With housing prices continuing to rise, new listings in Toronto surged over the opening two weeks of October, increasing 21 percent from the same period in 2010.

Greater Toronto Realtors released its mid-month statistics Tuesday, with new listings at 6,249 and transactions jumping 20 percent over the first two weeks of last October.

“The first two weeks of October seem to be pointing towards more balanced market conditions as we move toward 2012,” said Toronto Real Estate Board president Richard Silver. “Growth in new listings outstripped growth in sales, meaning more choice for buyers.

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American consumers and the federal government haven’t been able to bail out the sinking U.S. real estate market. Now wealthy Chinese, Canadians and other foreign buyers could get their chance.

Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would allow foreigners who spend at least $500,000 on residential property to obtain visas allowing them to live in the United States.

The plan could be a boon to California, which has become a popular real estate market for foreigners, particularly those from China.

Nationwide, residential sales to foreigners and recent immigrants totaled $82 billion in the 12-month period ended March 31, up from $66 billion the previous year, according to the National Assn. Read full post…

Many real estate investors overlook some of the most profitable investment properties because they don’t understand how smaller properties can equal big profits. They get caught up in the “bigger is better” mentality and miss out on some of the most profitable investments right in their own backyards. Contrary to what some real estate gurus say, you don’t have to buy multifamily properties of 150 units or more to make a big profit. Smaller multifamily properties can provide an investor some of the strongest investment opportunities if you know what you are looking for. You can

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Sales of new U.S. homes fell to a six-month low in August. The fourth straight monthly decline during the peak buying season suggests the housing market is years away from a recovery. The Commerce Department said Monday that new-home sales fell 2.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 295,000. That’s less than half the roughly 700,000 that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing market. New-homes sales are on pace for the worst year since the government began keeping records a half century ago. High unemployment, larger required down payments and tougher lending standards are preventing many people from buying homes. Plunging stocks and a growing fear that the U.S. Read full post…

According to a recent report from The Globe and Mail, Realtors in the Greater Toronto area have predicted a slower fall period for real estate sales after the market has performed well all year.

To assist with the predicted slow period, the article offered advice for buyers and sellers to use.

First, the article recommends both parties set an offer date for the time being. While this can allow sellers to accumulate bids, it may also have the opposite effect, where no bids are placed by the deadline.

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