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April 18, 2022

Canada has four of the 10 most affordable and four of the least affordable cities in North America

Vancouver has been a presence on various lists of least-affordable housing for years, and now tops a survey released this month by Oxford Economics considering North America’s most expensive cities.

The group’s Housing Affordability Indices report concludes that “affordability deteriorated in nearly all U.S. and Canadian metros” in the second quarter of 2021. A typical Canadian house price hit 35 per cent above the borrowing capacity of median-income households, and in fact, results show a “more rapidly worsening affordability in Canada than in the U.S.,” Oxford says.

April 18, 2022

$50K/year dishwashing job illustrates desperation in restaurant industry

The fact a Vancouver restaurant is offering $50,000 a year for a dishwashing job illustrates just how desperate some restaurants owners are for staff, said the director of the Richmond-based BC Asian Restaurant Café Owners Association.

A recent job posting titled “Effects of labour shortage, $50K per annum to wash dishes,” has gone viral on Reddit and WeChat. The job posting states, “pay per hour will be $25 for 40 hours per week. No experience or education is required, and training will be provided to the eligible candidates.”

May 28, 2020

The End of a Nightmare. What Next?

Hypothetically asking, what will you do when it all over? I’m sure many of us have an ongoing to-do list for the end of COVID-19. Common entries among my peers are getting a haircut. dining out, travel and so on. Some are planning on taking advantage of the market, and investing before the prices bounce back.

My plan is to get my mind back into the game, while retaining all of the good habits I built up. It will be a weird or hard transition from working from home to the co-called distant past of the regular work life.

For those that are planning on getting away for a hard reset. I recommend you look into travel deals! I’m sure as many business are frantically waiting for return of their normal business, you will be able to find insane deal. I have provided a link to website I tend to use when I’m looking to get away.

https://www.yyzdeals.com/

While, those looking to invest, I do recommend talking to some experts. I have come across some pretty crazy real estate deal. Let me know what your plans are after the whole pandemic.

May 20, 2020

Mortgage Basics 101 for First Time Home Buyers

The purchase of a home may be one of the biggest purchases and significant milestone for an individual especially when you are a first-time Home Buyer. If you are wanting to own a property, you will need to understand mortgages and regrettably in the world of mortgages for first-time Home Buyers, it may be a little intimidating. Just like you, we’ve been there.

In Short, Lets Break It Down:

What’s a Mortgage? It’s a loan to help finance the purchase of your new home! When you enter into a mortgage agreement, you are binding into a legal contract with the Lender with your home as a collateral.

The Mortgage Principal refers to the outstanding balance of your Mortgage. The Mortgage Principal reduces as your monthly mortgage payments are made over an agreed upon length of time which is referred to as an Amortization Period.

In Short, Lets Break It Down:

The Amortization period is the fixed time period it takes to repay the mortgage loan. It can be between 10-25 years, but if you are qualified for a longer amortization period that means this will reduce your monthly payments. However, you will be paying more interest over the life of the mortgage.

Yup, the Interest Rates. In exchange for Lenders providing you with the mortgage you need, Lenders charge interest for the money borrowed. They’ll normally provide you with the option to choose a mortgage with a Fixed Rate or a Variable Rate.

Fixed Rate Mortgage: The payment you make monthly will be consistent for the term of your mortgage

Variable Rate Mortgage: The variable rate on the other hand, changes with the market often following the Lenders prime rate.

If you plan on making extra payments to pay down your mortgage as quickly as possible, then an Open Mortgage may be more suitable for you because of the flexibility in allowing you to make pre-payments but the interest rate for this type is higher. A Closed Mortgage limits how much more you can add to pay your mortgage down faster but this type of mortgage offers a lower interest rate and may have penalty fees if you exceed the payment limits set by the Lender

Now that you have the basic fundamentals down, keep in mind that there is a wide range of loan products so make sure you do your due diligence to ask which product can work the best for you. At Impact Condo Investments, our in-house Mortgage Specialist has all the right tools and is connected to over 60 Lenders to help complete your real estate needs. Contact us today!

May 11, 2020

Stocks, Real Estate or Toilet Paper?

April 2020 is definitely an unparalleled segment in history. The world economy has been dampen with sudden breaks due to a virus we can only hope was not synthetic. The paradox of human herd like cognitive decisions have left grocery stores and pharmacies nation wide with a shortage on Toilet paper on the racks, why?

It really originated from Australia, who imports $214.1 Billion USD in product a year. They don’t have many natural resources and lumber translated into toilet paper was definitely first on Aussies mind during a pandemic in case Imports were minimized or halted. How that even crossed Canadians as a need to hoard during a pandemic beats me and many more when we are the 2nd Largest Export Producer in the World for Lumber. Enough of the toilet paper talk, clearly and absurdity of “ #herdmentality ” definitely shouldn’t be a topic of comparison of currency, to stocks, and real estate investment. So which one in the GTA is a winner ? Lets take a closer look.

The TSX/S&P 500 and the Toronto Real Estate market has both be progressively positive on the long term landscape. The last 30 YRs Stocks have shown an avg positive appreciation of 8.3% and Real Estate 5.4%, straight off the bat you might think stocks out do real estate, lets put all my savings in stocks.

Stocks

Pros

More liquid than Real Estate
Smaller Capital Investment to Jump in
Ability to get Exponential Appreciation in a Short Period of Time
Diversification with smaller capital investment possibleFirst on the list best price ( $5000-70,000 discount) for that project.

Cons

Can be very volatile
Depending on type of product purchase may need higher skill and attention to yield gains

Real Estate

Pros

Less Volatile
Positive market for the last 18 Years
Tangible Asset
Statistically in Positive motion unless there is a huge recession
Rent is Aggressively Positive which compliments investors
Leverage your money with Deposits ( investing a fraction to profit a
percentage on 100% of the price)
Able to utlize physically to live in or rent out
Able to leverage equity within the property for liquidity

Cons

Not as liquid
Needs larger capital to enter the market

If you look at the above example, If buyer John Doe was ready to buy in August 2020 for the same location same size unit, it is NOT necessary that Platinum release access of DEF condos is cheaper than XYZ condos or ABC condos, the timeline is important, as well most often remaining inventory has higher incentive to clear out.

Long story short, its WHEN your ready to buy. Yes, Platinum is the cheapest for the specific project. But that doesn’t mean that another product launched few months ago is more expensive than the current platinum release.

May 5, 2020

What’s All The Big Fuss About Platinum?

Platinum Phase

Pros

First on the list best price ( $5000-70,000 discount) for that project.
Before vip and public access
Guaranteed to have something in the inventory

Cons

Have to decide without a sales center
May have to decide without a real floor plan some times just floor plate
Will be rushed decision if project is hot.
Worksheet submitted with id, and sometimes a bank draft to show interest
Builder will allocate a suite on your preference
Can not be specific on suite as builder will allocate
Once allocated have 4 hours to decide to take the allocated suite or not. If the answer is no , no reallocation given must wait till next phase ( take it or leave it)

VIP Phase

Pros

Priced better than public release
Will have guaranteed suites if builder doesn't decide to blow out at platinum phase
Will have sales center and actual marketing material for comfort and pleasure of
buying, model suites, website, brochures etc.

Cons

Price is slightly higher than platinum phase
Inventory depends on builder holds
May or may not be able to specify which suite you get depending on builder allocations
or not

Public Release

Pros

Sales site, and all marketing materials ready
Not as pushed to make decision
Will have confidence of purchasing the condo knowing x amount sold already
Less time till finished product is constructed ( time is money)

Cons

May not have inventory depends if builder holds back suites

Most clients who have not bought many condos may often have a misconception that the platinum release of ANY project is better than the price of Public Release. That myth is false. The price of platinum is only better than the price of public release of the same project.

But on a Time Spectrum Case Study: ( simulation to give you an idea) If we were to compare same location 3 different projects.

June 2020

(Scenario of different Projects)

XYZ condos: Platinum Phase, 1 bedroom 500 Sqft $700,000.00
ABC condos: Has not released yet
DEF or condos: Has not released yet

(Scenario of Same Project Different Phases)

Phase 1 condos: Platinum Phase, 1 bedroom 500 Sqft $700,000.00
Phase 2 condos: Has not released yet
Phase 3 or condos: Has not released yet

July 2020

XYZ or condos: Vip Phase ,1 bedroom 500 Sqft $725,000.00
ABC or condos: Platinum Phase 1 500 Sqft $725,000.00
DEF condos: Has not released yet

(Scenario of Same Project Different Phases)

Phase 1 condos: Public, 1 bedroom 500 Sqft Sold out or aligned with market value
$725,000.00
Phase 2 condos: Platinum release 1 Bedroom $725,000.00
Phase 3 or condos: Has not released yet

August 2020

XYZ condos: Public Release ,1 bedroom 500 Sqft $745,000.00
ABC condos:Vip Phase, 1 bedroom 500 Sqft $748,000.00
DEF condos: Platinum release, 1 Bedroom 500 Sqft $750,000

(Scenario of Same Project Different Phases)

Phase 1 condos: Sold out or Price Increased to be aligned with market Value $ 750k
Phase 2 condos: Sold out or Price Increased to be aligned with market Value $ 750k
Phase 3 or condos: Platinum Phase $750k

Long story short, its WHEN your ready to buy. Yes, Platinum is the cheapest for the
specific project. But that doesn’t mean that another product launched few months ago is more expensive than the current platinum release.

April 27, 2020

Doing Our Part to Help Flatten the Curve

Social Distancing during a pandemic has proven to be tough for many, but easy for others. As law enforcement in the GTA ramp up Covid-19 measures towards a zero-tolerance policy, it’s important that everyone understands they have an important role to play to help flatten the curve. Staying in isolation the past month and with a state of emergency order that has been extended additional two weeks, it’s been quite an adjustment for all. According to a Google Data Report, we’ve learned that Canadians are resilient in unprecedented times and excellent in finding ways to stay entertained and continue staying apart in physical distancing. Let’s continue to do our part and help flatten the curve! #STAYHOME

Tips On How You Can Do Your Part

Limiting your trips for essentials such as groceries, medication, ideally to once a week
Minimize the amount of people in elevators and using your elbow to push buttons
Work from home if it is possible
Use the tap payment method vs handling money
If commuting by public transit, travel during the non-peak hours to avoid lengthy close-proximity contact with others
Video conferencing and entertainment apps
If you are ill, stay home!

April 21, 2020

Condo Market Watch for Q4 and What Now?

The condominium market segment in the Greater Toronto Area shows that Q4 ended with the sales performance continuing to have strong growth and average price. New condo sales volumes for January 2020 have already exceeded the typical sales volume in January, kicking off 2020 to a great start.

Click here for full report.

So what about the market stats for March 2020? According to TREB, overall sales in the first couple of weeks of March pre-covid shows an increase of 49% in sales transactions compared to the first two weeks of March 2019.

Sales post-covid in March (starting March 15 2020) compared to the same period last year has decreased by 16%. March as a whole, new listings has increased by 3% but similar to sales, there has been a slight drop in the second half of March by 18%

The Average selling price for sales reported between March 15 – March 31 was $862,565 – down from the first half of March 2020 ($902,680), but it is still up by 10.5% in comparison to the same period this time last year.

April 10, 2020

The Outdoors and Just Plain Good Calories

2020 Spring, Blue Skies, Swans Grazing, and a whole load of rain to nourish our Cherry Blossoms at High Park. As Covid-19 suffocates the world economy, it also facilitates the earth to heal and grow with reduced greenhouse emissions. The GTA’s surrounded with nature’s landscape with endless trail’s at the Oak Ridges Moraine, Expanding Don River Park, and the Water’s Edge City Trails are just to name a few. Toronto is home to over 2600 species of wild life, and with 65% less commuters on the road the warm April Showers will welcome a blossoming of ecological treasures thriving.

WHAT IS OPEN

You can still visit National Parks, as visitors can use the front country and backcountry areas as well as accessible green spaces. Before planning a trip, please visit Important Bulletins on the Parks Canada website to keep up to date about safety warnings and site closures.
Parks Canada will continue its critical function operations like highway management and snow removal, fire response, dam operations, and water management on historic waterways, as well as avalanche forecasting and control.
All tourism businesses and operations within Parks Canada places will be open subject to provincial restrictions, like those in Banff National Park. But visitors should check with them before visiting to ensure that there has been no change to their services.

Parks Canada will be publishing a complete list of Parks Canada places that are closed and the parameters of these closures on the website.

While some of the parks may be closed, it’s time to start indulging in some of Toronto’s top dessert places to bring in the spring joy and eat our quarantine boredom away. Over the last 10 years, Toronto has had an emancipated amount of Masterchef worthy mention. Here are some of the best Dessert joints in Town;

1) Bakerbots Ice Cream/ Bang Bangs ( Sister Sweet Factory) – Ossington Village

2) Tsujiri – Bay and Dundas

3) Café Nuna’s – Queen West off Bathurst

4) Cacao 70 – Distillery District

5) Dutch Dreams – St Clair off Bathurst ( Vaughan )

April 2, 2020

Is It Better To Rent Or Own?

This debate is a big one for Canadian consumers: Is it better to Rent or Buy? There isn’t a right or wrong answer for everyone, however there are many factors that needs to be considered as well as understanding all the financial responsibilities of both.

ADVANTAGES OF RENTING

Minimal Maintenance Hassles When there is a clogged toilet, tenants call their landlord to repair and take care of.
Less Expenses
Same Predictable Monthly Payment
Sometimes It’s Cheaper to Rent
Homeowners have to pay taxes, commission when selling and also incur legal expenses
Unhappy With Neighborhood Or An Unruly Neighbor? Tenants have the ability to relocate.

ADVANTAGES OF OWNING

You’re paying your own mortgage instead of someone else’s
An increase of real estate means you reap the rewards, not your Landlord
Freedom Do as you wish! No permission needed to paint, replace appliances, etc
Sometimes It’s Cheaper to
Buy Toronto’s rental market isn’t easy or cheap, especially in the downtown core. If you have a decent-sized downpayment, it
could be cheaper to own
Where else would you invest your money?

Take a look at how the liquid networth of a renter would compare to the liquid networth of condo owner over a 25-year mortgage period:

There is no right or wrong answer but we would be happy to help you evaluate the options! Feel free to contact us by email or phone call, one of our professional agents will be happy to discuss! 647-972-8736 or email us at info@impactcondoinvestments.com

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