May 2024 Market Report
Hey Friends!
We are EXCITED to feel the warm weather and to see the beautiful trees and flowers blooming throughout the city. Neighbours are hanging out on their front porches again and we can’t help but notice that more people are smiling ?
The real estate market is active and homes are being bought and sold.
Let’s take a few minutes to give you another Real Estate update for May 2024.
The Government of Canada dropped a bit of a surprise on us all a couple of weeks ago in relation to Capital Gains Taxes in Canada. This resulted in a bit of a worried frenzy among investors, financial planners, and accountants. The toughest blow is that they aren’t giving our citizens much time to change their plans that have likely been in place for years.
In relation to real estate, if you dispose of your capital property that is NOT your principal residence, the current rule states that 50% of the gain is included in your taxable income.
The new proposed rule will be that 66.7% of the gain will be included in your taxable income, if the property is disposed of on or after June 25, 2024.
There are some differences between individuals vs. corporations and trusts. For individuals, the first $250,000 of a capital gain realized after June 25, 2024 will be taxed at 50% and anything over and above that will be taxed at 67.7%
We are seeing a lot of real estate investors rush to the market looking for a quick sale in order to avoid the increased tax. If you own a secondary property, let’s take some time to do some quick math before making a snap-decision.
Assuming that you are in the highest tax bracket at 53.53%, a capital gain of $350,000 would result in a difference of approximately $9,000 more out of pocket with the new rules vs. the old ones.
Although it’s not ideal, it’s likely not as bad as it sounds. Where it will have the largest effect will be on people who have held an investment property for more than a decade who have realized a larger gain over time.
Now, don’t freak out! If you had no plans on selling your secondary property, it may not make sense to get it sold before June 25, 2024 (or maybe not even this year at all!). If it was on your radar to sell it this year, it may be worth getting it on the market and sold before June 25.
Just reach out! We are here to help you walk through all of your options. It would also be a great idea to touch base with your accountant and/or financial planner :)
Remember, teamwork makes your real estate dream work!
The Buyers are out and the Sellers are more willing to list their homes for sale after seeing prices bounce back after the brief dip caused by the hikes in interest rates. April came and went and interest rates stayed the same. The next rate announcement is June 5th and there is plenty of anticipation on whether or not the Bank of Canada will start to drop the interest rates. We’re sure that a drop in rates would be welcome by many!
Year-over-year stats were relatively flat with slight increases of approximately 3% overall in the city of Toronto. We did however see a 6% increase in all home types in the city of Toronto comparing March/24 to April/24, which is not uncommon for a traditional spring market.
The number of sales were also down year-over-year which meant increased choice for buyers. This and an increased number of available listings has also helped to keep the prices flat.
Freehold homes continue to get more attention than the condo market, garnering more multiple offer situations and quicker sales. As always, a properly presented and priced property will still move in almost any market (we can help with this!)
Overall, we feel that this is a relatively healthy market and there isn’t as much tension compared to spring markets in recent years – a much more enjoyable experience for buyers and sellers.
Check out the April year-over-year stats below for more information on the current market. If you would like statistics specific to your neighbourhood, an updated Comparative Market Analysis for your home, or help deciphering what the numbers could mean for you, please let us know and we would be happy to provide that for you.
Welcome home to boutique urban living at unit 801 at 318 King St E, The King East, where style meets comfort in this impressive one bedroom condo. This residence offers an inviting open-concept living space with engineered hardwood floors, approximately 9-foot ceilings and stylish concrete accents, evoking a trendy loft-style ambiance.
The modern kitchen features full-sized stainless steel appliances, sleek stone countertops and a new subway tile backsplash. Floor-to-ceiling windows fill the space with natural light throughout the day with spectacular sunsets to follow in the evening.
The spacious bedroom boasts large closets for plenty of storage, engineered hardwood floors and frosted glass sliding doors.
Spanning 600 square feet of wonderful living space inside, this residence also features a generously sized balcony with the convenience of a gas BBQ, perfect for outdoor dining, entertaining friends or simply unwinding while taking in the city views.
Suite 801 also includes the added convenience of ensuite laundry, a large front hall closet and a locker.
Check out www.318king.com for more info and photos.
We have been blessed to have had the opportunity to help many of you and your people so far this year.
We truly appreciate your support and feel extremely honoured that you choose The TO Group to refer to your family, friends, and colleagues. Thank you!
Cheers!
Chris and Ford
JUST SOLD
186 East’s Corners Blvd
Congratulations to our seller clients who just sold their beautiful Kleinburg home in for FULL PRICE IN ONE DAY! We’re so happy for you and we’re glad that we could help you with the sale!
For more info on this recent sale, check out 186EastsCorners.com
Thinking of selling and want to know more about our listing process? Our goal is to always make the home selling experience as easy and stress-free as possible for our clients while delivering incredible results! From offering industry-leading staging and marketing services all the way through to negotiating a fantastic sale price, we’re here to help! Send us a message for more info!
JUST SOLD
186 East’s Corners Blvd
Congratulations to our seller clients who just sold their beautiful Kleinburg home in for FULL PRICE IN ONE DAY! We’re so happy for you and we’re glad that we could help you with the sale!
For more info on this recent sale, check out 186EastsCorners.com
Thinking of selling and want to know more about our listing process? Our goal is to always make the home selling experience as easy and stress-free as possible for our clients while delivering incredible results! From offering industry-leading staging and marketing services all the way through to negotiating a fantastic sale price, we’re here to help! Send us a message for more info!
April 2024 Market Report
Hey Friends!
Spring is finally back and so is Blue Jays baseball. As most of you already know, the TO Group are lifelong fans of the Jays and we spend an ample amount of our downtime watching Canada’s team. We are hopeful that they win some playoff games this season!
With that said, we have purchased tickets to a number of games this year and we wanted to try something new! So, we have a proposal for all of our loyal followers (this means you).
Any referral that you send to the TO Group that results in a successful closing will result in a pair of awesome seats to a Jays game this season*. As a bonus, you’ll get peace of mind knowing that your people will receive the best service in Real Estate ;)
Now, let’s take a few minutes to give you another Real Estate update for April 2024.
Did you know that there are homes for sale that aren’t available to the general public via MLS? These are often referred to as “Exclusive Listings” or “Pocket Listings”
An exclusive listing is when a seller enters into a listing agreement with a Brokerage but does not go to MLS. The listing remains exclusive to the listing brokerage and their agents have the exclusive opportunity to find a buyer.
You may be asking yourself “why would a homeowner want to limit the exposure of their home to the open market?” That’s a great question!
Here are a few instances where a seller may not want to expose their home to the general public:
Privacy – some sellers may not want photos of their home all over the internet for their neighbours to see and they may want to limit showings to only hand-picked, qualified buyers.
Not yet market ready – Sellers will often engage a Realtor to sell their property, but they may want to make some improvements to the home before going to MLS and they need some time to do it. Signing exclusively allows the Realtor to help the seller prepare their home for the market while being able to promote the home to their buyer clients or to other agents, so that they know that there is a great house coming to the market.
Restricted showing access – If a property is listed on MLS, it must be available to be shown to prospective buyers. If a Seller is in the middle of a renovation before selling, they may not want buyers coming through the property who may not be able to envision the finished product.
There are definitely pros and cons to exclusive listings and most of our clients choose to go to MLS to maximize exposure, however there is always a time and a place where this option can work for some of our clients.
Good News!
As a Buyer, the TO Group has access to plenty of exclusive listings throughout our brokerage, so there is always a chance that we can find your dream home before it goes on MLS
As a Seller, we have an extensive network of colleagues who work with qualified and serious buyers that may be looking for a home exactly like yours!
One of the many benefits of working with the TO Group is that we are a part of one of the largest and most well-connected real estate brokerages in Ontario.
March 2024 home sales were lower than the March 2023 result. Despite a better-supplied market compared to last year, there was enough competition between buyers to see a moderate increase in the average March home price compared to last year’s level.
Market conditions have gradually improved over the last quarter. Buyers seem to have adjusted to the higher interest rates as it has become more clear that the rates will likely not increase any further.
Homeowners who had been anticipating improved market conditions helped provide a better supply to the market in March which was welcomed by anxious buyers.
Assuming that we benefit from lower borrowing costs in the near future, we expect that sales will increase, new listings will be absorbed, and tighter market conditions will push selling prices higher.
Check out the March year-over-year stats below for more information on the current market. If you would like statistics specific to your neighbourhood, an updated Comparative Market Analysis for your home, or help deciphering what the numbers could mean for you, please let us know and we would be happy to provide that for you.
We are now in our 4th year of organizing our East Side Food Drive and we just wrapped up our Easter Edition which was a huge success! Thanks to everyone who contributed! This is truly one of the most gratifying events that we put on for our community and we really enjoy watching it grow. The Food Banks are having trouble keeping up with the demand this year so every effort counts!
Many people who are on variable mortgage rates or those who are approaching a mortgage renewal have been watching the Bank of Canada’s announcements on the overnight lending rate. The next announcement is on April 10th, so we are all waiting to see if they will cut the rates as many indicators are showing that inflation is under control.
Many industry professionals are expecting that the first rate cut won’t likely occur until June or July, but that the rates could fall from the current 5% down to approximately 3.75% by the end of the year. For those who have been reading our newsletters for the last year, you’ll know that when rates drop, prices tend to go up. Stay tuned!
As always, we would be happy to help you and any of your friends, family, colleagues, or neighbours with real estate services or advice. If you can think of anyone that could use our help, feel free to make an introduction! We promise we’ll make you look good ;)
Ford and Chris
*As a thank you for any referrals between April 5/24 – Sept 1/24 (excluding leases) which result in a successful purchase or sale, the TO Group would like to offer you a pair of tickets to a 2024 regular season Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. We appreciate your support!
