REDISCOVER REAL ESTATE

In the east end, a hot pocket....

...it's called 'The Corktown District'.

Parliament/Queen area has 15,000 new units booked and prices are rising with demand.

Corktown is an historic Old Town neighborhood in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is just south of Regent Park and north of the Gardiner Expressway, between Berkeley Street to the west and the Don River to the east. The southern part of this area borders, but is not part of, the Distillery District and contains many vacated industrial buildings, some in use by production and movie studios. The West Don Lands, slated to be redeveloped over the next few years, will encompass the south-east corner of this area.

If you are one of those people always on the lookout for the next big thing, then as far as new condos go it will likely be that area of the city bound by Jarvis to Parliament Streets and from Queen Street south of the Esplanade, give or take a couple of blocks.

Once characterized by its proliferating used furniture and book stores, rooming houses and small pockets of light industry, there were also a handful of mews streets of wonderful turn-of-the-century row houses but not much else to recommend the area to home buyers.

But as more desirable areas such as downtown west started to fill with condos and rents started to rise for commercial enterprises, canny developers started moving east drawn by relatively inexpensive land prices and great public transit. >> full story

First-time homebuyers rule current housing market!

According to real estate experts, the recent market offers some genuine opportunities for first-time homebuyers.

If you've been thinking about buying your first home or condo, but have been hesitating because of fears about falling prices and the shrinking economy, the time to act may well be now. According to a recent panel of financial and real estate experts convened by the Bank of Montreal (BMO) as part of its launch of a new information kit for first-time homebuyers, the recent market offers some genuine opportunities for first-timers. more >>

Also, here's a list of the Top 10 homebuyer turn-offs

 

 

 

How can I help you today?

_________________________________________________

b r i a n m a y e r real estate sales representative

Royal LePage Your Community Realty Brokerage

independently owned and operated

187 King St. East Toronto, ON. M5A 1J5

(416)-637-8000

Helping You is What We Do.

A referral remains the highest compliment I can receive.

www.brianmayer.ca

GTA Resale Housing Sales Up 19 Per Cent in the First Half of June

 

June 17, 2009 -- Greater Toronto REALTORS® reported 5,185 transactions in the first half of June  – an increase of 19 per cent compared to the same period last year. "Households in the GTA have become more confident in purchasing a home over the past three months," said TREB President Maureen O’Neill. "Affordability, due in part to very low borrowing costs, has played a key role." See Details.

Canadian Home Purchasers Savvy and Optimistic: CMHC

Nearly 90 per cent of recent home purchasers across the country believe that home ownership is a good long-term investment and that almost 70 per cent think that now is a good time to purchase a home in their community.  That’s according to the 2009 Mortgage Consumer Survey by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC).  

The survey results also indicate that recent purchasers are knowledgeable about the mortgage process and their lender’s assessment of eligibility. For example, 86 per cent are of the view that the level of total housing and other monthly payments should generally not exceed 40 per cent of gross household income, which is in line with generally accepted mortgage lending practices.

The survey shows that recent purchasers are prudent mortgage managers. According to the survey, 75 per cent of purchasers have a goal to be mortgage free sooner than their original amortization. In fact, 20 per cent of recent purchasers report having made a lump sum payment to their mortgage.

Similar to CMHC’s last Mortgage Consumer Survey, the 2009 survey also indicates that Canadians continue to be well served by the mortgage industry, with 77 per cent of recent mortgage purchasers expressing satisfaction with the service received from their lender or broker.

Everything you need to open new doors.

click on logo for your complete consumers buyer's guide!

 

 

 

 

How can I help you today?

_________________________________________________

b r i a n m a y e r real estate sales representative

Royal LePage Your Community Realty Brokerage

independently owned and operated

187 King St. East Toronto, ON. M5A 1J5

(416)-637-8000

Helping You is What We Do.

A referral remains the highest compliment I can receive.

www.brianmayer.ca

 

Construction on rise in upbeat sign

Residential construction in Canada increased in May, yet another positive development for the housing market.

Globe and Mail Update, Monday, Jun. 08, 2009 12:55PM EDT

Housing starts across the country rose more than 9 per cent in May to 128,400, seasonally adjusted and at an annual rate, from 117,600 in April, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp. said Monday.

“This morning's housing starts data for May from CMHC provided us with the first sign that a bottom might be forming in Canadian home building activity,” said Toronto-Dominion Bank economist Pascal Gauthier.

The increase was broad-based, including both single homes and multiple units such as condominiums, and was better than economists had projected.

Housing starts surged in Ontario and the Prairies, and rose more modestly elsewhere, although construction declined in British Columbia, New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador.

BMO Nesbitt Burns economist Robert Kavcic pointed out that in British Columbia, housing starts on an annualized basis are near the record lows seen in the early 1980s and early 1990s, meaning the province has “the distinction of having arguably the nastiest residential construction recession this cycle.”

In urban areas across Canada, construction rose 11.1 per cent.

The broad-based nature of the rebound was an encouraging sign, TD Securities said in a research note, although it cautioned the market would remain soft.

“Indeed, after plunging precipitously since late 2007, and appearing to be in freefall in recent months, this rebound may be an indication that the sector is perhaps stabilizing,” said economics strategist Millan Mulraine. “Nevertheless, with the Canadian labour market continuing to weaken and the overall economy remaining quite soft, we expect residential building activity to remain the current depressed range for some time.”

Mr. Kavcic also suggested that the slump in residential construction might be finding its bottom.

“However, the weak activity has only begun to chip away at the overbuilding seen during the latest boom, and the recovery in starts will therefore likely be tepid,” he said.

Location, location, location....

As housing sales return to positive territory, parts of the local market go from 'famine to frenzy.

Annoyingly for buyers, rejoicingly for sellers, bidding wars for Toronto real estate have surged back from extinction.

House sales for the first two weeks in May were in positive territory – 3 per cent above the same period in 2008 – for the first time since the market's tailspin last fall.

"Buyers have returned to the market with the realization that apart from manufacturing and construction, the GTA economy is holding up well," said housing analyst and economist Will Dunning. "The surge in the stock market and the change in tone from the U.S. are also lifting confidence."  full story  May 31, 2009  Tony Wong - The STAR Staff Reporter 

How can I help you today?

_________________________________________________

b r i a n m a y e r real estate sales representative

Royal LePage Your Community Realty Brokerage

independently owned and operated

187 King St. East Toronto, ON. M5A 1J5

(416)-637-8000

Helping You is What We Do.

A referral remains the highest compliment I can receive.

www.brianmayer.ca