Real Estate Quotes

The vacancy rates published by CMHC are a useful barometer for an area, however, they only measure a sample of units, and then only for buildings with three or more units. This means that large condominiums, even if they have a huge number of units available for rent, typically aren't counted in the official CMHC numbers. [2012] - Brian Persaud

Facebook offers a free marketplace where you can list properties for rent. You can also promote your listings by sharing them on your wall or by purchasing ads within Facebook. MLS has the ability to list properties for rent, but it's not used in every area. [2012] - Brian Persaud

A rental application must be completed in its entirety: a. Get prospective tenant's SIN, to pull a credit bureau report and to populate a lease agreement, including legal names, as verified by a driver's license. b. Get income and employment information along with references. Usually if this cannot be obtained, or is incomplete, there is a bad story behind the tenant. c. Have the prospective tenant provide a copy of their Equifax credit bureau, or use a service like www.rentcheckcorp.ca, which can also search landlord and tenant board past judgements on "professional tenants" that may have skipped out on previous landlords. [2012] - Brian Persaud

Most owners when renting their unit will go the easy route and rent it unfurnished and ask for a minimum one-year lease. But there can be many advantages to renting the unit furnished. Furnishing your unit requires a large capital outlay that can be $10,000 or more, depending on the furnishings and size of the condo. Not only would you be bring furniture, but also the accessories, art, lighting, kitchenware, etc. The benefits of doing so can translate into higher rents. Corporate clients, travellers and individuals in between homes are willing to pay the premium for a furnished condo. The downside of a furnished condo can be the short lease terms. While the rent may be higher during months of occupancy, you may also have many months of vacancy where you have to carry your mortgage costs. It's important to evaluate your market and the demand for furnished condos to determine if this would be the right route for you. [2012] - Brian Persaud

The ideal renovation job for a real estate investor is paint, a thorough cleaning and a flooring job. When doing these simple renovations you're in and out quickly, which allows you to start earning an income or a profit on the property quickly. The small interior stuff can add the most value. [2012] - Ian Szabo

An RRSP loan placed as a second mortgage on one of our properties with lots of equity has been the biggest source of renovation funds for us. Usually we can double our money on a renovation-so a $10,000 investment becomes $15,000 to $20,000 in value fairly easily. In other words, even if we pay $1,200 to borrow that $10,000, we usually make at least $100 per month more in rent and add between $5,000 and $10,000 in value from that money, making it a huge return on our investment. [2012] - Ian Szabo

Historically speaking, real estate price bubbles have occurred when countries have deregulated their finance industry in conjunction with having a favourable tax environment for real estate investment. The bubble ends when a significant correction in real estate values occurs. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

While the duration of a complete real estate cycle has not proved to be consistent, it has typically lasted anywhere from seven to eighteen years. The longevity of each real estate cycle obviously varies depending on the state of the key drivers for each country. Smaller economies can experience faster cycles. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

To obtain more accurate information on real estate value trends, we suggest using one of two methods. 1. Indexes: the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices used in the United States are considered by many economists to be the most accurate way to represent a market's overall real estate value. Teranet, in alliance with the National Bank of Canada, created an index that dates back to 1999 for the metropolitan areas of Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax. 2. Moving Average: Using the average Multiple Listing Service (MLS) prices reported monthly, economists calculate and trend the 12-month moving average. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

Real Estate Key Drivers - Demographic Drivers (net migration, employment levels, the number of first-time homebuyers, vacancy rates of rental real estate and the scale of housing construction), Financial Drivers (rental levels, return on investment, income levels, rental affordability, real estate affordability, financing availability and real estate values), Emotional Drivers (the average days it takes to sell real estate, the number of listings of real estate for sale, sales levels and revitalization - upgrading of amenities, facilities and/or real estate). These three categories of key drivers collectively create momentum that affects the progression of the real estate cycle as it passes through one phase and on to the next. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

Regardless of where you begin, the real estate cycle always progresses in the same way. That is, a slump always follows a boom, a boom always follows a recovery, and a recovery is always sandwiched between the slump that comes before it and the boom that follows. Each of these phases include a beginning, middle and end stage. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

The classic market influencers are: interest rates (the cost of financing a purchase), ease of borrowing (the availability of financing), confidence in real estate as an investment vehicle, inflation, legislative amendments (taxation and/or local authority), foreign investors in local real estate, investment alternatives [2011] - Don R. Campbell

If interest rates increase during the boom phase of the real estate cycle, it is likely that the boom phase is nearing its end. Alternatively, if interest rates decrease during the boom phase of the real estate cycle, the common perception is that the boom will most likely last for quite some time. Strategic investors will be more interested in watching the key drivers when interest rates change. Interest rates alone do not impact housing prices in isolation. An increase or decrease in interest rates would impact value only if other key drivers that impact supply and demand were also in play. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

The boom phase is the most exciting phase of the real estate cycle for inexperienced real estate investors. It is less exciting for strategic investors, who will capitalize on the momentum of the boom, with its higher values and rents, but who also know that the late slump and early recovery phase offer better opportunities in terms of new investment purchases. The longer and stronger the boom, the greater the likelihood of a more severe downturn during the inevitable slump. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

The severity of the slump will depend on the primary factors underpinning it, which typically fall into the following two categories: 1. Overbuilding - due to too much construction. 2. Overpricing - where real estate becomes unaffordable for too many people. Slumps typically initiated by overbuilding are less severe than slumps initiated by overpricing. Slumps led by both overbuilding and overpricing are particularly severe. As a slump phase begins, real estate affordability is adversely affected by tightening credit and prices rising to unrealistic levels. Ironically real estate values continue to increase initially, albeit more slowly than in the preceding boom. Here, rents decrease and vacancy rates increase, clearly at odds with values that continue to rise. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

At the end of the slump phase, net migration, population and employment growth are at low levels. Rents become stable, as do incomes, real estate values, the number of real estate sales and the number of days it takes to sell. This is the optimum time to buy, but most people will avoid investing in real estate because it has proved to be such a bad investment in the past few years. Strategic investors will see the silver lining - and the pot of gold. They realize current market opportunities and future wealth. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

The recovery is often the shortest phase of the real estate cycle. It is often the most difficult to identify. The strategic real estate investor's job at this point is to determine if positive economic growth signs are green shoots or just plain old weeds destined to wither and die before a true sustained recovery begins. Investors who "get the recovery right" can invest during the most opportune time in the cycle with the least amount of risk. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

Employment is often a lagging indicator regardless of whether a market is headed into an economic downturn or upswing. Heading into the downturn, companies tend to hold on to their staff as long as possible and are reluctant to add staff on the upswing until confidence has been fully restored. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

If the number of first-time homebuyers is trending significantly downward, while at the same time the number of repeat buyers is on the rise, this is a clear sign of the speculation at play in the market. The level of first-time homebuyers tends to peak during the middle of the boom phase and then decline until the middle to end of the slump phase. [2011] - Don R. Campbell

While housing construction is a key driver, it tends to lag behind any increased demand for housing due to the significant lead time required to build, especially in larger centers where condominium buildings make up the majority of starts. This lag usually results in an eventual oversupply that persists long after the demand for housing dissipates. Therefore, construction levels tend to peak at the end of the boom phase and through at the middle to end of the slump phase. [2011] - Don R. Campbell