December 30th, 2009
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has released a new, 47-pages long report about housing starts in GTA in November 2009. Unfortunately, the statistics do not seem to be very positive. Housing starts have actually decreased to 2,514 units last month, following three increases in a row.
(GTA Housing Starts in November 2009 continued...)December 30th, 2009
Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games, a huge international sport event for athletes, have officially announced a 12-member Board of Directors. As one of the its first tasks, the Board will choose an executive officer along with a management team helping to organize the huge event taking place in 2015. The Canadian Olympic Committee is "eager to work with all partners as logistical preparations begin for the Games fewer than six years away."
(Toronto 2015 Pan/Parapan American Games continued...)December 28th, 2009
According to a report of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce released today, Canadian economy will keep on growing in 2010. But even though the economic outlook has improved, economic growth is still in danger and the government has to continue stimulus measures, said the Chamber president, Perrin Beatty.
(Canadian economy to grow in 2010 continued...)December 28th, 2009
Washington Post named the $270 million Michael Lee-Chin crystal at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, designed by Daniel Libeskind, the worst building built in the last decade. Philip Kennicott, the author of the critical article published yesterday, described the building as ugly and useless.
(ROM Crystal Ugliest Building Of The Decade, according to Washington Post continued...)December 27th, 2009
A very interesting online survey of 1,225 Royal LePage real estate agents and brokers across whole Canada was conducted in November 2009. Even though our country is on a good way to recover from recession, according to its results, buyers are still worried about the stability of the economy and some of them are afraid the prices will decline once again.
(Royal LePage agents reveal their thoughts about buyers continued...)December 26th, 2009
According to Conference Board of Canada, positive expectations about employment and household income helped to increase the consumer confidence index in the country. The December index rose by 3.7 points from November and 26.2 points from January 2009 up to 82.8 points.
(Increase of consumer confidence index continued...)December 26th, 2009
Toronto lovers of art, good news for you! The works of 30 finalists for the 2009 Kingston Prize portrait competition will be available to look at, at Waddington's Auctioneers from 8th to 19th January 2010.
(Portraits exhibition in Toronto continued...)December 25th, 2009
A great infrastructure project on its way! This week, Canada and Ontario announced a joint investment project with Toronto's Ronald McDonald House. The more than $26 million investment will serve to approximately 80 families with seriously ill children. Ronald McDonald House and the governments of Canada and Ontario are each going to invest about one third of the total cost.
(New house serving ill children on its way! continued...)December 25th, 2009
We live in one busy city even during the most peaceful time of the year. The biggest Christian holidays, when almost everything is closed and calm are a quite convenient time for Muslims to meet up. Thousands of them from across Canada and the US are now arriving to Toronto to attend one of the biggest Islamic conferences in Canada.
(Islamic conference in Toronto continued...)December 24th, 2009
As Canada is recovering from its first recession since the very beginning of 1990's, the news about November home sales in GTA were quite heartwarming. Partly for this reasons - the nicely increasing numbers of sold houses, it was expected that the economy in Canada is growing quite fast. However, it only grew by 0.2 percent in October 2009.
(Growths and declines in Canadian economy continued...)December 23rd, 2009
Gareth Seltzer once moved money on Bay St. for a living. Now he’s made a business of renovating grand old Annex homes. He’s currently on his seventh, a Victorian beauty on Huron Street.
Gareth Seltzer is delighted that the house at 534 Huron was divided up into five apartments in the 1950s.
(Hooked on historic homes continued...)December 22nd, 2009
Immigrants will save Canadian housing industry! Sounds impossible but it might quite possibly be true. At least according to a report recently released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Canada's population growth is not exactly great at the moment, and until 2036, it is going to slow down even more. This only means that fewer new households will be created. Thus we must count on immigrants to save the situation.
(Immigrants to save Canadian housing industry continued...)December 22nd, 2009
After great cities like London, Los Angeles, Hong Kong or Sydney, Toronto is the 14th one to become very electric car friendly. As Toronto Mayor David Miller seems to be really a fan of environment issues lately, he recently proclaimed that Toronto is committed to working with Toronto Hydro and the province to ensure that the infrastructure is there for the charging of the vehicles.
(Electric car friendly Toronto continued...)December 21st, 2009
If it seems like indebtedness of Canadians is starting to get too high, Canada might require people taking out mortgages to come up with a larger downpayment, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty announced on Sunday.
(Possible higher mortgage downpayments in Canada continued...)December 21st, 2009
Copenhagen was one of the most discussed cities this past week. But not only the UN climate negotiations, the intention of which was to increase international efforts to reduce emissions of all the gases considered responsible for global warming, were taking place in Denmark’s capital. Leaders from approximately 80 top cities of the world, including Toronto, were also discussing interesting topics at the Climate Summit for Mayors at Copenhagen City Hall. The title of their meeting was "Cities Act" and municipal action and intake was showcased there.
(Toronto Mayor in Copenhagen continued...)December 19th, 2009
Another interesting new construction on its way! On Tuesday, Steve Mirkopoulos, the president Cinespace Film Studios announced the acquisition of a 30 acre property in Etobicoke. The property will become a multi-studio complex, quite possibly the biggest one in Toronto. It should contain many studios, production office suites and of course, parking places.
(Huge New multi-studio complex to be built in Toronto continued...)December 19th, 2009
Regent Park, one of Toronto's neighborhoods, is going to get a new facility. The planned 68,000 square foot arts and cultural centre should be completed in March 2011 and will cost Ontario and the federal government $24 million. The new facility follows the building of an aquatic centre, a $17 million investment, in Regent Park and is another important part of 15 year $1 billion, revitalization project of the neighborhood.
(Arts and cultural centre for Regent Park continued...)December 18th, 2009
Environmentally friendly vehicles are going to be developed really close to Toronto, in Ontario! Today, the government of Canada and Magna International Inc announced their partnership and aim to build a research center for developing next-generation vehicles.
(A facility for environmentally friendly vehicles to be built in Ontario continued...)December 18th, 2009
After much positive economy and real estate news, here is something not as good. Once again, TREB has released an interesting report. Its Commercial Members claim that 468,350 square feet of leased space were recorded past month in Toronto, as Commercial Council Chair Garry Lander has announced yesterday. In November 2008, 1,113,195 square feet were recorded, which suggests a quite significant, about 58 percent decrease.
(Traded square feet of space decreased in Toronto in 2009, but prices are up continued...)December 17th, 2009
Seems like the candidates for mayors of Toronto just cannot be quiet until the official start of the campaign, 4th January 2010. On Tuesday, Rocco Rossi has declared he would bring new ideas to Toronto, he didn't mention many of them, though.
(Rossi would sell Toronto Hydro continued...)December 17th, 2009
I am thrilled to announce that I have once again ranked in the top 1% of Canada’s residential sales force of over 14,000 Royal LePage agents.
(Announcing Chairman’s Club 2009 continued...)December 17th, 2009
The Bank of Canada seems to be really concerned about people's debts lately. During his speech at the National Forum of business leaders in Toronto yesterday, the bank's governor Mark Carney warned Canadians again not to borrow more money than they will be able to afford when the low interest rates(0.25 percent) rise.
(Bank of Canada advises consumers to be responsible continued...)December 17th, 2009
Gareth Seltzer once moved money on Bay St. for a living. Now he's made a business of renovating grand old Annex homes. He's currently on his seventh, a Victorian beauty on Huron Street.
Gareth Seltzer is delighted that the house at 534 Huron was divided up into five apartments in the 1950s.
(Hooked on historic homes continued...)December 16th, 2009
Toronto will be the host of another great show! The so called Indian Oscars, a huge Bollywood award show will take place here in June 2011, the International Indian Film Academy has announced on Friday. Dalton McGuinty, the Ontario Premier, says he is thrilled.
("Indian Oscars" in Toronto continued...)December 16th, 2009
The 2010 Capital Budget and 10-year (2010-2019) capital plan was approved at Toronto City Council last week. More than half of the budget for 2010, $2.4 billion, will fund public transportation. Transportation and labor issues were the most significant ones during the budget talks.
(Toronto's Budget for 2010: All Public Trans continued...)December 15th, 2009
A recent report published by Statistics Canada claims that Toronto building permits in October increased quite significantly, by 42 percent, up to $1.042 billion dollars. Their value in September was $733 million dollars. In whole Canada, permits in October were up by 18 percent to $6.1 billion. Ontario obviously forms a big part of the growth at the national level - only the value of Toronto's permits comprises one sixth of the national one.
(Toronto Building Permits Increased continued...)December 15th, 2009
Among the states of G8, Canada is going to be the leader in economic growth in 2010. That is according to the reports released yesterday, 14th December. Merril Lynch Canada and Royal Bank of Canada predict 2.6% and 3.2% growth next year, which would be higher than the growth of 7 fellow countries in G8.
(Canada - leader of G8 in economic growth continued...)December 14th, 2009
Good news for fans of sport in Toronto!!! The Olympic torch will arrive to the city this Thursday, the 17th. Until Saturday, the 19th, more than 1, 000 torchbearers all dressed up in white will carry it for 48 kilometers through the streets of Toronto. Come and support them!
(Olympic Torch in Toronto continued...)December 14th, 2009
The official campaigns of wanna-be-mayors of Toronto have not started yet. In spite of the fact they are supposed to be launched only on 4th January 2010, one of the candidates, George Smitherman has already begun with expressing his vision of better Toronto.
(Smitherman's ideas for better Toronto continued...)December 14th, 2009
The following information is taken directly from TREB (Toronto Real Estate Board).
The provincial government has introduced legislation to combine the eight percent Provincial Sales Tax with the five percent federal Goods and Services Tax, creating a 13 percent Harmonized Sales Tax (HST).
(What’s With All the Taxes? continued...)December 13th, 2009
As I already pointed out in my short article yesterday, a great event will take place on June 26th and 27th in Toronto. During his visit in South Korea this week, our Prime Minister Stephen Harper has announced that the G20 summit is moving to Toronto instead of the originally planned Huntsville area.
(G20 summit in Toronto: What does it mean for the city? continued...)December 12th, 2009
As the governor of the Bank of Canada, Mark Carney, said, the current, very low interest rates are very likely not going to maintain their current level for a long time. Thus it might be a big risk for those Canadians who are not able to afford higher payments in the future to borrow now, when the rates are so cheap.
(Warning by the Bank of Canada continued...)December 12th, 2009
Harry Potter lovers, watch out!!! As recently announced, in April 2010 a great touring show called "Harry Potter: Exhibition" will take place in Toronto. Interestingly, Toronto will be the first and only Canadian city to host this event. You will be able to see many cool artifacts from making of the Potter movies – more than 200 costumes will be available.
(Interesting events to take place in Toronto continued...)December 12th, 2009
An Update From The Toronto Real Estate Board
Mid-Month Resale Housing Market Figures
In the first two weeks of November, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 3,666 sales – up 84 per cent compared to the first two weeks of November 2008.The average price for these transactions was up 10 per cent year-over year to $415,066.
(Market Update – Mid November 2009 continued...)December 11th, 2009
According to today’s announcement of Statistics Canada, new home prices in the country increased by 0.3 percent in October from September. Actually, this is already the fourth consecutive gain, as the monthly index has been rising since July.
The biggest gains were reported in Quebec City, where they were as high as 1.1 percent. Second place belongs to Vancouver with 0.7 percent increase. The BC metropolis was followed by Sudbury and Thunder Bay, Ontario, in both of which the gains were 0.5 percent.
Some cities achieved a quite opposite result, though. For example in Edmonton, the monthly decrease in new housing prices is 0.3 percent. In Charlottetown, the decline is even higher – it goes up to 0.7 percent.
If we consider the housing only component, the index increased by 0.4 percent and the cost of land decreased by 0.1 percent during the month. When comparing years 2008 and 2009, it needs to be said that the index is down by 2.1 percent this October.
December 11th, 2009
The recovery of the leading economies of the world is continuing. The newest summary of the housing statistics for 2009 provided by the Global Property Guide supports this claim.
In the third quarter of 2009, the biggest increase of the housing prices was in Israel: 10,2 percent. The most significant decline, on the other hand, was in Latvia: 59,7 percent . As for Canada, the housing prices decreased by 2,14 percent. Overall, in the third quarter more countries went had a decline than an increase.
But in spite of many price decreases, it is still possible to say, as mentioned in the beginning, that the economies are aiming towards recovery. The quarter-on-quarter house price changes Canada, Germany, Singapore, South Africa and the UK are positive again, which is a good sign. Also, the annual data show a clearer picture that the statistic of the third quarter solely. According to those, prices have increased in 16 states and fell in only 11 over the year. Let's just hope this trend will continue!
December 11th, 2009
My Team and I would like to wish you all a happy and healthy holiday season.
The Elli Davis Team
(Happy Holidays continued...)December 10th, 2009
Few of the top Canada's banks have decreased some of their mortgage rates. They reacted this way to the official announcement of the Bank of Canada to keep its interest rate at a historic low.
To mention few examples, the Royal Bank of Canada reduced its one-year closed rate by 1/5 percent, its four-year closed rate by 1/20 percent and its five-year closed rate by 1/10 percent.The four-year closed rate of TD Canada Trust decreased by 1/20 percent and its five-year closed rate by 1/10 percent.
The Bank of Canada has also declared this week that it is going to maintain its overnight rate at 1/4 percent until the second quarter of 2010 and it plans a three percent growth for the year. It should be a positive period for persons planning to buy and renovate too, as the rates are going to be attractive.
December 10th, 2009
The trail has over 400,000 LED lights. You can walk through the trail on pedestrian-only Wednesdays, or drive through any other night of the week.
(December Events 2009 continued...)December 9th, 2009
"Unfair" is the word used by many to describe the state many homeowners are in at the moment. To be exact, this situation only concerns those borrowers, who did not qualify to be financed by traditional lenders. Their alternative sources of finance, the so called orphaned mortgage companies are causing them trouble.
A huge number of mortgages by such companies was issued during the real estate boom almost three years ago. Due to the credit crunch, nearly half of them will not be renewed, no matter how well and regularly the borrowers paid their loans.
Lenders are thus requesting a special billion-dollar fund from a federal government. The fund should renew the healthy mortgages of borrowers who could not afford loans from a bank. However, the officials from the Finance Department are sceptical and question the the estimates of the lenders.
The situations seems to be quite complicated and its turnout will surely be interesting - we will have to wait and see. Anyway, best of luck to the homeowners!
December 9th, 2009
The Canadian mortgage market underwent many structural innovations and changes in recent year, mainly during 2006 after the federal government liberalized mortgage insurance. Mortgage innovation was needed in Canada, but has been relatively more conservative than in the U.S. Nowadays, as a result of these changes, the Canadian mortgage market differs from the U.S. in the following ways:
(Differences Between Canadian and U.S. Mortgage Markets continued...)December 8th, 2009
Good news!!! Signs of recovery in the real estate market are continuing to show quite significantly. According to the newest "Market Watch" of Toronto Real Estate Board, Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported that 7, 446 is the exact number of sold homes in GTA during November 2009. In comparison with November 2008, the sales more than doubled.
There was an increase in the median and average prices for a property too. This November, the median price for a real estate was $353,800, compared to $312,250 from November of 2008. The average price for a house/condo went up by 14 percent over the year to reach as much $418,460.
This trend can be expected to continue also in the first three months of 2010, because the housing market was in a quite critical state in the first quarter of 2009. Thus the comparison will reveal noticeable differences. After that period, the contrast should become less apparent.
The original, 16 pages long report of Toronto Real Estate Board including detailed charts and graphs can be found here.
December 7th, 2009
- Address: 378 Bloor St. W.
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With well over a decade serving the heart of The Annex, Serra Pizza & Pasta is rapidly becoming one of the few respectable restaurants on the Bloor Street strip between Spadina and Bathurst – which is sliding into what some might call disrepute.
(Serra Ristorante Review continued...)December 4th, 2009
To understand the innovation and change that the mortgage market in Canada underwent, we first must make sense of the changes that occurred in the housing market. The housing market is one of the many factors along with the Canadian economy and monetary policies that influenced the transformation.
(Mortgage Changes in Canada continued...)
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