Toronto Real Estate and Neighbourhoods Blog | Move Smartly

Media Roundup - September 28th, 2007

In the News

While Bank of Canada Governor David Dodge weighs in with his views on how the world's central bankers may have contributed to the current global credit crunch, he's keeping mum on where rates might go in Canada.

In the meantime, the U.S. National Realtors Association reports that sales of previously owned homes in the U.S. fell to a five-year low in August and major American builder Lennar posted a record drop in profits.

Given the shaky housing market in the U.S., the New York Times chimes in with a timely piece on why we mere mortals defy economic theory (and economists) by hanging on to properties that are fast losing value. 

And in a tale of two countries, a strong housing market means that urban home prices are on the rise across Canada.  Home prices increased roughly 14 percent from a year earlier.

Now it's time to push aside the numbers and remember why you wanted to live in the city in the first place.  Don't forget to take in Toronto's free all night contemporary art thing, Nuit Blanche 2007 tomorrow night.  Check out blogTO for a full guide to the night's events.

Guildwood: Toronto Neighbourhood Explorer

Jesse in Neighbourhoods, Neighbourhood Explorer

Few neighbourhoods hold my fascination as Guildwood does (see Realosophy's Guildwood neighbourhood profile for local school and housing stats).  I have always made time to stroll through Guildwood Park, especially in the spring and fall months.  Losing myself somewhere between the shores of Lake Ontario and Kingston Road has always been a favourite pastime of mine.  Guildwood (or The Guild) has a century-old history which is ever present in Guildwood Park and endlessly satiates my need to read every historical plaque I see.  It is easy to forget that you are in the heart of Scarborough while navigating the streets during an evening stroll or searching amongst Guildwood’s seven parks for your favourite spot.

New York Times Abandons Online Subscription Model - Is the Real Estate Industry Paying Attention?

Rachel in In the News

A small headline on the bottom of the first page of the Globe and Mail's Report on Business section grabbed my attention. Amidst all of the excitement about the value of the dollar and proposed Sharia-style banks, a little headline stuck out, and seemed oddly placed on the front page, A Pay Wall Falls and the Web is Watching. A further scan reveals just how wrong I was - the New York Times abandons the subscription model. This is significant.

A Room of One’s Own: Moving Private Pursuits into Shared Spaces

Urmi in HomeBuying, Lifestyle

In order to write great fiction, Virginia Woolf opined back in 1928, a woman must have “money and a room of her own.”  In observing the limited personal space afforded to women moving from the family home to the married home, Woolf sparked a thought revolution which illuminated the connection between having access to a private space (both physical and mental) and having access to the public spheres of work, creativity and community.  A Room of One’s Own, the title of Woolf’s important treatise, is a catchphrase that pops into my mind whenever I think about why I have such strong—not so easy to dismiss—reservations about HomeBuying as a couple after years of enjoying my own space.

Census 2006 results released by Stats Can earlier this month revealed that unmarried persons out-numbered married persons for the first time in Canada.  As we delay, forgo or choose alternatives to marriage, we face the newer challenge of merging two fully-grown single lives into the shared space of a relationship.

Real Life: Is it the Right Time to Upgrade Your Home?

John in HomeBuying, Money, Lifestyle, Real Life

Ed note.  Real Life is a periodic feature detailing stories about the situations HomeBuyers encounter in the real world.

A reader sent me an excellent question in response to a previous post about 40-year amortization mortgages.  I believe that Nick's concern is something that many of us can identify with, so I am featuring both his question and my answer in today's post:

My wife and I purchased our home a couple of years ago. Since then, increases in mortgage amortization limits and our salaries mean that we can afford our dream home today. The home we really want is close to our existing neighbourhood but significantly more spacious. Our current home is a good size and is comfortable, but we are worried that if we don’t buy the more expensive home today, it will be out of reach in the future. My question is, should we stay in our current home, try to pay off our mortgage faster and hope that the home we really want stays within our reach or should we just make the plunge and buy our dream home today?

Condo Update - Corktown District - Final Phase Release Date

John in Condos

Last month we let our readers know that Streetcar Developments released photos of the final phase of their Corktown District condo project on their website.  Now they've offered up the release date for this phase.

The developer will be holding a preview for real estate agents on Thursday September 27th. If you are currently working with an agent, your best bet is to try and get on the list for the preview event. The developer will be selling condos that evening. Following that, the sales office will be open by registration only on September 29th and 30th; it will open to the public the following weekend.

One of the best things this condo has going for it is the West Donlands.  The West Donlands is an 80-acre area just south of Corktown currently undergoing significant redevelopment. 

The West Donlands redevelopment project includes:

• 18-acre Don River park
• Public transit within a five-minute walk of all residences
• 5,800 residential units, including 1,200 units of affordable rental housing
• One-million square feet of employment space
• Pedestrian & cycling connections within the neighbourhood and to the city
• Elementary school
• Recreation centre
• Two childcare centres

Anyone contemplating buying at Corktown District should consider the impact this neighbouring project is going to have on their quality of life, and of course, their housing investment.

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

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Autumn Market Going Strong in Toronto

John in Toronto Real Estate News

Here are the latest housing stats, in the words of the Toronto Real Estate Board:

September 20, 2007 -- With 3,236 sales so far this month, re-sale housing activity has increased 11 per cent as compared to the first half of September 2006, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.

The past five consecutive months have been record-breakers and September is on track to follow suit. It is four per cent ahead of the 3,112 recorded during the first half of September 2005, which became the best September ever.

“Some economists who predicted a soft landing may have to revise their forecasts, said O’Neill. The real estate market continues to prove its strength month after month. There simply is no better investment.”

128 Day Avenue - Toronto's Smallest House is For Sale

John in Toronto Real Estate News

The Little House at 128 Day Avenue in the Dufferin and Rogers area recently went on the market (check out the listing on mls.ca).  The house is located in Toronto's Fairbank neighbourhood (see Realosophy's Fairbank neighbourhood profile for local school and housing stats).

This 300 square foot home was purchased in April by David Blois who renovated and recently listed it for sale with the 'Real Estate Divas' at Sutton Group Security Real Estate for $189,800.

Toronto contractor Aurthur Weeden built the home in 1912 on a narrow strip of land that the city forgot to turn into a proper driveway. The lot is just 7.5 feet wide and 113 feet deep.

"Although it is small, it has everything that you need," Sutton Group realtor Louise Ruggiero said. "If you wanted a place to live in mid-town Toronto for that kind of price, it would be very difficult to find, except in a condo-loft situation. This can give you that feeling, but it also gives you a front garden, a beautiful rear patio and parking right behind it."

The seller is holding back on offers until Friday September 28th.

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

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Why Toronto Needs a Consumer-Focused Real Estate Website

John in Realosophy News, HomeBuying

The absence of consumer protection in the real estate industry was one of the main reasons our team started Realosophy.  HomeBuyers are the most vulnerable party in the real estate transaction and yet they lacked their own space, a place to come and get educated about issues that matter.

Traditional real estate websites are more focused on getting your e-mail address than they are on educating you about things like fake multiple offers. The websites of provincial real estate authorities such as the Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) can be confusing at times, since they are geared to serve realtors rather than consumers. 

To illustrate, let's examine how a visit to RECO’s website may leave a buyer feeling a tad alienated.

As you know, we at Realosophy are big advocates of Buyer Representation agreements (also called Buyer Agency agreements). We encourage HomeBuyers to sign a Representation agreement with their agent because if they don’t sign one, their agent is legally obligated to represent the best interests of the seller, not them.

RECO also talks about Representation agreements on their website, raising the following question: what if I don’t sign one?  Interestingly, RECO doesn’t tell consumers that the HomeBuyer’s agent would be legally obligated to represent the best interests of the seller. Instead, they offer this:

The Code of Ethics clearly states that loyalty ultimately rests with the client and that a broker or salesperson must protect and promote the clients best interests.

Most buyers reading this would probably conclude at this point that even without a Representation agreement, the salesperson (a.k.a the agent) I'm working with is ultimately loyal to me, the client, and must protect and promote my best interests.  So why sign on a dotted line?

It appears that a little information service start-up called Realosophy is diverging from the expert advice set-out by our provincial regulator RECO by insisting that buyers adhere to a stronger standard - so who's right?

Is the Real Estate Industry Coming to Terms? The Fake or Phantom Multiple Offer in Toronto

Urmi in HomeBuying, Money, Toronto Real Estate News, In the News

No wonder consumers are confused when it comes to HomeBuying – apparently, they are not the only ones.  Departing notably from the campaign platform she pitched to agents several months back, Maureen O’Neill, president-elect of the Toronto Real Estate Board (TREB) now agrees that fake or phantom offers are the scourge of the industry.  Realosophy welcomes this turnaround.

When multiple buyers bid for the same home, a “multiple offer” situation is in play.  Presently, this process is conducted ‘blind’ in Ontario.  This means that an individual buyer and his or her agent do not know anything about the other offers being made – including whether or not they truly exist.  As we outline in our HomeBuyers Guide, every HomeBuyer needs to be aware of dangers associated with participating in a multiple offer situation (which are increasingly unavoidable in a hot Toronto real estate market):   

Very rarely, you may come up against a fake multiple offer situation. This happens when an unethical agent informs you that you will be competing with non-existent buyers for a particular home, thereby driving up prices (and commissions).