In Toronto: Smaller markets in Ontario gain as exodus out of Toronto continues and safety concerns in the city's 'ghost hotels.'
Elsewhere: Canada's money laundering problem, Chinese U.S. home buying sinks amid travel restrictions, and it's a renters market in some of the world's richest cities.
Toronto
Smaller markets like Bancroft, Quinte fuel Ontario’s ‘crazy’ real estate gains (The Globe and Mail)
Sales across Canada edged up 0.9 per cent in September from August on a seasonally adjusted basis. But the Toronto area cooled slightly, with a 5.1-per-cent dip in September compared with August, seasonally adjusted. Mr. Lusink says the numbers coincide with what he’s seeing: The hottest areas at his firm are cities such as Barrie, Ottawa and Burlington.
‘Big reno project’ in Trinity Bellwoods draws $1.1-million bid (The Globe)
Sensing that July would be prime market timing for this well-worn Trinity Bellwoods house, the owners rushed it to market in roughly original condition, despite competition from already renovated alternatives nearby. The thinking was sound, as seven bidders made their offers, with the winner paying $301,000 over the asking price.
Canada
Canadian home prices rise in September as housing market firms, according to Teranet data (The Globe)
Canadian home prices posted across-the-board monthly gains in September, led by the Ottawa-Gatineau and Quebec City markets, for the second-strongest September on record, data showed on Tuesday.
Diane Francis: Canada's embarrassing money laundering problem (Financial Post)
Now, the global term “snow washing” has been coined to describe how easily dirty money can be washed clean, like the snow, in Canadian real estate. Ottawa’s intransigence is strange considering that international anti-corruption watchdogs have condemned Canada for this.
North America’s Biggest Housing-Bubble Risk Defies a Pandemic (Bloomberg)
The median home price in Canada is expected to reach C$693,000 ($527,000) by the end of the year, a 7% increase from the end of 2019, according to a projection from brokerage Royal LePage. The market continues to show strength across the country, with 97% of regions reporting higher home prices in the past three months, the company said.
USA
U.S. low-income lending rules should promote affordable housing -Fed official (Reuters)
An overhaul of U.S. lending rules must boost incentives to promote affordable housing for low-and-moderate income families, a U.S. Federal Reserve governor said on Tuesday, touching on two issues which will take center stage if Democrats win on Nov. 3.
Racist housing covenants haunt property records across the country. New laws make them easier to remove. (Washington Post)
As one dated May 6, 1946, explains, property “shall never be used or occupied by . . . negroes or any person or persons, of negro blood or extraction, or to any person of the Semitic Race, blood or origin, or Jews, Armenians, Hebrews, Persians and Syrians, except . . . partial occupancy of the premises by domestic servants.”
If you can't fly, you can't buy: Chinese U.S. homebuying sinks (Reuters)
Deal numbers, however, dropped sank a total of 62% over the last two years to $11.5 billion in the year to last March, as President Trump's trade war and nerves over whether buyers and their families would be guaranteed visas in future weighed.
International
Apartment Rents Are Plunging in the World's Richest Cities. It's Time For You to Negotiate (Bloomberg)
“You’re daft if you aren’t negotiating lower rent right now,’’ said Tim Lawless, Asia Pacific head of research for data provider CoreLogic Inc. “Supply is high and occupancy has fallen off a cliff.”
South Korea finance minister loses home as housing policy comes back to haunt (Reuters)
South Korea's finance minister, the architect of rules aimed at protecting tenants and slowing deposit increases, has himself been forced to look for a new home as landlords react to the rules by quickly replacing tenants so they can bump up deposits.
Top Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images
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October 23, 2020
This Week In Real Estate |