See You Monday!

Opinion

< 1 minute read

March 13, 2020

Written By David Fleming

David Fleming is the author of Toronto Realty Blog, founded in 2007. He combined his passion for writing and real estate to create a space for honest information and two-way communication in a complex and dynamic market. David is a licensed Broker and the Broker of Record for Bosley – Toronto Realty Group

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31 Comments

  1. Pingback: See You Monday! | Real Estate News Group
  2. balwinder bal

    at 7:21 am

    Take care of yourself.

    1. David Fleming

      at 10:10 am

      I feel 100% today!

      Must have been a 24-hour bug.

      I did the requisite due diligence and the professionals say I’m in the clear.

      Maybe subconsciously I just wanted a day off? 🙂

      1. TT

        at 10:50 am

        Every person who sneezes thinks they have COVID right now.

      2. Appraiser

        at 11:31 am

        Glad to hear you’re back in the pink.

  3. Chris

    at 9:07 am

    “try not to kill each other in the comments section between now and then…”

    I make no such promises.

    Although you may think it is just flu-like symptoms, given your profession requires frequent interactions with people, you should consider the possibility that it is Covid-19.

    Anyways, hope you feel better soon.

  4. Marina

    at 10:06 am

    We are about to start 3 weeks of working from home. You thought the comments section was bad before? It will be WAY worse now. We gotta get the demons out somehow.

    Take care of yourself David. Hope you are well stocked up, and thankfully this bug seems to be sparing children.

  5. Chris

    at 11:13 am

    “Royal Bank is predicting Canada will fall into a recession later this year as the economy is weighed down by the impact of COVID-19 and the plunge in oil prices.

    The bank is predicting Canada’s economy will grow at an annualized pace of 0.8 per cent in the first quarter, but then contract in the second and third quarters of the year.

    RBC is forecasting an annualized decline of 2.5 per cent in the second quarter and 0.8 per cent in the third quarter.”

    https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/rbc-sees-recession-in-canada-amid-covid-19-outbreak-oil-crash-1.1405393

      1. Chris

        at 11:31 am

        Thanks for sharing some silver linings! Stay safe out there!

    1. Marina

      at 11:46 am

      I’m hoping this will get my company used to WFH and they will expand their policies. There’s no reason anyone on my team needs to be in the office more than 2 days a week, other than dinosaur habits.

      1. Appraiser

        at 11:55 am

        I’ve worked from home for the past 16 years, as do all of my appraisal company colleagues, nine of us, and my boss who owns the company.

        We get together every 3 months or so for lunch.

      2. Kyle

        at 3:20 pm

        I agree with Marina, this will definitely upend a lot of the old thinking about what work can and can’t be done remotely. And once people realize that it is actually totally feasible, both employees and employers are going to embrace the F’ out of it.

        Longer term i think the loosening of Employers’ expectations around being in the office are likely to have a greater downward impact on Toronto real estate prices than the virus or potential recession itself.

  6. Chris

    at 2:02 pm

    “Social distancing advisories and the potential for lockdowns in major urban centres across Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to sideline homebuyers and put a damper on the traditionally hot spring real estate market, some experts predict.

    “With the threat of the recession, you might see more reluctance on buyers to take on bigger amounts of debt even though the drop in interest rate will allow them to borrow more,” Hogue said.

    In downtown Toronto, real estate brokerage Realosophy Realty has already started to see an uptick in inquiries from panicked sellers concerned about the value of their homes declining if offers cease to pour in like they once were.

    “Up until three days ago, this virus was having no impact on the housing market,” said John Pasalis, President of Realosophy. “Then suddenly, we start getting all these calls, people sounding anxious and wondering what their next move should be. I got a query from a couple who are worried about their pre-construction condo and are wondering if they should assign it,” he told the Post.

    RBC’s Hogue says it might take a few days for buyers and sellers to adjust to the new reality of a pandemic and potential recession. “I don’t think it has sunk it quite yet. But I know every forecaster out there is working the numbers and I can guarantee you when these forecasts come out, (prices) are not going to go higher,” he said.”

    https://business.financialpost.com/real-estate/mortgages/prices-are-not-going-to-go-higher-covid-19-expected-to-put-chill-on-spring-housing-market

    1. Appraiser

      at 2:18 pm

      Oh no, based solely on one very very small real estate broker’s anecdotes.

      Laughable.

      1. Chris

        at 2:24 pm

        Sorry, but you’re incorrect once again. You should read more carefully.

        Article clearly cites:

        – Robert Hogue, senior economist at RBC Capital Markets
        – John Pasalis, President of Realosophy
        – Rodrigo Pineros, Markham real estate agent
        – Jason Mercer, TRREB Chief Housing Market Analyst

        Hope this helps!

        1. Appraiser

          at 5:07 pm

          Hogue basing his comments on Pasalis.

          And some guy named Rodrigo ?

          So weak.

          1. Chris

            at 5:36 pm

            Wait…you honestly think that Hogue, the RBC economist is basing his forecast exclusively on the words of John Pasalis?

            Jesus. This has got to be a joke, right?

          2. Natrx

            at 3:25 pm

            There are tons of service workers that are in trouble now and for the foreseeable future. You might think “so what”. Well, alot of them rent, and it also reflects lower tourist travel too. Thus units selling under stressed airbnb situations will start popping up. Alot of my highly paid professional friends in banking/finance are actually scared about job losses. This is in one week. So I definitely agree, you’re going to see abatement in pricing vs the upward heated trend we were seeing.

  7. Chris

    at 2:18 pm

    And down rates go again:

    “The Bank of Canada is cutting its benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points to 0.75 per cent in an emergency decision announced Friday.

    The move comes amid growing concern about the economic fallout of the spread of COVID-19.

    The rate cut comes following a 50-basis-point cut March 4.”

    https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/bank-of-canada-cuts-key-interest-rate-to-0-75-1.1405653

    1. Chris

      at 3:52 pm

      “FLASH NEWS

      Prime rate goes down

      Fixed rates go up

      Variable Mortgage Discounts erode drastically

      5 – yr fixed jumps 25 basis points at some banks

      Variable Mortgage discount used to be 125 basis points off prime now maybe 75 basis points”

      – Ron Butler, March 13, 2020

      1. Bal

        at 4:25 pm

        What the heck is going on?

        1. Chris

          at 4:36 pm

          “Why would fixed rates go up?”

          “Credit crunch” – Ron Butler

          1. Appraiser

            at 9:33 pm

            Here’s your boy again.

            John Pasalis
            https://twitter.com/JohnPasalis

            “Two interesting stats from week #2 in March (ending yesterday) for the GTA’s real estate market ”

            Sales up 55%
            New listinsg up 50%

          2. Chris

            at 10:07 pm

            Wow, what a surge in new listings! And new listings were already high in 2019 to begin with. Meanwhile, sales activity was below average in 2019, so 55%+ from a lower base.

            Better hope more buyers don’t start backing out, due to the impending recession, as Ron Butler of Butler Mortgage discussed the other day!

  8. Chris

    at 12:51 pm

    “The Bank of Canada cut rates 50bps today and yet banks are pushing variable rate mortgages UP not down. This should tell you all you need to know. Risk happens fast.” – Steve Saretsky, March 14, 2020

    “Posted variable rates at @scotiabank just strapped on a Saturn rocket:

    3yr variable: now 4.35%, up from 3.75%
    5yr variable: now 4.05%, up from 3.45%

    Its discounted variables soared too. Scotia eHOME is now showing 60 bps higher than yesterday.” – RateSpy.Com, March 14, 2020

    “Deferral of new mortgage interest stress test benchmark will help direct monetary stimulus (rate cut) towards highest economic productivity and away from increased house prices.” – Evan Siddall, March 14, 2020

  9. Natrx

    at 3:22 pm

    What happened to the post? Seems to have disappeared.

  10. matt

    at 11:44 am

    Hey are you really interestedin psa hockey cards?

    1. David Fleming

      at 8:39 pm

      @ Matt

      Yes, I’m a huge collector. But only vintage hockey. Currently working on 1933 O-Pee-Chee, 1933 Canadian Gum, 1933 Hamilton Gum, 1952 Parkhurst, and randomly I’m doing a 1963 Parkhurst set – only GEM-MT 10’s.

  11. Andrei

    at 8:48 am

    Can’t agree more – the world must not stop, and the panic cannot take hold. Yes, the healthcare system needs a huge boost, but the rest of us must work normally and make all effort to keep our businesses going.

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