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The new Sheppard subway has spurred a condominium boom.
Here we go again: Line-up begins for new College St. condo.
With fashion leaving, a fire destroying historic buildings and developers launching a questionable marketing campaign, change is coming to Queen St.
It's that time of the year: The Fraser Institute releases its provincial school rankings.
Taxes are lowered on Toronto's office towers.
Rachel in Home Buying, Money, Legal
Home buyers, especially first time home buyers, are often surprised by their closing costs. Although the standard legal fees and land transfer taxes have typically been accounted for, there are the additional ‘little’ expenses that very often throw people, even people who have bought and sold multiple properties, off course.
In the Realosophy HomeBuyers Guide, we recommend budgeting 2% to 3% of the purchase price for your closing costs. At the time of writing, the Realosophy HomeBuyers Guide did not have to take into account the new Toronto Land Transfer Tax, so if you are purchasing in the Toronto area, you will need to account for this additional amount.
Continue reading "Don't Let Closing Costs Catch You Off Guard" »
Jesse in Toronto Neighbourhoods
Somewhere in between snow storms, I ventured out of my house-turned-hibernation-cave with a plan to seek out all that Oakwood-Vaughan had to offer (check out Realosophy’s Oakwood-Vaughan Neighbourhood Profile for local school and housing stats). A recurring winter theme of Toronto neighbourhoods is that the road less travelled is also the one less ploughed, a logical approach but vexing nonetheless. This occurred to me as I attempted to head home from Oakwood-Vaughan and found my car had become stuck in a wicked combination of ice and street piled snow; road salt was severely lacking in the equation. After borrowing a shovel from a neighbouring Montessori school and attempting, in vain, to dig myself out, it was the kind act of a passer-by that coaxed my car free and enabled me to continue on my way.
John in Toronto Real Estate News
Urbancorp, the developer behind West Side Lofts and Bridge Condos, is Toronto’s first condo developer to leverage Facebook’s new advertising platform. This is just part of the developers “viral sales & communications strategy” according to a recent press release.
Unfortunately for Urbancorp, their marketing team came up with a campaign doesn't speak to Facebook users, appears to be disingenuous about its goals and has a Facebook application that will certainly go down as one of the most ridiculous applications ever developed.
Continue reading "Toronto Condo Developer Misses the Mark with Facebook Advertising Campaign" »
John in Toronto Real Estate News
Lorne Gutner from the National Post reports that the record snow fall we've been experiencing has had an impact on Toronto's real estate market:
There have been so many snow and ice storms in Ontario and Quebec in the past two months that the real estate market has felt the pinch as home buyers have stayed home rather than venturing out looking for new houses.
This rings true. I know many buyers who decided not to see houses even on mild days because there was nowhere to park their cars on our snow-jammed streets.
John Pasalis is a sales associate at Prudential Properties Plus in Toronto and a founder of Realosophy. Email John
Heather in HomeBuying, Money
RRSP season is here and at this time of year, Canadians grapple with issues about finding money to contribute, deciding what to invest in, and determining whether to forfeit the RRSP contribution in lieu of the ‘saving for a house fund’. I am offering the following suggestions:
1. Short on money? Consider your home equity to maximize your RRSP contribution.
Higher real estate values may offer a chance for many to maximize their RRSP contributions by tapping into existing home equity. Of the almost $526 billion in RRSP room available to Canadians in 2006, only $74 billion was actually used, according to Statistics Canada. With a home equity line of credit, a homeowner can withdraw funds at relatively low interest rates on an as needed basis for the purpose of increasing RRSP contributions, including unused contributions from previous years.
Continue reading "Key RRSP Strategies and Mortgage Financing" »
John in Toronto Real Estate News
The Toronto Real Estate Board recorded 14% fewer sales in the first half of February compared to the same period last year. Anytime we see statistics like this it's important to ask what caused the decrease. Was the drop caused by a decrease in demand, a decrease in supply or a bit of both. I suspect this slow down has more to do with a decrease in supply (fewer homes for sale) than a decrease in demand. A decrease in supply would also explain why houses are selling faster than they were last year.
Here is the full press release from the Toronto Real Estate Board:
Resale home transactions in the Greater Toronto Area declined in the first two weeks of February, Toronto Real Estate Board President Maureen O’Neill announced today.
The first half of the month yielded 2,775 transactions, down 14 per cent from the 3,240 sales recorded in the same timeframe last year. The moderation in sales was more pronounced within the City of Toronto--down 18 per cent to 1,066 from last February’s 1,308—than in the 905 suburbs, which saw transactions off 11 per cent.
“It’s important to recognize that the mid-month report provides an indication of market conditions based on a very brief period,” said Ms. O’Neill.
“However, we believe the harsh winter weather we’ve experienced in the early part of the month has had a negative impact on both sales and inventory levels. If you can’t get buyers out to your open house, then you are less inclined to list. And fewer listings means less appealing product for the potential home-buyer. It’s a compound effect.”
Although sales eased, several positive factors were also noted. At $385,735, the average price in the GTA rose seven per cent compared to $358,533 recorded in mid-February 2007. Within the City of Toronto, the average rose 11 per cent to $434,657, although pockets within the East end (Agincourt, for example) rose at the more affordable pace of around five per cent. As well, properties are remaining on the market fewer days.
The average number of days on market is currently 31 versus 35 days at the same time last year.
Furthermore, a few neighborhoods both within and outside of the 416 area code saw increased sales over the first half of February, 2007.
In Ajax (E14) sales were up 11 per cent compared to mid-February 2007, based mainly on an increase in detached home sales.
In the West region, the W3 (York South) district saw a 41 per cent increase in transactions, driven by strong sales of semi-detached homes.
Central Richmond Hill (N04) also experienced a notable increase in sales compared to the same timeframe last year. Transactions were up 21 per cent, primarily due to an increase in attached row sales.
“We are optimistic that we will see a strong spring market because the economic fundamentals remain in place,” said Ms. O’Neill. “Prices are still particularly affordable in Toronto’s East end.”
John Pasalis is a sales associate at Prudential Properties Plus in Toronto and a founder of Realosophy. Email John
John in Toronto Real Estate News
Any time a realtor represents a family member in a real estate transaction, this relationship must be disclosed to all parties involved. Being transparent about who each agent is working for, any relationship they have to their clients as well as any personal interest they may have in the property helps prevent a conflict of interest situation - or the appearance of - from arising.
A recent Toronto Star article covers a court case that deals with the issue of disclosure in real estate.
An Ottawa couple, Karen Temple and Dan Donovan, had their house for sale with Mary and David Lindsay of Royal LePage Team Realty Inc. Buyer Paul Williams represented by his wife Kelly Williams, also a Team Realty sales representative, prepared an offer for the house. Mary Lindsay disclosed this relationship by adding the following words into the offer:
“The buyer, Paul Williams, is the spouse of Kelly Williams – the Royal Lepage Team Realty sales representative.”
But Ontario Superior Court of Justice Judge Colin McKinnon felt that this disclosure wasn’t clear enough.
It does not reveal that Kelly Williams was in fact the agent making the offer that was presented to Karen Temple and Dan Donovan. It should have stated: “The buyer Paul Williams is the spouse of Kelly Williams – the Royal Lepage Team Realty representative submitting the attached offer”.
Under most circumstances, the disclosure Ms. Lindsay added to the contract would have been fine so long as all parties were aware of the relationship between the buyer and his agent. This case is interesting because the sellers claim they had no idea that Kelly Williams was representing her husband. The sellers did hear their agent refer to the buyer’s agent as 'Kelly' while on the phone, but they claim they didn’t know that the Kelly she was talking to was the buyer's wife, Kelly Williams.
Continue reading "Monitoring Agents: Is a Mistake Always Unethical?" »
Urmi in Urban Issues
Last month, Michael Fenn, CEO of the Metrolinx - the agency charged with overhauling the patchwork of GTA transit systems - had some interesting things to report following a trip to Europe. Of particular interest was a comparison of Toronto's Sheppard extension with Madrid's recently completed subway extension (see map above). I've pulled together some of the Star's reported highlights along with a few general facts:
| Subway/Metro System Facts | Toronto | Madrid |
| City Area in km2 (Greater Metro Area) | 630 (6,200) | 607 (8,000) |
| Population in millions (Greater Metro Area) | 2.5 (5.1) | 3.2 (6.1) |
| First subway line opened | 1954 | 1919 |
| Total subway km | 68 | 282 |
| Annual subway passengers in billions (year) | 445 (2006) | 647 (2005) |
| Recent subway line extension | Sheppard | Various |
| New subway km | 5.5 | 150 |
| Cost per new km in millions | 200 | 90 |
| New line started-completed | 1994-2002 | 1995-2007 |
Most notable is the cost per km difference: it took approximately $200 million per km to build a new line in Toronto vs. $90 million per km in Madrid.
Fenn and Metrolinx were quick to point out that this comparison is a necessarily compromised one, having taken place in the real world and not a lab. Geographical differences, such as the relative pliability of Madrid's soil, have an impact on construction costs and should be taken into consideration. Other differences cited are less compelling.
Continue reading "TTC - the Costlier Way? Opening Up Toronto's Transit Debate" »
In a previous post, I had written about Toronto’s roll-out and implementation of its new waste reduction initiative. Various sized blue bins and new solid waste grey bins join the organic waste green bin in what is proposed to be Toronto’s colour coordinated, organized attack on garbage. The beginning of February brought the delivery of new blue bins to Toronto residents. It also brought frustration to home owners and renters as the city’s ideological vision towards waste reduction hit a few roadblocks.
The problem? As reported by the Globe and Mail, residents of Ward 28, specifically Cabbagetown, have found the new recycling bins, implemented by the city earlier this year, difficult to maneuver to the curb for pick-up and a hassel to store.
