Weekly Real Estate Market Update, April 21/17

Curious; why would you hope none of it makes its way West? The new regulations seem reasonable given those market conditions. Penalties for unoccupied homes, laws to prevent sudden doubling of rents, putting people on the street; legislating standard language in rental leases, charging property taxes on multiresidential apartments at similar rates to other residential properties, strengthening Canada Revenue Agency reporting requirements on purchases and sales... seems like common sense legislation to me. Am I missing something?

Realtors generally do not like measures that affect their paycheck, full stop.

Both the real estate tax structure and data accessibility in Canada is laughably antiquated- yet the implication systems could be improved is viewed as hostile by the entrenched cartel, thus the reaction to the `meddlesome government` interfering in the `free market`.

Just look at the ongoing desperate legal wrangling by the TREB to prevent DoM and Selling price accessibility through public web search. Canada can do better.

Sara is 100% correct. Alberta does not benefit from any of these new rules. The fact that this would need to be explained to you is a gauge of your knowledge.

Listen to your own statement - "The new regulations seem reasonable given those market conditions"....key word into "those". We are nowhere near "those"....nuff said.

Good thing you're here to shine light upon my vast ignorance, Shawn.

Shawn’s view seems to be very short-sighted; after all, Alberta is still a part of Canada so we are near “those” and it would be great if Alberta implemented some of these measures to prevent what happened in Toronto and Vancouver. As for the knowledge, Shawn can expand his by learning from experts about the growing risk of financial crises in Canada and how it may affect all of us, unless one moves his investments out of the country. I am sure that many Albertans agree with Andrew's comments, but it is understandable that those who have their direct interest in inflating real estate disagree...

This house across the street hit the market today

https://www.edmontonrealestate.pro/listing/Edmonton/Twin-Brooks/e4060006-541-twin-brooks-bay-edmonton-ab-t6j-6x3/

Ahh yes Comrades!! From each according to their abilities, to each according to their needs!!

What could possibly go wrong?!

Alberta needs rental control alright but to help the owner not the renter. Alberta needs legislation to limit the percentage yearly decrease in rent prices for residential real estate. Something like limit the decrease to 5 percent a year to help put a floor in rent prices.

Gorgeous house! I'm sure it will sell quickly. If it were closer to downtown, it would be worth well over $1 million. I wouldn't want that commute into downtown everyday, but I'm sure someone will buy it.

Andrew, Alberta prices are actually down year over year, so if anything we should be loosening the reporting requirements, rent control, foreign buyer's tax, etc. to ensure they start going up again. That would boost the economy. Toronto is different, in that the pendulum has swung too far the other way, and prices are rising too quickly. I think 10% price growth a year would be ideal, but certainly not 30-40% like Toronto is seeing.

For those who are concerned nothing similar will come to Alberta for now at least and even so it will have no significant impact. Those measures will not slow Toronto or maybe slightly due to psychological effects. The party over there will continue until it loses momentum eventually probably next year.

This is because most speculators are local Canadians and not foreigners. There might be a slight impact though due to locals thinking this bubble was caused by foreigners and then they will sit on the sidelines waiting to see what will happen.

Yeah, 10% would be perfect. And hopefully wages stay flat like they've been for the past 10 years as well, then in another 20 it'll only take three lifetimes to pay off a starter home.

Good grief! They wonder why the Greater Toronto Area is on fire. So they get their best representatives to meet. The Mayor, and Finance Ministers together to come and talk.

I could tell them right away. First raise the interest rates. That would cool things down. Oh and all the money laundering that is swept under the rug. Your supposed to know your clients but a few thousand under the table and no questions asked. That dirty money has to end up somewhere and Canada is more than welcome to take it.

I'm no finance minister but I figured this out a longtime ago. I just hope when the bubble finally bursts it doesn't take down a few of our big banks and the rest of the country with it.

You must have missed the part about rent control as one of the housing measures. I estimate the average condo will drop 20 to 25 percent in the downtown Toronto core in the next six months. This is all due to rent control and with 30 percent down as a down payment about 97 percent of the owners would be in a negative cash flow situation when they rent out their second, third fourth, fifth and so on properties. The big question is how fast is the spillover effect going to hit the semi detached and the detaches houses in Toronto? Once this happens it will all start to mushroom outwards and eventually hit the satellite towns such as Burlington where home prices are triple or quadruple what they should be. This will be the first time the market crash has started in the Toronto core and moved outwards to the satellite towns. In the past every crash was the opposite moving from cottage country inward to the city core in Toronto.

Reggie, comrade, you're right. In fact, why stop there. The government should confiscate all housing from the proletariate and redistribute it to the common man. That worked really well for Russia, why not here as well?

After all, those with housing currently surely don't deserve to have it just because they were able to pay for it.

arfmoocat, what's your point? Is the price too high? Too low?

Seems to me that the list price is close to what they believe someone will pay for it. Otherwise, they'll lower their price in time. Or possibly there'll be a bidding war if it's too low.

You see, that's how free markets work.

Leave it to the government to destroy everything it touches.

The Ontario Foreign Buyer's Tax won't slow anyone down. Here's what it says:

The tax will be reimbursed to buyers who become permanent residents within four years of a sale, and won’t apply to international students enrolled full-time for at least two years.

Every Chinese student will be purchasing a $2 million house. Easy way to get around this.