Toronto Condo and Real Estate Blog

First assessment since two-year freeze is based on real estate values that are already out of date in a weakening economy, critics say

By Karen Howlett, Globe and Mail

The last time John and Aggi McLaren were in the news was just over a year ago, when Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader John Tory held a news conference in the living room of their Oakville home.

The retired couple were struggling to pay property taxes on their modest, white stucco house, which was surrounded by palatial homes that had caused the assessed value of all properties in the neighbourhood to soar. Mr. Tory was at their home in an effort to make the controversy surrounding homeowners’ skyrocketing tax bills an issue during the campaign for the 2007 provincial election.

But the McGuinty government pushed the topic off the agenda by freezing property tax assessments until after the election. The two-year freeze ended last month and the agency that assesses residential property values is in the process of mailing new assessments to homeowners. Those in the City of Toronto will see their assessments increase an average of 5.4% next year, the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. announced yesterday.

The new assessments will be phased in over four years and reflect the fact that property values have jumped by about 22% in the city since 2005, MPAC said.

An assessment increase does not automatically mean that taxes will also go up - unless a property’s assessed value rises by a greater percentage than the average across the municipality. Those who own farmland in Brampton, west of Toronto, will see their assessments climb an average of 13.8% next year. Property owners in Muskoka’s cottage country will see their assessments jump 8% on average. And residents of Oakville will face a 5.95% hike. The government says the four-year phase-in adds predictability to the process. But critics said the assessments are based on real estate values that are already out of date in a weakening economy. In Toronto, for example, the average sale price of a home in September was $393,647 - 6% below the average price a year earlier, signalling the end of a decade-long run-up in prices, according to the Toronto Real Estate Board.

“If the market starts to decline, people will be stuck with those assessments for four years,” said Bob Topp, spokesman for the Coalition After Property Tax Reform, a group representing seniors and waterfront property owners.

Despite Premier Dalton McGuinty’s comments last week that now would be the wrong time to impose new costs on families and businesses, others say a tax hike is all but inevitable. New Democrat MPP Michael Prue said cash-strapped municipalities rely on property owners to pay for social programs downloaded by the province in the 1990s.

“The sad reality is that many municipalities, including Toronto, have aging infrastructure that needs to be replaced,” Mr. Prue said yesterday. “The municipalities have no choice but to go to the only revenue source they have, which is property taxes.”

Toronto Mayor David Miller said residents of his city could face a tax increase of between 2 and 4% next year. Pat Vanini, executive director of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, said most cities are still in the early stages of preparing their budgets for next year.

As for the McLarens, they sold their home in June and moved into a townhouse last week. But the builder who bought their home has not yet paid them because he is doing less business as the economy slows. He intends to demolish the McLarens’ old home and replace it with a much larger one. “He’s caught in a down slide,” Mrs. McLaren said yesterday. “People are not buying those big houses. So we are really in a pickle.”

The price of living in Ontario

The Municipal Property Assessment Corp. is mailing new assessments to Ontario property owners.

The new assessments will be phased in over four years and reflect the fact that property values have soared in many regions of the province since the last update in 2005.

There are wide variations within municipalities. In Toronto, for instance, the average increase is 5.4% for 2009, but when measured by ward the increases range from a low of 1.2% to 8.4%.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

The average price in September was $393,647, down 6% from a year ago

By Jennifer Lewington - Globe and Mail

A cooling house market, confirmed in sales figures released yesterday by the Toronto Real Estate Board, means the pendulum has swung in favour of buyers.

In September, home sales in Toronto dropped 11% to 2,546, compared with the same month in 2007 - a record sales year.

They were down 5% from 2006, a more typical year.

The September sales drop follows a modest 1% decline in August, which was the first time since 1996 that prices fell from the same month of the previous year.

Also in September, the average house price dropped 6% to $393,647, compared with September, 2007, but was still 6% higher in value than September, 2006.

As symptoms of a slowdown - but not a collapse - Toronto real estate agents report fewer multiple bids, houses on the market longer than usual and less speculation after a long run-up in prices since the end of the last downturn in 1996.

There is a shift in strategy, with sellers less likely to under-price their homes in hopes of a bidding war and more likely to set a realistic price that ensures a sale within 1 or 2% of the asking price.

It’s a lot different than a year ago, with buyers apprehensive about wild stock-market gyrations on both sides of the border and concerns of a slower economy.

Most buyers have become more selective, with less speculative action in buying and selling of homes. There’s been a bit of an adjustment in price.

Despite the drop in sales and average prices, business analysts see no sign of a dramatic tumble of a scale witnessed in recent months in the United States.

Citing the latest Toronto Real Estate Board statistics, University of Toronto professor of real estate and urban economics William Strange says, “There is not an optimistic interpretation of these numbers, nor does it mean we are talking about doom and gloom like Florida and California.”

In a press release, Toronto Real Estate Board president Maureen O’Neill blamed the city of Toronto’s land transfer tax, imposed earlier this year, for some of the drop in sales. The 11% decline in Toronto is steeper than the 6% drop last month for the Greater Toronto Area as a whole. “We remain concerned about the land transfer,” she said in the statement.

On an average house price, the city’s land transfer tax is about $3,700 - on top of a similar amount collected by the province - with an exemption for first-time buyers.

The tax remains an annoyance to some, but Mr. Veinot says “people have gotten over the land transfer tax,” with economic worries looming larger in their decision to buy or sell.

City budget chief Shelley Carroll (Ward 33, Don Valley East) says the city tax “is one of many factors” in a home purchase, noting the sharp run-up in sales prior to its Feb. 1 implementation.

AVERAGE HOUSE PRICE IN THE CITY OF TORONTO
Sept. 2006: $371,682
Sept. 2007: $420,182
Sept. 2008: $393,647

VOLUME OF SALES
Sept. 2006: 2,680
Sept. 2007: 2,854
Sept. 2008: 2,546

SOURCE: TORONTO REAL ESTATE BOARD

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960

Real warehouse lofts just minutes from downtown

An authentic loft conversion complex in a red brick factory warehouse at 371 Wallace Avenue, in the Bloor-Dundas area. Here, you’re just minutes to Roncevalles Avenue, a cornucopia of delicatessens, restaurants and bistros, scenic High Park, and popular Bloor West Village, well known for its diverse collection of boutiques, bakeries, delis, bars and restaurants. And access to subway, streetcar, bus and GO train.

Wallace Station Lofts features a four-storey loft building and five exquisite coach houses. Both house a unique collection of specially designed, multi-level hard lofts, each loft uniquely different, and all featuring impressive architectural features while maintaining original structural integrity.

Imagine spacious loft designs that are not off the rack, but bold, inspiring and, in most instances, can be tailored to fit individual special wishes. Imagine room proportions that are overly generous. Imagine heritage details from the past fused with modern building material. This is what authentic loft living is all about, and you’ll find it waiting for you now at Wallace Station Lofts.

Grade level lofts come with fenced outdoor patios. Upper level lofts come in a variety of exciting shapes and sizes, with Juliette balconies and terraces, including some with rooftop gardens. Residents of the upper level lofts will have the pleasure of experiencing stunning vistas of the matured-treed, surrounding Dundas-Bloor neighbourhood, High Park and downtown skyline. Given the building’s east-west orientation, there will always be maximum exposure to sunlight throughout the year. And because no two individuals are alike, loft floor plans can be customized to suit the most discerning of tastes.

Wallace Station Lofts also offers a collection of fabulous Coach House Lofts, which boast the same dedication and commitment to architectural and finishing excellence as the main building lofts. Light-filled interiors feature three levels, ceilings up to eighteen-feet high, direct private entries and rooftop gardens, to name a few highlights. And like the main building, the coach houses’ heritage features have been carefully preserved, thus adding to the visually aesthetic appeal of the structure.

Wallace Station Lofts is the vision of developer George Vandenbergh, a former Montrealer, whose passions include architecture, antiques and horticulture. Not only does he see Wallace Station Lofts as a historic landmark, he considers the renovation of such buildings as a means of providing people with a livable alternative, in contrast to contemporary condominium design and lifestyle. With an extensive scholarly background in historical art and furniture, George Vandenbergh has selected Terradigm Developments Inc. to assemble a team of planners and designers to ensure that Wallace Station Lofts’s fundamental design aesthetics are brought back to life for residents to admire and enjoy. He is personally committed to ensuring that Wallace Station Lofts becomes Toronto’s premiere boutique loft development.

With over 45 years of development and building experience in Canada and the United States, the principals of Terradigm Developments Inc. have attained a reputation for trust and reliability throughout the real estate industry. A continued dedication to superior quality and design leadership has earned the respect and confidence of customers and associates alike. Just a few of the company’s achievements include No. 8 Sultan, an elegant condo in the heart of Toronto’s Bloor - Yorkville neighbourhood, The Residence and Shoppes of Lawrence Park on Yonge Street, and Florida Towers in Miami Beach. Today, Terradigm Developments is proud to be part of Wallace Station Lofts, where fine attention to detail is only surpassed by the company’s dedication to customer satisfaction.

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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information - 416-388-1960