Posts Tagged ‘Real Estate’

Like the chicken and the egg, the Realtor and the Mortgage broker are fundamentally connected! Regardless of who you call first, the financing has to be in place before the shopping can begin.  Mortgages aren’t something I talk much about on the blog, because I believe there’s a lot of other people who cover it better… say for example – mortgage brokers!

Last week I came across a tweet from @MortgageJake which warned of CMHC nearing it’s limit.  For those unfamiliar with what CMHC is, here’s a quick lesson:

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) is Canada’s national housing agency. Established as a government-owned corporation in 1946 to address Canada’s post-war housing shortage, the agency has grown into a major national institution. CMHC is Canada’s premier provider of mortgage loan insurance, mortgage-backed securities, housing policy and programs, and housing research.

Their most common use in a real estate transaction is insuring mortgages where less than 20% down-payment is given… and speaking from my own experiences, something many first-time buyers bank on using.  So hearing that they’re nearing their allotted peak is somewhat alarming!

Here’s what Jake had to say about it on his mortgage blog:

Good Morning!

I get the BNN market commentary email every day and it has a slew of great info both economically and with respect to the various markets at play. This morning I nearly spilled my tea when I read the following:

The Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation is bumping its head up against the ceiling and may need to apply for renovations to its $600-billion mortgage insurance cap. The Financial Post reports this morning that the CMHC is cutting back on the number of mortgages it insures as the value of its portfolio swells towards the limit of its government-backed mandate. And by government-backed, I mean tax-payer backed, by which I mean you and me. With debate still not settled over whether the Canadian housing market is a bubble, a balloon, or merely a little bloated, Canadians will be talking about this story today and asking about the risks of a $600-billion portfolio going suddenly bad and what it would mean for them. Granted, mortgage defaults in Canada sit at a puny 1 percent so the risk to the portfolio is next to nothing, but what happens when the CMHC hits the $600-billion limit? Would the government say “no” to a request to increase it, running the risk of killing a booming housing market? Can the CMHC change its business a bit to stay under the cap, say stop insuring loans with more than 20 percent equity? Calls for comment are in to the CMHC.

This is simply insane news. A number of things may happen in this case, one of which I am already seeing:

1. CMHC will cut back on the number of loans it insures. Although traditionally the lender ratios are maxed at 44/44, I have seen numerous files declined by CMHC at this max ratio.

2. The Government will not open the taps for a higher limit, thus killing many CMHC applications, and thus many turn-downs for your clients. This can have a drastic effect if you’re going “all-in” with no conditions.

3. GENWORTH and CANADA GUARANTY stand to profit big-time if #2 occurs. They are both direct competitors to CMHC and do not operate under the Federal Government, but rather are privately-run or publicly-owned companies. I have placed a call to my Genworth rep to see if they also operate under a ceiling, and how close they are.

What’s my take on this?

This is just another example of a housing market that is… dare I say… overheating. As long as rates remain this low, people will feel that affordability is within their grasp (even as prices continue to zoom upwards). What I’m more concerned about is what will happen when rates go up at renewal time? I wrote about it in my blog and you may be surprised to find out that many people will face higher payments.

It’s hard to say what will eventually come out of it, so at this time I’d like to ask your opinion on where you think the Canadian Real Estate market is:

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The east end of Toronto’s waterfront is rapidly changing!  Once finished, Pier 27 will be a predominate jewel on the condo crown that outlines the waterfront… but those days are still a while away, so until then let’s look at what Cityzen Developments has built thus far! Below is an update (with photos) from their official blog:

Though it may not look luxurious now, Pier 27 will be screaming prestige at Yonge and Lakeshore in the future.

We visited the Toronto Waterfront site late last week and the progress made since our last visit this past November has been substantial to say the least!

With many different crews on site at the moment, things are going well, especially with the weather.

Work has progressed up to the 7th floor on buidling B1, and up to floor 4 in building B2.

Phase 3 of Pier 27 is currently undergoing approvals, and we hope to bring the project to market in the near future. 

A view of the Pier 27 site from the 20th floor of L Tower.

A new model suite is coming to the sales centre, and we hope to have it ready for viewing this spring.

Stay tuned for the latest updates on Pier 27 and many more of our projects. Got a question? Tweet to us or catch us on Facebook. Read the rest of this entry »

Sick and tired of all BrokerBabble online and in the blogosphere?  Can’t justify paying $1,000,000 for that one bedroom bungalow? … you’re not alone!

Last week, @BigVeech suggested I check out FML Listings – an anonymous Tumblr blogger who shares their opinion on everything from the high prices of buying in the city to the broker exaggerated choice of words in the listing. The blog launched this month and already The Grid TO, Blog TO,  Torontoist, Move Smartly have picked up on their postings!

I reached out to FML Listings and asked a varitey of questions about their thoughts on the current state of the TO market.  Check out our chat below!

How long has the blog been up for?

The blog has only been up for about two weeks. There are about 2 or 3 pages of listings at this point, and I’m finding more and more each day, along with all the amazing submissions people have been sending in. I had no idea there’d be this much content, and it’s almost sad in a way that I have about 20 listings ready to go up as I type this.

What made you start FMLL in the first place? Was there one listing that pushed you over the breaking point lol?

Well, I’ve been looking for houses on and off for a couple years and lately every listing I see is just crazier than the last. Then a few weeks ago I saw one that just killed me—it was a really old run down (and tiny) semi-detached house near the Danforth (listed as “in the beaches”) being sold for almost a million dollars, and I just couldn’t keep that one to myself. I wanted everyone to see how insane that was. The feedback I got when I posted it was so overwhelming; it made me realize that a lot of people didn’t know what was going on with real estate in this city. So I just kept posting more listings, and unfortunately there are tonnes of them.

Is there a goal to the blog?

Mostly for personal sanity. Every time I go to an overpriced open house, I tell myself “no one’s going to buy this.” Then it actually sells for at least asking price. So, seeing all the feedback I’ve been getting agreeing that the market is completely out whack makes me feel just a *little* bit better about the situation, and a little less crazy. That’s always great.

But more so, now that it’s getting so much exposure, I just love that word is getting out on what’s going on. I feel like a lot of people don’t realize how insane the market has gotten, so my ultimate goal would just be to spread the word to as many people as possible, and start that conversation of “wait a minute, is that house really worth a million dollars?”

Realtors loooove to promote the level of sales they’ve achieved through titles with very little value to the public (like platinum broker, 100% club etc) Have you considered giving an award of your own for crappiest listing?

Haha, that’s a great idea!! I would love to do that, but I think about 70% of the listings would win that award. It’d be so hard to narrow it down. When I write each listing out it seems I always start with “and this one is my favourite of all time!!” Then, as a new candidate comes along, I have to take a step back and tell myself that they all can’t be my favourite.

Any examples of listings done well?

It’s hard to say, but I’ve seen a couple good listings here and there. Recently I saw one out in the west end that was overpriced because the owners had just renovated it, but it was beautiful and the realtor was honest and upfront about everything, which is a nice change. But more often than not, most listings I see are very poorly done and rarely represent the actual home and price the home *should* be.

What do you expect out of your realtor when listing your home?

Well, I’d first and foremost expect honesty. I think in this market, agents are just getting lazier and saying whatever they want to make the quick sale. I first used an agent over 5 years ago to buy a condo, and they did a lot of work for me. But now I feel like the market just sells itself, and some agents are taking all this commission and not doing much work for it. I mean right now, I’m about to put my house up for sale (it’s a semi-detached in Richmond Hill), but I’m finding it so hard to justify paying a Realtor $25,000 commission to put a typo-filled, incorrect information, skewed-imaged listing on MLS and just wait for the offers to come in.

What your biggest pet peeve with MLS listings?

Just the lack of honesty in the listings, or the abundance of errors. I mean, if you look at some listings, they’re mapped in the wrong area, have incorrect photos (or none at all), or completely incorrect information. I’ve had agents tell me that to carry a million dollar property I was in, it would be $1600 a month, which I know just isn’t true. Or other agents say in their listings that houses in Newmarket are only 10 minutes to downtown Toronto. Have they ever driven on the 404 during the morning rush hour?? They’re selling inexperienced people a lifetime of debt they can’t afford, and a lifestyle they’re not prepared for. There needs to be some accountability there.

Can others send crappy listings to you?

Yes. I added a submission page for people to email me listings. So far the response has been overwhelming; the content is just overflowing at this point. It’s great that I have blog content, but more so it really makes me upset that there even are this many unaffordable trash houses. And now I’m getting listings from people in Brampton, Mississauga, and other 905 areas. So now it seems like it’s much more than just a Toronto problem.

Have any Realtors contacted you about seeing their listing on the blog?

Not yet, thankfully. I’ve actually had a lot of Realtors contact me praising me for what I’m doing! It’s an amazing feeling, and so validating. I mean, the back-story is that we’ve been looking at houses for years and we just never understood what was going on. Surely agents must know that these properties are overvalued. So to see these realtors email me and praise the site, it’s a great feeling.

As I first wrote back in December, Symmetry Developments has a brand new condo/loft in the works!  At the time all we had to work with was a rough preliminary rendering … but now we have a much more refined image (pictured above), a name to call this gorgeous structure, and even an address!

Very much true to it’s design, the loft will be called Origami and will be built at 202 Bathurst St. just north of Queen.  The opening of CB2 is a further testament to the changes happening in the area and a clear indicator of the transitions taking place!

In a move similar to their Hive Lofts in Etobicoke, Symmetry has brought Teeple Architects back to design Origami.  I especially like the way the penthouses appear to be floating above the building, and the large “202″ at the base of the building.  It serves as functional component to the structure, as well as a topographical one for those living at the lofts!

The latest from Sayf is that they’re still tweaking the design and should have an even awesome-r rendering in the coming weeks!

Read the rest of this entry »

A trip to New York City is not complete without a stop at the LEGO store! As a lifetime lover of the multicoloured bricks, I made it one of my first stops in the City.  The store boasts some of it’s most intricate models on display and several replicas of local NY landmarks.

Before the high-rises, cranes and commissions… my first true love for architecture came from Lego! They’re latest line of Archtecture and Landmark pieces captures some of the most unique and beautiful structures from around the world.  Being in NYC, I couldn’t pass up the chance to buy the Empire State building and Rockefeller block!

Lego currently has 11 structures in it’s collection with prices ranging from $25 to over $200 for Frank Lloyd Wrights Robbie House pictured below!

According to a rezoning application submitted to the City, Baker Street Bakery (located at 396 Hopewell Ave) may soon be home to townhomes instead of cakes and tarts! The application reads:

The proposed development is comprised of a combination of stack townhouse buildings, arranged in four blocks. A total of 102 dwelling units are proposed for the site and will consist of 67 one bedroom units and 35 two-bedroom. A private driveway is proposed off Hopewell Avenue which will allow access to the parking level. A total of 110 parking spaces are provided for residents and visitors.

Photo credit: Russell Aliaga Magtalas

If approved, the townhomes are a further shift from the mainly industrial area that once occupied the area!  I’ll be following the developments of the application for updates in the coming months.   Read the rest of this entry »

Broadview and Danforth, look out… because some Bold neighbours are moving in!  I was driving through the area the other day when I saw sandwich boards up for Bildcrests (think The Swanwick Lofts church conversion in the Upper Beaches) latest development – Bold Towns.

Not much is currently known about the town-homes but judging by the rendering above, it looks like a collection of possibly 14 units.  The Bold Towns will be built on a vacant Broadview Ave parking lot, on the east side just north of Pretoria Ave.  Here’s what many may recognize the site to look like in the past:

Sitting at approximately 3 stories tall, I like the look the towns will add to the area… after all, anything is much better than what’s above!  The strip of Danforth (at Broadview) has really come to life in the past 5 years with Shoppers Drugmart opening up on the north side and a variety of new restaurants setting up shop in the area.  And of course, let’s not forget the accessibility of the area with the Danforth Subway Station and the on ramp to the DVP less than a block away. Read the rest of this entry »