First Home Savings Account (FHSA) was first announced in 2022 and is finally available as of April 1, 2023. In this article we will summarize the main aspects of this program and go into details further down, if you have a question that hasn’t been answered just drop us a line. As a general comment, the federal government has been recently introducing other programs such as The First-Time Home Buyer Incentive which flopped miserably and gained almost no traction, on the other hand... [read more]

The short-term rental market became very popular over the last few years, and a hot topic. Since this is a complex tax issue, we will only suggest anyone who is thinking about selling, buying or changing the use of residential property to short term rentals to contact a qualified professional. In the meantime, below are links to comments written by qualified professionals on this subject. Pallett Valo LLP – Tax court of Canada holes that the sale of an Airbnb rental property is... [read more]

An absorption rate is a measure of evaluating the strength of the real estate market by calculating the number of properties sold (usually within a month) versus the number of properties available for sale at the end of the period. The higher the number, the stronger the market. The calculation shows how long it would take to sell all the current inventory available for sale given the current market conditions. For example, we have 1,000 active listings, and within the last month 200... [read more]

On September 24, 2024 The Government of Canada announced significant changes to the mortgage rules qualifications. The two changes are: Increasing the $1M price cap for insured mortgages to $1.5M. Expanding the eligibility for the 30-year mortgage amortizations to all first-time home buyers, and to all home buyers of preconstruction homes.   Increasing the $1M price cap from $1M to $1.5M for insured mortgages. This is a significant change for buyers who could afford... [read more]

Some buyers wonder if they should hire a buyer’s agent, or they should represent themselves. Below we will discuss different options, what to be aware of, pay attention to and what to avoid. First off it is important to mention that the buyers aren’t required to use an agent, they can represent themselves, in Ontario you as a buyer are required to use a lawyer to complete the transaction, but you are not required to use a realtor when buying the property. There are over... [read more]