Welcome to 217 Glenlake Avenue, a spacious four bedroom home in the heart of the popular High Park neighbourhood. Originally this was a five bedroom home, and it can easily be converted back to add another bedroom. This renovated family home is close to the shops and restaurants of The Junction, Bloor West Village and Roncesvalles Village, and a short walk away from the Keele subway station, High Park, and excellent local schools.
The welcoming covered front porch offers tree-top views overlooking Lithuania Park. Inside you’ll find an open concept living/dining area with high ceilings, updated hardwood floors, pot lighting, and a handsome gas fireplace with brick and wood surround. Next you’ll enter through a pocket door to a renovated kitchen with stainless steel appliances, quartz counters, solid oak cabinets, and a large breakfast bar with pendant lighting. The kitchen walks out to a large, gorgeous back yard with a multi-level deck and private patio.
On the second level there are two bedrooms, including a double size master bedroom (originally two bedrooms), with a bay window, fireplace and double closet. There is also a renovated four piece bathroom and updated hardwood flooring throughout. You’ll find two more generous bedrooms on the third floor.
The lower level is fully finished, with an extra-large rec room, cork flooring, renovated four piece bathroom, and separate laundry room.
This home is in excellent mechanical condition – an above average home inspection report is available on request. The home has also been fully insulated and professionally draft proofed.

Another month, another gain in Toronto area house prices. Ever since the disruption in April due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, the market for houses has been on a tear, with prices for detached homes increasing every month and now almost 20% above the April low. The ‘delayed spring market’ meme is starting to wear a bit thin, as prices have continued to rise right through the traditionally slow summer months. Nothing traditional at all about this year.

The fall season, which starts after Labour Day, has seen a significant boost in house prices every single year for at least the past 20 years, and maybe that will again be the case this year. Or maybe this isn’t a year to bet on the continuation of long term trends. It does seem reasonably safe to assume that, as long as both interest rates and the inventory of homes for sale stay low, the present trend will continue at least until flu season starts in October/November. After that, depending on COVID-19 vaccines, the severity of this year’s influenza strain, and even US election politics, all bets are off.

It’s interesting to note that house prices are now within 3% of the all-time high reached during the 2017 bubble, and we may well surpass that record before the end of this year. All in the context of a major recession or even depression. Go figure.

The trend in condominium apartment prices, on the other hand, has been quite different. After the bubble in 2017, condo prices fell slightly but never collapsed the way house price did, and have been setting new all-time highs ever since… until COVID-19.

The SARS-COV2 virus, and especially government’s response to the virus, has been a game changer for the condo market. Most notable has been the work-from-home (WFH) revolution that has been accelerated by the COVID crisis. While WFH and the technology supporting it is nothing new, the COVID crisis has forced its rapid adoption out of necessity, and many organizations are coming to realize that WFH is surprisingly productive and cost-effective. This makes a house a much more attractive option for a condo owner, both because of the additional space available for a home office and also because an affordable house outside the city makes much more sense if little or no commuting to the office is required. A further benefit of a house is outside space (AKA a back yard), which is much more desirable now that eating out and public events are more restricted and likely to continue so for some time.

All of this has resulted in a recovery of the condo market from the initial COVID shock that has been much more muted than that of the house market. Prices have increased by 9% from the April low, but are still 6% below the February peak, and have gone no-where over the past four months.

A strong driver, as well as a result, of the recent increase in house prices has been the declining inventory of homes for sale. This is because:

1. A lower number of homes for sale means more competition among buyers – simple supply and demand; and
2. The difficulty of finding a home to buy means that many buyers will choose to purchase a home before putting their own home on the market. This further reduces the supply of homes for sale, which feeds a viscious cycle where falling inventory leads to even less inventory.

This cycle could be reversed as sellers become less fearful of COVID and more interested in taking advantage of the hot market, and as the higher prices make houses more and more unaffordable. The small uptick in inventory in August suggests that this process may already have begun, and could moderate further price increases. Time will tell.

Welcome to 1830 Bloor Street West #402, a stunning one bedroom plus den suite with two full baths in the exclusive Daniels High Park Condominiums. A parking spot and locker are included.

This spacious, open-concept suite features beautiful quartz countertops in the kitchen and baths, hardwood floors throughout, and a large balcony. The chef’s kitchen includes a breakfast bar island, perfect for everyday dining or easy entertaining.

The den is a flexible space suitable for home office use or as a bedroom for your family and guests to enjoy. This professionally fitted room has sleek tempered glass sliding doors imported from Italy as well as a custom Italian Murphy bed.

The Daniels building has 18,000 square feet of unparalleled indoor and outdoor amenities: cardio and weight studios, sauna, double-height rock climbing wall, indoor/outdoor yoga & Pilates studios, big-screen home theatre, party room, billiards room, indoor/outdoor fireside lounges, catering kitchen for large group entertaining, outdoor terrace with barbeques, and rooftop gardening plots. There is a 24-hour concierge, locker and bicycle storage, and unique resident bike engagement and bike share programs.

Located directly across from High Park, with 24 hour Rabba, Vivo restaurant and Hannah’s Café & Bakery on the main floor, and steps from two TTC stations (High Park and Keele), this location couldn’t be better. It’s walking distance from GO and UP transit, and the Gardiner Expressway is easily accessible. With a Walk Score of 85, this building is ideally located within walking distance of three popular shopping districts: Bloor West Village, the Junction, and Roncesvalles.

Welcome to your new home in one of Canada’s top neighbourhoods, The Kingsway. At your doorstep you will find biking, running and walking trails in the glorious Humber River Valley, running both north and south to the lake. It is a nature lover’s paradise and fitness enthusiast’s dream and the Kingsway’s best kept secret. Walk to shopping and dining in the Kingsway and Bloor West Village. You are steps away from the Old Mill subway station for a quick ride downtown.

Your home is the rarely offered Riverview Suite in The Kingsway, one of the most prestigious condominium residences in Toronto’s west end. Unlike typical condos, here you will experience the benefits of a floor plan designed for discerning homeowners. You will also enjoy a rare separate foyer, a powder room away from the entertaining spaces and a cook’s separate eat in kitchen to make entertaining tidy and a breeze. The den is a flexible space suitable for home office use or as a bedroom for your family and guests to enjoy, away from the Master Wing. The Master Wing is fully enclosed, and has a large ensuite with separate shower and six foot soaker tub. The large walk-in closet is a fashionista’s dream. This immaculate suite has been impeccably maintained by the original owner and is ready for you to move right in.

Bring the outside in, opening your double hinged French doors, with phantom screen, looking out onto the green space with amazing tree top south facing views. The Kingsway Condominium affords you rare privacy and quiet. Enjoy walks past the neighbourhood’s stately homes, or meet friends and entertain in your large private award winning Victorian Garden. The Kingsway also boasts an elegant party room, indoor pool, gym, guest suite, 24 hour concierge and ample visitors’ parking. The building has electric vehicle charging capabilities, and arrangements can be made to add a charger plug to your parking spot. Also, if you are a bike rider, there are assigned bike racks, and you can even have one installed in your parking spot. With a long list of social activities here, you will meet fascinating new friends. Enjoy your new lifestyle at the Kingsway Condominium.

Welcome to 392 Quebec Avenue, a detached, two-and-a-half story property with three self-contained units on one of the nicest streets in the neighbourhood!

This property contains a renovated two level, two-bedroom unit with a large covered balcony on the second and third floors; an updated one-bedroom unit spanning the main floor and lower level; and a two-level, one-bedroom unit at the back of the house.

392 Quebec has a very deep 25 ft x 160 ft lot with a huge, lush backyard, and a grapevine covered patio. It’s situated in the heart of the trendy Junction neighbourhood, close to great local schools and with the shops, bars, and restaurants on Dundas just steps away.

It’s also TTC-accessible: the 40 Junction and 26 Dupont buses are around the corner, it’s a ten-minute walk to High Park station, and the Bloor GO/UP station is a short drive or bike ride away. Annette Street, with its extensive bike lane, is close by, and the green space in High Park is just short ride away. The West Toronto Railpath provides a quick and scenic route to downtown.

With its spacious, livable units and unbeatable location, 392 Quebec is the perfect investment opportunity.

Mark your calendars for Monday September 7 (Labour Day)!

Our ice cream truck will be making 5 stops in High Park, The Junction, Bloor West Village and Swansea!

We will have free ice cream cones plus a draw for a chance to win an iPad!

Here’s the truck stop schedule:

• 12:00 – 12:45    Vine Park (Vine St & McMurray)
• 1:00 – 1:45         Lithuania Park (Glenlake & Oakmount)
• 2:00 – 2:45        Ravina Park (Clendenan & Glendonwynne)
• 3:00 – 3:45        Beresford Park (Beresford & Ardagh)
• 4:00 – 5:00       Rennie Park (Rennie Terrace & Waller)

Birthday Panda will make a guest appearance at each stop!

Hope to see you there!

Buyers are sometimes confused about the differences among Mortgage Pre-Qualification, Mortgage Pre-Approval and final Mortgage Approval. These differences are important and need to be understood properly if you are buying a house or condo.

Mortgage Pre-Qualification – This is the first step when you are getting started on your homebuying journey. It’s a very simple process, where you give your mortgage lender some basic financial information such as income, debt and assets. The lender will then give you a rough idea as to what you can afford as well as what mortgage options are available to you. This can be done very quickly over the phone or online. While this is a good starting point, it is far from complete. The lender will not look into your credit rating and will not verify the information that you provide.

Mortgage Pre-Approval  – This involves a much more thorough evaluation of your financial situation. Your lender will verify your income, savings, assets and credit rating and then determine what home value you can afford based on the down payment that you plan to make. You may want to get pre-approved by more than one lender to compare the rates they offer, but be aware that if your credit report is accessed more than three times in a six month period, this could lower your credit rating. Ideally you should seek a pre-approval from only your top three lenders. A pre-approval will give you a very solid indication as to what you can afford and, in addition, the lender will usually ‘lock in’ a specific mortgage interest rate for up to 120 days. This will ensure that your interest rate will not be higher than the quoted rate as long as you purchase within the locked-in period, and will not prevent you from taking advantage of a lower rate.

Mortgage Approval – This is the final step in obtaining approval from a lender for a mortgage on the actual home that you are buying. It’s very important to understand that this approval depends on the lender’s evaluation of the house as well as on your ability to make the mortgage payments. This evaluation, called an appraisal, can only be done after you have signed an agreement to buy the home, and this can cause problems if the appraisal is lower than your price.

For example, if you enter into an agreement to buy a home for, say, $700,000, but the lender’s appraiser says the home is only worth $675,000, then your mortgage financing will be based on the lower number. If your down payment is large enough, this may not be a problem. Let’s say, however, that you planned to make the minimum allowable down payment on the $700,000 purchase, which would be $45,000, or 6.4%. On the appraised value of $675,000, the minimum down payment would be $32,500, or 4.8%. This is $12,500 than your planned down payment, but this would still leave you $12,500 short of making up the $25,000 difference between the $700,000 price and the $675,000 appraised value. If you cannot borrow or beg this additional amount, you will not be able to finance the purchase no matter how much you can afford in monthly payments.

Financing Conditions and Bidding Wars – The problem caused by a home being appraised at less than the purchase price can be easily solved by including a condition on financing approval in the offer to purchase. If the offer is accepted, you will have a defined period of time (usually a week) during which the lender can appraise the property and give full mortgage approval. If the appraisal is low, and it’s not possible to approve the financing, then the financing condition is not satisfied, the agreement is terminated, and the deposit is returned to you. Not great for the seller, but you are protected. Unfortunately, the market is highly competitive right now and multiple offers (AKA bidding wars) are very common. In a multiple offer situation, the seller will typically want to see an offer without any conditions, and in fact it is difficult to ‘win’ a bidding war with a conditional offer. While this is very understandable from the seller’s point-of-view, it creates a dilemma for the buyer. In order to have the winning bid, the buyer will typically have to make an unconditional offer and, even worse, the offer will almost always have to be higher than the asking price.

Facing a bidding war situation, it’s very important for the buyer to have a frank discussion with the lender as to the risks involved in making an unconditional and over-asking offer. Also, the buyer’s realtor can help by making a careful evaluation of the ‘fair market value’ of the property. The bottom line is that the buyer needs to have a backup source of funds (e.g., the Bank of Mom & Dad) in case the worst happens.

Detached home prices averaged just over $1.15 million in July, and are closing in on the all-time high of just over $1.2 million reached during the 2017 bubble.  For the first time in many years, we have not seen the typical summer slowdown, as buyers continue to take advantage of once-in-a-lifetime low mortgage interest rates.

Condo prices were also higher in July. The pandemic is moderating the demand for condos, however, because:

1. The need for home office space is increasing, making houses much more attractive;
2. High rise towers and elevators feel confining and are not very conducive to social distancing;
3. The rental market is weak because immigration has been cut off and because many airbnb units have been added to the inventory of rental properties. This is reducing investor demand for condos.

While condo prices continue to increase, therefore, they remain about 5% below the all-time high reached earlier this year.

A huge imbalance between buyers and sellers continues to power the market. Sales of all property types increased by 27% between June and July, from 8,701 to 11,081. Active listings of properties for sale also increased, but by only 7%, from 14,001 to 15,018. Basically, homes are getting sold much more quickly than new listings are coming on the market, and the result is rapidly decreasing inventory, now at about 1.4 months’ supply and falling. With more and more buyers chasing fewer and fewer homes, bidding wars and bully offers have returned with a vengeance, driving prices higher.
This trend appears to be the result of eager buyers (because of low interest rates) combined with somewhat reluctant sellers (because of COVID fears). The pandemic is likely to be with us for the foreseeable future, and government CERB payments will continue for at least another two months, so the uber-hot market will likely persist until the fall. Beyond that, my crystal ball gets very hazy…

Welcome to The Kingsway, one of the most prestigious condominium residences in Toronto’s west end.

This luxurious 1153 sq ft one bedroom + den suite has two full baths, and the den is a separate room that can also serve as a second bedroom. The eat-in chef’s kitchen has sleek cabinetry & granite counters, and the airy, open-concept living/dining area walks out to a large balcony. The extra-large master suite boasts two walk-in closets and a lavish, five-piece marble ensuite bath.

First-class amenities include a well-equipped party room opening to a large terrace and beautifully landscaped gardens, exercise room, indoor pool and spa, guest suite, media room, 24-hour concierge, and ample visitors’ parking.

This exclusive building is perfectly located a short walk from the subway station, historic Old Mill, and the beautiful trails and green spaces of the Humber Valley. It’s also close to Kingsway & Bloor West Village shops, restaurants and cafes.

Well-appointed, elegant, and ideally located, this bright, spacious unit is just waiting for you to move in.

Presenting 178 Brookside Avenue, a tastefully renovated Bloor West Village home with gorgeous front landscaping and a spectacular back yard oasis. It’s a comfortable and enjoyable living space that’s also perfect for entertaining with family & friends!

This home is close to two popular shopping districts, Bloor West West Village and The Junction. It is also in the catchment area for the highly rated Humbercrest PS with its well-regarded French Immersion program; close to TTC and Humber Valley parkland; and just steps from Loblaws Humber Market.

Notable recent upgrades include: quartz kitchen counters; all new appliances; 5-person hot tub; top quality Velux skylights in the family room addition; new hardwood flooring on the main floor and upper level; a renovated basement with new drywall, pot lighting & vinyl plank flooring; durable composite decking & stairs on the covered front porch; and wiring for an electric vehicle hookup.

Excellent mechanics include: upgraded electrical (200 amp service, no knob & tube); upgraded water supply (3/4” copper); backwater valve and new drains inside & outside; new exterior doors; upgraded windows; and new blown-in attic insulation. An above average home inspection report is available on request.

Exceptional parking includes both a licensed front pad as well as a laneway & garage that qualifies for a laneway house up to approximately 1500 sq ft. Design your own laneway suite for extra income, family/guest accommodation or home based business!

In the past, the typical pattern was for the real estate market to slow down as the July 1 holiday approached, with both buyers and sellers making plans to enjoy our relatively short summer season. Not this year — COVID-19 has thrown a large monkey wrench into the normal seasonal pattern.

After the sharp lockdown-induced slowdown in April, the market bounced back strongly in May, and that rebound continued apace in June. For example prices for detached homes increased by 9% versus last month and 11% versus last June. Detached price are now higher than they were at the beginning of the year, pre-COVID.

Condo prices also increased, though not as dramatically as houses, up 1% versus May and up 7% versus last June. Clearly the momentum has shifted away from condos and toward houses, although the condo market remains very strong.

The strength in the market traces mainly to the declining inventory of homes for sale. After increasing rapidly in April due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, inventory has fallen equally rapidly over the past two months, and is now back in deep sellers’ market territory, similar to early this year, pre-COVID. The reason for the quick drop in inventory is that buyers are returning to the market in force (mainly due to astonishingly low interest rates), while sellers have been more reluctant, perhaps wary of having strangers viewing their homes. Homes are therefore selling faster than new listings are coming on the market… and so inventory is falling.

Will the market continue to be hot throughout the summer? Certainly there are no signs yet of any slowdown.

If you’re tired of renting but can’t quite scrape together a down payment for a home of your own; or if you are retiring and would like to keep your living costs as low as possible; you may need to get creative. One option is to purchase a home with friends or relatives, entering into something called ‘Co-ownership’.

Late last year, the Ford government released a consumer guide aimed at encouraging buyers to consider co-ownership as a way to make home ownership more affordable as well as to alleviate the housing supply crisis. The government defines co-ownership as follows:

“Co-ownership housing is a shared living arrangement where two or more people own and live in a home together. Co-owners may share living spaces like kitchens and living rooms, or the home may be divided into separate units. Responsibilities for care and upkeep of the home are usually shared, as well as some amenities and services.”

While there are obvious financial advantages to co-ownership, the arrangements can be complicated and need to be sorted through carefully. For example, there are multiple options for sharing ownership, including:

1. Shared ownership as a group of individuals, either as joint tenants or tenants-in-common. In the former case, if one owner dies, the other owners automatically inherit the deceased’s share of the property; in the latter, the deceased’s share becomes part of their estate. The ownership shares may be equal, or may be different, for example depending on how much each owner contributes to  the purchase. Also, a process for decision making and dispute resolution needs to be worked out, for example, what happens if one owner wants to sell and the others don’t? How to manage maintenance and improvement costs also needs to be clearly defined. It is essential to work out all of these issues before the property is purchased, otherwise, there could be a lot of unnecessary conflict and hard feelings down the road. The result is a contract called a ‘co-ownership agreement’. A well-crafted co-ownership agreement can also be a great aid to getting financing approved.
2. Set up a co-op corporation, where each owner has a defined share of ownership of the property, and these shares can be bought and sold. Co-ops have a long history and, while this approach is more complicated legally, there are lots of models for how to set one up properly, and it greatly simplifies the question of how one owner can sell without selling the entire property. The disadvantage, as with all co-ops, is that the owners are not listed on title, and this can make financing for a new owner more difficult.
3. If the property has clearly defined units, as well as common areas, then a condominium corporation is a possibility. While setting up a condominium corporation is more complicated (and more expensive) than setting up a co-op, this approach has the advantage that each owner has registered title to his/her own unit and can therefore sell more easily. Like co-ops, condos are a well established form of property ownership.

With all of these options and complications, it’s obviously important to enlist legal help to advise as to the advantages and disadvantages of the different forms of ownership, as well as to prepare the necessary documents, such as the co-ownership agreement. Some careful forethought, sound decision making, and clear documentation can make co-ownership a great option for many prospective buyers.