Friday, November 9, 2012
Saturday, November 3, 2012
More Signs of Cooling in Toronto’s Red-Hot Condo Market
New condominium apartment sales in Toronto fell 30% in the third quarter from the second quarter, Urbanation Inc. said Thursday, another sign the condo market in Canada’s biggest city has topped out in the wake of the Canadian government’s efforts to guard against as U.S.-style, real-estate meltdown.
But at the same time developers are getting the message and slowing construction activity to meet the reduced demand, the Toronto-based condo market research company found.
Concerned in particular over the prospect of a potential housing bubble forming in Toronto and Vancouver amid a condo building boom in the two cities, Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty this summer tightened mortgage-lending rules to guard against an overheating market.
In a release Thursday, Urbanation’s findings suggest the government’s moves are working. New condo apartment sales fell 30% to 3,317 in the third quarter from the prior period, and unsold units were being offered at 573 Canadian dollars per square foot at the end of September, “an increase of just 2%” from the year-ago period, Urbanation said. The condo resale market also slowed in the third quarter, with sales down 32% from the second quarter, the group said.
Last month, Greater Toronto Area Realtors released figures supporting this trend. The group reported at 20.5% drop in condo and apartment sales in the third quarter and average condo selling prices that were largely in line with the year- ago period.
In another sign of cooling market conditions, those buying condos appear to be settling for smaller places as a result of belt tightening.
“The change in the mortgage insurance rules may have forced many buyers to settle for smaller units than they had previously desired,” Ben Myers, Urbanation executive vice president, said in a statement. “The number of resale transactions for units priced over $400,000 fell 40% compared to last quarter, while there was a 38% quarterly drop in units traded over 1,000 (square feet).”
Against this backdrop, the average condo project in which construction has been completed so far in 2012 took 3.85 years from “from sales launch to occupancy,” compared with 2.68 years in 2003, Urbanation notes.
“The share of unsold inventory in Toronto….remains below the 10-year average,” Urbanation said.
That said, the slowdown in new condo sales represents a potential boon for existing owners who want to rent out their places.
“The reduced level of project completions has contributed to a very tight condominium rental market,” Urbanation said.
Source:
Friday, October 26, 2012
Executive House listed in Mississauga with large lot and finished basement
For Sale
$875,000
3107 Seabright Drive Mississauga
3000 Sq.Ft executive detached house in Mississauga. Rare large pool size 150 feet deep lot. Additional approximately 1000 sq.ft builder finished basement. 4 bedrooms and 4 washrooms plus additional 2 bedrooms and 1 full washroom in the basement. 9 Foot ceilings. Main floor features separate living and dinning rooms,study room and laundry room Beautiful Kitchen with upgraded kitchen cabinets, granite counter tops,and high end stainless steel appliances. Second floor features four large bedrooms and three washrooms. Master bedroom with balcony,fireplace, large walk-in closet and en-suite bathroom. Master en-suite comes with jacuzzi , standing shower and yes ! ...... a fireplace!. Builder finished basement with high ceilings. Additional 2 bedrooms and 1 full washroom in the basement. Huge, hard to find 150 feet deep pool size lot ! Close to Schools, Town Centre, Transit and Hospital.
Condo Boom - Toronto Gets Manhattanized
With increasing population and real estate owning dreams and demands of the new age, the growth of condominiums is hardly startling. The current trend in scarcity of single and detached homes is getting reduced day by day.
For families that have once dreamed of owning bungalows of their own have little hopes to cling on seeing the current scenario. The building of town homes and colonies are expected to rise substantially in the coming years. The projections on the market growth of new age condominiums is showing steep rise in terms of their numbers but their prices won’t be any higher than the single houses.
As per the words of the great personality in the area of real estate Brad Lamb, this era is being referred by him as Toronto getting Manhattanized. The idea behind such a title is that buying a house in Manhattan is not even affordable to the people in higher paying services. This phenomenon rules out all the ordinary families from having any say in such markets and leaving them no other option than to choose from the varied choices of flats and apartments available in their budgets.
It is not just Toronto where this phenomenon is getting evolved rather this is the trend that is happening in all the major cities of the world. And as per the experts, this change was quite inevitable and is further fueled by the rising market value of properties. It apparently becomes as true as they truly say that “the first home decision is tougher on the parent’s dime”.
With this new shift in housing option there is a shift in the minds of people of what they will be expecting in the homes they now opt for. They have to change their mindsets about living in free opened spaces having individual garden areas or garages attached in the periphery. In spite they would have to acclimatize to living in densely populated spaces.
“Life can get loud still we could create a quiet environment inside our home” – This is portrayed by the Canadian spirit when it comes to choosing their living options. Currently it’s just an option for those who have got sufficient money but after some years down the line it will be the only accommodation type that a family could possibly get or afford.
Considering this aspect, many local governments are trying their best not to give the market forces the scope to enter and modify the plans of city building. Rather they are seen on being very keen on providing extra incentives to the developers of real estate on building projects that include row houses, bungalows and other such single housing schemes.
source: http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/headline_news/2012/10/26/4673.html
For families that have once dreamed of owning bungalows of their own have little hopes to cling on seeing the current scenario. The building of town homes and colonies are expected to rise substantially in the coming years. The projections on the market growth of new age condominiums is showing steep rise in terms of their numbers but their prices won’t be any higher than the single houses.
As per the words of the great personality in the area of real estate Brad Lamb, this era is being referred by him as Toronto getting Manhattanized. The idea behind such a title is that buying a house in Manhattan is not even affordable to the people in higher paying services. This phenomenon rules out all the ordinary families from having any say in such markets and leaving them no other option than to choose from the varied choices of flats and apartments available in their budgets.
It is not just Toronto where this phenomenon is getting evolved rather this is the trend that is happening in all the major cities of the world. And as per the experts, this change was quite inevitable and is further fueled by the rising market value of properties. It apparently becomes as true as they truly say that “the first home decision is tougher on the parent’s dime”.
With this new shift in housing option there is a shift in the minds of people of what they will be expecting in the homes they now opt for. They have to change their mindsets about living in free opened spaces having individual garden areas or garages attached in the periphery. In spite they would have to acclimatize to living in densely populated spaces.
“Life can get loud still we could create a quiet environment inside our home” – This is portrayed by the Canadian spirit when it comes to choosing their living options. Currently it’s just an option for those who have got sufficient money but after some years down the line it will be the only accommodation type that a family could possibly get or afford.
Considering this aspect, many local governments are trying their best not to give the market forces the scope to enter and modify the plans of city building. Rather they are seen on being very keen on providing extra incentives to the developers of real estate on building projects that include row houses, bungalows and other such single housing schemes.
source: http://www.agoracosmopolitan.com/news/headline_news/2012/10/26/4673.html
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Toronto's condo boom won't burst housing bubble: RBC Read more: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-s-condo-boom-won-t-burst-housing-bubble-rbc-1.891554#ixzz21kqYaZw9
TORONTO -- A new report wants to burst the idea of a Toronto housing bubble.
Yes, condo sales and construction are booming, but the Royal Bank of Canada report says there is no housing bubble because the city's number of new housing units is in line with demographic needs.
The Greater Toronto Area sees an influx of close to 100,000 people each year.
That translated to approximately 38,000 new households per year from 2006 to 2011, according to RBC and Statistics Canada data in the report.
One constraint to urban development is the Ontario government's plan to handle growth and development in the Greater Golden Horseshoe, which is known as "Places to Grow" and seeks to curb urban sprawl.
Faced with the task of accommodating the 38,000 new households, new housing in Toronto has nowhere to grow but up.
May 2012 saw a record 44,100 condos and apartments under construction, as well as 6,200 multiple units, which are detached and row houses.
The report's findings also aim to quell fears that scores of empty condominiums are piling up.
"Concerns that large numbers of newly built condo units are sitting empty are simply not supported by the statistics," the report, released Tuesday, says.
The report says approximately 7.5 per cent of the condo units completed in the previous 12 months are unoccupied, and estimates that unoccupied units represent close to 0.2 per cent of the stock of multiple units. Both figures are less than numbers from the 1980s when Toronto saw a housing bubble burst.
While investors represent a large share of condo buyers, concerns about property "flipping" might be overblown, the report adds.
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported last fall that only 10 to 15 per cent of new condos are listed for sale within 12 months of registration.
Tuesday's report says the majority of condo investment properties are actually helping to fill a gap in the rental market.
"The biggest risk that we see for the coming years is a possible mismatch between the types of condo units bought by investors and the types ultimately demanded for occupancy," says the report.
A mismatch could occur with a greater emphasis on small, single-unit apartments when currently about three-quarters of rental demand is for high-rise multi-family units.
However, the report is quick to dismiss these concerns, pointing to the demand for rental units.
The report suggests that recent changes that tightened mortgage rules will push more people into the rental market.
As of last month, the maximum amortization period dropped from 30 to 25 years for government-insured mortgages, and the refinancing limit was capped at 80 per cent down from its previous 85 per cent.
The report notes that while the city saw an 18 per cent increase in condo rental units, the rental vacancy rate dropped to 1.1 per cent last year.
Read more: http://toronto.ctvnews.ca/toronto-s-condo-boom-won-t-burst-housing-bubble-rbc-1.891554#ixzz21kqf7CY1
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