Putting on the Tin Foil Hat - Issue 385

Here’s an interesting tidbit of information: there are officially 10 weeks left until 2023 is over (!).

For many, it’s probably a sigh of relief that another strange year has just about run its course and it can’t be soon enough that we see the backend of 2023. For others, it's a wakeup call that the clock is running down on accomplishing the 2023 achievement list.

For me, I generally fall squarely in the “I can’t believe the year is almost done” camp. At the start of each month, I review the past month and year-to-date looking at the list of things I needed to get done.

So far, I’ve made really good progress on that list, and yet it’s looking like I’m going to have to get really focused on the last few priorities and already start building out next year’s plan.

I actually enjoy the goal setting and business planning process and like how it keeps me focused on the priorities I’ve set for the business. The challenge is to keep those goals and the list to a reasonable and achievable number. It’s been a constant learning process over the years.

Which brings me to another interesting bit of information.

You may recall that last week our post was a bit of a rant about the Underused Housing tax. It’s a tax aimed primarily at foreign owners of Canadian real estate and focused on vacant properties in particular. If the property is vacant, expect to pay a tax of 1% of the value of the property to the Feds for the privilege of owning vacant homes in Canada. On a million dollar home, that’s a cool $10K annual tax paid to the CRA. In the eyes of the government, it’s a sweet tax because it doesn’t involve voters and citizens - until it does.

Keep reading for A Sneak Peak & a quick hit of numbers as we start digging into the October results - more on that next week!

110 Homes sold in October. An anemic performance down 27.6% compared to the previous year. The 5 year average number of homes selling in Guelph is currently 185 units.

The number of homes available for sale has jumped 39.3% to 344 units. The 5 year average is 219 units, which tells us the supply crunch is well on it’s way to being addressed.

Even the number of new listings registered in October has been increasing. New listings in October were 268 up 37.4% from 2022, and just above the 5 year average of 258.

Our analysis: Market conditions are returning to the long term norm, with the exception of sales prices which still remain well above the average. There are opportunities in this market if you’re prepared to step back into the market.

Next week, we’ll cover a full breakdown of the October market and what we are expecting in the next 6 months.