Author: homegoal.ca

Toronto-based Primaris REIT (TSX: PMZ.UN) has officially put the Northland Village open-air shopping centre in Calgary on the market, fresh off of a years-long undertaking to reimagine the mall.Northland Village Mall is located at 5111 Northland Drive in northwest Calgary, about a five-minute drive away from the Brentwood LRT Station. Longtime anchor tenants of the mall include Walmart, Winners, and Best Buy, with other notable tenants including Dollarama, GoodLife Fitness, and Lenscrafters.The mall originally opened in 1971 as an enclosed one-level indoor shopping centre and was expanded and renovated several times in the early-aughts. In 2021, Primaris REIT unveiled a…

Selling a home always comes with tough choices about what upgrades are worth the investment. One of the biggest questions sellers ask is: should you finish your basement before selling your house? A finished basement can add usable space and potentially raise your asking price, but it also comes with a hefty price tag and some risks. Here are the pros and cons of finishing a basement before selling, and discover the alternatives that can help you impress buyers without a full renovation.  The Pros of Finishing Your Basement Before Selling  Finishing a basement before selling can be a smart…

Buyers are taking advantage of softening house prices in Vancouver, with August sales up nearly three per cent year-over-year. According to Greater Vancouver Realtors (GVR), residential sales in the region totalled 1,959 last month. While that’s 55 sales more than August 2024, sales levels were still nearly 20 per cent below the 10-year seasonal average (2,424).  “The August sales figures add further confirmation that sales activity across Metro Vancouver appears to be recovering, albeit somewhat slowly, from the challenging first half of the year,” said Andrew Lis, GVR’s director of economics and data analytics. “Sales in the detached and attached…

Less than three months after acquiring the Shangri-La Vancouver, which is set to be rebranded by Hyatt, Canadian multinational investment firm Brookfield is looking to flip the retail component they acquired alongside the hotel, STOREYS has learned.The Shangri-La Vancouver is located at 1128 W Georgia Street — between W Georgia Street and Alberni Street, along Thurlow Street — and consists of a 62-storey tower with 119 hotel suites on the first 15 floors and 307 residences above. Adjacent to the tower is a three-storey building at 1121 Alberni Street that houses retail space.The mixed-use project was developed by Vancouver-based real…

Suze Cumming, founder of The Nature of Real Estate and Canada’s Real Estate Negotiation guru, answers Realtors’ questions on the first Friday of the month about negotiation tactics and working through tricky situations. Have a question for Suze? Send her an email.   Your buyer has found the right property. It’s been on the market for several months with a couple of price drops—the most recent one 30 days ago. You estimate market value within two to three per cent of the new asking price, and your buyer is ready to make a strong opening offer: clean terms, the seller’s…

This article was written and submitted by Richard Witt, an architect and principal at BDP Quadrangle where he tries to fill every half empty glass.“Architecture is like clothing for our streets,” said Robert Wiljer, a professor I was fortunate enough to study under at the University of Waterloo. “Some people walk by and never notice what others are wearing. But for some of us, it matters deeply.” That line seems to be resonating with me more recently as I traverse the west end of Toronto, and I suspect would have the same resonance if I was able to get to…

Canada’s economy just keeps taking hits—the latest is this morning’s job report. The unemployment rate climbed sharply in August, according to Statistics Canada’s Labour Force Survey. What was once a demographic issue is now a demand problem. Real job losses are materializing, and they’re not limited to trade-exposed sectors. The data points to a deeper shift: the economy isn’t just slowing—it’s contracting under falling demand and eroding confidence.  Canada Lost 66k Jobs, Unemployment Hits Highest Rate Since 2016   Canadian employment fell by 66k jobs (-0.3%) in August, after losing 41k jobs in July. The drop pushed the unemployment rate up…

Forest Hill, Toronto, is one of the city’s most prestigious and storied neighbourhoods. Located just north of downtown, it offers a balance that appeals to families, professionals, and investors alike. For many, living in Forest Hill means enjoying the best of both worlds: luxurious privacy in a village-like setting, with the city’s cultural and business hubs only minutes away. This neighbourhood guide breaks down what it’s like to call Forest Hill home. Where Is Forest Hill, Toronto?  Listed by: SUTTON GROUP-ADMIRAL REALTY INC. Forest Hill is a neighbourhood in midtown Toronto, bounded by Eglinton Avenue to the north, Bathurst Street…

For much of this year, the Greater Toronto Area’s housing market appeared to be holding onto a fragile recovery. That narrative cracked in August. Sales clocked in at 5,211, slightly higher than last year, but on a seasonally adjusted basis, it was the first monthly decline since March. Prices remain under pressure: the benchmark fell to $978,100, continuing a nine-month streak without gains. More importantly, the mix of which products are falling hardest is surprising even to seasoned observers.     Detached homes and condos lead the decline   Conventional wisdom said 416 detached homes would prove more resilient than…

Non-bank lenders are continuing to maintain a consistent presence in Canada’s residential mortgage market. Credit unions and mortgage investment entities (MIEs) account for a substantial share of outstanding loans as of Q1 2025, within this category. Source: Statistics Canada Across all non-bank lenders, residential mortgage balances stood at $396.8 billion in Q1 2025. That compares to $330.3 billion in early 2020, reflecting steady growth over the past five years with some flattening in late 2024. Credit unions made up the majority of this lending, holding $274.4 billion at the beginning of 2025, while MIEs and other non-bank institutions accounted for…