An Unsettling Calm in the Market

Quiet week in real estate… the market is eerily quiet. Showings on listings have drastically slowed down, real estate lawyers have noticed that their real estate business is quiet. Is this a temporary lull or is this a sign of more to come.

Today the Bank of Canada has opted not to raise interest rates. This is a good sign as it doesn’t look like we need more bad news.

The truth is that the market will never be completely inactive. People will still get married and have babies, people will die, people will get divorced, people will overextend. Homes and condos will still be bought and sold. Level of activity may drop and prices may soften but life will continue.

Brenda N.

We have been clients of Motria Dzulynsky for over ten years both as buyers and sellers in the Kingsway community. Over this time , she has not only been involved with our major transactions but also as a trusted advisor in the interim as we have looked for new real estate opportunities.

Motria has always been the consummate professional, with a warm, honest and thoughtful approach to our needs. She demonstrates a keen attention to detail which is reflected in broad and creative marketing plans using both traditional and digital resources , incorporating impressive staging resources and state of the art videos. Motria is also living and working in The Kingsway area and has an intimate understanding of what makes The Kingsway community so unique and special.

Recently, she has expanded her support team , all of whom we found to be very professional and efficient. We would never consider using any other realtor and recommend her without hesitation.

Living Outside of Toronto

Desire to live out of the city does not appear to be waning. With the world slowly opening up, outlook on life has changed for many. Those able to work remotely and who had places to work out of the city opted to work there for extended periods of time. A good number decided that they actually liked it and preferred living in country serenity with outdoor activities –  therapeutic for those with stressful jobs. Hence popular areas like Collingwood/Thornbury continue to see growth and increasing prices. That doesn’t appear to be ending. The world has definitely changed. Hopefully those quiet country oasis continue to be just that.

Income Properties

Income properties continue to be popular and it looks like investors will take very low cap rates.

Looking at the price of real estate in Toronto it’s no wonder that investors are looking at any way possible to own it and have someone else pay part of the carrying costs.

From a return on investment perspective it appears that the numbers don’t make that much sense but the real estate/land itself is escalating quickly. It looks like rents, which were somewhat flat during the pandemic are on the rebound. This makes owning an income property somewhat high demand and prices are up. Good income properties in central neighbourhoods are hard to find. There are very few that go to market.

Lack of Inventory

Lack of inventory sparks big bidding wars on homes. A couple of weeks ago we listed a house for $998,000 which was in keeping with sales in the area. The house was very nicely renovated with an addition. There was significant  attention paid to detail and renos were very tasteful. In general the house showed 10 plus. 23 buyers wanted to buy it. In the end the home ended selling for over $420,000 over list and there was a fight for it with the top bidders. We believe that a few factors came into play:
1. Pent-up demand by first time home buyers many of whom have lost in bidding
2. Renos are now very costly and time consuming. Pandemic has doubled cost of renovating and lack of supplies have made it a very frustrating process.
3. it’ s not that easy to find a nice house.
We believe that the market will continue to reflect these factors.

Development Policies

Development related policies coming to City of Toronto. With housing a major issue in Toronto here are a couple of policies and changes coming.
Areas within and 10 minute walk of a transit station (500-800 metres) will have established minimum density targets. The broad intent of this policy is to support transit-oriented development so that jobs and residences can be located and built near supportive public transportation infrastructure.
A policy that allows for the City of Toronto to require affordable housing set-aside rates in new higher density development applications within the areas that are close to transit. This new policy represents a significant new financial obligation that private developers will need to satisfy in the fastest-growing neighbourhoods in the city.
Sometimes the impact of these new policies is not clear. They could lead to other problems.

Paige G.

I was a first time buyer and Motria helped me find the condo of my dreams. With the market being tough, I was worried I wouldn’t get what I wanted in terms of square footage, amenities, and location. Motria made sure that wasn’t the case. She was attentive, fast acting and gave me great advice along the way. Thank you so much, you made the experience a wonderful one!

Yuri C.

My wife and I are pleased with the level of service and commitment that Motria provided. She helped us with both selling and buying our new home. She and her team were extremely helpful, open, transparent, and reliable through the whole process. We would definitely recommend Motria to anyone who is looking to buy or sell a home. Thank you!

Claire K.

Kudos to Motria and her team for impressing this tough customer. Effective communication is a key part of the real estate process and Motria manages this beautifully. You can trust Motria to guide you through either a purchase or sale with market insights and level-headed advice. I highly recommend working with Motria and her team.