The average re-sale home price in Toronto rose 6 per cent in September, compared to August.
Our weekly roundup of real estate news from Toronto, Canada, the U.S., and around the world ending Oct 6, 2017.
Toronto
Average Toronto house price rebounds in September (The Toronto Star)
The average Toronto area re-sale home price rose by about $43,000 or 6 per cent in September compared with August — a sign, say some realtors, that the slumped market is waking up, or at least levelling off.
Mirvish selling Toronto high-rise condo development to Great Gulf (BNN)
TORONTO — The Great Gulf real estate group is buying a high-profile, high-rise development in Toronto's entertainment district from Ed Mirvish Enterprises.
The Mirvish+Gehry project currently calls for two towers — one 82 storeys and the other 92 storeys — near the Princess of Wales theatre on King Street West.
Ontario realtors face new double-ending rules, stiffer fines (The Toronto Star)
Real estate agents in Ontario will face new conflict of interest rules when they represent both a buyer and seller in a single transaction and tougher penalties when they violate the industry regulations and ethics.
The Liberal government announced on Thursday an update to the Real Estate Business Brokers Act (REBBA) that will see the fines for unethical realtors double to $50,000. Brokerages found breaking the rules will be fined up to $100,000 per violation.
Canada
RioCan selling up to $2 billion in real estate in smaller markets to focus on Canada's big six cities (Financial Post)
Canada’s largest real estate investment trust is putting $2 billion of its holdings, comprising about 100 properties, onto the market over the next two to three years, a mix of assets in secondary centres that RioCan doesn’t want any more but hopes others will jump at.
Toronto-based RioCan’s said Monday it is accelerating its plan to focus on six core markets where there is more opportunity for growth —– what some in the industry call the VETCOM part of Canada which includes Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa and Montreal.
Brisk condo sales fuel Greater Vancouver housing market (The Globe and Mail)
Brisk condo sales are driving Greater Vancouver's real estate market while the pace of price gains has slowed in the once-mighty segment of detached houses.
The benchmark price for condos sold in September reached $635,800, up 21.7 per cent from the same month last year, the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver said Tuesday. The benchmark price is an industry representation of the typical home sold in an area.
Montreal-area home sales hit 8-year high for September (CBC News)
The real estate market in Greater Montreal matched September's heat wave with sales reaching an eight-year high for the month.
The Greater Montreal Real Estate Board says 2,893 residential sales were completed last month, a six per cent increase from a year ago. Four of the area's five metropolitan areas sustained growth, led by a 17-per-cent jump in sales in Laval, north of Montreal.
USA
Chicago Real Estate Cheapest Among World Cities (Chicago Now)
Last week UBS came out with their annual Global Real Estate Bubble Index (there is a link on that page for downloading the entire report), which evaluates the risk of a housing bubble in 20 global financial centers. Not only did the Chicago real estate market come out with the lowest risk but it also came out as the only world city identified as undervalued.
Is Obama moving to New York City? Real estate insiders say he could be (Newsweek)
Former President Barack Obama and the former first lady are apparently in a New York State of mind.
The Obamas have checked out at least one apartment in Manhattan, a $10 million five-bedroom, four-bath aerie in one of the richest corners of the already ritzy Upper East Side, The New York Post reports.
How will hurricane Irma affect Florida's real estate? (The Jerusalem Post)
The total damage inflicted by Hurricane Irma on Florida has yet to be assessed and it’s going to take some time for the State to return to normal.
The immediate effects of Hurricane Irma on the real estate sector are expected to be limited, with the developers talking of possible delays in closing and the need to re-inspect homes under contract, rather than buyers pulling out.
International
European property market remains seller-friendly (Property Reporter)
According to recent findings from the CMS European Real Estate Deal Point Study, surveying the European real estate transaction marke, a lack of alternative investment opportunities coupled with favourable financing conditions continues to ensure strong demand for real estate investment.
Against this backdrop, sellers again enjoyed a strong negotiating position in 2016 and were often able to agree contract provisions favourable to them.
Excelsior sale flop a 'reality check' for hot Hong Kong property (Business Times)
[BEIJING] The scrapped sale of The Excelsior hotel in Causeway Bay may have been a "reality check" in a heated Hong Kong property market, according to Irene Lee, chairman of Hysan Development.
"We didn't get it - or we didn't bid," Ms Lee said in a Bloomberg Television interview Wednesday, refusing to confirm local media reports that her firm had been among those vying for the hotel on Lot No. 1, the first land auctioned in Hong Kong in 1841.
