Tag Archives: hot real estate
Biggest property tax increases expected in Davenport, Willowdale neighbourhoods
Andrew Livingstone – Toronto Star
Homeowners in the Davenport and Willowdale neighbourhoods will likely end up paying more property tax next year, based on recent assessments.
But they’re also the neighbourhoods with the highest increases in property values.
“Our values are consistent with the trends and patterns in the real estate market,” said Joe Regina, with the Municipal Property Assessment Corp. which assesses properties across the province. “These are generally in high demand (and) it’s outpacing their supply.”
Parkdale-High Park, Trinity-Spadina, Rosedale, Davenport and Willowdale all came in well above the average 22.8-per-cent increase in the value of city homes since 2008.
The assessments, which are done every four years, will be used to calculate property taxes in 2013. To cushion the impact, the increased assessments are phased in over four years, with the average assessment going up 5.5% per year to reach the full amount in 2016.
The key to determining a tax bill is where a property ranks with respect to the average in the municipality. If the increase in assessment has been above average, the homeowner will see a tax increase; if it’s average there will be no change; and if it’s below average, the resident will get a tax decrease.
Homeowners in hot real estate neighbourhoods are at highest risk of seeing their property taxes go up in 2013.
Davenport ranked highest out of Toronto’s 44 wards with an increase of 33.72%. Wards 23 and 24, both in Willowdale, were the next highest with 31.44% and 29.56% increases, respectively.
Property assessments in Trinity-Spadina rose 29.25%, Rosedale jumped 28.73%, and Parkdale-High Park was up 27.03%. Rouge River in Scarborough recorded a 27.41-per-cent jump in assessed value.
Wards in North Etobicoke, Centre Etobicoke and York West were well below the average. Assessed value of York West properties increased 13.98% (Ward 8) and 14.97% (Ward 7). In Etobicoke North they rose 15% (Ward 1) and 16.03% (Ward 2), while Etobicoke Centre wards increased 16.64% (Ward 3) and 17.39% (Ward 4).
Due to the variety of buyers in the market it’s hard to pinpoint what areas will be hot, however neighbourhoods in the vicinity of the subway lines are popular for first-time buyers, said John Pasalis, president of Realosophy Realty.
“These areas are most affordable,” Pasalis said. “Neighbourhoods like the Dovercourt area, they’ll be popular.
An area with houses around $600,000 or close to downtown and near the subway will be in high demand, Pasalis said, adding some areas in the east end, like Leslieville, remain affordable, but he imagines that won’t last long.
The Toronto Real Estate Board home index lists the Junction Triangle/High Park area as having the highest increase in house values measured over five years – not four, like MPAC – at 41.77%.
Pasalis said “blue chip” areas will remain in high demand for second-time buyers and families looking to upgrade and focus on quality schooling.
“Davisville, Riverdale, the Beach, they’re still within reach for most second-time buyers,” he said. Houses in the $750,000 to $850,000 range are still available to dual-income families with kids in those areas, he added.
Sales in condo-centric areas like Liberty Village and City Place will slow in the coming years, Pasalis said.
If the market cools and prices begin to dip, condo owners looking to upgrade to something bigger might be caught in a tough spot, he said.
“Some young condo owners are buying houses first before selling their condos and they end up being in a pinch if it doesn’t sell on time,” he said. “It’s already starting to create challenges for some people, and I think that’s going to continue.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
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Historic Dundonald St homes at risk
Developers hoping to build 18-storey condo
David Hains – Xtra
Four old brick houses in the middle of Dundonald St have been sold to real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield, which is brokering a deal for the site to be developed as an 18-storey condo.
The deadline for offers on the properties at 31-37 Dundonald was July 19, and the sale has left some area residents anxious and upset. “It’s sad in regards to our city,” says Serafin LaRiviere, who has lived on the street for 12 years. “We don’t have a lot of heritage left in Toronto.”
Tree-lined Dundonald St features rows of 100-year-old three-storey brick homes, but as Toronto’s white-hot real estate market swells, downtown density is increasing and putting pressure on historic neighbourhoods.
Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, a local history enthusiast and former realtor, is currently working to get heritage status for the Dundonald homes in order to block the development and preserve the street’s character. City staff members have not yet delivered a report, but Wong-Tam says she is optimistic.
She says the section of the street in question is zoned for neighbourhood use, making it a less likely candidate for an 18-storey building.
In a note to potential buyers, associates at Cushman & Wakefield highlighted what they saw as their path to winning the needed variances: “The property is located in an area that has, and continues to experience significant high density residential development activity.” The statement noted that a building 20 metres to the east is also 18 storeys.
Wong-Tam argues the building mentioned is closer to Church St, where, like a similar cluster near Yonge, condo towers are more suitable. She says the proposed 118,000-square-foot building would overshadow a small street like Dundonald, which is part of a larger concern for the area.
“It’s the small streets like Gloucester, Dundonald and Monteith where you get really vibrant neighbourhood pockets. Those neighbourhood pockets, with low-rise stable housing, are absolutely essential to the Village and downtown Toronto.”
This kind of development battle is now the norm because of Toronto’s unprecedented downtown real estate boom. Another 18-storey building, with 120 units, has already been proposed for 17 Dundonald St; a first public meeting was held two weeks ago.
Wong-Tam says there will be a prolonged fight at 11 Wellesley St W to make that property a public park (for which it is zoned) rather than selling it off to be developed as a condo, and developers who have bought the Sutton Place Hotel, at 955 Bay St, want to renovate it into a 772-unit condo.
Wong-Tam says these developments do not fit with the city’s official plan of increasing density and adding housing.
“I would say that argument would have been valid up to five years ago,” she says. “But we have exceeded our provincial growth targets and we’re 20 years in advance to what the province had anticipated.” A contributing factor is the province’s greenbelt strategy, which has encouraged development downtown along transit corridors.
With the development creep encroaching on the Village’s leafy neighbourhood streets, LaRiviere also worries about the mixed character that makes the area special.
“The neighbourhood streets are slowly disappearing, which is sad… There aren’t that many of these [100-year-old downtown homes] anymore. You used to have families living downtown, and we don’t seem to have that anymore.”
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
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Things to watch for when flipping a condo
Mark Weisleder – Moneyville.ca
Many buyers of new GTA condos looking to cash in on the hot real estate market by flipping their units before the buildings close face an unusual legal situation — the standard purchase and sale contracts don’t apply.
The final closing on the building may come months after people move in. In the meantime, you’re trying to sell something that you don’t legally own.
To deal with a growing issue, the Ontario Real Estate Association has developed a new form to make the process easier for everyone. It’s called an “assignment agreement” and here’s how it works:
Let’s say you bought a condo from builder’s plans three years ago for $300,000. It is now ready for occupancy, but closing is six months away. You’ve received an offer for $350,000 and want to sell now.
Since you don’t own the unit yet, you must sell your interest in the contract that you have with the builder. Your buyer will then be taking your place in the agreement with the builder.
Here are some issues:
Will the builder let you sell your agreement?
They don’t have to, but most builders will allow it and charge a fee. Make sure you get permission from the builder before advertising your unit for sale or signing any assignment agreement.
Is the land transfer tax based on $300,000 or $350,000?
The contract includes the total price the second buyer is paying. So that buyer will have to pay land transfer tax based on the price on $350,000. The original buyer will not have to pay any land transfer tax under this scenario.
However, the seller — i.e. the original buyer — will have to pay tax on the gain of $50,000.
Is the realtor’s commission based on $300,000 or $350,000?
The agent will expect to be paid on final price of $350,000. If you want to negotiate a different amount, make sure it is done before signing anything.
What happens to the deposits given to the builder?
The second buyer returns it to the seller. The agreement will provide options about how this is done. They can be returned in several ways: as soon as the assignment agreement is signed, on the date of occupancy, or just prior to the final closing.
Are there any HST issues?
The HST was probably included in the original builder agreement. Therefore, if the new buyer is not moving in, he or she may have to pay the HST to the builder on final closing and then apply for a rebate from the Canada Revenue Agency.
The seller may have to charge HST on any profit, for instance the $50,000 in the above example, as well as on any deposits that are being paid back, if he or she originally bought the unit as an investment and never intended to move in.
Buyers should take a look at the original purchase agreement to see whether there are any additional adjustments on closing. There are often hidden charges that can sometimes add thousands of dollars to the final sale price. Under the assignment agreement, the final buyer must pay all these costs, even if they are not aware of them. If, as the final buyer, you want to change that, then an extra clause must be added to the assignment agreement.
If you are thinking of buying an assignment, make sure to check with your lender first to make sure that they will approve this kind of deal with the final price.
By understanding all the issues around assignment agreements, buyers, sellers and real estate agents will be better prepared for what is becoming a more frequent transaction in the industry.
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Contact the Jeffrey Team for more information – 416-388-1960
Laurin & Natalie Jeffrey are Toronto Realtors with Century 21 Regal Realty.
They did not write these articles, they just reproduce them here for people
who are interested in Toronto real estate. They do not work for any builders.
—————————————————————————————————–
Incoming search terms
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