August 12, 2008
Looking to buy? Sell? Blogs can help
Article from today’s Globle and Mail by Rob Carrick
There’s disturbing news for people trying to sell homes in a Canadian real estate market where buyers may be getting the upper hand. A nascent trend in the U.S. market has buyers not only tromping and gawking their way through homes for sale, but also sleeping over or at least hanging out for extended periods to get the feel of the place. One shudders to think of the next concession that sellers will make to buyers. Whatever it is, the place to find out about it is on a growing number of real estate and housing blogs.
Blogs, on the off chance you haven’t heard, are an online platform where people with an interest in a topic post their musings on a regular basis. Financial topics are big in the blogosphere and, as money matters go, there’s nothing bigger for most people than buying and selling a home.
Most housing blogs are written by people in the industry, such as agents or mortgage brokers, which makes sense because real estate matters are not a day-to-day concern for most individuals. One issue that does come up repeatedly is mortgages, which happens to be the subject of one of the most essential blogs in the real estate area.
It’s called Canadian Mortgage Trends and it’s produced by mortgage planners Melanie and Robert McLister. In a clear, to-the-point manner, this site dissects the latest interest rate tends, new developments at banks and other lenders and anything else of relevance.
If you’re trying to make sense of the federal government’s move to eliminate 40-year and zero-down payment mortgages for home buyers requiring federally-backed mortgage insurance, this website is a great resource. A recent posting showed how it may still be possible to buy a house without a down payment even after the new rules take effect Oct. 15.
A good blog generates lots of comments from readers, and Canadian Mortgage Trends excels here. Many readers are mortgage professionals, so their comments may seem somewhat technical. But there’s great material here for people who are willing to do some research to find the right mortgage.
Another blog, Real Estate Intelligence, is focused to a large extent on the Toronto market, but it’s also a place to look for nuggets of information on the broader housing market. In fact, this is where I learned about people sleeping over at homes they were thinking of buying. If you’re thinking of exploiting the plunge in the U.S. market to buy a house in Florida, check out the July 13 posting titled “Take my house – please.”
Real estate blogs covering the market in a particular city are pretty common and you can find them by doing a Google search along the lines of “real estate blog Saskatoon.” No snickering – that’s a hot market they have there.
You’ll find if you do one of these searches that lots of real estate agents and mortgage brokers are using blogs to pull in clients. Most of these blogs can be skipped. If they’re not spreading the message that everything’s A-OK in the housing market, they’re reprinting articles published already in newspapers and on other websites.
One exception is a blog that covers the Vancouver market, which has the honour of being the country’s most expensive. YatterMatters, maintained by real estate agent Larry Yatkowsky, has a candid tone that adds credibility to his take on the local market. Right now, Mr. Yatkowsky sees things slowing down, despite what the real estate industry might say (see his recent posts for more details).
For outright skepticism about the housing market, try the blog written by Liberal MP Garth Turner. Mr. Turner recently wrote a book called Greater Fool, which argues that a real estate mania has affected not only the U.S. market, but parts of Canada as well. As a way of promoting his work, Mr. Turner has set up a Greater Fool blog that catalogues all signs of trouble in the housing market. A good blog is an opinionated one, and Mr. Turner delivers. Check out his July 16 posting for a vintage performance.
If you want to know what happens when a real estate bubble pops, check out The Housing Bubble, a U.S. blog that blends housing factoids and quotes into a commentary on a housing market in crisis. Read closely and you’ll find references to the odd Canadian city here.
Most real estate blogs focus on the buying and selling of homes, and not the many financial issues that are raised when you already own a home. For that kind of commentary, try a good general purpose personal finance blog like Canadian Capitalist, Million Dollar Journey or Quest for Four Pillars. Many of these blogs have subject indexes or archives that you can use to jump right to posts on mortgages or housing.
- Real Estate Intelligence
- YatterMatters
- Canadian Capitalist
- Million Dollar Journey
- Quest for Four Pillars
- Greater Fool
August 6, 2008
Toronto Real Estate Board:
GTA Resale Housing Stable in July
With 7,806 transactions recorded last month, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) resale housing market continued at a moderate pace in July, Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) President Maureen O’Neill announced today. Prices remained stable throughout the GTA in July. At $371,427 the average price increased slightly more than one per cent from $366,012 recorded in July 2007 and nine per cent from the $342,034 figure of two years ago.
In the City of Toronto the average price of $395,342 increased less than one per cent from the July 2007 price of $395,044 and 10 per cent from the July 2006 figure of $360,409.
In the 905 Region the average price increased three per cent to $355,401 compared to the July 2007 figure of $345,967. This also represents an eight per cent increase from the July 2006 average of $329,644.
“Sales declined 12 per cent last month from the best-ever July 2007 record of 8,912 but increased 10 per cent from the 7,082 sales transacted in July 2006,” said Ms. O’Neill. “Comparing July 2007 with July 2006, sales increased by 26 per cent.”
In the City of Toronto 3,132 sales were recorded, down 14 per cent from July 2007’s 3,640 transactions but up 10 per cent from the 2,852 sales recorded two years ago in 2006. Comparing July 2007 with July 2006, a period before the Land Transfer tax went into effect in Toronto, sales increased 28 per cent.
In the 905 Region there were 4,674 transactions, down 11 per cent from July 2007’s 5,272 sales but up 10 per cent from the 4,230 sales recorded in July 2006. Comparing July 2007 with July 2006, sales increased 25 per cent.
From a year-to-date perspective, the GTA’s 51,249 sales in 2008 have declined 14 per cent from the 59,339 reached at this time a year ago.
Certain neighbourhoods throughout the GTA experienced increased sales activity in July.
In Whitby (E15) sales increased 22 per cent from July 2007, based on strong sales in most housing types.
Brampton East (W24) saw a 12 per cent increase, based primarily on semi-detached home sales.
Strong detached home sales drove Uxbridge (N16) to a 23 per cent increase compared to a year ago.
The Annex (C02) experienced a 29 per cent sales increase due to strong detached home and condominium apartment sales.
In addition to stable prices, the list to sale price ratio, at 98 per cent, remains unchanged from a year ago.
“While homeowners continue to see healthy returns, it is taking slightly longer to achieve a sale; the average time on market has increased to 33 days compared to 31 days a year ago,” said Ms. O’Neill. “This may be due to that fact that there is now more choice available to homebuyers; there are currently 26,543 active listings, a 28 per cent increase from a year ago.”
A complete copy of the Market Watch Report »
August 4, 2008
Toronto’s bidding wars continue
Even as the real estate market softens, vendors still offer conspicuously undervalued homes in some Toronto neighbourhoods
Listing properties below the market value has become a common practice in the Toronto area over the past five years – creating a bidding-war mentality for buyers. Even with sales down, the market cooling dramatically and active listings up by 22 per cent compared with last year, multiple offers continue in some highly sought-after areas.
While houses sit on the market longer with more inventory available in the Greater Toronto Area, most of the multiple offers are taking place in pockets of the central city still coveted by buyers. But under-listing properties has created a backlash, not just among frustrated consumers, but also from some agents who say the practice is undermining the profession.
“Underpricing a home to create an auction-like frenzy started on really great homes in nice neighbourhoods,” realtor Sally Cook says. “Now everyone is doing it on any old piece of crap.”
“It’s detrimental to the seller. You might have 19 bids, but only two people can really afford the house, because you’ve attracted everyone else who can’t with a lower listing, so it’s completely artificial,” Cook says. “And of course the house is going to sell over asking – because it’s underpriced in the first place.”
The Toronto Real Estate Board, meanwhile, says there’s little it can do to restrict the listing price an agent might place on a property.
“Auctions, bidding wars and the various ways of marketing properties are driven by the marketplace,” board president Maureen O’Neill said in a written response to questions by the Toronto Star. “TREB (and others) do not have the right to interfere with a market-driven function.”