Entries by Mahyar Rezapour

,

These condo units are Toronto’s hottest commodity

Condo investment in Toronto tenders diminishing returns, but the discerning real estate investor can still turn a tidy profit. Two-plus-twos— that is, two bedrooms and two bathrooms—are among the scarcest commodity in downtown Toronto real estate today. In a city wherein glass towers are sprouting faster than weeds, units are shrinking in size. According to […]

,

Canadian consumer confidence remains weak

  Ongoing talk of trade wars and tariffs is dampening sentiment among Canadian consumers. The weekly Bloomberg Nanos Canadian Confidence Index has declined again in the latest reading (54.31) and although the pace of decline slowed, the index is at a 12-month low. Just four week’s ago the index was at 55.28 and it started […]

Vancouver approves laneway housing improvements

Vancouver will make changes to bylaws to make it easier to build laneway housing. The City Council voted in favour of the changes this week which will help to achieve the Housing Vancouver target of 4,000 new laneway homes over the next 10 years. “It’s great to see City Council support changes to get more […]

,

Toronto is fastest-growing tech market in North America

The technology sector is continuing to view Toronto as a great place to be based, driving demand for offices and other CRE units, while also supporting employment in the city. A report from CBRE shows that 28,900 technology jobs were added in 2017, a rise of 13.6% from the previous year. “High-quality and well-educated tech […]

Real estate brokers see GDP gain for first time this year

Canada’s economy saw some slight growth in April as real GDP gained 0.1%, the third month of growth following a decline in January. Statistics Canada reports that 12 of 20 industrial sectors gained, driven by a 0.2% rise for goods producing industries despite a decline for construction. Services industries were broadly unchanged but real estate […]

Household lending conditions eased in Q2

The latest Senior Loan Officer Survey from the Bank of Canada shows how lending conditions have changed in the second quarter of 2018. The new mortgage rules introduced at the start of the year continue to impact mortgage approval rates for low-ratio mortgages while the changes to regulations introduced at the end of 2016 are […]

Rate hike likely this month but then a pause?

The Bank of Canada will meet to decide on its latest move on interest rates next week and many are expecting an increase. But once July’s hike is done, things become less clear as the economy is showing some mixed signals. Two economists from Canada’s big banks have given their assessment of the likelihood of […]

,

Homebuyers overestimate impact of foreign investors

Homeowners in Vancouver and Toronto believe that foreign investors are driving up home prices but that isn’t backed up by official figures. A new Housing Market Insight from the CMHC shows that 68% of survey respondents in Vancouver and 48% in Toronto think foreign investors have a lot of influence on home prices in their […]

GTA new condo sales “very encouraging”

Sales of newly-built condos in the Greater Toronto Area totalled 2,003 in May, accounting for the bulk of the 2,345 total new home sales. While condo sales were 47% below May 2017’s record high, they were just 1% behind the 10-year average for May. “May new condominium apartment sales were very encouraging,” noted Patricia Arsenault, […]

City plan puts focus on two- and three-bedroom residential units

Nearly half of new residential developments in downtown Toronto could be made up of two- and three-bedroom units, a new plan for the core just approved by city council outlines. The city’s sweeping TOcore plan for downtown growth considers many aspects of living, working and being in Toronto’s core, including expanding and improving parks; fostering […]