Lawrence Mak

Who are you voting for?

Still undecided about the election? I just wanted to touch on the government as it relates to real estate. Real estate is under the jurisdiction of the Province, and so which Party in power is important. Except for the rare circumstances when the Federal government gets involved (Foreign Buyers Tax, Principal Tax Exemption, HST or Capital Gains etc), the Province is responsible for everything...

Buyers Remorse Sweeping GTA

There has been a lot of Buyer's Remorse reported in the media, but I don't think it's anything new. During market upswings, Sellers often have remorse that they "sold too soon!" and during downswings, Buyers often feel they "bought too soon!" It's impossible to predict the future, so all you can do is make the right decision based on the information you have at the time. A word of caution! I've been...

Buyers lose $150k deposits on townhouses

This is another story in the media about Buyers losing money when dealing with preconstruction buildings.  As the article states (not proven in court yet), Boss Luxury Towns was a 72-townhouse project in Richmond Hill.  The builder was operating without a license and so the project was cancelled. Unfortunately, only $100k of the deposits are "protected" and so some Buyers may potentially...

Real Estate – April 2022 Report

In April 2022, the average home sold for $1,254,436. This is down -3.5% from last month, but up +15.0% from last year! There were 8,008 sales in April which is 41.2% lower than in 2021. So what does this mean for you? If you’re buying… This is an excellent opportunity to get what you want without as much competition. Possibly at a discount!   And for the Buyers who don't want as...

Real Estate – March 2022 Report

In March 2022, the average home sold for $1,299,894. This is down -2.6% from last month, but up +18.4% from last year! There were about 11,000 sales in March which is a lot lower than in 2021, when there were 15,628 homes sold. Detached homes are down from last month.  Condos are slightly up but not significantly. The few Sellers that were aware of the trend likely cashed in as soon as they...

Foreign Buyers Tax Increases to 20%

Today, the Provincial government has increased the Foreign Buyer's Tax from 15% to 20%. This was a sudden change, but not entirely unexpected. As you may remember, when the previous Provincial government initially introduced the Foreign Buyer's Tax in 2017, Toronto detached homes dropped an average of $400k over 4 months. The problem is, I expect a lot of changes in the next year that won't solve...

8 Scholarships Totaling $22,000

I'm pleased to announce that the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB) is offering scholarships to graduating high school students.  Since the program's inception in 2007, we have awarded $200,000 to 50 deserving students.  This year, there are eight awards: 2 x First Place Awards ($5,000 each) 2 x Second Place Awards ($2,500 each) 2 x Third Place Awards ($2,000 each) 2 x...

How was March Break?

I was fortunate enough to get away from the city for a few days and do some skiing with the family! Earlier in the week, the ski conditions were perfect and the weather was cool! You know what else was cool?  The housing prices in pockets around the GTA. Some houses sold for less than they should, with fewer buyers competing.  Many homes passed their offer-date and either re-listed...

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