The new year always gives us an opportunity to evaluate the previous 12 months but also to look at what lies ahead. This is my real estate forecast for the year 2014 in Toronto. You can find the full article on my blog: http://torontoism.com/toronto-news/2014/01/2014-real-estate-forecast

1. Richard Silver’s Crystal Ball
Toronto Real Estate 2014 Forecast

2. I've looked into my own proverbial crystal ball to
tell you what I expect (or wish) to happen in
Toronto real estate in 2014. I've always felt that the
strength of the real estate market revolves around
issues that few of us are in control of.

3. INTEREST RATES
Interest rates being low or stable: Interest rates
creeping up will only serve to move the market faster
as people lock in to low rates as they rise…
Canadians must remember that mortgage rates and
percentages for down payments are more important
to buyers who use banks to finance, and there are a
number of buyers who are buying with more and
more cash — and larger down payments.

4. NEW CANADIANS
A continuous influx of new Canadians and foreign
buyers and sellers into the Toronto market: There
are such high numbers of market participants now
that as families immigrate to be nearer to one
another, the stream will remain strong and steady.

5. TORONTONIANS, VANCOUVERITES,
NEW YORKERS
As Torontonians, we also need to look at our
Vancouver cousins, or for that matter, New Yorkers.
With prices 30 per cent to 40 per cent higher than
Toronto, Vancouverites still buy property and live and
work in their city.

6. Yes, Toronto prices have increased over the years,
but they're still more affordable than Vancouver
prices in terms of residents' incomes. Of course,
Toronto will always sell at lower prices than New York
or Vancouver due to land issues. Less available land
always equals higher prices.

7. WHAT DOES FUTURE TORONTO
NEED?
We'll need more high-rises and subways. We must
move up, we must have great subways and transit,
and we must think more in terms of regional planning
and less in terms of only our streets, wards, and
neighbourhoods.

8. TORONTO REAL ESTATE MARKET
Nothing will aid the real estate market in Toronto
more than making the GTA more liveable by
spending wisely on great infrastructure and transit.
It's time to start thinking 20 to 30 years from now and
not just tomorrow and 2014.