Happy Fall!
Happy Fall!
As summer comes to a close, our family has been busy gearing up for yet another school year impacted by the pandemic. Our middle child started his first year of JK last week, and could not be more excited! We're looking forward to our kids getting back to in-person learning and resuming "normal" activities with their classmates.
With the Canadian Federal Election just around the corner, many of us are wondering where each party stands on housing and real estate. As home prices continue to rise, homeownership is becoming out of reach for an increasing number of Canadians. The three major parties have offered proposals to make housing more affordable. Check out the highlights below.
Despite the pandemic, it's been a stellar third quarter for the Toronto Real Estate Market. We're finally starting to see a cool down in sales activity this month, with average home prices steadying in growth. We're excited to share our newest listings, as well as several sales from the third quarter. Keep up to date with us on Instagram or visit our website stellarrealtygroup.ca!
TORONTO MARKET UPDATE
Just like the approaching fall season, the Toronto housing market is starting to see a cool down in sales activity, with steady average sale prices. The average sold price of $1,070,911 saw a slight increase from July and is still up 13% over last year. Sales activity however, continued to slow in August, with sales down 20% year-over-year and 8% from July.
Detached homes made up 48% of all sales for the month of August, followed by condo-apartments at 33%, semi-detached homes at 10%, and townhouses at 10%. Detached home prices are seeing the biggest year-over-year increase, while condo-apartments are seeing the lowest increase in price growth. Condo-apartments however, were the only home type to see an increase in year-over-year sales.
If you would like to stay up to date on the monthly market stats, follow us on Instagram @stellarrealtygroup. You can find the archived stats under our Market Highlights.
WHERE MAJOR POLITICAL PARTIES STAND
ON HOUSING AND REAL ESTATE
Housing prices soared during the pandemic, which is good news for sellers but bad news for buyers. An estimated 36% of Canadians between the ages of 18-40, say they doubt they’ll be able to save up enough to compete in the bidding wars that often drive home prices up even further. This, coupled with a housing shortage, has prompted the main federal parties to make housing commitments a key aspect of their campaigns. Here's a look at what we know about each party's plans.
Liberals
A commitment of $2.5 billion to create 35,000 affordable housing units, $1.5 billion of which is dedicated to the government's rapid housing initiative, which seeks to build new affordable housing units much faster than is typically possible.
Double the first-time home buyers tax credit from $5,000 to $10,000 and put $1 billion towards loans and grants for rent-to-own projects.
Create a tax-free ‘First Home Savings Account’ allowing those under the age of 40 to save up to $40,000 and withdraw it tax-free to put towards a home purchase.
Introduce a ‘Home Buyers’ Bill of Rights’ that would include measures to criminalize blind bidding and establishing the right to a home inspection.
Impose a ban on new foreign ownership for the next two years.
Conservatives
Build 1 million homes over three years, with the conversion of at least 15% of federal government property into housing and the creation of an Indigenous housing strategy.
Require municipalities receiving federal funding for public transit to increase density near that transit.
Incentivizing developers by extending the ability to defer capital gains tax when selling a rental property and reinvesting in rental housing.
Bar foreign investors who are not living or moving to Canada from buying a home for at least the next two years.
Encourage offering of seven-to-10-year mortgages and to make tweaks to stress test and insurance requirements to help people qualify more easily for financing.
Impose a ban on new foreign ownership for the next two years.
NDP
Create 500,000 affordable housing units over the next 10 years with half of those in place within the first five years.
Preserve 1.7 million homes over the next four years.
Re-introduce a 30-year term on Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation insured mortgages on entry-level homes for first-time home buyers.
Double the existing Home Buyer’s Tax Credit to $1,500 and offer $5,000 a year in rent subsidies.
Impose a 20% tax on foreign homebuyers rather than banning those purchases outright.
THIRD QUARTER SALES & LISTINGS
Check out some of our third quarter sales & current listings below!
COMMUNITY CORNER
I wanted to introduce you to the Musical Arts Academy, a community school for children and adults of any age and level of experience. MCA has been open for 8 years and is located near Islington and Norseman at 80 Six Point Rd. The main goals of the Academy are to create the right environment for students who study music by providing a facility which inspires them from the moment they step into the building, to give them an opportunity to interact with likeminded people with similar abilities and interests, to encourage them to perform as much as possible within the academy, as well as participate in local and international festivals and competitions.
Classical music is the definite foundation for any study of music. Introducing students to classical music first, will help them succeed at any style of music that they may choose in the future. The Musical Arts Academy encourages participation in Royal Conservatory examinations, which is a great stepping stone for anyone who studies an instrument or voice. Studying at Musical Arts Academy gives students an exclusive chance to develop themselves into well-rounded musicians and become lifetime music lovers!
The Musical Arts Academy offers Individual lessons for children and adults in Piano, Voice, Flute, Violin, Guitar, Saxophone, Clarinet, Trumpet and Cello.
Have a great week!
Sincerely,
Ashleigh Thibideau
Stellar Realty Group
e: ashleigh@stellargrp.ca
p: 647.242.9081