Hello again. 

For Lease in Yonge-Summerhill - $38 /sq. ft.  1260 Yonge Street

For Lease in Cabbagetown - $2,750/mo  #4 390 Wellesley Street East – Owl House Lane

The Spring Market is upon us...homes in desired locations and in short supply are priced to entice buyers to enter into the dismaying game of the bidding war. 

February sales across the GTA amounted to 5,731 + 2.2% over the 5,613 sales recorded last year. 

The majority of sales were for condominiums, still well supplied depending on location. Free standing, brick single family homes are in short supply. Desirable location? Think village feel: access to shops and restaurants, and in particular, easy access to TTC. 

The average sale price (across the GTA for all types) was $553,193, up 8.6% from Feb 2013’s price of $509,396. A semi in North Riverdale will bring far greater interest than a condo townhouse at Dufferin and Lawrence. 

The MLS® Home Price Index (HPI) Composite Benchmark was up by 7.3 per cent year-over-year. 

“While the strong price growth experienced over the last year should prompt an improvement in the supply of listings, sellers’ market conditions will continue to prevail this year. Home prices, on average, will trend upwards at a pace well-above the rate of inflation. The impact of strong price growth on affordability will be mitigated by low borrowing costs,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. 

Land Transfer Tax

A big stumbling block for many buyers is the current Land Transfer Tax. It adds thousands to an increasingly high sale price. If you buy in Toronto, the amount can be crippling. Especially with the way prices have gone up. Click here for the calculator. 

This tax accounts for 50% of the revenue that comes into the city, paying for repairs to our crumbling infrastructure. In 2010, the $60 car registration fee was axed, losing $64 million in revenue and placing the responsibility squarely on the shoulders of home owners through our property taxation and the Land Transfer Tax. The Toronto Real Estate Board has been lobbying for a couple of years to have this tax removed. If it is, where would this money come from? 

If you are a first time buyer there is a rebate. Please click here for the government rules. For anyone buying a $400, 000 home in the Toronto, the tax would be $3,725. On a million dollar home, that amount rises to $32,000. 

Changes to CMHC premiums

CMHC insures a mortgage with less than a 20% down payment for the lenders in case of default. 

May 1st, premium rates go up from .1% to .4%. On a $250,000 mortgage where the buyer has 5% as a down payment, the interest rate is 3.49%, the buyer is looking at an additional charge over the length of the mortgage of approximately $1000. Generally hidden in the mortgage payments it can be paid as a lump sum. 

House Values

Our net worth has gone up with the increase of prices…so has our personal debt. But not as fast as the value of our houses. Interested to know what your home is worth? Give me a call. 

Canadians are investing more in their properties than they are in stocks and bonds. In the past 5 or 6 years, values have increased by 45%...far greater in some Toronto pockets. 

Here is a quick sample comparing sold prices for houses 2008 with 2013:

CO3. Oakwood Vaughan: 
2008: 14 X 3 beds, 2 bathrooms detached sold with an average price of $390,243, 98.5% of asking, 25 days on market 
2013: 8 X 3 beds, 2 bathrooms detached sold with an average price of $600,300 97% of asking, 28 days on market 

C04: Bedford Nortown:
2008: 6 X 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms sold: $798,667. 98.67% of asking, 25 days on market
2013: 5 X 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms sold: 98.67% of asking, 25 days on market. 

C08: Cabbagetown: 
2008: 2 X 3 bedrooms, 2 bathroom semis sold: $566,500. $566,500. 99% of asking. 8 days on market.
2013: 4 X 3 bedrooms, 2 bathroom semis sold: $814,472. 105.25% of asking. 9 days on the market. 

E02: Woodbine Corridor:
2008: 21 X 3 beds 2 bath semis sold: $426,650. 102% of asking. 19 days on the market.
2013: 20 X 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom semis sold: $576,954. 106% of asking. 8 days on market. 

E10: Rouge:
2008: 8 detached 3 bedroom 2 bathroom homes sold: $334,081. 99% of asking. 19 days on market
2013: 6 detached 3 bedroom 3 bathroom homes sold: $464, 250. 100% of asking. 14 days on the market. 

And condos:

C01 Bay St. Corridor:
2008: 92 X 2 beds 2 bathroom 1 parking condos sold. Average price: $461,178. 26 days on market. 98% of asking.
2013: 180 X 2 beds 2 bathroom 1 parking condos sold. Average price: $584,219. 36 days on market. 98% of asking. 

C02: Yonge/St. Clair Corridor:
2008: 30 X 2 beds 2 bath 1 parking condos sold. Average price: $563,496. 28 days on market. 98% of asking.
2013: 45 X 2 beds 2 bath condos sold. Average price: $673,727. 36 days on market. 98% of asking. 

C07: Willowdale West:
2008: 54 X 2 bedroom 2 bathroom condos sold. Average price: $326,098. 98% of asking. 29 days on market.
2013: 180 X 2 bedroom 2 bathroom 1 parking condos sold. Average price: $401,632, 98% of asking. 36 days on market. 

Is our market overvalued?

There have been various articles written over the past weeks about Toronto real estate being over valued by 10%: TD Bank, Globe and Mail, Financial Post, The Star and this cover story on the front page of the March 2014 edition of Toronto Life. “Real Estate Cheat Sheet: Change is coming to the Toronto market, but nobody knows when”. 

The market will correct when buying becomes unaffordable, when rates go up. A big rate hike would be disastrous. There is a shortage of properties in the central core, south of the 401, along the subway line, properties with a high “walk score”. People like to be able to get around the city on foot and not rely on a car. We have not made the top ten list of most expensive cities in the world. Click here to view them. 

Affordability in Toronto is deteriorating: click here for the housing charts showing comparisons with the past three years. 

Cabbagetown: neighbourhood watch

Cabbagetown

Most of my Canadian life has been spent in the highly picturesque Victorian Cabbagetown. This is the pocket bordered by Riverdale Park to the east, Parliament to the west, Gerrard to the south, Wellesley to the north. It is an easy walk down to Queen Street, or across the valley to the Danforth. 

Cabbagetown during the depression was a slum. At this time, the area was still populated with impoverished Irishmen. They grew cabbages in their front yards just like they had during the Irish Potato famine, the smell of boiled cabbages wafting into the illustrious homes on Sherbourne...hence the nickname. 

The sixties saw the advent of careless city planning. Toronto’s grand Victorian homes south of Gerrard were razed to the ground. Regent’s Park was built to house the impoverished. High density living for some of the poorest in the city resulted in squalor and crime. 

In the 1970’s, an enterprising real estate broker , Darrell Kent, started a “gentrification” process. These once fine homes, many of which were run down, used by the city as community housing, rooming houses, were restored to their original grandeur. These homes are now protected by their heritage designation. They look Victorian on the outside, but many are remodeled and renovated on the inside. The humblest sell in the $700,000 range, the grandest detached 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom home selling for upwards of $2,500,000. 

Riverdale Farm, once home to the Toronto Zoo, is great for petting. A worthy monument to a bygone age is the Necropolis, built in 1850. Walking around there on a fine summer evening, the headstones read like a Who’s who of Canada, including William Lyon Mckenzie, John Ross Robertson, and most recently jack Layton. 

There is a village feel, with lovely restaurants, small owner operated stores, a superb butcher: Jamestown Steak and Chops, great parks. The Riverdale Park houses a Farmer’s Market May through October. May 4th Cabbagetown welcomes spring with the Forsythia Festival, a parade ending in Wellesley Park for food, fun and games. 

Want to give it a try? I have a great rental available: detached town home. Lots of space, lots of light. Close to the park. Wood floors throughout. Click here for more details 

Thanks as always for your support. I couldn’t do this without you! 

Louisa