So you're suggesting that international buyers, with no intention of occupying their units here other than for the odd business trip, form of substantial part of the market demand? Strangely, the stats show otherwise. Unless Toronto has recently become a tourist mecca that I'm unaware of (in...

I'm afraid I can't share your optimism. Can you please explain to me how condo prices in New York or Miami (both falling rapidly btw) are relevant to condo prices in Toronto? I don't follow that logic. A condo is not a transportable object like a car that you can purchase in Buffalo for...

Hello Condoboy, The issue isn't what can he afford. The issue is what's a better move financially. You neglected to account for the opportunity cost on the downpayment and further neglected to factor in the 5% sales commission in year 2 or 3 when the OP wants to move. Finally, while you...

I respectfully disagree. The OP will easily save thousands of dollars per year by renting and avoid any market risk. With a very short term holding period he is far better off renting. He will very likely be savings tens of thousands when you factor in commissions, closing and land transfer...

Hey gang, Google Finance shows RBC as the 9th largest bank in the world by market cap! Is Google Finance showing inaccurate data? http://finance.google.com/finance?catid=58211593&sort=MARKET_CAP#link_Market%20Cap Peace & Kindness

In my opinion, the problem is that so many of the sales in the big projects are not to end user buyers and therefore the construction lenders are refusing to fund them for fear that the speculation will unravel the market. Also, the secondary source of financing for these projects has...

Wow, that's a dramatic shot of the intersection. Thank you for providing it. If the tower does not precede because of the worldwide implosion of credit then it would make a tremendous public park/square for areas residents and employees until the market recovers several years from now...

I respectfully disagree with you. Here is some evidence to backup my opinions. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/edmonton/story/2008/09/28/mortgage-woes.html Peace & Kindness

However, CMHC guarantees many of these mortgages and thus the exposure is shifted off the bank's balance sheets to the government, in a somewhat similar manner to Fannie and Freddie although I believe that Fannie and Freddie actually bought mortgages as opposed to guaranteeing them. So if the...

No Aura Greetings friends, I've learned this weekend from reliable sources in the banking industry that the Aura project has been put on hold in light of the destruction in the worldwide credit markets. My info is merely a rumour and of course unverified but it does originate from...

It appears that you've misinterpreted my comments. A mortgage investment should, theoretically, yield a lower return than an equity investment because a mortgage investment has greater security. Less risk/less return. This basic concept appears to be turned upside down temporarily, but it...

Dave, This is an interesting poll. Thank you for creating it. It would be most helpful to report the average or median price of a home in Toronto in the month of August or September 2008 in order to accurately track the change in that price at some point in the future. We have the August...

I have not seen actual data to substantiate this point. Instinctually I would agree that Toronto has a large pool of end user buyers looking for homes. However, the enormous volume of condo sales that we have seen in Toronto over the past several years, 2007 being a dramatic year for sales...

As I was taught, for an investment in real estate to adequately compensate for the risk, an investor should be deriving a positive reutn with zero percent down, were it theoretically possible. Otherwise he's not getting a return that's greater than the mortgage rate even though he's taking a...

I agree that a price correction is healthy overall as it will rebalance the housing market and flush out the negative impacts that the speculation is having on humanity. However, many people will experience significant distress as a result of the correction. Suffering is never a good thing but...