Recently we’ve been talking about California’s Proposition 13 and how it may be creating a disincentive for longtime homeowners to move. They’re enjoying below market property taxes, and so they stay put, even if they may have too much house. But this concept of “overhousing” isn’t… Read More
Chris Bateman does some terrific sleuthing in the Globe and Mail this week to determine that the girl pictured in the below photo, dated May 15, 1913, is Dora (Dorothy) Cooperman – daughter of Morris Cooperman, a clothing presser. Dora is standing in front of… Read More
The Globe and Mail recently published an article about Canada’s highest paid workers. It uses census data spanning 2005 to 2015. There’s a feature that allows you to enter your before tax income, your location, and your gender to see how you compare to “the 1… Read More
Over the weekend, Marcus Gee of the Globe and Mail published a terrific article about Toronto’s King-Spadina district and how “condos conquered a rundown district of the city.” (This post will argue that condos were not the catalyst, but an outcome of other changes.) The image… Read More
I promise that this post won’t be all about laneways. This afternoon Erin Davis of Torontoist published a post called: Are Laneway Suites a Solution to Toronto’s Housing Crisis? There’s a quote in it from yours truly: Brandon Donnelly, a 34-year-old real estate developer, has… Read More
Jeff Gray and John Sopinski just published a terrific set of maps in the Globe and Mail outlining 5 decades of condo growth in Toronto. Ontario first introduced the Condominium Act in 1968. The first condo project was supposedly built by Bert Winberg – founder… Read More
Below is a piece by Michael Salter from the Globe and Mail. It’s all about Toronto’s HOT, HOT housing market. Michael’s message: Here are the real reasons why home prices are skyrocketing and why they are going to remain high. Did you find yourself agreeing with this… Read More
I spent Saturday evening at Honest Ed’s for An Honest Farewell. It was a lot of fun. There were many familiar faces. And it felt very Toronto. See above photo. But part of me felt a bit phony pretending to celebrate the end of 68 years… Read More
Earlier this week I was in an Uber heading up to Charles Street and the driver made a comment to me. He said that since he moved to Toronto in the 90′s, traffic has gotten progressively worse every single year. He continued on to say:… Read More
This morning, I am looking at the following chart of average home prices in the Greater Toronto Area: It’s from this Globe and Mail article. These are staggering numbers. The average price of a detached home in the suburbs (905 area code) increased 21% year-over-year.… Read More
