Well, America actually did it. They did it. My beloved America went and left the biggest turd in the toilet bowl you could ever imagine. Or in the words of Michael Moore “the biggest f%&k you in the history of America”. Probably the history of mankind. And now I have to stare at that god awful hairdo for another 4 years.

I will not wade into the politics at all in this little entry, but suffice to say as the father of a daughter (and as somebody who believes in equality in general) you can gather what side I am on. I can find Trump moderately amusing as a buffoon in a boardroom firing people, but this is next level.

No, the matter at hand is the Trump effect and real estate. The question I have been asked again and again over the past couple of days is “how will this affect our real estate market?” Some people are genuinely concerned (frightened even) on a macro level about the effect he will have on the world as a whole, and on a micro level about the effect he will have on our real estate market. One past client called me and is convinced Trump is going to drag the entire world into the shitter, and that the ripple effect is that the Toronto real estate market will flush right down with him.

So could this possibly happen?? I really don’t believe it could, and I think we all just need to take a deep breath and relax a bit. Brew up a nice mug of hot cocoa and listen to some Anne Murray. Happier times.

Some industry people actually think Trump’s election will have a positive effect on our market, for 2 main reasons. The first is that there will be an influx of our desolate neighbours to the South looking to buy in Toronto, and the second is that interest rates will stay low as a hedge to offset the chaos a Trump presidency is expected to create. I am skeptical that either of those things will help. First off I don’t believe there will be a mass exodus out of America (again, relax people). And secondly low interest rates are one of the main culprits that keep pushing prices up an unattainable rate.

So what do I believe will happen? Honestly I don’t know, and that’s what is kind of scary about this whole thing. Trump has been so unpredictable up until now, crazy even, to the point that nobody can really say they have a firm grip on what he will (or won’t do). Even his closest advisors don’t know what he is going to do. He probably doesn’t even know what he will do.

So while I don’t think the real estate market will crash, as I stated above, I do think there is the chance it could behave erratically in the coming year. It could very well soften if buyers become reluctant to increase their financial exposure in the context of a muddled America and world economy. Buyers may decide they no longer have the stomach to pay $900k for a smallish 3 bed semi with a crappy basement and a narrow mutual drive on Milverton. Or things could remain unchanged, and prices keep shooting up as bullishly as ever. The point is that nobody truly knows as I write this just a couple of months before Trump is elected. Call it the Trump Effect, and Wednesdays are now officially Trump day (sorry hump day). Thanks again America.