In Toronto: What home buyers should do in a falling real estate market, the province and federal governments team up to help low-income renters, and the city declares housing 'a right.'
Elsewhere: Canadian home prices expected to fall in 2020, America's housing market comes back to life, and a bubble alert for Europe.
Toronto
Why Home Buyers Should Be Worried About Falling Prices (And What To Do About It) (Move Smartly)
Some of my less astute followers on Twitter assume that by highlighting some of the risks in Toronto's housing market, I'm a permanent bear (or Chicken Little) that always assumes the worst is going to happen.
Ontario, federal government make $1.4B housing deal to help low-income renters (Toronto Star)
Toronto’s low-income renters may soon get some relief from the city’s overheated market following the announcement of a $1.4-billion rental housing benefit co-funded and agreed on by the provincial and the federal governments.
Toronto city council approves 'comprehensive' plan on housing (CBC)
Toronto city council has approved a housing plan that commits the city over 10 years to building affordable rental homes, preventing evictions, helping seniors remain in their homes and that acknowledges that housing is a right.
Leslieville tenants who have lived in commercial building for years face eviction notices (CBC)
According to the city, it's possible those people should never have been living in the former factory at 276 Carlaw in the first place. The building is zoned industrial, according to a statement from Toronto Building, and residential uses are not permitted.
As prices soar, home co-ownership is on the rise. This GTA house is a decades-old success story (CBC)
"We were three single women and we decided not to wait for a prince on a white horse. And we wanted to get into the market, to have equity," she told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Friday.
Canada
Canadian home prices to fall in real terms next year as affordability, mortgage rules bite: Fitch (Financial Post)
“We think stretched affordability (especially in Toronto and Vancouver) and macro-prudential measures that limit the number of borrowers able to qualify for home loans will continue to limit home price growth,” Fitch analyst Susan Hosterman wrote. “Home price growth in both markets has been limited by national lending limits and local purchase restrictions.”
Baby boomers have made a fortune on real estate — here are three reasons to consider cashing out now (Financial Post)
My advice to Carol and Ted was to beware the belief that real estate prices will continue to climb at anywhere near the same rate we have seen over the past 20 years. Selling their cottage would allow them to pay off their mortgage, supplement their retirement savings, and simplify life as they transition to retirement.
Calgary housing market still weighed down by oversupply, CREA says (CBC)
"Achieving more stable conditions will take time. Sales activity has been settling in at lower levels and is likely being influenced by the economic conditions and uncertainty weighing on our market," said CREA chief economist Ann-Marie Lurie in a release.
USA
Louisville Development Reflects City’s Struggles With Growth (NY Times)
The parcel is home to a haphazard collection of businesses: a coffee shop, a car wash, a dry cleaner, a Speedy Mart and a handful of other enterprises, most of which look like they have seen better days. But a Louisville developer is on the cusp of realizing a decades-old dream of a glittering new retail, residential and restaurant complex rising from this spot, which would be the largest private development in the city’s history.
With New Democratic Majority, Virginia Sees a Push for Denser Housing (City Lab)
Virginia will soon weigh a proposal to increase the legal density of housing across the commonwealth, making it one of a handful of states to explore a statewide zoning mandate in response to the affordable housing crisis. The bill comes as Democrats in the legislature seek to put a progressive stamp on policy in Virginia, although this bill may upend partisan expectations.
America's housing market is coming back to life just in time to boost the 2020 economy (CNN)
Housing doesn't contribute as much to GDP growth as other sectors, but it is an important industry for the economy as a whole. The appetite for buying a home -- arguably the single largest purchasing decision one makes in life -- is a bellwether for how the consumer is doing. Consumer spending, in turn, makes up some two-thirds of US economic growth.
International
Mortgage Rates Below 1% Put Europe on Alert for Housing Bubble (NY Times)
Money is so cheap — a 20-year mortgage can be had in Paris or Frankfurt at a rate of less than 1 percent — that borrowers are flocking to buy apartments and houses. And institutional investors, seeing a chance for lucrative returns, are acquiring swaths of residential real estate in cities across Europe.
Europe’s top court just delivered Airbnb a major victory as the company prepares to go public (CNBC)
Airbnb cannot be treated as a real estate agency by European regulators, the European Court of Justice ruled Thursday morning. The court said that the company is instead an “information society service,” or merely an online platform, in a decision that could have broad implications for other businesses in the so-called gig economy.
Realosophy Realty Inc. Brokerage is an innovative residential real estate brokerage in Toronto. A leader in real estate analytics, Realosophy educates consumers at Realosophy.com and MoveSmartly.com and and helps clients make better decisions when buying or selling a home.
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December 20, 2019
This Week In Real Estate |