These are stories Report on Business is following Friday, May 1, 2015.

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Hot, hot, hot

Christie's International Real Estate has dubbed Toronto the world's "hottest" market for luxury real estate.

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(Which has led some to comment on our weather and our hosers.)

The "Luxury Defined" report released yesterday by the real estate arm of the renowned auction house found that high-end home sales jumped by 37 per cent last year in Toronto, the only city in the world to register a year-over-year faster pace.

It's well known that Toronto is a real estate hot spot, so much so that there's angst among some observers over whether there's a bubble to pop.

Let's look at why Christie's found this.

"Extremely low supply of homes in Toronto has pushed prices to $1-million to $2-million for relatively average homes in the city and up to $2-million for larger homes or those in the most desirable neighbourhoods," the report said.

"The shortage of homes pushed luxury condo prices above $1-million as well in 2014."

And here's a notable finding: It took an average of just 31 days on the market for a home in the $1-million-plus range to sell.

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That's up from 50 days in 2011, and far less time than the 71 days in San Francisco, 81 days in Los Angeles, 87 days in New York, 93 days in Sydney and 142 days in Miami.

London, Paris and Hong Kong followed at 165 days, 170 days and 225 days, respectively.

The starting price for an average luxury home in Toronto, by the way, is above $3-million (U.S.), according to Christie's.

That equals San Francisco, and tops the $2-million of Miami, Dubai and Rio, though it lags the $8-million of Los Angeles, the $5-million of New York, the $6-million of London and the $4-million of Sydney.

(The release of the report brought some of the familiar comments about Canada. Here's the headline on the website of The Telegraph: "Snow storms and ice hockey: Billionaires flock to the world's new luxury homes hotspot.")

LinkedIn slumps

Investors are becoming downright antisocial.

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First, Twitter. And now, LinkedIn.

Shares of LinkedIn Corp. slumped yesterday after its first-quarter earnings report late yesterday shocked investors.

(Maybe I should be embarrassed that I have a profile there?)

In its report after markets closed, LinkedIn missed the expectations of analysts with a forecast that second-quarter revenue will come in at between $670-million (U.S.) and $675-million.

This came just days after Twitter Inc. also disappointed shareholders, leading a meltdown in its stock.

"LinkedIn beat street estimates on the top and bottom line but issued weaker-than-expected guidance for the second quarter," said analyst Jasper Lawler of CMC Markets in London.

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"With a forward P/E of 80, LinkedIn is priced for excellence so any weaker guidance can expect to be severely punished."

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