Have you heard the latest Toronto real estate news? 

I was going through September's real estate numbers and without getting to the details, which I'm sure there's a lot of agents out there posting numbers, you know, this is up, this is down and all that stuff. I just want to give a quick shout out to Outline Financial on their analysis. 

Something interesting I found - since August 2011, September 2018 is the lowest gap between the average condo prices in the 416 and detached homes. I look at the 416 meaning in the city of Toronto. For the last seven years or so, the gap between the average condo price and detached is the lowest so far over those last seven years.

I always look for opportunities. As a home buyer or a real estate investor, where is the opportunity here? If you own a condo in the 416 you're thinking, "I'm considering moving up and becoming a home buyer" then this might be a good time because, again, that gap between the detached and the condo in the 416 has been the lowest since 2011. This is also applicable for the semi-detached properties in the city.

If you're a real estate investor and if you've owned your condo for a while or have a portfolio, the prices have gone up the last little while and you now have a couple of options to look at. One is - Do you cash out? I always sit down with my real estate investors, talk about tax implications and what that means if you sell that condo. There's also another option- Keeping the condo as an investment property, but pulling equity out and then, taking that equity and putting it back into the market. You can put into a semi-detached duplex or a triplex, depending on the type of property.

What I want to bring to your attention is the opportunity 'because numbers are numbers' and what you hear in the media, sales are up, sales are down, average down, average up.  To me, that means whatever it means and it doesn't mean that much.  I always look for where the opportunity in this market is for home buyers and investors? 

And until next time, happy home buying or investing.