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...)
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