Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

Media Roundup - August 31st, 2007

In the News

Toronto is the 5th most livable city in the world according to the Economist magazine.  The magazine considered factors such as stability, health care, culture, environment and infrastructure when comparing the 132 cities featured in the survey.  Vancouver took the top spot for the fifth year in a row.

Things could be better for Harry Stinson.  The Toronto developer has lost control of the luxury hotel and condominium One King West as well as his property at 66 Temperance where he planned to build the Sapphire Tower.  Who ever said being an ultra-über real estate developer was easy?

The Bank of Canada has indicated that it may not be raising interest rates at its next policy meeting on September 5th.  This is good news for HomeBuyers because analysts were expecting an increase in interest rates in September.  Deputy governor Pierre Duguay noted that "given recent events in global credit markets, we need to assess the extent to which the risks around our July projections have shifted."

Ryerson M.A. student Sean Nix is studying land-use patterns in the hopes of discouraging our reliance on cars:

 An example of a smart growth neighbourhood is Cornell in Markham, which has diversified the area to include stores and other commercial development within walking distance. Because of this, 45 per cent of residents in Cornell reported they walked or biked to local services several times a week... In comparison, only one in five residents of traditional suburbs walks or bikes to local services.

Avoiding Sticker Shock – The Statement of Adjustments and Your Condo Closing

Rachel in Condos, HomeBuying, Legal, Money

Nothing sends clients reeling like the statement of adjustments on a new condominium closing, except, perhaps the statement of adjustments on a new house closing.  The Homebuyer that decides to buy resale has fewer surprises to concern themselves with then the HomeBuyer who buys from a builder.  This is the case because where a transaction involves a home that is built from scratch, there are many costs to the builder that are passed on to the purchaser that are not present when the transaction involves a resale home.  Uncapped, these costs can soar above and beyond what many purchasers anticipate.  No one wants their dream condo at $350,000 turning into a nightmare at $400,000.

Is Toronto the Most Successful Multicultural City in the World?

Urmi in In the News, Neighbourhoods, Lifestyle

Humans, it seems, can never get enough of parlour games—Monopoly, Scrabble, Name the Most Successful Multicultural City in the World.  My sister recently sent me a message about the latter in the form of a BBC simulcast debate between radio stations in Toronto, New York, London and Sydney.  “I know it’s silly, but I can’t help it,” she wrote from New York, and I knew what she meant—we had once watched a whole episode of Judge Judy together, cackling at the rhetorical train wreck.

Before one even gets to the ‘most successful’ part, how do we measure the magnitude of the challenge?  Is diversity a culture, language, religion, race, sex or class thing?  If referring to immigration, does one mean the city with the largest foreign-born population, or one with a population from the greatest number of other places?  Many stats, PhDs and call-ins peppered the BBC debate.  But how exactly does one measure an individual’s experience with diversity?  Does one have to encounter diversity in every New York neighbourhood, not just Queens, and if one sits next to diversity on the subway in Toronto, does one have to interact with it for it to count?  Do we take off points for race riots, anti-diversity radio rants, the quiet trashing of a plate of exotic treats one just cannot stomach at the latest food festival?  Given the lack of data (or too much of it saying nothing), we substitute in our own anecdotes: “My own Aunt Jemima came here from the South and met Uncle Ben in a lonely rice shop.” And so on.

Why Every Real Estate Investor Needs a Good Lawyer

John in Toronto Real Estate News, Legal

An article in the Globe and Mail this weekend tells the story of a handful of investors who pre-purchased condominium suites at the now defunct Sapphire Tower condo from Toronto developer Harry Stinson.

Twenty investors pre-purchased these condos through Mr. Stinson but instead of putting down a deposit, which is typical in pre-construction condo purchases, the investors paid for the suites in full. They did this because Mr. Stinson made them what appeared to be an irresistible offer.

Corktown District Phase 2

John in Condos

We recently heard that Streetcar Developments has started marketing Phase 2 of the Corktown District  development. Phase 2 will be located at 510 King Street East which is the site of the current sales centre. We don't have too many details about the project at this time, but we'll stay tuned. 

From the Corktown District website:

"The architectural expression of the building combines two striking modern towers designed with sheets of tempered glass and warm gray cladding with the base composed of charcoal gray brick that grounds the warehouse inspired building further accented with punched out balconies and a green hedge planting."

John is a sales associate at Prudential Properties Plus in Toronto and a founder of Realosophy. Email John

US Subprime Mortgage Crisis: Here's to Being Boring, Canadian-Style

John in Toronto Real Estate News

I came across a New York Times article this weekend that outlines the lending practices of one of the US's largest mortgage lenders, Countrywide Financial Corporation. Here are some of the 'lowlights':

On its way to becoming the nation's largest mortgage lender, the Countrywide Financial Corporation encouraged its sales force to court customers over the telephone with a seductive pitch that seldom varied.  "€œI want to be sure you are getting the best loan possible,"€ the sales representatives would say.

But providing "the best loan possible" to customers wasn't always the bank's main goal, say some former employees. Instead, potential borrowers were often led to high-cost and sometimes unfavorable loans that resulted in richer commissions for Countrywide's smooth-talking sales force, outsize fees to company affiliates providing services on the loans, and a roaring stock price that made Countrywide executives among the highest paid in America.

The Nuts and Bolts of the US Subprime Mortgage Market

John in Toronto Real Estate News

In a previous post, I discussed the subprime meltdown that is impacting the US real estate market.  The following CNBC video (via CondoDomain) shows us how Wall Street bundles all of these individual subprime mortgages together to create something called a "mortgage derivative" which is then sold on the open market to investors.

John is a sales associate at Prudential Properties Plus in Toronto and a founder of Realosophy. Email John

Media Roundup - August 25th, 2007

In the News

The Star reports that store owners near The Other Danforth - the strip around Greenwood Avenue - are hoping that Tim Hortons can breath some life into their neighbourhood.  At least one Move Smartly writer understands why this may be seen as a move up, having spent her youth perched on the edge of a Coffee Time waiting for Mom to get off work at a nearby Coxwell medical centre.  But the jury is out on whether this Timmy-Esso fuel-up fits in with Toronto's particular vision of high-density living.

The Toronto real estate market sets another record for the first half of August. 

The National Post weighs in on why the Toronto condo market just won't quit.  The Globe and Mail wonders if the next condo boom will be in Oakville or Burlington.  But be forewarned: the Globe does recognize that units priced at approx. $950,000 to $2,600,000 in rather well-heeled Oakville are "out of reach for most first-time buyers."  More reasonably-priced units ($250,000 to $400,000) are on offer in nearby Burlington.

Credit Score 101 for Adventurers and Other Miscreants

Urmi in HomeBuying, Money

For the longest time, I put off one of the first steps any potential HomeBuyer is advised to take: get one with your credit score or rating.  For most of my adult life, I’ve worried about the right shots to get when one is to live in a tropical urban jungle and what to read once one gets there.  I didn’t know much about Beacon or FICO scores, and what I dimly knew conjured up nightmares about being publicly inducted into some Credit Card Hall of Shame. Who hasn’t raided the sunscreen aisle of Shoppers Drug Mart at 3am, plastic money gripped firmly in hand, en route to yet another misguided “field research” trip?

Rezen Condo

John in Condos

Rezen is a new condominium project currently under construction at the corner of Frederick and Adelaide, just west of Sherbourne. This condo is a short walk from the St. Lawrence Market and a few blocks away from Yonge.

Rezen is 13-storeys of glass, steel and brick with clean, uncluttered lines. This building features 144 suites with live-work and retail units on the ground floor. The condo is being developed by Times Group Corporation and is scheduled for occupancy in May 2008.