Blog

How Much Can I Afford?

One of the most important things any buyer must do before getting excited about house or condo shopping is to find out how large a mortgage they could be approved for.  If you don’t  you might find out you're interested in homes that are out of your price range OR the opposite - you could actually afford a larger property or buy in a different neighbourhood.   There are two calculations that every lender takes into consideration… the Gross Debt Service ratio (GDS) and the Total Debt Service ratio (TDS).  These permissible numbers will vary depending on your credit score.   The GDS calculation adds up the total annual payment for mortgage principal &a...Read More

Ensure You Answer These 4 Not-So-Surprising Buyer Questions

There are four questions that every condo buyer will want the answers to and, as the seller, you’ll want to know what they are and work out how your suite compares to the rest of the market. You’ve heard the first one probably since babyhood… location, location, location.  A buyer’s preference of location will of course be tempered by the price that they can afford.   In an ideal world, a purchaser could walk to work from their 1,500 sf 2-bedroom condo suite that they just paid $200,000 for in downtown Toronto complete with a parking space and a locker with a balcony view of the lake.  Nice dream huh? In reality, people will compromise based on...Read More

Toronto sales plunge 22% amid ability to qualify anxiety

It seems the introduction of the mortgage stress test for all buyers has made an impact on the January GTA real estate market.  Overall sales are down with the single ‘bright light’ being an increase in condominium units trading hands. Sales were down 22% for January compared to last year with 4,019 houses and condominiums changing hands in all the districts.  This was the lowest number of sales for the month since January 2009. Condo townhouse and high-rise suites took a very high 39.7% share of the market with 1,594 units being sold.  This was the 4th highest ever according to TREB. The January average sale price for all GTA homes came in at $736,783 – t...Read More

Find-A-Tenant Program

We have two Find-A-Tenant Rental Packages available.   Of course, there’s never a guarantee when selecting a tenant… people lose their jobs, get separated or divorced or get transferred to other cities all the time during the term of their lease.  However, checking out the tenant vigorously at the beginning will minimize the possibility of any future problems!   Package A   Some owners like to handle the rental showings themselves.  In that case we supply you with rental application forms and instructions on what to say and ask the tenant when they’re looking through your premises.   Once the tenant has filled out a rental ...Read More

Toronto Sales In 2017 Down Significantly

Sales were down 7.1% for December compared to last year with 4,930 houses and condominiums changing hands in all the districts.  Sales are still high by historical standards however and were exceeded only in 2015 and 2016. Condo townhouse and high-rise suites took a very high 40.3% share of the market with 1,986 units being sold. The December average sale price for all GTA homes came in at $735,021 – basically flat from last year’s number (a 0.7% increase). If you consider the year-to-date average compared to last year however, the market is still up 12.7% overall. The active listing inventory is one of the strongest indicators of how smooth or outrageous the market has ...Read More

Except For Downtown Condos, TREB Listings Up By 110%

Sales were down 13.5% for November compared to last year with 7,374 houses and condominiums changing hands in all the districts.  Sales are still high by historical standards however if 2016 is excluded from the comparison.   Condo townhouse and high-rise suites took a 37.5% share of the market with 2,768 units being sold.   The November average sale price for all GTA homes came in at $761,757 – and for the first time in many years, 2.0% lower than last year.   If you consider the year-to-date average compared to last year however, the market is still up 12% overall.   The active listing inventory is one of the strongest indicators of how smooth or outrageous t...Read More

Mortgage Qualification Chart – Learn How Much You Can Borrow

Pick your gross annual income on the left column and choose the correct current interest rate from the top row. The amount where the two intersect is the size of mortgage that you will generally qualify for (subject to extraordinary debts!). This chart is based on a 25-year amortization.   Annual Income 3.00% 3.50% 4.00% 4.50% BoC 4.99% $40,000 $154,000 $149,000 $145,000 $143,000 $136,000 $50,000 $214,000 $206,000 $198,000 $192,000 $182,000 $60,000 $277,000 $264,000 $251,000 $240,000 $227,000 $70,000 $332,000 $316,000 $301,000 $288,000 $273,000 $80,000 ...Read More

Should You Buy A Parking Space?

According to a new article in the Toronto Star, condo buyers in Toronto are shifting towards a trend that sees them saying “no thanks” to parking spots more often, instead preferring to make do with public transit or appreciate many Toronto neighbourhoods’ ease of walkability. In one case, a developer interviewed by the star saw that his pre-construction buyers in a west Toronto condo, which is located next to a GO station, weren’t as interested in the four levels of parking he’d intended to build and is going to apply to the city to reduce the required parking amount. One new Toronto condo project is 42 storeys and has no parking for residents, instead having...Read More

Pay The Highest Attention To This Important Room

      Along with the bathroom, the kitchen is a very important room to get right when you’re selling your condo. There’s often a big difference between the kitchen layouts in suites built back in the 1980’s and the 1990’s however.  They were bigger and many times were an actual room and sometimes had actual space for a small kitchen table. In the 2000’s to the present it’s more likely that the kitchen is open to the rest of the suite, sometimes with an island separating it from the living room but most often is set along one wall and completely open to everything else. If your suite is one of the earlier ones, your appliances may ...Read More

Purchasing A Home Before Jan 1st, 2018 May Be A Good Idea

Sales were down 27% for October compared to last year with 7,118 houses and condominiums changing hands in all the districts.  Although it’s common for the market to rebound higher once we are into the fall market, this only happened fractionally… we had the lowest sales for October since 2012.   Condo townhouse and high-rise suites took a 35.9% share of the market with 2,552 units being sold.   The October average sale price for all GTA homes came in at $780,104 – a mere 2.3% higher than last year.   If you consider the year-to-date average compared to last year however, the market is still up 13.7% which shows that not all those gains in price during ...Read More