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Canada’s banking regulator is set to relax mortgage rules for homeowners
The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) will no longer require banks to apply the mortgage stress test on borrowers who switch lenders if they are simply renewing their loan, the regulator told The Globe and Mail on Wednesday.
The change will make it easier for borrowers with uninsured mortgages to move to a different bank at renewal. It is also expected to motivate banks to offer cheaper mortgage rates in order to retain their current borrowers and attract new customers. The move is set to go into effect Nov. 21, according to OSFI, and will be in place as the federal government relaxes other mortgage policies.
24-09-2024 -
The average salary for a real estate agent is $58,400
Soaring house prices in recent years and the onslaught of high-roller realtor shows (we see you, Selling Sunset) have left many of us wondering about real estate agents’ salaries. After all, a five per cent commission on a million-dollar home is an impressive $50,000. If a realtor helps clients buy and sell just two homes at that price a year, that’s an easy $100,000 salary, right?
According to the government of Canada’s Job Bank, realtor salaries varied wildly in 2023. On the low end, a realtor made $30,847. The average salary was $58,400. And those who had the best year pulled in $178,000. This is all before taxes.
23-09-2024 -
Toronto condo parking can add 6 figures to a home
In Toronto’s competitive real estate market, having a parking space with a condominium can significantly increase the property’s value — sometimes by as much as six figures. A recent analysis by Wahi sheds light on just how much this coveted amenity can cost, depending on location in the city.
The study looked at the median price differences between one-bedroom condominiums with and without parking across Toronto’s six former pre-amalgamation cities: East York, Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, Toronto and York.
16-09-2024 -
Low Tide Properties seeks to build two 35-storey rental towers, 19-storey office building
A real estate company co-founded by the man who created Lululemon is behind a massive development proposal for the False Creek Flats area of Vancouver that features two 35-storey rental towers and a 19-storey office building.
Low Tide Properties is working with PCI Developments and architecture firm Musson Cattell Mackey Partnership to redevelop a two-storey warehouse site currently occupied by Shaw Communications at 1155 East 6th Ave.
The City of Vancouver received a rezoning application in July for the property, which is near the VCC-Clark SkyTrain Station on a strip that has seen a lot of development in recent years as the area gets built out.
11-09-2024 -
A severe lack of housing for post-secondary students persists across Canada
“Insufficient student accommodations should worry all Canadians,” wrote Desjardins economists Kari Norman and Randall Bartlett. As the demand for higher education in Canada continues to surge, the availability of student housing has not kept pace, the authors said.
With a lack of purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) in Canada, many students end up living in off-campus housing, which is often more expensive and increases their debt load. The influx of students into the surrounding community in turn reduces housing availability and drives up rental prices for everyone, particularly affecting low-income families and young adults.
Desjardins estimates that 1.2 million students rent in the neighbourhoods around their post-secondary institutions.
“Increased demand from students means fewer rental units available for other residents,” the report said, particularly when purpose-built rental housing construction has lagged population growth for decades in some cities.
05-09-2024 -
he agent got the maximum allowed penalty for misconduct committed by an individua
British Columbia's real estate regulator has suspended the licence of an agent for six months after he admitted to forging signatures on a land assembly deal in Richmond, B.C., nearly a decade ago.
The B.C. Financial Services Authority (BCFSA) said Ramandeep Singh Kooner has also agreed to pay a $10,000 penalty and $5,000 in enforcement expenses based on a consent order proposed by the agent and accepted by the regulator in July.
"Licensees have a duty to act honestly, with reasonable care and skill and these actions undermine the integrity of the real estate industry and constitute wrongful or deceptive dealing," Raheel Humayun, BCFSA's director of investigations, said in an Aug. 30
04-09-2024
