In Toronto: Coronavirus fears could push home prices even higher, bully buyers run rampant as prices escalate and do millennials really want condos?
Elsewhere: Coronavirus fears impact the Seattle real estate market, campaigning U.S. Democrats' positions on housing and how housing determined the results of Ireland's recent election.
Toronto
Map of Toronto & GTA by Neighbourhood with Real Time Real Estate Trends (Realosophy)
Our revamped Toronto Area Neighbourhood Map now gives you a complete view of every neighbourhood in the Toronto and Greater Toronto Area — with more real time house price data than ever including our Market Score which tells you how competitive it is to buy a home in every neighbourhood right now.
A Bank of Canada rate cut over coronavirus fears could push Toronto home prices even higher (Toronto Star)
Gasoline, meet fire. That’s how Bosley real estate agent David Fleming views the impact on the Toronto region housing market if the Bank of Canada goes ahead with Wednesday’s likely rate cut in response to growing novel coronavirus fears.'
Bully bidders run rampant in Toronto’s housing market as prices escalate (The Globe and Mail)
Real estate agents in Toronto and the surrounding suburbs say rapidly escalating house prices are pushing some buyers onto the sidelines and forcing others to change strategies. They’re also watching to see if the spread of the coronavirus will change the market dynamics.
Ontario's Millennial, First-Time Buyers Want Detached, Semi, and Townhomes (Ontario Real Estate Association/Ipsos)
Ontario’s millennial and first-time home buyers are largely looking for detached and semi-detached primary homes – and not condos, according to new research conducted by Ipsos for the Ontario Real Estate Association’s first annual ‘Buyers and Sellers Research Report’.
Affordable housing would reduce homeless encampments, Tory says a day after fire under Gardiner Expressway (The Star)
“It’s a very complexing, complicated and in some respects sometimes discouraging problem because the more you do, sometimes it seems the less progress you make,” Tory told reporters Monday, a day after a fire broke out in an encampment under the Gardiner Expressway, near Yonge Street and Lake Shore Boulevard West.
Canada
Bank of Canada rate cut will put already hot real estate market ‘on steroids’ (The Globe)
“The dramatic rate cuts and the related bond rally to record low yields will put housing on steroids,” said Douglas Porter, chief economist with Bank of Montreal. “This will probably override consumer caution related to the coronavirus, although there may be a temporary chill in activity due to those concerns.”
Household formation outpacing our ability to build: Royal Lepage CEO (Bloomberg)
Royal Lepage CEO Phil Soper says the Bank of Canada's rate cut is good for homebuyers in weaker housing markets, but major cities like Toronto and Vancouver aren't building housing fast enough to meet the demand.
Douglas Todd: Housing bubbles bursting in Metro Vancouver's investor-driven neighbourhoods (Vancouver Sun)
Of the 20 Metro Vancouver neighbourhoods that dropped in value by roughly one-fifth this year, according to B.C. Assessment, 11 are in the hillside municipality of West Van, which is often cited as home to the richest postal codes in Canada.
How do we follow the money? Canadian real estate gets ‘abysmal’ anti-money laundering grades (Global)
FinTRAC found a 52 per cent compliance rate when it came to training employees to detect money laundering or suspicious transactions and 53 per cent in the area of client identification – a requirement for real estate agents to verify a person’s identity.
USA
Seattle-Based Brokerage Redfin Starts To See Coronavirus Impact On Housing Market (Forbes)
“In Seattle, the reaction has been strongest among sellers, who worry about strangers entering their homes; this only started on Monday [March 2] morning,” Kelman wrote. “Three canceled their listings, and at least one buyer canceled an offer.”
A $60 Billion Housing Grab by Wall Street (NY Times Magazine)
But it would only get bigger. Strategic Acquisitions was but one of several companies in Los Angeles County, and one of dozens in the United States, that hit on the same idea after the financial crisis: load up on foreclosed properties at a discount of 30 to 50 percent and rent them out.
How the Democratic Candidates Would Tackle the Housing Crisis (NY Times)
Advocates both for tenants and for the housing industry agree that supply is at the core of the affordable housing crisis. By some estimates, the United States would need seven million more affordable rental units to meet demand, and as of 2018, there was no state in which the number of affordable homes matched the number of low-income households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
Are You An Anti-Influencer? (NY TImes)
Some people have a knack for buying products that flop, supporting political candidates who lose and moving to neighborhoods that fail to thrive.
International
The Driving Force in Irish Politics? Finding a Decent Place to Live (NY Times)
A severe housing crisis has made life unbearable for many young people, who turned in droves to the previously toxic Sinn Fein party in this month’s election.
The Invisible City: How a Homeless Man Built a Life Underground (The Guardian, UK)
After decades among the hidden homeless, Dominic Van Allen dug himself a bunker beneath a public park. But his life would get even more precarious.
Is Vienna Really All That Livable? Depends on Where You Look. (City Lab)
“We already knew that the index didn’t really take environmental factors into account, such as air pollution, noise levels, green spaces.” ISGlobal report co-author Sasha Khomenko told CityLab by telephone. “We wanted to do a comparison and see if there was a mismatch between livability and environmental health.”
Top Photo Credit: Getty/iStock
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March 6, 2020
This Week In Real Estate |