December 31st, 2010
After a number of economy and real estate related news articles, lets be a little less serious for a couple of minutes at least. As at the end of every year, the government of Ontario has once again released a list of the most popular baby names from registered births in the province.
(Top Ontario Baby Names continued...)December 30th, 2010
These beautiful blue stars were captured by the photographer Andrew Manery at the Nathan Phillips Square skating rink, placed not far from the Yorkville neighbourhood.
(New Year’s Blue Stars continued...)December 29th, 2010
After the decline of 0.1 percent in September, Canada’s gross domestic product did not rise by any noticeable amount in October either. It only increased by 0.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion, which is certainly less than expected, Statistics Canada announced in Ottawa.
(Not-so-great GDP Data continued...)December 28th, 2010
What a surprise! Consumer prices in Canada increased less than predicted last month! That is, after a 2.4 percent rise in October, they only went up by 2 percent annually in November, Statistics Canada reported. From October, the prices went up by 0.1 percent. The main reasons for this decelerated pace of the growth, are moderated prices for food, clothing and energy.
(November Consumer Prices continued...)December 28th, 2010
The odds are pretty much in the producers’ favour that they will have a hit with this show. Story by Larry Gelbart, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, directed by Des McAnuff and brought to the commercial stage by Mirvish Productions. With this pedigree, chances are you will enjoy yourself. A funny thing just hit me, if you do not know who all of the aforementioned are, please (as they say) Google the names.
(A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum continued...)December 27th, 2010
The confidence in the economy has declined among Canadians again! That is according to the recently published TNS Consumer Confidence Index. It shows that in December, the overall index of 2010 completely erased the slight increase recorded in November, as it fell by 1.5 points to 96.1.
(Consumer Confidence Fell continued...)December 27th, 2010
” It looks like it, but this isn’t cotton. It’s snow.” Commented the photographer Zoarpics his own beautiful image captured inside The Annex Neighbourhood.
(Cotton in The Annex continued...)December 26th, 2010
The University of Toronto's Cities Centre has just updated a report, the title of which is Three Cities in Toronto. Its findings are pretty interesting, since the year 1970, the number of middle class neighbourhoods (that is, neighbourhoods where the average individual income is within 20 percent of the city average of $40,704) in Toronto fell extremely significantly.
(Less Middle Class Neighborhoods continued...)December 25th, 2010
Seems like the economic recession has influenced the citizens of Canada quite noticeably. As Statistics Canada reported in 2009, the average household spending in the country decreased by 0.3 percent to $71,120. This decline is actually the very first one since introducing the agency's annual Survey of Household Spending in 1997.
(Declined 2009 Household Spending continued...)December 24th, 2010
Seems like the resale housing activity in Canada is finally returning to its usual, normal state! That is, at least, what the November data published by the Canadian Real Estate Association show. According to the association, the seasonally adjusted sales activity via the Multiple Listing Service in our country increased by 4.8 percent last month.
(Sales Up in November continued...)December 24th, 2010
Christmas time in the city, magical photo of the day captured by talented Roozbeh Rokni.
(Christmas Time in the City continued...)December 24th, 2010
A second straight increase of Canada’s index of leading economic indicators was recorded in November! As Statistics Canada reported, the index went up by 0.3 percent last month, the same rise as in October. Furthermore, the average monthly increase of the index has been 0.3 percent over the past decade as well.
(Economic Index Rose continued...)December 22nd, 2010
And now the newest entry into the grab-the-holiday-entertainment-dollar production which includes such shows as The Nutcracker, The Messiah, Petty’s Panto, etc. Hollywood also takes a stab at grabbing the dollar in the cinemas. Most of these productions do well and deserve attention and to be seen. With The Grinch that Stole Christmas, other than to grab some of that loose cash, why is this production taking up precious space on stage?
(The Grinch That Stole Christmas continued...)December 20th, 2010
Royal Le Page has just announced its top realtors for 2010. I placed #4 in Canada for Royal Le Page nationally out of 14,300 Sales Representatives and #1 in Toronto.
Thank you for helping me achieve these titles!
(Just Announced News & Season’s Greetings! continued...)December 20th, 2010
The Messiah is many things to many people. To some religions he has yet to arrive, while others have embraced various prophets as their Messiah. In our culturally diverse community, it is important to remember that more people on this planet do not celebrate Christmas than do. The legacy, however, bestowed upon us by the glorious Church must be cherished. We adore its architecture, its artwork, its patronage of culture and, of course, its music.
(MESSIAH: An Oratorio continued...)December 19th, 2010
Finally some good news regarding the trade deficit in Canada! According to the figures released by Statistics Canada, after a huge increase in September, the country’s trade deficit narrowed to 1.7 billion dollars in October. The revised September level was 2.3 billion dollars.
(Trade Deficit – October Fall continued...)December 17th, 2010
Statistics Canada has released its New House Price report for the month of October! According to the data, after the September monthly rise of 0.2 percent, the New Housing Price Index increased at a slightly slower pace, by 0.1 percent in October.
Saskatoon saw the largest price rise over the month, at 0.8 percent, followed by a 0.5 percent increase recorded in Greater Sudbury and Thunder Bay. Interestingly, prices stayed about the same as the September figures in 9 out of 21 surveyed areas.
(October NHPI Increase continued...)December 15th, 2010
The 2010 Rental Market Survey report for the Greater Toronto Area has been released recently, by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation! According to the report, the apartment vacancy rates in the area have been falling this year.
(Less Apartment Vacancies continued...)December 14th, 2010
Home sales in Ontario are going to go up in 2011, before declining again in 2012, the Central 1 Credit Union predicted in a recent statement. Prices are expected to keep on increasing for the next two years and may reach record levels during this period.
(Ontario 2011 Housing continued...)December 13th, 2010
Housing starts in Canada increased for the first time in four months, according to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation’s statement. Last month’s starts went up more than expected, by 11.6 percent from a revised 167,800 rate in October to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 187,200 .
(November Housing Starts continued...)December 13th, 2010
These beautiful golden arches discovered by the talented Fadi Jozif are at the University of Toronto.
(Golden Arches continued...)
December 12th, 2010
A new report released by RE/MAX predicts the housing market across Canada to be quite stable for next year. The number of sales is not likely to increase, but there should be no dramatic decline either. Actually, it should be pretty similar to 2010.
(Stable 2011 Housing Market? continued...)December 11th, 2010
Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. Add to the holiday atmosphere by setting a festive mood in your home. Using the same decor every year gets boring quickly and buying something new and stylish every year can be very expensive. How can you decorate your home for Christmas in an inexpensive way? Read on, here are some ideas!
(Affordable Christmas Decor continued...)December 10th, 2010
Good news for those planning to purchase a property! Housing in Toronto, as well as in the whole of Ontario and Canada is becoming more affordable, the latest Royal Bank of Canada’s Housing Affordability Measures show. For the first time since the second quarter of 2009, the cost of home ownership in the country decreased in the third quarter of this year.
(More Affordable Homes continued...)December 10th, 2010
Dreamy fairy-tale roots found in the Sunnybrook park situated near The Bridle Path neighbourhood. Dramatic photo of the day taken by William Self.
(Roots continued...)December 9th, 2010
The number of sold homes in the Greater Toronto Area increased for the fourth straight month to 88,100 in November, GTA Realtors reported.To compare: in July there were only 67,900 sales. Nonetheless, the sales in the GTA were lower this past month than they were in November 2009.
(November GTA Housing continued...)December 8th, 2010
The unemployment situation in Canada has improved a little in November! As Statistics Canada informed, in spite of ‘not so great’ job growth, the unemployment rate went down to its lowest level since January 2009. From 7.9 percent recorded in October, the rate declined to 7.6 percent last month.
(November Employment Situation continued...)December 7th, 2010
Housing starts in the Greater Toronto Area declined significantly in October, a new report released by the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows. As a matter of fact, October was the least successful month of this year regarding housing starts.
(October GTA Housing Starts continued...)December 7th, 2010
It’s hard to believe that Ross Petty has been presenting, producing and starring in Pantomimes for 15 years. Before passing judgment about the newest version, I feel it is important to remember what the Panto is and/or ought to be.
(Beauty and the Beast continued...)December 6th, 2010
Ontario should improve its innovation and productivity levels as fast as possible! It may not bode well for the province otherwise, a recently released report by Ontario’s Task Force on Competitiveness, Productivity and Economic Progress states.
(Ontario Needs to Improve continued...)December 5th, 2010
The economy of Canada seems to be slowing down more than it should, or rather more than expected. That is the case for the third quarter of this year as well, Statistics Canada reported. The Canadian gross domestic product for this last quarter has increased by exactly 1 percent from the third quarter of 2009.
(GDP Growth Decelerating continued...)December 4th, 2010
Winter across Yorkville, breathtaking photo of the day made by talented David Jones.
(Yorkville Snow continued...)December 4th, 2010
The budget deficit in Canada seems to be narrowing! It has fallen in September from a year earlier, the most recent Fiscal report straight from Ottawa shows. To be specific, three months ago the deficit was $3.92 billion, which is noticeably lower than the $4.97 billion recorded in September 2009.
(Narrowing Budget Deficit continued...)December 2nd, 2010
Sadly, child poverty in Ontario does not seem to be on the right track. After three years of decreases, the poverty levels in the province went up again in 2008, according to the recently released report by Ontario Campaign 2000, a branch of a national group whose aim is to reduce poverty in Canada.
(Rising Child Poverty in Ontario continued...)December 1st, 2010
Great housing news! After the terrible fall of 32 percent in September, new home sales in the Greater Toronto Area increased in October! As many as 4,535 new homes have been sold and if compared to October 2009, it is a 0.6 percent rise, according to the data released by the Building, Industry and Land Development Association.
(New Home Sales Rose continued...)December 1st, 2010
Photographer Sam Xiao captured this magical image of Christmas lights inside the Eaton Center, which is one of the most popular shopping destinations in Toronto. You can also get into the spirit of the season with the festive decorations & boutiques a little further north in the Rosedale neighbourhood.
(Christmas Lights continued...)November 30th, 2010
The long expected holiday season seems to be approaching pretty fast. People are starting to panic that they don’t have presents yet, so the stores are filling up with shoppers. Simply, the pre-Christmas madness has begun. Home sales do not seem to be an important issue at this time, do they? Well, there are people who do want to sell their property, even during the craziest season of the year. Selling your home at this time of year does not necessarily have to be a bad decision.
(Selling During the Holidays? continued...)November 29th, 2010
Surprise, surprise! A not very pleasant one, I have to say. Consumer prices in Canada increased at the fastest pace in two years, during the month of October. To be exact, they advanced by 2.4 percent from October 2009 and 0.4 percent since September, Statistics Canada reported. Just for comparison, in September, the year-to-year rise was as high as 1.9 percent.
(Rise of Consumer Prices continued...)November 28th, 2010
The first fourteen days of November have passed, which means the housing results for the Greater Toronto area for this period have been published. The trend of year-to-year declines is unsurprisingly continuing! Exactly 3,076 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported for November so far by the Greater Toronto Realtors.
(GTA November Housing continued...)November 27th, 2010
This next year is not going to be exactly great for Ontario and its economy, an economic outlook released by the Scotiabank claims. Just as OECD, the Scotiabank also expects the overall growth in the country to be a little weaker in 2011 and the province is going to, quite noticeably, contribute to that.
(Ontario Economy in 2011 continued...)November 26th, 2010
The composite index of leading economic indicators increased by 0.2 percent last month, after a 0.2 percent fall recorded in September, Statistics Canada reported. The figures are not that bad, but we have been used to a higher rate of increases. Actually, except for September, I don’t even remember the last time the index fell.
(Index of Economic Indicators Up continued...)November 25th, 2010
“What now?” This is a question many homeowners ask right after moving and starting to settle down in their new home. The answer is easy; there should be a housewarming party, everyone is expecting one! However, inexperienced first time homeowners especially, may have a small problem with hosting such a party. Here is some advice!
(Throw a Good Housewarming Party! continued...)November 25th, 2010
Do you remember a little musical called Mama Mia? Did you like it? Do you remember how good and warm you felt inside after you saw it? Well, get ready because if you liked Mama Mia, you are gonna LOVE Priscilla!
(Priscilla Queen of the Desert continued...)November 25th, 2010
Sunset inside Rosedale neighbourhood, splendid photo made by talented Adityo Sastromuljono.
(Sunset Inside Rosedale continued...)November 24th, 2010
The Organization for Economic cooperation and development (OECD) seems to be quite optimistic about the Canadian economy according to their recently published annual economic outlook.
(OECD Economic Outlook continued...)November 23rd, 2010
Rush shopping hours inside the Yorkville neighbourhood. This great shot was made just a day before Christmas and was taken by skillful photographer Primarita Smita.
(Rush Shopping Hours continued...)November 23rd, 2010
Economic performance of Canada will not be great next year. This is what more and more executive chartered accountants in Canada seem to believe, according to the latest survey by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants and the Royal Bank of Canada’s Business Monitor.
(Accountants Economy-Pessimistic continued...)November 23rd, 2010
Good financial health is the key factor for every Ontario real estate home hunter. Since car lease is usually the second biggest financial burden after mortgage, it requires special attention.
(Transfer Your Car Lease continued...)November 22nd, 2010
Here is some positive housing news from Canada for a change! According to data released by the Canadian Real Estate Association, the resale activity in our country increased again in October, for the third month in a row! The seasonally adjusted activity rose by 4.6 percent last month.
(Resale Activity Up continued...)November 22nd, 2010
When you look at our latest infographics covering October results based on data from TREB, you probably notice an interesting development. While sales went down, average price went up. Is this against the laws of economy? Not exactly.
(Sales Down, Prices Up? Not Exactly continued...)November 20th, 2010
Torontian fans of arts; here is some good news for you! Due to a partnership of the National Gallery of Canada and the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Arts, you really do not have go far to be able to see a number of fabulous pieces from the National Gallery’s contemporary art collection. They will be right here in the city!
(Contemporary Art in Toronto continued...)November 20th, 2010
Skilled photographer Giselle Gija captured this breathtaking beauty of a sunset sky inside Hillcrest neighbourhood. Nice photo inviting us for a small night walk along the St. Clair West Avenue.
(Sunset Inside Hillcrest continued...)November 19th, 2010
Children; we love them and they often make our days much brighter and happier. Of course, none of us would want them to be injured, even accidentally. However, we have to realize that each home has a pretty high number of potential dangers. What do we do to try and protect our kids from being hurt in the home? This is what I aim to deal with in this article. So here are some tips!
(Home Safety for Children continued...)November 18th, 2010
The worst is behind us and hopefully the future outlook is going to be more positive! After quite wildly fluctuating numbers this year, the housing market in the Greater Toronto Area is going to be pretty much stable in 2011, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation claims.
(2011 Stable for GTA continued...)November 17th, 2010
The New Housing Price Index increased more than expected in September! The rise of 0.2 percent is actually double the figures seen in the previous month, Statistics Canada announced. In comparison with September of last year, the index was up 2.7 percent.
(NHPI Rose Again continued...)November 15th, 2010
Here we continue with more bad economic news! According to the statement by Statistics Canada, our country’s trade deficit increased very significantly in September, almost to the record high level seen in July. The deficit two months ago reached the level of $2.5 billion, a very noticeable rise from $1.5 billion recorded in August.
(High Trade Deficit continued...)November 14th, 2010
The housing-related news from Canada is quite negative once again! Housing starts in the country declined in October, for the fifth month in a row! Last months starts fell more than predicted, by 9.2 percent to 167,900 units. A decline was recorded in both major components.
(October Housing Starts continued...)November 13th, 2010
The employment situation in Canada is still in a poor state! After a loss of 6,600 jobs in September, there have only been about 3,000 new positions created in October, Statistics Canada reported. Yes it is a positive change, but it is still a really small number if compared to expectations of about 15,000 new jobs.
(September Employment continued...)November 11th, 2010
The quite unsuccessful housing situation in Canada, over the second half of this year, has made the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) slightly moderate their housing related predictions for this, as well as next, year. Here they are!
(Moderated Housing Predictions continued...)November 11th, 2010
Beautiful remembrance of summer, great shot taken by photographer Lee Tishman inside Cedarvale neighborhood.
(Cedarvale Park continued...)November 10th, 2010
October is over so the results of the Greater Toronto Area housing situation for the month have been released! According to Greater Toronto Realtors, 6,681 homes have been sold through the Multiple Listing Service last month. If compared to October 2009 and 8,476 sales, it is a 21 percent decline.
(GTA October Housing Data continued...)November 9th, 2010
Condos are trendy in Ontario right now, a report released by Re/Max shows. They are especially popular among first time home buyers due to their low prices. Actually, condo sales are increasing in 7 out of 8 regional markets in the province.
(Condos Are In continued...)November 9th, 2010
These beautiful lamposts and the redbrick sidewalk were probably the reason why the photographer AshtonPal decided to make this great shot. Thanks to the photo we can imagine how it looks like inside Rosedale neighbourhood.
(Rosedale Sidewalk continued...)November 8th, 2010
Have you every though about the signs of a modern city? I bet that some of you would answer scryscrapers. These tall buildings definitely became focal points of our lives all over the world, especially in North America.
To qualify for a skyscraper, the building has to be over 500 feet (152 m) high, with usable storeys and self-supporting skeleton structure. The first building that combines all of these elements was Equitable Life Assurance Co Building in New York, completed in 1870. However, as a first real skyscraper is considered to be 55 metres (180 feet) Home Life Insurance Co Building in Chicago, finished in 1885.
(History of Skyscrapers in Canada I. continued...)November 7th, 2010
The roads in Toronto are in a catastrophic condition! This is what the results of the 7th annual survey conducted by the Canadian Automobile Association show clearly. Out of 20 worst roads in the whole of Ontario what is quite tragic are that 8, nearly half, are located in Toronto.
(Terrible Toronto Roads continued...)November 6th, 2010
Even though Canada coped well with the economic recession (actually, much better than most of the countries), it should not stop its efforts to keep improving. The country’s growth has been slowing down and with the situation in the US of increasing protectionism and very high household debt; this could easily lead to an unsteady recovery, the International Monetary Fund said by the end of last week.
(IMF on Canada’s Economy continued...)November 3rd, 2010
After a fall of 0.1 percent in July, Canada’s gross domestic product was back to showing an increase in August, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. The GDP rose by 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.24 trillion. If compared to August 2009, it was quite noticeably higher, by 4.1 percent.
(GDP Back to Increasing continued...)November 3rd, 2010
Blythwood Public School, though one of the smaller elementary schools in the Toronto District, it has always enjoyed strong community support. School was established in 1937 at 2 Strathgowan Crescent, near Mount Pleasant and Lawrence Park. Thanks to Marc Hodges and his interesting architectural photo we can admire clean geometrical lines of the outside wall at Blythwood.
(Blythwood Public School continued...)November 2nd, 2010
Wind-water – does this word combination remind you of anything? Probably not, I guess. But if given its original translation, you probably know exactly what it is. Feng shui is very well known nowadays and it is an old Chinese system of organization using laws of earth and heaven to help make life more positive, thanks to the positive so called qi.
(Feng Shui Bedroom continued...)November 1st, 2010
Rising home prices in Canada seems to be slowing down; this is according to freshly released information by the Teranet National Bank composite home price index. From July to August, prices only increased by 0.2 percent, which is the smallest raise since the index started climbing. Out of six analyzed cities, prices actually decreased in two of them.
(Decelerating Home Prices continued...)November 1st, 2010
This beautiful night shot is perfectly representing the Sherwood Park located just inside the North Toronto neighbourhood. The photographer Don Toye made great job in this photo!
October 31st, 2010
Rob Ford, the Conservative candidate, will be the next Toronto Mayor after all! According to the official results of the Monday elections, he received approximately 47 percent of the votes cast. Fords biggest rival, George Smitherman was surprisingly quite far behind, with about 36 percent of the votes.
(Ford Won the Toronto Elections continued...)October 30th, 2010
Excellent photo, made by talented and skillful photographer Adityo Sastromuljono. This photo shows beautiful sunset atmosphere behind the Bloor Street inside The Annex neighbourhood.
(Darkness Falls continued...)October 28th, 2010
To all Canadians, here is some good but not surprising news for many of you! You are not going to pay more for your loans and credit anytime soon! The Bank of Canada has not only left the interest rates at 1 percent, but has also officially declared it is not going to raise them in the near future.
(No Rise of Interest Rates continued...)October 28th, 2010
Mall shopping, nice activity to fill up some Saturday afternoon. For residents living inside Teddington Park there is the right place to go – St. Lawrence Market. Great photo made by Sam Xiao, shows the rush atmosphere inside the mall.
(Mall Shopping continued...)October 27th, 2010
TD Economics has recently released a special report revealing some positive and some not so positive aspects of Toronto’s economy and its recovery! Very optimistically, it states that the economy of our city “skirted the recession that devastated many other urban economies in North America.”
(Toronto’s Recovery continued...)October 26th, 2010
Here is yet another surprising piece of economic information! Housing and manufacturing belong to the seemingly least successful sector of the Canadian economy! These two were the main reason the index of leading economic indicators fell last month, for the first time since April last year, Statistics Canada reported on Thursday.
(Economic Index Fell continued...)October 26th, 2010
Eglinton Grand, formerly known as The Eglinton Theatre, is an historic landmark definitely worth to see. This renovated theatre with hundreds of travelling lights serves now for banquets and special events, it is situated close to Chaplin Estates and offers beautiful views as can be seen in this extraordinary photo taken by talented Irina Souiki.
October 25th, 2010
The confidence of Canadians in the economy has fallen again, for the third quarter in a row! Actually, it is currently at its lowest level since Canada climbed out of recession, the Nanos Economic Mood Index shows. From the 121.2 points recorded in the fourth quarter of 2009, the index derived from data conducted between October 1 and October 6 has fallen to 111.4 points.
(Consumer Confidence Fell Again continued...)October 24th, 2010
As the days are getting colder and shorter, the more we want to spend time just sitting by a warm, nice fireplace and relaxing. In this case, a fire is just awesome and we can do nothing but love it. But there are cases when fire is not exactly a friend, isn’t there? Therefore I have decided to write an article, offering you some tips, which could possibly help your home stay safe from fire. Here it is!
(Home Fire Safety Tips continued...)October 23rd, 2010
The first half of October is over and as usual, Greater Toronto Area housing reports from the first two weeks of the month have been released. During this period, Greater Toronto Realtors reported exactly 3,012 sales through the Multiple Listing Service. If compared to 3,631 sales recorded during the same time in 2009, it is approximately a 17 percent fall.
(GTA mid-October Housing continued...)October 21st, 2010
Here I am with Toronto Mayoral election news again! Or rather, I’m here with the last predictions before the elections themselves. According to the new Nanos poll conducted between last Thursday and Saturday involving 1,000 people, nothing is definite yet, there are two very strong candidates and any of them could win.
(Who Will Win the Toronto Elections? continued...)October 21st, 2010
Beautiful capture, which was taken by Gavan Watson in Nordheimer Ravine, invites us to admire nature or just go for an walk in this popular South Hill relax destination point.
(Red Ozier Berries continued...)October 20th, 2010
Existing home sales in Canada increased slightly from August, for the second month in a row! However, just as expected, the number of homes sold decreased quite noticeably if compared to record high sales in September 2009, the Canadian Real Estate Association reported on Friday.
(Canadian Home Sales Rose in September continued...)October 19th, 2010
Three months can make a big difference! This is one of the conclusions seen in the new Reuters poll. It was conducted after a number of negative economy-related news stories were seen over the last couple of days and if compared to the last similar survey conducted in July, the results seem to be quite different indeed.
(Canadian Economy: Poll and Predictions continued...)October 18th, 2010
The trade deficit for Canada had a noticeable and quite surprising fall from July to August, Statistics Canada reported. To demonstrate the difference, from $2.55 billion in July the deficit fell by almost 50 percent, to “only” $1.34 billion in August.
(Trade Deficit Fell continued...)October 17th, 2010
More real estate related news from Canada! The new home price index in the country unexpectedly increased by 0.1 percent from July to August 2010, Statistics Canada reported this week. If compared to August 2009, prices rose even more significantly, by 2.9 percent.
(New Home Price Index Rose continued...)October 17th, 2010
University of Toronto Campus, which is located near South Hill, became an interesting inspiration to the enthusiastic photographer Andriy Korotushak. Thanks for this amazing photo!
(University of Toronto Campus continued...)October 16th, 2010
Fresh and quite positive real estate information, from Canada, is here! September housing starts, in Canada, did not fall as significantly as they were predicted too. They only fell by 1.5 percent, from 189,300 units in August to 186,400 last month, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation said. This is mainly due to a decrease in single family homes housing starts.
(September Housing Starts continued...)October 15th, 2010
In one of my previous articles I touched on the subject of timeshares and promised to elaborate on the topic a little in the near future. Well that time has now come now and I have decided to dedicate this week’s article completely to timeshares. Timeshares are sometimes called by different names, for example vacation ownership.
(Timeshare continued...)October 14th, 2010
Summerhill Railway Station consists of a 140-foot clock tower and a three-storey main terminal. Thanks to Marina we can behold the tower from a totally different perspective.
(Summerhill Station Clock Tower continued...)October 13th, 2010
Canada’s employment situation has worsened a little in September. The predictions that 10,000 jobs will be created did not come true and in reality, about 6,600 jobs have been shed. Nonetheless, the unemployment rate declined to exactly 8 percent from the 8.1 recorded in August, as 24, 400 people stopped searching for a job, Statistics Canada reported.
(Employment in September continued...)October 12th, 2010
In spite of a quite noticeable slow down caused partly by the housing sector, Canada is going to lead the G7 countries’ economic recovery for the rest of this year as well as 2011. That is what the International Monetary Fund predicted in its freshly released October World Economic Survey.
(Canada Expected to Lead continued...)October 11th, 2010
Here is some unpleasant and quite shocking housing news for you! Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa, this week, that August building permits in the country fell a lot more than originally predicted! Their value fell by almost ten percent (9.2 to be exact) to $5.75 billion, which is the biggest decrease recorded since February 2009.
(Building Permits Fell continued...)October 10th, 2010
Finalized September housing news from the GTA has just been released! As reported by the Greater Toronto Realtors, exactly 6,310 homes were sold through the Multiple Listing Service last month. From September 2009, when 8,196 sales were reported from the area, it is about a 23 percent decline.
(GTA September Housing continued...)October 8th, 2010
After not very successful summer, the Canadian housing market is expected to return to a more normal state during the fall, a new report by Re/Max released this Tuesday claims. In spite of the improvement, the company however, does not predict home sales to go back to the pace seen last year.
(Housing to Return to Normal continued...)October 7th, 2010
One of the most annoying things that can happen in a new home is when appliances or machines simply stop working, just after you moved in. Fortunately enough, there are some things which can protect new homeowners. A home warranty plan is one of those things. If you have absolutely no experience with new houses you should, perhaps, think about one. Even if you have experience these plans are still a good idea.
(Home Warranty Plan continued...)October 7th, 2010
Colorful photo of rainy Yonge Street, that is running through Summerhill neighbourhood, was taken by talented photographer Miguel Máiquez. Thanks for the wonderful view!
(Yonge Street continued...)October 6th, 2010
Homes in Canada, particularly in some regions, are extremely overvalued, a report released earlier this week by CIBC World Markets Inc. found out. The prices are a lot higher than they ideally should be, by about 11.8 percent, it states.
(Overvalued Canadian Homes continued...)October 5th, 2010
Nice memory of sommer time captured by Sallie Alaily in Rosedale Park inside Rosedale neighbourhood.
(Rosedale Park continued...)October 3rd, 2010
People living in Ontario seem to be becoming quite pessimistic about the economy! According to the Canadian Consumer Outlook released by RBC, the economic confidence of Ontarians decreased the most significantly of all the provinces. From the first quarter, their economic confidence fell from 97 to 79 points, which is 18 points.
(Economy: Pessimistic Ontarians continued...)October 2nd, 2010
Here we have another sign of a decelerating Canadian economy! In July, for the first time in almost a year, the gross domestic product of the country decreased, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa this Thursday. The GDP decreased by 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $1.23 trillion. The main factors influencing the general fall are a decline in retailing, manufacturing and construction.
(Canadian GDP Declined continued...)October 1st, 2010
Does your neighborhood seem to be dirty and dull? Do something about it! One of the activities, almost anyone in your area can help with, is a common neighborhood cleanup. This is effective as well as pleasant, since it makes relationships among neighbors closer and at the same time, it creates a nicer and cleaner neighborhood.
(Neighborhood Cleanup continued...)October 1st, 2010
Cycling at sunset – gorgeous emotional shot, which was taken on Bloor Street West near The Annex neighbourhood, reminds us warm sunny evenings of sommer days. Brilliant photo captured by talented photographer Bouke Salverda.
(Cycling At Sunset continued...)September 30th, 2010
In the second quarter of this year, homeownership costs in Canada increased again for the fourth time in a row, a recent housing report by RBC Economics states. The RBC Housing affordability measure, which has been complied since 1985, ‘captures the proportion of pre-tax household income necessary to service the costs of home ownership.’
(Less Affordable Housing continued...)September 29th, 2010
The Conference Board of Canada’s most recent map entitled “Sleeping on the Couch” from the ‘Here, the North’ series, states that northern Canada is much more overcrowded than southern Canada. While there are very few households with six or more people in Southern Canada, in some Northern regions, about 25 percent of homes are in this situation.
(Overcrowded Northern Canada continued...)September 29th, 2010
This amazing photo was taken at St. Clair West Avenue inside Hillcrest neighbourhood by Greg Piccini, who has evidently great passion for fast moving objects.
(St. Clair West Avenue continued...)September 28th, 2010
Canada is the 7th most economically free country in the world. That is according to the Economic Freedom of the World annual report for 2010, which was recently released by the Canada based Fraser Institute. The economic freedom index analyzes the degree to which the institutions and politics of specific countries support economic freedom.
(Economic Freedom of Canada continued...)September 27th, 2010
The Conference Board of Canada released their new autumn 2010 Metropolitan Outlook on Thursday. Among other predictions, the Board expects that in part, due to cutting government stimulus, the economic growth of our country is going to slow down next year. Nevertheless, the biggest threat comes from outside, it claims.
(Outlook for Canada continued...)September 27th, 2010
Great image captured by tallented photographer Neil Ta during a walk through the Cedarvale Park area inside Cedarvale neighbourhood.
(Go Fly a Kite continued...)September 26th, 2010
What are Canadians like when it comes to housing? The answer to this was the subject of a recent survey conducted, by TD Canada Trust, on more than 1,000 people. The results are pretty interesting, I have to say.
(Canadians about Housing continued...)September 25th, 2010
Nobody really expected this! After increased August home sales, there is more positive economic news this month! The consumption price index in Canada, very surprisingly, fell by 0.1 percent and the annual inflation rate rose by 1.7 percent last month (in July, it was slightly higher, at1.8 percent), Statistics Canada reported this week.
(Good Economic News continued...)September 25th, 2010
Not typical view of Mount Pleasant Cemetery invites us to visit this beautiful and peacefull place situated inside Davisville Village. Nice view was found by Gabrioladude during a morning walk.
(Mount Pleasant Cemetery continued...)September 24th, 2010
Even holidays, vacations and trips we look forward to can cause us a lot of stress. We have to shop, pack, book the tickets, find a place to stay and while we are away, we also worry about our home. No, I am not going to offer you a flawless working recipe on how to have an absolutely stress-less vacation, but I hope to give you a couple of tips which could be helpful.
(Stress-less Vacation continued...)September 23rd, 2010
The budget deficit for Canada over the last fiscal year will be more than $50 billion. This is what our Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty declared recently. Back in March, Flaherty said something very similar, when he predicted that the deficit for the fiscal year ending in March would be about $53.8 billion.
(Canada’s Budget Deficit continued...)September 21st, 2010
September Greater Toronto Area housing data figures have been released! During the first two weeks of the month, Greater Toronto Realtors reported exactly 2,623 sales through the Multiple Listing Service. If compared to the first fourteen days of September 2009 and 3,361 sales recorded, that is a 22 percent decline.
(GTA September Sales continued...)September 21st, 2010
Beautiful barber shop icon found by Lee Tishman at Forest Hill Village is calling us to go and search for this red lined “advertising banner”.
(Barbershop continued...)September 21st, 2010
Quartz counters, a centre island, heated floors and stainless steel appliances are among the recent improvements made to this detached brick home, says listing agent Elli Davis.
(Chaplin Estates continued...)September 20th, 2010
The Canadian economy is not doing as well as it was just a couple of months ago, that is quite obvious. According to TD Economics, the economy of our country is not that bad and the recovery is showing signs of maturing. Still, the group has also moderated its growth forecast.
(Maturing Recovery, Decelerating Economy continued...)September 19th, 2010
Unbelievable! Housing news from Canada seems to be quite positive once again! According to the report released by the Canadian Real Estate Association, existing home sales in the country increased by 4.1 percent from July to August. This is actually the first rise since March of this year.
(Home Sales Increased continued...)September 19th, 2010
October football match at Upper Canada College, respected private sckool located north of South Hill. Nice shot by Phil Marion.
(Upper Canada College Blues Football continued...)September 17th, 2010
The very well known and respected Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has, on Monday, released its Economic Survey analysis evaluating and offering advice to Canada’s economy. Housing in the country is way too overpriced, the report states. Record-high housing costs, together with household indebtedness are quite risky for the economic outlook, according to the organization.
(The OECD about Canada continued...)September 17th, 2010
There can never be enough photos of the major Toronto tourist attraction – Casa Loma. Beautiful photo by Brian Sørensen.
(The Casa Loma Castle continued...)September 16th, 2010
I have some fresh Canadian housing news for you! As the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 183,300 units over the last month. July saw figures revised to 188,900 units; therefore August sees an approximate 3 percent decline. Single and multiple housing starts both fell.
(August Housing Starts continued...)September 15th, 2010
The unemployment rate in Canada increased from 8 percent in July to 8.1 percent in August, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa. Even though more jobs than expected were created last month, the job creation has been, quite obviously, slowing down during the last two months.
(Unemployment Rate Rose to 8.1% continued...)September 15th, 2010
Go for a walk and visit the Winston Churchill Park, situated inside the South Hill neighbourhood. Nice photo by David Pratt.
(Winston Churchill Park continued...)September 14th, 2010
There is nothing in this world that works well forever. It is the same with all the machines, furniture and basically everything in your home. When something goes wrong, what many people do is call a specialist straightaway, which is not always necessary. You can save quite a lot of money, if you are skilful enough, especially if you at least try to do the easiest of fixes yourself. On the other hand, professionals save you time, patience and energy.
(Home Repairs continued...)September 13th, 2010
The World Economic Forum has just released its Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011. The ranking for Canada has fallen since 2009, from 9th, to 10th place. The first most competitive economy is still that of Switzerland, followed by Sweden, Singapore, United States and Germany.
(Canada’s Competitiveness continued...)September 11th, 2010
The trade deficit in July 2010 was recordly widened, quite unexpectedly, Statistics Canada reported. It reached $2.74 billion, which is a pretty big increase from the $1.81 seen just a month before. This is the biggest deficit since 1971, when the federal agency began tracking numbers. Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty claims he is quite concerned.
(Record High Trade Deficit continued...)September 11th, 2010
Breathtaking fall reflections taken by talented photographer AlDuke in Warden Woods Park. This charming park is connected to The Bridle Path neighbourhoods by a 9-kilometre paved recreational trail which invites us for an refreshing walk.
(Fall Reflections continued...)September 10th, 2010
Another rise in interest rates by the Bank of Canada! The central Bank has just raised its key lending rate for overnight loans from 0.75 percent to 1 percent. Raises in the near future are, however, quite questionable, a statement from the bank claims.
(Interest Rates Rose Again continued...)September 9th, 2010
POST: When we met in the spring, you experts were optimistic about the future of Toronto real estate, and rightly so: the market soared through April, May and June. But July saw a major drop-off. So what’s happening?
(Post City Magazine Fall Real Estate Round Table continued...)September 9th, 2010
Toronto Mayoral electoral candidates, Rocco Rossi and Rob Ford are gaining votes, just over a month before the actual elections! That is what a new public opinion poll conducted by Forum research, during last two days of August, claims.
(Ford and Rossi Gaining Votes continued...)September 9th, 2010
Look at this colourful view of stone pattern found somewhere inside Forest Hill, neighbourhoods where even driveways looks pretty! Interesting photo taken by Phil Marion.
(Stone pattern continued...)September 8th, 2010
Consumer confidence in Canada fell again, for the second quarter in a row, a very recent public opinion poll clearly demonstrates. The Canada-wide telephone survey of more than 2,000 people was conducted by Harris/Decima between August 19 and 29.
(Consumer Confidence Fell Again continued...)September 7th, 2010
Time is flying by extremely fast and before we even realize, summer will be completely over and will be strolling around the city surrounded by colorful fallen leaves or falling asleep listening to autumn raindrops. Every season, including autumn, has its own typical features. These characteristics should be reflected in your home decor and garden, too.
(Autumn Makeover continued...)September 7th, 2010
Thanks to John Elmslie we can almost feel the warm atmosphere in one of many restaurants at Hazelton Lanes. This stunning restaurant situated inside Yorkville neigbourhoods is definitely worth a visit.
(Inside Yorkville continued...)September 6th, 2010
August real estate news from the Greater Toronto Area is here! To be precise, 6,232 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported from GTA by the Greater Toronto Realtors. From August 2009 with 8,035 sales, it is unfortunately a quite major, approximately 22 percent drop.
(GTA August Sales continued...)September 5th, 2010
Canada’s economic growth fell in the second quarter of this year, according to a government report from earlier this week. If compared to the first quarter, the April to June growth rate slowed down quite noticeably, to 2 percent, which is in fact less than the majority of economists predicted.
(Economic Growth Slowed Down continued...)September 4th, 2010
The third quarter Housing Market Outlook, Canada Edition, released by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation predicts that demand for homes in Ontario will be moderate throughout the rest of 2010. Home sales are eventually expected to stabilize by the beginning of 2011.
(Home Sales Predictions continued...)September 4th, 2010
Canada’s housing market is in danger! A recently released report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, suggests that our country may well be threatened by the possibility of a housing bubble. If we consider the fact that lately the only rising component in the Canadian real estate market has been the prices, this prediction seems to be quite logical.
(A Housing Bubble in Canada? continued...)September 3rd, 2010
The results of yet another public opinion poll regarding the Mayoral elections in Toronto have been published. As the Ipsos Reid telephone survey showed, the transit/transportation issue will be the most important one the future Mayor of Toronto will have to deal with, according to the public. About 16 percent of respondents believe so.
(Top Toronto Issue: Transport continued...)September 2nd, 2010
Every once in a while, everyone, deals with the urge to significantly transform something in their home. After some time, any house, even if it looks wonderful to strangers, just seems to be a little too boring for its owners. One of the fastest, easiest and perhaps even cheapest ways to make your home look completely different is to paint it.
(Painting Your Home continued...)September 2nd, 2010
Golden autumn in Craigleigh Gardens situated inside Rosedale neighbourhoods. Thank you Zoedan for such an colourful photo!
(Golden Autumn continued...)September 1st, 2010
The Canadian budget deficit narrowed in June, the government finance department reported. If you compare the $2.8 billion deficit which was recorded in June 2010, with the same month last year, at $4.98 it was almost double.
(Budget Deficit Narrowed continued...)August 30th, 2010
Good news from the employment sector! Payrolls in Canada increased in June, Statistics Canada reported last week. If June is included in the figures, the number of payroll workers in our country rose by 172,300, which is 1.2 percent, since August of last year. If compared to June 2009, weekly wages increased by 4 percent to $853.50.
(Rise of Payrolls continued...)August 29th, 2010
Home prices in Canada keep on increasing! According to the newest Teranet National Bank Composite House price index report, released earlier this week, the June 2010 increase of housing prices in the country was the most significant one in ten months. Prices rose by as much as 1.5 percent from May of this year.
(Home Prices Rising continued...)August 28th, 2010
Here we have another sign that our economy is not in such a great state as it was just a couple of months ago! The composite leading index of Statistics Canada has slowed down from 0.7 percent rise in June to only 0.4 percent increase in July, the agency reported.
(Composite Leading Index Slowed Down continued...)August 27th, 2010
Loft apartments are becoming increasingly popular nowadays. How do we define and recognize them? It is very simple. A loft apartment can, for instance, be defined as a place transformed from former industrial buildings. Such apartments are usually located in an urban environment. Interestingly, people like this type of home, so much so, that if there is a shortage of these types of properties; developers either create them from old buildings or build new homes with typical loft apartment features. Therefore, there are two basic types of loft.
(Loft Apartments continued...)August 27th, 2010
Yonge Street is home or close to many neighbourhoods in Toronto. As a major arterial street it is running from Yorkville through Chaplin Estates to Teddington Park. Yonge Street was formerly listed as the longest street in the world. This is why there is no lack of great architectural views that we can see in this beautiful photo taken by Rick McGrath.
(Extraordinary View on Yonge Street continued...)August 26th, 2010
The annual inflation rate, in Canada, increased again in July, Statistics Canada announced earlier this week. Its pace was actually the fastest one since April with the consumer price index increasing by 1.8 percent since July 2009. Electricity prices have been increasing the most during the year.
(Inflation Rate Rose in July continued...)August 25th, 2010
There is to be no further increase, in interest rates, by the Bank of Canada after September. This news is what Avery Shenfeld, a CIBC economist, predicts. After seeing an extremely low level of the key lending rate for such a long period of time, 0.25 percent, the bank has raised the rate twice in past two months. In June the rate increased to 0.5 and then a further increase, to 0.75 percent, was seen in July.
(Shenfeld about Economy continued...)August 24th, 2010
The Royal LePage Shelter Foundation has just released its 2009 report and an outstanding 1.5 million dollars was raised last year! A portion of each transaction I complete is donated to this worthwhile cause, and I feel honoured to have been named in the Top 1% of donors. (see pg 21 of report)
(RLP Shelter Foundation Report continued...)August 23rd, 2010
August housing news from GTA is here! Greater Toronto Realtors reported this week that 2,732 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were recorded in the area during the first fourteen days of this month. When compared to the same period a year ago when 3,832 sales were reported, at 29 percent, there has been a substantial decrease in sales.
(August GTA Housing continued...)August 23rd, 2010
Yonge Street running through Deer Park, Davisville Village and Chaplin Estates neighbourhood can at some point surprise with such an unusual view as at this gorgeous photo taken by skillful photographer Scott.
(Moon Sets Behind Yonge Street continued...)August 21st, 2010
More negative economic news from Canada, this time about real estate. As the Canadian Real Estate Association have just announced, existing home sales in our country fell by 6.8 percent in July, to 31,536 units. Their level a month before, in June, was 33,836 units.
(Bad July Housing News continued...)August 20th, 2010
Some bad economic news is here! The trade deficit of Canada has, quite surprisingly, widened in June, Statistics Canada has reported this last week. The level of deficit in June was $1.13 billion, increasing from $695 million in May. The reason for the widening gap is a very significant fall in exports during the month – actually, the sharpest one in 10 months.
(Trade Deficit Widened in June continued...)August 19th, 2010
As Mayoral elections in Toronto are getting closer, the public opinion surveys are asking the question “who are you going to vote for?” According to a very recent survey, conducted between July 30 and August 5 by the Pollstra Research, the clear winner and thus the future Mayor of Toronto will be Rob Ford.
(Ford to Win Toronto Elections? continued...)August 18th, 2010
This extraordinary interior is home of the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. It is situated immediately west of Queen’s Park nearby Yorkville and The Annex neighbourhood. Looking at this picture one can start to think about the studies again. Thank you The Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy continued...)
August 18th, 2010
Housing starts in Canada declined by 1.6 percent in July, Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation reported on Tuesday. From the level of 192,300 units in June, they fell to 189,200 units. New home construction is therefore currently at the lowest level in seven months.
(Housing Starts Decline in July continued...)August 17th, 2010
Inside Toronto we can admire beauty of many parks. Hillcrest Park situated in the Regal Heights neighbourhood has one of the most amazing views of the Toronto skyline and Lake Ontario. Thanks to Emily we can almost feel the peace and joy which brings the sunny day in Hillcrest Park.
(Hillcrest Park continued...)August 16th, 2010
I am pretty sure that during your life, you have seen a couple of seemingly flawless houses with the ‘for sale’ sign. That would be perfectly fine, if the sign was not there for too long. Have you ever thought about why these homes, even though absolutely beautiful, do not sell?
(Overpriced Homes continued...)August 14th, 2010
More housing news for you! Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation have just released their 48 page report regarding real estate in the Greater Toronto Area. Among other issues, it emphasizes strong apartment starts, cooling sales and declining resale activity.
(GTA Q2 Housing continued...)August 13th, 2010
The Artscape Wychwood Barns were former TTC streetcar maintenance complex which was transformed into multifaceted community centre. Thanks to Gabriel Li we have the possibility to see this interesting place from a different perspective.
August 12th, 2010
Here’s some fresh GTA housing news just for you! As Greater Toronto Realtors reported, 6,564 sales were recorded in the area last month. That is a very significant drop from last years’ numbers! Just take a look: exactly 9,967 homes were sold in GTA last July, which makes a 34 percent difference.
(GTA Housing in July continued...)August 10th, 2010
Surprising news! There was a 6.5 percent rise in the value of building permits in Canada for the month of June! That indeed is a lot more than I expected, especially considering the unpleasant results from last month. In May, the value of building permits fell by 8.2 percent.
(Rising Value of Building Permits continued...)August 9th, 2010
The 13th straight increase of home resale prices was recorded in Canada this May! It is the largest increase since last September, at 1.3 percent. All of the six surveyed metropolitan areas were showing a rise from April, the Teranet National Bank Composite House Price Index states.
(Resale Prices Rose Again continued...)August 7th, 2010
Canada’s gross domestic product has, after no change at all in April, increased in May 2010; Statistics Canada informed the public at the end of last week. The rise was quite minor though, only 0.1 percent. If compared to the January and March results, both with 0.6 percent growth, the May results are not that good, are they?
(Canada’s May GDP continued...)August 4th, 2010
Summer time is the favorite time of the year for many. The weather is, or at least should be, quite nice and warm. You can spend long evenings outside having a barbeque, or just talking in your garden full of flowers. Yes, THE garden. We should not forget it needs attention during the summer, too.
(Summer and Gardening continued...)
August 2nd, 2010
Hot off the press, the housing results are here! As the new report released by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation shows, the revised seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 192,800 units in June 2010. That is a fall of 3.1 percent from a revised 198,900 units in May. Ontario did not do well, unfortunately.
(Fresh Housing News continued...)August 1st, 2010
The Conference Board of Canada has released the results of its consumer confidence survey conducted between July 8th and 18th. It shows that consumer confidence in the country fell for the second straight month! Confidence was down by 3.7 points to 80 points this month. Consumers seem to be especially unhappy about jobs and personal finances.
(Falling Consumer Confidence continued...)July 31st, 2010
Wholesale sales in Canada surprisingly fell again in May, for the second month in a row. Overall sales only declined by 0.1 percent, to $44.1 billion, Statistics Canada announced earlier this week. The most significant factor influencing the decline was agricultural supplies, which declined by as much as 30 percent.
(Wholesale Sales Declined Again continued...)July 28th, 2010
The annual inflation rate in Canada slowed down a little in June, Statistics Canada has announced this week. Excluding the eight volatile items, the rate fell from 1.8 to 1.7 percent last month. Moreover, the consumer price index increased by its slowest pace in seven months, by only 1 percent.
(Inflation Slowed Down continued...)July 28th, 2010
Walking through the Edwards Gardens Park situated just east of The Bridle Path you may explore the beautiful world of nature. As Muhammad author of amazing photostream says: “This beauty is worth appreciating.” So lets have an eye on it!
(Edwards Gardens Park continued...)July 27th, 2010
Toronto has the second highest parking fees among Canadian cities, the 10th Annual Parking Rate Survey of Colliers International conducted in June 2010 has found out. Not only that but the prices in the city increased by 10.2 percent over the year and they are predicted to continue rising due to supply and demand, the organization claims.
(Parking Fees In Canada continued...)July 25th, 2010
The Bank of Canada has just raised the key lending rate for the second time in a very short period of time! After no increases for months, raises for two months in a row may be a little shocking for borrowers. The bank, however, believes that our economy is healthy enough to survive the new level of the benchmark rate, 0.75 percent, with no significant difficulties.
(Rise of Interest Rates continued...)July 24th, 2010
The July housing news is here! According to Greater Toronto Realtors, 2,790 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were recorded in GTA during the first 14 days of this month. Not very surprisingly, the number sold was significantly higher during the same period in 2009.
(July GTA Sales continued...)July 23rd, 2010
City of Toronto is for sure full off beautiful details. Thanks to Loozrboy we can enjoy this extraordinary view of the modern sculpture that can be seen at the Rosehill Reservoir Park at Balfour near Sommerhill.
(Sculpture over the fountain at Balfour continued...)July 22nd, 2010
Almost no real estate sale is absolutely trouble-free. It usually takes a lot of patience, energy and nerves. On many occasions it may seem like the sale is going very smoothly and nothing bad can possibly happen, but suddenly something unexpected occurs and ruins all those positive feelings. So what can go wrong with real estate sales? I will try to give some examples of what could go wrong, in this article.
(Trouble With Real Estate Sales continued...)July 20th, 2010
Housing starts in Canada fell again last month! As Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced this week, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 189,300 units in June 2010. The fall from May with its 195,300 units, is as high as 3.1 percent.
(June Housing Starts continued...)July 18th, 2010
The total number of insolvencies (that is, bankruptcies and proposals) in Canada has been declining! From March to April 2010, they went down by 2.5 percent. Bankruptcies themselves fell by 1.3 percent, while the proposals decreased by 5.2 percent, the Canadian Office of the Superintendent of Bankruptcy reported earlier this week.
(Insolvencies in Canada Declining continued...)July 14th, 2010
Statistics Canada has revealed surprisingly fantastic results concerning employment in Canada! Job creation activity in the country in June 2010 was extremely high, about five times higher than it was expected. Approximately 93,200 jobs were created and the unemployment rate fell to 7.9 percent over the last month, which is the lowest level of unemployment since January 2009.
(Great Employment News continued...)July 14th, 2010
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July 11th, 2010
May did not disappoint! As Statistics Canada announced on Thursday, there was another increase in new home prices in Canada, for the 11th month running. The new Housing Price Index increased by 0.3 percent.
(Another Home Prices Rise continued...)July 11th, 2010
Q: I am an active, healthy person but I always get the afternoon "slump and fog" which has me running for something to give me energy. Could I have a blood sugar problem? Besides nuts, what else could I carry with me to avoid this hypoglycaemic type reaction?
(eMbody Fitness: Afternoon Slumps, Summer Berries continued...)July 10th, 2010
People in Canada are losing their optimism about the Canadian economy and specifically their financial future. This is what a telephone survey of 1,008 Canadians, recently conducted by Nanos, showed.
(Canadians Losing Optimism continued...)July 9th, 2010
A decline in home sales! That is what Greater Toronto realtors eported for the month of June. According to the report, there were 8,442 recorded sales through the Multiple Listing Service in the Greater Toronto Area this past month, which is a 23 percent fall from the 10,955 sold homes recorded in June 2009.
(Home Sales Declined in June continued...)July 8th, 2010
Recently the Toronto Real Estate Board has begun a campaign to promote the importance of signing a Buyer Representation Agreement (B.R.A.) when looking to buy your next home. Many Buyers have questions regarding why they need to sign this form.
(Why Should I Sign a Buyer Representation Agreement? continued...)July 7th, 2010
An Extreme Heat Alert has been issued for the city of Toronto. Temperatures will reach the high 30’s this week and with the humidity it will feel hotter than 40 degrees on these days.
(Summer in the City! continued...)July 7th, 2010
Last week CNBC did a report on why the real estate market did not crash in Canada. Based on Elli’s years of experience in the industry, she was approached by CNBC to provide her perspective on the current market situation. Additionally, one of Elli’s clients appeared on the show to express his feelings with regard to buying and selling a home in today’s climate.
(Elli Featured on CNBC continued...)July 6th, 2010
April 2010 was not a really successful month for Canadian sellers! Statistics Canada has announced this week that purchasing by consumers in our country fell. Sales declined in slightly more than a half of the groups, 11 out of 21.
(Sales in Canada Declined continued...)July 4th, 2010
Royal Bank of Canada has once again released the results of its Consumer Outlook Index! It shows that in the second quarter of 2010, the consumer confidence of Canadians has not changed at all if compared to the beginning of the year.
(Unchanged Consumer Confidence continued...)July 3rd, 2010
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation have released some new figures regarding housing starts in the Greater Toronto Area from May 2010! They actually reached their highest level since the fourth quarter of 2008.
(GTA May Housing Starts continued...)July 1st, 2010
The population of Canada crossed an important mark in April! More than 34 million people (approximately 34,019,000) are living in our country, Statistics Canada announced. From January 2010, it means there was a 0.26 percent increase, which works out at an additional 88,100 people.
(Canada’s Population continued...)June 30th, 2010
Almost every child dreams about growing up, having a successful career, buying a great house and having an amazing family. Becoming an adult and have our own place to live in is a dream that is not so clear anymore. Renting comes into consideration, too. True, in most cases, it’s eventually better to buy a home than to rent. But sometimes, the latter can be pretty good and it also has its own benefits.
(Buying Vs Renting continued...)June 30th, 2010
Austinevan has interesting photostream, where he shares the best shots from his travels. This photo from Casa Loma Castle in Toronto is one of them. Secret passageways, breathtaking towers, grand staircase… this castle is full of surprises. Best choice for today’s trip!
(Rock Walls of Casa Loma continued...)June 28th, 2010
There was a surprisingly big decline in Canadian retail sales in April. The sales fell by 2 percent (which is the biggest fall since December 2008) to $36.2 billion, Statistics Canada reported in Ottawa last week.
(Retail Sales Declined continued...)June 28th, 2010
Maybe Bren Barnes was just driving by that evening, when he took this enjoyable photo of Bloor Street Viaduct in Bridle Path’s Don Valley. Beautiful sunset, thanks for stopping, Bren!
(Don Valley Viaduct continued...)June 25th, 2010
The long expected G20 Toronto summit is just around the corner! It’s everywhere you look, that’s IF you can actually get anywhere. Trains have been cancelled, there are policemen and security people everywhere, so just moving around the city can be a tough journey, honestly.
(G20 Summit Is Here continued...)June 25th, 2010
Bloor Street is not only east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare of Toronto, it is as well full of hidden treasures. One of them revealed by Blundering Numbskullery in this photo of the day!
(Bloor Street Treasures continued...)June 24th, 2010
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation have released the results of a survey regarding seniors’ residencies. According to these results, the vacancy rate amongst such residencies is now at 10.8 percent, which means a 1.6 percent rise since 2009.
(Senior Accommodation continued...)June 23rd, 2010
The Bank of Canada has released its new financial system review! It claims that since December 2009, 3 out of the 5 major economy risks have grown, one remained about the same and one fell. Our financial system is now facing great risk due to global problems.
(Economy Forecasts continued...)June 23rd, 2010
Life in Bloor West Village is colorful in many ways. This photo was taken on Bloor Street West and Runnymede Road in Toronto by Natasha Dunn… One almost can hear the accordion sound!
(Life on the Bloor Street continued...)June 22nd, 2010
Do you live in a house with your children and your parents? In spite of the fact that this scenario seems to be more common in old movies, it is actually becoming more and more usual nowadays, than it was a few years ago. As with everything, multiple generations living under one roof will have positive and also negative sides. I hope to show you some of them in this article. If you are now contemplating moving with your parents this may also help you a little.
(Multiple Generations Homes continued...)June 21st, 2010
Aren’t these days an ideal opportunity to go and check an interesting exhibition? Fresh photo of the building of the Royal Ontario Museum in Rosedale, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind and Bregman & Hamann Architects – taken by Bob Kelly.
(Great Day to Check a Museum! continued...)June 20th, 2010
Surprising news! Wholesale sales in Canada declined by 0.3 percent to $44 billion from March to April, Statistics Canada announced. Four out of seven wholesale categories tracked by Statistics Canada showed a drop in April. After the March rise of 1.2 percent, the predictions of economists for April were not negative – generally, the sales were predicted to increase by 0.4 percent.
(Wholesale Sales Decline continued...)June 19th, 2010
The first two weeks of June have passed and the Toronto Real Estate Board has, as usual, released some fresh, interesting housing statistics for the month so far! According to Greater Toronto Realtors, 4,139 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were recorded in our area during the first half of this month.
(June Housing News continued...)June 17th, 2010
It is a little easier to find an apartment for rent, in the great Canadian cities, now than it was just a year ago! This is what Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation claims in one of its reports.
(Increasing Vacancy Rate continued...)June 16th, 2010
Royal Bank of Canada has recently released a quite optimistic statement about the Canadian economy! It predicts that during this quarter, our country may fully recover from the recession it has gone through. The positive looking situation could be threatened by the debt crisis in Europe.
(GDP Expectations continued...)June 15th, 2010
Football fans from the Toronto area, here is some good news for you! As the Canadian Football League Commissioner, Mark Cohon, announced at the end of last week in Toronto, the 2012 Grey Cup game – the 100th one in the history, is going to take place at the Rogers Center in the city.
(Grey Cup in Toronto continued...)June 13th, 2010
Second homes or vacation homes have become quite trendy and usual over the past couple of years. I am quite sure that, if it is not you, you know of someone who owns a home used just for holidays, weekends and relaxation. However, after purchasing the property, many people suddenly find it is useless (or not used as much as they expected) and realize it may cost them more than they predicted and so on.
(Second Homes continued...)June 12th, 2010
Prices of new home in Canada rose again in April, for the 10th month in a row! The growth was not that significant though. It was identical to the March figures, just 0.3 percent, Statistics Canada announced on Thursday.
(Home Prices Rose Again continued...)June 11th, 2010
More news about the Canadian housing situation in May of this year! As Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts was 189,100 units last month, which suggest a not-so-slight decline from the April level of 201,800 units.
(Decline in Housing Starts continued...)June 9th, 2010
Europe’s debt crisis may have quite a significant impact on the Canadian economy! As our Finance Minister Jim Flaherty claims, Canada certainly is not an island and could very well be affected by the situation in Europe.
(Europe Influencing Canada? continued...)June 8th, 2010
Under sunny skies Elli had the opportunity to participate in the annual Anne Murray Charity Golf Classic in Support of Colon Cancer Canada!
(Anne Murray Charity Golf Classic in Support of Colon Cancer Canada! continued...)June 8th, 2010
Another month has gone by, which means that new figures about GTA housing are here! As for May 2010, Greater Toronto Realtors reported 9,470 sales through the Multiple Listing Service. The figures are not that bad, but if compared to May 2009, there was a 1 percent drop.
(GTA Housing in May continued...)June 7th, 2010
Statistics Canada came with fresh employment news on Friday! From the results, it seems like Canada is actually doing just fine even in the labor market. After a fabulous April, May was pretty good too. About 24,700 new jobs were created in our country and the unemployment figures, for May, stood at 8.1 percent.
(Employment News continued...)June 6th, 2010
Interest rates in Canada are not so low anymore! Just as expected, the Bank of Canada has decided to raise the key lending rate on June 1st. The overnight rate is now 0.5 percent. Out of all the G7 states, our country is actually the first one to raise the rates since the financial crisis started in July 2008.
(Higher Interest Rates continued...)June 5th, 2010
The prices of Canadian homes are going to drop in 2011! This is a prediction released by the Canadian Real Estate Association on Wednesday. The association expects the home prices in our country to drop by 2.2 percent during the next year. The main factors influencing the fall are the poor figures in two of the important provinces – Ontario and British Columbia.
(Home Prices to Drop? continued...)June 3rd, 2010
If you are a tenant, first of all, try to pay the rent on time. Remember, you have to pay for using the home, so be responsible and do not make the landlord wait. Also, try not to be too wild and do not damage the house or the backyard. Even though it is not yours, so you are not damaging your own property, try to take care of everything just like it was your own. Importantly, only as many people as agreed upon should live there – be honest and do not get roommates behind your landlord’s back.
(Landlords and Tenants continued...)June 2nd, 2010
April housing starts showed fabulous results according to reports in the Greater Toronto Area! As Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation stated in a freshly released report, housing starts in our area almost doubled this April if compared to April 2009. Their level for the fourth month of this year was 2,794 units.
(GTA Housing Starts in April continued...)May 29th, 2010
What a positive evaluation of Canada!!! I am talking about fresh predictions of the economic and employment situation in 2010 and 2011, recently released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(OECD About Canada continued...)May 28th, 2010
I just cannot believe how quickly time goes by! A long expected event which is to place in Toronto, the G20 summit, is almost here. Is our city ready? Mayor David Miller is very optimistic about it and is convinced that the security preparations are “as strong and robust as they can possibly be anywhere in the world”.
(G20 Summit Almost Here continued...)May 27th, 2010
Another report about the continuation of the rising prices of homes in Canada! Teranet National Bank Composite House Price Index shows that in March 2010, home prices were 11.6 percent higher than in the same month just a year ago. From February 2010, the growth was not great, just 0.3 percent, which demonstrates an almost fully recovered economy.
(Higher Home Prices continued...)May 26th, 2010
Home ownership costs in Canada continue to rise, according to the report published yesterday by the Royal Bank Canada. Not only does it show that, but it shows the Housing Affordability Index has noticeably worsened over last three months, RBC also predicts it to be even worse as 2010 goes by.
(Home Affordability in Canada continued...)May 25th, 2010
There is great news for Torontians who like to enjoy culture every once in a while. The North American debut of a musical called Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is taking place at the Princess of Wales Theater right here in our city. There is not long before this musical arrives, in fact it is this October, so few months to go, before going on to perform on Broadway next spring.
(New Musical in Toronto continued...)May 23rd, 2010
Earlier this week, Statistics Canada reported that last month, Canada’s index of leading economic indicators grew once again – for the 11th month in a row. The April rise was slightly higher than expected by the economists.
(Economy Is Still Growing continued...)May 22nd, 2010
Fresh info about the housing market in GTA is here! Greater Toronto Realtors reported that during the first two weeks of this month, 4,887 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were recorded in the area.
(GTA Housing in May continued...)May 21st, 2010
More positive news! March was a pretty successful month when considering the wholesale sales in Canada. Not only had they increased for the fourth time in five months, but the rise was lot faster than many economists had predicted. The overall prediction was a 0.6 percent growth, but it was actually more than twice this amount – the sales rose by 1.4 percent to $44.4 billion according to Statistics Canada.
(March Sales in Canada continued...)May 19th, 2010
My last article was trying to give you some tips on how to deal with bad neighbors. But let’s be honest with ourselves too – sometimes we all have our moments and if it doesn’t concerns us directly, then we rarely realize we are not ideal neighbors either. So how do we stop becoming bad neighbors? That is what this article aims to, at least partly, give an answer to.
(Be A Good Neighbor continued...)May 16th, 2010
Seems like next month will be extremely eventful in Toronto! Amongst other things, you can look forward to the annual Canadian Film Center’s Worldwide Short Film Festival taking place during first six days of June.
(Short Films Festival in Toronto continued...)May 15th, 2010
The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals (CAAMP) has released the results of its survey. It demonstrates that the borrowers in Canada are “remarkably mature”.
(Responsible Canadian Homeowners continued...)May 13th, 2010
Another month of rising home prices in Canada! As Statistics Canada announced on Wednesday, the prices for new homes in our country increased by 0.3 percent in March 2010, which is a 0.1 percent higher rise than February. The new house price index was up in March, too. It grew by 1.6 percent from March 2009. That is a 0.7 percent higher rise than the annual rise in February.
(Home Prices Increased continued...)May 12th, 2010
Latest data about the housing starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area were published, on Monday, by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation. They show that after a drop in March, housing starts started growing again in April.
(Housing Starts in April continued...)May 11th, 2010
If you have ever purchased a home, you probably know what ‘final walkthrough’ means. Almost every buyer has to go through it at some point; normally it is completed shortly before the final closing. It is basically the very last check, or inspection, of the property before the buyer finalises purchase.
(Final Walk-Through continued...)May 10th, 2010
Finally, there is great news on the employment front after a period of unemployment and job losses. Last month was extremely successful and Canada recorded the most significant rise in employment on record (which go back to 1976), Statistic Canada announced in Ottawa.
(Good Employment News continued...)May 9th, 2010
Fresh data about GTA housing, in April, has just been published in a report by the Toronto Real Estate Board! It states that 10,898 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported this past month by the Greater Toronto REALTORS. From April 2009, that means a 34 percent rise.
(GTA Housing in April continued...)May 7th, 2010
The prices of Canadian homes are going to drop slightly in 2011. This is what the Toronto-Dominion Bank forecasted on Wednesday. The reason, according to the bank, is that the increasing interest rates (the economists of the bank are expecting the Central Bank to raise them in June), are going to reduce the ability of the people to purchase property.
(Canadian Home Prices to Drop continued...)May 6th, 2010
Sixth monthly gain in a row! This is what can be said about the Canada’s economy, which grew once again in February 2010. The overall increase was actually not very significant, just 0.3 percent. The biggest boost was provided by the Vancouver Olympics, according to Statistics Canada.
(Olympics Boosting the Economy continued...)May 5th, 2010
CMHC has just released a new Market Overview Report. It deals with the state of the Canadian housing market economy and its trends for the month of March.
(Canadian Housing in March continued...)May 4th, 2010
A new report released on Tuesday, by the Edward Jones investment firm, claims that in Canada a housing bubble may well be slowly developing. The reason is that the prices of homes are increasing much faster than economic fundamentals warrant.
(A Bubble in Canada? continued...)May 3rd, 2010
Think about the following two scenarios. The first being, you have moved into your new home and it is almost too perfect. However, it has one irritating problem – the neighbors. The second is you have lived in your home for years; you like it and have no intention of moving away.
(How To Deal With Bad Neighbors continued...)May 1st, 2010
Once again, the Economist Intelligence Unit has published a list of the most livable cities in the world. According to the list, in 2010, the best city to live in is Vancouver – it achieved 98 percent out of 100.The second place belongs to Vienna, with 97.9 percent and Melbourne, with 97.5, came in third.
(Livable Toronto continued...)April 30th, 2010
When looking at the price increases for properties, in Canada, February 2010 was a weak month. The new Teranet – National Bank Composite House Price Index clearly demonstrates this, as it shows price increases, in February, have shown the smallest rise when comparing them to the last 10 months.
(Small Price Increases in February continued...)April 28th, 2010
RE/MAX has just published a new Upper End 2010 Report! It analyzes the current situation and trends regarding luxury homes in 13 crucial Canadian housing markets. Nine of those saw record numbers this year. The Greater Toronto Area is one of them.
(Luxury Homes’ Sales Up continued...)April 27th, 2010
Surprising news!!! Canada’s annual inflation rate rose by 1.4 percent in March, following a 1.6 percent rise in February, Statistics Canada announced. Over the month, the rate has not really changed, though.
(Inflation in March continued...)April 26th, 2010
When selling a home without outside or expert input, people don’t realize but they tend to make numerous mistakes. The aim of this article is to point out some of the most common errors people make when selling their homes, also how to avoid the pitfalls that will hamper your attempts to sell your property.
(How Not To Sell Your Home continued...)April 25th, 2010
According to the World Economic Outlook report, released on Wednesday, by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Canada is going to be the fastest growing of the G7 states over the next two years – in 2010 and 2011.
(Fast Growing Economy continued...)April 23rd, 2010
The monetary policy review from the Bank of Canada released on Tuesday suggests that we should get ready for a rise in interest rates in the near future. For now, the bank is keeping its key lending rate at 0.25 percent. But statements from the central bank signalize a possible increase in the next few weeks.
(Rise of Interest Rates continued...)April 22nd, 2010
During the first two weeks of April 2010, 4,601 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported by Greater Toronto REALTORS. Comparing it to the same period in 2009 which had 3,681 sales, it means there was a 25 percent increase.
(GTA April Housing continued...)April 21st, 2010
Has there been a housing bubble in Canada recently? All of those who believe so, are probably going to be quite surprised. Jeremy Grathan (a very well known and respected investor) and his research team obviously do not think so. In their new study, they have mentioned 34 countries going through a housing bubble in last few months. Canada is not among them.
(No Bubble in Canada continued...)April 20th, 2010
Imagine you have bought a house. It is all yours now. But it could be in better condition; it is not exactly new and has a number of faults that should be dealt with. Simply the building needs a refurb. The aim of my article is to offer you some, hopefully useful, tips you could use when buying a home that needs a refurb.
(Home Refurb continued...)April 19th, 2010
The Canadian Real Estate Association has released new data showing that in March 2010, 97,663 residential properties were listed for sale on the Multiple Listing Service. In comparison with March 2008, which was considered good, the number of listed properties rose by 20 percent.
(Homes Listed in March continued...)April 17th, 2010
According to a survey of 26 economists conducted last week by the Reuters, the Canadian economy is going to grow by 3.3 percent this year. The current predictions are higher than those from January.
(Economy Predictions continued...)April 16th, 2010
In July 2011, Toronto will welcome a musical with great reviews, called “Next to Normal”! Just couple of days ago, the show won a Pulitzer Prize for drama, so it seems we have something amazing to look forward to.
(‘Next to Normal’ in Toronto continued...)April 15th, 2010
New home prices in Canada increased by 0.1 percent from January to February, Statistics Canada announced in Ottawa. The year-over-year rise of new home prices was 0.9 percent. Even though the February increase is actually the eighth one in a row, if compared to January, its pace has slowed down. Economists had expected a higher growth, of about 0.4 percent.
(New Home Prices in February continued...)April 13th, 2010
- Dr. Jekyll, There’s Nowhere to Hyde!
- Written by: Brian Caws, with the Cast
- Produced by: Mysteriously Yours
- Dinner Theatre: Midtown Toronto
- 2026 Yonge Street (Just North of Davisville) 416-486-7469
- Now though the Summer
The idea is wonderful. Imagine you don’t have to go downtown or to Mississauga to have dinner and see a live show. You don’t even have to go from the restaurant to the theatre.
(Dr. Jekyll, There’s Nowhere to Hyde! Review continued...)April 13th, 2010
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation have released fresh data about the housing starts in Toronto Census Metropolitan Area for March. After a large increase in February, the month of March was very disappointing.
(Toronto Housing Starts in March continued...)April 12th, 2010
In a brand new home, almost everything seems to be just great, looks good and works well. If you have recently purchased one, don‘t let yourself get too spoilt. Even if things are new, nothing can stay in that perfect condition for a very long. Almost everything in your home needs regular maintenace otherwise it could soon break down. I want to offer you some tips which should help you keep your home in good condition. As spring is starting, this article deals with home maintenance at this time of year.
(Home maintenance: Spring continued...)April 9th, 2010
In the first quarter of 2010, home prices in Canada were up by more than 10 percent in all key housing types surveyed, according to the Royal LePage House Price Survey released yesterday (Thursday). One of the reasons is, according to Royal LePage, the continued rise in consumer confidence, which pushes sales and prices up.
(Increased Home Prices continued...)April 8th, 2010
The Conference Board of Canada released a new report offering economic forecast for 27 Canadian metropolitan centers, including 13 major urban centers. It is not looking good for Ottawa-Gatineau, while Vancouver is expected to perform the best.
(Canadian Cities: Economic Outlook continued...)April 8th, 2010
Toronto Real Estate Board has released the newest ‘Market Watch’ report. It includes fresh data about the housing situation in the Greater Toronto Area in March and overall in the first quarter of 2010.
(GTA Home Sales in March continued...)April 8th, 2010
Once again, the Scotia Capital has released a new Capital Points report! This one deals with the currently low interest rates and the possibility of them rising, since, as claimed in the report, the reasons for keeping them low have clearly passed. The markets, though, are ill-prepared for the risk of the Bank of Canada increasing the rates, the report states.
(Rising Interest Rates Predicted continued...)April 6th, 2010
Few days ago, the Toronto Board of Trade released its second annual study called ‘Toronto as a Global City: Scorecard on Prosperity 2010′. Its aim is to “measure Toronto’s strengths and weaknesses as a major urban center competing in the global economy.”
(Evaluating Toronto continued...)April 6th, 2010
Few years or decades ago the idea of a (single) woman purchasing a home herself would have been absolutely unimaginable. However, times are changing and nowadays, there are many independent and emancipated women who can afford living on their own in their own home.
(Female Homeowners continued...)April 6th, 2010
CMHC has released another report! This one is very complex and deals with the housing situation in Canada especially in the last quarter of 2009 and first two months of 2010. Overall, the results are very positive – quite a few increases were reported.
(Canadian Housing This Year continued...)April 1st, 2010
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has just released its newest report about the current housing situation in the Greater Toronto Area. In the second month of 2010, new home construction in the area was pretty successful, especially if compared to the same month in 2009.
(GTA Housing Starts in February continued...)March 31st, 2010
Are you a fan of soccer? If so, you have a great reason to be really excited. Well, at least those of you who live in Toronto or its close proximity. The 15th championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS) is going to take place right here in our city this season, MLS commissioner Don Garber announced yesterday.
(Toronto to Host a Big Soccer Game continued...)March 31st, 2010
A new Royal Lepage GTA website launched this week. In addition to a new look, this website gives real estate consumers what they want most – the ability to search listings. Search more than 1000 listings now at www.rlpgta.ca
(The new royallepage.ca website continued...)March 30th, 2010
‘It is time for Canadians to reset their housing market expectations’, a new report by the Scotia Capital claims. According to that, we should be prepared for a calmer, more subdued housing activity in the next decade.
(Canadian Economy in 2010 continued...)March 29th, 2010
A new exhibition at the City Archives in Toronto was opened this past Thursday! It is called “A New Lease on Life: Rental Housing in 20th Century Toronto”, and its name should suggest you what it is about. As renters have been a very important part of our city for years, it certainly is a well prepared and interesting exhibit.
(Rental Housing Exhibition continued...)March 29th, 2010
I am convinced that the vast majority of homeowners want to keep their homes as nice, clean and perhaps most importantly, as safe as possible. So what to do to make your home a safer place? Here are some tips.
(Home Safety continued...)March 26th, 2010
The new annual Ontario budget for 2010/2011 has been officially presented yesterday! According to Finance Minister of the province, Dwight Duncan, the $125 billion budget is “fair and responsible plan for getting back to balance and building a stronger Ontario”. However, the province still needs to borrow $19.7 billion to be able to fund the planned expenses.
by Faungg (New Ontario Budget continued...)
March 26th, 2010
Elli was featured in Post City Magazines Real Estate Roundtable 2010 moderated by Malcolm Johnston.
(Elli in Post City Magazines Roundtable continued...)March 25th, 2010
Dwight Duncan, the finance minister of Ontario yesterday, at a news conference in Toronto announced that the province’s budget deficit for the 2009/2010 fiscal year (ending on March 31st) is going to be 14 percent lower than expected – that is, $21.3 billion instead of predicted $24.7 billion. Still, this is the largest deficit in the history of Ontario.
(Ontario Deficit Lower than Expected continued...)March 25th, 2010
The Fraser Institute, which is a Canadian research institution dealing with economic issues has released an interesting report analyzing the data of Statistics Canada. The conclusion of the think tank is that the stimulus of $47.2 billion by the Canadian government did not really help our economy.
(Useless Government Stimulus continued...)March 25th, 2010
Royal bank Canada has yesterday released the results of its annual home ownership survey. 2,047 selected adult Canadians, statistically chosen according to their age, sex and region (as it was in the 2006 census data) took part, and here are the results! The majority, that is 64 percent, of Canadians predict mortgage rates to increase in 2010. About the same percentage, 66 percent, of them is actually quite worried about high rates.
(Home Ownership Survey continued...)March 25th, 2010
A great start of 2010 housing market is very nice, but it does not have to mean anything! Actually, Canadian real estate market should be pretty weak in 2010′s if compared to the last decade, a new report by Scotiabank entitled “Global Real Estate Trends” predicts.
(Housing Market to Worsen continued...)March 23rd, 2010
As I just informed you, Canadian Real Estate Association has changed its politics and implemented new rules that ought to stimulate competition in the field of real estate more. However, Canada’s Competition Bureau is not satisfied with them and has just declared in a release that it is going to continue challenging these “anticompetitive rules” of our Real Estate Association.
(Competitive Bureau About The New Rules continued...)March 23rd, 2010
Yesterday, at the annual general meeting of Canadian Real Estate Association in Ottawa more than 300 of its members approved the suggested changes concerning buying and selling homes. Individuals should be given more responsibilities and become even more involved in the process of property selling.
(New Real Estate Rules continued...)March 22nd, 2010
Are you eager to get to know foreign cultures and artists? You should visit the only Canadian museum dedicated to ceramics solely – Toronto’s Gardiner Museum then and see “From the Melting Pot into the Fire”. That is the name of an interesting collection of ceramic works by contemporary artists from Israel.
(Israeli Ceramics Exhibition in Toronto continued...)March 22nd, 2010
The new report by the Quebec Desjardins Group released just today claims that the economy of Canada is going to grow faster than those of the US, Japan and Western European states. Canada is, according to the report, a special case thanks to its strong economy, which is actually doing better than almost any modern economy in the world.
(Canadian Economy Doing Well continued...)March 22nd, 2010
Nina works in acrylic and for the past 10 years has been creating abstracted landscape’s that reflect her sense of joy and fun.
Join Nina at the gallery for her inaugural exhibition. Nina will be present for the opening on April 29th.
(Upcoming Events: Nina Cherney continued...)March 22nd, 2010
An exclusive event featuring 40 Israeli artists painting their city Haifa, Israel. All sales benefit the “Art Centres for Underprivileged Children” in Haifa.
(Upcoming Events: Haifa Art Toronto continued...)March 21st, 2010
“A complete subway system is our key to a strong and dynamic future, but it has fallen prey to budgetary impotence and political trepidation.” These strong words were said by Sarah Thomson, one of the candidates for Toronto Mayor.
(A Plan to Save Toronto? continued...)March 21st, 2010
Surprising news!! Canada’s core inflation rate has increased noticeably in February, according to Statistics Canada!
(February Inflation continued...)March 20th, 2010
One more short article about the June G20 summit, as it seems to be the subject of many discussions. Ottawa, being responsible for too many things on the summit without knowing Toronto and its neighborhoods well, could cause some trouble.
(More About the G20 Summit continued...)March 19th, 2010
More good signs of full recovery! According to data released by Statistics Canada it is getting faster and faster. For example our currency strengthened significantly past month – it reached its highest level since July 2008, as its rate was $1.0145 to the US Dollar.
(Positive Economy News continued...)March 19th, 2010
- Young Frankenstein
- Based on the story and screenplay by Gene Wilder and Mel Brooks and on the original motion picture by special permission with TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX.
- Princess of Wales Theatre
- Now through April 26th
- 3 1/2 *****
There is a great deal of talent on stage during this latest musical at the Princess of Wales. Read the programme and you can see that some of the leads in Young Frankenstein are here directly from the Broadway production.
(The New Mel Brooks Musical Review continued...)March 19th, 2010
Gallery 133
- 1260 Castlefield Ave, Toronto
- Hours: Mon to Fri 9:30 to 5:30 Sat.10:00 to 5:00 Sun.12:00 to 5:00
Yorkville, Cumberland, Queen Street West, Scollard Street, or even the Distillery… What do these all have in common? Any Torontonian knows that they are full of chique shops, boutiques and art galleries. For the most part expensive and trendy.
March 19th, 2010
We have a new Toronto neighborhood!!! The area in the West End of the city, in between Dundas and Lansdowne, has gotten a new name. Out of suggested possibilities, after two rounds of voting, its residents choose the name ‘Junction Triangle’.
(New Toronto Neighborhood continued...)March 18th, 2010
According to a new report by RBC Economics, home prices in Canada are going to keep on growing this spring. The factors influencing the rising of prices are: expected higher interest rates, new mortgage rules and new taxes, the report claims.
(Home Affordability in Canada continued...)March 18th, 2010
Young Frankenstein!!! Does this title tell you something? I think it should. If you guessed it is a name of a movie, you are right. If you think it’s some kind of a theater show, you are absolutely right too. Young Frankenstein is actually a musical based on a 1974 Oscar nominated movie of Mel Brooks, which premiered in Toronto’s Princess of Wales Theater just yesterday.
(Young Frankenstein in Toronto continued...)March 17th, 2010
During the first two weeks of March 4, 353 home sales through Multiple Listing Service were reported in the Greater Toronto area. That is a 70 percent rise from March 2009, when only 2,562 homes were sold.
(GTA March Home Sales continued...)March 17th, 2010
Toronto should separate from Ontario! That is what Bill Murdoch, a conservative member of the provincial Parliament of Ontario suggested at a session of the Bruce County Federation of Agriculture. The reason is Toronto mentality – which, as Murdoch believes, is basically Toronto-centrism.
(Should Toronto Become a Province? continued...)March 17th, 2010
On March 4, 2010 Elli was once again awarded the prestigious National Chairman’s Club Award at a gala event attended by over 800 awardees at the Toronto Convention Centre.
National Chairman Club is comprised of the top 1% of agents nationally numbering over 14,000. Bravo! Elli!
(Elli attended the Central Ontario Awards continued...)March 16th, 2010
Our Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty has just visited New York, where he delivered a speech to the Canadian Association of New York. Among other interesting statements, he expressed a belief that our economy and housing are going in the right direction.
(Canadian Finance Minister in New York continued...)March 15th, 2010
Canadian real estate did not do really great in February, according to the data published by The Canadian Real Estate Association.
(Canadian Real Estate In February continued...)March 15th, 2010
This past month, 606,076 square feet of leased area was reported by Toronto Real Estate Board Commercial Members. In comparison with February 2009 when 472,663 leased square feet was reported, it is quite a big progress- a 28 percent rise.
(GTA Leased Space continued...)March 14th, 2010
This article is probably (at least for now) my last one from the real estate fraud series. It is going to concentrate especially on rental scam . Have you ever heard about that before? My guess is yes, and even if not, the name itself should suggest you what it is.
(Rental Scam continued...)March 13th, 2010
The brand new Capital Points report, published just yesterday (Friday) by Scotia Economics offers some interesting read. Why is Canada a suitable place to invest? The report tries to answer this quest and it claims that our country actually “has much of what one would want in both a global portfolio and a physical presence.”
(Why Invest in Canada? continued...)March 12th, 2010
Good news! Statistics Canada numbers showed that Canadian economy created almost 21,000 jobs in February, which is more than it was generally expected by economists. The unemployment rate declined by 21 percent and is now at the level of 8.2 percent – a 10 month low, actually.
(Employment in February continued...)March 12th, 2010
Surprise, surprise. Although it is an undeniable fact that the spaces under the Adelaide and Richmond overpasses around Eastern Avenue here in Toronto are not really attractive, Waterfront Toronto is planning to transform them into a wonderful park, covering 1.05 hectares of land.
(New Park in Toronto continued...)March 11th, 2010
New home prices in Canada increased for the seventh month in a row in January! The rise from December 2009 was as high as 0.4 percent, Statistics Canada announced today in Ottawa.
(New Home Prices in January continued...)March 11th, 2010
Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada does not believe that the global economic crisis is over. However, he also thinks that the new, modern methods of the bank are helping our country to recover completely.
(Carney: Crisis Not Over continued...)March 11th, 2010
Nina works in acrylic and for the past 10 years has been creating abstracted landscape’s that reflect her sense of joy and fun. Her work is about celebration inspired by our daily routines. The unique perspectives and shapes and vivid colours mirror the mostly happy chaos of our daily lives.
(Gallery 133 Upcoming Events continued...)March 10th, 2010
A report called “Projections of the diversity of the Canadian population” just released by Statistics Canada predicts that the number of foreign born population in our country in following 20 years will keep on significantly increasing. The share of the non white minority is expected to rise from the current 29 to 32 percent in 2031. The largest visible minority group in Canada will be the South Asians, according to the report.
(Foreigners in Canada and Toronto continued...)March 9th, 2010
As you all (or at least the Torontian readers) probably know, Toronto has been celebrating its 176th birthday recently. Well, happy birthday !!! As a gift, or maybe just to celebrate this jubilee, the interactive website of Toronto Museum Project was launched on Saturday, with some help of Mayor David Miller.
(Toronto: Past, Present, Future continued...)March 9th, 2010
In February, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts grew by 66.3 percent to 34,100 units. That is according to preliminary housing starts data released yesterday by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
(Rise of Housing Starts continued...)March 8th, 2010
92 percent of Ontario residents believe that purchasing a new home is a good investment, the 17th Annual Homeownership Survey conducted in January by Royal Bank Canada suggests. 34 percent of them will even probably purchase a new house or condo in the next two years, which is a 4 percent growth from last year.
(Ontarians On Housing and Economy continued...)March 8th, 2010
Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!!! Correct, and I’m not only saying that because today is International Women’s Day – by the way, Happy Women’s Day, ladies. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun is also one of the biggest hits of the lady, whom you will be able to see in Toronto this summer. Yes, Cyndi Lauper is coming here!
(Cyndi Lauper in Toronto continued...)March 7th, 2010
My real estate scam series continues right now with this article dealing with Loan Servicing Fraud. In case you want to know what exactly it is, how to recognize it, or how to protect yourself, read on.
Loan Servicing Fraud only happens if a loan is taken from a lender who is not quite honest, with doubtful background and practices. Usually, or at least most often, this type of fraud occurs with subprime lending. Also, first time buyers might be more endangered.
(Loan Servicing Fraud continued...)March 6th, 2010
More positive news about the Canadian recovery! Read them in the new Capital Points report by the Scotia Capital published yesterday. Canada “has entered a solid recovery”, it says. The start of our recovery is comparable to the pace of that of the US, according to the report. However, it is said to be of higher quality and through “more broadly based sources of contribution”.
(Canadian Recovery Report continued...)March 5th, 2010
As I mentioned in my last article, the new federal budget was just unveiled. This fact has brought quite a strong, and not really happy, reaction of Toronto Mayor David Miller. The reason of his dissatisfaction with the budget is that it only includes a couple of request of our city.
(Miller Not Happy About the Federal Budget continued...)March 5th, 2010
The new Canadian budget was officially revealed yesterday by our Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. The budget, as he claims, takes into consideration the currently still “fragile recovery” and many weakness of economies all around the world.
(New Canadian Budget Officialy Revealed continued...)March 4th, 2010
According to the new Market Watch report released yesterday by the Toronto Real Estate Board, the number of home sales in Greater Toronto Area increased by 77 percent this past month, since February 2009. Exactly 7,291 sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported in the area this February.
(GTA Home Sales in February continued...)March 4th, 2010
From December 2009 to January 2010, the value of building permits in the Toronto area increased again. The rise was 18.3 percent over the month, a new release by Statistics Canada claims. $1.18 billion worth of permits were taken during the first month of this year in Toronto.
(Building Permits in January continued...)March 4th, 2010
Interest rates are staying at their current, and as you all know, very low, level at least until the end of the second quarter of 2010, the Bank of Canada has declared on Tuesday. The exact level of the bank’s key lending rate is 0.25 and even though it will not change anytime soon, it is expected that in the third quarter of this year it is going to rise.
(Interest Rates Staying The Same continued...)March 2nd, 2010
Are you looking for some interesting musical events to attend in the future? Then let me tell you that the well-known 59 years old rocker Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will visit Canada during the summer. And of course, they are going to come to Toronto.
(Tom Petty in Toronto continued...)March 2nd, 2010
The annualized rate of Canadian GDP rose by 5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. That is higher than expected, as many economists predicted about 4 percent growth. According to the announcement of Statistics Canada from yesterday(Monday), the increase in consumer spending, increased exports and a strengthening housing market helped the rise.
(Canadian Economy Growing continued...)March 2nd, 2010
The moment I walked in the room, I could tell it was a season of big delights.
Please forgive the paraphrase of one of the hit songs from SWEET CHARITY: “Hey Big Spender”. If you remember the music and the story, it is a treasure of a musical that promises to bring smiles and toe tapping to audience members. It is one of six shows announced last week for the 2010/2011 Season presented by David Mirvish.
(Mirvish Theatre Upcoming Season Reviews continued...)March 1st, 2010
Today is a big day for the residents of one of Toronto’s neighborhoods, Regent Park! The neighborhood is finally getting a bank!!! The official opening ceremony of the bank will be tonight (Monday). The financial institution is located at the bottom of the new, One Cole condo building in Regent Park.
(Regent Part Gets a Bank! continued...)March 1st, 2010
Open Ontario. That is the name of the new five year plan for the province which will be officially released on March 8. According to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty, it is a plan aimed at "building a new foundation for economic growth and jobs."
(A New Plan for Ontario continued...)February 28th, 2010
Another week, another article about real estate scam! This one will be concerned with home improvement scam and a concrete example of one of its most common types.
(Real Estate Scam: Home Improvement continued...)February 27th, 2010
The valleys of two more Toronto rivers might soon become protected as part of the Ontario initiative called Greenbelt, the goal of which to protect green space in the province for the future. Don and the Humber Rivers valleys would thus follow Rouge River, which already is on the protected list.
(Toronto’s Protected Rivers continued...)February 26th, 2010
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce has released a new report this week called Recession, Recovery and the Future Evolution of the Labor Market. As it title suggests already, it concentrates on the recession and its consequences, and also the labor market.
(Canadian Labor Market Shortages continued...)February 26th, 2010
Another Toronto neighborhood is going to undergo massive revitalization. After Regent Park, Lawrence Heights will be renewed, Toronto Mayor, David Miller, has announced yesterday. “Lawrence Heights is a neighborhood where the people love their neighborhood, but it also is a neighborhood where the buildings have been in decline.” Miller said.
(Toronto Neighborhood Revitalization continued...)February 25th, 2010
No major spending measures, no tax increases, job creation and promoting economic growth. That is what the new Canadian budget, which is going to be released on March 4, will be about, according to the advisor of our Prime Minister, Stephen Harper.
(Canada 2010 Budget continued...)February 25th, 2010
Comic books are surely popular among many people and they are pretty influential too. If you belong to comic books lovers, you have something big to look forward to. Next month, the 2010 Wizard World Comic Con tour is coming to Toronto for the first time ever!!! The event is going to take place at the Direct Energy Centre on the Exhibition Grounds from March 26 to 28.
(Wizard World Comic Con Tour in Toronto continued...)February 24th, 2010
According to the report by Teranet-National Bank Composite House Price Index released on Wednesday, Canadian home resale prices rose for an eighth month in a row in December 2009. The report tracks price changes for repeat sales of single family homes in six metropolitan areas and it claims that overall prices grew by 1.2 percent from November to December.
(Resale Home Prices in Canada continued...)February 24th, 2010
Have you already heard about the recent little disagreements between Toronto Mayor David Miller and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty? The thing is that at the beginning of the week, one of the members of the Provincial Parliament at Queen’s Park, David Caplan, introduced a private member’s bill proposing to make the Toronto Transit Commission an essential service, which might have initiated the following expressions.
(Toronto Mayor vs Ontario Premier continued...)February 23rd, 2010
According to Toronto Real Estate Board, 3,555 home sales through the Multiple Listing Service were reported in GTA during the first two weeks of February 2010. That means a 74 percent rise from the very same period a year ago, when only 2,044 homes were sold.
(GTA February Home Sales continued...)February 23rd, 2010
The G20 summit, a very exciting and probably the biggest security event to take place in Toronto this June, is starting to be a little problematic. The reason is that our city has warned the federal government that it certainly will not pay additional costs for the summit.
(G20 Summit Financing continued...)February 22nd, 2010
Canada’s composite leading economic indicators increased by 0.9 percent from December to January, Statistics Canada announced on Friday. It is just in line with the situation during the previous eight months. However, if compared to December 2009, when the rise was as high as 1.5 percent, the results are not that great.
(Canada Economic Indicators In January continued...)February 21st, 2010
As promised, here is the second article from my real estate fraud series. Home equity fraud and two of its most popular types will be described. Let’s start with saying that the majority of lenders are just alright and honestly want the best for you. Unfortunately, there also are those, who are not quite honest and try to make profit of you. You need to be cautious.
(Real Estate Scam Part 2: Home Equity Fraud continued...)February 20th, 2010
Good news for Ontario!!! As part of the social housing renovation and retrofit investments, 13 housing cooperatives in the province are going to get more than $2 million through Canada’s Economic Action Plan, Patrick Brown, Member of Parliament for Barrie has announced yesterday.
(Action Plan in Ontario continued...)February 20th, 2010
Both of the Toronto marathons are going to stay after all!!! Their organizers and the city of Toronto have reached an agreement and will only change the timing of the events. Starting in 2011, one marathon – the GoodLife Toronto, will take place during spring and the other one- the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon in the fall.
(Two Toronto Marathons After All continued...)February 19th, 2010
The consumer price index increased by 1.9 percent this past month after a 1.3 percent rise in December 2009, according to the monthly report of Statistics Canada released yesterday. That is the most significant growth in the index since November 2008.
(Inflation in Canada continued...)February 19th, 2010
Toronto is cool! At least according to the article in US Today from yesterday, written by Christine Sarkis from SmarterTravel.com, Toronto belongs to top 5 top destinations for spring 2010. Other four are Jamaica, Hawaii, Panama City Beach and also Gatlinburg in Tennessee.
(Toronto Among Top 5 Cities continued...)February 18th, 2010
Have you guys ever heard about Women’s Post? I sure hope you have. Especially ladies, as it is a magazine for professional women – as its title suggests. I was lucky to attend the holiday party of the magazine, organized for its partners, friends and supporters back in December 2009.
(Women’s Post continued...)February 18th, 2010
New Capital Points report by the Scotiabank group was just published! It focuses on the Olympic Games in Canada and as always, the economy of our country. During the following two weeks, Canada will be in the in the centre of attention of the whole world due to the 2010 Winter Olympics and Paralympics.
(Canada: Economy and the Olympics continued...)February 17th, 2010
The Toronto budget for 2010 was released yesterday! The $9.2 billion budget is actually the biggest ever. Its main highlights are the 4 percent residential property tax rise, 1.3 percent non-residential tax increase and a promise of a permanent transit funding agreement with the provincial government.
(Toronto 2010 Budget continued...)February 17th, 2010
Culture, theater, dance and music fans, here is something interesting for you again! “Billy Elliot the Musical” is coming to Toronto soon!!! The exact date of its opening in our city is not know yet, but it is official that it will be February 2011, David Mirvish from Toronto theater announced yesterday.
(“Billy Elliot: The Musical” in Toronto continued...)February 15th, 2010
Canada has probably entered a period of the relatively slow income growth and that could hurt the housing market, David Dodge, former governor of the Bank of Canada said for The Globe and Mail. He also claims it is possibly to identify housing bubbles only after bursting.
(David Dodge About Housing continued...)February 15th, 2010
Not that I am a huge ice hockey fan, but I guess some of you are indeed, so this might be quite interesting for you. This August, Toronto will host a very attractive hockey event!!! The 2010 Molson Canadian Open Ice Summit will take place right here.
(Open Ice Summit in Toronto continued...)February 14th, 2010
Real estate scam or real estate fraud is not unusual. Lately, it has been gaining popularity. I’m pretty sure the vast majority of you have heard about that already. Still, I want to briefly summarize some of its types for you.
(Real Estate Scam – Part 1 continued...)February 12th, 2010
Canada’s Economic Action Plan is going to concentrate on the valued Woodside National Historic Site, here in Ontario. Big investments there, up to $451,000, should guarantee that the site, open to public from May to December; will be “maintained for future generations while generating important economic benefits for our local community.” Peter Braid, Member of Parliament for Kitchener-Waterloo has declared.
(Canada’s Action Plan in Ontario continued...)February 12th, 2010
With the still very-attractive-for-buyers low interest rates, the new-home prices in Canada increased again in the last month of 2009, according to the announcement of Statistics Canada from yesterday. It was actually the sixth monthly gain in a row in new home prices. However, in comparison with December 2008, the prices were still 0.9 percent lower.
(New-Home Prices in December continued...)February 11th, 2010
A record trade deficit was reported in our country in the last month of 2009, Statistics Canada has announced yesterday. The deficit on December was $246 million and it correspondingly finished the first annual trade deficit of Canada since 1975. The shortfall in November was $201 million. Overall, in 2009, the trade deficit was $4.8 billion. Just for comparison, in 2008 there was a $46.9 billion surplus.
(Canada in Deficit continued...)February 11th, 2010
The June G20 summit is supposedly going to take place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The location could cause a little trouble. Seems like the last week of June will be extremely busy in Toronto and thus we could have a couple of coinciding events in the city, even quite close to each other.
(Toronto G20 Summit Trouble continued...)February 10th, 2010
The resale housing market is predicted to reach 527,300 units in 2010, which would mean a 13.3 percent increase from last year. As Canadian Real Estate Association announced on Monday, that would actually be a new annual record, even 1.2 percent higher than in a very successful year, 2007.
(2010: Housing Records? continued...)February 10th, 2010
See, I told you social networking sites are a powerful tool nowadays. One of those, Facebook, has caused quite a bit of fuss over Toronto Transit Commission recently. After a number of dissatisfied expressions of the public about the quality of of the transit service, the workers have now decided to do something too.
(TTC Workers Fight Back continued...)February 9th, 2010
After all the pessimistic news we have been hearing about the employment situation in Ontario, here’s something positive! Employment in the province has not been doing great lately in comparison with other areas of Canada. However, in January, Ontario formed about two thirds of the job gain in whole Canada, according to official data.
(Ontario Employment in January continued...)February 9th, 2010
Culture lovers, have you heard about the program of the Ballet of Canada in season 2010-2011? It was just announced yesterday by Karen Kain, the artistic director of the National Ballet of Canada. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, inspired by the well known novel of Lewis Carroll, should be the top attention getter of the season.
(National Ballet of Canada Program continued...)February 8th, 2010
As a follow up to my very last article, I am now going to speak about the housing starts solely in Toronto area. According to the CMHC report which I have already mentioned, the seasonally adjusted annual rate of total housing starts decreased by 0.5 percent last month in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area. The total number of housing starts in December 2009 was 20,800 and in January it was 20,700.
(Toronto Housing Starts continued...)February 8th, 2010
There was a 5.8 percent increase in Canadian housing starts in January 2010. That certainly is more than it was predicted, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation announced today. Growth was reported in both single and multiple family homes.
(Housing Starts in January continued...)February 7th, 2010
A new, “Capital Points” report by the Scotiabank group was just published. As usually it sums up the recent information about various sectors of Canadian economy and showing that in detail on interesting charts. But not only that, it also compares the present situation in Canada to the US and few other countries. So what is the current state and what are some of the expectations according to Scotiabank group? Read on.
(Canadian Market continued...)February 6th, 2010
Some positive news about the unemployment situation in Canada! As the official data from yesterday (Friday) suggest, our economy created approximately 43,000 jobs in January 2010! Thanks to that, the unemployment rate in Canada has declined by 0.1 percent to the level of 8.3 percent.
(Canada Employment in January continued...)February 5th, 2010
A report by Statistics Canada from yesterday claims that the number and value of building permits in Toronto area has increased by 15 percent from November to December. Overall, the permits in December were worth $1.2 billion and the majority of them were for nonresidential and institutional buildings.
(December Building Permits in Toronto continued...)February 5th, 2010
Canadian economy is getting better and might well fully recover in 2010, Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of Canada has declared yesterday (Thursday) in Winnipeg. He also believes that the current housing market strength should not actually be characterized as a housing bubble and that a structural change in the mortgage market is not really necessary.
(Functioning Mortgage Market, Carney Says continued...)February 4th, 2010
The most celebrated version of The Light in the Piazza was produced by Lincoln Centre Theatre Company in 2005. Based on a novel by Elizabeth Spencer the love story is set in Firenze and Roma.
(The Light in the Piazza continued...)February 4th, 2010
Another interesting show full of dance is coming to Toronto! After “Rent” which Torontians had the chance to enjoy in January, "Burn the Floor", currently on its tour around the world will be here in April! You will be able to see it live at the Canon Theatre from April 22 until May 1.
(“Burn the Floor” in Toronto continued...)February 4th, 2010
Do environmental issues interest you? Toronto Green Awards are just right for you then. Actually, you can even submit nominations for the 2010 awards. But you need to hurry up! There is only couple of days left, as the deadline for nominations is February 12. The ceremony itself will take place at the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition place here in Toronto on April 23, 2010.
(2010 Toronto Green Awards continued...)February 4th, 2010
In January 2010, Greater Toronto Realtors reported 4,986 MLS sales in GTA. Just for comparison, in January 2009 only 2,670 transactions were reported. That means a really significant, 87 percent increase!!! The sales this January were actually a little higher than the average of the first month of 5 years before 2009.
(GTA Home Sales in January 2010 continued...)February 4th, 2010
Corporate Knight released the fourth annual sustainable cities ranking report. Toronto got a quite good ranking and as the report claims, it “reaps the benefits of its density, with more citizens choosing green commuting options and consuming less energy residentially.“
(The Sustainability of Toronto continued...)February 2nd, 2010
There will be a foundation developed for a national housing strategy until the next elections, Michael Ignatieff, the leader of Liberal Party has promised yesterday. Also, he announced his will to pay special attention to child care program.“This is the number one social priority of an incoming Liberal government.” he claims.
(Housing and Childcare Important for Ignatieff continued...)February 1st, 2010
According to the results of an online survey conducted between January 8 and 14 by the Royal Bank of Canada, Canadian consumer confidence decreased in January 2010. The Canadian Consumer Outlook Index declined by two points, from the December level of 108 to 106 in January.
(Decreased Canadian Consumer Confidence continued...)February 1st, 2010
TripAdvisor has recently published a list of dirtiest hotels in few countries, based on TripAdvisor traveler reviews. Canada is among the evaluated states and unfortunately one of the top 10 dirtiest Canadian hotels is apparently located right here, in Toronto.
(Worst Hotel in Toronto continued...)February 1st, 2010
Jading by the credentials this show had every opportunity to blow our socks off or twist your knickers. Based on the hit TV show by the same name and starring Ms. Gilbert whose acting credentials are certainly worth the price of a ticket, one would assume that this show would have charm, style, musicality and more.
(Little House on the Prairie: The Musical continued...)January 31st, 2010
Canada ended up as the second best in gaining economic profit from foreign stimulus, a new research made by the Bank of Canada claims. Only the European Union scored better. The huge stimulus packages of other world economies apparently pushed our economy forward much more than the $62-billion domestic stimulus.
(Effective Foreign Stimulus in Canada continued...)January 30th, 2010
Have you guys seen the new Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation report about the 2009 housing situation yet? It is pretty interesting, very detailed and definitely worth to check out. No big surprises if you regularly watch the situation closely, but it is nice to see all the exact data summarized.
(2009 Overall Housing Situation in Canada continued...)January 30th, 2010
Originally produced in 1979 in London, this play of two acts is as funny today as it was 30 years ago. Director Alisa Palmer has assembled one of the most talented casts currently performing in Toronto. Her attention to detail adds tremendously to this hilarious farce with explicit sexual over and "under" tones. When an eyebrow is raised it signifies double or even triple entendre.
(Cloud 9: A Comedy of Multiple Orgasms continued...)January 29th, 2010
According to the statement of Statistics Canada from today, the economy of Canada has grown for a third month in a row last November. The top gains were reported in the wholesale trade, oil and mining industries.
(Canadian Economy in November continued...)January 29th, 2010
Phu Nhi Trac, a former, and quite successful I may say, Markham, Ontario realtor has been sentenced for five years and has to pay more than a $1 million fine. He was found guilty for money laundering, drug trafficking, income tax evasion and electricity theft. Trac was arrested back in December 2002.
(Former Ontario Realtor Goes to Jail continued...)January 28th, 2010
Oh wow! The Toronto Transit Commission has realized it could be doing a better job and now its representatives are apologizing to drivers. “I think what has happened over the last couple months has acted as a wake-up call. We need to do better. We owe our riders an apology for customer service that does not live up to expectations.” TTC Chairman Adam Giambrone said on Wednesday.
(New TTC Initiatives continued...)January 27th, 2010
Great news! According to the newest study of the Conference Board of Canada released today, Toronto will have one of the fastest growing economies this year. A growth of 3.5 percent in Toronto economy is expected in 2010, which gives Toronto the second place in economic growth in Canada, right after Vancouver.
(2010 Expected Economy Growth in Toronto continued...)January 27th, 2010
Just one, but prestigious marathon for Toronto! The representatives of our city want to reduce the number of marathons in Toronto, as they have been hearing many complaints of citizens lately.
(Only One Marathon In Toronto? continued...)January 26th, 2010
After almost ten years, Toronto will host the Juno Awards again in 2011!!! Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences has announced it yesterday evening, even though not even the Juno Awards 2010 has taken place yet.
(2011 Juno Awards in Toronto continued...)January 26th, 2010
Yesterday (Monday) a new Demographia International report was released. It examines 272 metropolitan markets in Canada, the US, the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.
(“Severely unaffordable” Toronto Market continued...)January 25th, 2010
As mentioned in my previous article, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has decided to prorogue the Parliament until the end of 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games. During additional weeks of the regular parliamentary break, Harper claims he will try to solve economic issues. “Protecting Canada’s economy remains the top priority of Canadians and that is why it is still our top priority” he said.
(Economy According to Harper continued...)January 25th, 2010
This is what I call a strong reaction of people!!! On Saturday, the 23rd, thousands of people across Canada went to the streets and protested against the decision of Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
(Protests All Over Canada continued...)January 23rd, 2010
The second annual Social Media Week (SMW), a 5-day international conference consisting of events in Toronto, London, New York, San Francisco, Sao Paulo and Berlin is right behind the door. The aim of every event is to advance the use and understanding of social media in the corporate, public and non-profit sectors.
(Social Media Week in Toronto continued...)January 23rd, 2010
According to the announcement of Statistics Canada from yesterday, the number of Canadians receiving regular Employment Insurance benefits decreased by 7,300 from October 2009 to one month later.
(Employment Situation in Canada continued...)January 22nd, 2010
Ontario’s Long-Term Report on the Economy was released today! It talks about the likely happenings in our province for the next 20 years, until 2030. To mention few, for example the predicted average economic growth is 3.1 percent a year during the next five years and 2.6 percent a year from 2010 to 2030.
(The Future of Ontario continued...)January 22nd, 2010
A brand new monetary policy report of the Bank of Canada brought us some positive news! The Bank seems to be quite confident about the world economic recovery. The outlook for growth on a global scale is stronger now than it was in October 2009, the report claims.
(Economic Outlook of the Bank of Canada continued...)January 21st, 2010
"If you are not on Facebook, you basically don’t even exist.", someone has told me some time ago. Honestly, I’m leaning towards this opinion. If you want to actually know something about the life of your friends or colleagues, you just need social networking sites. It is almost impossible to keep in touch otherwise.
(Social Networking: A Tool for Self-Promotion? continued...)January 20th, 2010
If you are a fan of jazz or blues, don‘t make plans for the evenings in the period from 2nd to 7th February 2010. Rex Jazz and Blues Bar here in Toronto will host an interesting music festival during these days.
(Music Festival in Toronto continued...)January 20th, 2010
The Bank of Canada has announced on Tuesday that it is maintaining its benchmark interest rate at a very low level, 0.25 percent. The Bank Rate also stays unchanged at the level of 0.5 percent. And the deposit rate is 0.25 percent.
(Interest Rates Stay Low continued...)January 20th, 2010
Elli attended a Royal LePage event where Barrie Shepley, former olympic coach, was a keynote speaker. Elli had the opportunity to take a photo with the olympic torch.
(Elli With Olympic Torch continued...)January 19th, 2010
Torontians, you can feel like you are on Broadway for a while. If you are a fan of musicals, don’t miss a great chance to see the famous ‘Rent’ live. The Broadway Musical on a tour is currently in our city and will be here until January 24.
(‘Rent’ in Toronto continued...)January 19th, 2010
What a fast and strong start of the New Year in the GTA housing market! According to Toronto Real Estate Board, during the first two weeks of January 2010 1, 749 home sales on the Multiple Listing Service were reported in Greater Toronto Area.
(GTA Home Sales in 2010 continued...)January 18th, 2010
The next meeting of G7 finance and central bank leaders is almost here! It is going to take place on 5th and 6th February in Iqaluit. This summit is going to be less formal, according to Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He believes that this style will bring more open and less official discussions on important issues.
(G7 Summit Strategy continued...)January 18th, 2010
The government of Ontario should not decide about age limits of drivers, Premier Dalton McGuinty claims. Seniors and their doctors should know the time to stop driving themselves. „For some folks, it’s sooner rather than later, but there does come a point in time when it is no longer safe for you to drive a car.“ he said.
(Age Limits of Ontario Drivers continued...)January 17th, 2010
Sales of homes across Canada reached record levels in the last month of 2009, the report of Canada Real Estate Association released on Friday claims. In comparison with December 2008, the sales increased by as much as 72 percent.
(Record December Home Sales continued...)January 16th, 2010
For ten days, since February 19th until February 28th 2010, Canada’s biggest home show at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto will be waiting for your visits! More than 700 home and garden specialists will be present at the National Home Show this year to enrich the guests with expert advices, tips, solutions and inspiration for their homes and gardens.
(National Home Show in Toronto continued...)January 15th, 2010
The world housing market is continuing in its recovery, the newest Global Real Estate Trends report by Scotia Economics claims. Canadian real estate market is doing very well and in couple of other states, clear signs of the market recovery are showing too.
(Housing Market Continuing Its Recovery continued...)January 14th, 2010
The citizens of Toronto deserve to be treated fair! Activists are of this opinion and are now reaching some results. In April, 23 of the city councilors and the City of Toronto will be in court, defending charges of an activist group, which claims that they breached the law.
(Toronto Councilors vs. Activists continued...)January 14th, 2010
The Canadian Association of Accredited Mortgage Professionals has conducted an interesting survey the results of which are showing that home buyers in Canada are quite careful when taking out new mortgages.
(Homeowners Not Risking continued...)January 13th, 2010
In case you didn’t know, I’m now informing you that the Home renovation tax doesn’t only apply to houses. Surprised? It’s great, isn’t it? Check out this site to see how you can apply for Home Renovation Tax Credit (HRTC). There’s not much time left to use it.
(Home Renovation Tax Credit continued...)January 13th, 2010
After the terrible earthquake that has destroyed tens and hundreds of buildings nearby Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, Toronto Mayor David Miller publicly expressed his condolences to the Haitian community in Toronto and to people of Haiti. Miller also spoke about the plans of the city to help.
(Toronto Helping Haiti continued...)January 12th, 2010
Dalton McGuinty, Premier of Ontario has called Toronto Centre by-election to replace George Smitherman, who has decided to run for Toronto Mayor. The elections are going to take place on February 4, 2010, signaling January full of campaigns.
(Toronto Centre By-election continued...)January 12th, 2010
The G20 summit taking place in Toronto, and also G7 and G8 summits of this year will certainly discuss the ways of encouraging some of Asian states to allow their currencies to trade more freely. That is according to Canadian Finance Minister, Jim Flaherty. "Yes, I expect that this will be a topic of discussion at the meetings." he said yesterday at a press conference in Winnipeg.
(Currency Issues To Be Discussed At 2010 Summits continued...)January 11th, 2010
Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), has today released a report concerning Housing Starts in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). The report claims that housing starts in the area decreased by 39 percent, to 25,949 units in 2009.
(CMA Housing Starts in 2009 continued...)January 11th, 2010
Jeff Dunham’s Identity Crisis Tour
One of the most popular stand-up comedians of today is coming to Toronto with his Identity Crisis Tour! America’s favorite man, Jeff Dunham, well known for his satirical attitude to US politics will perform this Saturday, January 16, 2010 at Air Canada Centre. If you like his sense of humor, hurry up to see if there are still tickets available.
January 9th, 2010
Bad employment prospects for Toronto and Ontario! According to Statistics Canada, in the job sphere, Ontario currently belongs to the worst parts in whole Canada, where the unemployment rate remained unchanged, at 8.5 percent in December 2009.
(Bad Employment Situation in Ontario continued...)January 9th, 2010
The 52nd annual Toronto International Boat Show is starting today in the Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place, at 100 Princes Boulevard in Toronto. It’s going to last more than a week, until next Sunday, January 17th.
(Boat Show in Toronto continued...)January 8th, 2010
In comparison with 2008, MLS transactions in GTA increased by 17 percent up to 87,308 in 2009, Greater Toronto Realtors reported on Wednesday. This positive result is just consistent with levels of sales from 2004 and 2006. However, they do not top 93,193 sales from 2007.
(GTA 2009 Sales continued...)January 8th, 2010
A new tourist bait, proposed by tourism operator Ripley, is going to be built in Toronto soon! The 150,000 square foot aquarium should be located at the foot of CN Tower, nearby entertainment and waterfront districts. David Whitaker, the president and chief executive officer of Tourism Toronto said "There’s a reason they (Ripley) are choosing Toronto – it speaks well of the destination. We’re really starting to find our swagger".
(A New Aquarium To Be Built In Toronto continued...)January 7th, 2010
Linking Boomers! I have just recently found out about this website, and I have to tell you it’s pretty cool! Its purpose is basically to help people over the age of 50 to meet other people and to find their own community through various events and activities.
(Find Your Community In Toronto continued...)January 7th, 2010
According to the newest Royal LePage Market Survey Forecast and House Price Survey, Canada’s residential real estate market should stay strong during first six months of 2010. That is thanks to the improved economic conditions in the country and the stimulus in the form of low interest rates.
(Real Estate Market To Stay Strong In 2010 continued...)January 6th, 2010
According to the poll conducted for Manulife Financial in December 2009, with the start of the new year, more and more Canadians are mainly concentrating on paying their own loans. This result came after three quarters of consecutive increases of interest in investment.
(Investing In Their Homes Still Most Important For Canadians continued...)January 5th, 2010
Another movie is going to be shot in Toronto!
After popular titles such as Hairspray, The Fly or My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the shooting of a prequel to John Carpenter’s sci-fi horror movie from 1982 called The Thing is scheduled to start here this March. The shooting is supposed to last at least until June.
(‘The Thing’ prequel to be shot in Toronto continued...)January 5th, 2010
Real estate market in GTA is on the best way to completely recover! I'm saying this because of the positively looking changes in numbers of median home prices. According to the new Toronto Real Estate Board monthly report, in 2009, the GTA median resale price was $353,800, which means a 13.3 percent increase from 2007.
(Rise of median house prices between 2007 and 2009 continued...)January 4th, 2010
Nanos research poll with 1,003 respondents conducted between December 10 and 13, 2009 has brought interesting results! According to them, Canadians are quite confident in the national economy.
(Canadians expect real estate prices to increase continued...)January 4th, 2010
Today is the day the race to replace the current Mayor of Toronto, David Miller, can officially start. Candidates can now formally register to run for mayor at the City Hall, which is open since 8:30 today. The campaign will last more than ten months, until 25th October 2010.
However, Rocco Rossi was the first candidate who filed the nomination papers – he did so this morning, right after opening of the City Hall. As for other candidates, none of them seems to be as impatient as Rossi.
(Campaign for Toronto Mayor has started continued...)January 2nd, 2010
January 9, 2010 is the date of opening of the Canadian Home Furnishings Market at the International Centre in Toronto, which is going to last for days, until January 12. Interestingly, two prestigious, well known European luxury brands will be represented there for the first time.
(New brands at the Canadian Home Furnishings Market continued...)January 2nd, 2010
Cable cars, not streetcars might be the solution to the issue of Toronto's public transport. That is according to Steven Dale, planner and designer from Creative Urban Projects. He believes that cable technology could significantly decrease costs and be available for more people at the same than the streetcars in Toronto are.
(Cable cars - the answer to Toronto transport issues? continued...)January 1st, 2010
According to a report released on Wednesday, resale prices for Canadian homes increased for a sixth month in a row in October 2009. The House Price Index by Teranet National Bank shows that resale prices rose by 1.3 percent from September to October. This is actually the first annual rise in ten months - from October 2008, the prices increased by 0.6 percent.
(Canadian resale home prices increased in October continued...)
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