TORONTO – Bethany King isn’t just a successful real estate broker, she also shares tips and tricks on mortgages, buying and selling your home, and so much more on her popular TikTok account. She joined us on The Brandon Gonez Show to spill the tea on everything you’ve ever wanted to know about real estate.
“We did see a slight decrease in pricing, but keep in mind we went from an average home price of 1.34 (million dollars) to 1.29 (million dollars),” King explained, adding that you will still need over a million dollars to purchase a detached home in Toronto.
But King says that even though homes are going for over a million dollars in our city, it doesn’t mean that homeownership is completely out of reach. She explained that co-ownership, where multiple parties like friends or family members purchase a home together, is a great way to get your foot in the door of the real estate market (pun intended)!
“Banks and lenders have their own calculations as to how much they’re going to lend you, and it’s usually based on how much money you make,” King explained.
“Twenty years ago, thirty years ago, our parents could go to university, get a job, and buy their forever home,” King says, adding that now we have lived through two recent economic crises, and although new generations are highly educated, they are struggling to find jobs with salaries that would qualify them for a $1+ million mortgage. This has led to what she calls an “affordability crisis”.
King also explained a common misconception that leads people to believe they cannot afford real estate. The concept of needing a 20% down payment to purchase a home is no longer true, unless your home is over one million dollars.
“But you do need good credit,” King explains, adding that a 680-690+ credit score is crucial..
While house prices are seemingly out of control in Toronto, King is calling 2022 “the year of the condo”, saying that looking into condos is a good way to make a home purchase while staying in the city, as there are condos in the $400,000-$600,000 price range.
“Your first home is not your forever home, it’s not going to be your dream home, and it’s probably not going to be the penthouse on the Shangri La,” King explains.
“Our first home is going to be a starter home,” King says, explaining that Millennials and Gen Z will probably have to buy and sell a few times before they are able to purchase the home of their dreams.
But despite the cost, King recommends that everyone consider purchasing real estate.
“Owning real estate in the GTA will give you better returns than any other investment on the market,” King added, saying that every home buyer she helped last year has already made $100,000 on their purchase.
You can learn even more about real estate on the latest episode of The Brandon Gonez Show!
