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Canadian Real Estate Market Will Favour Sellers Heading Into 2012
According to the latest information from the Canadian Real Estate Association, Canada-wide, real estate markets will head into 2012 while slightly balanced, but will lean slightly towards being seller’s markets.
Post-2011 holidays, the Canadian real estate market will slightly favour sellers.
According to Gary Morse, the president of the Canadian Real Estate Association:
“The Canadian housing market is proving resilient in the face of ongoing global economic and financial uncertainty, to the benefit of Canadian economic growth. That said, some housing markets are picking up, while others are holding steady or consolidating.”
Last year, sales activity increased just before the end of the year. And this year, we’re seeing the same thing albeit slightly smaller.
According to Gregory Klump, the chief economist for the Canadian Real Estate Association:
“With interest rates expected to remain low for longer, the housing sector will no doubt be closely watched for signs of excess. That said, current trends for resale housing and new home constructions suggest that tightened mortgage regulations are working as intended and fostering economic stability in Canada.”
If you’re planning on selling your home early next year or in the coming months, now is the time to speak to a Toronto real estate agent.
More Of The Top Home Buying Errors From The Ontario Real Estate Association
Earlier this week we posted the top three home buying errors that buyers make that can easily be avoided. The list comes from the Ontario Real Estate Association, and here are the other two mistakes on the list as well as one of our own.
Don't make the common first-time Toronto home buyer mistake of not getting a home inspection.
#4: Not knowing what you can afford
While there are plenty of calculators and homebuying budgeting tips available online, they may not give you a clear idea of what you can actually afford. Before you begin looking at houses that are outside of your price range, speak to a real estate agent or lender to find out your Gross Debt Service Ratio, which is a number that lenders use to determine your creditworthiness for a mortgage. In addition, being pre-approved for a mortgage is a great way to know what you can afford when it comes to home buying.
#5: Not getting a home inspection
A home inspection is definitely a necessity when it comes to buying a home, and when you neglect to have one conducted you are putting yourself at risk for costly repairs later. A new home inspection should be conducted even if the seller can provide evidence of a previous home inspection.
We’d also like to add one of our own that is not on the list:
#6: Not hiring a buyer’s agent
When hiring a a Toronto real estate buyer’s agent, you will have someone on your side, working solely for you during the homebuying process. If you use the listing (seller’s) agent when gearing up to buy a home, that agent is working on behalf of the seller and is not working for you to get you the best home for your desired price. Best of all, in most cases, the seller is on the hook for the buyer’s agent’s fees.
For the full press release from the Ontario Real Estate Association visit here.
Top 3 Home Buying Errors From The Ontario Real Estate Association
The Ontario Real Estate recently published a list of the top five home buying errors that people make, all of which can easily be prevented. Here are the top three:
Not getting pre-approved for a mortgage is a huge mistake.
#1: Not getting pre-approved for a mortgage
Not being pre-approved for a mortgage before you start shopping around is the biggest mistake that home buyers make. Not only does being pre-approved for a mortgage by your lender give you a clear idea of how much you can spend, it will let the seller and their agent know you are serious.
Read this anecdote on our Toronto Real Estate Blog detailing why being pre-approved can save everyone involved a lot of frustration.
#2: Not knowing what you must have in a home
Once you’ve moved into your new home, it is too late to discover that features you thought you merely wanted in a new home are things that you really must have. Before you begin looking at homes, draw up a list of your must-haves and separate them from your “wants”, whether these include a swimming pool, a third bedroom, a spacious kitchen or a large driveway.
#3: Getting emotional during the homebuying process
Buyers can get emotionally involved when it comes to selling their own home and buying a new one. For example, when selling a home you may be assigning higher perceived value to your home because of the memories attached to it, but the buyer has no sense of this value and that needs to be taken into consideration.
The full Ontario Real Estate Association press release is available here.
Toronto Real Estate Lawyer Bob Aaron: Not All Detached Homes Are As They Appear
In Toronto, detached homes can be very highly sought-after in certain neighbourhoods. It’s no surprise that when a detached home is on the market, it is clearly listed as being a detached home.
When are detached homes in Toronto not technically detached?
Toronto Real Estate Lawyer Bob Aaron has taken a look at link-semi homes in his latest column. Link-semi homes look completely detached from the street, but technically are not fully detached homes because of a concrete attachment below the ground.
According to Mr. Aaron, these concrete attachments are no more than a couple concrete blocks that merely exist and serve no purpose, and builders only put them there when they built two detached homes on a lot meant for semi-detached homes. Most of these homes were built in the 1970s and 1980s.
In fact, one could easily dig them up and remove them. But in one case several years ago, an agent got into trouble by listing such a house as detached.
“Prior to closing, neither the listing agent nor the buyer’s agent disclosed that the property was a link house, although it could easily have been verified by calling the city’s zoning department or reviewing the R-plan. Had the buyers seen the plan, they would have noticed the dotted lines indicating that the foundations were connected.
More than 18 months later, the buyers complained to RECO about the listing agent, saying that the house was misrepresented as being detached, and that had they known it was technically a link house, their purchase decision might have been affected. (Hindsight is always 20-20.)”
To read the rest of the column, visit Mr. Aaron’s website here.
REMAX Report: 2011 Toronto Real Estate Market “Defied Expectations”
Well, 2011 is almost at an end, and with that comes the 2012 REMAX Housing Market Outlook. The report contains predictions for the 2012 Housing Market, as well as highlights from the 2011 Housing Market, including that home sales is expected to be 90,500 units, which is five per cent over last year and the resulting in the second-best year on record.
“Greater Toronto’s residential real estate market continued to make headlines in 2011, defying expectations and posting an increase in both sales and average price… strong demand and limited supply set the stage for a year of multiple offers – with sellers firmly in the driver’s seat – from entry-level housing to the upper-end of the market,” said the report.
Click the link to the left to read through the REMAX 2012 Housing Market Outlook.
“Demand was especially brisk for resale condominiums located in the downtown core, where bidding wars were commonplace,” continued the report. “Blue-chip neighbourhoods in Toronto proper – the Beach, Riversale, Bloor West Village, High Park, Leaside, Lytton Park, Cricket Club and Allenby – saw tremendous activity.”
“The upper-end – the coveted Rosedale, Forest Hill, Lawrence Park, Hogg’s Hollow, Bridle Path, Kingsway, Lorne Park, and Oakville areas – soared, with sales of homes priced in excess of $1.5 million up approximately 32 per cent over one year ago.”
For 2012, home sales in Toronto are expected to hit 93,000, which is similar to 2007, and low interest rates will help boost home buying into 2012.
Read the REMAX 2012 Housing Market Outlook Report here.
