Toronto
What can $500,000 get you in Toronto's property market? A one-bedroom condo half the size of a badminton court (Financial Post)
A half a million dollars bought half as much space in Toronto’s condominium market as in other Canadian cities in 2017.
And in Vancouver, it bought nothing at all, with analysts unable to find any new condominiums at or below the $500,000 mark, according to a study of 2017 sales data by the Altus Group.
Lull in Toronto’s housing gives buyers the upper hand (Toronto Star)
The dip in Toronto’s housing market means there’s a different dynamic at play between sellers and buyers this year.
An analysis by Zoocasa shows more neighbourhoods have become buyer’s markets — areas where there is enough competition among sellers that buyers have more choice and more room for negotiation — conditions that simply weren’t on the table in heated January 2017.
See how Toronto’s Chinatown has evolved through the decades (CBC News)
Hundreds of thousands of Chinese-Canadians across the Greater Toronto Area are ready to ring in Chinese New Year on Friday.
Change has been afoot in Chinatown over the past year as some older businesses have moved out and new restaurants — with modern twists and led by young chefs — are moving in.
Canada
Canadian home prices rise as Toronto sees first gain in 6 months (CBC News)
The Canadian real estate market got off to a good start this year with house prices rising in January, as Toronto saw its first gain in six months, according to a bank measurement.
The Teranet-National Bank composite house price index, rose 0.3 per cent last month from December and gained 8.7 per cent in January from a year ago.
New real estate rules delayed after concern from the industry (Victoria News)
New rules intended to improve consumer protection in real estate deals have been postponed for three months.
The changes, which prohibit the real estate practice of dual agency and mandate increased agent disclosure, were originally scheduled for March 15. They will now happen June 15, to allow for clarification of the rules and provide adequate time for realtor education and training.
Westons poised to create nation’s largest REIT in $3.9 billion deal (Financial Post)
TORONTO — The Weston family is poised to create Canada’s largest real estate investment trust through a $3.9-billion deal for its publicly traded Choice Properties REIT to buy Canadian Real Estate Investment Trust.
The combination of Choice Properties, which counts Loblaw as its principal tenant and largest unitholder, and CREIT will create a company with a diversified portfolio of 752 properties.
USA
New York City Enjoys Record $50 Billion of Residential Sales in 2017 (World Property Journal)
According to the Real Estate Board of New York's 2017 Residential Sales Report, New York City's residential real estate market rounded out a year of healthy home sales activity with a record $50 billion in transactions completed in 2017. This peak in consideration (monetary value for completed transactions) was driven by Brooklyn's all-time high annual consideration of $11 billion this year.
Sales activity in the fourth quarter of 2017 experienced a ten percent increase in the number of home sales (cooperatives, condominiums, and one-to-three-family dwellings) ranging from $1 million to less than $3 million, when compared to the fourth quarter of 2016. In comparison, the number of home sales recorded at $5 million or greater dropped 38 percent year-over-year.
International
New analysis suggests UK property sales not recovered from economic crash of 2007 (Property Wire)
A decade on from the global financial crisis property sales in the UK have still not recovered to anywhere close to pre-2008 levels, according to a new analysis of Land Registry data.
The research shows that there were on average 43,898 sales each month between January 1995 and December 2007 compared to just 27,023 between January 2008 and the present.
