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Housing Market Update - March 2023

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market is undergoing a strong recovery as the average GTA home price rises to $1,108,606 in March 2023, the highest that it has been since June 2022. This comes off the back of a 23-month low in prices seen in January 2023. As prices once again rise, GTA home sales are also on the rise, with 6,900 home sales during the month of March 2023.

Reasons Not To Overprice Your Home

When you are selling your home, it can be tempting to set a high price with the hope of getting a higher profit, but pricing your home too high can actually have negative consequences. Here are five reasons why:First, a high price can scare away potential buyers, resulting in fewer showings and less interest in the property.Second, even if you receive an offer on an overpriced home, the buyer's lender may not approve the loan if the appraisal comes in lower than the asking price.Third, an overpriced home can hurt your negotiating power, as buyers may feel that they have more bargaining room.Fourth, an overpriced home can lead to a lack of interest from real estate agents, who may be less likely to show the property to their clients.Five, overpricing your home can cause it to be missed by buyers in lower price ranges, resulting in missed opportunities to sell the property to a wider pool of potential buyers.Now, to avoid these consequences, work with a real estate agent to determine an appropriate price that is in line with current market conditions and comparable properties. Pricing your home correctly can help attract more buyers, increase your negotiating power, and ultimately result in a faster and more profitable sale. Who you work with matters.

What Will The Bank of Canada Do On March 8?

The Bank of Canada will make an announcement about interest rates on Wednesday. It is expected that they will not change the rate this time. However, economists will be paying close attention to what the bank says in their statement about their plans for the rest of the year. In January 2022, the Bank of Canada announced its eighth consecutive rate hike and said that they would pause for a while to see how the economy responds to the higher borrowing costs. However, they also made it clear that they might raise rates again if the economy keeps doing well or if inflation remains high. So what do you think? Rates gonna go up on wednesday or are they gonna pause? Who you work with matters.

Housing Market Update - February 2023

Home prices have decreased over the past year due to the Bank of Canada's interest rate hikes. Many homebuyers have chosen to purchase lower-priced homes in order to offset higher borrowing costs. The proportion of home purchases under one million dollars has increased compared to last year.
Now, according to the TRREB, there were 4,783 sales through TRREB's MLS® System in February 2023, this is a 47% drop compared to last year at the same time. The number of new listings entered into the system is also decreased by 40.9% to 8,367. The number of new listings continued to drop year-over-year in the GTA. However a recent ipsos poll suggests that buying intentions have increased for 2023, leading to increased demand and competition between buyers due to the limited supply of listings. This will eventually lead to renewed price growth in many segments of the market, especially those catering to first-time home buyers who are facing increased rental costs.The average selling price for February 2023 was $1,095,617, down 17.9% compared to February 2022. This decrease is partially due to the fact that the proportion of sales below $1,000,000 was 57% in February 2023 compared to 38% a year earlier. However, the average price followed the seasonal trend, increasing relative to January 2023. The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was down year-over-year by a similar annual rate of 17.7%, but has also up on a monthly basis.

The Toronto Vacant Tax

The Toronto Vacant Tax is just one of the many measures that the city's taking to address the housing crisis. The Toronto Vacant Tax is a new policy that aims to address the city's housing crisis. This tax targets residential properties that are left empty for more than 6 months in a year. The idea behind the tax is to encourage property owners to rent out their vacant units and make more rental housing available in the city. Now, the tax will be set at 1 percent of the property's assessed value which could add up to thousands of dollars per year for some property owners. Now, the tax will be levied annually and will be starting right away. This tax will mostly affect owners of second homes, investment properties, and vacant properties. It is not intended to impact those who own and live in their own homes nor will it affect properties that are genuinely undergoing renovations or repairs. The Toronto Vacant Tax is just one of the many measures that the city's taking to address the housing crisis by encouraging property owners to make their vacant units available for rent. Now, the city hopes to increase the supply of affordable rental housing and make Toronto a more accessible and fair place to live.

Are You An AirBnb Host?

Selling your Airbnb? Going tree stuck with a huge HSD bill? Watch this!Are you an Airbnb host planning to sell your property?

If your property was primarily used for short-term rental, you may need to pay HSD on the sale. As the property's primary use was for commercial, not for residential purposes. To avoid this, you can either use the property for personal use for more than 50 percent of the time in 1 given year or make sure that it is at least 10 to 20 percent of the rentals are used for a longer period. Also, if you change the use of the property from a short-term rental to a long-term rental, or personal use, or vice versa, this could trigger a change in use for HSD purposes. Now, this means you may need to pay the HSD based on the property's fair market value at the time of the change. To minimize the tax implications, you may want to consult with an accountant to explore feral options and determine the best course of action for your specific situation. Don't let unexpected HSD obligations catch you off guard. Plan ahead, make an informed decision.

4 Things to Consider Before Buying an Investment Property

1. How much experience do you have & what is the level of your team?
- Comprised with a realtor, financial planner, accountant, lawyer, insurance people, mortgage broker and renovation team.

2. Risk tolerance
- Consist of different levels of risks.

3. How much time can you invest in your investment property & how hands-on will you be?
- Talks about feasibility, talks about logistically close at home. Talking about if you have someone that can handle the stress and projects for you.

4. Time Horizon
- Talks about how long can you invest the money. Property values double every 7 years in Canada. A good 5-year stretch of investment will yield a decent return.

So the first one is how much experience do you have? What is the level of your team? This is very important this is almost the most important thing when it comes to buying an investment property. It is the strength of your team. Your team is comprised of your realtor, your financial planner, your accountant, your lawyer, your insurance people, your mortgage broker, your renovation team if you if you uh get into that kind of property and this is very this is your first step and this is the most important. The second thing you need to consider is risk tolerance. When your real estate is considered one of the safest and most conservative investments however inside of that space, there are different levels of risk. Okay, so, if you're looking at the speculation where you're buying say, land well there and you're hoping for it to develop how much of this how much of your capital is tied up in this, okay, these are examples if you're looking at a flip property you look at a quick turnaround can you tolerate market risks? If you are buying outside of the country can you uh, tolerate financial exchange rate fluctuations. There are varieties that you must also consider. And then number 3, how much time can you invest in your investment property? How, how hands-on will you be? So, this is important because you know if you're gonna buy something 3 hours out from where you are, can you dedicate a day 3 hours of drive there couple hours to fix the issue, 3 hours to drive back. is this feasible? Okay, or is it something you want logistically closer to home? And if none of these work, you prepare to hire a property manager who can handle all of the stress and all of the projects for you. Very important. And the last one we need to consider is a time horizon. How long can you invest the money? Typically, we recommend around 5 years. Because in Canada, every 7 years, you see property values double. So, a good 5-year stretch of an investment will yield a decent return. If you are looking at saying "I have a couple hundred thousand dollars for 6 months" well, you know buying a long term investment is may not be the way to go. Perhaps it's a short term fixed, perhaps it's private lending or something to that effect. Okay, however, it's important to consider your time horizon before you get into this. That's it for now, who you work with matters.

Housing Market Update - January 2023

Summary of sales & average price by region: bit.ly/JanuaryMarketUpdate2023 The start of the year has seen a stable housing market, with the number of January sales and overall average selling price being similar with the December 2022. Despite this, both sales and prices were down compared to the previous year, reflecting the impact of higher borrowing costs on affordability. However, there is good news for homebuyers as the Bank of Canada has announced that interest rate hikes are likely on hold and other factors such as population growth and a tight labor market will continue to support housing demand. The average selling price for January 2023 was $1,038,668, which is slightly lower than December 2022 and 16.4% lower than January 2022. The declining home prices over the past year can be attributed to rising borrowing costs, but the trend of lower negotiated medium-term mortgage rates is expected to continue, providing relief to affordability in 2023. The government is also taking action to enhance housing affordability over the long term, with initiatives to increase housing supply in both the ownership and rental markets. The recent support from Toronto City Council for the Mayor's 2023 Housing Action Plan is a positive step towards addressing these issues. That's all for now on the housing market updates. Stay tuned for more news on real estate and finance.

Benefits of Owning a Student Rental Property

Opt to Buy A Student Rental For Your Child's Education Buy Your Kid's Housing Situation as there's a lack of clean housing. Buy & Rent Out to your child's friends.
1. It will cover for your child's portion in rent.
2. Due to appreciation over the years, would also pay for your child's education.
3. You control who will stay in your child's house.
4. Thus allowing your child to focus more on their education.
5. Student tenants are high quality tenants. - Their parents guarantee payment
6. It is more cost effective to move from a dorm to a house.
7. Tenancy turnover is about 2-4 years til the student graduates, once they do, there is a new steady stream of new student tenants.
8. You get to charge market rents very quickly as your tenants change instead of below market value due to long staying tenants.
9. Students aren't very fussy & don't mind renting in rooms thus increasing home revenue when breaking up into multiple rooms.
10. Sometimes parents prepay rent for a year up front.

Negatives of Owning a Student Rental Property!

1. 8 Month Lease if location not within university belt, but majority is 12 months.
2. You may get an irresponsible student, check in with your tenants.
3. You may get calls in the middle of the night from tenants.
4. Qualifying process for a mortgage is relatively hard.
5. Many students lack a job or credit history.

Documenting my Mexican Vacation & Struggling with a Tenant Issue | Raise Your Rent

Christmas Vacation in Mexico at the Mayan Riviera
Photos from My trip

How To Increase Your Revenue & Decrease Your Expenses | Raise Your Rent

1. Raise Your Rents Check Out These Guidelines: https://youtu.be/lZTiZnOG7zE How To Increase Profitability Of Your Investment Property

Find A Quality Real Estate Agent

➤ Work with realtors that are "IN" the business ➤ Check out their google reviews ➤ Check references of people they've worked with ➤ Must have knowledge of the local neighborhood ➤ Full time agent versus Part time agent ➤ How much experience do they have? ➤ How are they going to work for you? It's important to become an educated buyer.

Why Listing Your Home In December Is A Great Strategy

Christmas is the best time to list your home. ➤ Everybody's away, less competition ➤ Buyers are highly, highly motivated. ➤ Homes are more presentable.

Renting Versus Buying

Free Money & Government Grants for First Time Home Buyers

1. The Home Buyer's Plan 2. Land Transfer Tax Refund 3. The First Time Home Buyer Incentive 4. Home Buyer's Amount on line 31270 of your tax return

Rent Increase Due To Strong Demand & Lack of Supply | Pro Tip

Double-digit year-over-year rent increases continued to be the norm due to higher borrowing costs for home purchase.

More People Are Fleeing Ontario, Where Are They Going? | Pro Tip

A record number of people are leaving Ontario. Where are they going? And why are they leaving?

Why NOW Is The Best Time To Upsize Your Home | Pro Tip

Buy a bigger/larger, more expensive home.. watch to find out more. #ProTip

What Happens To Housing During Recessions | Pro Tip

"Global CEOs see a ‘mild and short’ recession: ↳ More than 8 out of 10 ceos anticipate a recession over the next 12 months "Housing is traditionally one of the first sectors to slow as the economy shifts but is also one of the first to rebound." Mortgage Rates Typically Fall During Recessions: ↳ rates decreased in an attempt to stimulate the economy back up. If you want to buy or sell a home, you can make the best decision by working with a knowledgeable professional that understands how the housing market is impacted by a recession.

😍 ✅ 🎯 Housing Market Update - September 2022 | Pro Tip

The Greater Toronto Area (GTA) housing market continued its adjustment to higher borrowing costs in September 2022.
Sales for the month reached 5,038, but were down by 44.1 per cent compared to September 2021.
New listings were also down on a year-over-year basis by 16.7 per cent to 11,237.
This was the lowest number of new listings reported for the month of September since 2002.
This is especially troublesome given that the stock of homes in the GTA increased markedly over the last 20 years.

😍 ✅ 🎯 How To Choose A Great School Near Your New Home | Pro Tip

Factors to Consider When Buying A Home: ↳ Cost ↳ # of Bedrooms ↳ Layout ↳ Lot size ↳ Square Footage ↳ Neighborhood Schools Tips To Help You Find The Right School For Your Children: 1. Access Comprehensive School Catchment Information 2. Do Your Homework - Check Online Directories 3. Check Out The Reviews Of The School 4. Scroll Through The School's Social Media Feed 5. Talk To Your Future Neighbors 6. Map Out The Commute 7. Visit The Schools #Schools

😍 ✅ 🎯 Mortgage Trigger Rate | Pro Tip

Everything You Need Know: ↳ A tale of two triggers ↳ What is the trigger rate? ↳ What happens when I reach my trigger rate? ↳ What is the trigger point? ↳ What happens when I reach my trigger point? ↳ What should I do if I'm concerned about reaching my trigger rate? ↳ What should I do if I'm concerned about reaching my trigger point? #MortgageTriggerRate

😍 ✅ 🎯 How The Poor & Rich Spend Their Income | Pro Tip

Spending Habits For Poor (Financially Uneducated Person): ↳ Has a Job & Income, ↳ Uses Income to Fund their Expenses Spending Habits For Rich (Financially Educated Person): ↳ Has Income ↳ Takes Income and Invests It in Cash FLowing Assets ↳ Assets like Real Estate, Business, or Stock Portfolio w/ Monthly Dividents ↳ Takes the Cash Flow from them and uses it to fund the Expenses #CashFlow #Dividends

😍 ✅ 🎯 Fall Home Maintenance Tips | Pro Tip

Home Preparation Tips To Help You Be Ready For Fall: Inspect Gutters Check For Drafts On Doors & Windows Have Your Furnace Inspected - Change Filters Replace Batteries - Smoke & Carbon Monoxide Detectors Close Exterior Taps, blow out sprinkler or pool lines

😍 ✅ 🎯 Do Not Discuss Your Strategy Inside The Home | Pro Tip

Sellers Are Listening In To Your Conversation: Smart Devices: Video Camera Motion Sensors Ring Door Alarm Baby Monitors Hold your cards to your chest.

😍 ✅ 🎯 The Bank Of Canada Increase Interest Rates By 75 Basis Points | Pro Tip

COVID 19 Ongoing Supply Change Disruptions War on Ukraine

😍 ✅ 🎯 The Useful Life Of The Major Components Of The Home | Pro Tip

Roof Windows Air Conditioning Furnace Appliances Foundation ⭐ Bring in specialists ⭐

😍 ✅ 🎯 How To Make An Offer In Today's Market | Pro Tip

😍 ✅ 🎯 Questions You Ask A Realtor Before You Hire Them | Pro Tip

Do Your Due Diligence: ↳ Check Online Reviews ↳ How Many Transactions have they done

😍 ✅ 🎯 How To Add Value To Your Property On A Budget | Pro Tip

Add Value and Convenience: "Smart Factor" ↳ Add Smart Features ⭐ Door Locks ⭐ Thermostats ⭐ Smoke Detectors ⭐ Carbon Monoxide Detectors ⭐ Smart Cameras ⭐ Light Switches

😍 ✅ 🎯 Housing Market Update - July 2022 | Pro Tip

😍 ✅ 🎯 3 Things to Consider If You're Buying an Airbnb | Pro Investor Tips

1) Location, Location, Location 2) Time Management 3) Short Term or Ledium Term Rental

😍 ✅ 🎯 How To Respond To Offers | Pro Investor Tips

1) Accept the offer as presented 2) Decline the offer 3) Negotiate or Work with the offer
Things To Look At When Choosing To Work With The Offer 1. Price 2. Closing Date 3. Conditions On The Offer

😍 ✅ 🎯 Guidelines For Rental Increase For 2023 | Pro Investor Tips

↳ How Much Can You Increase Your Tenants Rent? ↳ How to Calculate the Rent Increase? ↳ Correct Way to Distribute the information.

😍 ✅ 🎯 Housing Market Update - July | Pro Investor Tips

Where we are today and where we are heading.

😍 ✅ 🎯 Summer Maintenance Tips To Keep Your Home In Tip Top Condition

1) Replace furnace filters 2) Measure and grade your soil 3) Fill foundation cracks 4) Clean up mold and mildew 5) Replace cracked caulking around windows and doors 6) Replace worn shingles and cracked or bent roof flashing 7) Test your hot water's pressure tank valve 😎 Locate and check main shut off valve for water

😍 ✅ 🎯 Title Insurance | Pro Investor Tips

⭐ What is Title Insurance? ⭐ What are the benefits of Title Insurance? ⭐ Where can you obtain it? ↳ Title insurance is an insurance policy that protects you, the home owner, against challenges to the ownership of your home or from problems related to the title to your home.
↳ Title insurance policies protect you for as long as you own the property.
↳ Title insurance is generally purchased when you buy your home or when you refinance it, although it can be purchased any time after you buy your home.

😍 ✅ 🎯 Should I Buy Or Sell First? | Pro Investor Tips

⚖ It Depends: ↳ Personal Situation ↳ Need for Money ↳ Property Rarity ↳ Market Factors

😍 ✅ 🎯 Costs Of Purchasing A Property In Ontario | Pro Investor Tips

3 Major Costs Involved in Purchasing a Home: 🎯 Land Transfer Tax 🎯 Lawyer Fees 🎯 Moving Fees

😍 ✅ 🎯 What Landlords Need To Know About Rental Scams | Pro Investor Tips

How can you protect your investment from Rental Scams. Best Line of Defense: 🎯 Landlords need to vet their clients properly, seriously! - Find out as much as you can - Avoid Fraud - Check documents are not "altered" - Match information - Check social media profiles - Check paystubs - Call references and previous landlords - Check online banking - Google employer

😍 ✅ 🎯 5 Ways To Make Money From 1 Investment Property | Pro Investor Tips

Yes, Just 1 Real Estate Property. This is why Real Estate is the best investment you can make in growing your wealth.

🎯 Cash Flow 🎯 Appreciation 🎯 Tax Benefits 🎯 Principal Paydowns 🎯 Forced Appreciation

😍 ✅ 🎯 Should you switch to a variable rate or stay in a fixed rate mortgage? | Interest Rate Hike

🎯 What are the rates out there? 🎯 What is the Forecast? 🎯 Are you a risk averse person?

3 Hedging Strategies Against A Rising Interest Rate Environment 🛡️ 📈 💲 | How to Protect Your Wealth

How to Protect Your Wealth

Pro Investor Tips ➡️ Hedge against Rising Interest Rate Environment ➡️ Rate Hike ➡️ Home Owner Options ➡️ Fixed Rate VS Variable Rate

😍 🎯5 Home Renovations That Would Hurt Your Home's Value |

Pro Investor Tips

1. Over The Top Landscaping
2. Excessive Wallpaper
3. Bright and Bold Paint
4. Expanding Bedrooms
5. Too Much Carpeting

 

How Market Conditions Influence The Sale Of Your Home |🤩✅ 🎯

Pro Investor Tips

Adapt Your Strategy: 🎯 To The Season 🎯 To The Market 🎯 To The
Demographics of the Buyer 🎯 To The Location 🎯 To The Price Point

 

🤩✅🎯 Why the Highest Offer is NOT Always the Best Offer | 💰

Price📅 Closing Date☑️ Conditions

You Need to Look at: 💰 Price 📅 Closing Date ☑️ Conditions 🙆 You Need to
vet these clients. 🏘️ You Need to vet the agent.

 

Legal Duplex Conversion

What To Look For When Converting To A Legal Duplex
& What Trends Are We Seeing Right Now?
Pro Investor Tips

You Need to Look for:
☑️ Permitted Uses in the Zoning Bylaws
🏘️ Principal House & Coach House
➡️ Legal Lot Survey
➡️ Property Dimensions & Property Boundaries

☑️ What Trends Right Now:
➡️Bigger Lots
➡️Bigger Buildings

 

🤩✅🎯 How To Improve Your Credit Score | What is a Good Credit

Score | Pro Investor Tips

1. Pay Your Bills On Time 2. Keep Your Credit Utilization Low 3. Pay More
Than the Minimum Payment on Your Credit Card 4. Under-use Your Credit Card
5. Take an Offer to Raise Your Credit Limit 6. Diversify Your Credit Mix 7.
Dispute Errors on Your Credit Report 8. Keep your Oldest Credit Card 9.
Consider a Secured Credit Card

 

🤩✅🎯 Rental Property Tax Deductions | Pro Investor Tips

The following is a list of expenses that are deductible: 🎯 Advertising 🎯
Insurance 🎯 Interest and Bank charges 🎯 Office Expenses 🎯 Professional
Fees (includes legal and accounting fees) 🎯 Management & Administration
fees 🎯 Repairs & Maintenance 🎯 Salaries, Wages, and Benefits (including
employer's contributions) 🎯 Property taxes 🎯 Travel 🎯 Utilities 🎯 Motor
Vehicle Expenses 🎯 Other Rental Expenses 🎯 Prepaid expenses

 

🤩✅🎯 How To Manage Your Rental Properties While You Are On

Vacation

Manage Your Rental Properties While You Are On Vacation

 

🤩✅🎯 Do You Need A Home Inspection? | Pro Investor Tips

Items below are some of the things done in a home inspection: 🎯 Look at
the major systems of the house 🎯 Start with the exterior - roof -
brickwork - siding - the garage - draininage patterns - foundation leakage
- patios - decks 🎯 Enter the house and start from the top and work
yourself down - overall structure - signs of leakage - ventilation -
insulation - mold growth 🎯 Go through the house room by room - every
bedroom - doors - floors - walls - ceilings - electrical outlets - switches
- windows - plugs and switches 🎯 Bit of time spent in the bathrooms and
kitchens - signs of leakage - electrical safety - fixture condition 🎯 Test
any built-in appliance 🎯 Basement - staining - rust - peeling paint -
infrared cameras - moisture meters - electrical panel - wiring - properly
and safely 🎯 Run the furnace and airconditioning 🎯 Everything is
documented - full writted detailed report - lots of pictures - uploaded on
the internet

Real Estate VS Stock Market 📈 🏠 💰 | Who has the better Return On Investment (ROI)? | Leverage

*WATCH THE BEHIND THE SCENES AT THE END

✔️ Stocks vs Real Estate ✔️ The power of Leverage ✔️ Real Estate / Housing Market ✔️ Investment on Rental Property ✔️ Zero Cash Flow ✔️ Mortgage / Equity Paydown

Bulletproofing Your Rental Property 🎯 🏨 💪 | Maximum Usage | Pro Investor Tips

✔️ Flooring ✔️ Appliances ✔️ Countertops ✔️ Wash Rooms ✔️ Smoke Detectors ✔️ Paint

My 2022 Predictions| Real Estate Market 📈 🏷️ 💵 | Taxes, Interest rates, Prices

🎯 Taxes and regulations with regards to your principal home or investment property. (0:33 seconds) 🎯 Interest rates and what's going on with them this year? (1:55 minutes) 🎯 Price Appreciation. Where are prices heading? (2:38 minutes)

5 Tips On Managing Contractors 👷 🏗️ 🔨

1. Get a contract in writing. 2. Communicate clearly and throughout the process. 3. Show up on the job site. 4. Don't pay in advanced. 5. Hold back at least 10% of the contractor fee until you've inspected the job at the end.

Holiday Gift giving for your Tenants ❄️ 🎄 🎁

PRO's: - rewards good tenant behaviour - it shows appreciation - improves relationship - includes tenant retention - tax deductible gift

CON's: - takes time to organize - costs money - upset if they're expecting a gift and don't receive one

Tax consequences of selling your property 🏠 💰 🏨 | Selling Your Principal Home / Investment Property

➡️ Best investment vehicle in Canada. ➡️ No taxes paid on the gains or profit of the sale. ➡️ Great tax deferral basis. ➡️ Capital gains exemption that applies.

Pre Delivery Inspection 🎯 💰 🏠 | Condo Development | P.D.I.

🎯PDI is a pre delivery inspection for the homeowners to come by to take a look at the suite to make sure it's in good condition and to make sure when you move in, the suite is in fantastic shape. 🎯Advantages: - any work that you're unsatisfied with (damaged, missing or incomplete) can be corrected before you move in. - Better situation instead of you having them corrected when you're already moved in.

The BRRRR Method 🎯 💰 🏠 | Buy, Renovate, Rent, Refinance, Repeat

1. Goal is to buy a property. 2. Renovate it. Then, Pull out all or a good portion of your renovation costs along with your down payment. 3. Rent it out. 4. Refinance - pull out all of the equity. 5. Repeat the process from the money back...

How to Find & Screen for Tenants 🏠 🏨 🎯

- put up some ads - put lots of pictures - ad as much of a description of the property - be accessible, give options for text messaging - be quick to respond and look to booking appointments - mark a time slot for open house for tenants - pre-screen tenants on the phone/strong> - background checks - income verification