Home renovations undertaken by Ontario’s 3.2 million home owners produced over $20.3 billion in economic activity last year. Unfortunately, a large amount of home renovation work in this province is conducted via the ‘cash deal’ or through the underground economy. According to housing experts at Altus Group, 37 per cent or $5.2 billion of the output from the provincial home renovation industry in 2010 was conducted through the underground economy.

Unlicensed workers hurt the reputations and competitiveness of legitimate renovation contractors and cheat governments out of billions of dollars. The Ontario Home Builders Association (OHBA) estimates that the underground home renovation economy causes the loss of up to $298 million in HST revenue annually, $1.6 billion in income tax revenue annually and $767 million in other revenues such as CPP, WSIB, Employer Health Tax and Employment Insurance Premiums.

In addition, the underground home renovation industry poses a number of serious risks to home owners. Underground contractors often do not meet health and safety standards, carry no liability insurance and do not offer warranties. Moreover, home owners have little to no recourse in the event of shoddy or unsafe workmanship. If a worker falls on your property, you, as the property owner, may be held liable.

REALTORS® and home builders believe that the best way to mitigate the growth of the underground home renovation economy is to give home owners a financial incentive to use professional contractors. Professional contractors have HST numbers, maintain insurance and pay taxes.

Specifically, REALTORS® are urging all candidates running in the 2011 Ontario election to support the creation of a permanent Ontario Home Renovation Tax Rebate. If the provincial government were to institute a renovation rebate, payable to the homeowner, homeowners would be far more likely to insist on a receipt creating a paper trail that would deter underground economic activity.

The payment to the homeowner provides the incentive for written contracts which is good for everybody, particularly governments losing billions of dollars in tax revenue to the underground economy and at the same time it can go a long way to stimulating the provincial economy

REALTORS® look forward to continuing to deliver this and other messages important to home buyers and owners during and after the provincial election campaign.

The resale condominium apartment market tightened in the Greater Toronto Area since the Fall of 2010. This tightening was in line with a broader trend in the existing home market, where listings through the end of the second quarter were in short supply compared to a year ago. Condo sales, at 6,721, were up by almost 0.5 per cent in the second quarter, while active listings were down by 13 per cent to 5,641 at the end of June. With more competition between condo buyers, it was no surprise that the year-over-year rate of growth for the median selling price accelerated to over 10 per cent by the end of the quarter.

The supply situation will likely improve in the second half of 2011 and into 2012. Following a large spike in condo apartment completions in the second quarter (most notably in June), total completions through the first six months of the year, at 10,238, were up by 65 per cent compared to the same period in 2010. Generally speaking, increased completions of new condo apartments leads to increased listings in the resale market. Many of these listings will come from investors who purchased one or more units at the pre-construction stage of development and who will now be looking to take advantage of an increase in value during the construction period.

More choice in the condo apartment market will result in more balanced market conditions and a moderation in the annual rate of price growth to a more sustainable pace over the long term.

I suggest that you look at the Commentary below in full screen.

Unlike the Beach or Beaches which has the charm of small-town England, the new development is modern and built with lots of parks and waterways.

“If you build it, they will come” seems to be the motto of  Waterfront Toronto . Which stores, shops and restaurants will augment the street life, however, remains to be seen.

The Good News

If you love new modern construction, want to be by the lake and part of a really interesting vision then you should do your due diligence on this project. It may also be a big boon to workers in the downtown core who are tired of commuting to King and Bay from the burbs. With the first Baby Boomers  turning 65 this year there will be lots of downsizing in the real estate market.

The Bad News

The reality of the waterfront in winter is cold. And while in summer, the cooler temperatures are much welcome, they also attract crowds that gum up transit, parking and quiet parks.

The Bottom Line

Nothing is perfect but the “New Blue Edge” might be a great place to enjoy downtown life and Lake Ontario.

Reprinted from: http://www.intorontomag.com

Here is a great new video released by the Toronto Real Estate Board  on why you should sign a Buyer Representation Agreement . Make sure that you are being properly represented in the transaction.

Feel free to contact me and I will give you a full run down of what a REALTOR can and cannot do with or without a Buyer Representation Agreement.

Here is some information from Ann the Downsizing GURU! :

Has your home become overrun with clutter and you just don’t know how to deal with all the ‘stuff’ that you’ve collected? Don’t worry, there’s a new service in town designed specifically to help you with this dilemma – it’s called Declutter and Downsize.  We offer a range of practical and effective services for home organization. Depending on your situation, we will help you organize your current home or manage the details involved in relocating.

Ann Christie, Founder of Declutter and Downsize understands that everyone accumulates ‘stuff’.  Too quickly it’s a struggle, and often paralyzing, to figure out where to start or how you will ever get organized again.  That’s why Declutter and Downsize was started. 

The process begins with a free one hour consultation, in your home, to learn more about you, your requirements and wishes. From there a plan and timeline are developed for carrying out the decluttering or downsizing process together. We work with you to sort and organize your belongings to determine what to keep, what to give away to family or friends, what to sell or donate and finally, what to recycle or discard.  Your space will be transformed into organized functional areas that are easy to maintain, and if you are downsizing, you can look forward to a worry-free move. During the transition you will learn the skills involved in preserving an orderly home.

 To see how Declutter and Downsize can be of service to you, please call 416-961-1406 or email ann@declutteranddownsize.com.

IDX or Internet Data Exchange  has been launched by the Toronto Real Estate Board  this month. This platform allows the participating Brokers to share their listings with other participating Brokers on their web sites. For a consumer it means greater access to one-stop shopping on a Brokerage or Realtor site. 

The Toronto Real Estate Board  says “This is a unique, customizable web interface provided by Toronto Real Estate Board to all Members who belong to participating (opted-in) Brokerages. Clients searching for real estate on their websites will be able to use the TREB IDX interface to perform searches, map listings and view property details.”

I have added it to my sites at www.RichardSilver.com and www.Torontoism.com under the “Search for Homes” tab, so feel free to check it out and let me know your thoughts below.

The home inspector will give you a “blow-by-blow” of what they feel needs to done on the house…many times when I visit clients 3 or 4 years later, none have been done. Not good, if you are planning on selling…however it does point to the urgency of some of the suggestions from the Home Inspector.

The reality is that house problems do not get better on their own. You house will not heal itself and a lot of times when left alone the final bill will only get larger. If you are selling at any point 95% of buyers if not more will insist on a Home Inspection and I doubt that what was an issue when you bought would have evaporated.

Create you own “hit list”!

Create you own “hit list” and either do it all at once or prioritize and attack each issue one at a time. My tendency has been to do as much as possible at once or group things so that there is as little disruption as possible.

Some things like: grading the land away from the house, new furnace and air conditioning, even termites (depending on the level of damage) would not frighten me.

New furnaces and Air Conditioning rate much higher efficiency today and you can earn back their costs in a few years…It never ceases to amaze me that a Client or Realtor would bring an $600,000 to $800,000 to the market that needs a new $5,000 furnace, but they do.

Termites in Toronto  are a fact of life.

Don’t expect your teeth never to get cavities. If you live in an area with sandy soil you must be careful. Termites are not the problem…it is their eating habits…know that you must check for them often, have treatment (if they are found) and buy Termite Insurance. Be constantly vigilant as you would with any health issue.

Roofing is the biggest issue that arises during Toronto Home Inspections.

It is our own fault. We seldom go on our roofs to see what is happening and most of us are at the mercy of Roofing contractors. We will pay a huge amount of money for the latest and greatest kitchen appliances but negotiate till we are “blue in the face” to get the cheapest roofing job possible. Roofs are just not sexy!

Foundations:

Foundations are just that! They are really important…don’t throw good money after bad by renovating and upgrading a property that does not have a solid foundation. Houses with older brick foundations were never really meant to have finished basements. Don’t expect to put a finished basement in a home with a Brick foundation unless it is above the water table. Make sure that you have done all your homework and dealt with professionals if you choose this path. It may be much more costly than you think.

Windows, Doors and skylights are mostly decorative…but in our climate they are important. They have a shelf-life, need maintenance and the more recent ones have higher “R” factor.

Know however, that the latest and greatest windows, doors, skylights, furnaces, air conditioners and roofing materials etc. will be outdated at the time you install them.

Contact Me: 

Please feel free to contact me for some good names of trades in the Toronto area. They are hard to come by and always, always ask them for the phone numbers or email addresses of their last three clients. Lastly, make sure that the warranty that you get for the work done, stays with the property and does not become null and void if you sell the property. Sometimes Sellers tell me they have a ten year warranty but when they read the fine print…it is only good as long as they are still the owners.

For more information:

Earth Day and The Green Energy Act: When the Best of Good Intentions Go Wrong.

Toronto Real Estate: The Reality of Home Inspections Part 1

Toronto Real Estate: Home Inspections Part 3

Toronto Real Estate: A Home Inspection Story Part 4