Week In Review: A 'Vancouver Style' Cooling for Toronto + Sticker Shock Sets In

Realosophy Team in Media RoundupToronto Real Estate News

Zamboni

Photo Credit: CBC

All you need to know regarding the housing market in Toronto, Canada and abroad.

This week in Toronto: The housing market may need a Vancouver style cooling, home prices are in line with other world cities and sticker shock sets in. 

Elsewhere: Canada's big banks warn of housing market corrections, the U.S. housing crisis is a building crisis and OECD flags domestic speculation driving unsustainable housing price appreciation in Sydney, Australia.

Toronto 

Toronto’s housing market may need a Vancouver-style cooling: RBC (The Globe and Mail)

"In Toronto, I would say the majority of foreign interest on residential, especially high rise. . . It's families. They've got students in university here, they've got other relatives here, they've got one spouse here. They're buying additional residential real estate because they believe in the investment grade quality of the product," he said.

Sticker shock sets in (The Globe)

Scott Wilson of Bosley Real Estate made note of the sale for his Facebook followers. In no time, his casual mention had burgeoned into a fervent debate about Toronto’s real estate market, with neighbours, prospective buyers and other agents joining in.

Why Toronto's condo rental market is described as 'ridiculous' (CBC)

At the end of January, Nicole Meredith got a big, unpleasant surprise. The rent on her one-bedroom condo apartment in Queen West was jumping in just 90 days from $1,275 a month to $1,700 — a $425 spike. "It was totally shocking," says Meredith, 25.

Can anything be done to cool Toronto's hot rental market? (CBC)

A look at the data on the cost of renting in Toronto over the last 30 years shows other steep rises in rent in the late 80's and then again in the late 90's and early 2000's, she said in an interview.

What Toronto's average monthly rent of $1,800 gets you in cities Canada-wide (CBC)

For just shy of $1,800 per month, you can settle into a one-bedroom, one-bathroom, 535-square-foot unit in Yaletown in downtown Vancouver. According to the PadMapper listing, the unit includes a washer, dryer and dishwasher. The building amenities include a gym and playground.

Protecting purchase history data: What would virtual office websites do with it? (REM Online)

The brokerage’s desire to display the sold data, “(Is) rooted in this idea that the more information consumers have at their fingertips, the better decisions they can make,” says Pasalis.

Canada

Another of Canada’s big bank CEOs is warning about housing market corrections (Financial Post) 

Brian Porter, who was asked about his outlook for the Canadian mortgage market during a conference call to discuss the bank’s first-quarter results, said he’s supportive of recent government changes introduced to reel in house price growth.

Canada’s banks are pushing back against taking on more mortgage risk (Financial Post)

“This submission has questioned whether a deductible is the most effective way to rebalance risks within the housing finance system,” the Canadian Bankers Association said in a report Tuesday. “The industry believes that policy alternatives should be considered to achieve the same ends, but are simpler and less disruptive to the existing lending structure.”

 

Homeless Find a Champion in Canada’s Medicine Hat (NY Times)

USA 

The Housing Crisis Is a Building Crisis (City Lab)

There’s at least one thing many urbanists and Donald Trump appear to agree about: America is indeed stuck in a building crisis. Its infrastructure is dilapidated and failing, and housing prices are surging in a superstar economy in part because we don’t build enough of it.

Ben Carson Is Confirmed as HUD Secretary (NY Times)

Mr. Carson’s views worry many of his critics who believe the federal government should be doing more, not less, for the nation’s cities, where glittering downtowns and increasingly gentrified neighborhoods are often surrounded by areas of poverty and violence, with predominantly residents of color.

Russia in Top Position for Miami Real Estate Second Month in a Row (Yahoo)

In an unprecedented situation, that has never before happened in history. Russia outranked all Latin American and International countries, searching for real estate in Miami, second month in a row, according to Miami Association of Realtors. 

International
 
 
The OECD attributed this boom to domestic buyers rather than foreign investment, and recommended government policy should pressure banks to limit mortgage lending for investment properties, and avoid risky loans - echoing 2014 already put in place by the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority.
 
Britain is one of worst places in western Europe for asylum seekers (The Guardian)
 
The analysis found that Britain takes fewer refugees, offers less generous financial support, provides housing that is often substandard, does not give asylum seekers the right to work, has been known to punish those who volunteer and routinely forces people into destitution and even homelessness when they are granted refugee status due to bureaucratic delays.
 
 
About 55 percent of the urban population live in shantytowns in Cambodia, 43 percent in Mongolia, 41 percent in Myanmar, and 38 percent in the Philippines, according to World Bank data that covers East Asia and the Pacific. The ratio is more than 20 percent in Vietnam, China and Indonesia, which are among the fastest-growing economies in the world.
 
Realosophy Realty Inc. Brokerage is an innovative residential real estate brokerage in Toronto. A leader in real estate analytics and pro-consumer advice, Realosophy helps clients make better decisions when buying or selling a home.  Email Realosophy
This Week In Real Estate     |     Market     |    

Toronto’s most authoritative real estate insights, delivered right to your inbox.