Richard Silver

Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Mid-Month Resale Housing Figures For September 2010.

TORONTO, September 16, 2010 - Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 2,623 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) during the first two weeks of September 2010. This represented a 22 per cent decrease compared to the 3,361 sales recorded during the same period in 2009. Year-to-date sales amounted to 65,455, representing a six per cent increase compared to 2009. “Sales remain below the record pace we experienced in the second half of 2009. The prospect of higher interest rates and new mortgage...Continue Reading...

Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Rental Market Figures

TORONTO, September 16, 2010 - During the May-to-August 2010 reporting period, TREB Members reported 6,712 leased condominium apartments and townhomes, up 18 per cent from 5,673 transactions recorded during the same time-period last year. Average rents climbed in all apartment categories, with the benchmark two-bedroom apartment rent averaging $1,937 across all TREB districts – up three per cent from the average of $1,873 recorded in 2009. Some differences emerged, however, when the TREB market area was broken down into four regions...Continue Reading...

Toronto Condominium Market: September 2010.

We had a great meeting this morning at the Toronto Condo Network by Jason Mercer, Senior Market Analyst with the Toronto Real Estate Board. He gave us some great statistics to look at of note, in Central Toronto, condominiums are 60% of the sales activity, but the suburbs are growing quickly. Please remember that back in the early 80's, the Condominium market would have been at about 5% of Sales.... Have a read through this presentation and feel free to ask...Continue Reading...

Why George Smitherman should be Mayor of Toronto!

Disclosure: Let me begin by saying that I have known George Smitherman  for years and have been involved in the sale and purchase of his last properties. While he was in the Liberal Government we disagreed completely on the Government's desire to make Home Energy Audits Mandatory within the Agreement of Purchase and Sale and as a member of the Toronto Real Estate Board  of Directors we had some heated arguments on the topic. We often agree to disagree... Also, these are my own...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate Board: C.D. Howe Commentary

Here is a commentary from TREB  about a study by the C.D. Howe Institute . It points to the misconception that the Canadian Real Estate Market is doomed to follow the U.S. Real Estate market in the next few months. Here are their thoughts: (more...)Continue Reading...

Toronto Neighbourhoods: Parkdale.

Years ago, when I was starting my real estate career and you were not even born (yes, that long ago) the “up-and-coming” neighbourhood talked about as the next Cabbagetown  was Parkdale . I checked Parkdale out at the time, loved the great Victorian houses, liked the reasonable prices and saw great potential as a neighbourhood. I showed those houses, sold some of them, and have been waiting for years for the area to really soar. I’m still waiting. Entry to the Parkdale market...Continue Reading...

Toronto Area REALTORS® Report Monthly Resale Housing Figures

September 3, 2010 ‐ Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,232 sales through the Multiple Listing Service ® (MLS®) in August 2010. This represented a 22 per cent decrease compared to the 8,035 sales recorded during the same period in 2009. New listings decreased by one per cent year-over-year to 10,488. “The prospect of interest rate hikes and new mortgage lending rules prompted some households to purchase a home sooner than they otherwise would have this year. The result has been a larger than...Continue Reading...

Teranet-National Bank National Composite House Price Index™.

Teranet  and the National Bank of Canada   joined together about one year ago to produce this House Price Index  of major centres across Canada. Please remember that it only reflects the large centres and is comprehensive for those living in those centres but would not reflect a vision of Canada as a whole. I get these newsletters monthly and you can subscribe to them at www.housepriceindex.ca. Teranet's data is from Land Registry systems across Canada so also reflects all transactions, not just...Continue Reading...

Toronto Real Estate Board Condo Commentary Second Quarter 2010

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Cabbagetown: Rick McCarthy is Coming to the JetFuel Cafe’

Rick McCarthy was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1941. A 7th-Dan Black Belt in Shotokan Karate, McCarthy has trained for 25 years with both Kancho Takemasa Okuyama and Renshi Shah Franco at their Toronto dojos. While working with the renowned Franco, McCarthy discovered a correlation between Brazilian Ju-Jitsu and the evolution of his own half-century career as an artist. “I see my painting and my fighting as being one and the same,” McCarthy says, “a struggle for existence.” Rick McCarthy www.rickmccarthytheartist.com Rick...Continue Reading...