For Sellers

Deciding to list your home for sale is a momentous time. It means you will be moving on to a new stage of life, no matter if you’re moving up or sizing down. Take a moment to look over these tips for what every seller should do before they put their home on the market…. Read More

The Toronto area market has been unusually hot during the first 2 1/2 months of this year, due to a combination of low inventory of homes for sale combined with continued very low mortgage interest rates. In February, prices were 11% higher than at the same time in 2011, and so far in March, while… Read More

Is there a bigger wealth destroyer than selling and buying houses? The transaction costs will kill you every time. “You are depleting your wealth with every move,” says Vince Gaetano, a principal at Monster Mortgage. Just to be clear, we are not talking about people who fix homes themselves, live in them and then flip… Read More

You’ve started looking for a new house, and you’ve seen a couple that you like. Your present house has served you well, but the last major renovations were done almost 20 years ago. How much work should you do to get the house ready to put on the market as soon as you buy the… Read More

Canada’s rate of homeownership is expected to increase and the future for condominiums looks bright according to an updated analysis of future Canadian housing demand. By 2036, there will be more one-person households in Canada than any other category, due to the aging of the baby boomer generation. But the country is counting on immigration… Read More

Depending on the location, whether you’re shopping for a new home or trying to sell your current residence, one of the biggest challenges is trying to reduce street noise. Tony Sola, founder of Acoustics.com cautions homeowners and buyers about too high expectations when it comes to reducing traffic noise. “Too many times I have seen… Read More

For many people, their first experience with local politics is when someone on their street wants to make a change to their house, or even knock it down and rebuild and so they need a zoning change which is called a minor variance. They may want to build two semi-detached homes or a triplex where… Read More

Toronto homes built before the 1960′s generally had their downspouts connected to the sewer system. That may have been a good idea at the time, but now it’s become a major problem. As the city has grown, the capacity of the sewer system has become seriously strained, especially since much of the city has combined… Read More

Our real estate market continues to over perform relative to the rest of the world and, over the past several months, we have been bombarded with predictions about the future of house prices for Canada in general and Toronto in particular. The range of these predictions is really quite staggering, considering that they are all… Read More

Canada’s mortgage interest rates have been near historically low levels for years, and because of current global economic conditions, rates are not expected to rise significantly until 2013. If you’re shopping for a mortgage, that’s great news. But an extended period of low interest rates is taking its toll on the economy. Bank of Canada… Read More

A Toronto man is reeling after his real estate agent sued him when he pulled his house off the market. It’s a modern day real estate cautionary tale with the usual lesson – get everything in writing. Including who pays for the staging of a house that never winds up being sold. Click here to… Read More

The same financial mistakes that are playing out on a global scale can undermine us as individuals, families, and small businesses. Would you rather make the same financial errors yourself, or simply avoid the mistakes of others? When you watch, read, or listen to news of the European financial crisis, don’t just shake your head… Read More

Don and Louise Beauchamp sold their home in November, 2007 and a week before closing in early 2008 the basement flooded. They paid $1,649 to dry out the rug and replace the underpad, but did not tell the buyers. The Beauchamps thought this was a “one off” occurrence and since they had fixed the problem… Read More

Billions spent in new construction, renovation, and infill over the past decade have contributed to a serious upswing in the calibre of Canada’s housing stock, propping up residential average price in the country’s major centres, according to a report released today by RE/MAX. Since 2000, the value of a Canadian home has doubled, rising from… Read More

Painting your home is a great way to enhance the appearance of your home, especially when it’s time to sell. But don’t just slather on a fresh coat for the sake of upgrading – choose colors that will enhance your mood. When it’s time to sell, anything that you can do to improve the mood… Read More

Looking at the largest and most wealthy segment of Canada’s population, several major banks have been researching what the baby boomers are planning to do as they head to their retirement years. Studies have looked at their mortgage situation, whether they plan to downsize or move out of the province or the country and exactly… Read More

Still crazy after all these years. The Toronto real estate market has risen steadily since the mid 1990′s - except for a brief decline   in late 2008/early 2009 that was followed by a rapid rebound – and continues to be a bright spot in the world economy. Despite all the bad news and market uncertainty through… Read More

A few years ago, the federal Privacy Commissioner ruled a home’s sale price is personal information and cannot be advertised or disclosed without the permission of the buyer and the seller. This is what privacy legislation is all about — protecting your personal information. The lesson is that if you do not want to see… Read More

The influx of Chinese buyers in Canada’s major cities has given the housing market a boost, but created a controversy over street addresses. A University of British Columbia study says that in neighbourhoods with a high percentage of Chinese residents, houses with street numbers ending in four are sold at a 2.2 per cent discount… Read More

Home buyers are ga-ga over gadgets. A survey by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) says home security systems, home theater-wired systems, home automation management systems and energy management systems are hot selling points. “There is a strong relationship between home technologies and the real estate market. While the market needs to recover before home technologies… Read More

With Toronto’s condo market among the hottest in the world right now — almost 68,000 new units are now in the planning stages or under construction across the GTA — investors are cashing in big time on what looks like a sure bet compared to battered stock markets. Some 45 to 60 per cent of… Read More

A Scotia Economics report says Canada’s housing market is cooling, but at a slower pace than most other markets in the developed world. Scotiabank’s latest real-estate outlook said Tuesday that Canada is showing a resilience that few other countries have been able to maintain. “In the majority of the major markets we track in North… Read More

From early 2009 until early this year, the real estate market in Toronto (and in Canada generally) was very strong. Interest rates were at all time record low levels and the economy was improving, albeit rather slowly. There were warnings (sometimes quite shrill) about the likelihood that real estate prices would fall, both because interest… Read More

After much soul-searching and working the numbers, you’ve decided to put your home on the market. You may be selling to change cities for a job or are needing to downsize. Regardless of the reason, this is a big and important decision! Now the time has come: you have received an offer on your home…. Read More

Termites are causing an estimated $120 million in property damage each year in the GTA by eating through wood structures and dropping neighbourhood property values by up to 25%, according to the Canadian Concrete Masonry Producers Association. Citywide, the infestation has made its way from the north Beach area to East York, along the Lakeshore… Read More

Open houses will lead to more exposure for your home and more feedback from potential buyers. On the other hand, since we have so much information available to buyers on the Internet, such as video tours of the entire home, wouldn’t it make more sense to wait for a truly interested buyer to schedule a… Read More

A condominium-building boom is lifting Canada’s largest city into the same stratosphere as London, Sydney, Vancouver and Miami, but deepening the worries about a potential tumble. Buyers snapped up 1,986 condominiums in Toronto in July, up 28% from a year earlier, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association. Average prices have surged 8% to 9%… Read More

The latest data from the Toronto Real Estate Board show that Toronto area home prices and sales are continuing to track well ahead of last year. The average GTA price was $440,150 as of mid August, as compared with $412,186 for the same two weeks last year, and the inventory of homes for sale continues to… Read More

Most sellers and buyers are at least a bit confused about this question. The standard wording of the Purchase and Sale Agreement says that the Agreement “shall be completed by no later than 6:00 p.m. on the _____ day of ____________, 2011. Upon completion, vacant possession of the property shall be given to the buyer unless… Read More

RBC’s recently released housing forecast for Canada includes a number of interesting points about the Canadian housing market, both currently and moving forward: An increase in interest rates over the next two years will cool Canada’s resale market and slow down home price growth, but won’t cause either to decrease below current levels. Essentially, while… Read More

The upside in a global stock market rout may ironically be a healthier housing market – at least in the short term, say economists. “The housing market has nine lives. Every time interest rates are supposed to go down, something happens and it helps to keep the market going,” said Benjamin Tal, senior economist at… Read More

It can be a tough market for selling a home, but those conditions can get even worse if sellers aren’t careful. While a seller doesn’t control the real estate market, their actions can significantly contribute to how long and how much their home is sold for. Underestimating Cleaning Up: It may seem obvious, but I… Read More

Most property owners intend to enjoy their real estate as long as they want to, and then sell it for the greatest possible profit — ideally tax free — with the minimum amount of hassle, in the shortest possible time. Sometimes this works out. Sometimes it doesn’t. How can owners stack the deck in their… Read More

You have probably seen recent media articles about a coming slowdown in the Toronto real estate market, most notably a front page headline story in the July 16 Toronto Star about the impending “downturn” that made it sound like it’s inevitable that prices will fall over the next year or two. The truth is, it… Read More

The adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” explains some of the power of community-based mapping, but it’s only a beginning. This crystallization of the complex into more easily-digested content takes communication a step further to provide otherwise-invisible insight into neighbourhoods and communities. Community-based mapping can be particularly useful if you are deciding which… Read More

The Competition Bureau is pressuring the Toronto Real Estate Board to break the law by releasing private data on the Internet in an effort to make the market more competitive, the board says. Releasing such information would be a “reckless” move, said the organization in a strongly worded statement Friday in response to new charges… Read More

Canada’s housing market is a bubble ready to burst as valuations have “lost touch with fundamentals” and household debt is at a record high, says a report by Capital Economics. The independent research firm’s report says it fears that house prices could fall by as much as 25% over the next three years. “House prices… Read More

We are Canada. At 144 years we are neither young nor old, as nations go. And nations do come and do go, it bears remembering. You don’t have to be very old to appreciate that the world map that occupied a corner of your childhood classroom is a relic of another age; that borders once… Read More

Are too many condominiums being built in Toronto? Analysts have been sounding warning bells for more than a year that the market is being seriously overbuilt. But so far, sales and prices have been chugging merrily upward. According to the Building, Industry and Land Development Association, last month was the best May ever for sales…. Read More

Multiple offers or bidding wars continue to happen all over the GTA. Buyers, sellers and real estate agents need to be aware of what to expect. To create the atmosphere for multiple offers, it may indicate on the MLS listing that interested offers are to be submitted in three days. The seller hopes this will… Read More

One way to look at if Canadian housing is affordable is to compare it with other similar countries or economies and see how we fare. Demographia publishes an annual comparison of housing affordability for metropolitan markets in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the UK and the US.  Demographia measures affordability through a ratio of median… Read More

Used car buyers get more consumer protection than resale home buyers. When you buy a used car you can check whether there are liens registered against the vehicle, or whether the car has required major repairs following an accident. The vehicle then has to pass a safety check before the registration can be transferred. Resale… Read More

The resale housing figures for the first two weeks of June have been released by the Toronto Real Estate Board; the charts below summarize this information. (The sales figure was derived by extrapolation.) These data show that the Toronto area market remains very strong, with prices almost 10% higher than last June, and total sales… Read More

Rising housing values are helping to create more wealthy people in Canada. A study by the Deloitte Center for Financial Services says the number of millionaire households in Canada will grow from 1.745 million to 2.413 million by 2020, an increase of 38 per cent. As Michael Nairne of the National Post pointed out, the… Read More

Softer than expected inflation and retail sales data from Statistics Canada reduced some of the imperative for the Bank of Canada to raise interest rates and also knocked the Canadian dollar lower on Friday. Markets had feared more inflationary pressure after March’s 1.1 percent month-on-month rise, which pushed the annual inflation rate to 3.3 percent,… Read More

Electrifying the city’s new airport train service in time for its 2015 opening would be the necessary first step in creating an above-ground subway connecting the downtown with the region, says the Clean Train Coalition. In a report being released Monday, the CTC recommends the province abandon its elite, business-class concept for the Pearson-to-Union Station… Read More

We are a cocky lot in Canada about our wealth with millionaires apparently abounding everywhere. Our confidence probably got another boost with a report from the Deloitte Center for Financial Services saying there were 1,745,000 households in Canada with more than $1-million in assets in 2011. Not bad, but should some of these people really… Read More

Allison Philpot sold her home using a For Sale by Owner marketing service. She listed her home for $419,000, and was able to create a bidding war after her first open house. She received a top bid of $429,000, which she accepted. Unfortunately, the Buyers later terminated the deal, relying on a condition in the offer. The… Read More

Do you assume the house or cottage you share with your life partner belongs to both of you, or are you positive you understand who holds legal ownership? Assumptions can be expensive when it comes to money and real estate. “The garden is as much mine as yours,” yelled one homeowner to his spouse when… Read More

John from Toronto wondered if he could get rid of a problem tenant by letting his son to live in the apartment and how long his son would have to live there before he could rent it to someone else. The question shows the confusion, as well as the lack of trust, on the part… Read More

Most sellers know of some repairs that need to be made to their home, and a lot of sellers have many items on that list, but not all repairs are equal or, rather, not all home improvements rank high in the buyer’s mind. Finding out which repairs will help you sell your home helps you… Read More

One way to prepare for the costs of owning a home beyond the mortgage payment, insurance and taxes, is to know the life expectancy of your home’s components. Such knowledge doesn’t supersede the use of a home inspector when buying a home, but it can help you develop a savings plan so you are prepared for the… Read More

Scott and Elizabeth McNeil plan to buy a larger home in the future as their family grows. But first, they have to sell their existing one. It’s a simple strategy used by move up buyers everywhere. Take the money you’ve invested in the first home, and then buy another one. But for some buyers, it… Read More

The higher the Canadian dollar climbs on broad-based weakness in the U.S. dollar, the less likely the Bank of Canada will be to resume interest rate hikes. This assessment from Scotia Capital economists Derek Holt and Karen Cordes Woods means there is a greater risk the central bank will remain on the sidelines throughout 2011… Read More

Canadians are feeling positive about their personal finances following the recession, but most of that optimism is based on the soaring value of their homes – a glow that could evaporate quickly if the housing market slumps. In the latest Consumerology Report, a quarterly survey conducted for Toronto advertising agency Bensimon-Byrne that tracks trends in… Read More

Since the beginning of April, the Toronto real estate market has shifted into an even higher gear. Prices for the first two weeks of April averaged $483,165, 12% higher than the same two weeks last year; up until the end of March, prices were tracking about 4-5% ahead of last year. This is perhaps not… Read More

Every homeowner eventually wants to make a change, but if you’re like many people you haven’t a clue where to begin. Just like fashion styles, interior designs change with the times as well. So, if you’ve been in your home for a long time and are ready to sell or are just ready for a… Read More

The last 10 years have seen a spectacular boost in home equity in Canada. More than half of the increase Canadians’ net worth since 2000 has been from home equity. The wealth of homeowners has been growing in recent years, while that of renter households has declined, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. (CMHC)…. Read More

Canada’s $44 billion renovation industry has been the fastest growing part of the housing sector for the last 10 years, but it is risking the health of those living in the houses under construction — particularly children — says a report by the Canadian Environmental Law Association   (CELA). Renovation activities including energy retrofits, if… Read More

Driven by the threat of higher interest rates down the road, first-time buyers are contributing to strong upward momentum in residential housing markets across the country. The RE/MAX First-Time Buyers Report, highlighting trends and developments in nineteen major Canadian centres, found that low interest rates and balanced market conditions have provided significant impetus in 2011,… Read More

Today’s market can be a difficult one for many sellers to navigate. And while your real estate agent can advise you, the ultimate decision of what offer to accept is entirely up to you. This decision can come with quite a bit of pressure. Even in the most favorable of markets this can be a… Read More

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported 9,262 transactions in March, the second best March result on record, though still 11% below the all-time record set in March 2010.  The average selling price for March 2011 was $456,147, up 5% over last March. Here’s a brief video from Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board’s Senior Manager… Read More

Today’s market presents some very unique opportunities for buyers. With affordability near record highs and interest rates near record lows, many homeowners are making the decision to move up or on. Here a few simple tips to take into consideration when listing your home for sale. 1. Curb Appeal: Buyers make snap judgments about each… Read More

Several of Canada’s big banks are raising most of their fixed-term mortgage rates ahead of the busy spring real estate market. Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD-T85.85-0.29-0.34%) said the biggest increases will be for mortgages with terms of five to 10 years, which will all go up by 0.35 of a percentage point starting Tuesday. View full article…. Read More

No longer is there an automatic last move for boomers—that is, being moved into a HOME. No longer is there a “last stage” of adult life that dictates an end to independence and to living in a home you love.  Aging in place, or staying in your own home as you age, even if you… Read More

According to the latest numbers the correction of housing prices late in 2010 seems to have been a short-lived phenomenon, as for the second consecutive month prices increased overall in four of six Canadian metropolitan markets. Canadian home prices in January were up 0.4 per cent from the previous month, according to the Teranet–National Bank… Read More

Rachel Moses is a lawyer specializing in litigation. But she found she was outgunned when asking Direct Energy to pay for damage to her basement caused by a leaking water heater. “I was told I should make a claim through my home insurance. I made it very clear that I would not do that,” she… Read More

Lest anyone still think the next year is going to be an easy one for the City of Toronto, Joseph Pennachetti can set you straight. Pennachetti is Toronto’s city manager, hand-picked by former Mayor David Miller, and now answering to a very different boss in current Mayor Rob Ford. And there will be a big… Read More

The city has reneged on a promise to provide free downspout disconnections for almost 900 homeowners in North York.In a budget-cutting move on Feb. 23, the city voted to end this free service as of March 1. Over 7,000 Toronto households on the waiting list are now to pay out of their own pocket. What’s… Read More

Just retired from the department of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Toronto, Ann Zimmerman has responded to our inquiry: how does a pond awaken in the spring? The Grenadier Pond ice is peeling back from the shoreline. A scrim of algae is painted a pretty green atop a breakaway collar of ice…. Read More

Political observers will get a perfect test case Wednesday to see how much of a shift has taken place at Toronto City Hall.York South-Weston Councillor Frances Nunziata is asking council’s public works committee to fix odd situations where residents who otherwise meet all city requirements can’t get a permit for a front yard parking pad… Read More

Many Baby Boomers have paid-for homes, while their grown children are contemplating entering the housing market. Instead of letting them rent during their first foray after leaving the nest, it’s tempting to buy a second “investment” property with Junior as the main tenant. Fully 10% of Canadian parents are considering this, according to TD Canada… Read More

Price and sales figures for the first two weeks of March were released by the Toronto Real Estate Board this week. These data show a continuation of the strong growth in prices seen in January and February. Prices are almost 5% higher than in the same period last year, and the market remains very tight,… Read More

Property prices in the U.S. may have fallen 2% in February, but many homeowners around the world are in the midst of a massive housing bubble. Prices continue to be pushed up by the traditional formula: excessive demand, inadequate supply, and easy lending.The Economist has broken down which markets are most overvalued, by comparing rental prices… Read More

Aware of all the potential changes that are coming in the next few weeks and a strong realization of the material impact that they could have on the mortgage marketplace, there is great focus on and conversation about what mortgages should look like now and what the wise choices for consumers are. Knowing that the… Read More

You may not know it yet, but your bathroom is begging to be redone. It dreams at night of the latest trends, colors, and fancy new gadgets. It talks with the tub about its most heartfelt desires. Maybe its time to make your bathroom’s dreams come true! Okay, so your bathroom doesn’t have a mind… Read More

Toronto MPP Cheri DiNovo wants to make changes to the way residential rents can be increased that will make it almost impossible for a landlord to raise the rent above the guidelines without the approval of the Landlord and Tenant Board. DiNovo, who sits for the NDP in Parkdale-High Park, has introduced a private member’s… Read More

If you have energy-saving devices such as programmable thermostats and low-flush toilets, chances are that you own your home, have a water meter and have higher levels of income and education. Even though saving energy also means saving money for anyone who owns or rents a home, a report by Statistics Canada shows that there… Read More

Canadian property owners intent on following real estate price fluctuations using mainstream media reports from centres across Canada may be searching too far afield for the information they need. Local details should be more significant than national patterns. Local real estate professionals and local news are excellent resources regarding real estate prices on specific streets,… Read More

Design is all around us. In our homes, everything from structural elements like roofs and room layout to hardware for doors and sinks is designed. Some argue that the best design is invisible. Bad design calls attention to itself and may frustrate or injure users. When you walk through your house, condominium, or cottage, can… Read More

Don’t expect light rail along Jane Street anytime soon.While the TTC, mayor’s office and the province continue to deliberate over plans for the Sheppard subway line in the east, and the Eglinton Crosstown light rail, the proposed Jane light rail line is effectively off the table, says TTC chair Karen Stintz. “There’s no funding now… Read More

The Canadian housing market is “moderately” overvalued, but a significant correction is likely not in the cards, says a report by the Bank of Montreal. The ratio of average resale prices to personal incomes is currently 14 per cent above the long-term mean, suggesting that prices have gotten ahead of incomes, says BMO economist Sal… Read More

There is still room for improvement, but the West Toronto Junction is a far cry from the crime riddled neighbourhood it once was in the mid-1990s, say Piera and Ettore Pugliese, owners of Vesuvio Pizzeria and Spaghetti House, a fixture on Dundas Street West near High Park Avenue since 1957.”I think we’re doing well, really… Read More

A recent report from Capital Economics, which has received wide coverage in the media, predicts that Canadian real estate prices need to fall by 20-25%. This conclusion is based on the assumption that real estate prices tend to be determined by affordability as measured by the ratio of house prices to income. The chart below… Read More

Prone to booms and busts throughout its tumultuous history, the Junction, whose retail strip runs parallel to a commuter rail corridor in Toronto’s west end, was an absolute ‘Boomtown’ in the 1950 and ’60s and is once again experiencing an upswing more than five decades later, according to the local Business Improvement Area (BIA). via… Read More

Existing home sales will be in the range of 398,500 to 485,500 units in 2011, with a point forecast of 441,500 units. In 2012, MLS®2 sales will move up and are expected to be in the range of 406,300 to 519,700 units, with a point forecast of 462,900 units. Mr. Dugan also noted that the existing… Read More

For the past two-and-a-half years, policy makers have sought to explain why Canada, a country with sound economic fundamentals and a rock-solid banking system, was pulled down by the global spread of the U.S. financial crisis. As a new threat bubbles up in much of the world, though, there’s no need for excuses. The latest… Read More

Late last year, the consensus view was that the Toronto real estate market would slow down in 2011 and that prices, while continuing to rise, would do so more modestly. There were even some that expected prices to fall this year. Well, there’s not much sign of a slow-down in the market so far. Average… Read More

This spacious three bedroom bungalow is situated on a quiet tree-lined street in the Rosethorn/John G Althouse school district, just a 15 minute bus ride from the Kipling subway station and with easy access to major highways, airport and downtown Toronto. This meticulously maintained family home has generous room sizes, refinished hardwood floors and updated… Read More

What have you learned so far in 2011? Yet another year stretches ahead full of clean-slate potential. What are you going to accomplish in the remaining 10 months? Are you determined to make this a pivotal or springboard year, or are you going to wait and see how things turn out? If you don’t stop to… Read More

Today’s sellers are on the hunt for creative ways to ramp up their marketing. It is a necessity in today’s tough market to have several tricks up your sleeve. The idea is nothing new, but more and more sellers are beginning to discover the power of “home staging.” In today’s article, we will focus on… Read More

Housing markets have been remarkably hearty over the past decade and the stage is set for a better than expected 2011.  Inventory has proven to be an effective form of market self-regulation, providing both an ideal climate for price escalation and a shelter in periods of softer home-buying activity.  As a number of city centres… Read More

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. That’s why getting the right photos of your home are critical. Before having your home photographed or, in some cases, videotaped, you’ll want to make sure that it’s in the best possible shape. But what exactly does that mean? Getting your home ready for a photo… Read More

It’s really no secret. We are a nation of consumers. Watch television for just one evening and you’ll know of a dozen sales and promotions happening in your local area. Whether it’s retail or sale, there are more than a handful of us that have consumed our ways to a stuffed closet. Call it early… Read More

1 Inspiration: “To renovate your home, to do landscaping and decorating, to (make it happen), you’ve really got to get inspired. And that’s what our show does,” says show manager Denise Hayward. In fact, more than half of the visitors at the 2010 show said they were attending primarily to find renovation ideas and inspiration,… Read More

This fabulous executive freehold townhome is situated in the sought-after Sunnylea neighbourhood of West Toronto, close to the Islington subway station and with easy access to major highways, Toronto airport and downtown Toronto. The well-appointed chef’s kitchen has stainless steel appliances, granite counters, tumbled marble backsplash and a cozy breakfast area next to a bay… Read More

The Canadian Real Estate Association has boosted its forecast for 2011 existing home sales after a stronger-than-expected hand-off from 2010. CREA now expects sales via its Multiple Listing Service to hit 439,900 units, representing an annual decline of 1.6%. In 2012, national sales activity should rebound by about 3% to reach 453,000 homes, it said…. Read More

You have decided to downsize.  You no longer want the responsibility, expense or maintenance of a family home; it is too big now that the kids are gone and you want to start relaxing.  You have found the perfect spot.  It is smaller, but you don’t need as much space.  You don’t need to maintain… Read More

A rise in bond yields has prompted TD Canada Trust to raise some of its fixed-term mortgage rates by as much as a quarter of a percentage point. CIBC followed late in the day with similar rate hikes. “When bond yields go up it means the cost of funding for the bank has risen for… Read More

The world of mortgages is changing. To paraphrase the old Joni Mitchell song, most consumers will not know what they’ve got until it’s gone. They won’t realize that by the time a mortgage is paid off, borrowers have paid two or three times the original amount borrowed – the mortgage principal – to buy real… Read More

During last year’s election campaign, Rob Ford promised to repeal the hated Toronto Land Transfer Tax. As reported by Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB)  president Bill Johnston in today’s Toronto Star, realtors have been fighting against this unfair tax since it was first proposed in 2007, with strong support from the public. Earlier this week, TREB… Read More

Results for the first two weeks of January show that real estate prices in Toronto are remaining strong. The average selling price for the Greater Toronto area was $413,565, approximately 5% higher than the average price of $395,307 for the first two weeks of January 2010. Sales volume remains low, with total sales of 1,563… Read More

Drive around any major Canadian city and you’re likely to see lots of new condominium buildings under construction. You may wonder who is going to buy and live in those condos – and the answer is, everyone. In 2006, when the last Census was held, the number of owner-occupied condos in Canada was more than… Read More

Some people love negotiating and others hate it. Regardless of which side of the sold sign you fall on, the best possible deal is what both buyer and seller want. Arriving at that price can be a lesson in frustration or even cause a complete shut-out. So what’s the X factor? In real estate, many… Read More

For many people this can be very stressful, but it doesn’t have to be. And that’s a good thing because a lot of people find themselves in the position of needing to sell and buy all at once. If you’re in this situation then you know that timing and money are two critical issues. What… Read More

There are some people who will drive around to three or four different gas stations, looking for the cheapest price. Others will spend forever trying to pick out a new pair of shoes. But when it comes time to get a new mortgage, Canadians are pretty complacent, and it’s costing them a lot of money…. Read More

The Roncesvalles Village neighbourhood, originally known as ‘Howard Park’, was annexed into Toronto in the 1880s. While the neighbourhood is very diverse, attracting people from all backgrounds, it is well known as the centre of the Polish community in Toronto, with prominent Polish institutions, businesses, shops, restaurants and St Casimir’s Catholic Church located on Roncesvalles… Read More

The High Park neighbourhood is home to a wide range of people. Its highly regarded schools including Humberside Collegiate attract many families with school age children to this neighbourhood. High Park contains numerous rental opportunities that are popular with singles and couples. There are also a handful of senior’s accommodations within this neighbourhood, including the… Read More

Most top Realtors agree that taking your home off the market during the Christmas season is a mistake. There may be fewer buyers, but they are more serious, and because there is less competition, you may have a better chance of getting a good offer than during a busier season.

Toronto area selling prices for the first half of December are higher than in November, which is unusual for this time of year. This suggests that the spring market in 2011 will once again be strong, supported by continued low interest rates and a paucity of homes for sale.

Swansea Village is the only Toronto neighbourhood that has its own community run Town Hall. Swansea is also the only Toronto neighbourhood to have a lake, a river, and a pond as it’s natural boundaries. Swansea’s hilly terrain, winding roads and many mature trees accentuate the storybook houses that line the residential streets of this neighbourhood. 

On Friday, November 19, we attended the opening night of Laura at the Village Playhouse theatre in Bloor West Village just east of Runnymede. Laura is a classic whodunit based on Vera Caspary’s novel of the same name.

Evidence is accumulating that the Toronto area real estate market is returning to normal after a wild roller coaster ride that began in late 2008 when the financial crisis hit the world economy like a tsunami. Prices and sales volumes fell from late 2008 until early 2009; rebounded sharply upward from early 2009 until mid 2010; fell again during this past summer; and have rebounded again since September.

Toronto area real estate prices rebounded sharply in September, and the trend has continued through the first half of October. The latest data from the Toronto Real Estate Board show an average selling price for the Greater Toronto area of $444,644, very close to the all-time high average price of $446,593 reached in May of this year.

A broad  consensus seems to be emerging about the present & forecast state of the world economy: no double dip, but very slow and uneven growth for  at least the next couple of years. This, combined with low interest rates for the foreseeable future, means that the real estate market is “just right”.

The fall market in the Greater Toronto area kicked off with a flurry of new listings, and prices are slightly higher than they were at this time last year. Considering that the market was extremely hot in the fall of 2009, this is a very positive sign, indicating that the market continues to be quite healthy.