Alex Lui's blog

On August 3, 2018, Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced strong growth in the number of home sales and the average selling price reported by Greater Toronto Area  REALTORS® in July 2018.  “Home sales result in substantial spin-off benefits to the economy, so the positive results over the last two months are encouraging. However, no one will argue that housing supply remains an issue.

On July 17, 2018 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura announced that the average selling price for condominium apartments sold through TREB’s MLS® System in the second quarter of 2018 was up by 5.4 per cent year-over-year to $561,338.  The highest average selling price was in the City of Toronto, at $603,480 – up 6.5 per cent compared to Q2 2017.

On July 4, 2018 the Government of Ontario announced that residential rent increases between January 1 and December 31, 2019 will be capped at a maximum of 1.8%. 

As in previous years, any increase exceeding that amount must receive approval from the Landlord and Tenant Board. The annual provincial guideline applies to most rental units that fall under Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, but does not include: vacant units, social housing, or nursing homes.

I read this post and it's another factor to the housing shortage which has changed the real estate landscape as compare to the past trend.

Canadian Senior Homeowner Poll by HuffPost

On July 5, 2018, Toronto Real Estate Board President Garry Bhaura, in his first market release as TREB President, is pleased to announce some positive signs with respect to the housing market. Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,082 home sales through TREB’s MLS® System in June 2018 – up 2.4 per cent compared to the low June 2017 result.

Parliament passed Bill C-45, more commonly known as the cannabis legislation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau subsequently announced that Canadians will be able to legally purchase and use a limited quantity of cannabis for recreational purposes as of October 17, 2018.

On June 4, 2018, Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,834 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in May 2018. This result was down by 22.2 per cent compared to May 2017. While the number of sales was down year-over-year, the annual rate of decline was less than reported in February, March and April, when sales were down by more than 30 per cent. On a month-over-month basis, seasonally adjusted May sales were basically flat compared to April.

On May 3, 2018, Toronto Real Estate Board President Tim Syrianos announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,792 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in April 2018. The average selling price was $804,584. On a year-over-year basis, sales were down by 32.1 per cent and the average selling price was down by 12.4 per cent.

On April 16, 2018, Toronto Real Estate Board President Tim Syrianos announced that the average selling price for condominium apartments sold through TREB’s MLS® System was up by nine per cent year-over-year to $533,447 in the first quarter of 2018. While the number of condominium apartment sales reported by Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® in the first quarter was down by 29.7 per cent year-over-year to 5,084, so too were the number of new listings, which were down by 11.1 per cent annually to 8,030. 

On April 4, 2018, Toronto Real Estate Board President Tim Syrianos announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 7,228 residential transactions through TREB's MLS® System in March 2018. This result was down by 39.5 per cent compared to a record 11,954 sales reported in March 2017 and down 17.6 per cent relative to average March sales for the previous 10 years.