Richard Silver

Business Category

Real Estate: Seth Godin Strikes Again

If you have not signed up for Seth Godin's Blog you should. It comes every morning to my inbox as an RSS feed (Really Simple Syndication), is short and poignant and often has some very good viewpoints. Today I was especially pleased to see that it was about REALTORS and some of the claims that they make in the public forum. Here is Seth's Blog: August 9th, 2009: The danger of vague claims The sign the broker posted in front of the house...Continue Reading...

REALTOR.ca and why it is not an MLS System.

Over one year ago now, MLS.ca was replaced by a better product named Realtor.ca: Both are public-facing web sites owned and operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. The reason for the name change was to help ease some of the confusion in the minds of Canadian consumers who thought that what they were seeing was an MLS system. Those systems are owned and operated by local Boards/Associations and only upload certain data that the local Multiple Listing System decides to...Continue Reading...

Technology: Very Cool Web Site to Create your Own “Cloud”

Here is a "Wordle Cloud" from a very cool web site at http://www.wordle.net/. All you do is enter a bunch of text or add your URL (it must have an RSS feed) and it creates a cloud that you have lots of options to change the shapes, font and colours as well as orientation. Save it as a pdf and then convert it to a jpg and you have your very own wordle. How cool is that !! Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate Board Releases Half Month Figures for July, 2009.

GTA REALTORS® report sales up first two weeks of July TORONTO, July 20, 2009 - In the first two weeks of July, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 4,437 sales up 27 per cent compared to the first two weeks of July 2008. The average price for these transactions was up four per cent year-over-year to $394,750. "The resurgence in home ownership demand experienced in the spring has continued into the summer. Home buyers continued to take advantage affordable market conditions in the first...Continue Reading...

Real Estate Pricing: Who Sets the Price in Real Estate?

“It is REALTORS who make the marketplace and set the prices that Buyers have to pay!”. I have heard this statement time and time again... Unless your REALTOR is beating you about the head to either sell for a certain price or buy at a certain price, it is the Buyer who decides if he will short, meet or surpass the Seller’s price. REALTORS give you suggested guidelines but it is your money that you spend or receive and it is...Continue Reading...

CREA Issues Strong Report For Canadian Real Estate.

Here is the most recent Press Release from the Canadian Real Estate Association. The Toronto Real Estate Board also published a strong release last week. You can read it also at  Toronto Real Estate Board: June 2009, Best June on Record!! OTTAWA – July 14th, 2009 – National resale housing market activity bounced back strongly in the second quarter of 2009 above levels reported for the same period last year. Demand continues to rebound sharply in some of the most expensive...Continue Reading...

The Simple Truth about Twitter.

If Oprah and Larry King are doing it, Twitter is becoming conventional? It is another form of Social Media that has become so popular it seems to be overtaking all the others. If you are of the few that believe that Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin are going away, you need to adjust your thinking fast, especially if you are waiting for email to catch on before you get your own email address. Most people still don't get Twitter and daily I get asked...Continue Reading...

CREA: MLS® Home Sales Forecast Revised

Since the middle of April, the Real Estate Market has shifted again. Being so caught up in the Toronto market, it is hard to extend your thoughts into the rest of Canada but last week the Canadian Real Estate Association revised their forecast for the upcoming year. The trend seems to be not only Downtown Toronto based. Here is their recent Press Release: (more...)Continue Reading...

Running for Director at the Toronto Real Estate Board…Again.

I have been asked to run for a third time for the Board of Directors at the Toronto Real Estate Board. Why do it? I feel that I have received many benefits from the business over the past 30 years and it is always time to give back. I know that organized Real Estate moves slow, as it should, but also needs people to bring it along faster in areas of Technology and the changes that REALTORS face in their...Continue Reading...

Canadian Real Estate: MLS® resale housing market stabilizes further in March

Below is the Recent Press Release from the Canadian Real Estate Association. It seems as if the news is getting better: Existing MLS® home sales activity increased for the second month in a row in March 2009, according to statistics released by The Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA). The number of new listings also continued trending lower in March, which firmed up the balance of supply to demand. (more...)Continue Reading...