Slipping sales figures for the Greater Toronto Area appear to be stabilizing, with the latest report from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) showing little year-over-year difference in the volume of local home sales recorded in March, with just one fewer unit sold. Similarly, the 7,187 residential sales recorded last month represent just a 1% drop in sales measured quarterly. Along with flat March and Q1 sales versus the stronger numbers seen in 2018, new listings have delcined in even... [read more]

The Toronto housing market is poised to nearly reach peaks obtained in 2017, the hottest year on record for residential real estate in Canada's biggest city. This sums up the year-end forecast from TREB. The board anticipates home sales this year will clock in at 83,000 units - surpassing last year's tally - while the average price soars to $820,000, just shy of the all-time high in 2017. "Price increases will be driven by the average condominium apartment price growth in the... [read more]

Luxury home sales in Toronto climbed in the first 11 months of 2019 and, with momentum continuing to build in the market as the year winds down, the outlook for 2020 is looking more and more promising. Much like the rest of the city and surrounding region's housing market, luxury real estate took a big dip in market activity in 2018 after a spectacular - though ultimately unsustainable - 2017 performance. This year started slow, but activity has crept higher in recent months led by... [read more]

ONTARIO TRIED A SPECULATION TAX ON PROPERTY AND THE MARKET COLLAPSED OVERNIGHT For decades, Barry Lebow has kept a scapbook of one of the most traumatic business days in his life. There are some dates you always remember, and for the Ontario real estate industry it's April 9, 1974. That is the day the province shocked the sector by announcing a 50% land speculation tax.  "We had no wind of this," said Lebow, now 69. "I was 27 years old and I owned 53 houses... [read more]

A HIGH-TECH NEIGHBOURHOOD COULD TURN TORONTO INTO A WORLD RENOWNED INNOVATION HUB Randy Risling, Toronto Star Image courtesty of: Google A high-tech neighbourhood designed by Google's sibling company has been pegged as a way for Toronto to become a hub in the burgeoning field of urban innovation.  "From a very practical perspective on an economic development basis, the smart cities or urban innovation area is a booming area that some would say is a $25-trillion dollar... [read more]