Richard Silver

Toronto Area REALTORS® Report October Resale Figures

Here is the latest market update from the Toronto Real Estate Board . Of note is the percentage of Condominiums in resale housing figures within the Toronto Area. TORONTO, November 3, 2010 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,681 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®)  in October 2010. This represented a 21 per cent decrease compared to the 8,476 sales recorded in October 2009. Through the first ten months of the year, sales amounted to 75,582 – up one per cent compared...Continue Reading...

Harmonized Sales Tax: Did you know?

Here is some great information that was sent to me from Rachel at the Ministry of Revenue about the new HST. It gives you the HST and Real Estate in a nutshell: About 93 per cent of all homes sold in Ontario are not subject to an additional tax amount under the HST.  It’s important to note, the HST is not charged on resale homes.   (more...)Continue Reading...

Toronto Area REALTORS® Report September Resale Housing Market Figures

Here is a very interesting report from the Toronto Real Estate Board . Interesting to note that although the market has slowed recently, we are still looking at a busy 2010 taking the whole year into account. Also Media reports of the high prices are not taking into account almost the lowest "affordability factor" that Toronto has ever seen... TORONTO, October 5, 2010 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 6,310 sales through the Multiple Listing Service® (MLS®) in September 2010. This represented a...Continue Reading...

On the Canadian Real Estate Association Resolving the Competition Bureau…

Note: these are my personal thoughts and have absolutely no connection to any volunteer positions that I hold. At the end of the month the Canadian Real Estate Association will be voting to resolve a battle with the Competition Bureau. The big question that everyone wants to know is how this will change the landscape of Real Estate in Canada. The answer is not very much...there have always been options for sellers whether it has been to sell privately, or to list...Continue Reading...

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...

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...