Toronto
Why Toronto real-estate agents are sounding the alarm over the city’s budget (Torontoist)
Today, the Executive Committee met to approve the final version of the preliminary budget, which will make its way to council next week. Conveniently, the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) also released its monthly roundup of GTA real estate stats. Included with the usual information — year-over-year changes in prices and sales —was a warning for Toronto city council.
“With the City of Toronto’s Executive Committee meeting today to make recommendations on the City’s 2018 Budget, City Councillors would be wise to note the vast difference between last January’s real estate market and this January’s, given the City’s inadvisable reliance on the Municipal Land Transfer Tax,” writes TREB president Tim Syrianos, in a statement.
Toronto Home Prices Are Now Lower Than They Were A Year Ago (Huffpost Canada)
TORONTO — The number of homes sold in the Toronto region in January was down sharply compared with a year ago.
The Toronto Real Estate Board says Greater Toronto Area realtors reported 4,019 home sales for January through the MLS system, down 22 per cent from a record 5,155 a year ago.
Toronto Real Estate Gets First Median Price Decline Since 2009 (Better Dwelling)
Toronto real estate set a quiet record, that went largely uncelebrated last month. Numbers from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) show that the median price declined. Boring, right? Not when you realize that decline is actually the first annual decline since the Great Recession. While it’s not an end of time announcement, here’s why you should care about it.
Canada
Dividing the real estate market into ‘us and them’ could be costly mistake for our economy (Financial Post)
When it comes to housing, it’s not just about us and them.
Many believe that the recent rise in housing prices in Canada was fuelled, to a large extent, by foreign homebuyers (them) and not by Canadian residents (us). However, such divisive binaries do not explain all the forces at play.
What faltering stocks and bonds could mean for house prices: Don Pittis (CBC News)
Stocks and bonds may be going through a bad patch, but a more important question for many Canadians is how a new feeling of financial uncertainty is affecting their biggest single investment: their homes.
Statistics Canada doesn't ask Canadians directly whether they invest in stocks or bonds. However, as of May 2016, 67.8 per cent of Canadian households owned their own homes.
USA
Why nearly 100 people toured one Denver home in three days (CNBC)
Strong demand, rising rates and low supply of affordable housing in Denver have created high competition and sent buyers searching earlier.
International
Residential Co-Living Trend Accelerates in Asia (World Property Journal)
According to a new report by JLL titled "Bridging the Housing Gap", millennials in Asia are now sharing more than work spaces and transport. They have turned to living together in a new form of shared housing where residents have common interests and lifestyles.
The research reveals that co-living is gaining traction in Asia, particularly in markets like Hong Kong and the greater China region, where housing affordability is a concern. While flat-sharing among young professionals and students is popular in many countries, what differentiates co-living spaces is that they are professionally managed rather than informally arranged.
