Richard Silver

Archive for February, 2012

Toronto Real Estate: Homes Continue To Sell Quickly

February 24, 2012 -- As we start to see February come to an end, I would like to take a snapshot look at the resale housing market this year so far. Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 3,206 sales through the TorontoMLS system through the first 14 days of February 2012 – that is up by more than nine per cent compared to the 2,933 sales reported during the same period in 2011.  New listings on the TorontoMLS system were up by...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate: New Tool measures price of home

February 17, 2012 -- As President of the Toronto Real Estate Board I’m excited to announce to you the consumer that a new system to measure and provide clarity on home prices and home price growth was launched on February 6th. TREB, along with the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) and four other major real estate boards across Canada have developed a new system called the MLS® Home Price Index (MLS® HPI). The MLS® HPI is calculated using a sophisticated statistical model...Continue Reading...

The Commission Question: my answer…

From time to time, and mostly from people who don't know me, I get an email or a phone call where the commission question comes up front and centre: "Can you tell me what your commission rate is?" I know that this consumer has decided that commission is the most important issue. It's not that I have not dealt with the question before but it seems that the consumer's assumption is clear that "all Realtors provide the exact service but for different...Continue Reading...

Toronto Housing Market Charts for January 2012

Here are the latest Housing Market Charts from the Toronto Real Estate Board for January 2012. These take you back over three years and help to gain some clarity about the Toronto Real Estate Market. Toronto Area Housing Market Charts January 2012 View more presentations from Richard Silver. Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate: Strong Condo Sales Growth in Q4 2011

January 20, 2012 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 5,025 condominium apartment transactions in the Fourth Quarter of 2011. This result was up 10.5 per cent in comparison to the Fourth Quarter of 2010. Over 70 per cent of total transactions occurred in the City of Toronto, with Peel Region (including Mississauga City Centre) accounting for the second highest share of sales. The number of new listings for condominium apartments was up by 14 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2011...Continue Reading...

Toronto Area REALTORS® Release January 2012 Market Figures

TORONTO, February 3, 2012 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,567 sales through the TorontoMLS® system in January 2012. This number was 8.8 per cent higher than the 4,199 sales reported in January 2011. Sales growth was strongest for low-rise home types in the regions surrounding the City of Toronto. “A favourable affordability picture bolstered by very low posted fixed mortgage rates has kept home buyers confident in their ability to achieve the Canadian goal of home ownership,” said Toronto Real Estate...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate: Bringing Clarity to the Marketplace

Buyers today are getting a lot of mixed messages. The statistics from the Toronto Real Estate Board have been strong but a lot of the price increases have been driven by a shortage of listings meaning a lack of options for buyers. It is a tight market for Today's Buyer at a time when mortgage rates are at their lowest in history, making it the best time to get a mortgage. There are also a lot of confusing statements coming...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate: Learning to Keep Termites at Bay

-August 15, 2011--If you're considering the purchase of your next home, you already know that a number of considerations are involved in the decision making process like schools, transportation and local amenities. Often though, the factors that you can't see are the ones that require the most attention. For nearly a century, our city’s inhabitants have shared this land with eastern subterranean termites. It is believed that they arrived in Toronto in 1938, offloaded from American cargo ships docked near Cherry...Continue Reading...