Ready to Real Estate

Ontario Election: Housing Platforms Explained by Liberal Lisa Patel and Green Abhijeet Manay

Ready to Real Estate podcast host and TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer acts as moderator in this housing policy debate between two candidates in the upcoming Ontario election. Abhijeet Manay, Green Party candidate for Beaches–East York, and Lisa Patel, Liberal Party candidate for Scarborough–Southwest, discuss their parties’ approach to housing affordability, increasing supply, the missing middle, exclusionary zoning, real estate transactions, and more.

Mortgage Rates: Present and Future

With vested interest, economists, lenders, and mortgage holders are all watching the Bank of Canada’s recent decision to stave off inflation by increasing its policy interest rates – twice in the past year. In this episode, with more potential rate hikes on the horizon, Ready to Real Estate podcast host and TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer meets with Rob McLister, mortgage columnist at the Globe and Mail and editor of mortgagelogic.news, to discuss the impact on borrowing heading into the next year.

Stay, Reno, and/or Move? Home Renovations in a Red-Hot Market

Since COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdowns hit in March 2020, GTA residents continue to spend more time than ever in their homes. Increased time at home has also meant an increase in home renovations. Lou Orazem, Chair of the Building Industry and Land Development Association’s Renovator Executive Committee and Principal of Inspire Homes, joins Ready to Real Estate host Jason Mercer in this episode to discuss changing trends in home renovations, available incentives to homeowners looking to make improvements, and how to find the right contractor.

 

Climate Change Means Changes in Real Estate

The ill effects of climate change threaten to impact our entire way of life, and that includes our ability to protect our real estate investments. This is why it’s imperative for homeowners to reduce their homes’ impacts on climate change and make them more resilient to climate change-related disasters, such as fires and flooding. To discuss climate change, on this episode of the Ready to Real Estate podcast, Managing Director of the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction Glenn McGillivray and Vice-President of Federal Affairs at the Insurance Bureau of Canada Craig Stewart join TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer.

Law, Order, and Real Estate

In an ideal world, real estate transactions would be cut and dried. But as REALTORS® know, this is seldom the case – and that’s where real estate lawyers come in. On this recent episode of the Ready to Real Estate podcast, Mark Weisleder, a Senior Partner and Notary Public at Real Estate Lawyers.ca LLP, joins TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer to walk through several real estate scenarios, and what legal obligations the buyer, seller, and REALTOR® must watch out for in each.

Disclaimer: The information discussed in this podcast is not intended as legal advice nor reflective of TRREB’s views. Always seek the counsel of a legal professional when conducting a real estate transaction.

The 2022 Rental Market Outlook

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of the real estate market in the GTA, and the rental market is no exception. On this recent episode of the Ready to Real Estate podcast, CMHC Senior Specialist Dana Senagama meets with TRREB Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer to examine trends in the GTA rental market brought on by the pandemic – including purpose-built versus condo rental units and a higher-than-usual vacancy rate – as observed in CMHC’s February 2022 Rental Market Report.

The “New Normal” of the Post-Pandemic Workplace

Two years into a global pandemic that permanently disrupted the office work landscape, what does the “new normal” mean for employers and their employees who might not be returning to in-person work full-time, if at all? Joining Ready to Real Estate host Jason Mercer to discuss the findings in TRREB’s joint report, Navigating the New Normal, are John Wright, Executive Vice-President of Maru Public Opinion, and Craig Ruttan, the Policy Director of Energy, Environment, and Land Use at the Toronto Regional Board of Trade.

Keeping up with the Consumers: Early 2022 Ipsos Polling

The headlines and pundits continue to talk about real estate – but how does the average GTA consumer feel about it? TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer met with Ipsos Public Affairs Senior Vice President Sean Simpson to pore over revealing consumer data that shows what is of chief concern to home buyers, sellers, and investors in early 2022.

New Year, New Homes

What does the landscape for new homes in the GTA look like at the start of 2022 after two years of a disruptive pandemic? TRREB’s Chief Market Analyst Jason Mercer met with Altus Group VP and Chief Economist Peter Norman to discuss the need for new housing projects, including single-family, condominium, and the ever-elusive “missing middle” developments, plus the challenges and opportunities for each.

Tax Tips for REALTORS®

REALTORS®, sharpen your pencils. Real estate accounting specialist Cherry Chan joined TRREB’s Jason Mercer in this episode of Ready to Real Estate to share tax tips, including deductions you might miss, whether or not to establish your own Personal Real Estate Corporation (PREC), and special considerations to take around your true home office: your car.

Disclaimer: TRREB does not provide tax or financial advice. Consult an accountant and/or lawyer when applying any financial advice heard in this episode to your own business.