Lifestyle and Technology: People are talking about you!!
March 12th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Business, Food, Technology
Last Summer a group of us techno-weenies were in San Francisco for a Conference and wanted to go out for a great dinner. After some discussion we decided on Chinese food and rather than walking aimlessly through Chinatown, we decided to YELP the restaurant.
For those of you who have not YELPED before…Yelp is a website that is a repository of peer reviews, mashed with GPS . It uses the GPS to find you, allows you to search under numerous categories for whatever service you are looking for and once you start narrowing down your search offers up peer reviews to help you make your decisions.
That night we ended up only a few blocks from the Hotel we were staying at, ate in a very non-descript inexpensive Restaurant and had one of the best meals of the trip. We based our choice on the peer reviews and on leaving could have added our own views on the experience to the Yelp web site with photos.
Now I am a confirmed Yelper. I have downloaded the Yelp app to my Blackberry and have a profile that you can visit, become my friend or leave a review of my work as a REALTOR. Check it out in your area and write some reviews to help build the content that will make it a more valuable tool as time goes by. Get out there and start YELPING !!
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Going Small Screen…
March 7th, 2010 categories: Business, Technology
The man with the biggest TV wins….has been the marketing chant for Home Entertainment Systems…but at the same time…
Technology never slows and keeping up is a full time and expensive job.
A year ago I was given an Amazon Kindle for Xmas and have loved being able to access my own library from the Amazon Bookstore on a moments notice. Then came the Sony Reader and other E-books…Recently, Apple announced it’s latest product the IPad .
I believe that the IPad will be very successful… small screen format is the way of the future and these new tools are tools that provide content through Apps allow the owner to be more mobile…
The point of all this is that we are in the process of mobilizing my websites. The mobile version of www.RichardSilver.com is already launched with Torontoism.com and DowntownTorontoNews.com to follow soon.
If you search www.RichardSilver.com on your Blackberry or IPhone it will automatically recognize that you are using a smartphone and will show you the small screen format. I would like to give a shout out to the team at MobilizeMe.com who have done such an excellent job with the participation of the webmaster of all three site.
Check out www.RichardSilver.c
om on your smartphone and let me know your thoughts… Here is a sample…
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Toronto Real Estate Board: February Housing Market Charts
March 4th, 2010 categories: Buying in Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
Here are the latest Housing Market Charts from the Toronto Real Estate Board. Seems that the lack of product has been forcing the prices to rise…
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GREATER TORONTO REALTORS® REPORT FEBRUARY RESALES
March 3rd, 2010 categories: Downtown Toronto, Economy, Real Estate, Toronto
Here is the most recent update from the Toronto Real Estate Board. We are still having an active market due to the excellent mortgage rates available to the consumer. I’m always interested in your thoughts so feel free to comment below.
TORONTO, March 3, 2010 – Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 7,291 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in February, representing a 77 per cent increase over February 2009. The average price for these transactions was up 19 per cent year-over-year to $431,509. Sales and average price increases represent both increased demand for ownership housing and the base year effect, which involves a comparison of economic recovery this year to a period of economic decline last year.
“Increases in existing home sales and average price were noted across the GTA in low-rise and high-rise home types. Similar rates of growth were experienced in the City of Toronto and surrounding 905 regions,” said TREB President Tom Lebour. “This suggests that first time, move-up and down sizing buyers are all active in the existing home marketplace.”
New listings also increased in February, climbing 24 per cent compared to the same month last year.
“Annual growth in new listings is expected to continue. New listings growth will start to outstrip sales growth as we move through 2010,” said Jason Mercer, TREB’s Senior Manager of Market Analysis. “As the market becomes better supplied, we will see more sustainable single-digit rates of price growth.”
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Toronto Real Estate: Cabbagetown Detached with Double Garage.
February 28th, 2010 categories: Buying in Toronto, Cabbagetown, Downtown Toronto, Real Estate, Toronto
This great Cabbagetown listing is now $999,000. Own one of the few Detached Homes in Cabbagetown with a double car garage. It is a great opportunity and open today between 2-4 PM.
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Downtown Toronto Condominium at Carlton and Jarvis Streets.
February 25th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Buying in Toronto, Condominium, Listings, Real Estate, Toronto
Excellent space and value for a Downtown Toronto Condominium. 1142 Square Feet 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom with great views. Asking $369,000! Open by appointment!
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Cabbagetown Real Estate: 153 Winchester Street, Open This Weekend 2-4 PM
February 19th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Cabbagetown, Real Estate
Open Houses this weekend from 2-4 PM. Hope to see you there but if not check out this Real Estate Show:
We will be having a big weekend of Open Houses in Cabbagetown this weekend. Toronto’s Village within a the City!
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Great Support for Haiti from the Toronto Real Estate Board
February 18th, 2010 categories: Downtown Toronto, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Toronto
February 17, 2010 — With Greater Toronto REALTORS’® individual donations, the federal government’s matching funds, and a TREB donation combined, Members of the Toronto Real Estate Board contributed nearly $75,000 to help those affected by last month’s earthquake in Haiti.
According to the Canadian Red Cross , Greater Toronto REALTORS’® individual donations to relief efforts in Haiti reached $12,085.
This amount will be doubled by the federal government, which pledged to match all individual Canadians’ contributions up to February 12th.
On behalf of Greater Toronto REATORS® TREB also donated $50,000 to Canadian Red Cross initiatives in Haiti. Read the rest of this entry »
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Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Mid-February Figures
February 18th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Buying in Toronto, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
TORONTO, February 18, 2010 — Greater Toronto REALTORS reported 3,555 sales through the Multiple Listing Service during the first two weeks of February. This represented a 74 per cent increase compared to the 2,044 sales recorded during the same period in 2009 when resale transactions had dipped due to the recession. The February mid-month sales total was also 7.7 per cent above the previous high set in 2006.
“Home ownership demand remains strong in the GTA, as households remain confident that economic recovery is at hand and that ownership housing will continue to be a quality long-term investment,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour . Read the rest of this entry »
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My Thoughts on The Competition Bureau and The Canadian Real Estate Association
February 16th, 2010 categories: Listings, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto
Please notes that my thoughts are personal only and are not in any way those of Bosley Real Estate Ltd .(who hold my license) or The Toronto Real Estate Board (I am a Director-at-Large). I love my business, am engaged in it 7 days a week, 12 to 15 hours a day and would not want to do anything else however:
There is a lot of discussion going on led by the Competition Bureau and forces that want to “open up” the MLS and the Real Estate industry. Along with that discussion comes a lot of vitriol and misinformation about what it is that REALTORS do. We seem to have become the target for some who are not being totally clear about their agenda and who jump on sound bite after sound bite. If there is to be a discussion then it should be an honest one. Read the rest of this entry »
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