Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top real estate stories.
Canadian Real Estate
Foreign Buyers Apply Pressure To “Affordable” Housing In Toronto And Vancouver
The number of non-resident (a.k.a. foreign buyers) may not be as important, as the distribution of them. According to Statistics Canada, Toronto residents had a median home value of $583,000 in 2016. Non-residents had a median home value that was 15.6% lower, in Toronto. The same pattern is observed in Vancouver, where residents had a median home value of $821,000. Vancouver’s non-resident owners had a median value 8.41% lower. What does all of this mean? Non-residents may be applying more pressure to prices of “affordable” units than higher end homes.
Parliament Projects Canadian Real Estate Will Drag The Economy Until At Least 2022
Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Officer (PBO) is projecting higher interest rates will slow the housing sector. The PBO, who provides parliament with independent analysis of the Canadian economy, projects the decline in housing will bring total real GDP growth in 2018 down by 0.2 points. In 2019, housing is projected to bring total real GDP growth down 0.1 points. From 2020 to 2022, housing’s contribution to GDP growth is projected to be flat. Basically, the government is being advised that housing, one of the largest industries in the country, is going to shrink over the next few years.
Toronto Real Estate
Toronto Condo Prices Continue To See Growth Slide
Toronto condo prices saw sales rise from October to November, bucking the usual seasonal decline. The benchmark price of a condo according to the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) is now $464,000, 21.62% higher than last year. Despite the price increase, and monthly sales bump, sales are 8.26% lower than the same time last year. Inventory also increased by a massive 18.35% year over year. Despite more inventory and less sales, buyers still sent home prices higher.
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If you’re a “world class” city, you need to allow people from all over the world to own homes. This foreign buyer tax is non-sense.