September 18, 2017 -- As part of Ontario's 16-point Fair Housing Plan, the provincial government has just announced that it will be unlocking surplus land at two downtown Toronto locations for developments of rental units and affordable housing. 

On June 5, 2017, Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 10,196 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in May 2017 – down by 20.3 per cent compared to 12,790 sales reported in May 2016. Sales of detached homes were down by 26.3 per cent. Sales of condominium apartments were down by 6.4 per cent.

As this information just came off the press, this is still a proposed policy which needs to pass through government legislature, it may still be subjected to change, disapporval and/or timeline change.

Actions to Address Demand for Housing:

Principal Residence Exemption

For the 70% of Canadians who own a home, it is a place to live, raise a family, and connects them to their community.

Due to Canada’s tax system’s Principal Residence Exemption, when we sell our homes, any increased value or “capital gains” are not taxed.

On March 22, the Government of Canada released their 2017 budget, which included several provisions related to housing and the real estate industry.

Pulling from summaries provided by the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) and the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), below is a summary of the provisions included (and excluded) in budget 2017 and how these could affect the interests of TREB Members.

What Was Included

TORONTO, March 3, 2017 – Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 8,014 residential sales through TREB’s MLS® System in February 2017. Despite the fact that February 2016 had one more day due to the leap year day, this result was up on a year-over-year basis by 5.7 per cent compared to 7,583 sales reported last year. “The February statistics tell me that many Greater Toronto Area households continue to view home ownership as a great long-term investment.

February 3, 2017 - Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua
announced that Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® reported 5,188 residential transactions
through TREB's MLS® System in January 2017. This result was up by 11.8 per cent compared
to 4,640 sales reported in January 2016. Annual rates of sales growth were higher for
condominium apartments than for low-rise home types.
January 2017 picked up where 2016 left off: sales were up on a year-over-year basis while the

JANUARY 31, 2017 – The Toronto Real Estate Board will release
its annual Market Year in Review & Outlook Report today at its Economic Summit being held at 
Toronto’s Parkview Manor.

The report provides a look forward into the 2017 housing market and tackles top-of-mind issues, 
including consumer intentions, foreign buying activity in the Greater Toronto Area, impact of 
transportation infrastructure on housing affordability, and the lack of housing supply.

On January 26, 2017 Toronto Real Estate Board President Larry Cerqua announced that condominium apartment sales reported by Greater Toronto REALTORS® in the fourth quarter of 2016 were up by 22.3 per cent year-over-year to 6,831. Over the same period of time, new listings were down by 13.4 per cent.  The average one-bedroom condo apartment rent was $1,776, representing an annual increase of 7.4 per cent compared to the fourth quarter of 2015. Over the same
period, two-bedroom rents increased by eight per cent to $2,415.

First-time home buyers are now eligible to get $4,000 off the Canadian dream and we need your help to help spread the word.

New Ontario LTT Rebate

Effective January 1st, 2017, Ontario has doubled the land transfer tax rebate for first-time home buyers from $2,000 to $4,000. That means that a first-time home buyer will pay no provincial tax on homes sold for $368,000 or less.

Ontario REALTORS® lobbied hard for the improved rebate and we're very proud to promote it to first-time buyers.