REDISCOVER REAL ESTATE

Toronto Real Estate Sales up 74% Mid February

From the Toronto Real Estate Board:

Greater Toronto REALTORS reported 3,555 sales through the Multiple Listing Service during the first two weeks of February.

This represented a 74 per cent increase compared to the 2,044 sales recorded during the same period in 2009 when resale transactions had dipped due to the recession. The February mid-month sales total was also 7.7 per cent above the previous high set in 2006.

"Home ownership demand remains strong in the GTA, as households remain confident that economic recovery is at hand and that ownership housing will continue to be a quality long-term investment," said Toronto Real Estate Board President Tom Lebour.

 

The average price for February mid-month transactions was $429,997 - an 18 per cent increase over 2009. New Listings within the Toronto Real Estate Board boundaries were up 15 per cent to 6,212.

"Double-digit price increases will persist through the first quarter of the year," said Jason Mercer, TREB's Senior Manager of Market Analysis. "However, as new listings continue to increase creating a better supplied market, we will see the annual rate of price growth moderate into the single digits."

How can I help?

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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

Realtors step up to aid Haiti

It's estimated that the earthquake in Haiti affected as many as 3 million people, taking the lives of 200,000 and injuring 250,000 more.

 

More than 1 million people are now homeless as a result of the disaster. It has been noted that it was the worst earthquake in the region in more than 200 years. Indeed, with respect to loss of human life, it ranks in the top 10 most devastating earthquakes in recorded history, dating nearly as far back as 500 BC.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, ranking 149th of 182 countries on the United Nations Human Development Index. By comparison, Canada ranks in fourth spot, preceded by Iceland, Australia and Norway.

Given that Greater Toronto Realtors recognize the essential role that shelter plays in everyone's lives, the Toronto Real Estate Board has donated $50,000 to the Canadian Red Cross to help with relief efforts, and help the people of Haiti. Realtors throughout Canada are also offering help by making individual donations through the Canadian Real Estate Association's Realtors Care Foundation. [read more->]

How can I help?

_______________________________________________________________

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

Ottawa to toughen mortgage rules

OTTAWA - Amid warnings about Canadian household debt levels and a possible housing bubble, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Tuesday the federal government would make it tougher for people to get a mortgage. [Paul Vieira, Financial Post ]

He said at an early Tuesday morning media conference that Ottawa would require all borrowers meet standards for a five-year fixed-rate mortgage, even if the buyer wants a variable rate mortgage. That is the key move announced Tuesday. Other rule changes unveiled would affect people looking to refinance their mortgages - lowering the maximum amount that can be withdrawn to 90 per cent from 95 per cent - and place a 20 per cent minimum down payment for government-backed mortgage insurance on non-owner-occupied properties.

But the Minister said the changes were not meant to stop a possible housing bubble, as some warned was upon us. "There's no clear evidence of a housing bubble, but we're taking proactive, prudent and cautious steps today to help prevent one," Flaherty said. "Our government is acting to help prevent Canadian households from getting overextended." [ read more ->]

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1. All borrowers must meet the standards for a five-year fixed rate mortgage even if they choose a mortgage with a lower interest rate and shorter term;

2. The maximum amount one can withdraw in refinancing their mortgage will be reduced to 90% from the current 95% of the value of one's home;

3. Non-owner occupied properties will require a minimum down payment of 20%.

There were no changes to down payment requirements or length of amortizations for owner-occupied residences.

How can I help?

_______________________________________________________________

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

 

Are we in sync?

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LIVING CONNECTED.

Streetcar latest lofts residence in Riverside Village is presented to you by the same people who brought 2 Gladsone to Queen West, and they are doing it again…but this time it’s on the other side of town in the heart of Queen East! Minutes from the Distillery District and Corktown is where you’ll find Streetcar Developments newest loft called SYNC with modern advancement in technology to enhance the loft experience.

This is SYNC: the high tech residences in Toronto's vibrant Queen East neighbourhood. An 8 storey building with an industrial, yet modern facade. The lofts will have pre-wired speakers, internet connectivity, HDTV (hence the word SYNC) and smooth 9ft ceilings. Streetcar is no stranger to the East end of Queen, having built EDGE Lofts and currently working on their Corktown District phases a few blocks West.

The area is becoming increasingly popular with projects like River City, the 80-acre West Don Lands Revitalization and the 2015 Pan American Village all being developed a few blocks away!

Sales are expected to move, and move fast!  Prices and floor plans will be available in the coming days.  

If you would like to be updated when more information becomes available for SYNC Lofts, including details on any upcoming VIP sales events, please contact me.

Consider me your condo buying consultant.

 

1 Bloor East will rise again, this time to 67 storeys

Great Gulf Group plans to start selling condos in the spring in the tower that will rise from ashes of former owner's failed deal.

Kelly Grant Toronto — From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

A curvy 65-storey condominium could be coming to 1 Bloor East, site of a much-hyped hotel-condo project that fell apart when a Kazakhstan-based developer lost financing.

The new plan envisions a tower with 687 units atop a two-storey, 104,000-square-foot retail podium, according to a site plan application submitted to the city's planning department Friday. It also includes four floors of amenities for residents – possibly including a spa – on top of the stores.

The luxury hotel envisioned by the site's former owner, Bazis International Inc., is no longer part of the plan.

Toronto firm Hariri Pontarini is designing the proposed tower at the southeast corner of Yonge and Bloor streets, but the architects have yet to formally unveil drawings.

Great Gulf Group, which bought the site last summer, aims to start pre-selling condos at 1 Bloor East in the spring. [read more-->]

If you would like to be updated when more information becomes available for Number One Bloor, including details on any upcoming VIP sales events, please contact me.

 

Real estate marketing gurus see 'cautious optimism' for 2010

As Toronto's top real estate advertising and marketing executives gathered recently for a roundtable discussion on the state of their industry, the outlook was a fair bit rosier than it was one year ago.

Small wonder: The city's real estate market experienced a remarkable resurgence in the second half of 2009, one that made the economic downturn seem almost like a distant memory.

The Toronto Real Estate Board reported a total of 87,308 sales of homes last year, beating the 74,552 sales made in 2008. In December alone there were 5,541 sales, up 115 per cent from the same period a year earlier.[read more -->]

Ryan Starr - Special to the Star Jan 30

How can I help?

___________________________________________

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