GTA Housing Market Conditions Tightened Further in October

The Toronto Real Estate Board released results for October 2018, reporting tightening conditions in the GTA with sales up and new listings down.

Housing sales across the GTA rose last month compared to a year ago. Prices also rose, helped by strong sales in the condo market. The overall average selling price for all housing types in the GTA was $807,340, up 3.5% year over year. Condos were the housing type that experienced the greatest price growth with a 7.5% increase. 

A total of 7,492 sales of all housing types were reported throughout the MLS system in October, which is 6% higher than the same month last year. Condos further drove the October market in unit sales, where 1,519 condo units were sold in the 416 area in October, a result that was greater than the total number of units sold of all other housing types combined in the 416.  It was a very different story in the 905 regions of the GTA where combined sales of 3,771 detached, semi-detached and townhome units in the month outpaced condo units sold by over 6 to 1.

“Annual sales growth has outstripped annual growth in new listings for the last five months, underpinning the fact that listings supply remains an issue in the Greater Toronto Area” noted TREB’s Director of Market Analysis, Jason Mercer, and as seen in the graphic below.

If you would like to find out what these statistics mean to you, or if you are curious to know how much your property is worth today or how much you can afford to buy, please reach out. 

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Turning your single-family home into income generating property

Let's take a look at turning your single-family home into a two-family, income generating property. This strategy can be an attractive alternative for empty-nesters and retirees who’d prefer not to move – and who’d be happy to generate some extra income.

At some point, usually after the children have moved out, many home owners decide to downsize. Today, that usually means moving into a condo or to a smaller community.

But many couples would prefer to stay in the family home, continuing to enjoy the neighbourhood they know so well. Here’s an alternative for anyone considering their options in such a situation.

Why not re-configure your home into a two-family, income-generating property? This strategy has a number of advantages.

• You get to stay in the home and the neighbourhood you love

• You can avoid many of stressors involved in adapting to a new neighbourhood, new neighbours, and unfamiliar amenities and services.

• You end up with less home to manage.

• You can generate important extra income to help fund your retirement years and lifestyle enhancements.

• You may significantly increase your property’s value when it’s reclassified as an income property.

Offsetting these advantages, you’ll have to deal with some challenging realties:

• Living through the renovation process, likely four months to a year. During this period, you might have to find a temporary residence.

• Financing the renovations.

• Managing the renovation process to be sure it meets your expectations and stays within budget.

• Living alongside tenants who may not share your lifestyle.

• Assuming the role of “property manager” – this means, at a minimum, dealing with occupancy, rent collection and maintenance issues.

Should you decide to re-configure your home to generate an income, here’s an ACTION PLAN to get the process underway.

Zoning and Permits

First, you’ll need to check out zoning issues. Is your area zoned for the living arrangement you’re hoping to create? Do you need to apply for rezoning or get a zoning restriction waiver?

Requirements vary from region to region, although there are some basics that will apply almost anywhere – each residence will need at least one exit of its own, plus bedroom, bathroom and kitchen area, and perhaps separate utilities and meters. 

Other safety standards, such as fire codes, might change once you turn the space into a two-family dwelling – such information is available from your local building planning department.

Space planning

You’ll need to consider what kind of people you want to occupy the new space – a family, students, another retired couple? This will affect the number of rooms and their sizes, the design of kitchen and bathroom spaces, and other considerations. 

If you need or want to make big changes, consult with a structural engineer. This is the time to think about major issues like the building’s envelope, and to fix any deficiencies or reconfigure the roof, walls, windows or doors.

Determine the rental income you can expect

Contact a real estate agent you trust to determine the rental income you can expect to earn, taking into consideration periods when the unit is vacant. As part of this analysis, find out how this revenue will be taxed, and what portion can be offset as expenses when you file.

Financing

You may need to take out a home improvement loan, a business loan, or even a second mortgage. Prospective lenders will need to factor in a number of elements: the use of second unit, your credit rating, etc. Ask your real estate agent to provide you with a home valuation before beginning.

Retain an architect

To be sure your re-configured property is in compliance with local zoning, building codes and safety regulations, retain an architect with local knowledge and expertise in handling this type of project. Be sure to get at least two or preferably three quotes.

Recruit a construction company

Be sure the company is experienced in this kind of project. Get at least three quotes. Have the company you select meet with the architect to work out potential issues before the construction process begins. 

Have qualified back-up in place to help keep the project on track. It’s always a good idea to have someone who cares for you to act as your back-up or to offer support as you go through the renovation process. Maybe one of your grown children, or a close friend.

Should you wish to explore this alternative to downsizing, I’d be pleased to help you assess this opportunity in respect to your specific home.

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Adjusting Expectations - 2017 GTA Housing Market in Review

The Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) announced that Greater Toronto Area (GTA) REALTORS® reported 92,394 sales through TREB’s MLS® System in 2017.  This total was down 18.3% compared to the record sales reported in 2016.

But let’s put the 2017 sales into an historical perspective.  Even if we include the record sales of 101,213 in 2015 and 113,040 in 2016 in the equation, the GTA recorded 95,916 sales per year on average over the five year period from 2012 to 2016.  Taking that into consideration, 2017’s results are only off by 3.7% from the 5-year average.  In addition, there has been only one other year (besides 2015 and 2016) when sales breached the 93,000 mark, and that was in 2007, before the “Great Recession”, when the GTA recorded 93,193 sales.

After record sales in all segments of the market in Q1, the pace of sales decline in Q2 and Q3 after the Ontario Fair Housing Plan (i.e. the foreign buyers tax) was introduced. Q4 brought back some strength to the market as some buyers arguably brought forward their home purchase to beat the introduction in January of 2018 of the changes to the federal mortgage lending guidelines (the “stress test”).

Despite the drop of 20,646 annual sales from the 2016 figure, the average sales price recorded in the GTA for 2017 as a whole rose by 12.7% to $822,681, from $729,837 in 2016, although home price growth in the second half of 2017 differed substantially depending on market segment.  The drop was felt primarily in the most expensive detached market segment, where sales dropped by 12,381 homes or 23.0%, but representing almost 60% of the total unit sales decrease of 20,646 units.  The average price of a single detached home in the GTA increased in 2017 by 12.7% to $1,098,951, forcing many buyers to look for less expensive options.  At the other end of the market spectrum, condominium apartments experienced a drop of 2,853 unit sales, or 9.6%, accounting for approximately 13.8% of the total decrease of 20,646 units, but prices in this segment were up 23.1% from 2016 levels to an average of $512,478 in 2017.

These factors also contributed to the shift in relative share of total sales where the percentage of single detached homes decreased by 2.8% to 44.7% of units sold and the share of condominium apartments rose by 2.8% to 29.1% of total units sold.  Expectations are that as more millennials begin to reach the age of home ownership, the trade-off between housing type and location will likely become more prevalent in the future across the GTA and this will also place a significant strain on inventory, turning the process of finding a home into an exercise in adjusting expectations.

According to Royal LePage’s most recent Market Survey Forecast, the company predicts that the aggregate price of a home in the GTA will appreciate by 6.8% by the end of 2018, as many purchasers become acclimatized to the new mortgage rules and continue to compete over low inventory levels, particularly in the condominium market where demand significantly exceeds supply due to the long lead times in building these units. 

If you are curious to know how much your property is worth today or how much you can afford to buy, please feel free to reach out; and if you found this article helpful please hit "Like" and "Share".

A SEPTEMBER TO REMEMBER!

2017 TERRY FOX RUN WAS A HUGE SUCCESS

HIGH PARK, SEPTEMBER 17, 2017

From the bottom of my heart, I want to thank you for your participation! I know you all lead busy lives but yet you took the time to make a difference and it means the world to me. Our goal this year was to raise $15,000 towards this worthy cause and we surpassed our expectations.

As a Team, this year we raised $17,423 and the donations are still coming.

The High Park Run raised $109,130. 

The Terry Fox Run as a whole raised $3,675,624 this year and counting..

To date LUBA BELEY TEAM raised $75,544.

Thanks to your generosity, cancer research in Canada continues to forge discoveries that Terry could only have dreamed about. None of this would be possible without you. 

WE LOVE TERRY!

Terry Fox is truly my Canadian hero who so positively touched lives of so many people. Terry was only 18 when doctors amputated his right leg 15 cm above the knee and not long after losing his leg to cancer, Fox decided to run across Canada to raise awareness and money for cancer research. He ran from St. John’s, Newfoundland, to Thunder Bay, Ontario, covering 5,373 km in 143 days, but was forced to halt his Marathon of Hope when cancer invaded his lungs. He died shortly before his 23rd birthday.

The courage and determination of this young man have inspired millions of people around the world and we are so proud and happy to keep embracing Terry's legacy.
In 1981, Terry said, "Even if I don't finish, we need others to continue. It's got to keep going without me." Every day we are moving closer to his inspiring dream: a world free of cancer.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR DONATION & YOUR PARTICIPATION!

Here are some photos from our 2016 & 2017 High Park Terry Fox Run

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TORONTO UKRAINIAN FESTIVAL

BLOOR WEST VILLAGE

SEPTEMBER 15 - 17, 2017

Did you know that Toronto Ukrainian Festival was celebrating its 21st year in the Bloor West Village this year? Today it is the largest Ukrainian Festival in North America.

The Festival's organizers describe its vision "Is to offer the largest celebration of Ukrainian spirit in the world – showcasing the best of Ukrainian arts and culture and thereby strengthening the multicultural fabric of Canada. The Festival takes pride in turning its spotlight on contemporary professional and amateur artists and performers from North America and Ukraine, and in celebration of Toronto’s diversity, invites a local performing group representing another culture to bring its talents to the main stage each year. Throughout its history, the Festival has hosted prime ministers and other politicians from all levels of government." 

And we are so lucky that it all happens in our backyard.

In the last 21 years, I don't think I ever missed one. In previous years I participated in the Festival at a different capacity. This year I decided to showcase my real estate business by hosting an information booth.

It provided me with an excellent opportunity to reconnect with so many of my fellow Ukrainians, as well as meeting people from the Bloor West Village neighbourhood, neighbourhoods across the GTA and visitors from around the world. 

Visitors to my booth had an opportunity to be photographed in traditional Ukrainian costume,  and enter into a draw for a chance to WIN a $200.00 pre-paid Visa card. I would like to thank each end every one of you who stopped by to say hi and greeted me so ever warmly.

This was great fun, and once again I truly appreciate your continued loyalty and support.

For more information, please visit the 2017 Toronto Ukrainian Festival website here.

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Toronto Real Estate Market Returning to Balance

After an overheated performance for much of 2016 and 2017 which saw most homes selling at sky high prices, often well over list, and with multiple offers, the Greater Toronto Area real estate market is returning to balance as the summer closes.

Don’t believe what’s in the newspapers and media reports that Toronto’s real estate market is reaching a point where the bubble is going to burst.  It’s not supported by the facts.

The Toronto Real Estate Board reports in its latest figures, for the month of August, that sales of all homes recorded on MLS across the GTA were 6,357, down 34.8% year on year and that the average price only increased 3.0% to $732,292.

However, averages don’t tell the whole story, and there are pockets of real strength, particularly condominiums, where although sales were down 28.0% (mostly due to lack of supply), prices averaged 21.4% higher across the Greater Toronto Area.

Economic indicators are also pointing to fundamental strength, with real growth in the economy up 4.5% in the second quarter of 2017 and employment growth in the Greater Toronto Area of 1.3% during the month of July.  The impact of the recent (generally expected) Bank of Canada interest rate increases have yet to play out, but it's possible that they will not have a significant lasting impact on buyer sentiment, as the extreme “heat” that was being felt in the market has cooled somewhat as it returns to a more healthy balance of supply and demand.

Also, prior to the introduction of the Ontario Government’s Foreign Buyers tax last April, housing inventories in the Greater Toronto Area were running at some of their lowest levels in history, at or below 1 month’s supply, and this was reflected in the lofty month on month price increases experienced in what was truly a “sellers” market.

With the introduction of the new tax measures in April, active listings have begun to rise while sales have tapered off.  As a result, supply of homes has increased to a more healthy balance of 2.6 month’s supply in August, although down slightly from 3.1 month’s supply in July.

Typically though, during the summer months many sellers as well as purchasers are on the sidelines and activity wanes, while people are on vacation and out enjoying the good weather.  With summer drawing to a close, there is some optimism building, now the Greater Toronto Area real estate market has returned to a more healthy balance, that activity will pick up once again in the Autumn months.

When compared with other major Canadian cities, the Greater Toronto Area still has the lowest monthly inventory of homes, well below Montreal (7.8 months), Edmonton (5.5 months) and Calgary (4.1 months), and slightly lower than Vancouver (2.9 months),  meaning the Greater Toronto Area is still the strongest housing market in Canada.

If you are curious to know how much your property is worth today, please feel free to reach out and if you found this article helpful please hit "Like" and "Share".

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Celebrating Canada 150 with my clients & friends!

BEAUTIFUL, DIVERSE AND WELCOMING CANADA

2017 marks the 150th year since the Canadian Confederation, and the year-long birthday bash is in full swing.  July 1 is almost upon us and we all have our own Canadian story to tell.

HELLO GEORGIAN BAY!

Last weekend I drove up North for an hour and a half to experience a small part of this beautiful country. What an amazing landscape with preserved lands and waters that are so easily accessible. What a great country and its people are equally amazing!

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9 INCREDIBLE YEARS IN THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

This year I am celebrating 9 years in the real estate industry. I cannot believe how fast the time has gone by and it's been the most amazing ride of my life. My network of exceptional people keeps getting bigger and better and I am very grateful for it every day.

Shortly after arriving in Canada from Ukraine in 1994, to start a new life here in Toronto, I began my professional journey as an on-air TV host and reporter for OMNI TV's "Svitohliad". A lot has changed since those TV days. After my on-air experience, I began my sales career with BMW, and later with Porsche, as a Sales and Leasing Executive. I also worked in a Marketing Management capacity prior to launching my real estate business. I've learned so much about our city and our people through these valuable life & sales experiences.

Every person and every home I work with allows me not only a chance to grow and learn but to be very creative with each real estate transaction - setting new record prices for an area, street or condo complex. I work 24/7/365, helping my clients achieve their goals and dreams, and I am loving every moment of it! Take a look at what some of my clients have to say in my Client Testimonials here.

MY PERSONAL THANK YOU

This is my opportunity to give back to my community and to my people. I'm so blessed for having so many exceptional individuals in my network who have helped me along the way and taught me many valuable life lessons. As a result, I approach every person and every situation from the point of love, compassion & kindness. These are not just fancy words that I use to make things sound good, these are my standards that I choose to live by. I look forward to hearing from you and am grateful for your continued loyalty.

LUBABELEY.COM IS MAKING ITS DEBUT

In preparation for Canada’s 150th birthday celebration, as my own token of Love, is my new website LubaBeley.com. It's personal, just like the real estate business is to me. I’m trusting that the site I’ve created will give people the tools and knowledge to position themselves comfortably in the driver’s seat of their real estate transaction. 

You might find your own statement, video, photo or a quote there, so please check it out and provide your valuable feedback. I've made so many amazing deals but not many people know about them. Now all that great information is in one happy place. Please share LubaBeley.com with your trusted network, as you already know I will get the job done right every time. 

Whether you’re moving across town, across Canada, or across the world, I am here, working for you, my friends.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

Respectfully yours,

Luba - a bundle of positive energy, dedicated to making the world a happier place, one home and one client at the time:)

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My recent trip to Lviv, Ukraine - I highly recommend you visit!

This past May, I visited my family in Ukraine and attended my nephew's wedding. It's been a long 6 years since I visited my former homeland. There was nothing better than just chatting with my dad about life, enjoying talks with my mom and feasting on her exceptionally yummy Ukrainian food, which of course was made with Love. Fun times were enjoyed with my brother and my nephews. My daughter Olena also arrived from her travels to attend the wedding so it turned out to be a really special family reunion. 

Check out some of the architecture, lifestyle, my mom's gardens and more in some of these photos from my trip.

I just LOVE the city of LVIV and highly recommend that you go and visit this wonderful city if you haven't yet.

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