KEEP IN TOUCH FOR OUR NEXT RELEASE OF SINGLE DETACHED AND TOWN HOMES AT VICTORIAN VILLAGE COMMUNITY IN ALLISTON, BY PREVIN COURT HOMES. COMING SOON!

Did you realize that most of our standards are upgrades with other builders:

Luxury Brick and Stone – Previn Standard

Aluminum Posts and Railings on your porch – Previn Standard

Tall 8′ High Front Door With Choice of 3/4 Decorative Glass Insert – Previn Standard

Steel Insulated 8′ High Garage Doors R-9 Rating – Previn Standard

California Knock Down Ceilings – Previn Standard

Rounded Edges – Previn Standard

3/4″ Subfloors – Previn Standard

Steep Roof Pitches – Previn Standard

30 Year designer series shingles – Previn Standard

8′ high x 8′ wide Patio Doors (most models) – Previn Standard

Vinyl Casement Windows through out, not just the front – Previn Standard

From the Globe and Mail Canada’s housing market had one of its strongest Julys on record, with national home prices rising 2 per cent.

It was the second-largest jump in July since Teranet-National Bank began tracking the market through its house price index in 1999, helping to push overall home prices up nearly 11 per cent from the same period last year.

In a trend that has dominated much of the year, prices soared in Toronto and Vancouver, along with neighbouring Hamilton and Victoria, while sinking in Alberta, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces.

Month over month, home prices rose 3.8 per cent in Victoria, 3.1 per cent in Toronto, 2.4 per cent in Hamilton and 2.3 per cent in Vancouver.

The Vancouver region booked its 18th straight month of price gains, with the housing market breaking new records every month. The strong sustained growth pushed prices up 24.3 per cent in Vancouver from July last year.

Prices have surged in Vancouver in July even as sales fell 19 per cent in the region from the same period last year. Some have pointed to the slowdown in home sales as evidence that the B.C. government’s July announcement of a new 15-per-cent property tax on sales to foreign buyers in Metro Vancouver will spark a price correction in a market that was already starting to level off. The new tax took effect this month.

National Bank senior economist Marc Pinsonneault isn’t so sure, pointing to a lack of available listings to meet demand, along with strong employment growth in the region as two factors that will continue to push prices higher. “The story is not solely about alleged foreign capital flows,” he wrote.

Beyond Vancouver, the red-hot July housing market also helped push up prices 14.7 per cent in Victoria from the same period last year and more than 13 per cent in Toronto and Hamilton. It was the third straight month of strong price growth for Hamilton. “Such a rate of growth in prices had not been observed before in that region,” Mr. Pinsonneault wrote.

Outside of Canada’s hottest housing markets, prices have been largely been flat for the past 12 months.

Monthly prices rose 1.7 per cent in Ottawa and 1.6 per cent in Winnipeg. In Montreal, a 0.6-per-cent monthly jump helped push prices above their previous peak in July, 2014.

It was a different story in Alberta and Atlantic Canada. Home prices fell 0.1 per cent in Calgary, and fell 0.4 per cent in Halifax. Prices also fell 1.6 per cent in Quebec City.

WHAT’S WRONG? STUCK IN A VINYL SIDED HOME OR COMMUNITY?!

VICTORIAN VILLAGE , BY PREVIN COURT HOMES, IN ALLISTON IS THE ONLY EXCLUSIVE BRICK AND STONE  COMMUNITY IN NEW TECUMSETH. 

NOT ONLY DOES IT LOOK BEAUTIFUL  FOR YEARS TO COME, BUT YOU HAVE TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT THE ADDED VALUE OF BRICK AND STONE, NOT TOO MENTION THE ADDED VALUE OF A WHOLE COMMUNITY BRICK AND STONE.

PLUS OUR VIBRANT COMMUNITY IS SURROUNDED BY AMENITIES WITH: SCHOOLS, DAYCARES, PARK/SPLASH PAD/POOL, RESTAURANTS, CINEMA, WALKING  /DOGTRAILS, HOSPITAL…ALL LOCATED CONVENIENTLY WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE.

YOUR HOME IS A HUGE INVESTMENT WE THINK THE CHOICE IS CLEAR.

Kristen and John Large were expecting multiple offers on their semi-detached home, but they were shocked at the intense competition that followed. After a six-person bidding war, the couple sold to a buyer who had lost out on two other homes and was willing to pay $53,000 above their $518,000 asking price. That offer that came with no conditions, not even a home inspection.

The couple, who were looking for a bigger home, were thrilled at the deal – and nervous of what was to come. “All I kept thinking about was: ‘I’m going to be on the other side of this table in a little while,’” Mr. Large says.

Sure enough, two months later, the couple found themselves in competition with six other buyers for a four-bedroom detached house that had been priced well below market value, a popular tactic among agents looking to spark a bidding war.

They won on the second round of bidding. Now it was their turn to waive all conditions.

“You take a bit of a gamble,” Mr. Large says. “But that’s probably what it takes to win out in this market.”

Such scenes have become commonplace in Toronto’s overheated housing market. Except that the Larges’ home buying and selling frenzy was playing out in Aurora, Ont., a suburb roughly an hour’s drive from the city.

Toronto’s sizzling market may get all the attention, with the average price of a detached house topping $1.2-million last month. But it’s in the suburbs where the most intense housing battles are being waged.

Last month, the volume of home resales soared an annualized 23 per cent in the Toronto suburbs (known by their area codes as the “905”). That volume was nearly double the 12-per-cent increase in the city itself. And the benchmark price of a detached house in the suburbs jumped nearly 15 per cent from a year earlier, the Toronto Real Estate Board reported.

In Milton, northwest of the city, the benchmark detached-home price surged an annualized 42 per cent. By comparison, the benchmark price for a detached house in Toronto rose 10.5 per cent from a year earlier.

Greater competition for suburban homes has meant the previously staid 905 housing market is starting to see the aggressive tactics more common in Toronto.

Richmond Hill real estate agent Shawn Zigelstein began noticing a change in the market last fall, when it seemed that every home that came up for sale in the community was involved in a bidding war. It caught many local agents off guard, he says.

“It used to be rare that in the 905 we would see multiple offers and product going for over asking price, firm deals with no conditions,” he says. Now, “offers with eight, 10, 12 other agents are almost normal.”

Some of the factors driving the suburban housing market are similar to those driving home prices in the city: low interest rates, strong employment and immigration. The economic factors are even more important in the suburbs, which are home to nearly half of all job growth and 75 per cent of immigration to the Greater Toronto Area.

Foreign investors are also becoming an increasingly potent force in the suburbs, in some cases paying well over asking price to purchase the home with its existing furniture.

Clients now sometimes ask if their listings can be advertised in Chinese-language newspapers in hopes of attracting top dollar for their properties, says Caroline Baile, the Large’s real estate agent.

“They see our market as a safe market to put funds in and they’re coming in and they’re putting their money into homes,” Mr. Zigelstein says. “At the end of the day, they’re not looking at the prices as much as maybe they should if they were doing their research properly.”

The suburbs have also been changing, with newly constructed or renovated homes aimed at a wealthier buyer than in the past, which is also helping to drive up average prices. “Most families or couples in the old days weren’t really buying $1-million properties,” Ms. Baile says. “But it’s almost like that is the price point for a lot of people now.”

But the biggest driver of the hot suburban market has been provincial policy, says Frank Clayton, senior research fellow at Ryerson University’s Centre for Urban Research and Land Development.

Ontario’s decade-old legislation aimed at curbing sprawl has predominately affected the 905, which is home to 90 per cent of the developable land in the GTA. The sweeping overhaul to the land-use planning rules has restricted the amount of land available for building single-family homes in the GTA in favour of condos. That has helped to dramatically slow development.

Despite steadily rising demand for suburban homes, the number of housing starts for what Mr. Clayton calls ground-related homes – detached and semi-detached houses, along with townhouses – has actually declined in the 905 over the past decade. “It’s very odd because demand is extremely strong but supply is going down,” he says.

The end result of booming suburban prices is that many local first-time buyers have been pushed out of the suburban market into farther-flung reaches of the region. Ms. Baile has clients who have been priced out of Aurora and Newmarket and bought homes in communities like Keswick and Bradford instead.

Few expect the conditions that are driving the hot suburban market to change any time soon. “If people want lower-density housing and we’re not producing enough of it, prices are going to be high,” Mr. Clayton says. “They’re going to stay high and probably go even higher.”

Average House Prices to Edge Higher in 2016: CREA

The national average price is forecast to edge higher by 1.4 per cent to $448,700 in 2016. Price gains in 2016 are forecast to be strongest in Ontario (+2.9 per cent) due to an ongoing shortage of listings for single family homes coupled with strong demand for them in and around the GTA.

One of the best places to live outside of Toronto is Alliston. We have all the amenities plus a close knit community needed to raise a family, retire or to start out. If you’re ready to move, we at Previn Court can build a home for you. With over 40 years of experience, we have built homes for over a thousand families, including detached, townhome, and unique attached single units, and we can help you find the perfect home for you.

Come take a tour of our award winning Oxford model home.  Let us help you choose your home according to your budget and needs.

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• TRAILS WITHIN STEPS

• RESTAURANTS WITH STEPS

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• ENTERTAINMENT WITHIN STEPS…

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In the past, home ownership was seen as proof you had made it as an adult. The cost of upkeep would pay off, literally, when you sold up and moved up, and in the legitimacy it lent to being a mature and stable member of their community.

Renters were seen as single, young and irresponsible, and certainly couldn’t be counted on to perform as a decent member of society.

However, in recent years, that perspective has disappeared. Some blame the wildly spiralling housing market, where houses can regularly fetch in excess of one million dollars. Others say it’s due to the sheer amount of rental properties, or the freedom of leaving problems to your landlord, rather than handling it out of your own pocket.

House Poor Torontonians

Many young adults think that the market is going to continue going up, and they are seeing the value in renting for a few years, rather than buying.

Let’s do the math. When you add condo fees to your mortgage payment (approximately $400 a month) and property taxes ($180 a month), along with any home improvements that you may wish or need to make and your costs very quickly start heading skyward. In contrast, if you’re renting, you keep your costs substantially lower, and if something does happen to go wrong, it’s the responsibility of the landlord to repair or replace anything that needs renewing. All you’re spending is to cover your rent and whatever bills you have, rather than homeowners taxes or any upkeep.

This leaves you with a surplus of money you can repurpose and invest, and plan your monthly or annual budget much more easily. Amenities that come as part of renting in an apartment building, such as a pool, gym, or garden, would add to the cost of buying and upkeep, but when you rent, those come as a bonus and maintenance is someone else’s problem.

Toronto’s Condo Bubble

David Fleming, a Realtor with Bosley Real Estate and writer of the Toronto Realty Blog, believes that most of the condos that he has sold recently will be up for sale again within the next five years.

The young owners grow up, move on, find a partner, whatever it may be, and they will soon need a bigger space. His advice is to rent a downtown condo, don’t buy one. You still get to live the urban lifestyle and reduce your commuting times, whether it be to work or school, but renting will allow you to maintain better control over your budget.

Mr. Fleming said Toronto’s overall rental market is tight, but one bedroom condos available to rent are plentiful, and rarely break the bank.

Tired of Living in Toronto?

Toronto has definitely lost its groove. Its no longer the jewel it used to be. As such, now is the perfect time to leave Toronto. One of the best places to live outside of Toronto is Alliston.  If you’re ready to move, we at Previn Court can build a home for you. With over 35 years of experience, we have built homes for over a thousand families, including detached, townhome, and unique attached single units, and we can help you find the perfect home for you.

Take a tour of our incredible models, or contact us today for more to let us know your needs in terms of bathrooms, bedrooms and budget.

Under new legislation that began on July 1st, 2015, it is now possible for buyers and sellers to use electronic methods to sign any contracts in real estate agreements of purchase and sale (APS) in Ontario, rather than only accepting physical paperwork.

Electronically Sign Real Estate Documents

Previously, Ontario had introduced an Electronic Commerce Act, 2000 (ECA) in 2000, which allowed some (but not all) documents to be signed with electronic signatures. However, documents that specifically “create or transfer interests in land and require registration to be effective against third parties” were exempted from ECA and still needed handwritten signatures to be consider binding due to fears of fraud.

With the introduction of this new law, Ontario has joined several other provinces with similar laws that recognize electronic signatures as valid in real estate deals, namely Quebec, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador.

Save a Tree

With more than 200,000 real estate transactions estimated to have been made across the entire province in 2014, this new law allows homeowners and first time buyers to choose a faster, easier and more environmentally-friendly digital process when buying or selling property.

This will be especially useful for buyers and sellers located in different cities, with e-signatures providing a secure and convenient method to work online in real time, without having to wait for a paper package to be assembled, delivered and returned to the relevant parties, which could take days or even weeks, as opposed to an email, which takes seconds.

Patricia Verge, President of the Ontario Real Estate Association, believes that, since the purchase and sale agreements are the most important documents in a transaction, being able to sign your paperwork electronically, whether it’s on a computer or smart phone, will make it easier than ever to track and transmit any changes to the deal that might come up.

Are there drawbacks?

The downside is that it may prove difficult that the electronic signatures come from the actual buyer. As a result, both parties in the transaction may have to take additional steps to demonstrate the reliability of the identification process. Otherwise, if the paperwork and signatures cannot be proven, the transaction could be deemed null and void. 

Unfortunately, the new law does not detail any methods to determining whether or not a signature is legitimate, so it’s up to individual real estate agents and lawyers who have embraced the new technology to satisfy themselves that the legal requirements have been met.

Another issue that may arise is dealing with banks and trust companies who are reluctant to accept electronic signatures on mortgages. For instance, B2B Bank has recently implemented a procedure which requires mortgages to be signed in the physical presence of a lawyer.

It is new technology, and many are understandably skittish about dealing with it, but within a few years or less you can expect it to be the standard method of signing.

This new law has streamlined the entire process of homeownership, and has made it easier than ever to purchase a new home in Ontario.

Looking for a New Home?

At Previn Court Homes, we know that home buyers are looking for a residence that will make them feel both physically and financially comfortable.  

Learn more about our beautiful affordable new homes to buy, or contact us to register for priority updates and special offers, and find the perfect home for your budget.