News, Views and Trends!
After years of seeing countless articles and posts about interest rates, housing affordability issues, mortgage stress tests disqualifying some people from being able to buy, higher personal debt levels, does it still make sense to buy a home?
Yes! There is positive news. You can still buy a home. And you can still qualify for a mortgage.
Continue reading “The affordability of homeownership… Rent or Buy?”
Do you need motivation to buy and own your home? Well, read this.
I read an article recently about “renovictions” courtesy of Rentals.ca. (This is geared more for Ontario and BC residents.) This is a new word that you’ll be hearing more often, I’m sure.
Here’s my warning and words of advice… Attention renters: If you’re currently renting a condo or house with below market rents, you’ll want to read this.
And I’ll skip to the bottom line for a moment: If you’re renting, you should give serious consideration to buying and owning so that you have control over your place of residence.
Continue reading “‘Renovictions’ should motivate you to BUY, not rent!”
Ontario’s controversial rent control is about to come to an end – and that’s a positive change!
When I was attending a speaking session with one of my favourite economists – Benjamin Tal – a few weeks back, he had a great quote: “There’s a Swedish economist who said, ‘Rent control is the best way to destroy a city, maybe besides bombing it.’”
Isn’t that the truth?!
In the GTA, rental units are scarce. And, says Tal, rent control would only further diminish the already depleted supply of available units.
Could 2018 be the year where the pessimists finally get their way? I hate to admit it, but this could be the year where buying a home may not be a good idea.
OK, just kidding!!!
But after years of seeing countless articles and posts about rising interest rates, housing affordability issues, mortgage stress tests disqualifying some people from being able to buy, higher personal debt levels, NAFTA economic fears and Donald Trump (ok, Trump has nothing to do with this, but you can’t write an article these days without blaming him, right?!), does it still make sense to buy a home?
Yes! There is positive news. You can still buy a home. And you can still qualify for a mortgage.
Continue reading “Buying a home is cheaper than renting. Don’t be intimidated!”
Much has been written about the Canadian housing market. Even more about greater Toronto and Vancouver. The pessimists are waiting for a collapse. The optimists are hoping the prices keep going up. Then there’s the realists. They would like to see the market slow and maybe even for prices to go down, so that we don’t have a housing bubble. Which one are you?
When it comes to the housing market, I’m a realist.
Every Spring, for the last 10+ years, the real estate market in Canada heats up. Prices increase, they sell faster, and supply can’t keep up with demand. It’s become the norm. In June, July and August, the market gets very quiet and prices go down. That’s right, they actually go down.
This year was no different except for 2 things.. Supply was very low in January, February and March, causing selling prices to jump as much as 20% over last year in some markets. Now, let’s look more closely.. Continue reading “Housing market is active but will slow in summer as it ALWAYS does..”
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