Welcome back to Part Two of Urbaneer’s Winter 2019 Forecast!

With 2019 already underway – and sobering articles like “Global Real Estate Hot Spots Hit Hard By Market Shift” position our transitioning shelter economy in an international context (it’s not just Canada, eh?) – it’s inevitable that it will be another headline-worthy year for Toronto real estate. After all, we’re a city obsessed with housing, and, along with Vancouver, make-up one-third of our nation’s housing activity! As the nation’s largest urban centre, we regularly grapple with supply and demand issues, affordability, and the fundamental debate on whether shelter is a right or a privilege. If you are not on the property ladder (ie. landed gentry) then you’re likely experiencing some degree of the housing crisis (insecurity of tenure, the recent removal of rent controls for most condominiums, or a wicked roommate). If you are bound to bricks and mortar then you’re feeling either the weight of your indebtedness on your psyche or a gnawing fear that one of your most important assets – your personal residence – is not escalating in value at the rate you were once accustomed too, or hoping for, as the stock market tanks.

Keeping this context in mind, what will the Toronto headlines read? In Part One of the 2019 Forecast, I wrote about the critical long-standing imbalance between supply and demand (and how the ‘missing middle’ are destined to compete for a shrinking pool of affordable family-friendly high-rise product unless there’s a significant revamp of municipal zoning and density bylaws). I talked about how the freehold market is experiencing a shift in Buyer demographic and behaviours (including how multi-generational and ‘chosen’ families will be transforming our existing housing stock in the original City of Toronto).

In this edition, I’m going to share my thoughts on climbing the property ladder in our current market, how interest rates and consumer fiscal responsibility are the linchpins of our housing economy, and the always-expanding condominium market.

Climbing The Property Ladder, Then & Today

As a realtor in his 26th year selling real estate in the central core of the original City of Toronto (about 42 neighbourhoods), I’ve witnessed a shift in how Buyers navigate their way up the Toronto property ladder. In the past, homebuyers bought their first house and remained for extended periods, perhaps making a move or two over the decades at most within the city; meanwhile, the introduction of the condominium housing type (seen in The Globe’s Toronto’s Five Decades Of Condo Growth, Mapped) as both an entry-level acquisition and a downsizing option invited more movement up and down the property ladder. For many, the first purchase is an entry-level condo; equity is built by doing some stylish decor upgrades and natural appreciation in real estate value. Then, (hopefully) these first time homebuyer meets another single-who-fortuitously-owns-their-first-entry-level-condo and you fall-in-love, with sufficient equity to either keep one as a property investment (this is every newly betrothed couple’s double-asset dream) or – most likely – both are sold to climb the property ladder into either a larger condo for three (the third being a dog – here’s Buying A Condo Your Dog Will Love or a kid – here’s Should We Raise Our Kids In A Condo?) or a freehold dwelling for a family of four+.

While there was a time when you might buy and sell a condo (or two or three) with the objective of locking down the prize of some centrally-located freehold bricks and mortar, the gap between incomes and property prices are now at a level that affording a freehold dwelling is financially prohibitive for much of the middle class. As I wrote in Dear Toronto Real Estate: Where Are The Property Listings?, the poor condition of our century-old housing stock along with the shift from flipping to new builds is reducing the stock of houses that are both affordable and habitable for climbing the property ladder; the expense of parenting, including daycare and millennial underemployment; stagnant incomes is hindering the capital creation necessary to make a move, along with the prohibitive closing costs associated with each buy and sell.

For those who do secure a house, it’s increasingly likely it will be the only house they buy, which will get renovated while the owner(s) career-path. Rather than incur the small fortune it costs to buy and sell to climb the property ladder, instead, they’ll expand it with an addition up, down or out as their equity and incomes increase. (Check out Should I Renovate My House In Stages Or Do A Full Gut?) Then one day – if all of their laughing, barking brood aren’t still living at home when they’re 65 – perhaps they’ll downsize and reap the rewards of their investment.

For homebuyers who are considering a climb up the property ladder, strategy – and being confident at how far you can leverage yourself against the risk you’re going out on a limb too far – is paramount. These TREB stats date from 2016 but reflect some longer-term projections over a decade that characterize what Toronto homebuyers face in their climb up the property ladder. This story from the Huffington Post: “Canada Real Estate: Homeowners Are Stuck On A Broken Property Ladder” discusses the plight in more detail.

The cost of upgrading in the 416 area code from a condo to a townhouse in 2016 was $183,785, with a projected increase of $214,712 the following year; at the end of the decade, it is expected that upgrading to a townhome would cost almost an extra $500,000. For townhome owners looking to move up to a detached home, it was projected that the cost of moving up the ladder would increase to $1,521,438. I can tell you from personal experience as a realtor (often documented in From The Real Estate Trenches here on Urbaneer) that the difference in cost for a 4-bed house compared to a 3-bed house in downtown Toronto is at least $350,000. Yup, that fourth bedroom costs $350,000 more!

For a little context, for similar property ladder climbs in other cities during the same time period, the increases were much smaller. The cost of upgrading from a condo to a single family home (jumping over the whole middle in 2016) was projected at $61,000 and topping $85,416 a decade later in Montreal.

In Calgary, to move up from a condo to a townhouse increased from $34,993 to $69,576  a decade later. To move from a townhouse to a detached family home cost $214,577 in 2016, hitting $289,267 by the end of the decade. Edmonton and Ottawa display similar, moderate increases more in line with income growth and affordability.

Although the market has moderated somewhat after the introduction of the Fair Housing Plan, climbing the property ladder remains challenging. There are strategies, like co-ownership or taking out longer mortgages to make payments more affordable.

 A Shift In The Toronto Real Estate Market

What’s not often on the radar of a lot of property owners, is that if the market shifts it could be the opportunity to climb the property ladder.

For example, if the trifecta of government interventions, rising interest rates, and a decline in buyer confidence were to result in a decline in property values of ten per cent (which has already happened in the suburbs of Toronto), it could be financially catastrophic to those whose property value slides into a negative equity position at the time they are refinancing during higher interest rates (I’m just starting to see the occasional Power Of Sale listings – that’s where a lender is selling the house to recover as much of their registered on title debt), However, it would be welcomed by anyone who hasn’t bought Toronto real estate and is seeking to get their foot into the market, and it presents an opportunity to those who have significant equity in their existing but too small dwelling.

How? Well, there are two rules of thumb when it comes to buying real estate. One is ‘buy when no one else is’ and the other is ‘the best time to climb the property ladder is in a declining market’. If the dynamics of the real estate market‎ do shift from price appreciation to depreciation, it will result in Buyers having more choice in the available supply specific to their wishes, wants and needs (and budget) – and that motivated Sellers will have to drop their prices in order to remain competitive to secure a sale.

To ‘buy when no one else is’ offers greater opportunities to negotiate, cherry pick distress sales, and wait for the perfect property which has fewer compromises. The only risk is that prices continue to drop for a period of time after you buy, such that you have to wait for prices to increase and rise around 7 per cent over your acquisition price to break-even after buying and selling costs.

It’s also feasible that specific market segments may be impacted first, with prices adjusting downward – due to smaller pools of buyers for a particular niche – like certain housing types, locations or price points. For example, prices may drop for luxury real estate, outer ring suburbs, new home sales being sold pre-construction, or recreational properties‎. Even this past year we’ve seen suburban freehold housing decreasing in value while houses in the central part of Toronto are stable if not increasing moderately.

The luxury market for sure has been impacted by the moderation in the market. In Vancouver (and Toronto, which often follows suit behind this other pricey Metro), the impact of the Foreign Buyers tax has curbed speculative investment and the high-end homes that were the target of these investors have dropped in price, which is covered here: “High-End B.C. House Prices Dropping, But No Relief At Lower Levels”. This is an example of how it might be a good time to climb the property ladder into a higher end home while still capitalizing on demand.

Buyers seeking higher-end homes have been sitting and waiting patiently on the sidelines for these homes to come within striking range. As this article points out, “High-End Home Buyers In Toronto Wait On Sidelines For The Right Price”, Toronto’s strong employment prospects bolster consumer confidence considerably, giving homebuyers that momentum to climb up the property ladder (I touched on the tech boom that is seeing a steady stream of high-income hopeful homebuyers into the city in Part One of the Forecast).

Here is a scenario: ‎For some savvy buyers considering climbing the property ladder, strategically one might wait for the properties at the top end of their budget to start dropping due to diminishing demand. If interest rates continue to increase, the by-product will be fewer buyers for higher priced homes. Meanwhile, their existing property in the lower price point may still be in demand, given interest rates effectively funnel most buyers into cheaper housing options. Even if all housing were to drop 10 per cent, the $2mil house will come down $200k, while the $1.5mil house will drop 150k. There’s a 50k saving to climb the property ladder in a declining market.

We actually witnessed this last year after the government intervention. While the freehold housing market dropped, the condo market saw significant gains. Click here my posts on A Changing Toronto Real Estate Market and Here’s What’s Happening With The Toronto Condominium Market.

Also, check out this post: “Five Real Estate Insights |To Help You Climb Canada’s Property Ladder”

Rising Interest Rates & Toronto Real Estate

In a super-hot housing market, at some point, the Government needs to step in with policy measures in order to keep housing affordable. With the introduction of the Fair Housing Plan, more attention on Foreign Investment policy and reporting and increased mortgage stress tests, Toronto real estate values have stabilized or pulled back. However, ironically, it will be the extent and frequency of rising interest rates (as a response to global economic conditions), the capacity of consumers to service their debt (here’s “Canadian Household Debt Is Back Above US Great Recession Numbers“), and increased taxation (by all levels of government as revenue sources decline like the Provincial and City Land Transfer Taxes) that will have the greatest impact on our real estate market for this next cycle.

Over the last years, low-interest rates allowed fervent, frantic home buyers to pay top dollar as they competed for homes, setting and resetting the bar for housing prices multiple times. With interest rates rising, the tool to pay these high prices is becoming less available, and there will be a spin-off from that.

I consulted with Urbaneer’s respected ally Mortgage Jake on the current interest rate environment and recent rate hikes.

“We have seen a 1.25% increase in Prime rate (or, 5 times at .25). This 1.25% increase in the past 15 months after not seeing any increases over the past 7 years is an accelerated move. Why did it happen? The Bank of Canada says/said: “Our economy is on fire, we need to keep inflation in check, and get back to a neutral rate”. Part of the rationale surely has to do with the housing market. I always said that the best way to control housing is via rising rates. The harder and more expensive it is for borrowers, the more difficult time they will have borrowing, therefore, housing will slow down,” says Mortgage Jake.

Although it was widely expected that there would be additional rate hikes to come in 2019, it is becoming less and less likely, giving the plunging price of oil. Dropping oil prices may signal some instability in the economy, which is not the right environment for rate hikes. Click here to read “How The Mini And Maxi Oil Shocks Could Hit Canada’s Economy, Interest Rates And Loonie” and “Bank Of Canada Slashes Outlook As Oil, Trade And Housing Concerns Weigh“.

Increasing The Size Of The Elitist Chasm

One of the unintended consequences of rising interest rates is the widening affordability gap between the middle class and the wealthy elite. The middle class’s purchasing power will be dictated by the rise of interest rates which will limit their purchasing capacity and effectively diminish their capacity to compete, whereas the affluent – who have more capital or easier access to capital because they are high-earning – aren’t impacted to the same degree, ensuring them greater ease in buying the better dwellings. After all, we’re still operating in a climate where there is an imbalance between the supply and demand for both condominiums and freehold dwellings. From my lens, where most every listing and purchase I’ve sold this year in the downtown core has been in a bidding war, if interest rates increase it will simply squeeze more and more Buyers into competing for the more affordable product in the central core, or force them to locate further afield where they’ll have to reconcile The Real Financial, Emotional And Health Costs Of Commuting. Unless we experience an Exhaustion Movement, It’s possible, but what I anticipate is we’ll see more competition in the lower-priced market segments.

Although we’ve just seen the Bank Of Canada hold the interest rate steady, and Big Banks are trimming their 5-year mortgage rates, there are those who feel that rising interest rates might just be the ticket to affordable housing prices.  Although this story refers to an older interest rate announcement, the sentiment is ever present. Click here to read “Here’s Why An October Interest Rate Hike Could Be Good News For The Canadian Housing Market”. In this article, BMO Economist Douglas Porter points to the link between recent increases in interest rates and a moderation in the market, although he does concede that too far too fast in terms of rate hikes could have a negative impact on the market. Did the mortgage stress test and our string of interest rate hikes stave off a bubble? If yes, I’m not confident it’s reduced the number of buyers who could see their financial future jeopardized. The real test that the government interventions are working is still to come when those who purchased their dwellings two to five years ago have to renew their mortgage at the higher interest rates when the value of their property may not have increased, or may have possibly decreased since their acquisition.

What A Rate Hike Means For Highly Leveraged Buyers

Ideally, consumers should have used the extended window of low-interest rates as an opportunity to pay down debt. In Toronto, partly as a means to an end with high housing prices and cost of living, low-interest rates had the opposite effect. It meant that people could extend their household budgets to “afford” the things that they wanted, borrow against their equity to buy more property (or a bigger property), ultimately leveraging themselves with debt.

As rates rise and debt to disposable income ratios sit at dangerous levels, financial vulnerability as a society increases. This story from the Globe and Mail “Soaring Household Debt Leaves Vancouver, Toronto Homeowners Vulnerable To Higher Rates, CMHC Warns,” talks about sky-high debt to disposable income ratios in Toronto and Vancouver. Toronto is currently at 208 per cent. 

According to this article, mortgage debt accounts for nearly 70 per cent of total household debt, which is significantly higher than other cities. As a result of the rate hikes in the last year and a half, Torontonians have paid on average an extra $932 annually, which is almost double the national average. This article from Macleans; “The Most Important Charts To Watch In 2019” warns of not only the danger of having to shell out more to cover carrying costs because of higher interest rates, but also of the increased speed, outpacing incomes more quickly. This article “Arrested Wealth, Steeper Rates, Unaffordable Housing: How We’ll Be Pinched In 2019″ talks about how, although wealth in Canada has generally increased in Canada mostly due to rising housing prices, the combination of higher interest rates and higher debt loads significantly erodes the sum of that wealth.

When you are spread thin, you inevitably turn to consumer debt to cover costs and so the cycle churns. Click here to read “As Lending Gets Tighter, Canadians Face Threat Of Credit Card Trap: Don Pittis”. When you are scraping your debt ceiling, an increase in rates could be the tipping point. This article refers to an Ipsos Reid study prior to the rate hike earlier this fall, indicating that Canadians are spread dangerously thin with debt. Read “One-Third Of Canadians Fear Bankruptcy Ahead Of Expected Interest Rate Hike”.

Affordability’s Nemesis: Interest Rates Or High Housing Prices?

There is an ongoing debate as to whether high-interest rates or high housing prices are more damaging to affordability. The short answer? Both. While the crux of affordability lies in the relationship between household income and housing price/mortgage debt, it also has to do with how much debt a homeowner takes on. Of course, as rates rise, you get less mileage with your household income to service that debt.

Consider this article, which has some interesting infographics that illustrate the point: “Boomers Or Millennials: Who Had It Tougher In The Toronto Housing Market?”

Boomers have had the opportunity to amass wealth through real estate despite having paid double-digit interest rates during a good chunk of their tenure as homeowners. However, their ability to build wealth was because the gap between housing prices and household income was far greater. They paid more to service their debt, which was a challenge for affordability, but they also didn’t have to take out as much debt, relatively speaking, just to buy a home.

As this infographic shows, average the debt-to-income ratio in Toronto through the 1980s was 32 per cent, whereas from 2010 to present is 60 per cent. According to this article, mortgage carrying costs have more than doubled what income growth was during the same time period, which is how affordability is such a problem now in Toronto.

On the other hand, this article,” The New Housing Affordability ‘Crisis’ Will Be Driven By Higher Mortgage Rates, Not Higher Home Prices” suggests that it is the rising interest rates on top of huge debt loads driven by high housing prices that are really going to impact affordability.

Having first hand experience in this circumstance, I wrote a piece that addressed both sides of the interest rate versus housing price debate in this post called Dear Urbaneer: Interest Rates In The 1980s And Now.

How Rising Rates And Shrinking Buying Power Impacts The Market

Hiking interest rates is intended to cool the market and to slow the rate of debt accumulation, but it won’t really do much to make housing more affordable, as purchasing power erodes.

As I’ve long counselled my clients, any shift and decline in the market would start in the outer lying regions of the city – essentially the suburbs – where the housing stock is more homogeneous as is its market by and large, while the last location the market would be impacted would be in the city centre, where demand outstrips supply because there are a larger pool of higher-earning buyers representing more diverse target markets competing for similar product. Click here to read “In The Suburbs Surrounding Toronto, Things Get Real”.

Interestingly, demand didn’t diminish dramatically with these changes. After all, people still want and need to buy shelter in a city which doesn’t have sufficient product to rent, or buy (though the stats showed a ‘wait and pause’ through the summer and autumn of 2017). But what did happen is the stricter lending criteria forced a lot of Buyers to purchase less expensive properties. In the city, this often meant Buyers had to shift their housing choice – purchasing a condominium instead of a freehold house – due to limitations on affordability.

There are a couple of reasons for this. First, buyers with less than 20 per cent down who are purchasing with high ratio financing are limited to properties that cost under $1mil which, in downtown Toronto are pretty much condos, because houses in the central core that cost less than $1mil often require a significant chunk of capital invested immediately on closing due to their poor condition and obsolete building components. At the same time, buyers who had 20 per cent down found lenders were limiting how large a mortgage they could borrow, which effectively forced them to consider less expensive properties. As a result, a large cohort of active buyers collectively shifted their attention to the pursuit of condominiums, fueling an escalation in values while the freehold market levelled, or dropped. Check out these articles that illustrate this phenomenon “Condos Alone Withstood Housing Correction” and Toronto Condo Buyers Go All-In”.

Now, with condo prices significantly up (prices in Q3 rose by over 8 per cent, while listings shrank, creating the environment for further price appreciation, according to TREB) and the freehold housing market increasing modestly –  the market is effectively expensive for anything while interest rates continue to increase.

Every time the interest rate goes up 0.25 per cent, it effectively reduces the purchasing power of a buyer. Although it is unlikely at this point that rates will climb at the same rate they have over the last 15 months, it is still a scenario worth considering.

Again, we consulted with Mortgage Jake to crunch some numbers for us if rates continue to go up. Here is what he said:

A sample $100,000 income earner today can qualify for $540,000.

If the rate goes up by 1/4, that number will drop by 2.4% to $527,000.

If the rate goes up 1/4% again, another 2.4% drop, and so forth.

“If rates continue to increase over the coming year, that’ll mean this sample $100K/year income buyer will qualify for 9.6% less mortgage. In a market that is not expected to have major price gains, but is not expected to drop, that 9.6% can mean the difference between getting in or staying out. Another thing to note is that this kind of rate hike will mean a marked difference in how much of your payment goes to interest,” says Mortgage Jake.

It is now becoming clear to any property buyer or owner that the cost to service their proposed or existing debt is going to go up, we’re going to start seeing more restraint by buyers and consumers. With more money going to service debt, there will less money flowing into our shelter economy, which means the real estate market will see fewer buyers, along with a strong possibility we’ll also see fewer sellers who simply can’t afford to make a move climbing the already costly property ladder. It will be interesting to how this possible contraction in the market – potentially both on the demand and supply side – will play out.

What I do anticipate – is that as the cost of servicing mortgage debt increases the price of housing will decrease to reflect these added costs – at best. After nearly two decades of no one losing money on Toronto real estate, the imminent credit crunch, and inevitable financial fall out of consumers who have never experienced fiscal restraint in their adult lives will create a psychological shift as the media trumpets cautionary tales amidst depressing data. This article from MacLeans: “This Is How Canada’s Housing Correction Begins” talks rather starkly about the depth of the economic impact of rising interest rates, along with other market influences, suggesting that the fallout here could be far-reaching.

The Condominium Market

As I have mentioned numerous times in past editions of my forecasts, Toronto is a tale of two cities, from a housing perspective: the freehold and condominium market. However, given the direction of both of these housing types over the last several months, the gap between them is closing, which is wielding impact on the market.

Side by side, condominiums have increased in price at a much higher rate than freehold houses. Click here to read “Toronto Condo Values Jumped 11% This Year, While Low-Rise Homes Climb Just 1%”.  As condo prices are on a tear and the detached market is cooling off, doesn’t it stand to reason that jumping into the condo market on its way up would make for a “better investment” as some of the recent press suggests?

Not necessarily.

In the last edition of my forecast, I talked about how the surge in Condominium prices can be attributed to a number of factors that influence demand, including compression from Government interventions, demographics, affordability and the continuing preference for urban living.

Although the mechanics are there to support price appreciation in both housing types, it’s not to say that buying a condominium is a “wiser” investment than buying a house. The increase in condo values is a function of affordability, price point, and demand. However, this doesn’t assure indefinite price increases, so articles that imply condos are better investment vehicles are blind to factors like supply. After all, we’re not building any more houses, but we’re building a lot of condos, and there’s a lot of new product coming down the pipeline.

An escalation in housing values is a function of price point and not housing type (lower prices see higher gains). While the percentage rate increase of condos is surpassing freehold houses right now, the product is cheaper so its escalation in value is real, but in terms of actual dollar value houses in the central core are generating pretty decent returns.

In my opinion, a house in the central core will outperform the condo market hands down. Why? We’re not building any more houses; in fact, we’re tearing them down to build condos.

That said, as I attached the sold sleeve to a ‘For Sale’ sign on a family-sized Markham Street listing in October (list $1,689,000 sold $2,054,000 with 8 offers), the sobering reality that the escalation in values of houses in the downtown core has effectively funneled the middle class into the condominium market, such that Torontonians who want to live in the central core who do not have sizable down payments (from the Bank of Mom and Dad), or incomes that can increase dramatically (teachers, nurses, police etc.), have no choice but to buy a condo or a fixer-upper house that is barely habitable (now that I’ve demonstrated Queen Street is skyrocketing and houses can be torn down and new ones built in their place are sold for $2 to $10mil). However, I do think that we are at a tipping point.

Advice for Condominium Buyers & Sellers

If you’ve been reading my forecasts over the years, I’ve long been cautious about the condominium market purely because of its exponential growth and highly concentrated supply. Yes it’s the housing of choice for young first time buying single and mingles or, alternatively, the investor building a property portfolio through pre-construction purchases, while the larger units have housed the busy affluent urban professionals disinterested in a long commute and the hassles of maintaining an old house, or the retired Boomer couples downsizing to live in the heart of our cultural and entertainment capital. Today they’re also home to young families, as well as middle-aged divorcees, confirmed bachelors, and swingles. The condominium – as it establishes itself as our dominant housing type in the city – seems impermeable to a market collapse but I think the risks of this housing form are still greater than the freehold housing market.

Why? First – and forgive me for repeating myself but I think it bears repeating – the value of any condominium unit in a complex is predicated on the most desperate of Sellers. So if you live in a 30 storey high rise where each floor has eight 1bed units similar to the size of yours, then you’re one of 240 suites built at the exact same time with similar finishes and fittings where the only discernible difference beyond upgrades is your floor level, your exposure, and your view. Now, if your 30 storey high rise is located in an area where there are an additional 15 high rises constructed within a ten-year time span, then you’re one of 3600 similar units. So how much is your unit worth when you decide to sell? It’s worth what the most desperate of Sellers are willing to accept at that moment in time. So keep this possibility in mind when you’re searching for a condominium to purchase. Buy in locations where there are fewer condominiums. Buy in a building where there are fewer units or fewer units like the one you’re considering. Look for features which are unique, like a thoughtful floor plan, upscale finishes, and excellent outdoor space.

Second, there’s always an indefinite supply of condominiums being constructed, so the fact there is a constant supply of new product coming to market which offers newer on-trend fixtures and fittings, that can potentially impact your resale value. At the same time, aging condominiums are also prone to needing more maintenance and repair, as well as upgrading and replacement. You always want to ensure the building you’re purchasing in has a solid reserve fund and is being steered by a board and management company who are proactively addressing having a sufficient futures fund. I can tell you from the real estate trenches I’ve seen board members of condo corporations realize that their building will be facing costly building repairs in the next few years and, recognizing it will require substantial special assessments, they quietly resign and sell before the situation is fully realized. However, it’s also important to mention that older condominiums were often better built than a lot of today’s production based housing, have larger floor plans, and are in premium locations.

Are you a Seller? If you’re considering selling your condominium within the next 3 years, it’s a very real possibility the value of your condo today, and three years from now, won’t be marginally different. In other words, you may realize a better return if you sell your bricks and mortar asset and put the capital into a different investment vehicle that generates a secure guaranteed return with greater liquidity. As Toronto recovers from the global real estate hangover for the foreseeable future – and prices stabilize – profits will be more readily realized elsewhere. So if your real estate portfolio isn’t serving your need for a roof over your head, now may be the time to exit the real estate market. However, if your motivation to own real estate is primarily as a shelter, and you’re invested for the long term, then it’s a solid strategy to securing your financial future.

If you missed it, here’s Urbaneer’s Winter 2018/2019 Toronto Real Estate Forecast: Part One

New to Urbaneer? Our blogs are on real estate, design and Toronto culture, including the Dear Urbaneer series where buyers and sellers send us their questions!

So what does your 2019 hold in store with your real estate plans? Navigating a complex market takes knowledge and experience from the trenches. Urbaneer has both with a multi-disciplinary education in housing and over two decades of experience in Toronto real estate. We’re here to help!

Sincerely,

~ The Urbaneer Team

Steven Fudge, Sales Representative
& The Innovative Urbaneer Team
Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage – (416) 322-8000

– we’re here to earn your trust, then your business –

Celebrating Twenty-Five Years As A Top-Producing Toronto Realtor

*Like what you’ve read? Did you know we were recently listed as one of The Top 25 Toronto Real Estate Agents To Follow On Twitter! and The Top 50 Blogs On Toronto? Consider signing up in the box below to receive our FREE monthly e-newsletter on housing, culture and design including our love for unique urban homes and other Toronto real estate!

*Love Canadian Housing? Check out Steve’s Student Mentorship site called Houseporn.ca which focuses on architecture, landscape, design, product and real estate in Canada!