Creativity at its finest — realtors are composing short films to tell a home's story and advertise its features.
Toronto
Real estate agents are creating short films to help sell homes in Toronto (NOW Toronto)
Two kids race down a leafy street toward a red brick three-storey house. As jaunty stock music plays in the background, the children play hide and seek in the modern home: they take cover in a sculptural soaker tub, scurry down a grand staircase, survey a kitchen complete with enough bottle storage for a burgeoning wine snob.
While the beautifully shot film could be advertising any number of things – high-tech alarm systems, fabric softener, anti-depressants for children – it’s actually an ad for Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie’s Riverdale house listing.
New mortgage stress test to hit ‘move-up’ home buyers (The Toronto Star)
Expanded stress testing of mortgages will have “a significant dampening effect” on the housing market and could hit move-up home buyers hardest, says BMO financial group chief economist Doug Porter.
The latest lending restrictions announced by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) on Tuesday, could also slow interest rate increases next year if the Bank of Canada pauses to assess the impact of the new borrowing rules, he said.
Toronto’s TBG passes from father to son, partner (RenX)
While The Behar Group Realty Inc. (TBG) has just undergone a change at the top, the familiar names still involved aren’t planning any major deviations from the course the company has taken.
“We wanted to celebrate our 25th anniversary with the official and successful transition of ownership from father to son,” said Avi Behar, who retains the title of chief executive officer and becomes chairman of the board.
Canada
The man behind “The Big Short” sees trouble in Canada (Canadian Business)
The short seller made famous for his controversial and astute negative call on the U.S. subprime market is calling for a “pretty severe correction” in the Canadian housing market. Steve Eisman, a fund manager at Neuberger Berman Group LLC in the U.S., was featured in Michael Lewis’s book “The Big Short.”
Eisman told Bloomberg TV he is not calling for the kind of financial crisis that unfolded in the U.S. market, because the Canadian subprime mortgage market is much smaller than in the U.S. However, he cautioned that the run up in prices in Canada is even sharper than the U.S. experience.
'It's rattled some nerves': police advisory puts real-estate agents on edge (CBC News)
Real-estate agents are on edge in the wake of police advisories about a man with a long criminal history now living in St. John's.
That's according the CEO of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Realtors.
Expanding Regional Economies to Lift Home Prices in Canada's Major Markets (NewKerala.com)
The year-over-year price change data in the Royal LePage House Price Composite is the most useful metric for determining the health of Canada's real estate market.
However, examining quarter-over-quarter movements can reveal useful short-term housing market trends. In the third quarter, home prices in the Greater Toronto Area, Greater Vancouver, Greater Montreal Area, Calgary and Ottawa all rose at rates between 1.5 and 3.5 per cent on a quarter-over-quarter basis, indicative of a much more balanced Canadian residential real estate market.
USA
Home Builder Confidence in U.S. Jumps Four Points in October (World Property Journal)
According to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index, U.S. builder confidence in the market for newly-built single-family homes rose four points to a level of 68 in October 2017. This was the highest reading since May 2017.
"This month's report shows that home builders are rebounding from the initial shock of the hurricanes," said NAHB Chairman Granger MacDonald. "However, builders need to be mindful of long-term repercussions from the storms, such as intensified material price increases and labor shortages."
Delafield landowner among Forbes' 400 richest (GM Today)
Downtown Delafield's largest property owner is among the 400 richest Americans, according to Forbes Magazine.
Diane Hendricks, owner of Hendricks Commercial Properties and co-founder of ABC Supply Company, is the 122nd richest person in America, according to the magazine.
U.S. regulators simplify real estate deals in hurricane-hit areas(Reuters)
WASHINGTON, Oct 17 (Reuters) - U.S. financial regulators moved on Tuesday to make it easier for real estate deals to get done in areas of the country ravaged by recent hurricanes, in a bid to boost recovery efforts.
Under the eased rules, banks and credit unions will be able to extend real estate loans without completing a formal appraisal, so long as properties are located in federally-declared disaster areas and deals can be funded within three years, the four regulatory agencies said in a joint statement.
International
Tokyo, New York, LA ranked as world's largest real estate markets (IPE Real Assets)
Tokyo, New York and Los Angeles are the world’s largest real estate investment markets, according to the latest research by CBRE.
The real estate consultancy, which examined the relationship between city market size and capital flows into real estate for 122 cities around the world, said the world’s the largest commercial real estate investment markets, which also includes Paris and London, have a global stock of investable assets standing at $27.5trn (€23.3trn).
The Public Investment Fund Launches the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (Market Insider)
The Public Investment Fund (PIF) has announced the establishment of the Saudi Real Estate Refinance Company (SRC), in line with Vision 2030 objectives to improve the performance of the real estate market, increase its contribution to GDP, and raise the rate of homeownership among Saudis to 52% by the end of 2020.
Demand for real estate financing in the Kingdom is expected to increase from SAR 280 billion in 2017 to SAR 500 billion in 2026.
Estate agents call for lettings and management crackdown to cover whole housing market (Property Wire)
Agents in the UK are calling for the tougher regulation for residential lettings and property management to be extended to include estate agents.
A consultation has been opened by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) as part of a crackdown on escalating leasehold charges in England and the regulation of both letting and management agents.
