Toronto home sales surge as condo vacancies rise: Canadian Real Estate News Feb. 10

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Here are the top housing and real estate stories from The Globe and Mail this week, and one home worth checking out.

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Toronto home sales rose 10% in January as buyers re-entered the market

While home sales rose last month, home prices continued to fall, writes Rachel Younglay. The home price index fell 1.2 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis to $1,078,500. Now that the Bank of Canada has softened its message of further interest rate hikes, buyers may feel more confident that borrowing costs will begin to fall, encouraging them to pull the trigger on transactions.

Rob Carrick: The booming property market is putting a “tax me” tag on every house in the country

The housing market appears to be waking up like Godzilla, writes personal finance columnist Rob Carrick. The disaster movie comparison is apt, as resurgent housing is an alarming situation. The only clear winners are people selling houses and mortgages. As homeowners' equity increases, homes become more attractive tax targets. If real estate is where the money is in our economy, then shouldn't it be where the taxes go?

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Westbank is increasing the height of its controversial tower proposal near Vancouver's Commercial Drive SkyTrain station

Developer Westbank's proposal to build three residential towers along Vancouver's Broadway corridor has yet another version of its plans with even taller towers — but this time it will consist entirely of rental units, not condominiums, Kerry Gold writes. The new lease direction is a response to policies enacted in recent years to increase density around transit hubs. A community plan drafted by residents called for adding density to the site, now home to a Safeway grocery store, with four towers of 12 and 24 stories, with a large public plaza that would address the lack of public space.

Weak condo market in downtown Toronto leads to lower rents, higher vacancies

Urbanization Inc. Condo market analysts say rents fell 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, the fastest decline since they began recording rental data in 2010, writes Shane Dingman. The slump in the downtown rental market has a lot to do with where Toronto's condo market is headed: sales of undeveloped condos have hit a rarely seen low, prices are falling in the resale market and newly completed units are being added. to the market every quarter. Realtors say at least 3,600 apartments are available for rent in the two densest downtown neighborhoods, and nearly 60 percent are vacant.

House of the Week: A “Democratic” Approach to Modern Architecture

6926 Marine Dr., West Vancouver, BC

A 1950s log house in West Vancouver has been discovered to be an “undiscovered” design by Canadian architect Bob Lewis. The three-bedroom home uses wood color to guide you—the house's cedar siding is stained dark, so the exposed wood of the screened-in porch is nice and bright. The dining and living rooms are connected to the exterior wall by a 60-foot-long deck that flows naturally. Sharp-eyed observers have noted that none of the home has crown molding or wainscoting, a testament to the skill of the recent redesign. Such perfection in construction and installation is hard to come by, and they love to show it off.