‘Won’t Move The Needle Enough’: Toronto Approves Incentive Stream For Purpose-Built Rental

A new incentive program designed to add as many as 20,000 new purpose-built rental housing units to the City of Toronto — including 7,000 through a municipally-funded first phase — is being scrutinized by development sector stakeholders, many of whom are wary that it doesn’t have the legs to make a meaningful impact.
Made public at the end of October and approved at Wednesday’s City Council meeting in a 23-1 vote, the program is called the Purpose-built Rental Homes Incentives Stream and, at a high level, it pairs qualifying projects with certain perks, including “an indefinite deferral” of development charges (so long as they remain rental in tenure), a “recommended” property tax reduction of 15% for 35 years, and foregone taxes and fees for affordable rental units.
Canadian Home Sales Reach Highest Level Since April 2022

After Toronto and Vancouver real estate boards posted striking year-over-year increases in home sales for October — 44% and over 30%, respectively — it appears they’re not alone, as the Canadian Real Estate Organization (CREA) reported Friday that nationwide sales in October were the highest they’ve been since April 2022.
All in all, sales rose 7.7% on a month-over-month basis and a grew a substantial 30% from October 2023, on a not-seasonally-adjusted basis. In comparison, sales only rose 1.9% month-over-month in September and 1.3% in August, representing a potential breaking of the ‘holding pattern’ that has characterized the last several months, despite consecutive rate cuts.
Cashback rebates can save thousands of dollars in real estate commissions

When Mehrdad Khayeri bought his dream house in the Greater Toronto Area earlier this year, he scored a big bonus: nearly $35,000 back. It was a perk he negotiated through a cashback agreement with his real estate agent.
“My wife and I did the bulk of the heavy lifting,” Khayeri said, describing how they found most of the listings that interested them. “With so many online tools nowadays, like House Sigma and MLS … the [agents] are actually doing maybe less work.”
His agent still earned 2.5 per cent commission on the sale price for helping him buy the home but gave about three-quarters of the fee to Khayeri. It’s a practice that could become more common as homebuyers push back on commissions that have soared alongside housing prices over the past few years.
Home prices climb across Calgary’s outlying communities

Calgary’s outer communities saw prices increase in October even in municipalities that saw slumping sales, a new report has found. The Calgary Real Estate Board statistics from last month revealed that Okotoks and Airdrie saw the largest increase in activity. In Okotoks, sales grew more than 43 per cent year over year while its benchmark price grew about six per cent to $618,300.
Cochrane also experienced positive sales growth, increasing nearly 12 per cent year over year. Its benchmark grew about six per cent to $571,800.
Other communities experienced falling year-over-year sales in October, led by Strathmore where sales slid more than 38 per cent. Its benchmark, however, still increased more than five per cent year over year to $425,800. High River sales fell nearly seven per cent while its benchmark price increased nearly 10 per cent to $489,000.
Canadian Real Estate Prices Make Another Sharp Drop Despite Rising Sales

Canadian real estate prices continued its downtrend last month, printing even larger losses. Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) data shows the price of a benchmark (typical) home fell in October, despite a surge in sales. Prices continued to grind lower and are now similar to where they were 3 years ago. Surging home sales are an encouraging sign of a return to market normalization, but several issues make it unclear if this trend will stick around.
CREA’s benchmark price shows a typical home made an even sharper drop last month. The composite fell 0.8% (-$5,500 ) lower to $707,700 in October, following a 0.6% (-$4,600) drop in September. This marks the sixth consecutive monthly drop, with prices 2.7% (-$19,800) lower than last year. Home prices remain where they were roughly 3 years ago, even with backward-looking revisions to the index.
Toronto home sales climbed 14% in October as homebuyers jumped back into the market

70% of homes still selling for below list price in GTA, Ontario

The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board showed increases in sales and prices in many areas in October. In Mississauga, the average home price increased 3.2 per cent to $1,081,951 and sales were up 27 per cent.
Monthly home sales climbed in the GTA on a month-over-month basis in both September and October for the first time since 2020, when the market was in overdrive during the pandemic, according to digital real estate platform Wahi.
Experts believe Bank of Canada rate cuts are behind the increased sales activity. “The real test will be next year’s spring market,” says Wahi CEO Benjy Katchen. “It’s still too early to tell what the cumulative effects of the Bank of Canada’s rate cuts will be on the GTA’s real estate market.”
Toronto home sales surge 44% in October as rate cuts draw buyers back

The number of homes sold in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) rose substantially in October, leading industry analysts to suggest that the Bank of Canada‘s interest rate cuts had improved affordability and encouraged buyers to re-enter the market.
The Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) reported 6,658 homes were sold through its MLS system last month, a 44.4 per cent increase from October 2023. “It’s a really nice number to say, but we have to look at how low sales were a year ago,” said Toronto realtor Cailey Heaps, adding that “things are definitely tracking in the right direction,” though the market has yet to return to peak levels.
More Focus on Family-Sized Units for Proposal near St Clair Station

Graywood Developments and KingSett Capital have made changes to their plan for The Notable, a proposed 50-storey condo located a block southeast of the intersection of Yonge and St Clair in Toronto’s Deer Park neighbourhood. While maintaining the height and storey-count, the Turner Fleischer Architects design decreases the total number of units while proving more large units, shifting away somewhat from smaller investor-oriented units.
The site is an assembly of 29, 31, 33, and 39 Pleasant Boulevard, spanning approximately 1,490m² on the south side of the street. Currently, the western portion of the site remains vacant, while the eastern portion houses a two-storey residential building and a four-storey office building. It is in a well-connected neighbourhood rich with transit options, local amenities, and green spaces.