Tyler Tim Realtor

According to a new study there is trouble brewing in some of the hottest real estate markets in the world. Equifax Canada reported a 52% increase in fraudulent activity in mortgage applications. “We’re certainly seeing more mortgage applications being flagged as suspicious by our reporting institutions,” said vice-president Equifax Canada. One possible explanation for this is unevaluated house prices. While there is no real punishment for this, individuals who file inaccurate claims on a loan based on overvaluations face serious consequences. Two-thirds of all flagged mortgage applications came from Canada; this does not bode well for the Toronto real estate market. Another layer of trouble blankets most of Canada’s major cities. Problematic conditions such as falsified account statements and falsified documents have been found in Vancouver, Victoria, Saskatoon, Regina, and Hamilton. Rapid economic growth in the real estate industry may very well stem from overvaluations lea...

Canada is greatly known for its diverse population; however it has also become visible through the diverse conditions of regional housing markets. Over the last 12 months Canada has fostered some of the world’s hottest and coldest markets. According to global real estate agency Knight Frank, while three Canadian cities ranked among the world’s fastest house price growth markets, four well known cities found themselves at the bottom of the list (see charts below). Yet this superficial indexed figured is misrepresentative of the real situation. Since then the average housing price in Vancouver has dropped 26%, and the top end of the real estate industry has collapsed. This collapse has removed over 40 per cent of the money supply of the corresponding market. As average prices in Vancouver continue to decline, it is likely they will lose their prestigious status at the top of Knight Frank’s list. On the other spectrum of the list, Calgary and Edmonton do not seem to seem...

           Soon after Trump’s big presidential win Canadian immigration websites crashed and online campaigns created by Americans to move to Canadian surged. Many believed was simply a radical reaction that would never gain any real traction. Nevertheless, it seems as though some Americans might actually keep their promise. According to Royal LePage Realty since Trump’s inauguration, there has been an increase in real estate interest derived from just south of our borders. While the sudden bump in Canadian immigration may have been an isolated incident, interest in prime real estate in Canada continues to grow thanks to our American neighbors. Furthermore, according to a recent survey nearly 40 percent of market advisors predict this interest will continue to grow under the presidency of Donald Trump. Topping the list of most researched areas by Americans was Ontario and more specifically Toronto. Other areas of interest can be seen below. Whether thi...

One of the toughest decisions when selling a home is deciding upon the optimal listing price. The Journal of Economic Psychology examines a study that was conducted to identify how different types of listing strategies affect house pricing negotiations. Previous studies conducted by other economists suggest while listing strategies may influence the selling process, it does not directly translate. This is because, unlike marketable consumer goods, the list price of a property generally acts as a starting point of negotiations. Therefore, the study discussed in the Journal of Economic Psychology is an extension on existing research, and goes on to investigate the effects and negotiated outcomes of listing strategies. The psychology behind real estate pricing is a vital factor for agents or regular home owners to be mindful of. For the purpose of the study three different types of pricing strategies were examined: rounded (where the thousands digit is either 0 or 5) , just below ( whe...

There are several opinions on which direction the real estate market will go in 2017. Whether you are planning to buy or sell in the near future it is important to look at 5 forces that will affect the Canadian real estate industry in 2017.   1. U.S. Federal Reserve’s Interest Rates Although technically Canadian and American central banks set their interest rates autonomously from each other, changes in the U.S. rates generally has a huge impact on Canadian mortgages rates. U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen raised rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the end of 2016, and has implied three more rate hikes will occur in 2017. Although it is doubtfully Yellen will take action so quickly, Canadians should expect mortgage rates to increase throughout the year. 2. Canadian Economy By and large the Canadian economy will not nose-dive if interest rates increase and the demand for homes decrease. But rising interest rates accompanied with an already weakening econo...

It is no surprise where the real winners and losers of the Trudeau-lead government lie. Throughout his campaign he talked about two things: the middle class and people wearing white lab coats. Since Trudeau was voted into office, billions of dollars have been spent on funding research projects in educational facilities and laboratories. Nevertheless, the true losers of a Trudeau government will ironically be those who helped get him elected; that is Millennials looking to buy their first house. The Liberal government made a decision in October to add a mandatory “stress test” for buyers. In effect the policy applies an added interest rate that is above market rates for mortgages backed by Ottawa. Experts suggest that the housing market is being kept afloat by buyers who were already pre-approved under the old laws. However, this will eventually come to an end and the negative effects of the new policy will soon take over. An Ottawa based Canadian Real Estate Association expec...

An Ontario court has ruled that condominium owners may ban tenants from renting their units on services such as Airbnb or Expedia. After listing several properties on short-term rental websites owners of an Ottawa condo unit have been found guilty of violating the “single family use” provision in the condo’s “declaration”. In accordance to this clause the “single family use” does not embrace the operation of hotel-like operation. This recent ruling was based on the interpretation of Ontario’s Condominium Act. Furthermore, condo owners are arguing that short-term rentals are a breach of a rule introduced in the spring of 2016, which prohibits owners from renting their units for terms less than four months. After setting precedence in Ottawa, this ruling could have wider implications in other common law jurisdictions. Yet, unit owners maintain that this rule should not be enforced retroactively, especially if they have carried out such business in the past. While this argument may...