r/OntarioRealEstate

​

We have used our friend who is part of the Toronto board to buy and sell our last 2 properties in Kitchener.

With the slow market, is there an advantage to selling with a local agent? Do agents promote within their networks?

We have been listed for a month and half and viewings are very limited. I recognize the market is slow, so just trying to think if it would make sense to move to a local agent?

(If this is an advisable option, we will ensure our friend is compensated for all the work they have already put in).

We’re currently in Manitoba and considering moving to Ontario in the next year or so. I am a first time home-buyer (with FHSA) but husband has a property. We were looking around the GTA/outskirts rather than Toronto itself.

Originally we were questioning whether it even made sense financially because we can obviously get a lot more house in Manitoba for the same money. But with the HST rebate/waiver for first time buyers on new builds, I’m wondering if that changes things at all.

We’d probably be looking in the $750-900k range, ideally detached. We have a 150k down-payment saved.

For anyone currently looking at new builds in Ontario, how much does the HST change actually save you in real life? Is it enough to make new construction significantly better value or are builders just pricing it in?

Also curious about all the other costs that might not be obvious coming from Manitoba e.g. development charges, land transfer tax, closing adjustments etc.

And if you moved from Manitoba/another prairie province to Ontario, do you feel the higher housing cost was worth it overall?

Not looking at this purely as an investment - maybe renting for a while till we figure out jobs in ON. And then hopefully be living there and raising our family there. Just trying to figure out whether buying a new build in Ontario right now is a genuinely good opportunity or whether the HST thing sounds much better than it actually is.