual golf course, indoor pool, and his and hers locker rooms with saunas. And there’s a private garden just for the use of the townhome residents.

But perhaps the biggest and best amenities lie beyond. A minute away, just outside your front door, is High Park and the miles and miles of waterfront trails on Lake Ontario.

If this is the kind of lifestyle you’re looking for, email us, or call James and Joanne at 416-483-8000.