Richard Silver

Archive for June, 2009

Toronto Real Estate: What is Retrofit?

From time to time when dealing with income properties in the GTA or Greater Toronto Area, the question of "retrofit" comes up. What is it? What does it mean? What are the rules and regulations surrounding it? But, most important where do I find the comprehensive information to explain it. After a few frustrating hours on the City of Toronto web site....with no luck, I found what I was looking for on the Carson Dunlop & Associates Ltd. This article answers all the...Continue Reading...

GTA Resale Housing Sales Up 19 Per Cent in the First Half of June

As I have mentioned over the past few months, the Toronto Real Estate Market has been very active. It may become more active as the interest rates go up and Buyers rush to take advantage of those pre:arranged mortgages. Here is today's press release from the Toronto Real Estate Board. TORONTO, June 17, 2009 - Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 5,185 transactions in the first half of June – an increase of 19 per cent compared to the same period last year. "Households...Continue Reading...

Voting in Municipal Elections…

There is a lot of discussion recently on who should vote in Municipal Elections. Mayor David Miller seems to think that it not be necessary that voters be Citizens and wants to expand the number of Torontonians on the voter's list. Others feel that the status quo should be kept, giving Canadian Citizens only the right to vote in elections and acting as a motivating factor in becoming a Citizen. I am of the opinion that those who pay property taxes,...Continue Reading...

National resale housing continues to rise in May

Good National news from the Canadian Real Estate Association: OTTAWA – June 15th, 2009 – National resale housing market activity returned to pre-recession levels in May 2009.  The rebound in activity is being led by an increase in transactions in some of the most expensive markets in the country, which is skewing the national average price upward. According to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), actual (not seasonally adjusted) home sales via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian...Continue Reading...

GTA May Resale Housing Sales Higher Than Last Year

TORONTO, June 3, 2009 - In May 2009, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,589 sales, up almost two per cent from May 2008 – the first annual increase since December 2007. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales in May was 81,3001. “The resale housing market in the GTA has remained resilient in the face of challenging times globally,” according to TREB President Maureen O’Neill. “Many home buyers have taken advantage of extremely low mortgage rates.” The average price for May transactions was...Continue Reading...

The New Regent Park

We were promised it for years but it really looks as if it is happening! Regent Park, long a Ghetto in Downtown Toronto is now being redeveloped with new Rental construction, streets that open up it's previous isolation, Community Facilities and Green Condominiums. (more...)Continue Reading...

The Simple Truth about Twitter.

If Oprah and Larry King are doing it, Twitter is becoming conventional? It is another form of Social Media that has become so popular it seems to be overtaking all the others. If you are of the few that believe that Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are going away, you need to adjust your thinking fast, especially if you are waiting for email to catch on before you get your own email address. Most people still don't get Twitter and daily I get asked...Continue Reading...