Steven Maislin's blog

April 2025

Dear Friend,

You know that old saying, "When one door closes, another opens! In this case, the real estate market was, "When one door opens, another closes! Of course, I am referring to the decrease in interest rates and the implementation of Trump's tariffs, which have caused uncertainty and affected the market. We thought the real estate market would fully recover, interest rates would be down, the recession would be over, and a hot real estate market would be the norm. Unfortunately, the introduction of uncertainty between our upcoming elections and the US tariffs has caused...

January 2025.
Dear Friend,
Happy New Year!
2025 is upon us, filled with the anticipation of lower borrowing rates, a new government,
one hopefully focused on getting inflation under control, creating jobs and opportunities
for Canadians and, above all, creating more housing to ease the pressure that’s been on
the real estate market for many years.
2024 proved the strength of the GTA real estate market. Despite the high borrowing
rates, Toronto realtors sold more homes in 2024 (67,610) than in 2023 (65,877), with
prices remaining relatively stable, vs the 20%-30% drop that so-called experts...

Dear Friend,

I hope this letter finds you in good spirits! I couldn’t wait to share some exciting news from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) real estate market—because what’s more thrilling than mortgage rates and home prices? (Okay, maybe a Leafs playoff run, but let’s stay realistic here.)

According to the latest Market Watch report from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), January 2025 brought some promising signs for homebuyers. There were 3,847 actual home sales (not those fancy seasonally adjusted numbers), showing buyers are jumping back in. Prices are stabilizing, and new...

December 2024
Dear Friend,

Borrowing rates drop, Home sales rise!

A good month of sales in November as Toronto realtors sold 5,875 homes, 40.1% more
than just a year ago. Lower borrowing costs have made home ownership more
affordable, and buyers are taking advantage. The inventory of homes for sale
now stands at 21,818, offering a choice of homes, something the GTA market has not
often had. The average price in the GTA year to date now stands at $1,120,000, 5.9%
below the record average price of 1,190,742, set in 2022. While the average price being
down 5.9% seems not too bad, the actual...

October 2024
Dear Friend,
While it was a decent month for GTA sales (4,996), the big news in September was the
positive changes in the mortgage rates and the lending guidelines. The changes were:
 The ability for existing mortgage holders to shop around for the best rate without
facing the stress test
 Longer amortization periods.
 The ability to insure mortgages for purchases over 1 million dollars.
These changes, along with the lowering of borrowing rates, will allow more buyers to qualify
and allow more Canadians to fulfill their dream of home ownership.
There are always those...

September 2024

Dear Friend,

There is nothing spectacular or unexpected in the August real estate market statistics. 4,975 homes sold, and 22,653 homes are available for sale, which means that only 1 in 4 homes is selling. This increased inventory has impacted the length of time a well-priced home (within 5% of market value) sells, 28 days, up from 20 days a year ago. Despite these factors, the average price for homes sold in the GTA stands at $1,121,832, down from $1,126,258 ($4,426 or 0.39%). In other words, on average, prices have remained stable. Yes, some areas and price ranges have...

August 2024

Dear Friend,

I hope you are enjoying the summer and getting a chance to see the Olympics, Canada has been doing great and making us all proud!

The real estate market was as expected, 5,391homes sold a little bit more (3.3%) than last year, and as of July 30, the average sales price stands at $1,127,525, up $1,261 (.1%) over the start of the year. The 20-30% drop in home prices bandied about has not occurred. Everyone was concerned that the higher interest rates would cause more foreclosures, however the banks have been flexible in handling renewals, allowing 30-year...

July 2024

Dear Friend,

Oops, I was wrong! I predicted we would have 7,000 homes sold in June, and the actual amount was 6,213, close as they say, but no cigar. Despite slower activity, buyers are out, and they are buying. In June, the average home sold for 100% of the asking price within 20 days of pricing the home at market value. More interesting information is that after the first six months of 2024, the average home price was $1,130,744, up .4% since the start of the year, signifying that prices are not dropping as naysayers have predicted.

Those are average prices! Several...

June 2024

Dear Friend,

Finally, the Bank of Canada has dropped borrowing rates by .25%, not a huge amount but a step in the right direction. Experts predict that interest rates will continue to drop over the next two years.

Without a doubt, many home buyers have held off their decision to buy, waiting for clear signs of declining mortgage rates. As borrowing costs decrease over the next 24 months, more buyers, including many first-time buyers, are expected to enter the market. Another benefit of lower borrowing rates and more first-time buyers entering the market is that this will...

Dear Friend,

I hope this letter finds you well. As you may know, the Toronto real estate market has seen some exciting trends lately. In April, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported 7,114 sales, slightly higher than the 7,000 sales predicted by my brokerage. With the warmer weather, more homes are coming on the market, and we are seeing the start of the spring estate market. However, with only 18,088 homes for sale and an anticipated 7,500 sales, there are less than three homes available for every buyer. This has led to sellers receiving above asking prices for homes listed at market...