Author: Leor Margulies
NIMBYISM and Politics – A Bad Combination
August 7, 2018
Author:
Leor Margulies
Last month we saw most flagrant examples of NIMBYISM combined with political interference for vote-getting purposes occur, which destroyed 3 years of in-depth work on the Mid-town in Focus Study of the Yonge-Eglinton area. 3 years after the City Council directed planning to review the Yonge-Eglinton Secondary Plan, and after tremendous consultation with ratepayers, industry[…]
Tarion’s Adventure into Residential Condominium Conversion
April 25, 2018
Author:
Leor Margulies
Effective January 1, 2018, builders backed by Tarion will be providing new home warranties for residential condominium conversions as a result of amendments to the Condominium Act. As a result, any project whose first agreement of purchase and sale was sold to an arm’s length purchaser after January 1, 2018, will be required to[…]
All Buyers To Be Impacted by New OSFI Mortgage Rules
November 27, 2017
Author:
Leor Margulies
In an attempt to cool the Toronto and Vancouver housing markets, the provincial and federal governments are pulling no punches in throwing big pots of water on what they believe to be raging fires in both communities. Unfortunately, the impact of these rules is not restricted to these 2 very strong real estate markets and[…]
Land & Development Conference 2017 – May 3, 2017
May 8, 2017
Author:
Leor Margulies
When I started attending the Land Conference about 7 or 8 years ago, there were 350-400 attendees. Last year there were 600 attendees. This year there were over 750 attendees. Clearly, the real estate market in the GTA is a hot item. There were a number of great speakers and panels throughout the day. Some[…]
Tory Firing at the Wrong Targets – Condo Projects Causing Traffic Mayhem
November 7, 2016
Author:
Leor Margulies
When John Tory was elected Mayor 2 years ago, there was joy among all rational individuals and businesses in the City of Toronto. It was a breath of fresh air to have a moderate, well-spoken and intelligent individual like John Tory take the helm of this great metropolis. As a professional who earns his[…]
So You Think the Market is Hot in Toronto? Try London, England. (PART 2)
June 23, 2016
Author:
Leor Margulies
Back on this side of the Atlantic, Vancouver and Toronto continue to be exceptionally hot with reports of 30-40 price increases on an annual basis in the New Westminster, B.C. area, a suburb of Vancouver being reported, including a 9.7% increase in May 2016 alone. The government and even our bankers are reviewing these markets[…]
So You Think the Market is Hot in Toronto? Try London, England. (PART 1)
June 21, 2016
Author:
Leor Margulies
I have just returned from London, England with a group of Toronto builders and other members of the GTA real estate industry, on a housing tour of London. All of the talk of an overheated market and unaffordable housing prices for locals is magnified tenfold in London. Headlines constantly appear in the newspapers in London[…]
OECD, CMHC and Ben Myers Prognosticate on GTA Real Estate
November 10, 2015
Author:
Leor Margulies
On November 3, 2015, the ULI held its emerging trends conference. With all the hype about Vancouver house prices soaring because of foreign purchasers, and CMHC worrying that certain real estate markets face a high risk of correction, the presentation and opening remarks of Blake Hutcheson from Oxford Properties, Lori-Ann Beausoleil from PwC and Ben[…]
Land and Development Conference 2015. What Toronto Can Learn from International Developments.
June 26, 2015
Author:
Leor Margulies
I had the pleasure of moderating a panel at the recent Land and Development Conference with 4 distinguished industry executives – Dustin Jones, a municipal and planning lawyer in New York City and also the Director of graduate studies at Cornell University for real estate, Peter Halsall, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Institute[…]
Parkland Dedication Fees Capped by OMB
February 13, 2015
Author:
Leor Margulies
The development industry scored a huge victory a few weeks ago when the OMB rendered its decision capping parkland dedication fees in Richmond Hill’s Official Plan to 25% of the maximum amount otherwise allowed under the Planning Act. Under the Planning Act, a municipality may charge up to either 5% of the land value of[…]
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