Archive for the 'Business' Category
Today’s Rant: In Praise of Term Limits
August 3rd, 2010 categories: Business, Lifestyle, Neighborhoods, Toronto
For a good part of my life I have been involved in volunteer organizations. From an early age volunteerism was encouraged by my family. It is something that has given me a lot of joy as well as a huge education in what is the potential of the human spirit.
I was lucky enough to work with June Callwood or as we used to call her, Saint June. She was responsible for many of the community services that support Torontonians. I worked with her at Casey House Hospice , the AIDS hospice in Downtown Toronto which has become a model worldwide. In the early days I started by writing charitable receipts for donations in a corner of the basement and within a few years became the Chair of Fundraising, then a Board member, and finally President. Read the rest of this entry »
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Toronto Area REALTORS® Report June Resale Housing Figures
July 6th, 2010 categories: Business, Real Estate, Toronto
TORONTO, JULY 6, 2010 ‐ Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 8,442 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in June.
This represented a 23 per cent decrease compared to the record 10,955 sales reported in June 2009. Sales for the second quarter of 2010 amounted to 28,810 – up one per cent annually. Year-to-date sales through June were up 23 per cent to 50,455 compared to the first six months of 2009.
“We experienced a record number of existing home sales during the first half of 2010, but these sales were weighted more towards the beginning of the year,” said newly elected Toronto Real Estate Board President Bill Johnston. “The pace of home sales has moderated from record levels over the past two months with the prospect of higher mortgage rates.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Monthly Resale Housing Figures
June 3rd, 2010 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto
TORONTO, JUNE 3, 2010 ‐ Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 9,470 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in May, representing a one per cent dip from May 2009. In comparison to previous years, this was the third highest May sales result on record.
“The pace of transactions slowed in May following record‐setting sales in February, March and April,” said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour. “Buyers who otherwise would have been purchasing a home in May moved more quickly this year, likely to get ahead of mortgage rate hikes.” Read the rest of this entry »
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Real Estate: What is Included in the HST?
May 2nd, 2010 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Economy, Food, Lifestyle, Real Estate, Technology
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 services that are used in the Buying or Selling of property. But again: RESALE HOUSING AT ANY PRICE DOES NOT DRAW “HST”, only the services that are involved.
For a full view of what is taxed, I’d like to thank Lori Nichol of Forest Hill Realty Inc. who forwarded me this great summary. To make it easy to view you can easily make it “Full Screen”.
If you would like it in .pdf format jusr click here.
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Toronto Real Estate: The 2010 Spring Market!!
April 21st, 2010 categories: Business, Buying in Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
There is lots of discussion in the Media about what is happening in the Real Estate Market today! The assumption is that the number of new listings means the “Bubble has Burst”, that new mortgage rules are reducing the number of Buyers in the marketplace and that the HST is forcing people to buy before the July 1st commencement date….A lot of negatives but where is the reality? Read the rest of this entry »
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Toronto Real Estate: Holding Off Offers.
March 29th, 2010 categories: Business, Listings, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
Over the past years a technique has developed that Realtors and the Public call: Holding Off Offers.
The idea is that the Seller and Realtor bring a property to the market through the TorontoMLS system with a note in the Broker’s remarks that although showing can commence at the time of listing, offers, if any, will be reviewed at a later date.
What is the reason for this? Are the Realtor and Seller manipulating the market to force multiple offers in an Auction-like scenario? Could be…but that can also backfire…What happens if, at the end of the time period, no offers appear or an offer appears that the Seller is unwilling to accept. Read the rest of this entry »
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Real Estate: Answering The Commission Question….
March 18th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Business, Downtown Toronto, Real Estate, Selling in Toronto, Toronto
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 fees”. That assumption is very wrong.
Each agent develops a style with services that they include when selling property. Knowing this, the first question I am surprised that a consumer does not ask is “What services will be included in the commission that I will be paying?” Each successful Realtor I know, has developed their own technique that they use to accomplish a successful result. Read the rest of this entry »
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Lifestyle and Technology: People are talking about you!!
March 12th, 2010 categories: Around TORONTO, Business, Food, Technology
Last Summer a group of us techno-weenies were in San Francisco for a Conference and wanted to go out for a great dinner. After some discussion we decided on Chinese food and rather than walking aimlessly through Chinatown, we decided to YELP the restaurant.
For those of you who have not YELPED before…Yelp is a website that is a repository of peer reviews, mashed with GPS . It uses the GPS to find you, allows you to search under numerous categories for whatever service you are looking for and once you start narrowing down your search offers up peer reviews to help you make your decisions. Read the rest of this entry »
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Going Small Screen…
March 7th, 2010 categories: Business, Technology
The man with the biggest TV wins….has been the marketing chant for Home Entertainment Systems…but at the same time…
Technology never slows and keeping up is a full time and expensive job.
A year ago I was given an Amazon Kindle for Xmas and have loved being able to access my own library from the Amazon Bookstore on a moments notice. Then came the Sony Reader and other E-books…Recently, Apple announced it’s latest product the IPad . Read the rest of this entry »
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REAL ESTATE: January 2010 Article in “Today’s Buyer’s Rep”.
February 9th, 2010 categories: Business, Real Estate, Technology
Almost a year ago I travelled to Chicago to sit in on a day of “rebooting” a course offered by REBAC, the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council of the National Association of REALTORS. The course was called Innovative Marketing and after a day of meetings and numerous subject matter discussions the course was relaunched in November of 2009.
“REBAC is the world’s largest organization of real estate professionals focusing on BUYER representation. By providing specialized training and ongoing skill development, REBAC helps its members—and the home buyers who work with them—experience more successful real estate transactions.”
Since last year I have sat on the Advisory Council of REBAC and in early December 2009 was interviewed for the article attached, both a great honour. Hope you enjoy the read..it will give you a sense of how our business has changed in the past years…to read it easily you may choose the full screen version.
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