David Sells Real Estate

June 2024


Finally…. The bank of Canada has dropped borrowing rates by .25%, not a huge amount, but a step in the right direction, with experts predicting that interest rates will continue to drop over the next 2 years.

Without a doubt many home buyers have held off their decision to buy, waiting for clear signs of declining mortgage rates. As borrowing costs decrease over the next 24 months, more buyers are expected to enter the market, including many first-time buyers. Another benefit of lower borrowing rates and more first-time buyers entering the market is that this will free up much needed rental units which have seen huge rental increases due to a lack of supply.

However, don’t be fooled into thinking the real estate market is dead. Far from it!
May saw 7,013 homes sold through the MLS system, at an average price of $1,165,691. The average sale price for the Toronto Real Estate Board now stands at $1,124,377 as of the end of May. (The average sale price in 2023 was $1,126,331). Prices haven’t change that significantly! Our inventory of homes for sale in May was 21,760, 83% more than May of 2023! That large inventory has been the critical factor for stability in home prices. In May the average home sold between 96%-107% of asking price within 19 days of the “correct price” advertising. The demand for home ownership is strong!

Unfortunately, as borrowing costs trend lower, demand will pick up and we will see renewed upward pressure on home prices as competition between buyers increases. How can you benefit from all of this information?

• Get off the sidelines! Not everyone can qualify with the current rates, but if you can, get into the market before prices start sweeping upwards.
• The large inventory is a great opportunity for you to have a choice of homes you are interested in buying
• Good buying opportunities exist today in residential as well as investment properties.
• The borrowing rates are starting to trend downwards!
• In May, homes sold between 96%-107% of asking price. A major factor in that difference is the realtor. All doctors, or plumbers or bus drivers are not equal, some are better than others. That’s the same for realtors!

That’s where I come in, not only a knowledgeable, experienced expert able to guide you through a challenging and sometimes confusing process, but your friend in real estate! Call me if you have any questions, I would love to chat!

April 2024
Dear Friend,
Get ready, get set……., the “spring” market is almost upon us!
Spring is the time that traditionally, buyers start coming out as the weather grows milder. The number of sales in March (6,560) increased over the previous month and we will see another rise in the number of sales in April. As of the end of March there were 13,120 homes for sale, but with the anticipated 8,000 to 9,000 sales, April buyers will be facing limited choices and competition, which means multiple offers and a rise in prices.
Buyers are asking me, “Is it too late, should I have bought last year?”. The truth of it is that the best time to buy was yesterday and the second-best time is today! Prices continue to increase with inflation. As the cost of land and construction increase, so do prices. When you add demand and low numbers of homes being built, prices jump tremendously. Welcome to the GTA! Over the last 50 + years, Toronto prices have increased about 7% yearly. With 1.2 million new immigrants coming to Canada (2021- 2024) and fewer new construction projects as builders slowed down due to higher interest rates, TODAY is the next best time to buy if you did not buy yesterday!
As the year progresses and interest rates start dropping, more buyers will enter the market, putting more pressure on home prices. Those who cannot afford to buy will rent, and as we have seen, rental rates have increased sharply over the last few years with demand.
There are choices out there for all buyers. Whether it’s creating a basement rental unit to help pay for the mortgage or choosing a different neighborhood, the opportunities for great home ownership exist, if you have a knowledgeable experienced realtor looking out for your best interests. A realtor like me!
The first step in making the right decision is getting all the facts. Don’t decide to buy or upgrade your existing home until you have all the pertinent information to make that decision. The Internet is full of misinformation!
Give me a call, let's chat. Let me give you all the information to help you make the best decision for your future. I’m not only a professional, experienced realtor working for the #1 company in the world, I’m also your friend in real estate!

Have a great April,

Your Friend in Real Estate.

PS I’m never too busy for your referrals.

A great start to 2024! Despite the winter weather and the higher than usual borrowing rates, January’s 4,223 sales were 37% higher than January 2023. The desire for home ownership remains high! Unfortunately, while the number of new listings was up, they were only up 6%, highlighting tighter market conditions and raising the specter of bidding wars to come. When? Well, it has already started to a lesser degree, but will really become headline news as the Bank of Canada starts cutting its borrowing rates, likely in the second half of 2024.
Toronto real estate prices reflect immigration to Canada.

As our population continues to increase, and the government's lack of response to keeping housing starts at a level to satisfy demand, prices have risen and will continue to rise dramatically. While all levels of government talk about increasing housing starts, it seems to be more of an opportunity to garner votes rather than solving the problem. As I have been saying for years, the land is there, and builders are willing and able. The governing bodies are just not willing to change or streamline a red tape system that takes years to get a building permit rather than months.
How about building more rental unit buildings to supply demand? Good idea! But with an unreasonable rent control system and a poorly and unfairly implemented Landlord and Tenant Act, few builders are prepared to build rental units. While the idea of rent controls is a good one, unless it’s properly implemented, being fair to all parties, it eventually fails all parties.

While the situation is challenging, it represents an opportunity. House prices and rents will continue to increase! If you are considering upgrading your current home, or looking to purchase an investment property, great real estate opportunities exist today! If you have a child who will be entering university in a few years, perhaps a pre-construction condominium might be the right fit. Give me a call, let's talk, after all, you have a friend in real estate.
Have a great February!
Your Friend in Real Estate.

February 2023

Dear friend,

No great surprises as the Toronto Real Estate Board unveiled the January sales numbers.

3,100 homes sold out of 9,299 homes available for sale. Throughout the GTA, homes on average sold in 29 days provided they were priced within 5% of realistic value. (This is where a professional agent can help their clients by doing realistic CMA and being honest with their sellers.)

The major factor impacting the residential real estate market is the Bank of Canada’s increasing borrowing rates. This policy has eliminated local buyers from purchasing their homes and forcing them into rental units which has created a massive shortage and the resulting price increases for rental units. It seems our government wants to kill inflation regardless of the hardships it will create for Canadians. The other factor influencing our market is the fear of the unknown. Many buyers have decided to sit on the sidelines and watch the market as they do not know what will happen.

Well, I know what will happen, I just do not know exactly when. With over 1,000,000 new immigrants coming to Canada, builders discouraged to build new housing units due to government red tape, high building permit prices and slow government commitment to supply infrastructure like water and sewage lines, prices will continue to increase in the GTA! It’s as inevitable as 2 trains rushing toward each other on the same track!


Looking at this chart you can see that our current interest rates are still reasonable and historically average and it’s only the last 15 years where we had ultra-low rates that we might not see again. While I believe our current rates will drop, the buyers who most quickly adjust to the new rates will be the winners over time.


There are great opportunities in this market. It a great time to buy an investment property, to upgrade your home or to trade in your condominium for that white picket fence in suburbia. As the saying goes, “Fortune Favours the Bold! Now is the time to explore your options. Let me put my experience and professionalism to help guide you.
Give me a call, let’s talk!

Have a great February,

Your friend in Real Estate.

PS….I’m never too busy for your referrals!

February 2023

Dear friend,

No great surprises as the Toronto Real Estate Board unveiled the January sales numbers.

3,100 homes sold out of 9,299 homes available for sale. Throughout the GTA, homes on average sold in 29 days provided they were priced within 5% of realistic value. (This is where a professional agent can help their clients by doing realistic CMAs and being honest with their sellers.)

The major factor impacting the residential real estate market is the Bank of Canada’s increasing borrowing rates. This policy has eliminated local buyers from purchasing their homes and forcing them into rental units which has created a massive shortage and the resulting price increases for rental units. It seems our government wants to kill inflation regardless of the hardships it will create for Canadians. The other factor influencing our market is the fear of the unknown. Many buyers have decided to sit on the sidelines and watch the market as they do not know what will happen.

Well, I know what will happen, I just do not know exactly when. With over 1,000,000 new immigrants coming to Canada, builders discouraged to build new housing units due to government red tape, high building permit prices and slow government commitment to supply infrastructure like water and sewage lines, prices will continue to increase in the GTA! It’s as inevitable as 2 trains rushing toward each other on the same track!

Text Box: Looking at this chart you can see that our current interest rates are still reasonable and historically average and it’s only the last 15 years where we had ultra-low rates that we might not see again. While I believe our current rates will drop, the buyers who most quickly adjust to the new rates will be the winners over time.Chart, histogram

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There are great opportunities in this market. It a great time to buy an investment property, to upgrade your home or to trade in your condominium for that white picket fence in suburbia. As the saying goes, “Fortune Favours the Bold! Now is the time to explore your options. Let me put my experience and professionalism to help guide you.

Give me a call, let’s talk!

Have a great February,

Your friend in Real Estate.
David

PS….I’m never too busy for your referrals!

Gotta hate when that happens.

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Dear Friend

Writer and philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." If you want to know why the market has been so active, (prices up 14.3% this year) and what is going to happen to Toronto real estate, let’s look at the recent past.

For the last several years Toronto has experienced a severe housing shortage as immigration into the GTA has occurred in unprecedented high numbers. Rental rates and home prices increased drastically as demand continued to outpace supply. Government red tape restrictions have not allowed the builders to keep pace with demand, and the advent of Airbnb took thousands of units out of the rental pool, exacerbating shortages.

That came to a head at the start of 2021 with prices starting to increase by 30%. As Covid 19 emerged, the market slowed as people took a wait and see attitude.

Within a short time we realised:
• We could remain safe with proper protocols.
• There were economic challenges for some business sectors, but for most it was business better than normal.
• Ultra-low mortgage rates brought more buyers into the market.
• Government spending helped the economy.

All in all, we felt “normal life” could continue during Covid and that meant that real estate continued its aggressive upward trajectory started at the start of 2020.

Factors present in 2021; Low mortgage rates. A strong economy. The end of Covid 19. Government increase immigration to Canada. Airbnb back and thousands of rental units removed from rental pool.

It’s obvious what will happen, you just have to look back and see!

This is the time to review your real estate portfolio, give me a call, let’s talk and plan for you and your family’s real estate future.


Have a great January,


Your Friend in Real Estate.

PS I always appreciate your referrals.

November 2020

Dear Friend

The real estate market continues its upward trend as home sales in the GTA were up again year-over-year for the fourth month in a row! Toronto Real Estate Board members sold 10,563 residential homes in October, up 25.1 % compared to 8,445 transactions in October 2019. Sales and new listings reached record levels for the month of October, but sales outstripped new listings, so our tight Seller’s Market continued with the average selling price for all home types combined reaching $968,318 – up 13.7 % compared to $851,877 in October 2019.

Year-over-year growth rates for sales and new listings diverged in some market segments. In the detached market segment, the pace of annual sales growth far outstripped growth in new listings, and prices increased sharply. The Condominium apartment market segment experienced more than double the new listings compared to October 2019, and prices were only up by 2.2 % over the same period.

So what has happened to the Condominium market? With Covid 19 closing down the borders, many investors who were achieving high rental rates renting to foreign students or as Air B&B were caught without tenants. Many decided to rent their units as 1 year leases. With so many extra units competing for tenants, the average rent dropped $200-300 per month for rent. Other investors decided to sell their units. So many extra units on the market kept price increases to 2.2%. Like always, its supply and demand! The real question is what will happen next year and how will it affect the market?

I believe that within a year, Covid 19 will be much better controlled. Tourists (Air B&B) and foreign students will be back! That means that condominiums will start their upward swing as well. The other factor that will create more sales in condominiums is that mortgage interest rates are at ridiculously low numbers, I have seen as low as 1.6% ! On a $500,000 mortgage, that’s $400 per month lower than just 2 years ago! Rents did go down, but so did monthly carrying costs!

I think this is the right time to invest in condominiums and income properties!

Let’s chat! Feel free to call me if you have any questions or know of someone buying or selling. I appreciate your help and support!

Have a great November

Your Friend In Real estate.

Pretty crazy!

Worst and weirdest things found during structural inspections Some jobs just seem inherently boring to anyone who isn’t doing them. Accountant? Yawn. Toll booth operator? Dull city. Structural inspector? Thank you, next! Except… Except that last one is only an uneventful, uninteresting gig if you don’t really know what they do. Well, wonder no more, as t...

People always complain about the Landlords but with scumbags like this it’s not worth it!

GTA landlords struggle to evict man from 11 luxury homes he's rented out as rooming houses | CBC News Nearly a dozen landlords in the Greater Toronto Area are struggling, or have struggled, to evict the same tenant from their single-family homes after he turned each of their properties into an illegal rooming house for up to 20 people — and stopped paying rent.

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