Real Estate Update

4 best practices for using social media in 2020

REM

Whether you are investing time, money or both, it is crucial to see a return on investment on your social media in terms of reach, brand building, lead generation, and yes, sales. So to help you make the most of your social media investment, here are four best practices that Realtors need to employ when utilizing social media this year.

What’s the short-term future of residential real estate? We asked 7 market experts

Toronto Life

Despite a global pandemic, house prices in the notoriously durable residential real estate market have climbed upward for the past few months, much to the disbelief of some industry insiders. After all, horrific economic conditions should precipitate a decline in an industry that relies heavily on people investing fat sums of cash, right? That said, common sense would suggest that the housing market will inevitably correct itself, flatten out to better reflect the state of the local economy. We asked seven market experts whether a housing crash is on the horizon.

Here's where house prices are rising the fastest in Toronto right now

blogTO

A limited supply of houses for sale, paired with rising demand as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions lift, have caused real estate prices in Toronto to skyrocket over the past few months — and nowhere has this been observed more acutely than on the detached housing market.

Canadian real estate defies COVID, sales up 63% in June

Canadian Mortgage Trends

National home sales shot up in June, with prices also climbing steadily, according to June data released today by the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). Transactions were up about 15.2%, while the average property price was up 6.5% from June 2019 to $539,000. Excluding the country’s most expensive markets, Toronto and Vancouver, the average price falls to $432,000.

Real estate industry emerging from COVID-19 but new reality anything but normal

CBC News

Leave the doors open and all the lights on. That's one of the many new guidelines for people opening their homes — perhaps for the first time in months — so real estate agents can host open houses.

New OREA research finds desires changing, optimism rising among Ontario renters and homeowners

Mortgage Broker News

The Ontario Real Estate Association and Nanos Research provided the province's realtors with a possible glimpse into the future. The groups' joint release, Pulse Check on Consumer Attitudes, found that an overwhelming percentage of Ontarians actively involved in the housing market now consider rural or suburban living a more attractive option than they did only a few months ago. During the webcast that accompanied the Pulse Check's release, Nick Nanos was quick to tamp down any talk of an out-and-out desertion of the GTA by homebuyers.

Substantial townhouse development proposed for Mississauga

Insauga

Those who have been clamouring for more low-rise housing in the city might be pleased to hear that a fairly substantial townhouse development has been proposed for Mississauga. According to a recent Planning and Development Committee report, home builder Mattamy Ltd. has submitted an application to allow the construction of 119 townhomes on the west side of Ninth Line, just north of Eglinton Avenue West. If approved, the development will consist of 15 dual frontage townhomes, 63 condominium townhomes, 17 street townhomes and 24 back-to-back townhomes on private condominium roads and a new public road that will connect to Ninth Line.

Another Canadian real estate headwind: International students told to delay plans

Better Dwelling

Canadian real estate is seeing another demand side factor disappear — international students. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data shows international student permit holders admitted, made a sharp decline in Q2 2020. The decline will continue into the fall, or drop further, as the government warns students may not be admitted due to the pandemic. Canada typically has hundreds of thousands of international students, which applies demand pressures on housing. With their extended absence, hundreds of thousands of homes will be sitting empty.

What happens to real estate during a divorce?

MoneySense

Divorce is a time of emotional and financial turmoil, which is hard enough — but then you also have to tackle tough questions about who owns what, and who owes what. Here’s what you need to know to make those calculations, and decide what to do with the matrimonial home.

REM 
The holidays are fast approaching! Whether you’re looking to spend time with your family, lay on the beach or just unplug, the last thing you want to be doing is working.  READ MORE

Insauga 
It's no secret that it's not easy to purchase a home in Mississauga. Although recent data indicated that Mississauga is neither a buyers’ nor a sellers’ market, November’s market proved to be a tough one for those looking to purchase a home in Canada’s sixth largest city.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling 
Toronto real estate buyers may be paying slightly more than last year, but there’s a lot less of them. Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) numbers show November at a multi-year low for sales. Toronto’s sales low came with higher than average inventory, but prices still moved higher due to a condo apartments.  READ MORE

InBrampton 
The quantity of housing is becoming an increasingly important issue in the years ahead, what with real estate prices in the state they're in and the lack of affordable housing in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton area. Now, there's a risk that there won't be enough in the next few decades.  READ MORE

REM 
You know, the likelihood of getting stuck in a client’s home in the middle of the summer is probably pretty low, unless you’re wearing a new cashmere blazer and there’s a wet layer of fog lurking outside. Depending on where you work in Canada though, you might just find yourself stuck in someone else’s home in the middle of a blizzard. READ MORE

Insauga 
For many people, homeownership is a dream — and it's a dream that's slipping further and further out of reach in a city (and province) where detached homes cost up to or well over $1 million and basic one-bedroom condos cost well over $300,000.  READ MORE

Mississauga News 
Provincial policies have caused delays in approvals and the land development process for municipalities, making new homes less affordable, says the Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) in a news release. “Growth policies implemented by the former provincial government from 2006 and 2017 have reduced the amount of available land for new housing communities, increased land prices and have caused home prices to skyrocket,” said BILD CEO and President Dave Wilkes, in a statement.  READ MORE

REM 
Once your sphere/database has been exhausted you need a new source for clients. There are offline methods for developing leads and clients such as open houses, door knocking and cold calling, but online is where it’s at these days.  READ MORE

The Star 
A conversation about housing has to start with numbers. Whether you’re a tenant struggling to find a home or a government crafting new policy during a nationwide housing crisis, you need to have a grip on good data.  READ MORE

Globe and Mail 
It seemed like fate for Mario Castillo to move his family from Ottawa to Smiths Falls, despite some initial reservations. Mr. Castillo, now the regional general manager for Canopy Growth Corp., says he and his wife had been looking at homes in the Ontario town, about an hour from Ottawa, for nearly five years.  READ MORE

Mississauga News 
Metrolinx is committed to bringing more GO Transit services to the Region of Peel, says Judy Pfeifer, chief communications and public affairs officer of the regional transportation agency. “We are dedicated to bringing more services to this region,” said Pfeifer, who was speaking at a recent Peel Region commercial forum organized by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). READ MORE

REM 
Most people like free stuff. Heck, some folks go to tradeshows and take swag just because it’s free, whether they need it or not. How many times did you grab an information packet, or a bag or a pen just because somebody handed it to you? When you got home, you either forgot about it or dumped it in the recycling bin.  READ MORE

REM 
Compared to 10 years ago, buying or renting a home has become more of a challenge in both Canada and the United States. But a report by Point2Homes says it’s now much tougher for Canadians.  READ MORE

Insauga 
While not everyone loves condos (because they blot out the sun, or something along those lines?), most residents will have to square with the fact that condo towers will continue to dot Mississauga's ever-evolving skyline. In fact, the city could welcome 46 new towers to the City Centre area over the next 10 years.  READ MORE

REM 
When she was writing her third book, Tahani Aburaneh, broker of record for Urban Living Realty in Kitchener, ON, happened across a shocking statistic. She says 80 per cent of those who are poverty stricken are elderly women. She saw it as a sign and has made it her mission to spread her real estate investment knowledge to change those numbers. She created Females in Real Estate (FIRE), a free Facebook online community, to help women gain confidence, realize their potential and make money investing in real estate.  READ MORE

Toronto Storeys 
The real estate race is on for recreational cannabis retailers. Though the use of recreational cannabis was made legal across all Canada last month, dispensaries in Ontario are still waiting to set up shop.  READ MORE

Insauga 
While cannabis has been legal throughout Canada since Oct. 17, it's not yet clear what kind of affect the newly legalized substance will have on the country's real estate and rental market. As you no doubt recall, Bill C-45 — the Cannabis Act — allows Canadians to purchase, consume and grow limited amounts of cannabis from a provincially-regulated retailer (as of now, that's the Ontario Cannabis Store, which is an e-commerce platform). READ MORE

REM 
Most salespeople are willing to budget for a sensible marketing plan, but some worry to the point of inaction. A common worry is, “Who knows what new technology will come out next year and make everything obsolete?” READ MORE

Globe and Mail 
Two Toronto-area startups are betting that a combination of technology, regulatory changes and consumer behaviour have created the conditions necessary to finally bring about a transformation of the country’s traditional real estate model. Regan McGee, chief executive of startup Nobul (which he describes as a marketplace platform where potential buyers and sellers get bids for service from realtors), says that, in recent years, accumulation of anti-trust and competition regulations in the United States and Canada have pushed the industry to a tipping point. READ MORE

REM 
There are few industries that covet personal accolades as much as the real estate industry. We have all seen the Facebook, Instagram and Twitter posts from fellow Realtors thanking their clients for putting their trust in them, so they were No. 7 in the office this month. Does any of that matter? Do those awards actually translate into future business? Or are they simply a well-worded humble brag?  READ MORE

Financial Post 
They are calling it the green rush. Some are invoking comparisons with the Wild West. The legalization of recreational marijuana has generated tremendous interest and investment from all quarters, and the world of real estate has been no exception.  READ MORE

REM 
The roller coaster of marketing ideas continues to take over the real estate industry. As we search for new ways to get business, it seems that the easy answer is to spend money on a technology-based tool — such as a new website, social media, chatbots or any type of online advertising. Why? Because this new world of “lead gen” is what’s going to make the big difference in the amount of business you will do in a year. Or will it?  READ MORE

Mortgage Broker News 
Toronto real estate is set for another boom in the near future. Thanks to the city’s flourishing tech sector, Ron Sally believes the city’s condo market is going to catch fire.  READ MORE

CP24 
Real estate prices may be showing signs of easing but Canada's housing market remains "highly vulnerable," according to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation. The federal agency says that stricter mortgage rules, rising interest rates and smaller growth in inflation-adjusted disposable income has led to less demand for housing and a decline in prices.  READ MORE

The Huffington Post 
U.S. real estate website Zillow is expanding to offer listings for homes in Canada for sale. Zillow says it has agreements to receive more than 50,000 listings from Canadian brokerages and franchisors.  READ MORE

Toronto Star 
To be eligible to trade in real estate in Ontario, sales reps, brokers and brokerages must register with the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO). As well, sales reps and brokers must be employed by a registered real estate brokerage.  READ MORE

REM 
Here are three sales techniques that may help you secure a sale. In this video, Bruce Keith outlines how the Numbers Twice Technique, the Pick One Technique and a Sales Conversation no-no will help you out when you need it.  READ MORE

Toronto Star 
The Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) is recommending the province adopt a new open bidding process that could be a game changer for home buyers, who are currently forced to bid blind against competing offers in Toronto’s hot housing market. Under the current rules, realtors aren’t allowed to share the details of an offer with anyone other than the home seller. That means consumers, facing competition from other buyers, have no idea what money or conditions they are bidding against.  READ MORE

Insauga 
It’s no surprise to hear that it can be prohibitively expensive to purchase a home in some of the Greater Toronto Area's most in-demand cities. However, if you take a look across the country, the issue of real estate prices is not confined to just the GTA alone.  READ MORE

REM 
People are exposed to mould spores daily in the air they breathe. However, sometimes mould can grow excessively in certain areas called “amplification sites” and can cause different types of illnesses.  READ MORE

Global News 
Private and public sector employers — and the millions of Canadians that work for them — have been scrambling to set boundaries for the use of marijuana, both on the job and off the clock. The boundaries vary substantially: Canadian prison guards will not be allowed to smoke 24 hours before working, while the Royal Canadian Mounted Police has banned members from smoking pot for nearly a month ahead of working a shift.  READ MORE

Toronto Star 
The Toronto region’s housing recovery has yet to take hold in the most of the 905-area communities surrounding the city. Despite third-quarter gains in the City of Toronto and Mississauga, the average home price across the GTA declined 0.4 per cent year-over-year to $836,402 in that period.  READ MORE

The Huffington Post 
It may regularly make headlines for its high real estate prices, but a new study on Ontario's housing markets shows Toronto isn't the province's least affordable city. A new report from Zoocasa looked at 28 housing markets in Ontario and compared median household incomes to the average housing prices as of August 2018, and assumed a 20-per-cent down payment is made at a mortgage rate of 3.14 per cent with a 30-year amortization. The larger the gap between how much money a household would need to buy a home and the amount a household actually earns, the less affordable that market is.  READ MORE

CTV News 
The country's real estate market may be taking a breather, but a new survey suggests the vast majority of recent homebuyers are maxing out their budgets to purchase their first homes. In its annual mortgage consumer study, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. found that 85 per cent of first-time buyers reported spending the most they could afford on their property.  READ MORE

REM 
Samuel de Champlain and 32 colonists settled on the site of Quebec City in 1608. He and the surveyors that followed laid out farm lots for settlers, town sites, canals and railways. Surveyors were largely responsible for the creation of settlement patterns to accommodate waves of immigration and aboriginal land claims.  READ MORE

Globe and Mail 
A data access deal between the Toronto Real Estate Board and a neighbouring board will for the first time expand the geographic reach of new competition rules that have allowed Canadian house hunters more access to such critical data as sold prices, expired listings and agent performance. In August, the Supreme Court ruled that TREB must comply with a 2016 Competition Tribunal ruling that ordered the real estate board to end a practice of blocking members from publishing online such disputed data as sold prices. The order only applied to TREB and its 52,000 members, but the data restrictions the tribunal banned are common across other local real estate boards around the country, with the exception of the Maritimes.  READ MORE

Toronto Star 
Mississauga could house nearly half a million more people in the next 30 years without having to spread out into the countryside or up into skyscrapers, according to a new report from the Ryerson City Building Institute. Using Mississauga as a case study, the report, titled “Finding the Missing Middle in the GTHA,” says building in the “missing middle” — multi-unit housing with access to schools, services and work — could bridge the gap between central but small downtown condos and suburban homes that come with long commutes.  READ MORE

Insauga 
It looks like things are getting exciting — or concerning, depending on your perspective and general anxiety level — for Mississauga’s real estate market. Heavily tied to Toronto’s housing market due to proximity, Mississauga and the GTA could be in some hot water when it comes to housing prices.  READ MORE

Bidding wars: Win or walk?

REM 
In an ideal world, your buyer is the only bidder on their dream home. However, unless all the planets are impeccably aligned and you’re in the midst of a balanced or buyers’ market, you and your buyer may find yourselves in the unenviable position of having to compete with another anxious buyer (or several) who shares your client’s ideal of what constitutes a dream home. When should you encourage your buyer to walk away from a war? Does the procedure involve a logical strategy for buyer or seller, or does it all boil down to gut feeling? How can a seller maximize the benefit of a multiple bid?  READ MORE

Financial Post 
Sotheby’s International Realty Canada has released its latest luxury real estate report. Sotheby’s CEO Brad Henderson sits down with the Financial Post’s Larysa Harapyn to break down what’s happening in the market across Canada.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling 
Swiss mega-bank UBS updated their Bubble Index, with Toronto and Vancouver making the list. Actually, they didn’t just make the list — they were in the top 5. Toronto ranked third, and Vancouver was right behind in fourth. The bank further added that rising rates and decreased affordability limit further upside in the medium and long-run.  READ MORE

REM 
We’ve all been faced with an overpriced listing at some point in our real estate journey. How do you deal with that? How do you get your client to list the house at the fair market price?  READ MORE 
 

REM 
Real estate brokerages in Ontario that work with consumers to arrange short-term accommodations are being told they must become licensed as travel agents. The Travel Industry Council of Ontario (TICO) has begun a campaign targeting real estate brokerages with threats of legal action because they work with consumers arranging short-term accommodations, says the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). TICO is sending “compliance letters” to Realtors demanding that they become registered as travel agents.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling 
Canadian real estate prices are seeing slowing growth, but still printed a new record. The Teranet-National Bank House Price Index (Teranet HPI) shows a major slowdown in August. Canada’s largest markets saw the slowest price growth they’ve seen since 2009.  READ MORE

Financial Post 
The Toronto Real Estate Board says it is still reviewing a handful of issues associated with releasing Greater Toronto Area sales data, but it will make a password-protected feed with the numbers available to realtors. In an email to members obtained by The Canadian Press, the board says the feed can only be used to engage with residential real estate brokerage services and any other uses are not permitted under TREB agreements.  READ MORE

Global News 
The Ontario Real Estate Association is calling on the province to intervene in an alleged push from the Travel Industry Council of Ontario to force realtors to register as travel agents if they want to arrange short-term rentals for Ontario clients. In a letter to Minister of Government and Consumer Services Todd Smith, OREA chief executive Tim Hudak asks Smith to have his staff sit down with all of the sides and come to an agreement that doesn’t force realtors to register with their own regulatory body and TICO.  READ MORE

REM 
A lead comes in. You call. No answer. You email. No response. Crickets. Sound familiar? In my previous post, I talked about why not all leads are created equal. Another common challenge I hear when talking to Realtors centres around conversion and the frustration of not being able to turn leads into clients.  READ MORE

Globe and Mail 
The Toronto Real Estate Board has issued a stern warning to agents not to enter “inaccurate sold prices” of a real estate transaction into the multiple listing system, even if their clients are concerned about privacy. The warning came one day after a number of Toronto real estate professionals began circulating a screenshot on Twitter that showed an MLS listing that claimed a house priced at $3.1 million had been sold for $1.  READ MORE 
 

REM 
Starting a new career as a real estate professional requires a lot of planning and investment of both time and finances. Based on interviews with Realtors, some new to the field and some with years of experience who are at the top of their game, REM was able to develop some guidelines for people who are thinking of becoming Realtors or are new to the business. Here are a few best practices recommendations that stood out as a common thread.  READ MORE 

Mortgage Broker News 
Sales of new homes in the Greater Toronto Area fell by 44 per cent on a year-over-year basis in July, per the latest data from the Altus Group. "New home sales in the GTA typically take a breather in the summer months compared to the spring," Altus Group executive VP Patricia Arsenault said. "This July was no exception, although minimal new project launches in July, along with declining affordability of new condominium apartments due to recent price escalation, amplified the June-to-July decline in sales somewhat this year."  READ MORE

CBC News 
John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty Inc., said he believes lower house prices have led to more vacant homes on the market in the Greater Toronto Area, likely due to "stubborn sellers" holding out for a return to 2017 prices. Pasalis went through the data and found that 28 per cent of GTA properties listed for sale are advertised on the MLS as being vacant. That number is up 17 per cent from last year, he said, adding that the actual number of vacant properties is likely higher.  READ MORE

The Globe and Mail 
After a Supreme Court ruling, the war for control of Toronto real estate data should be over. But the victorious Competition Bureau, the defeated Toronto Real Estate Board and even many of the board's own members remain at odds on a number of legal and technical details. The most pressing dispute seems to be over timing.  READ MORE

REM 
It's one thing to say, "I'm going to have a social media strategy," or "I'm going totally online for all my marketing." It's another thing to actually have a strategy for how much you're going to spend, who you're going to target as your audience and what support you're going to provide to this strategy.  READ MORE

HuffPost Canada (opinion) 
A little over a week since the Supreme Court's decision not to hear an appeal from the Toronto Real Estate Board on the release of home sales data, it's clear that this opening up of data about home listings will be slow going, if it goes at all. While some websites have popped up offering the enhanced housing data on the Toronto market, real estate boards around the country aren't exactly jumping to follow suit.  READ MORE 
 

Financial Post
The Supreme Court of Canada has refused to hear an appeal from the Toronto Real Estate Board in a dispute over access to real estate data, a decision that is expected to open new opportunities to make home sales histories and other market information widely available online. Immediately following the decision, real estate websites including Zoocasa and HouseSigma began publishing sold prices next to the property listings on their websites. That's likely just the beginning, provided no further challenges emerge, said John Andrews, a real estate professor at Queen's University.  READ MORE

Canadian Mortgage Trends
The MLS® Home Price Index released by the Canadian Real Estate Association was up 2.1 percent to $634,300 this July from July 2017. July is the first month since April 2017 that these benchmark prices have grown year-over-year. The gains are likely due to the Greater Toronto Area rebounding from the psychological effect of the Ontario Fair Housing Plan announced in April 2017, which included 16 measures designed to cool the market.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling
Canada saw less new buyers last year. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation numbers show mortgages to new owners saw a huge decline last year. Despite the huge decline, the average balance of these new mortgages inflated. New homebuyers are taking out less mortgages, but much larger ones — especially in the suburbs.  READ MORE

REM
You know how to market your homes for sale, but many agents feel at a loss when it comes to getting themselves some exposure. Here are some ideas you can use over and over again that anyone can easily follow for a successful online marketing campaign.  READ MORE

Brampton Guardian
According to a report from Point2 Homes, a Saskatoon-based real estate search portal, 71 per cent of millennials in Mississauga and 70 per cent in Brampton are planning on buying a home within the following year. Only problem is, most prospective homebuyers between the ages of 25 and 38 in those two cities have nowhere near the kind of savings required to do so.  READ MORE

Real Estate Professional
Canadian residential real estate is the third-most overvalued worldwide, according to a new global price analysis by The Economist. Trailing just behind New Zealand and Australia, Canada's homes are estimated to be 56 per cent more expensive than they should be.  READ MORE

REM
Do you feel like you're spending way too much time marketing and not enough time on other aspects of your business? (Or your life?) One of the many benefits of using marketing tools like email and social media is the ability to automate. Once the systems are set up, they work in the background and help nurture prospects through the sales funnel, leaving you more time to do more important things.  READ MORE
 

REM
Closing a real estate transaction generally ushers in feelings of excitement and relief. The funds have officially made their way into the seller’s account, and all parties can rest easy after a month or more in limbo. But not so fast! Before the keys are handed over, the buyer has to shell out for the most reviled of closing costs: land transfer tax (LTT).  READ MORE

Toronto Star
If a lawyer receives an incentive from a title insurance company for arranging a client’s policy, who should get the benefit: the lawyer or the client? This question is at the core of an investigation now underway by a working group of directors (also known as benchers) of the Law Society of Ontario. This group has been considering practices involving the payment of fees and the offer of benefits by title insurers to real estate lawyers, or their staff.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling
Canadian real estate debt is at epic levels, but who are these people borrowing? The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Equifax provided us with a breakdown of debt, shedding a little light on homeownership at the end of 2017. Despite elevated home prices across Canada, there’s over a million millennial homeowners. Even more surprising is there’s even more older Canadians with a lot of debt attached to their home.  READ MORE

Financial Post
Canada is not just running out of residential real estate in its key markets — the country’s commercial and industrial real estate is also filling up fast. Availability of industrial property across the country fell to a historically low level of 3.9 per cent in 2018, while supply tightened in eight of the 10 major commercial real estate markets, according to CBRE Group, the real estate services and investment firm.  READ MORE

REM
Being great at sales and giving exceptional service to customers doesn’t necessarily translate into someone being a great leader and manager. I recently worked with a Realtor for seven months to hire an office manager for her team. Let me say that again: SEVEN MONTHS! I presented her with some of the industry’s best office managers, both licensed and unlicensed. What I experienced in that time and what the candidates were put through during this period was completely unprofessional and I was shocked that this was coming from someone who is renowned in her industry.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling
Peak Canadian real estate investment is behind us, according to another indicator. Statistics Canada (StatCan) numbers show residential investment as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is moving lower. Taking a dive through unadjusted data, we can see this trend is primed to head much lower soon.  READ MORE
 

Mississauga News via Mississauga.com
A recent report from the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) showed a huge spike in the monthly cost to rent a townhouse or condo in Canada’s sixth largest city. In its most recent quarterly analysis of townhouse and apartment-style condominium listings and rentals, TREB reported the average monthly cost to rent a one-bedroom unit in Mississauga between April and June at $1,890. That was up 5.3 per cent from an average of $1,794 in first three months of the year.  READ MORE

Better Dwelling
Canadian real estate sales are slowing in the country’s biggest markets. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) numbers show June 2018 saw large declines compared to last year. Most of Canada’s major markets faced declines, but British Columbia bared the brunt of them.  READ MORE

Quicken Loans
Real estate agent safety isn’t a new or uncommon topic in industry conversation, but it’s definitely one that bears repeating. On a regular basis, real estate agents interact with new clients, oftentimes in unfamiliar environments. Therefore, they need to be constantly aware of their surroundings and client intentions.  READ MORE

REM
During the last 20 years the real estate landscape has changed dramatically as technology stepped into our lives and in some cases took over. Technology has sped up communication, has allowed us to be more productive with paperwork and has allowed us a different level of exposure in our business. What was real estate like 20 years ago?  READ MORE

Forbes
The 2017 Commercial Real Estate Lending Trends Survey by the National Association of Realtors® confirmed that only 30 per cent of all commercial real estate transactions are all-cash. That is why for the vast majority of transactions, the prospective seller and their agent will always defer to the buyer with proven financing in place versus the offer that only has empty promises as proof they will get the money to close the deal.  READ MORE

Mortgage Broker News
While the Toronto residential market has seen the median cost of its housing shrink in Q2 2018, price growth accelerated in other major Ontario locales such as Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, according to the latest Royal LePage House Price Survey and Market Survey Forecast. The average price of a standard 2-storey home increased by 8.9 per cent annually across the region (up to $515,733) in the second quarter of the year.  READ MORE

Insauga
The GTA’s new home market is facing some challenges according to announcements made on Wednesday May 23. The Building Industry and Land Development Association (BILD) announced that through the month of April, the new home market had lower sales than usual, which resulted in an increase in remaining inventory.  READ MORE

Insauga
While the real estate market in Mississauga and beyond has become known for its costliness, it's actually remained somewhat steady in terms of price fluctuations over the past few months. And although prices are high (albeit not as high as they were in the chaotic winter months of 2017), some prospective homeowners are taking comfort in the fact that they aren't rising significantly month-over-month  READ MORE

Forbes
This year has been one of twists and turns for the real estate market. As with every real estate year, the market can shift in an instant. For this reason, real estate professionals need to keep their eyes open for the next up-and-coming trend to hit the market and cause a stir.  READ MORE

REM
Blockchain technology is popping up everywhere and rightfully so. From start-up venture to public blue-chip companies, vast resources are being channeled toward implementing a blockchain strategy. You can spend days or weeks researching how blockchain is going to change business modeling, in particular commerce. There is a lot of deja-vu, going back to the late 1990s when entrepreneurs and businesses were chasing how to embrace the new internet. The race is on and we’re still in the very early days.  READ MORE

Cision
Price appreciation in the second quarter of 2018 showed a marked improvement over Q1 figures, with the average price of a single-detached home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on par or climbing in 75 per cent of Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) districts, according to a report released today by RE/MAX INTEGRA Ontario-Atlantic Region. The RE/MAX Hot Pocket Report examined sales and average prices of detached homes in 65 TREB districts for the first and second quarters of 2018. The quarterly comparison found that second-quarter sales were up almost across the board (63 out of 65 districts) with average prices on par or rising in three-quarters of GTA markets (49 of 65 districts).  READ MORE

CBC News
Home sales in the Greater Toronto Area rose 2.4 per cent in June compared to the same month a year ago, and were 17.6 per cent higher compared to May, according to the latest data released by the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB). The slight year-over-year increase followed a steep sales drop of 22.2 per cent in May across the GTA compared to May 2017, reflecting what TREB says is a continuing trend of volatile buyer reaction to various policy changes impacting the market.  READ MORE