Steven Maislin's blog

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle recently spent Christmas at a home in Saanich on Vancouver Island, and there has since been speculation that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be making Canada their part-time home. While they haven’t confirmed their plans to move to Canada, we do know that they enjoyed their Christmas getaway on Vancouver Island.

January 2020

Dear Friend,

The unusually active December real estate market is just proof of how strong the desire for homeownership is in the GTA!

December’s  4,399 sales were up 17.4% over December 2019’s 3,746 sales!

Total sales for the calendar year 2019 amounted to 87,825 – up 12.6 % compared to the 78,015 sales reported in 2018 and the average price increased by 4% from $787,756 to $819,319. Based on the demand and continuing lack of homes for sale, I believe prices will raise a minimum of 6% in 2020.

December 2019

Dear Friend,

The Toronto, real estate market continued its positive trend, with November’s 7,090 sales being up 14.2% compared to November 2018. The increased sales, coupled with new listings being down 17% year-over-year and active listings down 27.2% year-over-year, resulted in an increase in the average selling price to $843,637, 7.1% over November 2018.  On a city-wide basis, sales were up year-over-year for all significant market segments. 

November 2019

Another active month of sales as Toronto realtors sold 8,491 residential homes through TREB’s MLS System in October 2019. Sales numbers were up 14% over the 7,448 sales reported in October 2018. Fewer new listings brought to market, a lower inventory of homes available for sale and continued demand drove the average price higher as it rose 5.5% to $852,142, compared to $807,538 in October 2018.

Few professions demand the same time commitment, dedication and versatility as I do.

The hours I spend in my car – shuttling from listing appointments to open houses, talking about life, love, and the ungodly state of the market – is but the tip of the iceberg. Then there’s the pile of off-hour tasks I need to fulfil, market trends to keep up with, legal knowledge I must possess, and expertise in interior design that make up just a few more reasons you shouldn't move without me.

In today’s real estate market, it’s not unusual for new home buyers to find themselves in a dilemma.

One situation can be that the value of the pre-construction house drops below the contract purchase price, and they cannot get enough mortgage financing to close on the deal. At the same time, they are unable to sell their existing house for enough money to provide the down payment on the new home.

I have several clients stuck in this situation. Some of my colleagues have clients with the same problem.