Premium prices for high end turn key homes on premium lots in premium locations. There are not too many homes in the city that have it all and it appears that the ones that do are getting record prices. Last week a home in Baby Point was listed for $8.5 mill and in 3 days attracted 3 bids selling for $9.6 mill. It had a fabulous ravine lot with a large tableland. The house was beautiful and the landscaping was spectacular. This is for sure a record price for the area and shows that if you do it right buyers appreciate it. The cost of building and renovating is so high now and takes so much time that turn key is worth paying up for in some buyers eyes.

Luxury cottage rentals readjusting post pandemic. When the pandemic started and no one could travel demand for cottage rentals surged. Demand was so high that prices more than doubled. Many who never wanted to own cottages because they wanted to travel bought cottages so prices surged. Now stuck carrying these cottages with higher carrying costs due to inflation and increasing interest rates, cottage owners are trying to subsidize with renting. Also, people are travelling. Hence less demand for rentals, more supply and readjustment of prices.

We will see how many cottages come for sale as those who are not really cottage people decide that owning a cottage is just too much work and too expensive. It’s not for everyone.

Desire to live out of the city does not appear to be waning. With the world slowly opening up, outlook on life has changed for many. Those able to work remotely and who had places to work out of the city opted to work there for extended periods of time. A good number decided that they actually liked it and preferred living in country serenity with outdoor activities –  therapeutic for those with stressful jobs. Hence popular areas like Collingwood/Thornbury continue to see growth and increasing prices. That doesn’t appear to be ending. The world has definitely changed. Hopefully those quiet country oasis continue to be just that.

Higher interest rates and inflation are in the forecast. Everyone is asking how this will impact the real estate market. The answer is we have no idea. Yes higher interest rates and living costs should impact affordability but with such high demand and low supply of housing we are not sure how it will all go. We are not really seeing supply go up substantially and we aren’t seeing demand subside. Increasing supply of housing is not an easy fix as much as government would like to make it so. Perhaps solutions need to be more creative and out of the box.

Toronto is starting to see job transfers coming in from other countries. As the world opens up we are starting to see people moving to Toronto for work. Toronto is now international hub for many industries. Its also a relatively easy city to live in with so much to offer. With the influx of immigration how will we handle our lack of housing. The rental market and the resale market are already so tight with supply. Where will everyone live? The government appears to be trying to create more supply but they are not making it easy for landlords or developers wanting to build. Perhaps some new solutions need to be looked at.

Buyers still looking for space and not enough people want to sell. It feels like we are in a Covid transition phase – the world is slowly opening up but most don’t feel like the world is back to usual. And perhaps the new usual is different. Work from home and hesitation to travel continue to spur the demand for more space. Hence homes with home offices and enough rooms for everyone in the family to escape to are in high demand. We just don’t have enough listings for everyone. Bidding wars for homes continue, Real estate looks to be a good investment. Prices have never been higher.

Buyers need to be well prepared when buying in todays market. Buyers need to have their ducks lined up in order to buy a house in todays hot market. When a well priced house comes on the market one has little or no time to think. Well prepared buyers have firm offers coming in quickly – sometimes within hours of coming to market. Hence if one wants to buy, market knowledge and financing have to be in place. The ability to make a quick decision is critical. This is true for houses of all price points and for many condos. Market is hot hot hot…

Buying in a good location always pays off. You may pay a bit more for a premium location, for example a park, nice lot, good exposure, good neighbourhood, quiet street but this will pay off when you go and sell. Last week we sold a home in a great neighbourhood, two doors away from a park on a quiet street with good exposure. We had 6 offers and it sold $300,000 over list price. This applies to condos also – buy with good exposure, good floor, good layout and good neighbourhood it will always be easy to resell. It is true what they say – location, location, location.

Hot real estate outside Toronto. The demand for vacationing and or moving to areas outside of Toronto has been significant. Prince Edward County is one of the areas which has recently gained popularity. When you go there one can see why. Not only are there some great places to stay but what is interesting is its variety of things to do and visit. It has become somewhat of a foodie area – great restaurants, cheese places, cideries and wineries. Without the hills but with a lake it almost started reminding me of Cherlevoix/Baie St Paul area. The area around Waupoos where we stayed is one of the hot parts. Wellington has the renowned DRAKE DEVONSHIRE and some more known wineries like Norman Hardy but Waupoos has its own vibe. You can enjoy cider and great food overlooking a vineyard and Lake Ontario. Picton has some great restaurants. One can only imagine what this has done and will do to real estate prices.

Younger people who want to get into the market are getting in out of town or buying condos. Demand for condos has risen as house prices have become unaffordable. Demand for homes further from the city have also increased and so have prices. As a result, our cities will change.  The change in demographics will affect infrastructure, commercial real estate, and businesses. The world is changing in so many ways. Adapting to a new reality will be critical.