Richard Silver

Archive for May, 2010

Real Estate: Understanding Representation and Agency

Representation and Agency are not very well understood by the consumer public...but also not well understood by some salespeople. When a Salesperson is representing a product, whether it be a suit of clothes or a house, they are acting under Agency and their fiduciary duty belongs to the party paying for their services unless they have a contract that says otherwise. If you walk into my Open House and ask me questions about the property, like "what will they take?", it...Continue Reading...

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Mid-Month Resale Housing Figures

TORONTO, May 19, 2010 - Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,887 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) during the first two weeks of May. This represented a seven per cent increase compared to the 4,561 sales recorded during the same period in 2009. New listings increased by 48 per cent annually to 10,059. “The average household looking to purchase a home continued to benefit from affordable opportunities in the first half of May,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour. "The number...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate Market: The View From My Desk!

Daily I try to make sense of the Real Estate market. I read all the Google Alerts and RSS Feeds that appear that focus on the Housing Market. I talk to other Sales persons and the front of desk staff at the office, monitoring the showings and the activity at weekend Open Houses. The media will tell you that the "Real Estate Bubble" is about to burst. How many times have you heard that in the last 5 years? Making sense of...Continue Reading...

Cabbagetown Garden Tour: June 6th, 2010

Tour the Gardens of Cabbagetown on June 6th, 2010 from 10 AM to 3 PM and enjoy some great gardens. Allow yourself to be snoopy and at the same time raise money for the Cabbagetown Preservation Association. Check out the great poster below and help get the word out. You will see some amazing gardens...I will be at one of the gardens...so try to find me! Continue Reading...

Greater Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Monthly April Resale Housing Figures

TORONTO, May 5, 2010 - Greater Toronto REALTORS®  reported 10,898 sales through the Multiple Listing Service®  (MLS®) in April, representing a 34 per cent increase compared to April 2009. There were also 20,683 new listings in April – a 59 per cent annual increase. Both the sales and new listings results amounted to new records for the month of April under the current Toronto Real Estate Board  (TREB) boundaries. "The GTA resale market is functioning properly. Sales were high as buyers...Continue Reading...

Musings: Who Are Your Friends?

Recently I was listening to a friend of mine describe a familial relationship that has been toxic for many years and it got me thinking about the number of people one has in one's life that are a positive influence...and the one's that are not... I am not sure why we do it, but sometimes we are comfortable with people around us who do not really wish us well. They are the ones we turn to when things are not going...Continue Reading...

Real Estate: What is Included in the HST?

It seems almost daily that I am reminded how little we know about the upcoming Harmonized Sales Tax. There is so much confusion in the Public's mind about what is to be taxed and what is not to be. The biggest misconception that I hear because of my business is that there seems to be a concern out there that resale housing draws HST. It does not. HST is only on New Constuction. However, HST is payable on any of the...Continue Reading...