Our weekly round-up of real estate news in Toronto, across Canada and the world for the week ending Jan. 27, 2017.
TORONTO
GTA house price 'spillover' driving up prices in Sudbury, Ottawa: CMHC (CBC)
Potential homebuyers thinking that a longer commute is their solution to the red-hot real estate market in the Greater Toronto Area should be prepared to spend more time on the road – or relocate, if the results of a new report are any indication.
The report by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) says house price "spillover" is occurring not only in traditional GTA alternatives like Hamilton and Guelph, but also further afield in cities like St. Catharines and even as far away as Sudbury and Ottawa.
RioCan CEO plots 2017 Toronto projects as home demand spikes (Financial Post)
Ed Sonshine, the 70-year-old chief executive officer of RioCan REIT, is in the planning stages for several large sites this year that may push the company beyond an original goal of building 10,000 residential units in the next decade.
The Toronto-based company has a portfolio of about 300 malls across the country, and is seeking to redevelop stores and add housing to at least 50 of them.
Toronto home buyers keen while sellers holding back (Globe and Mail)
The rain was teeming down one night this month when 33 bidders were vying to be the new owners of a two-bedroom house close to the GO Train tracks in east end Toronto.
Rochelle DeClute of DeClute Real Estate Inc. says an agent from her office represented one of the competitors for the nicely renovated semi-detached. Any hope that the dreary weather would deter rival bidders quickly fizzled. The house, with an asking price near the $600,000 mark, sold for more than $820,000.
CANADA
Royal LePage reports sharp rise in U.S. interest in Canadian real estate (Vancouver Sun)
TORONTO — A new report from Royal LePage suggests many Americans who oppose incoming president Donald Trump continue showing a desire to purchase property in Canada.
In a report released early Friday, the company says American web traffic on its website surged 329 per cent the day after the U.S. election on Nov. 8 and has climbed 210.1 per cent year-over-year the week after Trump’s victory.
Seer predicts ominous Year of the Rooster for Canadian real estate (Mortgage Broker News)
The latest predictions by industry observers painted a relatively bumpy year for Canadian real estate amid some uncertainty, and a Richmond-based soothsayer provided further bad news from the stars.
Ahead of the Year of the Fire Rooster (which starts January 28), astrologer Sherman Tai offered sober advice for hopeful Chinese investors who are looking for a second, more celestial opinion.
British Columbia’s tax on foreign real estate buyers is having its desired effect, dragging home prices down from dizzying highs compared to the rest of Canada, according to research from BMO Nesbitt Burns.
The additional 15 per cent property charge on foreign buyers has seen a steep drop in real estate transaction in the Vancouver area since it was introduced last summer. The MLS Home Price Index, a tool used by Canadian Real Estate Association to monitor price fluctuations, now shows prices trending downwards as well.
USA
What Trump’s first executive action on mortgage premium cuts means for you (USA Today)
President Donald Trump blocked an Obama administration policy Friday that would have reduced the cost of mortgages for millions of home buyers.
Here’s a look at what Trump’s first executive action means for your mortgage:
Yours for $250m: the most expensive house in America (The Guardian)
Bruce Makowsky does not believe in underselling, which is just as well because he’s listed a house in Los Angeles for $250m – America’s most expensive home.
“I wanted to build the most spectacular house in the United States,” said the developer. “I wanted to have every spectacular thing in that house, in one place. This house is the eighth wonder of the world.”
U.S. home sales drop as supply tumbles to 17-year low (Reuters)
U.S. home resales fell more than expected in December as the supply of houses on the market dropped to levels last seen in 1999, but the housing market recovery remained intact against the backdrop of a tightening labor market.
The National Association of Realtors said on Tuesday existing home sales decreased 2.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.49 million units. In addition to the lack of properties to purchase, rising home prices and mortgage rates also likely sidelined some buyers last month.
INTERNATIONAL
Mainland China investors snap up overseas real estate (China Daily)
The exponentially expanding appetite of Chinese mainland capital for international real estate assets reached a record high in 2016?and is likely to continue to play a significant role in the global property market in the next few years?although more domestic capital may look at opportunities on the mainland in 2017, a leading real estate services providers said.
London will remain the property 'safe haven' with more foreign buyers coming in 2017, top real estate CEO says (CNBC)
London will remain a property "safe haven" despite Brexit with the falling pound attracting foreign buyers, the CEO of a top real estate firm, told CNBC on Friday.
Following the U.K.'s vote to leave the European Union last June, Sterling fell sharply. A fall in sterling makes it cheaper for overseas buyers to purchase goods in Britain.
Real estate agents roll out the red carpet for Chinese New Year (News.com.au)
CASHED-UP Chinese tourists are set to descend on Australia for Chinese New Year — and many will be going property hunting.
According to a survey of Chinese consumers by realestate site Juwai.com, 26 per cent plan to travel internationally this year and 42 per cent plan to go look at properties during their holiday.
Hong Kong tops survey of world's least affordable home market (Business Times)
Hong Kong retained its rank as the most expensive housing market among 406 major metropolitan regions in the annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey for the seventh year in a row.
The median price of a home in Hong Kong last year was 18.1 times the median annual pretax household income, the survey showed. That's a modest improvement in affordability compared with last year's 19 times, which was the highest multiple in the 12 years Demographia has been conducting its research.
