Our weekly round-up of real estate news in Toronto, across Canada and the world for the week ending March 03, 2017.
Toronto
Toronto’s home prices in line with other world cities (Toronto Star)
Bubble. What bubble?
Toronto's soaring home prices are in line with the reality of other world cities such as New York, Hong Kong and London, says Mark Renzoni, president of global commercial real estate giant CBRE.
"The market is fairly balanced. It's not being driven by foreign capital. It's being driven by Canadians, moving up, buying for the first time," he told the Star, following a speech at CBRE's annual market forecast event.
Why Toronto's condo rental market is described as 'ridiculous' (CBC)
At the end of January, Nicole Meredith got a big, unpleasant surprise.
The rent on her one-bedroom condo apartment in Queen West was jumping in just 90 days from $1,275 a month to $1,700 — a $425 spike.
Shocking, sure, but not entirely surprising in Toronto's pricey, competitive rental market, where a lack of units is pushing prices to new heights as the hot housing market keeps millennials like Meredith renting longer.
Sticker shock sets in (Globe and Mail)
The pocket east of Dufferin Grove was the focus of a ruckus on Facebook this week, when a four-bedroom house at 131 Concord Ave. sold for $2,100,131.
Scott Wilson of Bosley Real Estate made note of the sale for his Facebook followers. In no time, his casual mention had burgeoned into a fervent debate about Toronto’s real estate market, with neighbours, prospective buyers and other agents joining in.
Ottawa keeps wary eye on home prices in Toronto, Vancouver (Globe and Mail)
Finance Minister Bill Morneau says rising home prices in Toronto and Vancouver are supported by low unemployment and higher incomes, but acknowledged the government remains “very focused” on monitoring the Canadian housing market.
The minister’s comments come as some Bay Street leaders are expressing growing concern over the Toronto housing market in particular.
Canada
Another of Canada’s big bank CEOs is warning about housing market corrections (Financial Post)
TORONTO — The CEO of Scotiabank says he’s concerned about the possibility of a housing market correction in Toronto and Vancouver.
Brian Porter, who was asked about his outlook for the Canadian mortgage market during a conference call to discuss the bank’s first-quarter results, said he’s supportive of recent government changes introduced to reel in house price growth.
What kind of home will $770K buy? It all depends on where you want to live (CBC)
With the price of a detached home in Vancouver well beyond the reach of most families, we took the average price of a home in Toronto — $770,000 — and set out to see what kind of property that could get you in cities across Canada.
Our survey showed that the size and quality of a home selling in that price range varies widely by postal code. In Atlantic Canada, that kind of money goes a long way, and there are also some decent deals on the Prairies.
Greater Victoria real estate prices inflate to all-time highs (CHEK)
New numbers from the Greater Victoria Real Estate Board show a dramatic increase in the price of a home over the past year. Last month the average price for a single family home was just over $852,000. That’s a 19% increase from February 2016 when the average price was just under $689,000.
Condo prices are also up. Last month, the average price was just under $394,000. That’s an 11% jump from 2016.
USA
U.S. real estate losing its sheen for South Koreans (Financial Buzz)
For South Korean investors, U.S. properties have traditionally been a prized investment option but this trend may be changing now. Right until the year 2016, South Koreans, more so the institutional investors than private individuals, seemed to show a clear preference for real estate in the U.S. but this happy state of affairs appears all set to change. The reason behind this is likely to be the many transformations that are taking place in terms of how easy and lucrative it is for them to invest here.
US Real Estate: Pending Home Sales Weaken (Live Trading News)
US Real Estate: Pending Home Sales Weaken
Insufficient supply levels led to a lull in contract activity in the Midwest and West, which dragged down pending home sales in January to their lowest level in a year, according to the National Association of Realtors.
In New Orleans, A Mardis Gras Bounce for Real Estate (Forbes)
Mardi Gras in New Orleans ushers in lots of dancing, beads, and boisterous parades and floats. The annual event sends tens of thousands of tourists into the Crescent City decked-out in elaborate costumes with feathers and flamboyant accessories as the clock ticks closer to Fat Tuesday, the day before Ash Wednesday and the beginning of Lent.
For real estate brokers in the city, however, Mardis Gras symbolizes something much more prosaic: the start of the busy spring and summer home selling season.
International
These luxury markets saw the biggest hikes in real estate prices (CNBC)
The three cities that saw the biggest spikes in luxury real estate prices last year had one thing in common: They were all located in China.
According to The Wealth Report, an annual publication by the Knight Frank real estate firm, Shanghai experienced the biggest annual price increase for prime residential real estate. The London-based firm defines prime real estate as the top segment of each market.
Thane real estate among top 20 in the world where rich want to invest (Hindustan Times)
Thane has become popular among the rich looking to buy a property, said a study. In a wealth report compiled by Knight Frank India Limited, a real estate consultancy firm, Thane is one of the 20 cities across the world, where the rich are currently looking forward to invest their wealth.
UK’s property tax revenues are highest in OECD (Financial Times)
The UK property tax accounts for the largest share of tax revenues in all OECD countries. Together with South Korea and Canada, the UK receives more than one-tenth of its taxes from the use, ownership or transfer of property, while a comparatively low proportion comes from tax on corporate income, and social security contributions.
