“I think it’s going to go even more sky-high”: Wealth Expo attendees talk about Toronto’s housing market

On Saturday, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre was packed with people who had heeded the call of all the subway ads: they had each paid between $50 and $2,500 to bask in optimism at the Real Estate Wealth Expo, where the headline speakers included motivational guru Tony Robbins and, oddly, the party rapper Pitbull.

How was this self-selecting group of real estate bulls feeling about their chances in the market, now that even the big banks are signalling nervousness about the possibility of a housing crash? We asked a few of them:

Melanie Balanan

33, children’s entertainer from Richmond Hill

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “Don’t take advice from non-doers and keep only positive people around you. I’m going to look into getting a spiritual mediator.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I think it’s going to go even more sky-high.”

David Abreu

37, entrepreneur and consultant from Oakville

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “This is actually my second expo. I was at an expo two years ago when Tony Robbins hosted. What I learned is to believe in yourself. It’s difficult because—and I think Pitbull was saying it best—99 per cent of people don’t understand what’s going on when someone else is doing something right. They want to criticize it and bash it.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “It’s non-stop. The real estate market is insane here.”

Daud Shaikh

18, investor from Burlington

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “I learned that every opportunity that you don’t take is an opportunity missed. It’s all about turning opportunities into possibilities.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I think it’s positive that there are many foreign investors with a lot of capital, so I think the market will continue to exponentially increase.”

Adam Amer

25, retail salesperson from North York

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “That personal success is mostly about the mindset that you put yourself into.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “To be honest, I think it’s going to pop sometime in the next year or so. I’m not 100 per cent sure where it’s going to go in the long term.”

Jeremy Porter

44, Shopping Channel employee from Mississauga

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “Keep at it. I invested about a year and a half ago in my first property, and it works—so, just keep doing it.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I personally don’t think there’s going to be any kind of crash. It’ll just level out. I don’t know what the magic number is, but at some point people will just say, ‘Alright, that’s it, that’s all we’re paying.’ Whether it’s $2 million for a house in Toronto, or $2.5 million, it’ll level off and maybe correct a little bit, but I don’t think we’re going to see this big burst. Governments can’t let it happen.”

Lucky Trieu

27, medical equipment distribution specialist from Mississauga

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “That investing in real estate and starting your own ventures is really crucial.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “Just from the way it’s going, I think it’s going to rise. I think a lot of people are interested in coming here, especially people from outside Canada, and the market will continue to boom.”

Ryan Gaucher

38, realtor from Whitby

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “That I need to take all the experience, tools, and knowledge that I have and actually put it into play, rather than just thinking and contemplating.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I think over the next little while it’ll still be a hot market, but it’s only a matter of time until things take a turn. Will it be for the worst? I don’t think so. But we are in a bubble, and whatever goes up must come down.”

Stephen Tedford

44, realtor from Whitby

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “That you can’t have an ego in this business. You have to just be honest and truthful with your clients.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I really think a lot of Torontonians will be moving outside of the Toronto area, and I think anyone buying into the Toronto market is going to be more adventurous and be more involved with family. Toronto housing is a big-ticket item now, and people can’t do it alone. They’re going to have to get family and friends to be involved in it.”

Femi Okuribido

33, self-employed, from Bowmanville

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “E-commerce, believe it or not. They taught us how Alibaba’s connected to Shopify, and how to do online marketing.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “Seems like it’s going to be doubling, or tripling, hopefully. I don’t think it’s going to be as accessible to people as it was, but there are different avenues you can take to get the funding you need.”

Rania Pilquil

36, foster mom from Hamilton

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “That I need to invest.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “It’s growing, and it will continue to grow for a while.”

Michele Macdonald

48, semi-retired, from Hamilton

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “How to invest, and why mentorship is so important.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I still think there’s still potential. You might have to look a little harder, but I think it’s still there.”

Donna Johnston

57, semi-retired, from Binbrook, Ontario

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “How to invest wisely, and the value of mentorship.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “I don’t really know much about Toronto’s real estate, but I think it’s growing.”

Sarah Larbi

32, sales professional from Oakville

What’s the most useful thing you learned at the expo? “There was a session on podcasting. I think it’s going to make me want to get one started.”

What’s the future of Toronto’s real estate? “In my opinion, it is going to keep going up, but possibly not as quickly as we’ve seen.”