The Ontario government has introduced a bill outlining new rules for the province’s real estate profession that centre on discipline and enforcement, improving professional standards and consumer protection as well as providing greater autonomy for real estate professionals as to how they manage their businesses. The bill would give the Real Estate Council of Ontario […]
By virtue of its name alone, a bully offer doesn’t sound particularly appealing. After all, who likes a bully? In fact, just last month, the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) proposed that the province place a ban on the practice of bully offers. Bully offers, also known as pre-emptive offers, are submitted ahead of the […]
Owning real estate in Toronto can price many out of the market so it’s no surprise some would consider buying a home with a virtual stranger. That’s the thinking behind co-ownership, a buying concept that is on the rise among non-intimate partners because it helps people get a foothold in the city’s prohibitively pricey market. […]
Saving up for a down payment on your first home can seem like a goliath task these days. With the average house price in the GTA fluttering around $700,000, the notion of making a dent in your savings on a down payment may seem daunting, if not insurmountable. If you’ve already been saving your nickels […]
There is so much to learn about buying a home, and let’s face it, dry and boring finances can easily be cast aside as you explore the features of HVAC systems, paint chip shades and new schools for the kids. But the type of mortgage you choose is an important step forward in how to […]
Next to January and February, November might just be one of the year’s most hated months. Its drab and rainy weather does little to endear us, as does its call to winter with cooler temperatures, unwelcome snow and dreaded ice. There aren’t even any terrific holidays this month to buoy us out of our seasonal-related […]
A hard-fought and lengthy battle between the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) and the Competition Bureau ended in late August with a Supreme Court of Canada decision that will permit TREB’s 50,000 Ontario agents to publish home sales data on their websites. The country’s top court refused to hear an appeal from TREB, Canada’s largest […]
Do headaches and hassles come with owning student rental units? Of course, but there are also plenty of opportunities that might just make investing in student housing worthwhile. Let’s look at some facts. The number of domestic and foreign students drawn to Canadian universities and colleges is not going away. In fact, it’s growing. In […]
A common lament in the world of Toronto real estate is that the housing market is in short supply. So when we hear that and then also learn that two per cent of homeowners own properties that are currently vacant, it makes you stop for a minute. Though two per cent might sound like peanuts, […]
There’s a time-worn saying in real estate that location, location, location is everything but anyone who has bought and sold property once or twice knows that success in the market also hinges on timing, timing, timing. If you missed the hot spring market, you’re in luck as fall runs a close second in terms of […]