Richard Silver

Archive for November, 2010

The Ontario Real Estate Association hosts Political Action Days at Ontario’s Queen’s Park.

Yesterday was a great first day of Political Action with members of  the Ontario Real Estate Association . Annually the association holds a two-day session close to the Queen's Park  Parliament buildings and then meetings are held where Provincial and local issues are brought forward by OREA  to MPP's. This year the topics were Brownfield's  development (reuse of previously used property that has been contaminated in the past), the Harmonized Sales Tax  and it's effect on the Ontario Consumer, and the upcoming Provincial Election(11 months from now)....Continue Reading...

Real Estate: On Buying Condominiums in Florida

Seldom a day goes by that I do not get an email or a phone call from a Realtor in Florida. The market is brutal there, they are overbuilt with second holiday homes, sales are very slow and properties are either under-water (not worth what they are presently financed for) or are in foreclosure. The Realtors are looking north to the Canadian Consumers who are in much better shape, have less debt and who may or may not be lining up to buy...Continue Reading...

REAL ESTATE: The long-promised reworking of the original Cabbagetown

For years Cabbagetown residents awaited the long-promised reworking of the original Cabbagetown — reborn in the 1940s as Canada’s largest and oldest social housing project, Regent Park. It had a controversial history due in part to the design. The lack of through streets isolated the 69-acre neighourbood, creating a ghetto.  In the past 10 years it has become home for many new Canadians and their families making for a lively and diverse neighbourhood as well as bringing lots more street traffic...Continue Reading...

Waiting for the Repeal of the Miller Land Transfer Tax….

In the past few weeks the question Toronto Buyers have been asking is "should we be waiting for Rob Ford's  new City Council to repeal the Toronto Land Transfer Tax ?" Whether it was just another political promise that will never be realized, good intentions to the contrary, will the savings realized by the repeal of the tax actually provide a substantial benefit to wait? The Tax launched in February, 2008 which on a $400,000 property has the Buyer paying $4475 to the Province and $3725...Continue Reading...

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Toronto Housing Outlook

Yearly the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation releases a Greater Toronto Housing Outlook. It is a great resource as it mashes together information form different sources of data including sales data from The Toronto Real Estate Board. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation: Toronto Housing OutlookView more documents from Richard Silver.Check out their web site and sign up to receive these regularly.Continue Reading...

Real Estate Council of Ontario’s Web Site

In Ontario, those of us who are registrants are regulated by a body called the Real Estate Council of Ontario. It is this body that deals with complaints from the Public, Code of Ethics violations, etc. On their web site at www.reco.on.ca they state that "The Real Estate Council of Ontario (RECO) regulates the activity of trading in real estate in the public interest". They do so munder the auspices of the provincial government and they administer the Real Estate...Continue Reading...

The Canadian Real Estate Association Revises Annual Resale Housing Forecast

OTTAWA – November 5, 2010 – The Canadian Real Estate Association  (CREA) has lowered its forecast for home sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service ® (MLS®)Systems of Canadian real estate Boards and Associations for 2010 and 2011. Sales activity in the third quarter of 2010 began on a weak footing, but gained traction as the quarter progressed. Improving momentum for home sales activity suggests the resale housing market is stabilizing, but weaker than expected third quarter activity has reduced CREA’s annual...Continue Reading...

October 2010 Toronto Housing Market Charts

Here are the latest Housing Market Charts for October 2010 from the Toronto Real Estate Board. I love these as it really puts not only this year but the past three years into a more realistic perspective. Interested to know what you think. Feel free to comment. Toronto Area Housing Market Charts OctoberView more presentations from Richard Silver.Continue Reading...

Toronto Area REALTORS® Report October Resale Figures

Here is the latest market update from the Toronto Real Estate Board . Of note is the percentage of Condominiums in resale housing figures within the Toronto Area. TORONTO, November 3, 2010 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,681 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®)  in October 2010. This represented a 21 per cent decrease compared to the 8,476 sales recorded in October 2009. Through the first ten months of the year, sales amounted to 75,582 – up one per cent compared...Continue Reading...

Some Great Information About The Power of Social Media…

I am sure you have seen these before but this one has some great points...do you need to be convinced about Social Media or that the world is changing? [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8[/youtube]Continue Reading...