Expert advice, market reports, and tips from the Niagara Region real estate professionals.
Having some extra cash on hand might give you some breathing room on rising gas and food prices, building an emergency fund, or even the ability to make a big purchase you’ve delayed. But – should you pay down your mortgage instead? If you’re considering paying down your mortgage, you’re in luck, because today we’re going to look at how a lump sum payment can transform your mortgage future.
Well, it’s been somewhere in the neighbourhood of 13 years since I first rolled out the weekly video series ‘Tips and Techniques’. The videos covered a vast array of topics, legal issues, regulatory issues, new real estate forms, specialty clauses, best practices, potential problems to avoid, agency issues. The list goes on and on. With over 46 years as a licenced realtor and over 42 as the Broker of Record/Owner of a large real estate company there have been a lot of situations crossing my desk over the years.
Removing an unwanted tenant is difficult. Very difficult. The Residential Tenancies Act sets out the framework of expected behaviour on the part of both tenants and landlords in the Province of Ontario. And the Landlord and Tenant Board is the bureau that enforces the Act. However, you need to keep in mind that the Residential Tenancies Act is a piece of Consumer Protection legislation. Its rules are very slanted in favour of the tenant. And the Landlord and Tenant Board functions heavily in favour of the tenant. Recently I spoke to a landlord who had taken a problem tenant before the board for continued destructive behaviour. Many of the actions he had captured on CCTV. He was seeking an eviction order. The adjudicator didn’t question the destructive behaviour. However, since the videos depicted actions that had taken place over the past month, the Board ruled that, since the offences hadn’t occurred in the last 7 days, they had to assume the behaviour had been corrected. Case dismissed.
Ontario has launched a new initiative called “Succession Ontario”. This initiative is a timely reminder that business owners should always be prepared for the possible sale of their business, because having a proper plan in place can take time. One important issue in succession planning is often overlooked. Business owners who operate out of a property they own have not separated their operating business from their real estate, and this can lead to surprising outcomes, which is the focus of this newsletter.
What a difference a month makes. We’ve over the last few articles been talking about trends. One trend that has been apparent since the end of Covid is the spring rise and fall decline in the market, both in terms of activity and especially in price. But another trend that has surfaced is the way the spring rise has been getting shorter and shorter and the fall decline longer and longer. In 2024 average price across the region crested in June after gaining nearly $100,000 in that 6-month period. Then in 2025 the price peak came in April, after 4 months of more modest gains. Then this year, it appeared as though the ‘spring’ peak was happening in February, when we saw prices rise to $630,973 in February, drop to $628,701 in March and fall further to $615,073 in April.
I remember the first house I ever sold as a Realtor. I was at a small house party and a young man came up to me and said “you’re in real estate I understand.” “Yes I am.” I replied. “Well, I’m interested in real estate.” I thought he meant he was interested in getting into real estate as a career. That’s all I knew. I had just gotten my salesman’s licence that day. I started to explain to him how to take the licensing courses when he said “No, I’m interested in buying real estate.”
Thinking of buying a condo, townhouse or other strata-based home? There’s plenty to think about, from reserve funds to house rules to joining the board. Here are the crucial considerations before you sign on the dotted line.
Whatever business interactions you have: be it a fabulous dining experience at a top-end restaurant, a service appointment to get your car repaired, or a week spent at an all-inclusive resort, when the whole experience rolls out seamlessly and without disappointment, it seems so simple, so natural. But none of that happens without an exceptional network of back-end staff working tirelessly behind the scenes. The corporate administrator's.
Owning a backyard pool in Ontario carries legal responsibilities that go beyond simple maintenance. While a pool can be great for families enjoying the summer weather, the foreseeable risk presented by pools means homeowners are expected to take reasonable steps to prevent risks.
You’ll see in the above chart that the unit sales for 2026 are pretty much a mirror image of 2025, with each month from January to April, 2026 being higher than the corresponding months of the previous year. I’ve included the year 2024 to show that in spite of modest gains in the first months of 2026 as compared to 2025 (1,714 as opposed to $1,666), these results are a dim reflection of the 2,141 logged in over the first 4 months of 2024.
A lot of people are living paycheque to paycheque. It seems that regardless of their income level, each paycheck goes to pay living expenses and the odd luxury along the way. The problem is, what happens when the paycheques stop coming? Layoff, plant closure or retirement? I read recently that the average senior had about $1,500 cash saved up. Not much with today’s cost of living. Of course, with our social network, there will be some money coming in, C.P.P., Old Age Security, maybe even a small company pension. Just enough to get by. Not enough to really enjoy life.
If you’re looking for a preview of what spring has in store for the housing market in Canada, you’re in the right place. Here’s everything buyers, sellers, investors, refinancers, and everyone else thinking about a change in their housing situation needs to know.
