Inder Chawla's blog

Bill 60 Becomes Law

On November 27, 2025, the latest changes to Ontario's development regime as proposed by Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 received Royal Assent ("Bill 60"). Bill 60 amends a number of key land use planning and development related pieces of legislation, including the Planning Act, the Development Charges Act, 1997, the Transit Oriented Communities Act, 2020, and the Construction Act, to achieve the goal of streamlining and standardizing the planning approval process and infrastructure delivery by lessening regulatory barriers.

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As of December 2025, the Bank of Canada interest rate remains 2.25%.

With just three weeks before year-end, the Bank of Canada did not offer additional relief to borrowers aftter two consecutive rate drops that ended in October 2025. This pause in the BoC's rate drops was not unexpected with many experts predicting the Bank would hold rates steady after robust economic data. The Bank's target rate impacts bank lending rates, which are used to determine interest rates on mortgages, personal and auto loans as well as student loans and other debt products.

The December rate announcement...

National home sales fell 10.7 per cent in November compared with the same month last year as the Canadian Real Estate Association says activity has veered into a holding pattern heading into 2026.

The association said 33,895 properties changed hands across the country last month, as home sales also ticked 0.6 per cent lower from October on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The actual national average sale price of a home sold in November was $682,219, down two per cent from a year earlier.

CREA senior economist Shaun Cathcart said some sellers are making price concessions in order to get deals...

Stability in interest rates reduces uncertainty when Canada and the United States are locked in a trade war, real estate professionals say.

The Bank of Canada decided to hold its latest interest rate decision Wednesday at 2.25 per cent, which mortgage specialists say benefits home buyers and sellers in several ways.

“The economy is not booming, but it’s not in crisis mode,” Shawn Zigelstein, broker for Royal LePage told BNN Bloomberg in an interview. “Prices have come down in the major centres, but by the Bank of Canada holding this rate, what they’re trying to do is create economic...

TORONTO, ONTARIO, December 3, 2025 -Greater Toronto Area (GTA) home sales, new listings, and average selling price were down compared to a year earlier in November 2024. Intending homebuyers remained on the sidelines awaiting more positive economic news.

“There are many GTA households who want to take advantage of lower borrowing costs and more favourable selling prices. What they need most is confidence in their long-term employment outlook. Fortunately, we saw encouraging news on jobs and the broader economy in November. If this positive momentum continues, consumer confidence will...

A new poll says concerns about job stability and the economy are weighing on first-time homebuyers looking to enter the market.

The Harris Poll Canada study commissioned by Scotiabank says more than half of Canadians planning to buy their first home in the next five years feel that doing so is currently out of reach.

Around 62 per cent of potential first-time buyers cite the current economic environment as a factor negatively impacting their finances and delaying buying plans.

Other top concerns include affordability at 56 per cent, followed by uncertainty about the future at 47 per cent...

The Residential Construction Council of Ontario says housing starts in the Greater Toronto Area and broader Greater Golden Horseshoe region declined significantly in the first nine months of 2025 relative to recent years.

A report by the University of Ottawa’s Missing Middle Initiative, which was commissioned by the council, says housing starts were down by more than one-third in the 34 municipalities of the region over the first three quarters, compared with the same January-to-September periods of 2021 to 2024.

The study said there were 51 per cent fewer condo apartment starts in the...

Stop Guessing, Start Profiting

You’re thinking of selling your home. You know you need to update a few things, but you’re worried about spending $10,000 on the wrong project and seeing zero return.

As agents who also manage renovations, we don't guess—we follow the data. In the competitive Greater Toronto Area (GTA) market, buyers are seeking turnkey value and future potential. Our unique perspective allows us to pinpoint the few renovations that reliably pull in higher offers and drastically reduce your time on the market.

Here are the top three, money-smart renovations you should...

Bill 60, the Fighting Delays, Building Faster Act, 2025 ("Bill 60") underwent its first reading by the Ontario Government on October 23, 2025 (the "Province"). Under it, the Province is proposing amendments to a number of key pieces of legislation, including the Planning Act, the Development Charges Act, 1997, the Transit Oriented Communities Act, 2020, the Construction Act and several other pieces of legislation to achieve the Province's goal of streamlining and standardizing the planning approval process and infrastructure delivery by lessening regulatory barriers. The Province's...

The Ontario government is considering taking control of the province's real estate regulator after an audit into its handling of what it describes as iPro Realty's "misappropriation" of funds.

The minister of public and business service delivery says in a statement that the review of the Real Estate Council of Ontario identifies significant issues with the regulator's practices, processes and procedures.

"These factors contributed to deficiencies in RECO's response to the iPro matter and created an environment in which the real estate sector has lost confidence in its regulator," Stephen...