Tuesday June 9, 2009

The sales statistics for Toronto showed there were more housing resales in May 2009 than in May 2008.

In the City of Toronto ("416") there were 3,777 sales with an average price of $432,478 in May 2009. In May 2008 there were 3,711 sales with an average price of $434,271.

Note the slight increase in the number of sales and the fact the average price less is than half a percent down from last year. Although this is remarkable, it is consistent with what I see and the reports out of my Bosley Real Estate office.

Monday June 1, 2009

Why move to the Hillcrest Village area?

There is a multitude of reasons why the pocket just west of Bathurst and St Clair is moving in the right direction. Soon the road construction will be over. When the dust settles more and more people will see the appeal of the neighbourhood. I live just north of St Clair with a dozen schools and 4 parks within walking distance, including the new, community oriented Wychwood Green Barns & park. This facility hosts an organic farmers market on Saturday mornings in and around the LEED certified development. Artscape made use of the old TTC streetcar barns to revitalize the area by promoting arts, culture and smart design. Hillcrest Park sits atop the Iroquois Bluff with tennis courts and a large childrens playground. Humewood Park, although smaller than the others, hosts the neighbourhoods children amongst some huge trees dating back to the days of the Humewood Estate.

Tuesday March 10, 2009

Why would I buy now?

There are many reasons why you should buy now.

Interest rates are very low: you can get a 5 year mortgage for 4.19% (March 10^th, 2009) or lower and the rates will not stay this low forever... they might not go much lower.

In spite of the often misleading articles in the newspapers, the market in downtown Toronto is relatively strong partly because the increases in value over the last few years were not anywhere near the over inflated values of properties in Calgary, Vancouver and other cities. In Toronto, if you bought a house in 2000, then sold it in 2008, you would have benefitted from a 56% increase in the value of that home. Many neighbourhoods had higher increases over that time span.

Monday March 9, 2009

The why about the where.

Many factors influence quality of life. Where one lives is one of the most important decisions to be made when searching for a home. Easy access to the things you do most often makes life simpler and less stressful. Think in terms of work, play, education, transport and other conveniences.

Thursday November 13, 2008

What does the near future hold?

Part of the reason for this blog posting is to try to correct some of the misconceptions about the Toronto real estate market since I find the reporting in the media to be anywhere from misleading to simply incorrect. The media hopefully gets its information from the same sources as I do, but the message too frequently gets lost in the translation . (understatement #1)

An example being a recent article in the Globe and Mail titled Homeowners new reality: Youre suddenly poorer (click for link) in which too little detail is connected to the numbers. They refer to info from CREA (Canadian Real Estate Association) stating that existing home sales will drop by 12 % from the previous year, a decline which will moderate to 3% in 2009. This is referring to the volume of sales, not prices. In our world of sound bites, this statistic often gets confused for a price drop.  The article mentions properties in Vancouver, a city which has benefitted from sizzling price increases for years.