October 18 2017
Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate News Update
October 18 2017. In today’s news: first time home buyers, the slowing Ontario real estate market, KW’s fastest growing companies, Shanghai’s last nail house, cancelling your listing, Conestoga Meat Packers
First time home buyers need homes not more rules
The head of Ontario’s real estate association says governments across Canada have unintentionally launched a “war on first-time homebuyers,” and is calling on policymakers to “hit the brakes” on another round of proposed tightening of mortgage lending rules.
Slowing Ontario real estate market creating hangover for economy
The real estate market in Southern Ontario has enjoyed a decade of growth, taking only a short breather in 2008. But the provincial government changed all that in April when it introduced a 16-point plan to slow down the market. Since then, sales and prices have dropped.
Complete list of Kitchener-Waterloo’s fastest-growing companies for 2017
A new economic wave is washing through the Tri-Cities area, with the local universities giving rise to a healthy startup ecosystem. But tech isn’t the only booming industry in and around Kitchener-Waterloo, as evidenced by the region’s representatives on the 2017 PROFIT 500 ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies. The 17 firms from Kitchener-Waterloo on this year’s ranking grew their revenues an average of 876% between 2011 and 2016. Collectively they employed 1,251 full time-equivalent employees in 2016.
Shanghai’s ‘most awesome nail house’ is finally torn down after 14 years of blocking traffic
For 14 years, the three-story home has forced a major four-lane road in Shanghai’s Songjiang District to awkwardly squeeze into two lanes, causing traffic jams and accidents. While the home may have been annoying for drivers, it’s hard to argue that it didn’t bring some character to the street.
Taking your house off the market
Sometimes home sellers change their minds and they want their home taken off the market before the contract with their real estate agent ends. In that case both parties, the real estate agent and the seller have to agree to cancel the contract.
Waterloo EDC
Province partnering with Conestoga Meat Packers to create 170 new jobs at Breslau facility
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4 ways to know you are looking at the wrong comparables
Real estate comparables (comparable sales or comps) are a collection of three to five homes that have similar characteristics to the target home – the one you are thinking of buying or selling. Comparables are a good starting point to determining value, so long as you start with good comparables.
Average Canadian house price up 3% in past 12 months, CREA says
The average price of a Canadian home rose by three per cent in the year up to September, even as sales came in 11 per cent lower than they were a year ago.
Kitchener council OKs extension of Strasburg Road
$19M project includes measures to protect habitat for endangered species
KW Central Art Walk in the Neighbourhood
Catch 30 artists in 10 locations across our midtown neighbourhood.
Canada’s banking watchdog sets tougher rules for mortgage lending
Starting in January, new regulations will make it tougher for Canadians to qualify for uninsured loans, affecting consumers with down payments of 20% or more. A new stress test for all uninsured mortgages is unnecessary and could increase costs for homebuyers, according to a recent report from the Fraser Institute.
