Archive for January, 2010
The Canadian Real Estate Market: Consumer confidence in Canada ends on a stronger footing in 2009
January 24th, 2010 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Economy, Real Estate
Below is a great article from the Canadian Real Estate Association about the levels in Consumer Confidence as one moves across Canada:
National consumer confidence ended the year 2009 on a stronger footing compared to pre-recession levels, despite having edged down slightly the fourth quarter compared to the third quarter. According to the Conference Board of Canada’s index of consumer confidence, confidence eased slightly in the fourth quarter for the first time in three quarterly periods. The decrease in confidence reflects weakening sentiment about making major purchases. Read the rest of this entry »
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Impressions of REBarCampNYC and Inman Connect NYC 2010!
January 22nd, 2010 categories: Business, Economy, Real Estate, Technology, Travel
So I have been home a week and trying to make sense of all the information that I gleaned in the four hectic days of meetings in New York City. Instead of the usual “Blow by Blow” and who said what, I will just give you some of my impressions:
First and foremost, the four days were all about Social Media . Like it or not, just the way we used to say that Realtors with Technology will replace Realtors without it, now, Realtors and Brokers who have a Social Media presence will replace those who do not. As one of the speakers said, being a “Geek” is the norm and fashionable. Grandma’s are on Facebook , tweeting and showing off their new IPhone ! Read the rest of this entry »
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Toronto Real Estate: January 2010: Why You Should Be Listing For Sale Now!
January 21st, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO
There is a Toronto phenomenon which repeats every year:
As you can see from the graph above, listings are really reduced in January, February and March and the inventory goes up drastically in April. At the same time, there are a lot of buyers…there is talk of multiple offers on market-priced properties. Sadly the Toronto Real Estate Board has no way to track the number of Buyers in the marketplace but if you talk to a REALTOR today in Downtown Toronto, they will tell you that there is a terrible shortage of Listings.
So what is the solution or how can a move-up Buyer take advantage of a listing shortfall? When you are selling and there are lots of Buyers, you can write your own ticket. Read the rest of this entry »
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Canadian Real Estate Association – 2009 Resale Housing Market Ends On a High Note.
January 20th, 2010 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Toronto
Existing home sales activity reached the highest level ever for the month of December, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association . Strong demand in the second half of 2009, especially in the fourth quarter, pushed annual sales above 2008 levels.
Residential sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) of Canadian real estate boards numbered 27,744 units in December 2009. This stands 72 per cent above activity in December 2008, when activity dropped to the lowest level in a decade. New records for the month of December were reported in Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Newfoundland & Labrador. Read the rest of this entry »
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GREATER TORONTO AREA REALTORS® REPORTING JANUARY MID-MONTH HOUSING STATISTICS
January 19th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Business, Downtown Toronto, Real Estate, Toronto
TORONTO, January 18, 2010 Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 1,749 existing home sales on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS®) during the first two weeks of January. This result was almost double the 888 sales reported for the same period in 2009, when sales had dipped to a recessionary low.
“We have had a strong start to 2010,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour.“Widespread sales growth in terms of geography and housing type indicates that many households remain confident in their ability to purchase and pay for a home over the long-term.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Lessons in Customer Service: Holland America’s Onboard Internet Service.
January 17th, 2010 categories: Business, Lifestyle, Technology, Travel
While on a Holland America Cruise recently, I messaged my Facebook and Twitter friends that I was enjoying the “Techspert” classes that they had on-board. Like a lot of Companies today, Holland America , is monitoring the Blogosphere and Tweetosphere and I heard back quickly that they “were happy I was enjoying myself”. My response was to tell them that although I was, I thought that their Internet charges ($100 for 250 minutes) were excessive in view of the poor service (back to the OLD dial-up days). Their response was “I’ll pass it on”.
Over the next weeks as complaints on-board grew and my Internet bill reached over $600.00, I again posted my thoughts and was told by the responder that they would “pass it on”. What does “pass it on” mean? Read the rest of this entry »
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TRAVEL: Antarctica, Part 3
January 17th, 2010 categories: Lifestyle, Photos, Travel
Here is Part 3 of our trip from Santiago Chile to Rio de Janeiro with 4 days in Antarctica…
Here are the photos of our trip to Antarctica, a 20 day cruise on HollandAmerica from Chile to Brazil. Read the rest of this entry »
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TRAVEL: Antarctica, Part 2
January 17th, 2010 categories: Food, Lifestyle, Travel
Part 2 of our photos from the trip:
Here are the photos of our trip to Antarctica, a 20 day cruise on HollandAmerica from Chile to Brazil. Read the rest of this entry »
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TRAVEL: Antarctica Trip Part 1
January 17th, 2010 categories: Lifestyle, Photos, Travel
Here is Part 1 of our photos of Antarctica. The trip was from Santiago Chile’ to Rio de Janeiro and is in 3 parts.
Here are the photos of our trip to Antarctica, a 20 day cruise on HollandAmerica from Chile to Brazil. Read the rest of this entry »
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Toronto Real Estate Board Releases Housing Market Graphs for December 2009
January 7th, 2010 categories: Buying in Toronto, Economy, Listings, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto
The Toronto Real Estate Board has released it’s most recent Housing Market Graphs. Of note, is the last page which notes that over the past couple of years, affordability has increased in the Greater Toronto Area. This would account to the strong market we have been having despite the world-wide economic downturn. I always find these housing charts a great read as they compare the last three years and help to add some perspective that month by month statistics cannot.
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