I try to restrict my comments to real estate, the area that I know a little something about. But I have been interested in cities around the world that have implemented a lockdown, and I did a little reading this week on London, England. As you may know, they are a few weeks ahead of us in terms of their own lockdown. The results are significant. Total cases have gone down 30%, and are now decreasing by roughly 2% per day. It’s nice to see this progress, and it’s important to be mindful of this as we go through our own lockdown.

It also looks like Great Britain will be the first country to administer the Pfizer vaccine, starting December 7^th. These are not easy times, but it’s remarkable to see how much has been achieved since March, when some experts believed that it might take over four years to develop a Covid-19 vaccine.

The implications are far reaching and extend beyond just the health and well-being of the community. As reported in our newsletter, November was the fifth straight record month for GTA real estate sales, but November 2020 will also be remembered as the single greatest month in stock market history…a remarkable achievement considering where it was earlier in the year.

Finally, there will be implications for the local condo sector. At 3.3 months of inventory, the condo sector is clearly more balanced than low-rise housing options. People are talking of the demise of the condo, when it’s simply not the case. Over 2,000 condo units were sold on the MLS in November…which is a 7% increase from a year ago. Imagine how that will look in a post-Covid environment, when we see a resumption of population growth, from both immigration and non-permanent residents.