Average Prices Soar 25% in The Toronto Region: TRREB

Rachel Rehkopf
other

The results are in: 2021 was a record-breaking year for real estate in the Toronto region.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has just released its numbers for December 2021, which shows that the year, with a total of 121,712 sales, beat out the previous record in 2016 by 7.7%. When compared to last year, sales were up nearly 30%.

Although December rounded out a record-breaking year, the month’s individual numbers were strong but not extraordinary. GTA REALTORS reported 6,031 sales last month, which is down more than 1,000 transactions (-15.7%) from the record-breaking December of last year.

Here are some of the newest listings to hit the market in Toronto

Continuing trends seen throughout 2021, low inventory remains a massive constraint on the market. Compared to last year, new listings were down 11.9% and active listings were down a whopping 59% – meaning buyers continue to face steep competition in this market, with very few homes to choose from.

These tight inventory conditions continue to put upwards pressure on prices, with the average selling price in the Toronto Region reaching $1,157,849 and the median price topping one million for the first time in history. This means that over the course of 2021, average home prices have increased 25%.

Here are three key takeaways you need to know about what else is happening in the Toronto real estate market:

Homes are Selling Far Above their Asking Price

Over the course of the month, properties across all TRREB areas sold for an average of 109% of its list price. This means that most properties are selling for over their asking price, and on average receiving nearly 10% more than what it was listed for. Compared to December of last year, where the sold-to-list-price ratio was 101%, this year properties are selling much higher over asking, most likely in bidding-war conditions. 

This trend was most elevated in Durham, a region that’s seen an incredibly hot real estate market this year. In December, homes in the area sold on average for 119% of their asking price. In Clarington, Oshawa and Whitby, homes sold for more than 120% of their asking price, at 123%, 122% and 121% respectively.

What are homes selling for in your neighbourhood?

Check Out Sold Data

 

There’s Less Than One Month of Inventory on the Market

Given our current pace of sales, if no new homes came to the market in January we would completely run out of homes on the market in less than a month in the Toronto Region – with our total months of inventory trending to 0.9.

In extremely competitive markets, like Durham and Dufferin, this metric is currently trending to 0.5 months. It’s a similar story in Halton, where the metric sits at only 0.6 months.

While months of inventory have remained extremely low in the Toronto Region for much of recent history, compared to December of last year, where months of inventory trended towards 1.6, it’s clear ultra-low inventory is continuing to tighten market conditions.

To put in perspective, the national average for this metric has typically trended around 5 months.

Homes are Selling Fast, Even by December Standards

December is known to be a quiet month in real estate – filled with parties and busy holiday schedules, most buyers and sellers decide to put off their move to the beginning of the new year. But even despite that factor, and that overall December had fewer sales this year than last, the stats show that properties are moving quickly

For instance, when looking at total property days on market, last December saw properties take an average of 35 total days to sell. This year, it took only 19, a decrease of 45.7%. This just goes to illustrate how tight the market conditions are in the Toronto Region – even with fewer sales, low inventory and a hyper-competitive marketplace means that buyers are snapping up available homes quickly.

 

 

 

What does this mean for buyers?

Looking at sales volumes alone, it might seem like this December was a quiet month for real estate. But, after taking a look at other important metrics, like:

• How close homes are selling to their asking price
• How many months of inventory are left on the market
• And how quickly homes are selling

It becomes clear that buyer demand is strong, but having too few homes for sale is continuing to constrain the market – which has led to an extremely competitive marketplace for buyers.

Although historically, more supply tends to come to the market in January as would-be sellers change their focus from holiday get-togethers to listing their home, the same phenomenon can be observed for buyers as well. Meaning many industry experts aren’t anticipating that the buyers will find significant reprieve without supply-side intervention.

“Tight market conditions prevailed throughout the GTA and broader Greater Golden Horseshoe in 2021, with a lack of inventory noted across all home types. The result was intense competition between buyers, pushing selling prices up by double digits year-over-year. Looking forward, the only sustainable way to moderate price growth will be to bring on more supply. History has shown that demand-side policies, such as additional taxation on principal residences, foreign buyers, and small-scale  investors, have not been sustainable long-term solutions to housing affordability or supply constraints,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

So what’s a hopeful buyer to do in this market? According to Zoocasa Sales Representative, Evelyn Anders, it comes down to choosing the right expert to help navigate these conditions.

“Even in a challenging market, like this one, an experienced agent will be able to use strategies that create opportunity for their clients. No inventory doesn’t mean no opportunity, it just means you may have to go about your home search creatively,” says Anders.

If you’re looking to make a move in 2021, we can help. Sign up below to talk to one of our real estate agents about how we can help you reach your housing goals in today’s market.

Want to Buy a House in 2021?

Talk to Our Experts!

 

© 2015 – 2021 Zoocasa Realty Inc., Brokerage

Burnaby 4.6-acre industrial assembly sells for $18.5 million

William Wright
Western Investor

Properties in the Big Bend area could be redeveloped from heavy industrial to light industrial zoning at the geographic centre of Metro Vancouver.

Property type: Industrial land
Location: 8818 and 8823 Greenall Avenue, Burnaby, B.C.
Land size:  3.57 acres and 1.05 Acres
Total land size: 4.62 acres
Current zoning: M3 Industrial
Potential zoning: M2 and M5 Light industrial
Sale price: $18.5 million
Brokerage: William Wright Commercial, Langley, B.C.
Broker: Zuber Jamal.

© 2022 Western Investor

Port Coquitlam 65-unit multi-family sells for $18.2 million

William Wright
Western Investor

McAllister Apartments and Plaza is a fully leased thee- storey building comprised of 65 residential units and eight retail units in downtown Port Coquitlam, B.C.

Property type: Mixed-use multi-family
Location: 2232 McAllister, Port Coquitlam, B.C.
Number of units: 65 residential; 8 retail
Property size: 60,605 square feet (approx.)
Land size: 1.2 acres
Sale price: $18.22 million
Brokerage: William Wright Commercial, Langley, B.C
Agent: Marianne DeCotis

© 2022 Western Investor

East Vancouver multi-family sells for $422,222 per door

Goodman Commercial Inc.
Western Investor

The three-storey, 18-unit rental apartment building on East 6th Avenue, Vancouver, built in 1968, sold for $7.5 million.

Property type: Multi-family rental
Location: 306 East 6th Avenue, Vancouver
Number of units: 18
Property size: 11,275 square feet (rentable area).
Land size: 12,078 square feet
Zoning: RM-4
Sale price: $7.5 million
Capitalization rate: 2.1%
Brokerage: Goodman Commercial Inc., Vancouver
Brokers: Mark Goodman and Cynthia Jagger.

© 2022 Western Investor

Average Prices Soar Nearly 25% in The Toronto Region: TRREB

Rachel Rehkopf
other

The results are in: 2021 was a record-breaking year for real estate in the Toronto region.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) has just released its numbers for December 2021, which shows that the year, with a total of 121,712 sales, beat out the previous record in 2016 by 7.7%. When compared to last year, sales were up nearly 30%.

Although December rounded out a record-breaking year, the month’s individual numbers were strong but not extraordinary. GTA REALTORS reported 6,031 sales last month, which is down more than 1,000 transactions (-15.7%) from the record-breaking December of last year.

Here are some of the newest listings to hit the market in Toronto

Continuing trends seen throughout 2021, low inventory remains a massive constraint on the market. Compared to last year, new listings were down 11.9% and active listings were down a whopping 59% – meaning buyers continue to face steep competition in this market, with very few homes to choose from.

These tight inventory conditions continue to put upwards pressure on prices, with the average selling price in the Toronto Region reaching $1,157,849 and the median price topping one million for the first time in history. This means that over the course of 2021, average home prices have increased 24.2%.

Here are three key takeaways you need to know about what else is happening in the Toronto real estate market:

Homes are Selling Far Above their Asking Price 

Over the course of the month, properties across all TRREB areas sold for an average of 109% of their list price. This means that most properties are selling for over their asking price, and on average receiving nearly 10% more than what it was listed for. Compared to December of last year, where the sold-to-list-price ratio was 101%, this year properties are selling much higher over asking, most likely in bidding-war conditions.

This trend was most elevated in Durham, a region that’s seen an incredibly hot real estate market this year. In December, homes in the area sold on average for 119% of their asking price. In Clarington, Oshawa and Whitby, homes sold for more than 120% of their asking price, at 123%, 122%, and 121% respectively.

What are homes selling for in your neighbourhood?

Check Out Sold Data

 

There’s Less Than One Month of Inventory on the Market 

Given our current pace of sales, if no new homes came to the market in January we would completely run out of homes on the market in less than a month in the Toronto Region, with our total months of inventory trending to 0.9.

In extremely competitive markets, like Durham and Dufferin, this metric is currently trending to 0.5 months. It’s a similar story in Halton, where the metric sits at only 0.6 months.

While months of inventory have remained extremely low in the Toronto Region for much of recent history, compared to December of last year, where months of inventory trended towards 1.6, it’s clear ultra-low inventory is continuing to tighten market conditions.

To put in perspective, the national average for this metric has typically trended around 5 months.

Homes are Selling Fast, Even by December Standards 

December is known to be a quiet month in real estate – filled with parties and busy holiday schedules, most buyers and sellers decide to put off their move to the beginning of the new year. But even despite that factor, and that overall December had fewer sales this year than last, the stats show that properties are moving quickly.

For instance, when looking at total property days on market, last December saw properties take an average of 35 total days to sell. This year, it took only 19, a decrease of 45.7%. This just goes to illustrate how tight the market conditions are in the Toronto Region – even with fewer sales, low inventory, and a hyper-competitive marketplace means that buyers are snapping up available homes quickly. 

 

 

What does this mean for buyers?

Looking at sales volumes alone, it might seem like this December was a quiet month for real estate. But, after taking a look at other important metrics, like:

• How close homes are selling to their asking price
• How many months of inventory are left on the market
• And how quickly homes are selling

It becomes clear that buyer demand is strong, but having too few homes for sale is continuing to constrain the market. All of this leads to an extremely competitive marketplace for buyers.

Although historically, more supply tends to come to the market in January as would-be sellers change their focus from holiday get-togethers to listing their home, the same phenomenon can be observed for buyers as well. Meaning many industry experts aren’t anticipating that the buyers will find significant reprieve without supply-side intervention.

“Tight market conditions prevailed throughout the GTA and broader Greater Golden Horseshoe in 2021, with a lack of inventory noted across all home types. The result was intense competition between buyers, pushing selling prices up by double digits year-over-year. Looking forward, the only sustainable way to moderate price growth will be to bring on more supply. History has shown that demand-side policies, such as additional taxation on principal residences, foreign buyers, and small-scale investors, have not been sustainable long-term solutions to housing affordability or supply constraints,” said TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

So what’s a hopeful buyer to do in this market? According to Zoocasa Sales Representative, Evelyn Anders, it comes down to choosing the right expert to help navigate these conditions.

“Even in a challenging market, like this one, an experienced agent will be able to use strategies that create opportunity for their clients. No inventory doesn’t mean no opportunity, it just means you may have to go about your home search creatively,” says Anders.

If you’re looking to make a move in 2021, we can help. Sign up below to talk to one of our real estate agents about how we can help you reach your housing goals in today’s market.

Want to Buy a House in 2021?

Talk to Our Experts!$

© 2015 – 2021 Zoocasa Realty Inc

Metro Vancouver home sales, prices hit record high in 2021

Glen Korstrom
Western Investor

Despite ongoing pandemic, region saw 43,999 residential real estate transactions – up 42.2 per cent from 2020

Benchmark townhouse price in Metro Vancouver is up 22 per cent to just over $1 million. | Chung Chow

Despite ongoing pandemic, region saw 43,999 residential real estate transactions – up 42.2 per cent from 2020

Residential real estate transactions in 2021 surged across the Metro Vancouver region to an all-time high of 43,999, which was 42.2 per cent more than the 30,944 sales recorded in 2020, and a 73.6 per cent increase compared to the 25,351 homes that changed hands in 2019, according to the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver (REBGV).

Home prices also hit record highs, with the typical townhouse price cresting over $1 million for the first time.

The previous record for home sales in the region was 42,326, in 2015 – before governments put in place empty homes taxes and foreign buyers’ taxes.

Home has been a focus for residents throughout the pandemic,” REBGV economist Keith Stewart said. “With low interest rates, increased household savings, more flexible work arrangements, and higher home prices than ever before, Metro Vancouverites, in record numbers, are assessing their housing needs and options.”

Listings increased, but to a lesser degree than sales. 

Home listings on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) platform in Metro Vancouver reached 62,265 in 2021, which is 14.7 per cent more than the 54,305 homes listed in 2020, and a 19.9 per cent increase compared to the 51,918 homes listed in 2019.

“Listing activity didn’t keep pace with the record demand,” Stewart added. “This imbalance caused residential home prices to rise over the past 12 months.”

The benchmark price for a detached home in the region is $1,910,200, which is a 22 per cent jump from December 2020, and a 2.1 per cent increase compared to November 2021.

Attached homes (mostly townhomes) increased in value to a similar degree, with those dwellings also increasing in price by 22 per cent, compared with December 2020, to $1,004,900. Attached homes increased in price by 1.5 per cent compared with November 2021.

Apartments saw a smaller 12.8 per cent jump in value, compared with December 2020, and ended the year priced at $761,800. Those homes saw an average 1.2 per cent price increase, compared with November 2021.
Despite strong home sales throughout 2021, the year ended with a bit of a thud. The region saw 2,688 home sales in December, which was 13.1 per cent below the level in the same month in 2020, and a 21.6 per cent decline from the level achieved in December 2019. 

December home sales in Metro Vancouver were, however, strong enough to be 33.4 per cent above the 10-year average for sales in a December.

© 2022 Western Investor

Buying a Home Without Seeing it First: Worth it or Not?

Zoocasa Staff
other

Buying a home is always an exciting and risky experience whether you are a first-time home buyer in Ontario, looking to upgrade, or are purchasing another investment property.  Since the global pandemic has been in full swing, seeing a home before you buy it might not be an option for you due to location or personal comfort, and is now readily available by most brokers and agents through virtual home tours. 

In some situations, you might be thinking about putting in an offer without taking a tour of the property in advance or debating doing a few virtual home tours with your agent first. But, would this be a good approach for such a large investment?

When is it a good idea to buy a home without viewing it first?

There are some specific situations where buying a home without going to see it first is a good idea. 

1. When the property is in another location that is far away.

If the property you are interested in is out of your province, or requires a significant amount of travel, then buying it without visiting it first could be your best bet. You will not need to spend any money or time trying to get there, book accommodations, or pay for any meals while you are visiting. For example if you are living in British Columbia and looking to head towards the east coast, a google search for “first time home buyer ontario” or “virtual home tour in Toronto” would be a great place to start. 

Plus, this will allow you to use your time for other responsibilities, as you won’t need to take time off from work or use your vacation days for traveling there and back again. 

1. When the real estate market is hot. 

In areas and neighborhoods that have high demand but low housing supply, it is not unusual for sellers to find a buyer within days of posting their listing, or even on the same day. Buying a home without viewing it first will let you act fast, and the quicker that you can reach the seller with an attractive offer, the more likely you will be able to outbid others who are interested as well. This approach should only be considered when you have enough real estate experience and are financially capable of taking on the investment and potential maintenance requirements that can arise once you see it in person. 

1. When you are firm on the location.

Maybe you have lived in a certain area in the past, or you want to be closer to friends and family, or you need to relocate for work. Whatever the reason, you might be willing to prioritize location over the state of the property itself, and you have a budget available to do some minor repairs or renovations.

 If the location of the home is the most important aspect for you, then purchasing a property without needing to view it first could be a good option for your circumstances.

When is buying a home without viewing it a bad idea?

While buying a home without seeing it first could benefit you, there are definitely some drawbacks associated with doing so. 

1. You will not be able to get the full details of the home.

This is one of the greatest downsides to buying a home without seeing it first. Even though you could see plenty of pictures and videos, take 3D tours and video calls with an agent on-site, you will not be able to get a real feel for the property unless you actually go there yourself. 

You will not be able to find flaws like mold, unpleasant smells, noisy neighbors, or poor lighting. Pictures of homes for sale are typically edited and taken during the day at times when the home looks its best. 

And virtual tours can always be staged to show only the good parts of the home, but once you get there you might find that the rooms are smaller than they looked or the ceiling is lower than you thought it was just from looking at the photos alone. 

1. The seller may view your offer as a risk and reject it. 

Although many home sellers are eager to sell, getting an offer from someone who did not view the home can be seen as a risk. This is because the sale could be delayed due to the buyer needing inspections and appraisals, since they can’t see the home themselves. There is also a higher chance that the deal will fall through. 

Hot market conditions could lead some buyers to place an offer without viewing the property first in an attempt to weed out the competition, then end up backing out once they do visit or if their demands cannot be met. However, this is a very risky approach; most sellers view going back on the market as a bad thing, as it could make their property look less appealing to new buyers.

As well, breaking the Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) gives the sellers grounds to sue the buyers, and they are generally entitled to keep any deposit paid up to that point, unless the APS specified otherwise. Even if the sellers successfully sell the property after putting it back on the market, if it sells for less than what the original offer stipulated, the original buyer could be liable for the difference in profit.

Book a property view request, even if it needs to be a virtual home tour.

It’s always a good idea to at least do a virtual tour of your prospective property. This way, you can get a real time look at the property when it’s not staged and set up for photos. With Zoocasa, booking a virtual home tour to view Ontario real estate is only a few clicks away. 

 

© 2015 – 2021 Zoocasa Realty Inc

B.C. Assessment records illustrate housing stress being pushed out across province

Derrick Penner
The Vancouver Sun

“One of the biggest challenges, is the fact that with COVID, you’ve seen a certain part of the regional workforce be liberated in terms of (housing) choices,” said Andy Yan, City Program at SFU.

Demographer Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University. Photo by Mark van Manen /PNG

The Lower Mainland’s 2022 property assessments soared the highest the farther away from Vancouver you go, figures from B.C. Assessment show, painting another picture of how property markets are being reshaped by COVID-19.

Hope, at the eastern end of the Fraser Valley, saw the typical assessment on a detached home rise 45 per cent to $620,000 on its 2022 valuation, compared with the University Endowment Lands where assessments rose 11 per cent. The value on that typical endowment lands property, however, hit an eye-popping $5.5 million, but the prospect of remote-working urbanites priced out of Vancouver or Burnaby buying in farther-flung municipalities is distributing the stress of housing inequality across the region.

“One of the biggest challenges, is the fact that with COVID, you’ve seen a certain part of the regional workforce be liberated in terms of (housing) choices,” said demographer Andy Yan, director of the City Program at Simon Fraser University.

Potential buyers who were once discouraged from considering suburbs such as Langley and Abbotsford by the prospect of long commutes can now choose to buy a detached home or bigger townhouse with more space for children, Yan said. So typical property assessments on detached homes soared some 39 per cent to $1.16 million in the City of Langley, 34 per cent to $1.32 million in the Township of Langley and 34 per cent to $1.42 million in Surrey.

Maple Ridge saw its typical detached assessment rise 37 per cent to cross the $1.12 million mark and Chilliwack saw detached assessments rise 40 per cent to $877,000.

Squamish saw a 35 per cent increase in the assessment on a typical detached home to hit $1.39 million, which is likely driven by price appreciation in the more popular neighbourhoods, but does add to housing stress.

“I wouldn’t say my house is up 35 per cent by any means,” said Jaye Russell, executive director of Sea to Sky Community Services in Squamish.

Over the last seven or eight years, however, Russell said Squamish has seen its population increase along with housing prices.

“Our market-rental rates are on par with Vancouver in Squamish, and that’s concerning,” Russell said, “because the cost of living hasn’t gone down and (this trend) is displacing and causing more people to have housing insecurity in our community.”

Assessments are based on property values as of July 1 of the previous year. B.C. Assessment has sent out more than one million notices to Lower Mainland property owners. Yan said those values are out-of-date by now and likely surpassed in a lot of locations. Many are suburbs that are home to service workers and the region’s manufacturing workforce who had incomes that could keep them in housing where they lived that “has kind of gone out of reach.”

 

“Now the question is, ‘What’s the future for that particular part of the workforce?’ ” Yan said. “You can see how this has a total cascading effect.”

And it raises questions about how governments might deal with improving affordability through policy decisions, Yan said.

“What government can do is typically (in) three major areas,” Yan said. “Supply, demand and financing.”

And soaring assessments “certainly talks to (needing) a more directed strategy around supply, (around) being aware of whom you’re trying to house, what you are trying to house them in and where you are going to put it.”

In Squamish, Russell said the district has formed its first housing society with the mandate to support the development of more affordable housing.

At the provincial level, Finance Minister Selina Robinson said government has allocated some $2 billion to build more homes for middle income families and “will keep working with municipalities to streamline the development process and get homes built faster.”

Robinson wasn’t available for an interview Tuesday, but in an emailed response to questions said that “the escalating cost of housing in our province and across the country continues to be concerning.”

The size of assessment increases aren’t surprising themselves, said Bryan Murao, B.C. Assessment’s deputy assessor for the region.

“It’s not the first time that I’ve seen changes like this, (but) it might be the first time for smaller communities like that,” he said.

For parts of Vancouver, West Vancouver and Richmond, however, where the increase in assessments weren’t as steep, Murao said housing hasn’t necessarily reached the peak values they achieved in 2016 or 2017.

In Vancouver, the assessment on a typical detached home rose 16 per cent to almost $2 million, Burnaby was up 19 per cent to $1.72 million and West Van was up 21 per cent to $2.99 million.

“Anecdotally, what we’ve heard is that the ability for people to telecommute, sometimes exclusively, has opened up a lot of opportunities for people to move throughout the province,” Murao said.

And other parts of the province have experienced similarly steep increases. On Vancouver Island, Port Alberni saw a 47 per cent increase in the assessment on a typical detached home to hit $470,000 and Tofino was up 42 per cent to $1.36 million.

Low interest rates have also played a substantial role in driving the cost of housing, said Tom Davidoff, director of the Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate at the University of B.C.’s Sauder School of Business.

“The biggest thing was increase in demand,” Davidoff said, “(but) mortgage interest rates were low to begin with and fell even lower, especially last summer.”

That raises another point of inequality, Yan said, as the low interest rates allowed property owners to leverage the rising value of primary residences to buy second or even third homes.

[email protected]

twitter.com/derrickpenner

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

Douglas Todd: How disastrous has the COVID19 pandemic been for Canadian housing?

Douglas Todd
The Vancouver Sun

Opinion: Ottawa’s war against the pandemic has had an outsized impact on millions of Canadians frozen out of home ownership. But politicians have proved oblivious

 Since the coronavirus hit house prices across Canada have jumped 34 per cent. jpg

Just how much of a disaster has COVID-19 been for housing affordability in Canada? Let us count the ways, if there is a stomach for it.

 

Since the pandemic began in March 2020 house prices across Canada have jumped 34 per cent.

The chasm between average household incomes and home values has grown far worse in Canada than in any other G7 country.

The “grim” reality is affordability is the worst in 31 years, according to RBC economist Robert Hogue. Metro Vancouver, on top of it, has the most out-of-reach properties: The cost of owning in the city now accounts for 64 per cent of residents’ median household income.

The average value of a dwelling in Canada has shot up to $780,000 (US$604,000). That compares to US$312,000 south of the border, which has been buffeted arguably worse by the coronavirus.

In other words, the war against COVID has not only scored a direct hit on restaurants, the cruise ship industry, the entertainment sector and airlines. It’s had an outsized impact on the millions of Canadians frozen out of home ownership. 

 

 

Courtesy of Vancouver real-estate analyst Steve Saretsky

Inflation has risen in most Western countries as Ottawa has heightened monetary stimulation (the printing of money) and handed out extremely low interest rates, to head off a slowdown. But our politicians have gone much further than most.

And that means, as Vancouver Island University real-estate prof. Mark Holland says, “Super-low interest rates are great fiscal policy for economic recovery in most sectors. In our real estate industry, however, (they are) steroids, speed, crack.”

About one in three Canadian adults, more than eight million people, don’t own their own homes. And a recent Ipsos poll found three of four who don’t own, but want to buy, say they can’t afford to. “The situation,” says Ipsos, “has developed into a tragedy for many prospective homeowners.”

 

Of course not everyone in Canada is struggling. Some, indeed, might be rubbing their palms in glee.

During the pandemic housing investors and speculators, both domestic and foreign, have been raking in the profits, at least on paper.

Investors, those who own more than one property, have swelled into the biggest buyer group of all in Toronto. Across the country they now account for one out of five owners.

In the city of Vancouver more than 34 per cent of all residential properties are not occupied by those who own them, while in the city of Toronto the rate is 25 per cent. Investors are especially obsessed with snapping up condo tower units, with some renting them out.

 

 

Real estate agent Karen Staddon keeps a social distance while showing a home to a client wearing a mask. Photo: Christinne Muschi, Reuters Photo by CHRISTINNE MUSCHI /REUTERS

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government has mostly displayed obliviousness, even while home prices have gone up 81 per cent since he was elected six years ago.

While Trudeau and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland produced campaign rhetoric for the September election about how housing should provide shelter for Canadians who live here and not serve as an investment vehicle for the global elite, their actual behaviour has been woefully passive.

The only promise to curb demand on which the Liberals have followed up is trivial. And Trudeau first made it in 2019. On Jan. 1 of next year Ottawa is going to usher in a national one-per cent tax on foreign buyers, piggybacking on those already in place for B.C. and Ontario’s larger cities.

 

As for Trudeau’s copycat campaign pledge to impose a two-year ban on all foreign buyers, first proposed by Conservative Party leader Erin O’Toole, there has been nothing but vague verbiage from the latest of the Liberals’ rotating housing ministers, Ahmed Hussen.

There is no doubt urban Canadian housing is highly desirable to foreign investors. One in five newly built condos in the city of Vancouver were bought by non-Canadians. The rate expands to one in four in Richmond.

University of Waterloo international affairs specialist Bessma Momani, for instance, says too much of China’s investment in Canada has “gone into real estate as a way for Chinese elite to funnel money outside of the country.” But the pressure is coming from wealthy people everywhere.

 

More importantly, the Liberal Party’s promise to mildly tax buyers who don’t hold Canadian passports ignores a much larger prod for prices. Hussen has given no indication he understands the difference between “foreign buyers” and more significant “foreign capital,” much of which streams into Canadian housing through so-called “satellite families.”

That’s why the B.C. NDP pushed for the speculation and vacancy tax, which is aimed at purchases by households where most of the income is earned offshore, where it goes untaxed.

While interest rates, investment schemes and housing supply all impact prices, so does immigration. Even though immigration levels went down during COVID-19, investors were buoyed by Trudeau’s promise to return them to record highs of 400,000 per year, which has happened. Statistics Canada data shows an immigrant, on average, pumps more money into Canadian housing than the domestic born.

These Ottawa policies, which have produced excessive demand on housing, have been especially hard on new immigrants who don’t bring lots of money from their homelands, as well as Canadian-born residents who are young or putting up with the nation’s generally listless wages.

COVID-19 has been unprecedented. But so has the way the Liberals have exacerbated the calamity of housing affordability. While most nations have tempered the worst of the damage, our leaders have mostly tried to divert eyes away from the car crash and its many victims.

[email protected]

@douglastodd

© 2022 Vancouver Sun

B.C. housing market cooling, but June prices up 22 per cent from 2020

Douglas Todd
The Vancouver Sun

The largest June year-to-year price increases were recorded by real estate boards in Vancouver Island, the Interior and the Fraser Valley.

 The B.C. real estate market is starting to normalize, said the B.C. Real Estate Association, which released June sales and listings figures for real estate boards across B.C. on Monday. Photo by Graeme Roy/THE CANADIAN PRESS

Home sales across B.C. are still seeing above-average activity, but it has began to normalize, according to the British Columbia Real Estate Association (BCREA).

 

About 11,070 home sales were recorded on MLS in June, an increase of nearly 35 per cent compared to June last year.

But total home listings were down 23 per cent compared to last June.

“As expected, housing market activity is calming to start the second half of 2021,” said BCREA chief economist Brendon Ogmundson in a statement. “That said, while down from record highs earlier this year, home sales across the province remain well above long-run average levels.”

The slow down in the real-estate market hasn’t cooled down prices, which saw a 22 per cent jump to $910,445 last month, compared to the $745,194 recorded in June 2020.

The largest year-to-year price increases were recorded by real-estate boards in Vancouver Island, the Interior and the Fraser Valley.

 

Powell River home prices soared nearly 36 per cent to $567,231, compared to last June’s $418,137 .

The Kamloops and District Real Estate Association and the Association of Interior Realtors recorded a nearly 29 per cent increase in residential prices, while in the Lower Mainland, Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley saw average home prices go up to $697,250 and $979,521 respectively — an approximately 25 per cent gain compared to the previous June.

Year-over-year listings for June dipped 23 per cent across the province.

At 2,726 units, the number of active residential listings in the Interior is nearly 48 per cent less than last year’s 5,212.

Listings in Vancouver Island also saw a 37 per cent drop in areas covered by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board, and nearly 50 per cent in Victoria, while Chilliwack and the Fraser Valley recorded decreases in listings of 39.5 per cent and 20 per cent respectively.

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