In the ever-shifting landscape of the real estate market, only a handful of factors hold as much sway as interest rates. The recent announcement from Bank of Canada is what both buyers and sellers have been waiting for: interest rates are holding steady. Let's delve into how this decision is poised to affect both parties as we embrace the Fall Market. 1. Relief for Buyers For those currently...
With so many prospective Canadian home buyers continuing to feel the negative effects of the ongoing housing crunch as we move into 2023, governments at various levels have been working for months to do what they can to legislate relief. Towards the end of last year, the Ontario provincial government secured royal assent for one of the largest such efforts seen anywhere in Canada to date – Bill...
I’m sure many of us will find common ground in hoping for some measure of stability in 2023, the new year coming as it does upon the heels of one which featured unprecedented ups and downs in the real estate market (just in case you weren’t already sick enough of seeing the word ‘unprecedented’). And, happily, there are a handful of favourable indicators to the prospect of a more normal year...
The Provincial Government has moved recently to introduce new legislation aimed at alleviating housing shortages in Ontario and stabilizing the cost of entry to our housing market. Bill 109, or the “More Homes for Everyone Act, 2022”, aims to ease financial pressures on homebuyers by acting to restrict the activities of real estate speculators, curbing predatory development practices, and working...
It’s a historic benchmark – today, for the first time ever, the average sale price of a detached home in Kitchener-Waterloo is more than one million dollars. The sheer pace of the price increase that our real estate market has seen since the summer of 2020 has been nothing short of breathtaking for both average residents and industry insiders alike. While the...
Of the many population centres and market towns which surround our portion of Southern Ontario, the City of Woodstock is one of the larger ones within a 45-minute drive of Kitchener-Waterloo. With a population now north of 40,000 residents, the seat of Oxford County has in recent years become an increasingly popular option for would-be homebuyers exasperated by spiraling costs of ownership in...
If there’s one overarching theme to this past year’s real estate market in Southern Ontario, it’s been the inadequacy of supply in keeping pace with surging demand from homebuyers. This most fundamental of economic laws has served as an engine to drive prices ever higher in our region since early last year. Frustrated buyers are feeling left behind, and these sentiments are, in turn,...
This week we’re making a return to our continuing series of profiles on the smaller towns and communities dotted throughout Chestnut Park West’s predominant market area. We’re also making a return to Wellington County, and to the township of Centre Wellington – Fergus, to be exact. An independent town until 1999 when it merged with the Village of Elora and a handful of other surrounding small...
One of the true hidden gems among the small towns of Southwestern Ontario lies just outside of Stratford, and a little under an hour’s drive from Kitchener-Waterloo. Positioned between more heavily-travelled Ontario highways, one typically would need to be deliberately seeking St Marys out to arrive in its charming downtown – but this town will make such a journey well worth your while! Settled...
Keeping within the borders of Waterloo Region for this week’s community profile, we’ll be looking at Elmira, Ontario. Set only 20 minutes north of Uptown Waterloo (and an even shorter drive from the attractions of St. Jacob’s and the amenities of King and Northfield in Waterloo) is this cozy community of a little more than 12,000 people. Key to Elmira’s charm is its ideal balance between the...
