Week In Review: Condos Buck The Housing Crunch In Toronto + Market Feels Effect Of Foreign-Buyers Tax

Realosophy Team in Media RoundupToronto Real Estate News

CBC33Photo Credit: CBC

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

This week in Toronto: Condos buck Canada's housing crunch, luxury home sales are set to rebound and the market feels the effect of the foreign-buyers tax. 

Elsewhere: Worries about proposed mortgage rules changes in Canada, one U.S housing forecast predicts a decline in new demand and a study finds Europe's Muslims are hampered by prejudice in the housing market. 

Toronto 

Toronto condos buck Canada housing crunch, but prices seen cooling (Reuters)

Canada’s condo boom continues to surprise, with groundbreaking in Toronto still going strong even as prices of detached homes in Canada’s largest city slump, but recent rate hikes and rent controls are likely to cool condo prices by 2018. 

Sales of $4 million-plus Toronto homes poised to rebound (Toronto Star)

It predicts "a brisk and active top-tier real estate market" in the fall, despite a pervasive plunge in home sales volumes this summer. "Toronto is to Canada what a combination of New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are to the U.S.," said Sotheby’s CEO Brad Henderson.

Toronto housing market feels effect of foreign-buyers tax (The Globe and Mail)

Purchases of Toronto homes by foreign buyers dropped over the summer after a new tax in Ontario began targeting international property investment, falling from 7.2 per cent of sales in May to 5.6 per cent of homes sold over the three months ending in August.

Toronto Community Housing CEO Kathy Milsom says she’s ready for the challenges ahead (The Star)

“When you look at the organization, you look at the number of people we’re responsible for — it’s 4 per cent of Toronto’s population — and the opportunity to really make a difference, to me it resonated both professionally and personally at this stage in my career.”

Toronto-area family on the hook for $37K commission after failed home purchase (CTV)

After reassessing their finances over the summer, the Mastroiannis decided to walk away and not close the home purchase. They knew they would lose their deposit, but they didn’t realize they would be on the hook for so much more.

Canada

Proposed Mortgage Rules Will Reduce Your Home-Buying Power By 21%: Report (Huffington Post)

A proposal by Canada's banking regulator to expand "stress tests" for mortgage borrowers will reduce how much house Canadians can afford by 21 per cent, says a new report from mortgage comparison site Ratehub.

Housing risks 'could even threaten financial stability' in Canada: OECD (Financial Post)

Canada’s economy will grow at a faster clip than expected in 2017, a new report says, but an overheated housing market still threatens to bulldoze optimism over rosy economic data in recent quarters. 

I Don't Envy The Politician Who Tries To Sort Out Canada's Housing Mess (Huffington Post)

The biggest dilemma our government and elected officials face is between keeping housing affordable, while not reducing the housing equity of Canadian homeowners. 

International
 
Europe’s Muslims hampered by prejudice, study finds (Financial Times)

Europe’s Muslims risk exclusion from the labour and housing markets, as concerns grow that their names or choice of dress are a cause of discrimination by employers and landlords, according to a study of the continent’s second-largest religious group.

 
 
Some “major livelihood projects”, such as railways, airports and affordable housing, will be allowed to continue if they secure special permission from the commission. 

 

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
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