We have few assets. Can we skip having a will? + MORE Jun 2nd

The Toronto housing market was in a precarious place in the late 1980s. Prices had doubled in a short period, households were piling on debt and the market showed no signs of slowing down. That period represented a peak for Toronto (prices crashed in 1989) but by today’s standards, it looks absolutely quaint. The average home price was a mere $469,000, amounting to 5.4 times the average income. These days, the average home price is between seven and eight times income. To return to the ratio of the 1980s, the average household income has to jump to $160,000, or home prices have to fall back to $460,000.
.cbR{box-sizing:border-box;display:block;width:100%;margin:1em 0;border:1px solid #bbb;padding:.5em}@media (min-width:480px){.cbR{width:250px;margin:0 0 1em 1em;float:right}}How Canada’s real estate market went completely insane
There is a third possibility: this time is different. Maybe prices in Toronto and the surrounding suburbs really have reached a new normal, and a wide swath of people are permanently shut out of the market…

(Chris Helgren/Reuters)
VANCOUVER – Home sales across Metro Vancouver rebounded to near record levels in May but demand is now being driven by condominiums and townhomes, a real estate expert says.
That’s a shift from booming single-family home sales last year, said Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver president Jill Oudil.
“First-time buyers and people looking to downsize from their single-family homes are both competing for these two types of housing,” she said in a news release.
Residential property sales totalled 4,364 in May, a leap of 22.8 per cent over the homes sold one month earlier, the real estate board said.
The numbers are 23.7 per cent above the 10-year sales average for the month and mark the third-highest selling May on record.
New listings for all property types also increased 23.2 per cent across the region compared with April, but available townhomes for sale climbed at the slowest pace, followed by apartments and detached homes, Oudil said.
“Homebuyers are beginning to have more selection to choose from in the detached market, but the number of condominiums for sale continues to decline,” she said…

Financial PostVancouver real estate market heating up again as sales and prices riseFinancial PostRealtors in Canada's most expensive city for housing report that market activity returned to near record levels in May, a mere nine months after the province introduced a 15 per cent tax on foreign buyers. But the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver …Condos, townhomes hottest sellers in Metro Vancouver: real estate boardToronto StarVancouver home prices rise as market recovers from buyers taxThe Globe and MailGreater Vancouver home sales return to almost record levels in MayVancouver SunBNN -Castanet.net -CKNW News Talk 980 -Better Dwellingall 10 news articles »

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Q: Ed, my husband and I do not have a will. We have no house but do have an RRSP, a little cash, and two children (ages 14 and 12). Should we have a will? If so, what type of will is acceptable/legal without seeing a lawyer, seeing that we do not have much in the way of assets.
—Pam
A: Pam, the short answer is “any will that works.” What if you make the will yourself? How do you know it will work?
Wills do not need to be prepared by lawyers. A lawyer-prepared will is your best investment to protect your family. Financial advisors cannot provide legal opinions on wills—only lawyers can.
Lawyers and their fees come in all shapes and size, as I will explain.
DIY wills are land mines
These wills are set to explode when they’re really needed. Wills prepared by lawyers can cost hundreds of dollars. Compare that with the cost of going to court to fix homemade wills. Going to court costs thousands of dollars per day for each lawyer.
Lawyer-prepared wills have different price tags…