Finding your dream home can be tough in the Canadian market. As prices and interest rates continue to rise, the dream of once owning a home with your partner can often feel like it’s slipping away.
However, Wahi has a new and free house hunting app for couples that is here to help. With the Wahi app, couples can finally purchase a home with confidence and get closer to landing their perfect abode. With Wahi’s collaboration feature, couples can easily peruse through house listings together in an exciting, new way.
Couples are able to keep track of each other’s listings and even receive recommendations as co-buyers. Wahi makes house hunting convenient and streamlines the communication process between partners to make finding a home a breeze.
On the app, couples can schedule house tours together, keep a record of showings, chat with each other and their Realtor and lastly, receive alerts about properties each other likes or when a showing is booked.
Wahi couldn’t have come at a better time as more Canadian couples are expected to jump into the housing market this summer. In fact, 77 per cent of Canadian homeowners purchased a home with a romantic partner, according to a Wahi survey.
As couples enter the housing market, they will face steep prices that are expected to continue rising. The national average home price is set to climb nearly five per cent to $710,468 by the end of 2024, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). And here in Toronto, $985,000 is the median price for a home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) as of March, based on Wahi data.
To help first-time buyers get into the market, the federal government recently announced 30-year amortization periods on insured mortgages, but despite this, Canadians continue to feel strapped for cash. Not to mention the property taxes and closing costs that buyers have to consider when purchasing property.
That is why Wahi is making it easier for Toronto couples to catch a break and get some money back when buying a home with its Wahi MyBuy cash-back program.
The initiative provides customers with Realtors who offer top-notch virtual service, and they can get up to one per cent of the sale price back in cash after closing.
Torontonians, specifically, should take advantage of this exciting offer. For example, if someone purchased a $1-million home, they would get $10,000 cash back in their pockets.
Canadian couples looking to buy a home can download the Wahi app here and learn more about Wahi’s MyBuy cashback program here.
It’s no surprise that the cost of a Toronto home has shot through the (increasingly unattainable) roof in the past decade. Both current homeowners – perhaps those who’ve watched the value of their property soar over the decades – and prospective homeowners know this very well. So do would-be homeowners who have found themselves priced out of the city’s extremely expensive market.
But what is admittedly a surprise is just how drastically prices have jumped. According to Market Watch data from the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), Toronto home prices for a detached home have jumped from $898,332 in March 2014, to $1,708,437 in March 2024. That’s an increase of about $958K.
Back in March 2014, TREBB announced strong year-over-year increases in Toronto MLS home sales and the average selling price. It was a different time back then, and affordability of home prices and low borrowing costs contributed to this growth. A total of 8,081 sales were reported in March 2014 – up by 7.2% in comparison to March 2013. Compared to March 2013, the average selling price for a detached home in Toronto was up 6.8%.
It’s safe to say that prices have climbed steadily since – something that became an impossible-to-ignore reality during the thick of the pandemic, when real estate prices not only skyrocketed throughout the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), but throughout the country as well. Toronto homes officially crossed the million-dollar average in 2021 during the real estate market’s red-hot run. Between 2014 and 2024, Toronto’s average detached home prices only slightly dropped in two years: 2018 (-4.2%) and 2023 (-5.4%).
Fast-forward to 2024. According to TRREB, GTA sales reported through MLS were down in March 2024 from March 2023, however, this can partially be attributed to Good Friday falling in March this year, versus April last year. According to TRREB, despite a better supplied market compared to last year, there was enough competition among buyers to see a moderate increase in the average March home prices compared to last year’s level. When it comes specifically to detached homes in Toronto, however, prices only increased by 0.4%.
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While we’ve seen a notable halt to the rapidly rising prices in the past two years across the country – something that has coincided with Canada’s perpetual rise in interest rates – the flattening of home prices haven’t exactly helped on the affordability front.
RBC economist Robert Hogue recently said that it’s more of a financial challenge than ever to purchase a home in Canada – let alone in the notoriously pricey city of Toronto. While housing affordability has worsened in every market RBC tracks, the country’s most expensive markets – Vancouver, Victoria, and Toronto – experienced the biggest deterioration. In Toronto, a whopping 84.8% of median household income is needed to cover home ownership costs, putting housing affordability in the city at its worse level ever.
Between sky-high interest rates, the mortgage stress test, inflation, and home prices, times are tough for borrowers and prospective buyers in Toronto, even those with what are widely regarded as “good jobs.” The average young professional is lucky enough to purchase a relatively modest condo, let alone a detached house (unless, of course, the parents are pitching in).
A report from Ratehub.ca shows how affordability declined in 2023. While home values dropped, the current economy and market conditions rendered housing affordability “terrible” in Canada’s major cities. While home values dropped in Toronto, the ability to purchase a home – in terms of the average annual income required – grew by $11,100 to $218,100.
As interest rates finally soften – something that’s predicted to happen in the second half of the year – and competition intensifies with the city’s growing population, purchasing a property in Toronto is going to become even harder in the years ahead.
According to a Zoocasa report released earlier this week (aptly titled, Start Saving: $2M Homes Will Soon Be Toronto’s Normal), by 2034, Toronto homes will reach an average selling price of $2M. The Zoocasa team calculated the average rate of increase in Toronto homes over the past decade – a figure that amounts to 5.6%. Based on this rate, Zoocasa predicts that Toronto homes will hit the $2M mark in a decade’s time. Gulp.
In the meantime, for those looking to purchase a single-detached home this spring, Zoocasa outlines an intimidating reality: even homes Toronto’s most affordable neighbourhoods are closing in on the city’s average of $1.1M for a home. The report highlights the neighbourhood of Rockcliffe, Smythe, Keelesdale, and Eglinton West, where the average single-detached price reached its peak of $1.6M by February 2023. However, it’s still considered to be one of the most affordable neighbourhoods to buy a single-family detached house in the city.
The good news? It’s Friday.
Bad news, Toronto. The 6ix could overtake Vancouver by becoming the most expensive housing market in Canada this year, a new housing report says.
The first three months of the year were “busier than expected,” according to real estate franchisor Royal LePage’s House Price Survey, which is predicting the aggregate price of a home in Canada will rise nine per cent in 2024, up from its previous forecast of 5.5 per cent.
Vancouver house prices remain the highest in the country for now, but Royal LePage is projecting a shift in the market in the second half of 2024, that could see Toronto prices surpass Vancouver’s.
In the first quarter of the year, the aggregate price of a home in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) increased 5.2 per cent compared to the same period last year, to $1.1 million.
In Vancouver, the aggregate price of a house increased 3.4 per cent to just over $1.2 million.
“This sustained price appreciation is expected to close the gap between the country’s two most expensive real estate markets,” Royal LePage says.
Canada’s two largest urban centres, Toronto and Montreal, are now anticipated to clock the highest rate of home price appreciation this year, according to Phil Soper, president and CEO of Royal LePage.
The aggregate price of a home in the GTA is forecast to increase 10.0 per cent year-over-year in the fourth quarter of 2024, with a predicted median price of $1.2 million by the end of 2024.
Montreal prices are expected to increase 8.5 per cent over the same period, peaking at $614,978 by year end.
These forecasts outpace price gains in Calgary, which was previously expected to see the greatest rise in home values this year, according to the report.
Royal LePage forecasts that the aggregate price of a home in the Greater Vancouver area will increase 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to the same quarter last year, for a median price of $1.2 million by the end of the year.
The Canadian housing market reached a critical tipping point in the first quarter of this year, after prices flatlined and then began to rise again, and the Canadian housing market has already recorded steady price increases and higher sales activity than the previous year, reported Royal LePage.
“Clearly, more and more buyers are motivated by the need to get ahead of rising home prices, rather than adopting the strategy of waiting for mortgage rates to fall,” Soper said.
Since July 2023, the Bank of Canada has held interest rates steady which prompted many homebuyers to move with haste in advance of what will likely be a more competitive spring market set to drive home prices even higher.
637 Lake Shore Blvd. W., No. 407, Toronto
Asking price: $1,198,000 (January, 2024)
Previous asking price: $1,225,000 (November, 2023)
Selling price: $1.15-million (January, 2024)
Previous selling prices: $524,000 (July, 2013); $520,000 (February, 2012); $465,000 (May, 2007)
Taxes: $4,077 (2023)
Property days on market: 71
Listing agent: Christopher Bibby, Re/Max Hallmark Bibby Group Realty
The action
The sellers of this one-bedroom plus den unit at Tip Top Lofts found buyers paralyzed by high mortgage rates going into the winter holidays. It didn’t help that a near-identical loft was also for sale and at an asking price $106,000 below theirs. In January, they trimmed their price by $27,000, a move that jumpstarted negotiations with one interested buyer. Finally, with another $48,000 climb down, a deal was struck.
“People who visited it in the past saw the price drop and came back to bid on it,” said agent Christopher Bibby.
“The unit next door was available at the exact same time,” said Mr. Bibby. “The last time I checked, it was still available.”
This loft’s advantage was the owner’s redesign of its bathroom and the addition of a second one. “The unit next door had one washroom and we had two,” Mr. Bibby said. “That gave us the upper hand.
“Typically, the washroom is a walk-through that could be accessed from the living room, but they closed it to make a proper ensuite. But they also added a powder room, which isn’t something you see too often.”
What they got
This loft is in a retrofitted 94-year-old former menswear warehouse and has 14-foot concrete ceilings and multiple windows across the den and living room.
The remodeled kitchen has quartz countertops and upscale appliances.
The parking spot is underground. Monthly fees of $794 cover water, heating, concierge and use of a rooftop terrace.
The agent’s take
“Tip Top Lofts has always been a very sought-after and iconic property,” Mr. Bibby said.
“If you want to be in a loft conversion on the waterfront, that’s really the only option.”
This unit also faces west. “It is the most sought-after exposure with the view overlooking [Coronation Park] and the water,” said Mr. Bibby.
35 Church St., No. 703, Toronto
Asking price: $1,495,000 (November, 2023)
Previous asking price: $1,495,000 (September, 2023)
Selling price: $1,460,000 (November, 2023)
Previous selling price: $300,000 (March, 1994)
Taxes: $5,363 (2023)
Property days on market: 68
Listing agent: Christopher Bibby, Re/Max Hallmark Bibby Group Realty
The action
In a roughly 40-year-old condo building at Church and Front streets, this 1,723-square-foot corner suite has a prime spot on the seventh floor overlooking the iconic Gooderham Building, also known as the Flatiron Building. The owners failed to find a buyer in their first few weeks on the market, so they tried a common strategy; cancel the listing and relist immediately at the same asking price, a move that puts the property back at the top of the list of online property search results. About a week later, they landed a deal $35,000 short of their list price.
“What made this unit very distinct is it was in the southwest corner of the building, so in the solarium and on the south side and west side of this unit, you had a completely unobstructed and protected view of the Flatiron Building/Gooderham Building,” said agent Christopher Bibby.
“If we were unsuccessful, we’d have that spring market to target. But the fact there was no competition and there was nothing quite like this listed for some time, we had some optimism.”
What they got
This two-bedroom suite has windows in every room other than the eat-in kitchen and the two bathrooms. A solarium is accessible from one bedroom and the living room.
The unit includes a storage locker and parking. A monthly fee of $1,563 covers water, cable, concierge and use of common amenities, such as the indoor pool and squash/racquet court.
The agent’s take
“Everybody coming in just loved the fact the bedrooms were separated, and it had a proper solarium, dining room, living room and enclosed kitchen,” said Mr. Bibby. “So it really felt like a home.”
“A lot of [interested] buyers in there love to get out, walk and take advantage of the local amenities, be it Berczy Park or be it St. Lawrence Market. And you have quick access to the harbourfront, Financial District and Entertainment District.”