Toronto
Toronto 2017 home sales down from 2016, average price up (Toronto Star)
The Toronto Real Estate Board says home sales in the Greater Toronto Area fell 18.3 per cent last year compared with a record pace set in 2016.
There were 92,394 sales through its MLS system in 2017, down from 113,040 in the previous year.
Toronto Real Estate Board Blames Government For 18% Drop In Sales (Huffington Post)
Toronto's real estate board is laying the blame at the provincial government's feet for a "volatile" year that saw sales drop more than 18 per cent, while prices for detached homes turned negative.
The board reported Thursday that the Greater Toronto Area saw 92,394 home sales in 2017, down 18.3 per cent from the all-time high set in 2016.
Real estate auctions hit Toronto housing market (CTV News)
On the Block Realty is bringing real estate auctions to the city to help curb bidding wars between buyers, Sean Leathong reports.
Canada
Stress tests, foreign buyers and higher rates likely to impact housing market in 2018 (CBC News)
Real estate was a major topic in the business world in 2017, and with some big changes on the horizon, the subject is likely to dominate headlines again this year.
Here are five things to watch in Canadian real estate.
2018 home sales in B.C. expected to decline, but prices climb, economists say (National Post)
VANCOUVER — An upward trend in housing prices isn’t expected to significantly change in British Columbia despite an anticipated slowdown in sales this year, economists say.
The B.C. Real Estate Association’s chief economist said Wednesday that new housing stock, slightly higher interest rates and tighter mortgage regulations will result in about a 10 per cent decline in sales compared with 2017.
Canada debt-to-household-income ratio grows to 171% – StatsCan (Canadian Real Estate Magazine)
The amount Canadians owe relative to their income hit a new high in the third quarter of 2017.
Statistics Canada said in mid-December that household credit market debt as a proportion of household disposable income increased to 171.1%, up from 170.1% in the second quarter.
USA
Combined Worth of All U.S. Homes Hits $31.8 Trillion (World Property Journal)
According to Zillow, the total value of all homes in the United States in early January 2018 is now $31.8 trillion after gaining $2 trillion in 2017.
The cumulative value of the U.S. housing market grew at its fastest annual pace - 6.5 percent - in four years. The value of all U.S. homes rose 8 percent annually in the early stages of the housing recovery in 2013.
International
Corporate Expansions Driving Hong Kong's Grade A Office Market (World Property Journal)
According to JLL's latest Property Market Monitor released this week, net take-up in Hong Kong's overall office market amounted to 68,800 sq. ft in November 2017, with average monthly rent reaching HKD 71.7 per sq. ft -- 0.3% higher than in October 2017. The overall vacancy rate in the Grade A office market decreased to 4.8% compared to 4.9% in October.
Leasing demand continued to be underpinned by the expansion requirements of financial services companies. In Central, Ping An Bank reportedly leased 13,900 sq ft at One Exchange Square, expanding from offices in Bank of America Tower, while LGT group reportedly expanded by 27,800 sq ft at Two Exchange Square.
House builders optimistic about year ahead but commercial developers less so (Property Wire)
The construction industry in the UK overall is its least optimistic for five years amid fears over Brexit and an economic slowdown, but house builders are more optimistic, new research shows.
Some building firms won the most work for several months in December but the number of companies expecting a rise in output levels over the next 12 months was the weakest recorded since the middle of 2013, according to the Markit/Cips UK construction index.
Global Housing Markets Are ‘Slowing Sharply.’ Is Canada Next? (Huffington Post)
Housing markets around the world are showing signs of losing steam, but Canada's market isn't among them — yet.
The Great White North is still clocking in some of the world's fastest house price growth, though that is likely to come to an end in the first half of this year, amid tough new mortgage rules and higher interest rates.
