Parking

Like every wall and fence around it, the building is pocked with graffiti. There is no electricity running to it. No water. No gas line.

The garage fronts onto a back alley, not a street. Metres away is a little ‘park’ which is ideal for those who collect used needles and colourful condoms. The total plot it sits on is barely a thousand square feet, in the bowels of Toronto’s Little Portugal hood.

Here it is:

So there were 16 offers to buy it. Century 21 agent Stphen Geoff said he was floored. “My inbox is exploding,” he told a local site when the listing hit. Some people thought it could be a laneway house location, even though city rules disallow development on a site without direct street access. (Good luck in a fire.)

It sold for far over-ask, at $260,000. Geoff says the buyer, well, just wanted a garage to store stuff. Maybe his needle collection.

This is far from the only story piercing the heart of those praying for a real estate collapse. That new housing renaissance we told you about a month ago has continued apace. It’s breathtaking what a little tax break will do to stir the loins of buyers who were sitting on the sidelines, wishing and wanting.

Last month in the GTA (God’s Treasured Area) people snapped up 907 new-build homes, about 700 of them single-family houses. That surged past the 10-year average and was triple the same month last year. No typo. Three times the sales.

This was the fifth month of increases. For the year to date: 7,505 sales, of which 5,550 were singles and the rest condos. This is double the activity in the same period during 2025.

“GTA new home sales in August continued to be buoyed by single-family sales that are benefitting from the HST rebate program,” says the report tis week. “Builders have been replenishing the supply pipeline with product that is appealing to the more cost-conscious buyer.”

Now, all is not ponies and puppies. There is a ton of unsold units still sitting there – more than 19,000 (12,700 of them unloved, unwanted condos). This constitutes a whopping 38.5 months of inventory. In other words, even at this elevated sales level it would take until the end of 2029 – when Donald Trump is but a bitter memory – for all that stuff to be sold, without any new building taking place.

And that’s a problem. New housing starts in this major populated region have essentially collapsed. Projects cancelled. And since it takes years to throw up a new building or plan, approve and execute a housing development, the experts say when this existing inventory is used up there will be a momma of a shortage. And higher prices.

Speaking of price, last month’s buyers were taking advantage of a fed-prov sales tax rebate which lowered the cost of a typical single by about $140,000. After a drop of almost 15% over the past twelve, tortuous months, that house is selling for $1,248,866 (minus the tax refund). The average new condo remains in the seven-figure range, at $$1,041,918. That’s actually a tad higher than in the late summer of ’25.

For its part, the industry is so thankful it sounds like grovelling. ““The program is not just making homeownership more attainable for thousands of new home buyers and young families; it is also making a profound impact in helping to protect the economy. It is supporting domestic employment, suppliers and economic activity at a very difficult time in Canadian trade. The residential home building industry is 100 per cent domestic from a labour perspective, and the vast majority of resources and inputs used come from Canadian suppliers.”

Which is true, of course. At a time when Canadian exports are being hammered and tariffs slapped on US imports, when job loss and recession are on the minds of many and the American president grows darker and scarier daily, this is a made-in-maple good news item. Drywallers and plumbing apprentices rejoice.

Meanwhile in the resale market, not so sunny. August sucked in most big urban places, from Ottawa to Calgary, while smaller centres saw an improvement. Month/month selling prices have largely stabilized, despite the trade war getting weirder. At the same time, some people see a K-shaped housing market, with higher-end properties holding their value, reflecting the growing wealth inequality in society. Another factor is the foreign buyer ban, now set to expire in a few months, and possibly terminated at that time. After all, it’s done nothing to help Canadians, experts say, while keeping useful US dollars out of the country.

What do we make of all this?

The usual. Most people are cowards. Some are not. Only in the rearview mirror will be know the fools from the wise.

About the picture: “This is my Nephew’s dog,” writes Cid, “Mr. Marley. He doesn’t stress about AI or Trump. He just focuses on being a good boy.”

To be in touch or send a picture of your beast, email to ‘[email protected]’.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/09/23/parking/