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 9th, 2010
Adress: 70 Yorkville (Lower Level), Toronto
Contact: (416) 546-1246
Located downstairs at 70 Yorkville, Chimichanga is the newest and best Mexican restaurant in Toronto. Sister to the Yonge and Eglinton eatery, this smaller and quieter version has a similar menu but is just a little more chic than uptown.
(Chimichanga continued...)March 9th, 2010
Adress: Avenue Road, North of Lawrence
Contact: (416) 787-3211
If you grew up in Toronto and are a boomer you will remember The Lobster Trap. Located a couple of blocks north of Lawrence on Avenue Road, this was one of a few places we all went for a fancy Sunday night for dinner. The lineups went outside the door and if you were like most families you didn’t make a reservation. But the wait was worth it. That was 30 years ago or more.
(The Lobster Trap 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 2nd, 2010
Adress: 81 Yorkville Ave.
Contact: (416) 850-6135
Every once in a while, even a foodie is exposed to some taste sensations that are new, unique and absolutely tantalizing. Such is the new fusion of Japanese and Korean currently being served up at Koko on Yorkville.
(KOKO 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...)
Royal LePage Ltd. Brokerage
Direct line: 416-921-1112 or Toll Free 1-800-622-9536 | Email: