In Toronto: Sales are up so why are detached house prices falling, seniors staying put and construction workers feel the start of home building slowdown.
Elsewhere: The state of 15 Canadian housing markets as the summer winds down, the problem of Airbnb neighbours from hell and the housing crisis gripping Ireland.
Toronto
Why Are Detached House Prices Falling When Sales Are Up 29%? (Move Smartly)
So why are prices falling? To better understand what is happening let’s take a look at how detached house prices changed in July by region. We can see from the chart below that average prices actually increased in Durham, Peel and Halton but fell by 3% in York and 9% in Toronto.
Toronto home sales rise 24.3% in July; prices rise amid tighter supply (Bloomberg)
"Broadly speaking, increased competition between buyers for available properties has resulted in relatively strong price growth above the rate of inflation for semi-detached houses, townhouses and condominium apartments," Jason Mercer, the real estate board's chief market analyst, said in a statement.
Toronto seniors clinging to their homes may spell doom for young buyers, CMHC report says (Toronto Star)
Over the next decade, Toronto seniors may not be freeing up the expected number of dwellings for younger people to move into and this will limit supply, says a new report from the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
A Toronto builder fights housing price crisis (he also writes songs) (Bloomberg)
Cohen reels off a few policies that could work: intentional disposition of land, where governments sell or lease public land to developers on the condition they build affordable units; inclusionary zoning which requires developments to include affordable units; and down-payment assistance for first-time buyers -- now part of the federal government’s platform.
Home-building jobs fall in Ontario as construction for low-rise houses declines (The Globe and Mail)
The number of detached and semi-detached houses under construction in the Toronto region fell sharply this spring, forcing companies in the home-building sector to cut staffing levels, especially in trades such as framing and bricklaying that feel the earliest impact of a slowdown.
Canada
Overvalued? Overheated? Overly vulnerable? The state of 15 Canadian housing markets (The Globe)
The latest assessment by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. shows a "moderate degree of vulnerability" for the second straight quarter, having been at a "high degree" for 10 quarters in a row.
Canada’s Housing Market Slowdown (IMF)
Following a period of escalating prices, Canada’s housing market is cooling. Measures designed to strengthen financial stability such as more stringent tests of borrowers’ ability to repay their loans, along with higher interest rates, combined to make mortgage financing more expensive. As a result, residential mortgage credit slowed to just 3.4 percent annual growth in December 2018.
Housing rebound helps drive Canadian consumer sentiment higher (Bloomberg)
It’s a stark turnaround for Canadian consumer confidence, which until May had been in a rut for more than a year. A strong labour market isn’t hurting. Respondents in the Nanos survey reported the highest level of job security since April.
USA
The hot pink emoji house and the problem of Airbnb neighbors from hell (The Guardian)
“It is fairly common, unfortunately, for neighbors of Airbnb rentals to suffer just for living next to a space,” he said. “People staying in an Airbnb rental are usually on vacation, and what happens is that the neighbors end up inadvertently living next to a party house.”
As Mortgage-Interest Deduction Vanishes, Housing Market Offers a Shrug (NY Times)
The mortgage-interest deduction, a beloved tax break bound tightly to the American dream of homeownership, once seemed politically invincible. Then it nearly vanished in middle-class neighborhoods across the country, and it appears that hardly anyone noticed.
More affordable housing options encouraged under Oregon bill (AP)
Oregon hopes to build its way out of its housing crisis under first-in-the-nation state legislation signed by Gov. Kate Brown Thursday meant to encourage local cities to construct denser, more affordable housing options.
International
Housing Crisis Grips Ireland a Decade After Property Bubble Burst (NY Times)
The last several years have torn up those assumptions, leaving the country in the grip of a worsening housing crisis. Homeownership has dropped, evictions and homelessness have climbed sharply, surging demand for rental units has led to a shortage, and soaring rents are fodder for daily conversation, political campaigns and street protests.
Can modular homes solve the UK's housing crisis? (The Guardian)
Factory-built housing is seen as a way of speeding up productivity and efficiency in construction, a sector that’s been singularly resistant to modernisation. The government aims to get 300,000 new homes built a year by the mid 2020s to fix what it admits is a broken housing market.
Realosophy Realty Inc. Brokerage is an innovative residential real estate brokerage in Toronto. A leader in real estate analytics, Realosophy educates consumers at Movesmartly.com and Realosophy.com and helps clients make better decisions when buying or selling a home.
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August 9, 2019
This Week In Real Estate |