Recent Real Estate articles

The Big Bucks are Back

Update on Condo development at 1 Bloor - Note that there's no guarantee that buyer deposits for this failed development will be returned in full, or even at all! Condo buyers of new, unbuilt units, should discuss the agreement with their lawyer *before* signing, to ensure that they can get their deposits back, without penalty, if the builder cannot develop the agreed upon condominium. Also, buyers should be aware of whether the builder has the option to sell the development to another builder without giving you the option to bail. Completion of a new development is not an automatic, foregone conclusion. Know your rights!

Market strength fools the experts - Even CMHC, which had forecast a down year in real estate this year was fooled by the strong surge - around mid-August, total sales YTD now exceeded the comparable YTD sales for last year. And that's despite sales in January and February being off 50% from last year!

July sales break another record!

What a peculiar year it's been. At the start, in January and February, it looked like sales were going to drop right off the map, with transactions being down around 50% compared to the previous year.

But that was short-lived.

Following in record-breaking June's footsteps (up 26%), July has similarly set the all-time record for resales in July with 9.967 homes sold - up a whopping 28% over last July! The average price was up 6% to $395,414.

Homeowners are clearly feeling confident about the combination of an economic recovery and record-low interest rates to jump back into the real estate market with gusto.

Instead of the usual summer-slowdown in real estate sales, they've turned into the busiest months so far this year!

As a matter of fact, despite the steep drop-off in sales to start the year, total sales year-to-date are only down a mere 1.2% from last year!