In real estate, we sometimes refer to the rental market as the Wild West.  While it is heavily regulated, rentals involve a different and sometimes overlapping set of rules governing landlords, tenants and real estate agents.  This leads to confusion and differences in approaches to handling rental listings and reviewing and approving tenants.

If a landlord chooses to rent a property outside of the MLS system and not use agents to represent them or tenants, then things can get even messier.  There are dozens of free or paid sites for rental properties that operate outside of the purview of organized real estate.  With no real estate agent involved – and therefore not the same requirements on disclosure, honesty or consumer protection – there are lots of stories about scams and misrepresentation in that part of the rental market.

If the rental market as a whole is the wild west, then furnished rentals are the town where the sheriff is missing, the saloon is on fire and horses are running down people in the street.

Let’s talk about how furnished rentals work and the challenges inherent in such transactions.

More stuff, more money?

Furnishing a rental property seems like a fairly obvious way to make more money.  Put in a couch, a bed, a television and some dishes, then charge the tenant more each month.  Simple.

Except the furniture costs money, it needs to be maintained and oh, right, it actually eliminates a large portion of the tenants who would otherwise consider the property.  So, perhaps not quite that simple.

Many landlords are drawn to owning income properties because they can be relatively passive investments.  With the help of your trusty real estate agent, you find a tenant, they move in and rental income starts flowing.  Eventually they move out and the process takes place again.  It involves some effort each time a vacancy is coming up, but if the right tenant is in place, during tenancy it can be largely passive.

With furnished rentals, there is the additional challenge of having to manage both the initial furnishing of the property plus dealing with any issues during the tenancy.  If you’re renting an unfurnished property, you (or your property manager) will get calls if the fridge breaks or the AC stops working, but if their couch starts to sag or they decide they need a home office, it’s not your problem.  The landlord of a furnished rental has to deal with questions or issues related to the furniture in the property and the tricky question of standards often comes into play.

If you look around your home, you probably have some furnishings you’ll replace at some point, but only when you feel like it.  That pan that doesn’t have much of the non-stick left on it may still get used, and you just put a blanket over that stain on the couch.  It is a universal truth that when someone doesn’t have to pay for something to be fixed, their standards rise and their patience for waiting drops.

Given the additional challenges in renting out a furnished property, do many people do it?

It’s about 15% to 20% of the rental market.

As of July 17, 2026, there are 6,348 properties for rent in Toronto.  The vast majority of those are available unfurnished, with about 85% being listed as not coming with any furniture.  The remaining 15% are listed as either partially furnished or furnished.

Put another way, if you’re looking for a place to rent, you’ve got over 5,300 options in the city if you’re bringing your own furniture and about 1,000 if you want it to come furnished.

As is indicated by the existence of “partially furnished” as well as “furnished”, there is no universally understood definition of what a furnished place includes.  One landlord may describe a unit as furnished because it contains a bed, a sofa and a dining table. Another may provide furniture, linens, cookware, dishes, small appliances, a television, artwork and everything else a tenant needs apart from their clothing and toothbrush.  Those are not the same product.

There are many different attempts to establish what is being offered by using particular descriptions.  A fully furnished property logically has more than a furnished property, but what specifically?  Is a turn-key furnished property even more than fully furnished, or a bit less?  Where does partially furnished come into play?  Does that mean there is whatever the landlord let the previous tenant leave, or is it beds and couches, but not tables?

The issue of standards comes into play again here, because what is a fully furnished unit to one person may be woefully under furnished to another.  With no universally agreed upon definition of the differences between the types of furnished properties, misunderstandings and unmet expectations are commonplace.

To sum it up, the landlord has not simply rented a unit to a tenant.  In essence they have entered the hospitality business, just without room service or the tiny bottles of shampoo.

If we’re clear on the challenges of renting out furnished properties, the question becomes, do those landlords who take the plunge make a killing?

The few, the proud, the marginally more expensive.

Even if only 15% to 20% of the rental market are comprised of furnished properties, there has to be a reason in the form of additional rent for a landlord to take on the extra work.

When we look at the asking rent for the properties currently on the market that we described above, we see it isn’t much of a premium.

• Unfurnished rentals (5,347 of them) are asking an average of $2,762 per month.
• Furnished rentals (720 of them) are asking about 7% more on average, or $2,950 per month.
• Partially furnished rentals (just 281 of them) are actually asking about 4% less! Their average list price is $2,650, so about $110 less than the average price for an unfurnished unit.

This is just one snapshot of what we’re currently seeing in Toronto and we’d definitely urge caution before assuming that holds true in other markets or at other times.

In fact, the available Canadian data on furnished rentals are far less decisive than we would like.

Back in 2021, the good folks at Rentals.ca examined apartment and condominium listings and found that furnished units in Ontario had an average asking rent 8% higher than unfurnished units.  That’s pretty close to what we found in our review but when they looked at it on a per-square-foot basis, the difference was 14%.  Keep in mind that data was from early 2021 and COVID was still very much impacting the rental market.

Another data source comes from the website liv.rent, which reported that in June 2026, furnished one-bedroom units in Toronto averaged $1,929 per month, while unfurnished units averaged $1,970.  That’s a far cry from a 7% to 8% premium and in general, we believe that the relationship changes from month to month.

Statistics Canada found that furniture was included in only 4% of Canadian rents in its 2021 Canadian Housing Survey. The study also warned that rents are difficult to compare without accounting for differences in the property, location and everything included in the monthly payment.

In our experience, sometimes furnished units show a modest premium and sometimes they show a discount.  That does not mean that furniture has no value, but it does tell us that a straight comparison between all furnished and unfurnished listings can be misleading.

After all, the furnished units may be located in different neighbourhoods than where unfurnished units are located.  They may be smaller, larger, newer or older than what’s in the unfurnished rental market.  They may include utilities, parking or internet at a higher rate than unfurnished rentals, or they may not.

In other words, there is no reliable rule that says adding furniture increases the rent by 7% or any other convenient number.  Unfortunately, the market is seldom that cooperative.  We say “the” market, but make no mistake, the furnished rental market is fundamentally a different market than the unfurnished rental market.

Different tenants, different needs, different length of stay.

The type of tenant who is interested in a furnished rental is very different than someone interested in an unfurnished rental.  While there may be the occasional person who is open to either, it is typically a binary situation – either you have furniture or you need it.

In our experience, there are a number of different reasons why some tenants look for a place that comes furnished.

• Corporate transferees
• People working in the GTA on temporary assignments
• Newcomers who have not yet purchased furniture
• People completing renovations to their own homes
• Couples who have recently separated
• Students or faculty at nearby schools
• Tenants who expect to move again within a relatively short period

Renting a furnished unit is very much a temporary situation.  While there are many cases of renters being at the same place for years or even decades, this doesn’t happen in the furnished rental market.  While not all furnished rental units are available for short-term (one month or longer) rentals, they do share a prospective tenant pool in common with short-term rentals.

These renters may be willing to pay more for a furnished place because furnishing a home for a temporary stay makes little financial sense.  After all, buying a sofa, mattress, dining table and basic household supplies is expensive and so is moving them.

While there are definitely challenges with renting out a furnished property, it can be a smart approach if handled correctly and everything aligns.  We’ve helped a number of landlord clients with furnished rentals and we know the hurdles and how to handle them.  Whether it’s a prospective tenant asking if the landlord won’t just remove the furniture (completely or in part), the move in inspection and inventory report or the suitability of certain properties (and unsuitability of others!) we’ve dealt with it all.  If you’re considering renting out a furnished property, or you’re looking to rent one yourself, get in touch with us!

The real estate industry generates an awful lot of statistics.  While average days on market, sale to list price ratios and other stats offer useful insight into what’s going on in a given market, it’s prices that really command attention.

Whenever you see headlines about prices rising or falling, they are based on stats.  The biggest provider of those stats are real estate boards and they do their best to provide accurate information.  Sometimes, however, the data can be skewed by inaccuracies – and sometimes they’re inaccurate on purpose.

It’s time to talk about that perineal favourite word in real estate – location.

Location, location…wait, what was the third thing?

While the old adage about real estate being about “location, location, location” may still have some truth to it, you can also say that all listings have three locations.  This is because when it comes to the Multiple Listing Service (or MLS) where listings are posted, each property has three location designations.

The first is MLS Area, which is the broadest and largest geography.  Within the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board’s boundaries, we have seven of these MLS areas – Toronto, Peel, Halton, York, Durham, Dufferin and Simcoe.

Each MLS Area then has smaller districts within it, called the MLS Municipality.  Despite the name, many MLS Municipalities are not in fact municipalities.  If you look within Toronto, there are dozens of MLS Municipalities, following numbered naming conventions based on which part of the city they are located.  All areas in the east of the city start with E0 followed by a number, central locations are C0 followed by a number and western areas are called – you guessed it – W0 followed by a number.  Outside of Toronto the municipality tag makes more sense, as they do somewhat correspond.  For example, the MLS Area of Peel has three MLS Municipalities – Brampton, Mississauga and Caledon.

Finally, the smallest, most local MLS segments are MLS Communities.  If you’re looking in Toronto or other densely populated areas, these MLS Communities are recognizable neighbourhoods, such as Mimico, the Beaches, or Bayview Village.  Outside of urban centres, however, the MLS Community may be an entire town or city.  For example, Georgetown is an MLS Community and there isn’t any smaller segmentation in the data provided by TRREB.

Below is a map that gives you a sense of what these MLS segments look like across the GTA.

Get to the teleporting building already.

Now that we’re clear on the idea of MLS Areas, Municipalities and Communities, let’s talk about why real estate agents sometimes put the wrong designation on their listing.

Below is a picture of 500 St. Clair Avenue West.  It’s a lovely condo building located on the corner of Bathurst and St. Clair in Toronto.

IMAGE COURTESY OF CONDOS.CA

It’s located at the intersection of two MLS Municipalities (C03 and C02) and four MLS Communities (Humewood-Cedarvale, Forest Hill South, Casa Loma and Wychwood).  While it may be right beside another MLS Municipality and bounded by three other MLS Communities, make no mistake, 500 St. Clair Avenue West is located in C03, Humewood-Cedarvale.

We have a client who we’ve helped buy in the building who’s considering selling their unit.  As part of our research into determining the value of the unit, we looked at the 10 most recent sales in the building.  Seven of the listings correctly identified the unit as being located in Humewood-Cedarvale, while three of them had the MLS Community listed as Forest Hill South.

Did these three units somehow teleport to the eastern side of Bathurst?  Perhaps they all had very large balconies that were built across the street so they technically were partially in Forest Hill South?  Sadly, the answer is no, and the reason these units were misrepresented as being in another MLS Community was for just one reason – price.

So, you’re 6’2 on your online dating profile but 5’9 in real life?

Much like the person pretending to be something they aren’t in order to attract attention, some real estate agents choose to misrepresent the location of their listing to make them appear more valuable.

Let’s look at the differences between Humewood-Cedarvale and Forest Hill South.

First, here’s the stats for the sales of condo units in Humewood-Cedarvale so far in 2026.

• Average sale price: $454,909
• Average days on market: 46.7 days
• Sale-to-list price: 96.5%

Compare that against the stats for sales of condo units up to May 30, 2026 in Forest Hill South.

• Average sale price: $1,229,287
• Average days on market: 28.9 days
• Sale-to-list price: 97.8%

If you could wave a wand and move your condo unit from Humewood-Cedarvale to Forest Hill South, it would be very helpful!  You’d sell for about $775K more, it would take about 18 days less to sell and you’d get 1.4% closer to your list price.

But it’s the same location!

Despite some agents choosing to misrepresent the location of their property for sale, it isn’t actually in another MLS Community.  It’s not as if a buyer thinks they’re buying in Forest Hill South when they’re really buying in Humewood-Cedarvale, right?

The reason some agents take this approach is to appeal to a presumably more affluential buyer pool.  While anyone searching for condo units for sale in the building would see all of the units, regardless of what MLS Community they’re listed under, anyone who is looking for a condo unit in Forest Hill South would see inaccurately listed units in their search results.

It is questionable as to how impactful such deceitful location listings are in terms of sale price.  After all, while it may encourage some buyers from the neighbouring MLS Community to cross the border and view the listing, the reverse is true for buyers searching in the accurate MLS Community.  It seems likely that buyers looking in the actual area you’re located within would be more eager to purchase the unit.  At the end of the day, one thing is certain – it makes the data less accurate for everyone.  How inaccurate?  Let’s check.

It’s just $177,000 off, what’s the big deal?

When we looked at the data for one month when two of these misrepresented listings were sold, here’s what we found.

The data showed six sales in Forest Hill South, which an average sale price of $1,045,000.  Two of those sales were in fact in Humewood-Cedarvale and shouldn’t have been included in the dataset.  When we remove those, the average price rose to $1,223,000.  That means the average sale price was under reported to the tune of about $177,000.  This is just one month in one MLS Community and it is unknown how prevalent this practice is on MLS listings.

Given the importance of real estate stats in both reporting on the market and calculating current values for real estate, such misrepresentations of location do tremendous harm to the accuracy of the data.  We’ve only ever seen this take place where an agent is pretending it is located in a higher-priced MLS Community, so it just serves to bring down the average in those higher-priced areas and under-report the actual sales taking place in the real MLS Community the property within which it is actually located.

The ability of unethical agents to misrepresent their properties has persisted for a long time and it is our hope that the loophole will be changed soon.  While it may have been onerous in the past to have someone check each MLS listing to ensure accuracy of the location, it seems simple enough now given the technology we have available.

Whether you’re buying or selling, experienced agents know that things aren’t always what they appear.  In our work with our clients on both sides, we make sure that the data we’re relying on to inform our decisions is accurate.  If that sounds appealing to you, get in touch with us to discuss how we can help you buy or sell!

Every once in a while, an MLS listing includes something that makes us wonder whether we’ve had too much coffee.

At 385 Centennial Road in Scarborough, it isn’t the number of bedrooms. There are none. It isn’t the renovated kitchen either, because there is no kitchen.  It’s the seller, which is listed as follows.

His Majesty the King in right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Infrastructure

Apparently, the King owns an acre of vacant land in Port Union.

Before picturing him reviewing offers at Buckingham Palace, let’s explain what is actually going on—and whether anyone could build something there.

Long live the legal entity!

Let’s start with the disappointing news.  The King does not personally own this property.  “His Majesty the King in right of Ontario” is the legal name used when the Province of Ontario owns real estate. The words “in right of Ontario” mean the Crown is acting as the provincial government, not as the monarch’s private real estate holding company.

The Minister of Infrastructure represents Ontario in the sale, Infrastructure Ontario manages the provincial real estate process, and a real estate brokerage (CBRE) is marketing the property.

The land registry actually still uses the former wording, “Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario.” That doesn’t mean the property was recently transferred between members of the Royal Family. The Crown continues when the monarch changes, so the wording around ownership simply changes along with it.

This also helps explain why the MLS listing shows annual property taxes of one cent. The Province is tax-exempt.  Sadly, the buyer does not inherit the royal tax plan.

Why does Ontario own it?

The property is a wooded, irregularly shaped parcel of approximately 1.08 acres beside Highway 2A and close to Highway 401.  Governments regularly buy land for highways, road widening, drainage, utilities and other infrastructure.

Once the work is finished, they can be left with oddly shaped pieces that are no longer needed.  That is very much what happened here given the shape of the property and its location beside a highway corridor.

I know times are tough, but why’s the government selling it?

When Ontario no longer needs a property, it can declare the land surplus. The property is generally offered through government and public-sector channels first. If nobody there buys it, Ontario can put it on the open market.

That’s how a provincial property eventually appears on MLS with the King as seller and a commercial real estate brokerage handling the listing. The land is now listed for $445,000, down from its original asking price of $750,000.  More than an acre in Toronto for less than the price of a condominium sounds like a tremendous deal, but there’s a catch – the zoning.

Can you build a house on it?

Not under the current zoning.

The property is zoned “Open Space–Natural”, which is intended mainly for natural and open-space uses. A detached house is not currently permitted. Neither are townhouses, condominiums or a conventional subdivision.  As such, this isn’t a matter of buying the land, choosing a floor plan and asking the King where to send the deposit.

The zoning is more supportive of uses such as parks, natural areas, agriculture, community gardens, certain outdoor recreation or education uses, public utilities and transportation-related uses.

A neighbouring owner might also buy it for additional privacy, outdoor space or control over what happens next door. That would not automatically turn the land into a residential building lot, but it could still have value to the right person.

Sure, sure, but everything eventually has housing built on it, right?

While the current zoning doesn’t allow it, it is true that a buyer could try to change the zoning and other planning permissions.  It isn’t going to be easy, however.  That process would require environmental, transportation, servicing and natural-heritage studies. The property is beside a highway, heavily wooded and irregularly shaped, so even if some development were eventually approved, the entire acre might not be usable.

As such, we’d say that rather than approved development land, this is land with a possible development theory.

The difference is several years, a collection of consultants, a substantial amount of money and no guarantee the City will say yes.

Is anyone actually going to buy it?

With a public listing history going back to November, 2023, this clearly isn’t a piece of land that’s moving quickly.  The most likely buyer is someone who sees value beyond building a house tomorrow.  That could be a neighbouring owner, a conservation organization, a public agency, a utility, an urban agricultural operator or a developer comfortable taking on significant planning risk.

For everyone else, it could become a $445,000 place to admire squirrels.

The King’s name makes the listing entertaining, but it doesn’t determine the property’s value – the zoning does.  Vacant land is not valuable simply because there is a lot of it and its value depends on what can legally, physically and economically be done with it.  In real estate we sometimes refer to that as the highest, best use.  In this case, the highest, best use is quite limited, so the price reflects that reality.

At the end of the day, the Crown ownership tells us who is selling, the land registry gives us clues about where the property came from and the zoning explains why an acre of Toronto land is available for $445,000.  Despite the name on the listing, calling the King probably won’t help you build a house there anytime soon.

If you’re curious about the idea of buying vacant land and building a home on it, then understanding what is possible is a crucial part of the process.  We love working with clients who are exploring this idea and if that sounds like you, get in touch with us to discuss working together!

Spend enough time looking through real estate listings and eventually you’ll come across something that seems like it wandered into the wrong category.

• A sushi restaurant
• A convenience store
• A nail salon
• A dog grooming business

At first glance, it can seem strange to see businesses listed by real estate agents. After all, a business isn’t a house. You can’t inspect it the same way. You can’t compare it to the one down the street with the newer kitchen and the finished basement. You can’t walk in, admire the light fixtures and decide whether the family room works for Christmas.

Business sales live in a different world but that doesn’t mean real estate agents can’t be involved and in Ontario, they often are part of these sales. The rules around real estate trading are broad enough to include businesses, leasehold interests, fixtures, stock-in-trade and other goods connected with the operation of a business.

While real estate agents can sell businesses, the real question is whether they should do it.  After all, there is a pretty big difference between being allowed to do something and being good at it.

Let’s look at how selling and buying businesses through real estate agents works, starting with what’s actually being sold.

Wait, if there’s no land, how is it real estate?

One of the first and most confusing aspects of real estate agents selling businesses is that the businesses may not actually have any real estate attached to the sale.  How can real estate agents sell something without any actual real estate?

The current legislation that governs real estate sales in Ontario is called TRESA, which stands for the Trust in Real Estate Services Act.  Before all legislation came with pithy titles, they were more descriptive and the legislation that governed real estate up until a few years ago was called REBBA, or the Real Estate and Business Brokers Act.  As the name implies, real estate agents were also very much intended to be involved in the sale of businesses.

As of today’s date, (June 12, 2026), the MLS system has over 1,500 business for sale with real estate agents in the Greater Toronto Area, with about half of them located in Toronto.  These are businesses that don’t include property and are strictly business sales.  This article focuses on the business sale side of the equation as it is far less understood.  If a business does have a building or land included with the transaction, then the value and aspects of that land are considered in addition to the value of simply the business and its inclusions.

What’s your budget?  Actually, never mind, we’ll find you something.

If we exclude the 50 or so listings that are for sale for $1 – because the agent just doesn’t know the price to list it for sale at – then they range in price from $6,000 to up to $2.2M.  If that seems like a heck of a range, it’s because what is being sold varies tremendously.

At the low end of the scale, the business for sale has extremely limited assets and is most likely not making much money.  Typical types of businesses in the under $50K list price range are beauty salons, small cafes, small convenience stores, small medical practitioners (orthotics, optometry, etc.) and so forth.  The physical location is small, they have low value equipment or stock and what you’re buying is basically the fact that consumers are (presumably) familiar with the business at that location and may use it.

On the high end of the scale, you’re looking at businesses that have very large physical locations, with significant assets and reoccurring revenue.  Some examples of businesses in the $2M plus list range are 10,000 sf indoor playgrounds, countertop manufacturing businesses, established brewery restaurants and so forth.

Let’s get into the factors that impact the list price and value of a business.

The location is often the business.

The reason business sales and real estate overlap is usually pretty simple – the business is tied to a place.  After all, a restaurant is not just a collection of tables, chairs, ovens and saucepans. It is also the corner it sits on, the people walking by, the signage, the parking, the patio, the lease, the rent, the zoning, the landlord and the fact that customers already know where to find it.

Consider a hair salon with loyal clients, six chairs, trained staff and a lease in a strong plaza.  That’s not just selling scissors and mirrors, but an ongoing concern.  This is also true for a convenience store beside a school, condo building or busy transit stop, that isn’t just selling shelves, chips and fridges.

In many cases, the real estate component is not a side issue. It is the main issue.  This is true even if the business may not own the building or any land, as we’re discussing here.  While some businesses you see in your neighbourhood and near your work may own the property they operate out of, many are in fact simply tenants.  With such businesses, there is often lots of value in the commercial lease they hold with their landlord. If the lease cannot be assigned, the landlord does not approve the buyer, or the rent is about to jump to a level that kills the profit, then the “business” may not be much of a business at all.

Buying a business is not like buying a house.

 When you buy a house, you are mostly trying to answer a few big questions.

• Do we like it?
• Is it worth the price?
• Can we afford it?
• Is there anything wrong with it?
• Will it be good for us for the foreseeable future?

A business purchase has all of those questions, plus a bunch more that are much harder to answer.

• Does the business actually make the money the seller says it makes?
• Will the customers stay after the owner leaves?
• Are the employees staying?
• Is the equipment owned, leased, financed, broken, obsolete or excluded?
• Is the inventory included?
• Can the lease be assigned?
• Are there permits or licences that need to transfer?
• Are there supplier agreements?
• Is this a franchise?
• Does the franchisor need to approve the buyer?
• Is the business being sold as assets or shares?

That is where these deals can get messy. You are not just buying something you can see, you’re buying a collection of rights, relationships, records and assumptions.  While some of those things are valuable, some are not, and some disappear the minute the current owner walks out the door.

…and goodwill to all!

There’s a concept in business valuations that is either a critical part of the value or a way for a seller to push the price up well beyond what it is actually worth.   Let’s talk about “goodwill”.

Goodwill is a magical concept that comes into play when the whole is worth more than the parts.  It involves other nebulous concepts like reputation, presence and track record.  If you encounter a business that is selling (or trying to sell) for more than the value of what is being sold, then the excess is often ascribed to “goodwill”.  To be clear, that isn’t goodwill towards the seller from the buyer, it is positioned as an intangible but nonetheless valuable component of a business that the buyer must pay for in addition to the more easily quantified aspects.

Let’s think about a business that is highly transferable, such as a well-run franchise in a good location, with established systems, trained staff and clean books.  A business like this may sell for much more than the value of its parts, because it may very well be able to keep running without much drama after the sale.

Other businesses are really just the owner, wearing a business costume.  The clients come because they like the owner, the suppliers give good terms because they trust the owner, the staff stay because of the owner. The recipes, systems, relationships and daily problem-solving all live in the owner’s head.

If the seller is the reason the business works, the buyer needs to understand what likely happens when that seller is gone. A few weeks of training after closing may not magically transfer years of relationships, habits and local goodwill.  This is why “goodwill” is such a slippery concept.

Goodwill attached to a location can be valuable, goodwill attached to a brand can be valuable, goodwill attached to repeat customers, strong reviews, staff systems and consistent operations can be valuable.

Goodwill attached entirely to Frank, who has personally known every customer since 1997, is a different thing.  No offence to Frank.  Frank may be fantastic, but unless Frank comes with the sale, the buyer should be careful about paying too much for Frank’s goodwill.

Let’s get to the most real estate-y part of this whole thing.

 For many small businesses, the lease at the existing location is effectively what is being sold.  It’s not the paint colour or the cappuccino machine, or the cute logo on the front window.  All of these things can be done by a business owner at a new location, often for less cost.

The lease is what makes someone wanting to run a certain type of business in that specific location decide to buy an existing business rather than just start one.

When we work on behalf of our business buyer clients, there are lots of questions we ask about the lease.  Some of these questions are about how long is left, what the rent is, what additional rent or TMI is payable, whether there are renewal options, whether the lease can be assigned and whether the landlord has any right to change terms when the business is sold.

A cheap rent in a good location can create real value, while a short lease with no renewal option can destroy it.  Let’s not forget that a landlord who will not approve the buyer can stop the deal entirely.

There are often aspects in a commercial lease that allows only a very specific use for the property, so if you have plans on adjusting what the business you just bought does at that location, you may discover you can’t actually do it as per the terms of the lease.

Commercial leases are considerably more complex than residential leases, and there are far less protections on both sides.  If you make assumptions that the same rules apply to your commercial lease as you’ve experienced with residential leases, you’ll be in for a world of trouble.  You could buy the business then six weeks later be informed by the landlord that the building is being sold and your lease is terminated in 90 days.  You could encounter a problem with the HVAC system at your new premises, reach out to the landlord to get the AC working again and be told that replacing that system is entirely your cost, as per the terms of your lease.

In our work with landlord and tenants on the rental of commercial properties or the purchase and sale of businesses at commercial properties, we often see inexperienced buyers where they treat the lease in far too casual a fashion.  They talk about the equipment, the menu, the sales and the “potential”, then leave the lease review until later. That’s backwards, because if the lease does not work, the rest of the deal may not matter.

Let’s talk numbers.

Business listings can sometimes have a generous relationship with reality.  You may see phrases like:

• “Owner states sales are much higher.”
• “Lots of cash business.”
• “Great potential.”
• “Easy to increase revenue.”
• “Seller only works part-time.”
• “Expenses could be reduced.”

While all of that maybe true, buyers should not pay for maybe, and if a seller wants to be paid for business income, the seller should be able to prove business income. That means actual records, not just a confident conversation at the back table after the lunch rush.

A buyer should review tax returns, financial statements, point-of-sale reports, bank deposits, HST filings, payroll records, supplier invoices, rent records and utility bills.  Many small businesses have challenges with recording and reporting their financial transactions and that can make those businesses effectively unsellable.

This isn’t because potential buyers are being difficult, it’s because if a business is being sold based on profit, the profit needs to be supportable. If the seller says the business makes far more money than the records show, the buyer has a problem.

Actually, scratch that – it’s not just the buyer.  The lender has a problem, the accountant has a problem, the lawyer may have a problem. In fact, it’s likely that everyone has a problem, except perhaps the seller, who would very much like to be paid for income that was not properly documented.

Small time or big time?

One of the big components of a business sale that determines whether this is a simple, smaller sale, or a larger more complex sale is whether it is an asset sale or a share sale.

 In many smaller business transactions, the buyer purchases the assets of the business. That may include equipment, inventory, leasehold improvements, the trade name, website, phone number, that magical goodwill and certain contracts.

In other cases, the buyer may purchase the shares of the corporation that owns the business and those are not the same thing.

With an asset sale, the buyer may be able to choose the assets they are buying and avoid taking on certain liabilities. With a share sale, the buyer may be stepping into the corporation’s history, including contracts, tax issues, employee obligations and liabilities that may not be obvious at first glance.

There can also be major tax differences for the seller, so this is not the part of the deal where anyone should be winging it.  While we can help coordinate the process and make sure the right conditions are included in the agreement, the question as to whether an asset sale or share sale is better it very much lawyer and accountant territory.  We work closely with our client’s law firm and accounting firm when preparing for a purchase or a sale of a business, so if you’re considering either, talk to your people.

In addition to the real estate agents involved, business sales often involve the buyer, seller, two lawyers, two accountants, a landlord, a lender, a franchisor, suppliers and sometimes a licensing body. If no one is managing the flow of information, the deal can get bogged down very quickly and a good real estate agent helps keep things moving.

Business sales can absolutely involve real estate agents, but they should not be treated like ordinary real estate deals.  The buyer is not just buying furniture, equipment and a sign over the door. They may be buying income, lease rights, goodwill, staff continuity, contracts, systems and the hope that customers keep showing up after closing.

That requires more due diligence than a typical property purchase and if we’re blunt, it also requires a bit more humility from everyone involved.  We need to help with our area of expertise and not advise or interfere in other aspects.  The buyer needs to verify the numbers, the seller needs to prepare proper records, the lawyer needs to review the structure and documents, the accountant needs to look at the tax and financial side and so on.

Within our team we regularly work with clients who are looking beyond standard residential purchases and into investment properties, commercial opportunities and more complex real estate-related transactions.  If you are considering buying or selling a business where the location, lease or real estate component is a key part of the value, get in touch with us. We can help you understand the real estate side of the transaction, ask better questions, and connect the dots with the other professionals who should be involved.  Let’s talk!

The fine folks at the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board have released their 2026 Q1 report on the rental market.  The report focuses on condominium rental units, both condo apartments as well as townhouses, in Toronto, York, Peel, Halton, Durham, Dufferin and Simcoe.

Here’s a link to the full report if you want to check it out.

As always, we reviewed the data to see what’s worth noting.  Let’s get into it!

More…but also less.

The report shows that across the TRREB boundaries (the GTA and a bit beyond) apartment rentals rose about 11% year-over-year, from 14,800 leases in Q1 2025 to 16,400 in Q1 2026. In the same periods, listings rose 6%, from 22,600 to 24,000, so supply remained heavy enough to preserve renter choice and negotiating power.

Put another way, more places were rented in this first quarter of 2026 than in the first quarter of 2025, but we also saw a somewhat smaller increase in the number of places for rent.  If you combine those two things – an increase in demand, with a smaller increase in supply – you’d naturally assume that rental prices would be going up.

Instead, rents fell across every apartment bedroom type, which is a bit of a head scratcher.  Average apartment rents were lower year-over-year for bachelors, one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms, and three-bedrooms. The biggest winner (for tenants) is the one-bedroom average rent, which fell 4.1% to $2,246 from $2,343. That’s about $100 less per month that landlords of these units are receiving in rent.

Two-bedrooms fell 3.2% to $2,939, and three-bedrooms fell 2.7% to $3,757, so it seems like the bigger, higher priced rental units did better than the smaller, cheaper places.  This is likely due to the level of supply, as while demand for family-size units has only increased over the last number of years, developers have focused on the smaller, single person or couple occupancy units.

Renting out a place?  You’re probably in Toronto.

Another interesting aspect of the report is that Toronto still dominated apartment leasing volume.  Out of 16,365 apartment leases across all TRREB areas, the City of Toronto accounted for 11,411, or roughly 70% of total apartment rental transactions. Toronto Central alone had 8,783 leases, making it the core of the rental market with more than half of rentals taking place there.

York Region had meaningful apartment volume, but at lower average rents than Toronto.  York Region had 1,908 apartment leases in Q1 2026. Its average one-bedroom rent was $2,165, compared with $2,322 in Toronto Central. Two-bedrooms averaged $2,732 in York Region, compared with $3,186 in Toronto Central.

While York is often the home of the highest average priced property in the GTA (trading places with Halton on some months), the average price for a condo unit in York is comparable to the average in Toronto, so while landlords in York are getting lower rent, they also paid less for their units.

Ready to rent?  Consider a townhouse.

The final odd aspect that we found in the report was in the rental townhouse portion of the market.  While the level of activity was pretty stable when compared year over year, the average rent dropped considerably.

When we compare Q1 of this year to Q1 of 2025, townhouse leases were nearly flat, rising 1.7% year-over-year from 1,156 to 1,176. In the same time comparison, average townhouse rents fell overall, with three-bedroom townhouse rents down 7.5% year-over-year. This is contrary to the condo apartment segment of the rental market, which as we mentioned, had larger three-bedroom units see the smallest average drop in rental prices of all the types of condo units.

Our take on this is that tenants who were renting out townhouses were most likely to have seen the comparable cost of owning a place equalize over the past year.  As purchase prices dropped in many segments of the markets across the GTA, a tenant who was already paying considerable money to rent a townhouse began to see prices that would carry for similar numbers to their current rent.  It seems that townhouse landlords had to make their rental rates more attractive to continue to appeal to tenants for their property who might otherwise look to jump into the property market themselves.

Every segment of the market – whether it is rental or for sale, condo or freehold, entry level or high end – has its own trends, rhythms and cycles.  If you’re thinking about buying or selling, renting or renting out, then you need to work with agents who understand the market you’re focused upon.  Get in touch with us to hear our thoughts on how to best move you forward!

One of the few constants in real estate recently has been the low levels of buyers, at least compared to the available number of properties.

The number of sales in Toronto that took place in 2025 was down about 8% from the level of transactions in 2024, which itself was lower than 2023 and so forth.

If we look at the level of sales that took place in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, it’s down about 9% compared to the same time period a year ago (Q4 2024 and Q1 2025), so things are not getting better.

There’s a saying in real estate, which is “Sellers live in the past, buyers live in the future” and that seems to very much be the case now. We have sellers who are stubbornly holding onto what their home used to be worth and we have buyers who are shaking their heads and refusing to pay what the home is worth now, in the fear that the market will keep dropping.

What makes buyers hold off on making a purchase? That’s a complicated question, but there are three big factors that impact buying decisions on a macro level. Let’s get into them.

Numero Uno – The Cost of Borrowing

Only about 10% to 15% of purchasers in the GTA do so without borrowing money in the form of a mortgage. As such, the interest rates that are charged have a big impact on the carrying cost of the property.

Borrowers have the choice between a variable rate mortgage or a fixed rate mortgage and which is most popular does shift based on the perceived risk of rate changes over time, as well as how that risk is factored into the rates being offered by lenders.

In general, if there is uncertainty, borrowers tend to favour fixed rates, so they know how much it will cost them over the length of the term of their mortgage. As such, in the past year, we’ve seen more people shifting to fixed rate mortgages, as reported by CMHC in the 2025 Year-In-Review report. Variable mortgages likely make up about 40% of the pool of borrowers, with the remainder in fixed rate mortgages.

The variable rate that banks offer is directly impacted by the overnight rate charged by the Bank of Canada, which is effectively the rate as which banks can borrow from the BOC. In addition to the variable mortgage rate banks offer, the overnight rate also directly impacts HELOCs and other variable lending that uses the bank prime interest rate to determine the rate charged.

As we write this article in May, 2026, it has now been close to two years since the Bank of Canada started dropping the overnight rate. In July 2023, the rate was set at 5% and until June 2024, it remained there. From June 2024 onward until October 2025, we saw a cutting cycle, where rates dropped down from 5% to 2.25%.

Since October 2025, we’ve remained at that same 2.25% level. Our latest BOC of announcement on April 29, 2026 saw the overnight rate stay at 2.25%, which means it is the 4th announcement in a row with no change to the rate. Put another way, it’s been six months of no change to the cost of borrowing, at least on the variable interest rate side of the mortgage equation.

If we look at fixed mortgage rates over the last six months, the average 5 year fixed posted mortgage rate has also remained unchanged. These rates are impacted by bond yield and lender pricing, not the overnight rate. While there are lots of different terms for fixed mortgages, the 5 year term remains very common, and the posted mortgage rate for that term has stayed constant at 6.09% since October, 2025.

The posted mortgage rate is different than the discounted rate that lenders actually offer, currently around 3.69% to 4.09%, but in general fixed mortgage rates have remained relatively unchanged, just like the variable rate.

To summarize, the cost of borrowing in the last six months has basically remained the same, and the next couple of months will likely see that continue.

On the variable rate side, the BOC announcement a couple of days ago that kept the overnight rate at the same 2.25% we’ve had over the past six months means variable rates will not move over the next six to eight weeks. For fixed rate mortgages, the forecast for bond yields is mostly flat, with perhaps a slight increase, so those mortgages will also likely not change much through May and June.

If the cost of borrowing has been steady for the past six months, with it likely to remain unchanged for the next couple of months, then why are buyers holding off?

Factor Number Two – Prices

If we’re clear that buyers are not holding off on their purchase decision because it’s getting more expensive to finance homes, or because they are worried it will get more expensive shortly, is it because of the price of real estate?

While no one would argue that our real estate is inexpensive, it’s been costly for a long time now. Perhaps it’s because prices are rising, so despite the same interest rates for mortgages, the size of the mortgage – and the cost to carry it – are preventing buyers from jumping into the market.

Here’s the average price for real estate in Toronto from October 2025 to March 2026. We don’t have the April data yet, but it hasn’t skyrocketed.

You can see that in the six months of data here, the average price dropped in November, December, January and March, with an increase in February. In October 2025, the average price in the city was $1.076M, and as of the end of March 2026, it was $1.02M. That’s about a $56,000 drop, so on average, it actually costs less to buy now than it did six months ago. With borrowing costs remaining the same, the cost of your mortgage payment is down on average, because you have a lower mortgage due to the lower purchase price.

If buyers were holding off because they saw the market crashing, with lower prices every month, it would make sense. After all, no one wants to purchase an asset that is worth less and less as time goes on. The past six months saw a typical seasonal change, with the holidays and dead of winter seeing lower average prices before a slight, but temporary bump as we headed into spring. The drop from October to March of $56K is about a 5% difference from high to low, and that’s a far cry from a market crash.

Here’s a chart that shows the average price in Toronto for all of 2024, 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. A lot of fluctuations, but absolutely not a crashing market. In fact, if we compare the price at the end of March 2026, which was $1.02M, with the price at the start of January 2024, which was $952K, Toronto’s market has risen 7% in the past two years and a bit.

If you’re looking at the chart and you’ve been waiting for a significant drop in average prices so you can buy, you’ll view it as a reason to keep waiting. In the same vein, if you’re hoping to buy real estate to see it increase in value significantly over time, the chart says there is no rush for you to jump into the market. Both of those interpretations speak to the public perception of the real estate market, which is the third factor influencing buyer decisions.

Point The Third – Perception

If the cost of borrowing has remained unchanged in the past six months, and the cost of real estate has dropped by over $50K on average – but with no consistent trend or market crash – why are buyers waiting?

Our answer is that the perception of the value of owning real estate in Toronto and the GTA has fundamentally shifted in last five years. Prior to COVID and the turmoil of our recent economic, military and climate challenges, the way we viewed real estate was significantly different than it is now.

After years of consistent price appreciation in the 2000s and beyond, there was a perception amongst the general public that real estate always goes up. With such a belief in place, as well as historically low interest rates and a healthy economy, buyers seized the opportunity to make a purchase.

If the general consensus was real estate always goes up, the rude awakening of the past couple of years has resulted in a new, equally inaccurate consensus, which is that real estate is never going to go up again. There are some people who believe Toronto and GTA real estate markets will experience a significant crash in the near future, but that has always been the case. The more impactful shift in belief that is impacting our level of sales is that a significant amount of people believe that real estate won’t ever go up in value.

The effect of this belief is a lack of urgency, as there is no rush to buy a property when prices will be the same – or perhaps even lower – in a week, a month, or a year from now. In a way, the lack of change in the cost of borrowing reinforces this belief, as it definitely isn’t getting more expensive to finance your purchase. With no absolute end in sight to the current level of interest rates being offered, it is like a sale at a store that seems to be perpetual. If you can’t get to the store this week, or next week, don’t stress about it because the same sale prices will be there whenever you get around to it.

Perception does shift over time and in many ways it is the most impactful of the three factors that influence when a buyer decides to make a move. The cost of borrowing and the price of real estate influence that perception, but if we’re experiencing a time of scarcity and economic uncertainty, buyers are fearful of making a move at the wrong time.

As long as we have significant uncertainty about what is coming next, how our economy will fare and whether our jobs are secure, major decisions will be difficult to make. Given the still lofty heights of the price of real estate in Toronto and the GTA, that means buyers will remain on the fence until a clear picture of what’s coming next is revealed.

The people who are buying and selling in these uncertain times are doing so because they have to make a move, not because the timing is ideal. If you are one of those people, who don’t have the luxury of waiting until you know for sure what’s coming next, then you need a real estate agent who understands the market and how to get you the best possible result. Get in touch with us to talk about the next steps!

Selling a house looks easy from the outside.

You sign some paperwork, take some photos, put the home on MLS, have a few showings, receive an offer, and then wait for closing.

If that was all it took, then real estate agents would be hanging out with travel agents and milk delivery men and lamenting the passage of time.

The real version has a lot more going on.

A successful sale involves pricing, paperwork, preparation, photography, marketing, showings, agent outreach, feedback, offer strategy, conditions, lawyers, deposits, closing details, and a surprising number of small things that can go sideways if nobody is paying attention.

So, what does it really take to sell a house?

Let’s get into it.

#1 – First, We Need to Understand the Property

Before anything is listed, signed, or photographed, we need to understand what we are actually selling.

That sounds obvious, but it is where a lot of mistakes start. A house is not worth a certain amount just because a similar-looking house sold nearby. Buyers care about details, and those details can change the result.

At this stage, we are looking at things like:

• Property type
• Neighbourhood
• Lot
• Condition of the home
• Recent comparable sales
• Current competition
• Active listings
• Expired listings
• Buyer demand
• Timing
• Likely buyer objections
• Whether repairs or preparation make sense
• Whether the home has features that need to be explained properly

This is also where we talk about the seller’s goals.

Some sellers want the highest possible price and are willing to do more preparation. Some need a particular closing date. Some want the least disruption possible. Some are selling a vacant property and can be more flexible with timing and showings. Some are living in the home with children, pets, work schedules, and actual lives that need to be managed.

The strategy should match the seller, not just the house.

#2 – Then We Build the Pricing Strategy

 Pricing is not just picking a number that feels good.

A proper pricing strategy should answer three questions:

1. What is the property likely worth?
2. How will buyers see it compared to the competition?
3. What listing strategy gives the seller the best chance of a strong result?

That usually means reviewing:

• Comparable sold properties
• Current active listings
• Similar homes that failed to sell
• Market direction
• Days on market
• Sale-to-list ratios
• Buyer behaviour in that price range
• Whether offer dates are working
• Whether buyers are negotiating aggressively
• Whether the property should be priced at market value or positioned more aggressively

This is where the valuation work matters. It is not just a stack of comparable sales. It is the basis for the actual plan.

The wrong price can cost a seller money in two different ways. Price too low without a real strategy and you may leave money on the table. Price too high and the listing can sit, become stale, and eventually require a price reduction.  Do either of those two sound ideal to you?

#3 – Paperwork Starts Earlier Than Most Sellers Expect

 Once the seller decides to move forward, the paperwork begins.

This part is not exciting, but it matters. A listing is a legal relationship, and the documents need to be accurate.

Seller paperwork may include:

• Listing agreement
• RECO Information Guide
• FINTRAC identification forms including Politically exposed person forms
• MLS data forms
• Schedules and clauses
• Brokerage documents
• Disclosure documents, where applicable
• Condo-related documents, where applicable
• Spousal consent, where required
• Special instructions about inclusions, exclusions, access, or commission

Details need to be checked carefully, including:

• Seller legal names
• Property address
• Ownership details
• Listing price
• Commission, including Co-operating brokerage commission
• Listing start date
• Listing expiry date
• Holdover period
• Included items
• Excluded items
• Special terms
• Signatures and initials

This is one of those areas where sellers usually only notice the work if something goes wrong.

A typo in a name, a wrong date, a missing initial, an unclear inclusion, or a poorly drafted schedule can create real problems later. Good paperwork does not sell the house by itself, but bad paperwork can absolutely make the sale harder than it needs to be.

#4 – The Home Has to Be Prepared Before It Goes Public

 A good listing launch does not happen on listing day. It happens before listing day.

Before the home goes live, there is often a preparation stage. Depending on the property, that can include:

• Repairs
• Painting
• Cleaning
• Window cleaning
• Landscaping
• Decluttering
• Staging
• Handyman work
• Pre-list inspection
• Floor plan preparation
• Condo status certificate ordering
• Sign installation
• Lockbox installation
• Key organization
• Access planning
• Showing instruction planning

This does not mean every seller should spend a fortune preparing their home.

Some improvements are worth doing. Some are not. The goal is to decide what will actually help the sale.

There is a big difference between spending money to improve the result and spending money because everyone feels vaguely anxious before listing. The first one is strategy. The second one is just expensive stress.

#5 – The Listing Calendar Needs to Be Managed

Selling a house involves a lot of scheduling. Like, a lot of scheduling.

Before the listing goes live, the timing needs to be coordinated for:

• Cleaners
• Painters
• Repairs
• Staging
• Photography
• Video
• Floor plans
• Sign installation
• Pre-list inspection
• Open houses
• MLS launch
• Offer date, if there is one
• Status certificate timing, for condos
• Showing availability

If one step is delayed, it can affect everything else.

For example, if the cleaners are late, the photos may need to be moved. If the photos are delayed, the MLS launch may need to be pushed. If the MLS launch moves, the open house timing may change. If the offer date changes, the whole marketing plan may need to be adjusted.

This is why a good listing process has a calendar, not just a vague hope that everything will somehow come together.

#6 – Photography, Video and Floor Plans Are Not Just “Marketing Extras”

Most buyers see the home online before they ever see it in person.

That means photography, video, floor plans, and listing presentation matter.

This stage can include:

• Booking professional photography
• Preparing the home for photos
• Reviewing the photos
• Selecting the best MLS photos
• Putting the photos in the right order, so it makes sense to someone clicking through
• Checking the virtual tour
• Reviewing the floor plans
• Making sure the marketing reflects the property accurately
• Preparing feature sheets
• Preparing social media material
• Preparing agent outreach material

The goal is not to make the house look like something it is not. That just creates disappointment at showings.  Believe it or not, if a buyer and their agent shows up to find that the listing agent “tweaked” photos and catfished you into the showing, the result isn’t an eager buyer ready to submit an offer.

The goal is to show the property at its best, make the layout easy to understand, highlight the right features, and give buyers a reason to book a showing.

Bad photos can make a good house look forgettable. Good photos cannot fix a bad property, but they can make sure the right buyers actually notice it.

#7 – The MLS Listing Has to Be Built Carefully

The MLS listing is where a lot of buyers and agents form their first real opinion of the property.

It needs to be accurate, complete, and strategic.

That means checking:

• Price
• Address
• Property type
• Taxes
• Lot size
• Room measurements
• Bedrooms
• Bathrooms
• Parking
• Locker information, if applicable
• Condo fees, if applicable
• Inclusions
• Exclusions
• Rental items
• Showing instructions
• Offer instructions
• Remarks
• Attachments
• Schedules
• Photos
• Floor plans
• Virtual tour links

This is also where we need to avoid creating confusion.

If the listing says one thing and the feature sheet says another, buyers notice. If the room measurements are wrong, agents notice. If the inclusions are unclear, it can become an issue during negotiations.

The MLS listing is not just data entry. It is the public version of the sale.

#8 – Listing Day Is a Launch, Not a Button

 Listing day is when the property officially hits the market, but there is more to it than pressing “submit.”

On listing day, the following needs to be checked:

• MLS listing is live
• Realtor.ca is displaying properly
• Photos are showing correctly
• Virtual tour link works
• Showing instructions are correct
• Lockbox is installed and working
• Seller is receiving showing notifications
• Showing system is configured properly
• Sign is installed
• Marketing materials are ready
• Brokerage and agent promotion is underway
• Open house information is correct, if applicable

This is also when the seller should receive the key links and information, including:

• MLS listing link
• Realtor.ca link
• Virtual tour link
• Showing instructions
• Sign photo, where relevant
• Open house details, if planned

A bad launch can waste the first and most important days of market exposure.

That does not mean every listing sells in the first few days. It means that when a listing goes live, it should be ready.

#9 –  Showings Are…Challenging

 Showings can become the biggest pain point for sellers, especially if they are still living in the property.

When the home is on the market, sellers may be dealing with:

• Last-minute showing requests
• Buyers arriving late
• Agents cancelling
• Overlapping appointments
• Requests during dinner
• Requests during work calls
• Requests during children’s nap times
• Pets that need to be removed
• Lights, doors, and alarms
• Cleaning before every appointment
• Keeping the house looking ready all the time

For someone selling privately, this can become exhausting very quickly.

A showing plan needs to answer practical questions, including:

• When are showings allowed?
• How much notice is required?
• Are showings automatically confirmed or manually approved?
• Are there any blocked-off times?
• How do agents access the property?
• Where is the lockbox?
• What should agents know before entering?
• Are there pets?
• Should lights be left on or off?
• Should shoes be removed?
• Are there alarm instructions?
• Are there rooms, doors, gates, or garages with special instructions?
• Can showings overlap?
• How is feedback collected?
• What happens if a buyer wants a second showing?

This matters because access affects results.

If a property is too hard to show, some buyers will skip it. If showings are completely unmanaged, the seller may feel like they are living in a hotel lobby.

The goal is to make the home easy enough to see without making the seller’s life miserable.

#10 – Showing Feedback Has to Be Tracked and Interpreted

Once showings begin, the market starts giving feedback.

That feedback is not always direct, and it is not always useful, but it needs to be reviewed.

We are looking at things like:

• How many showings are happening
• How quickly buyers are booking
• Whether buyers are coming back for second showings
• What agents are saying
• What buyers are objecting to
• Whether the price is being questioned
• Whether the condition is being questioned
• Whether the layout is causing concern
• Whether the location is a sticking point
• Whether buyers are comparing it to another property
• Whether new competition has appeared
• Whether similar homes have sold

The important part is not to overreact to one random comment.

One buyer saying the kitchen is small may mean nothing. Ten buyers saying the kitchen is small probably means something. No showings at all means something else entirely.

A listing should not just sit online while everyone hopes for the best. It needs to be actively managed.

#11–  Weekly Updates Keeps Everyone Informed

A seller should not have to wonder what is happening.

During the listing, there should be regular updates on:

• Showing activity
• Buyer feedback
• Agent feedback
• Competing listings
• Recent sales
• Changes in market conditions
• Open house results
• Online activity, where useful
• Whether the current strategy is working
• Whether a change is needed

This is where the conversation needs to be honest.

If the listing is getting good showings but no offers, that tells us one thing. If it is getting very few showings, that tells us something else. If buyers are repeatedly objecting to the same issue, we need to deal with that reality.

Sellers do not need cheerleading. They need useful information.

#12 – Open Houses and Agent Outreach Still Matter

Open houses are not magic, but they can be useful.

Depending on the property, the strategy may include:

• Public open houses
• Agent open houses
• Brokerage promotion
• Email promotion to agents
• Social media promotion
• Direct outreach to agents with active buyers
• Follow-up with agents who have shown the property

The point is not simply to say, “We did an open house.”

The point is to increase exposure, collect feedback, create urgency, and make sure the right buyers and agents know the property exists.

Sometimes open houses directly produce the buyer. Sometimes they help create momentum. Sometimes they reveal that buyers are reacting differently than expected.

All of that is useful.

#13 – Sometimes the Strategy Needs to Change

Not every property sells right away.

That does not automatically mean something went wrong, but it does mean the strategy needs to be reviewed.

Possible adjustments may include:

• Changing the price
• Updating the photos
• Changing the order of photos
• Revising the MLS remarks
• Changing showing instructions
• Improving access
• Refreshing marketing materials
• Increasing agent outreach
• Following up with previous showings
• Relisting, where appropriate
• Changing the offer strategy
• Dealing with a condition or objection that keeps coming up

A stale listing is not usually fixed by ignoring it.

The market is allowed to disagree with the original plan. When it does, the seller needs clear advice on what to do next.

#14 – Offers Are About More Than Price

When an offer comes in, price is important, but it is not the only thing that matters.

A seller needs to understand the full offer, including:

• Purchase price
• Deposit amount
• Closing date
• Conditions
• Inclusions
• Exclusions
• Irrevocable time
• Buyer financing risk
• Inspection terms
• Status certificate terms, for condos
• Sale of buyer’s property condition, if included
• Unusual clauses
• Missing schedules
• Mistakes or unclear wording

The seller also needs advice on the strategy:

1. Accept the offer.
2. Reject the offer.
3. Sign the offer back.
4. Wait for another offer, if that is realistic.
5. Use the offer to create leverage, if the rules and circumstances allow it.

The best offer is not always the highest offer.

A slightly lower firm offer with a strong deposit and clean closing may be better than a higher conditional offer with weak terms. It depends on the seller’s priorities and the risk in the offer.

#15 – Conditional Sales Need to Be Managed Carefully

If the property sells conditionally, it is not sold firm yet.

Common buyer conditions include:

• Financing
• Home inspection
• Insurance
• Lawyer review
• Status certificate review
• Sale of the buyer’s property

During the conditional period, someone needs to track:

• Condition deadlines
• Deposit receipt
• Required documents
• Access for inspections
• Access for appraisals
• Status certificate delivery, if applicable
• Notices of fulfillment
• Waivers
• Amendments
• Communication with the buyer’s agent
• Whether the deal is becoming firm or falling apart

This is a time-sensitive part of the process.

If the buyer waives or fulfills the conditions properly, the deal becomes firm. If they do not, the property may need to go back on the market.

That is why the details matter.

#16 –  Sold Firm Is Not the Same as Finished

Once the deal is firm, the seller can breathe a little easier, but the work is not done.

After a firm sale, the process may include:

• Marking the property sold
• Confirming the deposit
• Updating showing instructions
• Changing lockbox access
• Installing a sold sign or sold rider
• Removing or collecting marketing materials
• Sending paperwork to the lawyers
• Confirming seller and buyer lawyer details
• Arranging purchaser visits
• Preparing closing instructions
• Organizing signed documents
• Preparing internal trade and brokerage paperwork
• Tracking the closing date

This stage is less visible to the public, but it is still important.

Remember, a firm sale still needs to close!

#17 – Purchaser Visits and Closing Preparation Need Organization

Most agreements allow the buyer to visit the property before closing.

Those visits need to be scheduled and managed. They may be used for:

• Measuring rooms
• Getting contractor quotes
• Showing family members
• Planning furniture
• Checking the property before closing

The seller also needs to prepare for closing by dealing with:

• Keys
• Fobs
• Remotes
• Mail keys
• Alarm codes
• Appliance manuals
• Warranties
• Rental contracts
• Utility accounts
• Moving arrangements
• Final cleaning
• Vacant possession, where required
• Any agreed repairs or items

This is where organization matters.  Nobody wants to be searching for a garage remote or condo fob at the last minute.

#18 – Closing Day Is a Legal Event, Not Just Moving Day

On closing day, the lawyers complete the transfer.

The buyer’s funds are sent. The seller’s lawyer deals with payouts, adjustments, title transfer, and release of keys. Once the deal has officially closed, the property belongs to the buyer.

The seller should not hand over keys directly unless instructed to do so by the lawyer or unless the proper process has been arranged.

Closing day can feel simple if everything has been prepared properly. If it has not, it can be stressful.

The key things to confirm are:

• Lawyer has what they need
• Property is ready for vacant possession, if required
• Keys and access items are ready
• Seller understands when property is officially closed
• Funds have been received
• Final adjustments are handled by the lawyers

Once the lawyer confirms closing, the sale is complete.

#19 – Even After Closing, There Are Still Final Details

After closing, there are still a few loose ends.  These may include:

• Confirming the transaction closed
• Confirming funds were received
• Confirming commission and brokerage paperwork
• Saving final documents
• Sending the seller a transaction summary with all the documents of the sale in one place
• Updating client records
• Following up after the move to ensure no questions or issues remain

The seller should also keep a record of:

• Agreement of purchase and sale
• Amendments
• Waivers or notices of fulfillment
• Lawyer closing documents
• Statement of adjustments
• Commission statement
• Receipts for moving or sale-related expenses, where relevant

The house may be sold, but the paperwork should not disappear into the abyss.

As we hope the above lengthy list of activities shows, selling a house is not one job. It is a long list of connected jobs, and each one affects the next.

A good sale depends on:

1. Pricing the property properly
2. Preparing it intelligently
3. Launching it cleanly
4. Managing showings without chaos
5. Tracking feedback honestly
6. Marketing it effectively
7. Negotiating aggressively
8. Managing conditions and deadlines
9. Coordinating lawyers and closing details
10. Keeping the seller informed throughout the process

It’s true that from the outside, selling a house can look like putting a sign on the lawn and waiting for a buyer.  Sadly, some sellers have experienced such a haphazard approach and the results are always less than optimal.

Our clients choose to work with us to sell their homes because they get that there is a lot happening behind the scenes. Our goal is not just to get the home sold. Our goal is to minimize the possibility of mistakes, manage the stress, protect our seller client, and get the best result possible.  If that sounds appealing to you, then get in touch with us to talk further!

We’re starting to see some bidding wars and homes selling over list price in certain areas we’re working in with clients, and we thought it was worth examining how common that is these days.

We pulled the data for freehold properties in Toronto, York, Peel, Durham, Halton, Dufferin and Simcoe to see exactly where these three day markets exist and to what extent.  Let’s get into it.

Toronto – Home of the 11%

When we look at the City of Toronto, it is by far the place where the three day market is most prevalent.

As of April 17, 2026, there have been 2,465 sales in Toronto so far this year.  276 of these sales happened in three days or less, which means that 11% of the Toronto market transacted that quickly.  The homes are generally three bedroom, three washroom houses.

The average sale to list price for these 276 homes was 106%, so these sellers received, on average, about $76,000 more than their list price.  Whether this was a result of the sellers holding back offers until a certain date and then receiving a bully offer they accepted, or simply a quick acting buyer who offered more than list price shortly after listing, Toronto was one of two parts of the GTA where these quick sales also netted sellers more than list price.

Durham – 2^nd Place Ain’t Bad

The only other part of the GTA that saw an average sale to list price of over 100% was Durham.

As of April 17, 2026, Durham has had 1,608 sales in the region so far, and 106 of those sales happened in three days or less on market.  This means about 7% of all of the sales in 2026 in Durham happened on a very quick basis, and the average sale to list price was about 102%.

With an average list price in Durham of about $910,000 for these quick sales, it means that these sellers not only sold quickly, they made about $14K more than their list price.  Just like Toronto, these homes had three bedrooms and three washrooms, which means they’re quite suitable for a family.

York – Close, but No Cigar

While all five of the remaining areas with the GTA saw a number of these quick sales, none of them had a sale to list price ratio of over 100%.  York came closest to the mark of these five, with a sale to list price ratio of just under 100%.

There were 1,917 sales in York Region in 2026 as of April 17, 2026, and about 5% of these sales happened in three days or less.  These 96 homes sold for, on average, about $6,000 less than their list price, so while they sold quickly, it wasn’t the same sort of market where sellers got more in a very quick fashion.  They were slightly larger homes than we saw in Toronto and Durham, with four bedrooms and four washrooms on average.

Peel – 92 sales and 95% over Three Days

As of April 17, 2026, Peel has seen 1,883 sales this year and just 92 of those sales took place in three days or less.  That works out to about 5% of the total sales, and on average, the sellers of these four bedroom, three washroom homes got about $10K less than their list price.  With 95% of properties selling over that three day window, the Peel market was definitely not the hottest in the GTA.

Halton – 1% Under List Price

Halton is our first part of the GTA to see a list to sale price ratio of 99%, which worked out to sellers taking about $11K less than the list price.  As of April 17, 2026, Halton has seen 1,187 sales and just 71 of those of those homes sold in three days or less.  That means that just 6% of the properties sold so far this year (which were three bedroom, three washroom homes on average) sold in a very speedy fashion.

Simcoe – The Second Smallest Level of Sales and the Smallest Homes

Simcoe has had 1,475 sales in 2026 as of April 17, 2026, with just 3% of those sales taking place in three days or less.  These 40 homes were also the smallest homes to sell in that timeframe in all of the GTA, with an average size of three bedrooms and two washrooms.  They sold for about $8K less than list price, but with the lowest average sale price in the GTA, that number below list isn’t too surprising.

Dufferin – Just Three Houses Sold in Under Three Days

Our final area to review is Dufferin, which saw just three of the 148 sales so far this year (as of April 17, 2026) sell in under three days.  That works out to 2% of the total sales and while the sale to list price ration was 96%, with just three sales, that number isn’t reliable.  Similarly, the $27K under list price that these sellers took in order to sell so quickly seems reflective more of buyers pushing hard, rather than a hot market.

Nobody buys or sells the market as a whole.  Whether you’re looking to purchase a property or sell one – or both – you’re always dealing with a specific housing type, area and price point.  While what is happening in “the” market can be interesting, it is often not the same as what is happening in any of these sub-markets.  We hope you found this review helpful, and that seeing which parts of the GTA have been seeing some quick sales – and the impact that has had on the prices for these sales – gave you a better understanding of the differing markets we’re seeing.

If you are thinking about making a move, then you need to know what’s happening in your market, not the market.  Get in touch with us and we’ll show you exactly what is happening where you live and where you want to live.

Every couple of years we seem to see Toronto increasing their municipal land transfer tax (LTT) on luxury properties.  It happened back in 2024, when increased rates were imposed upon sales in Toronto of properties over $3M, and it’s just happened again.

As of April 1, 2026, we have new rates for the LTT on the sale of properties over $3M in Toronto.  The provincial land transfer tax has not made any similar changes at any point, but the city of Toronto is rapidly increasing the cost to buy within the Toronto boundaries.

We looked at the anticipated increased revenue the city would make when they did this back at the start of 2024, we said they’d bring in about $27M in additional revenue as a result of the increases.  That sounds like a pretty significant amount, but keep in mind that back in late 2023, the City of Toronto’s updated Long Term Financial Plan and staff report showed an estimated $1.5 billion starting pressure for the 2024 operating budget and $29.5 billion in capital needs, which both form part of a $46.5 billion shortfall over the next 10 years.  The forecasted $27M would have brought in less than 2% of the amount needed to address the operating budget shortfall.

Given the city remains in difficult financial circumstances, it is clear that the increased tax didn’t help in a material fashion.  The latest increase is actually going to be far less impactful, as it is mostly increases of around 1%  for those higher price bands.

Let’s look at the new changes and how much additional money it could bring in – plus how many deals need to be lost as buyers decide to purchase their high end homes outside of the city.

Apples to apples.

We’re primarily focused on resale properties in our team and the data we can access is largely limited to residential resale properties.  As such, all of our analyses below are based on that data.   We’re after some broad (but accurate) implications of the new LTT rates, but we aren’t considering:

• non-MLS transactions
• builder/direct new-home and new-condo closings
• commercial / industrial / multi-residential / vacant land transfers
• other taxable conveyances the City records but that do not show up in our records

While some of the specific numbers of the implications of the new LTT rates will be understated, our analysis does paint a clear picture of what it means to the resale market.  Now that we’re officially covered, let’s get into it.

First, a history lesson.

We’ve created a handy chart to show the recent history of the Toronto Land Transfer Tax.  The orange column is what it was for about six years, and the blue columns show the rate increase amount that was put into place as of January 1, 2024.  The green column is the brand new rate increase amounts that apply to properties bought in the city as of April 1, 2026.

There have been no changes made to the land transfer tax due on the purchase of any properties up to $3M, but if you’re at that level or higher, we saw it go from a flat rate of 2.5% on any amount above the $3M level, to a graduated system.  The higher the price point, the higher the rate you’re paying on that portion of your purchase.

The latest round of increases have added about 1% to most of the price bands, with a range from 0.9% to up to 1.1%.

It’s all marginal.

A reminder that the land transfer tax is a marginal tax bracket, which means that for any price above a threshold, you pay:

• The full tax from all lower brackets
• Plus the tax on the portion that falls inside the current bracket

For example, a $1.2 million purchase does not pay 2.0% on the full $1.2 million. Instead, it pays:

• 5% on the first $55,000 = $275
• 0% on the next $195,000 = $1,950
• 5% on the next $150,000 = $2,250
• 0% on the remaining $800,000 = $16,000
• Which would bring the total municipal land transfer tax to $20,475.

This is relevant as we look at what impact these higher tax brackets will have on the sales taking place moving forward.

The past ain’t the future.

A caveat we often give is that what happened in the past is not necessarily indicative of what will happen in the future.  That being said, we need to base our analysis on certain assumptions, so the big assumption in our analysis here is that we’ll see similar types of transactions and numbers of transactions in 2026 as we did in 2025.  Here’s how the 23,475 sales in the city of Toronto were spread across the various price bands.

A few things about the above data are very relevant to our review.

First, 97% of the sales that took place in Toronto in 2025 were under $3M, which means the change that just took place is utterly irrelevant to those sales.  The Toronto LTT rate for these properties has not changed since 2017 and they can go merrily about their business.

The next thing worth pointing out is that the 740 sales that were in the $3M plus price bands last year were mostly in the $3M to $5M range.  59% of the sales were in the $3M to $4M band and another 22% were in the $4M to $5M band, so over 80% of the sales were in that $3M to $5M range.

If we assume that 2026 will see a similar spread of deals as we saw in 2025, how are these higher land transfer tax rates in those price bands going to bring in to the city in increased revenue?

It’s more, but it’s not a lot more.

We pulled the average price for each of the price bands for the sales in 2025 and then calculated the Toronto LTT for each of those bands.  This is relying on averages within each price band so it will not be 100% accurate, but it is enough to give us an idea of what 2026 will look like for increased revenue with the new increased LTT rates.

The city would have brought in about $450M in municipal land transfer tax in 2025 based on these sales.  With the new higher rates for the higher end price points, that means an estimated revenue for 2026 of about $458M, which works out to about $8M more in land transfer tax revenue for the city.

As we see very few sales at the $5M or above price point, the bulk of this $8M comes from sales in the $3M to $5M range.

$8M is still better than a kick in the pants, right?

The final aspect of the new LTT tax rates worth discussing is the fact that our model makes the assumption that the same level of sales take place in Toronto despite increasing costs for those buyers.  While it may be unlikely that a lower price point buyer will choose to buy outside of the city to save on the land transfer tax, we have had clients who considered the difference in closing costs significant.

At the higher price points that this latest round of LTT rate increases impacts, the difference between what you pay in Toronto versus surrounding municipalities amounts to significant dollars.

For example, a $5 million buyer in Toronto would pay about $272K in total LTT, of which $112K is the provincial portion.  If the buyer chose to purchase instead in another city such as Oakville, they would save $160K on their closing costs.  That’s a significant amount of money and while the latest increase in Toronto’s LTT rates doesn’t materially change the amount they pay, it is reaching levels that could result in some buyers deciding they’d rather put that money into a home purchase outside of Toronto.

While it is complicated to project how many lost deals it would take for the city to not see that projected $8M increased LTT from high end sales, we know that any purchase that moves outside of the city loses the entirety of the MLTT, not just the portion at the higher end.  Our calculation is that it would take about 67 of these high end deals leaving the city for that projected $8M in extra LTT revenue to disappear completely.

We regularly work with buyers and sellers impacted by decisions like this latest Toronto LTT rate increases, and it’s important that your agent understands the factors that influence the high end and luxury market in the city.  If you’re looking to buy or sell in the $3M plus range and want agents that understand how that segment actually works, get in touch!

It’s pretty well known that real estate agents are somewhat prone to hyperbole.  We’ve written in the past about the secret codewords that agents use to try to convince buyers a home is appealing.

While people are pretty good at seeing past the flowery phrases dressing up the listing, it can be much harder to decipher the differences between two seemingly similar properties.  After all, numbers don’t lie, right?

So, numbers can lie.

Real estate is full of numbers and while the price is arguably the most important one, lots of the other numbers aren’t always what they seem.  Consider the following examples:

• Two 4-bedroom homes, where one has three good-sized bedrooms on the 2^nd floor and a spare bedroom (or den) on the ground floor. Suitable for a family with young kids, closets in all the rooms and able to fit beds, dressers and so forth.  The other property has one huge bedroom on the 2^nd floor, with massive walk in closets and a spa bathroom retreat and three smallish “bedrooms” in the basement, one of which has no windows.  Great for a couple with no kids who want hobby rooms in the basement.
• Two 785 sf condo units, each with two bedrooms and two washrooms. The first is a rectangular shaped split wing layout with two 10×12 bedrooms at either end of the condo, with ensuite washrooms off both, one of which opens to the hallway so guests can access it without going through a bedroom.  The other is a small L shape, with a full bathroom right beside the entrance door, a hallway leading down to a small bedroom with an angled wall, and a primary suite beside it with the washroom took into the other side of the angled wall.

Two properties can appear nearly identical on paper if you look at just the numbers, but there are often considerable differences between them when you look closer.

According to Webster’s Dictionary…

Numbers aren’t the only area where seemingly identical properties can differ significantly.  We have some standards that apply to how real estate agents can describe different attributes, but they aren’t always followed to the letter.  Some agents consider a kitchen “newly” renovated if it happened in the last five years, whereas others follow the more stringent approach of it literally just got renovated before we listed the home for sale.

While flat out misrepresentation is relatively rare, people can hold very different definitions of what certain descriptions mean.  Where do you fall on the below scales?

• Is a walk-in closet a large room with a dressing bench in the middle and custom shelving on all sides, or is a walk in closet any closet that has enough space for you to walk inside and cuddle your clothes?
• Is a family size kitchen a big room with tons of cabinetry, an extended island with spots for stools, as well as a separate eating area with a kitchen table? Or is it a narrow galley style that has a bistro table and two small chairs at the end beside the dishwasher?
• Are high-end appliances delivered from Europe and installed by a team of four who wear white booties when they enter your home, or are they a mismatched group of premium versions of different appliance brands that you see in most homes?
• Is the only hardwood that can be called hardwood flooring actual hardwood such as oak, hickory or maple, or is engineered hardwood with a thin layer of hardwood veneer also hardwood flooring?

We could go on and on, but when no specific details are provided on any claimed “feature” of a home, it is likely there are big differences between two listings who both claim they have it.

Where did I put my glasses?

Finally, there are homes that seem to have identical features as per the listing, but it turns out that not all things are created equal.  Which would you prefer?

• If you’re invited to enjoy your private backyard oasis with a pool and hot tub, do you envision an inground pool, with a hot tub section you can swim into from the pool? What if it is an aboveground pool with a hot tub in a different section of the backyard?
• Is it a media room if there are couches (that don’t come with the house) and a first generation low resolution digital projector (that is generously being included), or is a media room a custom built space with built-in furniture, sound baffling and a state of the art video and audio system?
• If both properties have a balcony, does it make a difference if one faces the Gardiner and is loud and dusty all year round, whereas the other faces the lake and views of the setting sun?

The above examples may seem pretty far fetched but trust us, they have all happened.  The quality, age and inclusions in a given attribute can make a huge difference in the value – or lack thereof – to potential buyers.

We’ve looked at a lot of properties for our clients and with our clients.  If we had to estimate the numbers, it would be somewhere between “too many” and a bazillion.  As a result, we’re very good at spotting differences that the numbers and images may not make clear to the general public.

This is surprisingly relevant on the sale side work we do, as a big part of setting your list price is comparing your home against other properties.  We often encounter situations where we see significant differences between our seller’s home and the recently sold and currently on the market competition.  This allows us to make sure we don’t leave money on the table, or mistakenly over price and not get the result our clients need.

If you’re looking to make a move and want to work with agents who know what to look for when comparing properties, get in touch with us!