Author: homegoal.ca
In real estate, every home tells a story. Some are filled with laughter and light. Others are weighed down by silence, sorrow or sheer overwhelm. Few are more complex than the homes of hoarders. As Realtors, we’re not just selling square footage and finishes; we’re navigating the emotional terrain of lives in transition. Working with hoarders, or the families of hoarders, demands more than market knowledge. It requires deep empathy, patience, and a structured, non-judgmental approach. Step 1: Recognizing the reality Often, hoarding isn’t just clutter—it’s a manifestation of trauma, loss, anxiety or mental illness. Many hoarders don’t…
There continues to be a steady stream of rezoning applications for new high-rise towers in the Broadway Plan area in Vancouver, but a recent one stands out a bit from the crowd due to its height, which is above the commonly-seen 18 to 22-storey range. The subject site of the proposal is 2245, 2255, and 2283 W Broadway, between Vine Street and Yew Street. All three parcels are currently occupied by old low-rise commercial buildings, the most notable of which is occupied by The Regal Beagle Bar and Grill that has been in the Kitsilano neighbourhood since 1997.The rezoning application…
Canada has never embraced economic inequality to the extent it has over the past few years. Statistics Canada (Stat Can) data shows the household income gap continued to widen in 2024. A result of policies that favor one group at the expense of another, the income gap indicates rising household inequality. Rising income inequality has significant social liabilities, eroding quality of life and leading to increased political polarization. Canada’s income gap is now at the widest level in modern history, indicating that households face unprecedented economic inequality. That’s a big liability for the whole country. The Income Gap & Its…
If Ontario residents could hop in a DeLorean and travel back to 2018, it’s safe to say many people would likely head straight to an open house. That year, the average home price in Canada was $491,000, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). According to the latest 2025 data from CREA, the national average home price has risen to $668,097, a 36% increase over the past seven years. In the Toronto CMA, rapid population growth has pushed the region’s population beyond 7M people, which accounts for over 18% of Canada’s total. Within the past seven years, this surge in…
In another push toward data transparency, sold prices for listings from Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR) are now live on Realtor.ca. The update was announced Friday in a LinkedIn post by Realtor.ca Interim CEO Patrick Pichette, who emphasized the platform’s evolving role in meeting the information demands of today’s buyers and sellers. “Consumers are actively looking for this kind of information, and they expect to find it on Canada’s leading real estate platform,” Pichette writes. “Our research has consistently shown that the more context we provide (photos, virtual tours, property data, sold prices, etc.) the more trust we build with Canadians,…
A recently released RE/MAX Canada report confirms that renting is on the rise. While some people rent because it offers greater flexibility or suits their lifestyle, the report discusses the economic and regulatory barriers that are making it harder for would-be buyers to enter the housing market. These factors are pushing more Canadians toward long-term renting instead of homeownership.Source: Stats CanadaAccording to the report, affordability remains the primary hurdle. Escalating home prices, which are more than doubling in many markets from 2006 to 2021, have made it increasingly difficult for aspiring homeowners to accumulate the necessary downpayment. Even with a…
A 49- and 53-storey mixed-use condo development and public park could be replacing a to-be-demolished 10-storey office building in the Avondale neighbourhood of North York. The plans were filed by Steamliner Properties in late-March with Official Plan and Zoning Bylaw Amendment applications that are currently under review. If approved, the development would be located at 110 Sheppard Avenue East on the northeast corner of Sheppard and Kenneth Avenue. The site is also located within the Sheppard-Yonge Protected Major Transit Station Area due to its close proximity to the Sheppard-Yonge Station on Line 1, five surface transit routes, including Route 85,…
Time for your cheat sheet on this week’s top stories. Canadian Real Estate Canada Is Saving Its Real Estate Bubble By Creating A Rental Bubble Canadian rental prices are again resuming their climb, but not in the expected segments. More affordable purpose-built rentals have seen price growth surge, almost closing the gap between condo apartment rentals. Rents in small cities have more than doubled the growth rate of large ones, narrowing the gap. In other words, the cost of renting almost anything across the country is getting closer regardless of the input costs. Experts call it a bubble contagion, and…
National parks attract hundreds of millions of visitors each year, many of whom seek lodging close to the park. While there are 63 national parks across the U.S., only seven are on the East Coast—making the areas around them both unique and in high demand. These parks are often in remote regions with more affordable real estate, creating a compelling opportunity for investors. With steady tourism and limited nearby accommodations, real estate near East Coast national parks offers strong potential for growth and returns. Buying Property by East Coast National Parks Shenandoah National Park – Virginia Visitors in 2024: 1.7…
This article was written and submitted by Jonathan Diamond, Principal at Well Grounded Real Estate. We are in a housing crisis that results in too few homes relative to demand, at too high a price. This situation presents as a financial problem — the cost of housing is too high — though I argue the solution lies in engineering and not finance. In other words, to address the cost issue and bring prices down, we must first overcome the engineering limitations of our existing development model.While many of the issues that plague our housing industry are governmental in nature —…