General Info Archives - Soheil Shivarani

Vacant Home Tax

An annual tax will be levied on vacant Toronto residences, payable beginning in 2023.

A property is considered vacant if it was not used as the principal residence by the owner(s) or any permitted occupant(s), or was unoccupied for a total of six months or more during the previous calendar year. Properties may also be deemed (or considered to be) vacant if an owner fails to make a declaration of occupancy status as outlined in the bylaw .

The goal of the City of Toronto’s Vacant Home Tax (VHT) is to increase the supply of housing by discouraging owners from leaving their residential properties […] Read more

July 2022 Real Estate Market Update

Sales Numbers

Overall, in Toronto and GTA sales were down 47% from same time last year. Market had the lowest sales volume in 20 years for the fourth consecutive month.

What is causing this?

Many buyers are sitting on the sideline as Bank of Canada is continuing on raising interest rate. This upward trend on interest rate is not an ideal environment for buyers as their budget and monthly carrying cost is changing rapidly. I expect once Bank of Canada stabilize their interest rate hike and reach neutral rate, buyers will have to re-baseline their budget and start searching for properties at that […] Read more

Real estate slowdown in Toronto, Vancouver continues, as prices fall from pre-rate hike highs

Average selling price in Greater Toronto Area has fallen by 14 per cent since February!

The slowdown underway in Canada’s two most expensive housing markets continued in June, with new numbers showing the number of homes sold in Toronto and Vancouver fell by more than a third, and average prices have now declined for several months in a row.

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) said 6,474 homes were sold in the Greater Toronto Area last month, down by 41 per cent compared with last June.

As was the case in many parts of Canada, house prices in and around Toronto exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, […] Read more

To reach affordability, 3.5M more homes need to be built by 2030: CMHC

The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC) says 3.5 million more homes need to be built by 2030 to reach affordability.

The agency released a report Thursday explaining the need for a different approach to the housing supply shortage at a time of rising demand and affordability concerns.

“Increasing supply will be difficult. Critically, increasing supply takes time because the time to construct is significant, but so is the time to progress through government approval processes,” the report reads. “This delay means that we must act today to achieve affordability by 2030.”

If current rates of new construction continue, CMHC said the country’s […] Read more

Market Watch May 2022 – Detached

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Bank of Canada Makes 0.5% Rate Hike For 2nd Announcement in a row

As widely expected by economists, the Bank of Canada implemented another half-point interest rate increase in today’s rate policy announcement, embarking on the tightest hiking cycle seen in decades and reinforcing its commitment to tame runaway inflation growth.

The 50-basis-point hike — the second consecutive, following the April 13 announcement — brings the bank’s trend-setting Overnight Lending Rate to 1.5%, which will in turn filter down to the big consumer banks’ variable-rate pricing; the Prime rate is expected to rise to 3.7% following today’s news, from the current 3.2%. The BOC also stated it will continue to allow holdings to drop off its […] Read more

Mortgages 101: What’s a mortgage and how to choose between fixed and variable rates in Canada?

Selecting a mortgage is one of the biggest – and most stressful – financial decision made by many Canadians. But a clear understanding of a few basic terms and concepts can help allay some the anxiety. Here’s a primer on the basics of mortgages, along with insights into the current market.

THE BASICS

What is a mortgage?

In plain terms, a mortgage is a loan most often used to buy a house, condo or some other type of property. It’s a set amount of money provided by a lender (often a bank, credit union or mortgage company), and is repaid over a set […] Read more

Costs and Hidden Fees of Selling your Home in Ontario – Toronto

Your home is likely your largest and biggest investment you will ever make.

When thinking of selling and to maximize the value of your investment you will need to spend some cash before it hits the market and also costs involved after closing.

Let’s go over some of the obvious and less obvious costs of selling you home.

Expected Costs of Selling a Home in Ontario:

1- Realtor Commission:

2- Closing Costs:

3- Moving Expenses

Hidden Fees and Costs:

4- Capital Gain Taxes:

5- Renovation and Repairs:

6- Landscaping:

7- Staging & Professional Photography:

Realtor Commission:

The first thing that most people think of when they think of “Selling a Home” is the […] Read more

What closing and other costs do you pay when buying a home?

You’re pre-approved for a mortgage
to help you find the home of your dreams. Then, you hand over your down
payment, collect your mortgage funds, pay the seller and get the
keys, right? Not so fast. There are other costs to
consider. These closing costsOpens a popup. and
additional expenses can impact your offer, the size of your down payment and
the amount of mortgage you qualify for. Only a few are optional, so be
aware of these costs from the start.

Before
closing day

Once you find a property, you need
to know everything about the home — good and bad. Inspections and
surveys can uncover issues that could impact the purchase price, or slow or
stall the sale. These reports are […] Read more

Why a REALTOR®?

Maybe
you’re buying a home for the first time. Or maybe you’re selling your old home
to move to something new. Whether buying or selling, you’re involved in an
intricate process requiring many specialists. One of these specialists might be
a REALTOR®, who’s responsible for making the transaction as easy as
possible for you.

The
REALTOR® Difference

However, not every licensed or
registered broker or salesperson is a REALTOR®. To be a REALTOR®,
the agent must be a member of The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). And
to be a member of CREA, an agent is expected to be:

Committed to the REALTOR® Code: The code is the accepted standard of conduct for
[…] Read more