Category
Buying
16 posts on buying.
Condo fees at $1.50 a square foot: do they ever come down?
Toronto buyers are eyeing discounted condos in buildings with high maintenance fees and shaky finances. Here's why fees almost never go down, how to read a status certificate and reserve fund, and when a 'cheap' unit is actually expensive.
Read the post →Mortgage arrears are rising fastest in Ontario. What that means if you're buying
New TransUnion and bank data show Ontario leading the country in rising mortgage delinquencies, with GTA arrears at CIBC up 50% in a year. The absolute numbers are still small — but they change how you should read listings this fall.
Read the post →Does your old Toronto house have a lead water pipe? 13,664 still do
The City has replaced most of its lead water services, but roughly 13,664 public-side lines are left — and the private side is on you. Here's how to check an address, and why September is the month to start.
Read the post →Why your 2026 property tax bill is still based on what your home was worth in 2016
Ontario hasn't reassessed property values in a decade. Here's how the freeze works, who quietly wins and loses from it, and what a reassessment would actually do to your bill.
Read the post →Renewing your mortgage in Toronto? The costs that aren't the rate
A new survey found 45% of Canadians who renewed this year say housing now eats half or more of their household budget. Rate shopping is only part of the fix — the rest of the number is property tax, condo fees and deferred repairs you can look up.
Read the post →Ontario's $130,000 HST rebate on new homes — the deadlines nobody reads
The enhanced HST rebate is worth up to $130,000 on a new home, and Ontario's Q2 new-home sales more than doubled. But eligibility hangs on construction dates you don't control. Here's the fine print, and what to verify before you sign.
Read the post →The seller's loss is not your discount: buying in Toronto's loss-sale market
A Yorkville condo just sold about $450,000 below its 2021 price, and loss-sale stories are everywhere. Here's why a seller's red ink tells you almost nothing about a unit's value — and what to check instead.
Read the post →What a Toronto seller doesn't have to tell you — and how to find it yourself
Ontario buyers are mostly on their own: caveat emptor still rules, disclosure forms are optional, and suing after closing is slow and expensive. The good news — much of what sellers stay quiet about is sitting in the public record.
Read the post →Prices down, competition up: how to read Toronto's July housing numbers
July's TRREB report says prices fell 4.5% year-over-year — and that the market is tightening. Both are true. Here's how to hold the two ideas at once, and what they mean for one specific address.
Read the post →Rent or buy when condos stop appreciating? The math on a flat decade
Downtown condos going ten years without price growth used to be unthinkable. Now it's common enough to chart. Here's how the rent-vs-buy decision changes when you delete the appreciation assumption — and how to vet the building either way.
Read the post →The 20% Toronto property tax cut you don't apply for
Toronto cuts the commercial tax rate by 20% for eligible small business properties — and applies it automatically from a list of 28,222 addresses. Here's who's on it, what it's worth, and how to check yours.
Read the post →Vacant Home Tax bills start coming due September 15 — here's who actually pays
Toronto mailed 2025 Vacant Home Tax bills in June, and the first of three instalments lands September 15. The tax is 3% of assessed value, it runs with the property — and the renovation exemption lives or dies on the permit record.
Read the post →How much is property tax in Toronto? 2026 rates, with examples
Toronto's 2026 residential property tax rate is 0.767311% of your MPAC assessed value. Here's the math, worked examples for condos and houses, and why 'average' numbers mislead.
Read the post →Why do two near-identical Toronto semis sell for wildly different prices?
Same street, same floor plan, very different sale prices. A lot of the gap isn't in the listing photos — it's in the permit, order, and development records. Here's how to see it.
Read the post →Condo prices are down — what income do you actually need to buy one now?
With nearly half of Ontario condos reportedly worth under $500K, buying looks closer than it has in years. Here's how to figure out the income and down payment a Toronto condo really takes — and how to vet the specific building.
Read the post →Toronto's condo slowdown: how to see what's stalled near you
Headlines about condo bailouts and falling prices are everywhere. Here's how to cut through the noise and check what's actually being built — or stalled — around a specific address.
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