Hello and Happy Saturday to all!
Next week I will not send out a communication as I will wait for the October sales numbers to come in for the first week of November.
Looks like we will have a glorious weekend with sunny skies and mild temperatures.
Monday the Mayoral elections take place and it may have a direct impact on the Toronto real estate market.
Last election, Rob Ford had a campaign promise to repeal the City of Toronto Land Transfer Tax but of course it’s still present.
I don’t endorse anyone candidate – on different issues I agree with each candidate.
On the specific issue of Land transfer Tax I feel it should be eliminated completely as it was only introduced because of mismanaged for many years. The problem is, once the tax is introduced and revenue comes in, it is very difficult to pull back. Regardless who wins the election it’s a safe bet to say that the City of Toronto Land transfer tax is here to stay.
John Tory – No detailed response but TREB believes that John Tory understands the problems with the Land Transfer Tax and TREB hopes that he will articulate a plan to provide the relief from this tax that voters want.
Olivia Chow – Will keep the Land Transfer Tax and raise it for homes purchased over $2 million
Her official statement is
“The job of building a better city has to start now, not years from now. I propose more progressive city taxes to let us better care for our citizens, and to allow us to invest in immediate transit priorities. Unlike income taxes, property taxes don’t reflect someone’s ability to pay. This is part of the current problem. So we need to find ways to make city revenue sources more progressive. One way we can accomplish this is by making the land transfer tax (LTT) more progressive to better reflect ability to pay. Currently, the LTT’s top bracket starts at $400,000. But the average price of a residence is $585,000. I propose we introduce a new bracket starting at $2 million—more than three times the average price of a residence, and more than double the average price of a detached home. As realtors; you can understand the implications of this better than most people. By increasing the LTT by one percentage point, on homes that sell for more than $2 million, we would raise about $20 million a year. This will only affect 500 sales out of about 90,000 in a given year. That would benefit everyone in the City of Toronto, and it would come only from those who were in a position to afford it.”
Doug Ford – Vows to reduce (not remove) by 15% and make the shortfall up of revenue by contracting garbage collection east of the city
Whatever you feel or believe please make sure to go out and vote! What happened in Ottawa this week shows the sacrifice being made for our right to do so.
How do you know there really is a bidding war? By: Romana King
The last home my husband and I bought was a run-down 1950s bungalow on a large plot of land in Toronto’s West Rouge neighbourhood. Occupied by a hermit (not a hobbit), the furnace had not been used in over a decade, the backyard was home to a dozen or more feral cats, and the attic was the neighbourhood raccoon flop-house. In short: it was a mess. But it was a mess with a great deal of potential. And we weren’t the only ones to see it.
As a result, four other families registered an offer in the first week the house was listed for sale. And despite my promise to never, ever, enter a bidding war, my husband and I found ourselves upping the ante on our final offer.
We won. But we also paid well over asking.
When relating this story to a friend, he immediately asked: “How did you know there were other offers?”
Not only was the question valid, it was vital.
Without bidding wars you wouldn’t have houses selling for $10,000 or even $100,000 over asking price. That means as a buyer you are dependent on your realtor to give you accurate information and practical advice. Get a bad realtor and you’ll probably get bad advice.
Enter: the telephone. Your solution to uncertainty.
Any time a buyer puts on offer in on a house, the buyer’s realtor has to ‘register’ the bid with the listing broker. In simple terms, your realtor is responsible for making your offer official by sending in the required paperwork to the office that listed the home for sale. By law, the listing brokerage must then notify any potential buyers (or their agents) that offers are registered on that property. One quick phone call to the listing brokerage and you’ll quickly know whether or not there are, indeed, registered offers against your dream home.
Keep in mind, however, that real estate offices are not open during holidays, and, despite answering services, real estate offices are not open 24-hours a day. If a buyer has stipulated that all final offers in a bidding war must be in before a listing brokerage is open, then you may not be able to get the information you require.
Still, checking up on registered offers with the listing brokerage is a great tool, particularly for buyers living in Calgary, Toronto, and Vancouver, where bidding wars have become the norm. It’s also a great way to determine if your realtor is doing their job by keeping you accurately informed.
(Before jumping down my throat let me emphasize: I’m not calling all realtors bad. In fact, I think there are some phenomenal realtors, who do outstanding work for their clients. But a few bad apples can spoil a bunch, and the unscrupulous actions of a few have forced all realtors to become transparent and to consistently and constantly set the record straight.)
Personal Experience: 3 weeks ago I represented to buyers making an offer on the same property. On the actual offers I wrote that there was another competing offer. This was validated proof that a competing offer existed and not fabricated. Steps can be taken to ensure a fair process.
Have a wonderful not so scary Halloween, Anthony